I Can Fish Up Everything!

Chapter 149: Chapter 120: The Big Fish is Gone? More to Come

He opened the box to find it was full of giant green crabs from Sri Lanka. Aside from three exceptionally large ones, there were another eight that weighed three to four pounds each.

There was an empty fish tank nearby, not yet filled with water, so Gu Nan simply took all the crabs out and placed them inside.

Next came the various types of fish: Tai Star Garoupa, Large-spot Grouper, Blue Star Nine-spine Sea Perch, and a dozen or so Mozambique lobsters.

Two of them were especially impressive, weighing over five pounds each.

Yi Chen, who was in the middle of her meal, came over with her bowl to take a look. Her eyes lit up the moment she saw the lobsters and green crabs.

’A lot of people have been asking for these lately,’ she thought. ’Looks like sales are about to get another boost.’

After the live seafood was dealt with, it was time for the chilled delivery.

When two massive foam coolers were brought in, Yi Chen was taken aback. ”Did Brother Zhao order this much marlin this week?”

”Not exactly. The smaller one is a different fish,” Gu Nan said with a small smile before opening both coolers.

One contained a marlin, but to Yi Chen’s surprise, the other held a grouper.

”Boss, what kind of grouper is this?”

”This is a Blue-body Large-spot Grouper, completely wild-caught. The starting price is three hundred yuan a pound. This one’s over a hundred pounds, so we’ll just have to see what the buyer is willing to pay!”

”There’s a farmed version, too, but they’re also rare. They’re called Golden-spot Groupers. The farmed ones are cheaper, not nearly as expensive.”

Yi Chen wasn’t a novice anymore. She was thoroughly impressed that Gu Nan had managed to procure yet another species of large, wild-caught grouper.

’The average shop owner doesn’t have the connections to get their hands on these rare, giant groupers.’

’You don’t just need a wide network, you need real clout.’

’And Gu Nan built this business from the ground up, which makes it all the more impressive.’

Sheng Shuyun arrived earlier than Gu Nan expected. The first thing he did was offer him a cigarette by way of apology. ”Ah Nan, I’m so sorry. Something urgent came up, so I can’t make it to dinner tonight. Next time, it’s my treat.”

’Ah, that explains why he’s here so early,’ Gu Nan realized.

”Don’t worry about it. We can eat anytime. Your business is more important.”

Sheng Shuyun clapped him on the shoulder. He then noticed Yi Chen standing nearby and raised an eyebrow. ’My boy here has some luck with the ladies!’

The two of them made small talk for a bit before getting down to business. First, Sheng Shuyun had his men load the yellowtail onto the truck.

Then he went into the shop to see what seafood they had that the hotel could use.

His eyes immediately fell on the massive foam cooler on the floor and lit up. ”Ah Nan, what kind of fish is in here? That’s a huge cooler!”

Gu Nan explained, ”It’s a Marlin Fish I ordered for a customer. Does your hotel use marlin? If so, I can order it for you too.”

”How much?” Sheng Shuyun asked, though in reality, his hotel didn’t use much marlin.

”Because it’s all chilled, the transportation and storage costs are high. It’s eighty yuan a pound.”

”I see. I’ll go back and ask the kitchen staff. Our hotel doesn’t currently have any marlin dishes on the menu. If we decide to add some, I’ll place an order with you.”

Gu Nan nodded, though he felt a pang of regret.

’If Junhao Hotel used marlin, they’d be ordering in large quantities.’

”Is that a marlin in this cooler, too?” Sheng Shuyun asked, pointing to the five-foot-long cooler next to it.

Gu Nan chuckled. ”I was originally going to put this fish on display out front. I have a feeling you’re definitely going to want it.”

”Oh? Is that right?” Sheng Shuyun’s interest was instantly piqued. He lifted the lid of the cooler and immediately saw the giant grouper inside.

He froze for a moment, then exclaimed in shock, ”Is this a Giant Grouper?”

Gu Nan shook his head. ”No, Giant Groupers are brown. This one was originally grayish-white with a lot of black spots. But after death, the color changes to a purplish-blue, and the spots become less distinct.”

”This species of grouper is called a Blue-body Large-spot Grouper. The farmed variety is known as a Golden-spot Grouper, but this one of mine is 100% wild-caught.”

”Golden-spot Grouper? Now I remember. The restaurant has served it before, but it was the farmed kind. A purely wild-caught one... tsk, tsk. Ah Nan, you’re really something else, managing to get your hands on this.”

Just as Gu Nan had expected, Sheng Shuyun was interested in the fish.

”How much are you asking for it?”

”For wild-caught, the price starts at three hundred yuan a pound, even for the small ones. This one here weighs in at about one hundred and twenty-five pounds. If you want it, why don’t you make me an offer?”

Gu Nan didn’t set a price. ’Sheng Shuyun is a purchasing manager, and it’s not his own money he’s spending. He’ll give me a satisfactory price.’

’One hundred and twenty-five pounds...’

Sheng Shuyun did some quick mental math, then smiled. ”How about a flat fifty thousand yuan for it?”

Gu Nan nodded. ”Of course.”

’That’s not a low price at all,’ he thought. ’The unit price is even higher than for deep-sea groupers or seven-band groupers. Wild Giant Groupers aren’t sold openly on the market, so I don’t know their exact price, but I’d guess it’s in the same ballpark.’

Sheng Shuyun gave a wave of his hand, and the two employees who came with him immediately stepped forward to carry the fish away.

Gu Nan looked like he wanted to say something but held his tongue. He had wanted to put it on display for a bit.

’Oh well,’ he thought. ’Once I get the big tank set up, I’ll just raise a live one as a mascot.’

Sheng Shuyun then continued to browse around the shop, asking Gu Nan about any species he didn’t recognize.

In the end, he ordered five types of seafood: Blue-striped Gidai, Blue Star Nine-spine Sea Perch, Rosy Grouper, Mozambique lobsters, and Sri Lankan giant green crabs.

The Tai Star Garoupa wasn’t the premium variety his hotel used, so he decided to pass on it.

’The first three types of fish were a good start. The hotel ordered a portion, and they could come back for more at any time if they ran out, so I’ll need to keep plenty in stock.’

’The last two items are used in large quantities. Fortunately, there are no restrictions on quantity or timing, so I can deliver as many as I can get directly to the hotel.’

’They won’t be sourcing exclusively from me, of course. A hotel of that size gets most of its ingredients through contracts with large suppliers.’