The Fish I Catch Can Level Up-Chapter 24: A Meter-Long 'Mian' Fish

"Where? Where is it?"
"Holy crap, there is something yellow!"
"No way, is our luck really that good?"
The other three men were instantly on high alert. Chu Mingcheng and Zhang Wei scrambled to the stern to get a look at the catch being hauled up.
And... well, there was indeed something yellow. It was just a little small.
When he got a clear look at it, Chu Mingcheng's face darkened. "Is it possible that yellow croakers also have a junior-sized version?"
Zhang Wei let out a weary sigh and went back to help pull the net.
Only Zhao Jun remained calm. He knew the chances of netting a large yellow croaker here were incredibly slim. Even if they did, it would likely be an escapee from the aquaculture farms around Dongting Island, and its value wouldn't be that high.
Jiang Luoluo noticed the change in their expressions and realized she'd made a huge, embarrassing blunder. "Oh, so it's a small yellow croaker," she mumbled sheepishly.
"Yeah, but wild small yellow croakers are still pretty good," Chu Mingcheng consoled her. "We'll take a few back later and fry them up tonight. They're delicious."
He glanced at the haul. There weren't many small yellow croakers; a few large swimming crabs (suozixie). The rest were lizardfish (
longtouyu
) and some other miscellaneous fish, probably only good enough to be sold as feed. The first net was a definite loss.
Soon, the entire net was on deck. Zhao Jun untied the rope at the cod end, and the catch spilled out. The still-living swimming crabs and other small crabs scrambled desperately, while some weaker ones lay buried in the pile.
The much-anticipated fish-sorting activity had begun. Chu Mingcheng handed tongs to the two girls. "You two can sit here and pick out the big fish and anything valuable."
"Like these red shrimp, the big ones can be sold. There are a lot of small cuttlefish, too; they go for thirty-five a
jin
. Pick those out. People around here love them."
"I'll get you some plastic crates so you can sort everything."
"Mhm, mhm, leave it to us!" Jiang Luoluo nodded eagerly, taking the tongs. This was a task she was very interested in. Staring at the pile of fish, she felt like she was on a hunt.
The two girls sat on small stools and began sorting the valuable catch. After resetting the net, Zhao Jun started the boat and headed for the location of the second net.
When the next net was being pulled up, Jiang Luoluo and Zhou Jiayi both instinctively got up and crowded around to watch the haul. Even though the catch would be dumped on the deck anyway, they couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation, hoping the net would be full of big fish, a surprise they could spot ahead of time.
Unfortunately, the second net was much like the first. Not a single big fish.
Funnily enough, it was the same story through the fifth net.
Jiang Luoluo looked at the small mountain of miscellaneous fish and the meager pile of valuable catch, and her mood soured.
As Zhao Jun started pulling the sixth net, she secretly tugged Chu Mingcheng to the stern. "Are we losing a lot of money? How come there wasn't a single big fish in five nets?"
The engine was deafeningly loud, forcing Jiang Luoluo to lean in close to be heard. The soft scent of a girl and the unintentional brush of her body made his mind wander for a moment.
"It's alright, the loss won't be too bad."
Even though the catch was mostly small cuttlefish, red shrimp, swimming crabs, small pomfret, and small yellow croakers, the total quantity from five nets wasn't insignificant. Plus, the mountain of miscellaneous fish could be sold for twenty yuan a crate. That alone would recoup a couple of hundred yuan. All in all, he figured they would lose about a thousand yuan.
Just as Jiang Luoluo was about to offer to pay for half the charter fee, she was cut off by an excited roar from Zhang Wei. "Holy shit! That's a huge fish! You guys, come look! We netted a big one!"
"Really?" Chu Mingcheng's attention was immediately captured, and he hurried over.
A massive, meter-long 'mian' fish
was thrashing wildly in the net. This kind of fish was often caught by fishermen in the deep sea, but it was a rare sight in the waters around Yanmen Island these days.
Translator Note:
'Mian' fish 鳘鱼 -
mǐn yú
, a type of large fish, often referring to a type of croaker or drum fish, prized for its swim bladder.
