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Even when he swayed forward slowly, he still looked exceptionally graceful.

The others beside him all looked at him. Lin Gongshang said enviously, "Even if you do eat a little more, with that face of yours, you won't have to worry about finding a wife."

Lu Ao lifted his eyelids. "Even without this face, I wouldn't have to worry."

"True enough. You can make money, after all."

Lu Ao had meant to say that he did not need to marry a wife at all. As a gay man, maybe someone else would be marrying him instead. But he could not exactly say that to a bunch of grown men.

So he simply shut up and dropped the subject.

The group returned to Lu Ao's home and carried the Giant Grouper into the courtyard.

Lin Manzhang called out, "Where's the scale? Hurry, hurry, hurry! Bring it out and weigh this Giant Grouper!"

He was not the only curious one. Everyone who had come along was curious. At his call, they hurried into Lu Ao's living room, carried out the scale, and set it in the courtyard.

The Giant Grouper was still alive in the water tank.

Lin Gongshang and the others rushed over to grab it. The Giant Grouper was wet, slippery, and struggling with tremendous force. Lin Manzhang and three others, all eight hands working together, nearly failed to hold the massive fish, and got splashed all over.

After much difficulty, they finally hauled the Giant Grouper out and set it on the scale.

The electronic display immediately showed its exact weight: 83.8 jin.

"Damn, it really is over eighty jin." Lin Gongshang vigorously wiped the water from his face. His eyes nearly popped out, and his expression was a mixture of envy and jealousy.

Lin Manzhang patted his shoulder from beside him.

Lu Ao slumped in a nearby chair, not wanting to move.

Seeing that his face had gone pale, Lin Manzhang helped put the Giant Grouper back into the water tank and said, "Rest for a while. We'll go sell fish at the wharf later."

Slumped in the chair, Lu Ao asked, "Where are your fish?"

"We didn't catch much this morning. We sold it all in town."

"Are you going fishing again this afternoon?"

Lin Manzhang waved a hand. "No. We'll go with you and join the excitement."

Once Lu Ao had rested, they did not delay any longer. They drove the little farm tricycle straight to Long Township Wharf.

Lin Manzhang had been worried that the huge Giant Grouper would die, but its vitality was astonishing. They had kept the oxygen running the whole way, and by the time they reached Long Township Wharf, it was still lively and vigorous.

Lin Manzhang parked directly outside Deyu Fish Shop.

Fishers who went out early put to sea the night before, and from around three in the morning, quite a few fish dealers had already been waiting by the wharf.

When they arrived, the wharf was crowded, and Deyu Fish Shop had plenty of people too.

Lin Gongshang pushed open the door and jumped out, shouting excitedly inside, "Brother Niu, we brought you a Giant Grouper!"

Niu Deyu was weighing fish with a fisher. Hearing him, he quickly poked his head out. "Wait a moment, I'll be right there."

Lin Gongshang shouted again, "A super huge Giant Grouper, and it's alive! Come quick!"

Niu Deyu could not resist the temptation. He handed the slip in his hand to an assistant and came out to ask, "How huge are we talking?"

Lin Manzhang happened to open the tailgate. He, Lu Ao, and Lin Guixiao carried out the water tank containing the Giant Grouper.

Jostled by the movement, the Giant Grouper began struggling, sending water splashing everywhere.

Hearing the commotion, passersby gathered to watch as well. Countless pairs of eyes immediately fixed eagerly on the dark brown fish streaked with yellowish-brown patterns.

"Is that really a Giant Grouper?!"

"Look at those markings. What else could it be?"

"I've been fishing for over thirty years, and this is the first time I've seen such a huge wild Giant Grouper. It's wild, right?"

"Yeah, look at its tail."

Niu Deyu hurried over, waving his hands and craning his neck to peer through the crowd. "Hey, make some room. Let me see."

Once he saw the Giant Grouper in the tank clearly, he was startled. "Whoa, this Giant Grouper is seriously huge!"

Niu Deyu had originally thought it would only weigh thirty or forty jin. But at first glance, the Giant Grouper was as sturdy as a small pig. People would believe it weighed over a hundred jin.

He widened his eyes in disbelief and looked at Lin Manzhang. "Manzhang, did you catch this?"

"Not us. Lu Ao caught it by himself." Lin Manzhang pointed at Lu Ao and sighed with a smile. "How could we possibly have that kind of skill?"

Everyone's gaze converged on Lu Ao.

Lu Ao explained, "It was luck too. The Giant Grouper was injured at the time and darted straight toward shore. It got stranded in the shallows, so I pulled it up."

Everyone looked at the Giant Grouper and indeed saw drag marks beneath its belly.

Niu Deyu rubbed his hands together and hurriedly said, "Luck is part of strength too. Come in and sit down. I'll call the people at Jiacheng Grand Hotel first."

Lu Ao nodded and carried the huge Giant Grouper into the fish shop with Lin Manzhang and the others.

The surrounding fishers did not disperse. They could not help asking, "Where did you catch such a huge Giant Grouper?"

"How much is Jiacheng Grand Hotel paying for this Giant Grouper?"

"I heard it's 188 per jin."

"Isn't that the price for dead fish? This Giant Grouper is so huge and still alive. The price should go up, shouldn't it?"

"Exactly." Someone nearby took the chance to poach the deal. "Handsome guy, I'll pay 191 per jin for this Giant Grouper. Sell it to me."

Niu Deyu was on the phone, listening to the person on the other end with one ear while hearing someone poach his deal with the other. He hurried out, covered the receiver, and glared anxiously as he shouted, "Hey, we booked it first! Don't steal our deal!"

"When it comes to selling fish, what does booking even mean? The highest bidder gets it. You buy other people's Giant Grouper for 188, but this one is in such fine condition and it's still alive. If you offer 188, this handsome guy is obviously getting the short end of the stick."

"We never said it would definitely be that price. It'll certainly go up some. We'll talk after the hotel people have seen it."

Lin Manzhang and the others had worked with Niu Deyu for a long time, and Lu Ao had not actually considered changing partners.

But Niu Deyu was not at ease. After wrapping up the call in a few words, he hurried over and ushered them inside for tea. "You haven't had lunch, right? I'll order lunch for you. Same as last time, but more?"

Lin Manzhang smiled. "Lu Ao eats a lot. The more, the better."