The Fish I Catch Can Level Up-Chapter 36: Earning Over Ten Thousand a Day

The old turtle weighed in at a hefty thirteen jin and eight liang (approximately 15 lbs / 6.8 kg). Wild soft-shelled turtles over ten jin were incredibly rare on the market, making them nearly impossible to price.
In the end, Zhao Xia named her own price: a flat eight thousand.
Chu Mingcheng had no objections—he was more than satisfied. In some markets, a wild turtle over five jin could sell for six hundred fifty per jin, but only if you could find someone willing to pay that price.
The other four turtles, all weighing between three and four jin, sold for three hundred fifty per jin, netting him another five thousand.
Thirteen thousand from just five turtles.
For a moment, a thought flashed through Chu Mingcheng's mind: Making money is this easy?
But he quickly shook his head, pushing the unrealistic idea away.
Wild turtles weren't something you could find every day. He'd only gotten lucky because no one ever bothered with that abandoned pond—he'd stumbled upon a goldmine.
The three buyers also took one snakehead each, totaling eight and a half jin. At forty per jin, it should have been three hundred fifty, but Chu Mingcheng was in such a good mood after making over ten thousand that he gave the fish to his new wealthy customers for free.
He still had eleven snakeheads left, which he estimated at around forty jin. They could probably fetch another fifteen hundred.
Chu Mingcheng drove to the fishing tackle shop and bought two more large fish containers. He took them back to his family's old house, filled them with the snakeheads, and left them there to sell the next day. Snakeheads were hardy fish, so he didn't even need to oxygenate the water.
As for Mimi, the cat wouldn't need feeding today. A five- or six-jin culter was more than enough to keep her satisfied.
Back at his parents' place, Chu Mingcheng unloaded his fishing gear, took a much-needed shower, then drove his car to a local shop to get it washed inside and out. Leaving the car there, he walked home for dinner.
When he arrived, his dad, Old Chu, was busy in the kitchen.
Truth be told, Old Chu rarely cooked—that was usually his wife An Xiuwen's job. But ever since Chu Mingcheng started high school and lived in the dorms, a new tradition had formed.
Whenever their son came home, Old Chu would always step into the kitchen.
The snakehead had already been filleted, and An Xiuwen had meticulously removed all the tiny bones with tweezers. The turtle, however, was still alive in a bucket, apparently not on tonight's menu.
"Dad, aren't you going to prepare the turtle?" Chu Mingcheng asked, puzzled.
"Where'd you catch this thing?" Chu Yongxin asked in return.
"In an abandoned pond. Why?"
"An abandoned pond? That's not a big deal, then. We'll just keep it in clean water for a couple of days. It'll taste better once it purges all the dirt from its system."
"Purges dirt? You mean it's not clean?"
"With wild turtles, it depends on where you catch them. You can't eat ones from industrial waters, and if you catch one from a stinking ditch, you'd have to keep it in clean water for over a week. Since yours is from an abandoned pond, two or three days should be fine."
So it's just like wild tilapia, Chu Mingcheng thought. Tilapia from the Ou River were fine to eat, but you were better off avoiding the ones from the inner-city canals. Same principle.
"What about the snakehead? Doesn't it need to be purged?"
"The snakehead is fine. You can keep it in clean water for a bit if you want, but it's not necessary."
Hearing this, Chu Mingcheng quickly pulled out his phone and sent a message to the group chat, telling the three buyers where he'd caught the turtles. He advised them not to eat the turtles right away, but to keep them in clean water for two or three days first.
Chen Qing and the others replied almost immediately, thanking him. The gesture clearly improved their impression of him.
Tonight, Old Chu went all out. He made a huge pot of pickled vegetable fish soup and even added fatty pork sausage. The flavor was so incredible that Chu Mingcheng devoured two big bowls of rice.
Stuffed from dinner, he paced around the living room to help with digestion. He picked up his phone and finally noticed that Jiang Luoluo had replied to him that morning, but he'd been too busy to see it.
She'd gushed about how cute Mimi looked while eating and how much she wanted to pet her. Then she explained that she had been designing a new dance routine the night before and had stayed up so late she hadn't even looked at her phone.
"You need to make sure you get enough rest," Chu Mingcheng typed back. "You can always earn more money, and your fans are willing to wait for your work. But your health is your own, so don't wear yourself out."
He sent it out of genuine concern for a friend, nothing more. Although he enjoyed chatting with Jiang Luoluo, after thinking it over rationally, he realized he wasn't a fan of long-distance relationships and decided to put any thoughts of taking things further on the back burner.
It was dinnertime, so his message was seen almost instantly. Less than a minute later, Jiang Luoluo replied.
"😊 Okay, okay, I know. I usually take good care of myself. I just got a sudden burst of inspiration last night and didn't even realize how late it was until I finished."
Inspiration. Chu Mingcheng could understand that.
After a short pause, another message came through.
"You're freelance now, right? Have you thought about visiting Xiamen sometime? I can show you around."
Jiang Luoluo wasn't from Xiamen. She was born in Hangzhou, with her family's ancestral roots in Suzhou. They say the most beautiful women come from Suzhou and Hangzhou, and she was certainly proof of that, having inherited the best of both. She became quite popular at her university, and with a solid fan base, she occasionally landed commercial gigs. She rented a place in Xiamen because it was close to Taiwan. She had a multiple-entry permit, allowing her unlimited visits within a year, which made travel convenient.
"Definitely! When I do, I'll be sure to cling to the leg of a rich girl like you."
"I'm not a rich girl, just a poor, struggling worker. I'll let you in on a secret: Jiayi is the real rich girl. She has so many guys chasing her."
Chu Mingcheng just chuckled, not taking the comment seriously.
They chatted for a while longer until his stomach felt more settled. He then went to his room and started watching fishing videos online, hoping to learn a few new tricks from other anglers.
Ever since quitting his job, Chu Mingcheng's daily routine had completely changed.
Before, after a long day at the office, he would cherish what little free time he had left, refusing to sleep before midnight. If he didn't have to be at the company by eight the next morning, he probably would have stayed up until one or two.
But now that his time was entirely his own, he found himself going to bed earlier. Last night, he'd been asleep before ten and was up by six in the morning.
He went out for a run, grabbed breakfast, and brought some back for his parents, who were still sleeping.
By the time he got home, they were already up. Seeing that her son had brought breakfast, An Xiuwen remarked with a sigh, "You know, I'm starting to think our son quitting his job was actually a good thing."
"Not only does he bring home nice things, but now he's exercising in the morning and even bringing us breakfast."
"If I had known he'd change this much, I never would have wanted him to get that job in the first place."
Chu Yongxin chuckled and pointed out the reality of the situation. "If he wasn't making any money, let's see if you'd still be sitting there so calmly."
An Xiuwen shot her husband a displeased look for calling her out. "What's there not to be calm about? Worst case, I'll support our son for the rest of my life."
"And how are you going to do that when you're seventy or eighty?"
"You..."
"Whoa, whoa, Mom, it won't come to that," Chu Mingcheng quickly intervened, seeing a fight brewing. "You two should just relax and enjoy your lives. When you're old, it's my turn to take care of you."
They were both in their fifties, but sometimes they bickered like children. And despite being the man of the house, Chu Yongxin had a sharp tongue and rarely lost a verbal sparring match.
Then again, his tongue was the only thing that ever won.
Hearing their son's words, the two of them finally cooled down. Chu Yongxin, however, felt a pang of regret. Crap, he thought. I just had to poke the bear again. It's over for me when I get home from work tonight.