After Reincarnating as the Dragon King, I Made a Fortune with Seafood – CH53

Chapter 53

Lu Ao was actually rather concerned about saving face.

Being suddenly seen by Song Zhou in such a state left him both embarrassed and annoyed.

He tried his best to act as if nothing had happened, placed the fish on the reef, opened his aching mouth, and asked in a muffled voice, “Are you done with your business?”

“I’m done. I can rest for a while.” Holding back a laugh, Song Zhou turned his back. “Put your clothes on first. Shall we go home?”

Lu Ao changed back into human form in the water, went ashore, dug out his clothes, and put them on. Only then did he feel a little more at ease.

He lowered his head and took out his phone. “Wait. I’ll tell them they don’t need to come pick me up.”

Lu Ao called Brother Bao directly.

When Brother Bao answered the call, he sounded quite apologetic. “Hey, wait a bit. We got delayed collecting the nets this afternoon. Once we finish collecting this last net, we’ll come get you.”

“It’s fine,” Lu Ao said. “Someone I know happened to pass nearby. I’ll leave with him. You don’t need to pick me up.”

“That works, that works. I’m really sorry,” Brother Bao said. “Next time you look for me, I definitely won’t forget.”

“It’s fine. Thank you for today. I’ll head home first.”

After Lu Ao finished talking to Brother Bao, Song Zhou brought him straight home.

The croaker he had caught was still alive. He put it into a large wooden basin, found a large amount of ice from the fridge, and piled it over the fish. Song Zhou helped him make some more ice as well.

Covering the fish with ice would keep it as fresh as possible.

After finishing all this, Lu Ao looked up at Song Zhou. “My tricycle is still at Erxi Wharf.”

Perhaps he was still embarrassed, because his face stayed carefully calm as he spoke, but the tips of his ears still held a faint flush.

Song Zhou thoughtfully said, “I’ll bring it back for you.”

Lu Ao handed him the key.

Song Zhou went out, and in just a moment, the entire tricycle appeared in front of the courtyard gate.

Sitting on the farm tricycle, Song Zhou smiled at him. “I brought the vehicle back. Anything else?”

Rarely did someone look so refined and elegant even while sitting on a farm tricycle, without the slightest trace of awkwardness.

Lu Ao looked away. “No. I’ll post on Moments first and see if anyone wants to buy the fish.”

“What if no one does?”

“Then I’ll ask my friends to repost it.”

Lu Ao was not worried at all that the fish would not sell.

A giant black croaker was a rare treasure. At most, the only difference was whether it sold for more or less.

As soon as he posted the nine-photo grid on Moments, Lin Gongshang was the first to react and gave it a like.

Lin Gongshang: Holy crap, Brother Lu is still Brother Lu. Said he’d catch a giant black croaker, and he really did. Awesome!

Lin Qiyan: A giant black croaker this big—I’ve lived this long and this is my first time seeing one!

It was not only Lin Qiyan who had never seen one. In recent years, giant black croakers had rarely appeared in their area at all.

The moment Lu Ao posted it, everyone began taking screenshots and reposting it.

Soon, people in the groups Lu Ao had joined also came out to ask about it.

There were many people watching, but few buyers. Basically no one made an offer.

Lu Ao was not in a hurry.

Close to seven in the evening, a reporter contacted Lu Ao and asked if he could do an interview.

Lu Ao declined.

The first person who truly came to ask for the price was the hotel owner, Weng Qian.

He had bought a large yellow croaker from Lu Ao last time. This time, he called directly. “Lu Ao, how heavy is that giant black croaker of yours?”

“I just weighed it. One hundred fourteen jin and six liang.”

“That’s quite large. Is your fish wild?”

“Yes. It was just caught, still very fresh.”

Weng Qian sounded quite interested. “Would it be convenient to video call and let me see the fish?”

“No problem.” Lu Ao agreed, shuffled over in slippers, and said, “The fish is here. It still has a bit of vitality and isn’t completely dead yet.”

Lu Ao lifted the fish’s head and aimed it at the camera. “I’ll show you the eyes and gills.”

“What about its size?” Weng Qian asked. “Can you lift the fish so I can compare?”

“Sure. Wait a moment.” Lu Ao called to Song Zhou outside the frame, “Song Zhou, come help.”

Weng Qian did not see the person. He only heard a warm, gentle voice respond, “Coming.”

Then he saw a long, slender hand take the phone.

The owner of that hand was clearly a man, and the hand was truly long and beautiful, with skin like jade.

Weng Qian could not help making a few guesses about the man’s identity.

With that kind of complexion, he was most likely not a fisherman. It was already late, yet he was still at Lu Ao’s house. Their relationship was clearly very close.

Two close young men together so late—there was enough information there to invite speculation.

Weng Qian was used to analyzing customers, and only after doing it instinctively did he realize that this was not a customer, but a seller.

Then again, with this man’s money-making ability, he was now also one of their target customers.

Weng Qian felt a little emotional inside.

Lu Ao had no idea that Weng Qian had imagined so much in just a few seconds.

He handed the phone to Song Zhou and was struggling to lift the giant black croaker.

Lu Ao was over 1.8 meters tall, and the fish in his hands was not much shorter than he was.

He had to use all his strength to raise the fish to his chest so it would not drag on the ground.

This lifting motion was much harder than carrying it over his shoulder. Even though Lu Ao was extremely strong, it was still uncomfortable.

