After Reincarnating as the Dragon King, I Made a Fortune with Seafood – CH56

Chapter 56

Weng Qian was, after all, a businessman—and a successful one at that.

Something as rare as a giant black croaker, even if it truly had no effect, still had value as a selling point. There was no way he would let this opportunity slip by for nothing.

Gui Yaoyao had bought such a huge giant black croaker, and her family could not possibly finish it all. So Weng Qian persuaded her, offering to buy the fish meat at twenty thousand yuan per jin.

The value of a giant black croaker mainly lay in its swim bladder. The meat itself was only average in value.

After discussing it with her family, Gui Yaoyao agreed to Weng Qian’s request. Aside from keeping twenty jin of fish meat and the swim bladder for her own family, she sold off the rest.

Weng Qian requested that the giant black croaker be transported to their hotel to be slaughtered, and their hotel was willing to pay another five hundred thousand yuan for that.

Gui Yaoyao agreed as well, and the two sides signed a contract.

That giant black croaker had been tossed around for a long time after being caught. It was relying entirely on the trace of life force Song Zhou had given it to stay alive.

After Huang Shoushui’s university brought it back, they studied it for six days before the giant black croaker’s condition began to decline.

Neither Gui Yaoyao nor the hotel dared delay, and they hurriedly began the follow-up arrangements.

Weng Qian urgently confirmed a date and sent invitations far and wide to various clients. He especially reminded the auction group Lu Ao had created many times, and also privately messaged group members one by one to invite them.

Lu Ao was too lazy to advertise in the group, so he simply made Weng Qian an admin.

Weng Qian did not stand on ceremony either. He made full use of his position to invite clients under the cover of admin privileges.

Lu Ao and Song Zhou were also among the people he invited, but neither of them was interested.

If they wanted to eat fish, Lu Ao could just go into the sea and catch one fresh. There was no need to go through so much trouble, not to mention giant black croaker supposedly did not taste all that good.

Weng Qian felt a little regretful when he failed to invite them. He only said that once the fish was slaughtered, he would send them a portion of fish meat.

The giant black croaker banquet was set for the evening of July 25th, which happened to be a Saturday.

Weng Qian had held a yellow croaker banquet not long ago. Now that he was holding a second one, he could be considered experienced.

Being able to obtain such a large giant black croaker made Old Weng feel very proud.

On the day of the fish banquet, Old Weng personally attended to hold the fort for Little Weng.

Their family’s hotels were a global chain. For Old Weng to personally come showed how much importance he placed on this fish banquet.

To make the banquet a success, Weng Qian invited the best fish-cutting master in the country to handle the fish.

Lu Ao did not go, so the wealthy people in the auction group simply provided live updates from the scene.

—It’s starting, it’s starting. The masters have already brought the fish out and sent it to the kitchen to bleed and tenderize.

—Little Weng’s hotel is pretty good. The appetizers are delicious.

—I just took a look. Good lord, at least three hundred people came today.

—Forget everyone else. Just from our group alone, how many people came? There must be at least eighty, right? Three-quarters of the group is probably here.

Everyone in the auction group had bid on this fish and was at least somewhat interested in it.

Weng Qian’s fish banquet was held on a Saturday evening, and most people happened to be free. It was also nice to bring their wives and children out for a trip.

Weng Qian’s hotel was well run. The hotel in Xiding City was a typical Chinese-style garden hotel. After the fish banquet, they could spend a day there, then head back to work on Monday. It was a nice chance for the whole family to relax, almost like a gathering.

When the fish banquet began, Lu Ao and Song Zhou were eating dinner.

Over the past few months, he had eaten countless fish, big and small. One giant black croaker was not enough to make him crave it.

He did not pay much attention to the group chat either.

After they finished eating, Song Zhou cleaned up the bowls and chopsticks to wash them. Seeing him, he asked, “Aren’t you curious what stage they’re at now?”

“What new tricks can there be to eating fish? At most, there are more people.” Lu Ao lazily fished up his phone, his movements not very enthusiastic. “I’ll take a look.”

Song Zhou smiled and shook his head.

By the time Lu Ao clicked into the group again, the giant black croaker had already been bled and tenderized.

The group members had uploaded videos.

Lu Ao tapped one open and saw several chefs holding large knives. They first chopped off the fish head, then used the big knives to separate the spine from the flesh. With the ease of a master butcher carving up an ox, they neatly broke the fish down into piece after piece.

The fish meat was laid out on the chopping board, and every piece had beautiful marbling.

Aside from the portion specially reserved for Gui Yaoyao’s family, the separated fish meat was cut into thin slices by a dozen or so masters together and made into sashimi.

Lu Ao read the explanation. The fish had already been sent for testing, and there were basically no parasites in its body, so people could eat it with confidence.

The theme of tonight’s fish banquet was sashimi and fish hotpot. If there were any problems, it would indeed be troublesome.

The masters were still cutting the fish, and the group was discussing it enthusiastically.

—I just went closer to look. The meat of this giant black croaker is really beautiful. It’s very clean inside, the texture is clear, and there isn’t a single blood spot. I’ve only ever seen this effect when eating wild fish.

—I saw it too. I even took photos.

—I think so too. This fish is really beautiful. Just looking at it makes you hungry.

—Boss Little Weng @Weng Qian, when will the fish be ready? I can’t wait!

Weng Qian came out: It’ll be ready very soon. Please wait a moment. We’re laying the fish over ice now. Once it’s chilled, the texture will be even crisper.

—Have you already eaten some in advance?