"Haha, A'Cheng, your luck is fantastic!" Zhao Jun was grinning, genuinely happy despite the fish not being his. "This
mian
fish must be over twenty
jin
(approx. 10 kg). You've made your money back today!" If the day's harvest had been a total bust, he would have felt a bit guilty taking two thousand yuan from Chu Mingcheng.
"Brother Zhao Jun, can this fish cover the cost?"
In Chu Mingcheng's memory,
mian
fish weren't expensive. The ones in the market usually sold for about ten yuan a
jin
. Even if this one was twenty
jin
and freshly caught, he figured it would sell for four or five hundred at most.
"A meter-long
mian
fish can sell for at least eighty a
jin
. A fish this big is a rarity around here. Someone might even offer a higher price for it later."
"Why is it so expensive? Don't they only sell for about ten a
jin
at the market?" Chu Mingcheng was surprised. No wonder Zhao Jun said he'd make his money back.
"This one has a valuable fish maw. If the maw is good, you could take it out and dry it yourself and maybe earn even more. But that's a lot of trouble. It's better to just sell the whole fish."
Translator Note:
Fish maw 鱼胶 -
yújiāo
is the swim bladder of a fish—an internal organ that helps the fish control its buoyancy in water. In culinary terms, especially in Chinese cuisine, it’s considered a delicacy and one of the “Four Treasures of the Sea” alongside abalone, sea cucumber, and shark fin.
"Oh, right! The fish maw! How could I forget about that?"
Hearing that the
mian
fish would cover their costs, Jiang Luoluo breathed a sigh of relief.
As the rest of the net was hauled aboard, they discovered other good stuff inside. There were two bright red fish, each about thirty centimeters long.
Even Zhao Jun couldn't identify them. In the end, it was Chu Mingcheng who looked it up online and found out they were Purple Sea Bream, a premium red-fleshed sashimi fish from the East China Sea. These fish spend their juvenile stage near the coast before swimming back to the continental shelf as adults, where they are typically caught in the deep sea. A normal adult size was forty to fifty centimeters; these two were likely just about to head back out when they were intercepted by Zhao Jun's net.
Chu Mingcheng had originally been hoping to catch a grouper, but getting Purple Sea Bream instead wasn't bad at all.
In the end, after a quick discussion with Zhang Wei and Jiang Luoluo, they decided to keep five small yellow croakers, the two Purple Sea Bream, and five particularly fat swimming crabs. The rest would be sold.
When the fishing boat returned to the pier, the appearance of a meter-long
mian
fish immediately drew a crowd. The fish had a fat belly, which meant its maw was likely to be large and of high quality.
Fishmongers and restaurant owners who were there to buy seafood immediately started a bidding war. In the end, it was bought by a restaurateur from Wenzhou.
The fish weighed 18.7
jin
(9.35 kg) and sold for two thousand three hundred yuan, averaging over one hundred and twenty yuan per
jin
.
The rest of the catch, excluding what they kept, sold for over seven hundred yuan. To Chu Mingcheng's surprise, they had made a profit of over a thousand yuan on the charter. The only pity was that the fish caught in nets didn't grant any experience points for his Aquatic Codex.
"Brother Zhao Jun, want to come over for a drink tonight?"
"No, no, I've got things to do tonight. Next time!" Zhao Jun had no intention of being a third wheel. If it were just him and Chu Mingcheng, he would have definitely gone.
"Alright, next time then. We'll get going."
Chu Mingcheng didn't press him. After saying goodbye, he carried their share of the catch and headed back.
It was already past three in the afternoon. He dropped Jiang Luoluo and the others off at his house. They were supposed to pick up Zhang Ruomei, but it turned out she was on her period. To avoid the torture of seeing a seafood feast she couldn't eat, she had called Jiang Luoluo earlier to say she wouldn't be coming to dinner and that they didn't need to get her.
And so, the remaining four began to prepare dinner.
The Sri Lankan mud crab was simply steamed to preserve its fresh, sweet, original flavor. Chu Mingcheng's old house didn't have an oven, but it had a barbecue grill, so Zhang Wei took the lobsters and scallops outside to grill them. The two Purple Sea Bream were prepared as sashimi, with the heads and innards all given as a treat to the leopard cat.
One of the best things about seafood is how quick and easy it is to cook. By around five o'clock, the entire feast was laid out on the table.