After holding it up for almost ten seconds, Lu Ao put the fish back into the basin and pushed the ice back into place. “Is that enough?”

“Yes, yes.” Weng Qian immediately made a decision. “If it really is a wild giant black croaker and weighs one hundred fourteen jin, I’m willing to buy it for one million two hundred thousand.”

“One million two hundred thousand is too low.”

Weng Qian smiled. “This price really isn’t especially high, but it’s still the same thing—no matter what, it’s just a fish. I don’t think many people can offer a higher price.”

Without blinking, Lu Ao said, “Double it. Otherwise, no deal.”

“Two million four hundred thousand is really too high. Forget Yandong County, even in the whole country, there aren’t many people willing to spend more than two million on one fish.”

Lu Ao was not persuaded. “Mr. Weng doesn’t need to worry about that for me. If someone really wants to buy it, I can hire a helicopter. From here to Xiding City, the whole trip would only take a little over an hour. It won’t delay anything.”

Weng Qian had not immediately thought of hiring a helicopter. He smiled. “Then I’ll think about it.”

“All right.”

After hanging up on Weng Qian, Lu Ao asked Song Zhou to take a series of photos of him holding the fish. Finally, he attached the fish’s length and weight, then posted on Moments again:

Freshly caught wild giant black croaker. Still not completely dead, extremely fresh. Besides eating the meat, the swim bladder can be made into fish maw and kept as a family treasure. Friends who want it can message me privately. If the deal is successfully completed, I will cover helicopter delivery and get the fish to your door within five hours.

After posting, Lu Ao rarely asked his circle of friends to help repost it.

A whole crowd of people came out that night.

Almost instantly, Lu Ao’s Moments had more than fifty comments.

—First time seeing someone include helicopter delivery when selling fish. I’m genuinely impressed.

—I just knew you caught a giant black croaker, but I didn’t expect it to be this huge.

—Any rich boss want to buy it? Fish maw from a giant black croaker of this level really can be a family heirloom.

—Lu Ao, you’re too amazing. You said you’d catch a giant black croaker and you really did it. Your word is as good as nailed iron!

—Lu Ao, I messaged you privately. Reply when you see it.

A giant black croaker was indeed good stuff.

Aside from nourishing growing children, many people believed that if someone used its fish maw to restore the body after a serious illness, their health could recover to its former state.

Because of this belief, there really were people who collected fish maw as an investment, waiting for it to appreciate in value twenty or thirty years later.

Lu Ao received many private messages on his phone.

Everyone was asking for the price.

Lu Ao replied to them one by one.

Seeing that he was busy, Song Zhou asked, “What do you want for dinner? I’ll cook.”

“Anything is fine. Noodles are okay too. I’m not picky.” Lu Ao spoke while typing rapidly, his eyes never leaving the keyboard interface.

Song Zhou saw him with his head lowered, a shallow ridge of spine protruding at the nape of his neck, giving him a distinctly youthful air. He sighed inwardly, said nothing, rolled up his sleeves, and went to the kitchen to cook.

Lu Ao was chatting with more than ten people at the same time.

This Moments post had practically shaken half the wealthy circles of their province and the three neighboring provinces.

He had not expected such an effect either.

This was all thanks to the volunteers and ship captains he knew.

Everyone reposted his Moments into their own circles, and as those circles spread outward like ripples, quite a few people were stirred up.

A giant black croaker was indeed a treasure, and its fish maw was an even rarer sacred tonic.

No matter what the market price was, it was basically impossible to see one now.

Now that a freshly caught wild giant black croaker had appeared, those interested naturally did not want to let it slip away.

Several million was a lot of money for ordinary families.

For certain families, it was only the cost of a meal—sometimes not even enough for one meal.

Lu Ao could not keep up with all the WeChat messages, so he simply pulled everyone into one group and let them bid there.

While he was adding people, WeChat kept receiving new friend requests.

For a moment, he was nearly overwhelmed.

Weng Qian was also pulled into the bidding group by Lu Ao.

Before he even had time to speak, he saw a rich buyer send a message: A wild giant black croaker this big really is rare. I’ll offer three million three hundred thousand.

—I’ll offer three million five hundred thousand. I’ll buy it as part of my daughter’s dowry.

—Three million seven hundred thousand.

—Three million eight hundred thousand.

Weng Qian could tell at a glance that these prices were all in units of ten thousand yuan.

He watched from beside his phone as this plain and simple fish was quickly driven up to four million six hundred thousand.

He shook his head, and the thought of rejoining the competition died out in his mind.

Wasn’t it just a fish? It wasn’t made of gold. Eating it wouldn’t turn anyone immortal. With several million in real money, what couldn’t one buy? Why buy a fish?

Weng Qian watched for a while as the people in the WeChat group continued bidding.

However, the price had become relatively stable. Each bid only added one or two thousand.

It seemed first-generation rich people were still fairly rational.

Weng Qian was about to close WeChat. The fish was already almost at five million.

That was absolutely not a price he would spend.

His finger had just landed on the back button before he could press it when a call came in.

It was his father.

Weng Qian answered, and the first thing his father said was, “I saw that you’re bidding on a wild giant black croaker?”

“Hmm??? What’s wrong?”

“How big is the fish? Is it real? If it is, try your best to buy it.”

Read More Extra Chapters (EPUB & PDF Format)