The Fish I Catch Can Level Up-Chapter 230: Prying Off Dozens of Jin of Gooseneck Barnacles
Chu Mingcheng, who hadn't taken a close look at the sea turtle's back before, was now pleasantly surprised. He'd thought trouble had come knocking, but it turned out to be a money delivery service.
The great sea turtle's back looked like it was carrying a small mountain—dense clusters of barnacles covered nearly its entire shell.
But that wasn't the main point. After scraping away some of the sea mud and algae, Chu Mingcheng discovered they were actually gooseneck barnacles, not the common volcano-shaped kind.
Even though domestic gooseneck barnacles weren't outrageously expensive—only about one hundred fifty yuan per jin—the sea turtle was massive, as big as a compact car. The amount of barnacles on it wouldn't be small.
If they had been the volcano-shaped barnacles, it would have been a real pain.
Those were cheap, and wild ones varied drastically in size. The small ones were worthless, and there wouldn't be many large ones worth picking.
Moreover, prying them off was much more difficult. They weren't like gooseneck barnacles, which were easy to remove and grew in dense clusters.
He didn't know how long these gooseneck barnacles had been growing on the turtle's back, but he estimated it had to be at least five years.
To have carried such a heavy burden for five years and still be alive—this sea turtle's vitality was truly remarkable.
"This sea turtle is enormous! I feel like it could carry me all over the ocean," Jiang Luoluo said with amazement as she walked closer and gestured at its size.
"Carrying you would be nothing. The barnacles and sea mud on its back alone probably weigh more than I do," Chu Mingcheng said with a laugh. He handed her the mesh bag, told her to put the giant tiger prawns away first, then go get a basket and a diving knife to help him pry off the barnacles.
A short while later, Jiang Luoluo stored the giant tiger prawns, returned the mesh bag to him, and the two began working.
Every time Chu Mingcheng pried off a cluster, he would grab it, swish it in the seawater a couple of times to wash off most of the mud, then place the barnacles in the mesh bag.
However, this was just preliminary cleaning. The barnacles were still tangled with algae and various unknown marine plants, which would all need proper cleaning later.
Jiang Luoluo was more direct—she just pried them off and tossed them onto the deck, planning to wash them all together afterward.
This took them several hours.
Jiang Luoluo even climbed onto the turtle's back, her graceful figure on full display, which made Chu Mingcheng feel a little stirred up.
But she was his future wife, after all, not some fling. He couldn't possibly do anything inappropriate at a time like this.
By the time they had cleared all the barnacles from the shell, the sun was already setting in the west.
It looked like there would be no trip to the coral reef today. They'd even have to let that school of giant tiger prawns go and come back for them another time.
Freed from its burden, the sea turtle swam joyfully in the water, its good mood obvious.
Chu Mingcheng climbed back onto the boat, emptied the barnacles from the mesh bag, and said to Jiang Luoluo, "Luoluo, go to the cockpit and start the boat. I'll take care of these barnacles."
"Why don't we do it together? It's okay if we get back a little late."
"We're pretty far from the pier. It'll be very late by the time we get back, and we still have to pack up the other seafood!"
Hearing this, Jiang Luoluo didn't insist and went back to the cockpit to prepare for departure.
As the fishing boat started up, the sea lion, which had been sprawled flat on the deck, immediately scrambled up and dutifully went into the water through the back gate.
Chu Mingcheng handed it two spear squid and rubbed its head as a farewell.
After warming up, the fishing boat started its journey back. He didn't even have time to shower and began cleaning the barnacles immediately.
He set aside the marine plants he cleaned off to throw back into the sea later, and the small amount of marine debris he would take back to shore for proper disposal.
Compared to regal mantis shrimp, the money from these barnacles really wasn't easy to earn.
Not only had the two of them spent half the day prying them off, but they still had to spend ages cleaning them. It was purely hard-earned cash.
About halfway through the journey, Chu Mingcheng finally finished cleaning all the barnacles.
He brought out the scale, placed the barnacles on it, and weighed them, only to find there were just sixty-seven jin and three liang.
They had looked like a small mountain when he'd piled them up after prying them off. He never thought there would be so little left after cleaning.
Chu Mingcheng was a bit disappointed. At one hundred fifty yuan per jin, the total for these barnacles was just over ten thousand. He had thought he could make several tens of thousands!
The efficiency of making money this way couldn't compare to catching regal mantis shrimp or giant tiger prawns. But it was a good deed, so he wouldn't complain too much.
Another hour passed, and his phone finally had a signal.
Chu Mingcheng quickly took pictures of the seafood, pulled the five bosses into a new group chat, and sent them the photos and quantities, letting them sort it out among themselves.
Today's seafood, apart from a few fish, were all premium items.
The five bosses immediately started scrambling for them. Regal mantis shrimp, spear squid, and barnacles were all excellent finds, and the sweetlips were pretty good too.
There weren't many giant tiger prawns, so Chu Mingcheng didn't plan on selling them to the group this time.
Even though he had caught quite a bit over the past two days, it actually wasn't enough to divide among the five bosses. In the end, they could only negotiate quantities among themselves and send him their orders.
Chu Mingcheng contacted a shipping company and allocated the seafood according to the bosses' requests.
By the time he returned to the pier, all the seafood except for the giant tiger prawns had been packed and sent off.
The regal mantis shrimp, one hundred and thirteen jin total, with males priced at three hundred and ten yuan and females at four hundred, sold for exactly forty thousand.
There weren't many sweetlips. He'd fed one to the little sea lion, leaving twenty-six.
But each fish was quite hefty. Together they weighed two hundred and thirty jin, and for one hundred and twenty yuan per jin, they sold for twenty-seven thousand six hundred.