Weng Qian: We have to taste-test the dishes. I can tell everyone with certainty that this giant black croaker of ours is excellent. It isn’t sour like the rumors online say. On the contrary, it’s extremely smooth, sweet, and refreshing.

—The boss’s praise doesn’t count. If you’ve got the ability, serve the dish faster!

—Exactly, exactly. We’ll know how the fish tastes once we try it ourselves.

Weng Qian: Five more minutes. I guarantee it’ll be ready in five minutes.

—I’m sitting in the front row, and I can already see the servers plating it. I have to say, this fish really does make one’s mouth water.

—The plating is first-class. Like.jpg

Once someone gave a like, a whole row of middle-aged-and-elderly-style likes followed below.

Lu Ao quickly scrolled past.

After a while, someone uploaded photos of the fish meat.

—This plating, this taste, nothing to criticize! The only thing is each table received too little fish.

—I didn’t even eat enough before the fish was gone. Frown.jpg

—Exactly. Boss Little Weng, the giant black croaker you served is way too little. Each person only got a few slices. Who is that enough for?

—I saw the kid at the next table already crying and making a fuss because he wants more fish.

—Exactly, exactly. Boss, bring us more.

Weng Qian: I’d love to serve everyone more, but one giant black croaker only has so much meat. Please wait a little. We’ll be serving fresh tuna and lobster meat later.

Soon, the fish banquet began, and the group became lively again.

—I’ve already tasted it. The texture of this giant black croaker meat is truly stunning. It’s no worse than top-grade bluefin tuna.

—Only after tasting the meat do I know what good thing I missed. @Lu Ao, group owner, if you catch good fish next time, let’s talk privately.

—Private chat my ass. Group owner, don’t listen to him. If there’s good fish next time, let’s bid in this group again.

—Exactly, exactly. Let’s do it again next time. Group owner, are you still going to catch giant black croaker?

Lu Ao: The giant black croaker school has been startled. I probably can’t catch them for now.

—Maybe you can. You’re so lucky. Whenever you catch giant black croaker, tell us in the group. Don’t sell it outside.

Lu Ao: Okay.

—Ah, the giant black croaker is gone just like that? I only ate a few pieces!

—I only ate nine pieces.

—I ate seven!

—I did all right. I ate sixteen pieces, hahaha. Just now, some people said they wanted to put it in the hotpot, but they were stopped.

—I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but after eating giant black croaker, the tuna and lobster taste a little off.

—I feel the same. The tuna and lobster are both delicious, but compared with giant black croaker, they’re still missing something.

—Maybe it’s psychological? This might be a fish you only get to eat once in your lifetime.

The giant black croaker was truly too precious, and that night, everyone discussed it in the group for a long time.

The fish had already been sold, and the money had reached his account. Lu Ao did not care about these matters and went to sleep when it was time.

Early the next morning, Lu Ao went out as usual to catch fish, sold the fish, bought groceries, and returned home. While eating breakfast, he opened his phone to browse through his messages.

Unexpectedly, messages in the auction group were popping up nonstop. In the blink of an eye, there were already ninety-nine plus unread messages.

Lu Ao did not quite understand what was going on. He scrolled to the very top and read the chat history.

The first person to send a message was a group member called Ci Nanyan: Everyone, how did you feel after eating the giant black croaker? Why do I feel like it was really nourishing?! My wife damaged her health years ago, and it’s been over twenty years. Every day when she sleeps, her hands and feet are ice-cold, and she’s so weak that she has to get up two or three times a night. Last night, her hands and feet were warm for once, and she slept straight through until morning.

—I thought it was just my imagination. Same here. I used to have trouble falling asleep every night, but last night I actually slept deeply.

—I also woke up feeling refreshed. I’ve already made an appointment for a checkup.

—Is it really that magical? Could it be psychological suggestion from those of you who ate the giant black croaker?

—Impossible. Last night, they didn’t even advertise the dietary benefits of giant black croaker. Nobody was thinking in that direction at all. How could there be psychological suggestion?

—I think the fish itself is very nourishing. It’s all part of the fish. It can’t be that only the fish maw is nourishing, right?

—I really feel like it was nourishing. I used to feel uncomfortable in my throat every morning when I woke up, but today, for once, there was no discomfort.

—I wonder where else giant black croaker is for sale. I want to buy some.

—Sigh, who doesn’t? If I had known earlier, I would have added another twenty thousand.

—If I had known earlier, I would have added another two million.

…

The group was extremely lively, and the evaluation of the fish banquet was also very high. However, when Old Weng and Weng Qian saw these messages, they did not feel happy at all.

Old Weng felt as if he had missed an entire empire. “Look at you! I told you, but you refused to listen. This is what happens when you don’t listen to your elders! Such a big and nourishing fish. Fine, you failed to buy it the first time. The second time, you got your hands on it, but you actually held a whole-fish banquet and ate it together with everyone else!”

Weng Qian wanted to argue, Weren’t you also in favor of this idea at the time?

But when he looked up and saw his father looking so heartbroken that he seemed about to have a heart attack, he hurriedly helped his father sit down in a chair and said, “Don’t worry. There’s still the fish head. I’ll go get the fish head back right now!”

“Then hurry up!” Old Weng urged. “Quick, quick, quick! Go quickly! Don’t let even the last fish head slip away!”

Weng Qian supported him and said, “I’ll take you to see a doctor first. Don’t let your blood pressure shoot up.”

“If you don’t bring the fish head back, that’s when my blood pressure will shoot up. Go!”