Chapter 17

Their farm tricycle moved quite fast. They had set out from Chongxin Village at nearly ten in the morning and reached Long Township Wharf before one.

Long Township Wharf was clearly much livelier than the one in their town.

Countless fishing boats put out to sea here every day, and countless fishmongers waited here to catch their prey.

There were also quite a few fish shops around the wharf that specialized in buying fish.

Before they even got close, they could already smell the heavy stench of fish from afar.

Lin Manzhang asked, "Where do you want to sell them? Want me to take you to the fish shop we usually go to?"

Lu Ao nodded. It was his first time selling fish, so having someone familiar lead the way could not have been better.

Seeing that he agreed, Lin Manzhang wound through several turns and stopped directly in front of a fish shop. Sitting on the tricycle, he shouted into the shop, "Brother Niu, are you buying red grouper today? Live ones."

The shop was filled with transparent glass fish tanks. Hearing the call, a tall, sturdy middle-aged man came out from inside. "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be? Did you catch giant red grouper today?"

Lu Ao looked him over.

Lin Gongshang quietly told Lu Ao from the side, "His name is Niu Deyu. He's a decent guy. Just call him Brother Niu later."

Lin Manzhang pointed at Lu Ao, who was sitting beside the tricycle. "Not us. This little brother caught them. He just came back, so we'll have to rely on you to look after him in the future."

Lu Ao nodded to Niu Deyu.

Niu Deyu nodded back and leaned over to inspect the fish Lu Ao had caught. The moment he saw them, his eyebrows jumped in shock. He turned and asked, "They're this big?!"

Lin Manzhang looked rather proud. "Right? My brother here is seriously capable."

Niu Deyu was completely impressed. He took out a pack of cigarettes, shook one loose, and offered it to Lu Ao. "What should I call you, little brother?"

"Lu Ao. Ao as in mountain hollow." Lu Ao waved to indicate that he did not smoke, then called out, "Brother Niu."

Niu Deyu went on to offer cigarettes to Lin Manzhang and Lin Gongshang. He casually gave Lu Ao a thumbs-up. "You're impressive. Deyu Fish Shop has been open for so many years, and this is the first time I've seen someone catch so many giant red grouper at once."

Lin Manzhang laughed beside him. "This is only the beginning. He'll catch more and bigger fish in the future. Take your time being surprised."

"Hahahaha, then I'll look forward to it slowly. Brother Lu, take care of my business more in the future."

Lu Ao nodded.

Lin Manzhang asked, "What's the purchase price for giant red grouper today?"

"Forty-five per pound for live ones, thirty-five for dead ones."

The fish Lu Ao had caught were large, and although the speargun had pierced them, it had not caused fatal injuries. Therefore, all of them were alive and would be priced at forty-five per pound.

Niu Deyu used a large fishing net to scoop the fish into a basket for weighing. The seven fish weighed a total of 137.6 pounds.

"137.6 pounds. I'll count it as 138 pounds. At forty-five per pound, that comes to 6,210 yuan. I withhold the tax here on your behalf. The fisheries tax is forty-five percent, so after tax, it comes to 3,415.5 yuan. Check the math?"

Lu Ao had already worked it out mentally, so he nodded at that.

Niu Deyu smiled. "Cash or transfer?"

"Transfer."

The two took out their phones and scanned the code to make the transfer. Once the payment was settled, Niu Deyu gave Lu Ao the tax payment code and a paper tax receipt.

In the age of smart technology, large transactions like this had basically eliminated tax evasion.

Seeing that Lu Ao was done, Lin Manzhang and Lin Gongshang carried over the fish they had caught to sell.

The four of them had caught more than eighty pounds of fish together that morning.

It looked like quite a lot, but divided among them, it was not much money per person.

After selling the fish, they split the money according to the fish each person had caught.

Lin Manzhang earned 325 yuan after tax today, while Lin Gongshang earned 308.

Both of them had smiles on their faces.

Once the payment was settled, Niu Deyu invited them into the back hall. "I was just looking for you guys. Come in and have some tea."

Lu Ao touched his stomach. He was a little hungry, but could barely endure it, so he followed them inside.

Seeing the gesture, Niu Deyu realized what was going on and slapped his forehead. "Look at me. Haven't you eaten lunch yet? Let's eat lunch first."

Lu Ao said, "My treat."

Before Lin Manzhang could say anything, Lin Gongshang readily agreed. "Sure. We'll ride your good fortune."

Lin Manzhang could only add afterward, "We'll treat next time."

Lu Ao smiled and followed them into the restaurant next door.

Lu Ao paid himself. Once inside the restaurant, he did not hold back and ordered more than twenty dishes in one go—fish, meat, porridge, rice noodles, noodles, buns, and pastries, everything.

Seeing the way he ordered, Lin Manzhang could not help saying, "No need to order so much. It'll be a waste if we can't finish it."

"It's fine. I can eat quite a lot." Lu Ao considered the menu for a moment, handed it to the server, and said, "Start with these. Please bring the food quickly."

The server smiled. "Please wait a moment."

It was already past one, and there were not many people in the restaurant.

Lin Manzhang poured tea for everyone and asked, "Brother Niu, what did you want to see us about?"

"It's like this. You know Jiacheng Grand Hotel, right? They said they want to buy some wild giant grouper. They're holding a giant grouper banquet next Wednesday."

"Next Wednesday is..." Lin Manzhang calculated silently.

"May twentieth, right on Lesser Fullness." Niu Deyu added, "From what they said, they prefer large giant grouper. See if you can catch any in the next few days. Their offer is very good—188 yuan per pound."

"That is a pretty good price." Lin Manzhang was tempted, but he did not dare promise anything. "But giant grouper are something you can only hope to encounter. We can't be sure."

"Look around more. If you can catch some, the profit will be quite good."

Lin Manzhang smiled. "All right, we'll try. If we catch any, we'll contact you."

"Mm. Oh, right, if you catch giant grouper, it's best to keep them alive. They prefer live fish."

The hotel probably wanted to slaughter and use them on the spot, so naturally it preferred live fish.

Lin Manzhang understood that well. But they all used spearguns, and whether the fish they caught could survive depended on heaven and the fish itself.

Lin Manzhang acknowledged it without paying much attention.