I Can Fish Up Everything!

Chapter 18: Chapter 18: An Opportunistic Pitch

”Holy shit, two thousand for one meal? That’s fucking expensive—so expensive I’m shaking! And you’re actually willing to pay for it?” An Jun was floored by the prices on the menu the moment they arrived at the restaurant.

Gu Nan, who was beside him, scoffed. ”You’ll drop two thousand on a woman in one night and not bat an eye, but you think a meal is too expensive? You’re something else.”

Ye Jing nodded in agreement. ”It’s one thing if you’re spending it on your wife. But on other women? I don’t think that’s worth it.”

Hearing this, his girlfriend, Xu Zhina, was very pleased. She contentedly wrapped her arm around his, giving him a little reward.

Ye Jing had brought her to this restaurant before. They had been dating for three years, and both had spent a lot of money on each other without ever questioning if it was worth it.

After hearing his two childhood friends, An Jun suddenly felt they had a point. ”True. For two thousand yuan, we can all have a great meal together. Then again, if I spend it on a woman... if it gets me a night with her, that seems like a decent deal, too.”

”Get lost~”

”Ugh, you scumbag!”

Gu Nan and Ye Jing flipped him the bird at the same time, and Xu Zhina shot him a disdainful look.

An Jun just laughed, not taking it to heart.

Everyone had their own way of life. His family was quite well-off, and he could have easily had them set him up in a business.

But he just loved exploring new spots, experiencing all kinds of different specialties and ambiances.

It wasn’t a case of a good guy getting his heart broken and turning into a scumbag; rather, he had simply seen and experienced so much that he became a free spirit.

So after a few years, those around him were used to his lifestyle.

The restaurant was in downtown Bazhou City. Gu Nan closed up shop, and they all headed over in Ye Jing’s car.

Running your own business and having to be there all the time wasn’t easy, but closing up early on a whim every now and then was no big deal.

Arriving at the restaurant, Gu Nan glanced around and saw that the decor was nothing special. It wasn’t a large place, just a small restaurant.

However, the moment he walked into their private room and saw the projector and PC tower, his expression faltered.

Ye Jing, who had been watching him, chuckled at his reaction. ”Not bad. You spotted it right away?”

Gu Nan walked over, picked up the mouse to check the PC’s specs, and gave a wry smile. ”This custom water-cooled case alone looks expensive. Sure enough, the components inside must have cost at least a hundred thousand yuan, right?”

Ye Jing nodded. ”It did. The owner of this restaurant also runs a computer shop.”

”No wonder it’s so extravagant!” Gu Nan was openly envious. He secretly swore to himself, ’When I make enough money, I’m going to build a hundred-thousand-yuan rig too, and get that Colorful iGame Neptune 4090 I’ve been dreaming of.’

For guys like them, this little jolt of excitement was more than enough; everything else was secondary.

After waiting in the private room for a little while, a server brought out two pots of tea and some pre-meal snacks, all complimentary.

The rest of the dishes came out surprisingly fast; the kitchen must have started prepping in advance, knowing they were on their way.

The matsutake chicken and the secret-recipe spare ribs were decent enough. The river crab baked with salted egg yolk tasted good, but it wasn’t anything particularly special.

”Wow, these blue mussels are so tender. The texture is completely different from the mussels we get back home.”

Gu Nan was pleasantly surprised the moment he tried one.

”Right? They cook with whatever ingredients come in for the day, so everything is super fresh,” Ye Jing said with a happy smile, glad to see Gu Nan was satisfied.

”Is that so!” Gu Nan said thoughtfully. ”Then are you saying that as long as the ingredients are imported, relatively high-end, and the price is right, the owner of this restaurant will probably buy them?”

Ye Jing saw right through him. ”The owner should be coming by later, why don’t you just ask him yourself? By the way, do you have a source for high-end imported seafood now?”

”I’ve got something worked out. Got lucky and met a contact from East Africa. Business has picked up these last few days, all thanks to the products he sent over,” Gu Nan nodded, continuing to spin the tale about his non-existent supply channel.

”You guys know it’s hard to sell high-end aquatic products to individual retail customers. But these restaurants can move inventory much better than our little seafood shop. So if I want to get into the high-end market, I need restaurants as clients.”

The others all nodded, acknowledging his point, and then went back to eating.

A little while later, there was a knock on the door. A slightly chubby man in his early forties entered, holding a bottle of whiskey in one hand and a glass in the other.

”Hello, everyone. I’m the owner of this restaurant. How are you finding the food today? I hope you’re all satisfied.”

The group naturally showered him with praise. For a restaurant with prices this high to stay in business, it had to have something special going for it. Good food was just the basic requirement.

Hearing his customers were satisfied, the owner was pleased. He poured himself a drink and clinked glasses with all of them.

After finishing the drink, An Jun, who had been eating quietly until now, poured himself a glass, stood up, and returned the toast. ”Boss, your food is delicious and the ingredients are so fresh. Here’s to your continued success!”

”Thank you, thank you.” The owner was a smooth operator, thanking him profusely as he raised his glass to clink with An Jun’s.

An Jun finished his drink, then asked casually, ”Boss, are most of your ingredients air-freighted from overseas? I thought Bazhou City had a seafood market over at Yangjiang Port. Can’t you get your stock from there?”

The owner smiled and explained, ”Some of our seafood does come from Yangjiang Port, like these river crabs and young mud crabs. But for many imported items, even the shops there require pre-orders and make you wait. Since I can air-freight them directly from overseas myself, why would I go through them? It just adds another step and increases the cost.”

Seeing the look from An Jun, Gu Nan understood his meaning and played along, raising his glass to toast the owner. ”Boss, to be honest with you, I’m actually a seafood shop owner myself. I currently have a source in East Africa and can get some seafood from there every day.”

”My shop doesn’t deal in particularly high-end ingredients since I mostly sell to individual customers, but you might be interested in trying these two types of fish.”

Seeing that the owner’s interest was piqued, Gu Nan took out his phone and pulled up the photos of the Blue-striped Gidai and Yellowfin Gidai he had taken that morning.

”Huh, this fish looks a bit like a coral fish. The colors are pretty vibrant.” The owner immediately analyzed its appearance from the photos, guessing that it would probably taste good.

”Not quite,” Gu Nan clarified. ”This fish prefers to live in ocean trenches and crevices, at depths greater than typical coral fish.”

”The Blue-striped Gidai is versatile and can be cooked in various ways. The Yellowfin Gidai has firmer flesh, so it’s best for pan-frying or making soup.”

”Boss, if you’re interested, how about I send one of each over tomorrow? You can have your chef prepare them and give them a taste.”

”Of course, you can.” The owner smiled and agreed. He was certainly willing to try something for free. If the fish was good, adding a new item or two to his menu wouldn’t be a bad thing.

Gu Nan was also quite happy to hear the owner was willing to give them a try.

Having sold only a single Blue-striped Gidai that morning, he had realized just how hard it was to sell a fish priced at eighty yuan per jin.

He had never dealt with seafood in this price range before, not even common groupers.

There were simply too few buyers, and he was afraid he’d lose money if he stocked them and they died before being sold.

He hadn’t expected that treating his friends to dinner tonight would turn into a sales pitch. It was quite a coincidence.

After the owner left, Gu Nan turned to Ye Jing. ”Ah Jing, are you driving tomorrow? If not, could I borrow your car for a bit? I need to deliver those two fish.”

”I’ll be at my shop all day tomorrow. Just come by whenever you need it,” Ye Jing readily agreed.

”Thanks.”

”No need for thanks between us.”