The gooseneck barnacles, as calculated before, sold for ten thousand.
Finally, there were the spear squid. These things were incredibly difficult to keep alive. By the time he got back to the pier, Chu Mingcheng found only a dozen or so were still alive in the livewell; the rest had died at some point.
This made him realize that even if he shipped the live ones with oxygen, probably not many would survive by the time customers received them.
Therefore, he didn't sell the live ones either. He sent five spear squid and five jin of giant tiger prawns to his future in-laws, and the same amount to his own parents. The few remaining spear squid he took home to eat.
All the iced spear squid totaled one hundred thirty-three jin and seven liang. At a price of eighty yuan per jin, they sold for ten thousand seven hundred.
This trip's income, not counting costs, reached nearly ninety thousand.
To achieve such high income in inshore waters showed that the resources near the small island were truly excellent.
Never mind the coral reef area on the other side—just by continuing to catch regal mantis shrimp and giant tiger prawns, he could probably make several hundred thousand.
After cleaning the boat, Chu Mingcheng finally went into the bathroom for a shower, then headed back with the remaining twenty-plus jin of giant tiger prawns.
Driving over, they made a special stop at Wei Jiaguo's place and dropped off five jin of giant tiger prawns.
Wei Jiaguo had taken that large shark off their hands before, which had given him serious bragging rights with his old friends, so this time he insisted on paying for the giant tiger prawns.
Besides, wild giant tiger prawns of this size were rare. He ended up buying some extra from Chu Mingcheng to give as gifts.
In total, Wei Jiaguo bought fifteen jin and paid them five thousand.
The price was a bit inflated, but Chu Mingcheng couldn't refuse and ultimately had to accept it.
Leaving Wei Jiaguo's place, they had intended to go home, but Jiang Luoluo suddenly said, "Ah Cheng, we're out of fruit at home. Let's go buy some?"
"Sure!" Chu Mingcheng then turned toward a supermarket.
Jiang Luoluo pressed the car's navigation system, marking a location. "Go here. The stuff here is really good."
"Is it?" Chu Mingcheng glanced at the navigation, realizing he'd never been there.
They arrived at their destination—a large supermarket.
Chu Mingcheng followed Jiang Luoluo inside. Just as he entered, he spotted some beef steaks on display not far away.
He walked over curiously and was surprised to find that this supermarket sold M9 grade steaks. It seemed he wouldn't have to order them online anymore.
He currently had a large piece in his home freezer that had cost him several thousand, so he didn't need to buy any for now.
He then followed Jiang Luoluo to the fruit section and was stunned by the prices.
A piece of durian—not even a whole one—was priced at two hundred and forty-eight yuan.
Chu Mingcheng had a feeling the supermarket was trying to spare customers' feelings by not writing two hundred and fifty.
One kirin fruit was one hundred and fifty yuan.
Kirin fruit was basically dragon fruit—they tasted pretty much the same.
Chu Mingcheng didn't like these bland-tasting fruits, so he saw no need to be a sucker.
In the end, he still carried some fruit to the checkout counter. The total was two thousand and fifty yuan. Jiang Luoluo paid, and he got to experience being a kept man for a moment.
Walking out of the supermarket and back to the car, Chu Mingcheng finally couldn't help but ask, "Luoluo, is this where we usually buy our fruit?"
Jiang Luoluo shook her head. "Not always. We've only been back in Xiamen for a few days this year, and I've only come here once. The apple you said was delicious the other day was from here. Forty yuan each."
"..." Chu Mingcheng didn't know whether to laugh or cry. No wonder it tasted so good—it was the taste of money.
Given how fast they went through fruit, the two thousand-plus yuan worth they'd bought wouldn't last three days. Ten trips a month would be over twenty thousand.
After a quick mental calculation, he immediately puffed out his chest and declared, "It's just over twenty thousand a month for fruit. Buy whatever you want, wifey. Your man can handle it."
"Who's your wifey!" Jiang Luoluo rolled her eyes, but the corners of her mouth curved up slightly.
Back home, they put most of the seafood in the freezer, leaving out four dead regal mantis shrimp, four giant tiger prawns, and one spear squid for dinner.
Seeing that tonight's ingredients were all seafood, Jiang Luoluo took out a piece of snowflake beef steak from the freezer, along with some of the fruit and vegetables they had just bought.
The steak was the one Chu Mingcheng had ordered online that had just arrived. If it had been last year, he would never have splurged on this kind of M9 grade steak.
But after making money this New Year, he had immediately upgraded their meals by several levels.
Jiang Luoluo had originally been quite indifferent about food—she used to eat takeout frequently.
Everyone who knows understands what the situation with domestic takeout is like. The chances of finding reliable and tasty takeout are only slightly higher than winning the lottery.
But when a woman is with a man for a long time, she gradually adapts to his preferences.
Since they started dating, Jiang Luoluo hadn't eaten takeout in ages.
Plus, with Chu Mingcheng taking the initiative to upgrade their meals this year, she had also upgraded the fruit and vegetables, showing her full support for her man's decisions.
They had only been back in Xiamen for a few days, and their food expenses had already reached nearly ten thousand.
Jiang Luoluo washed an apple and cut it into small pieces, then took out a box of cherries that cost over six hundred for just two jin. She washed one jin and put the other jin in the refrigerator for tomorrow.
Chu Mingcheng had never eaten such expensive cherries before and curiously picked one up to taste.
He found that the cherries were incredibly juicy, large, and particularly sweet. It seemed the taste of money was indeed quite good.
Chapter 230: Prying Off Dozens of Jin of Gooseneck Barnacles
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