The Fish I Catch Can Level Up-Chapter 43: Overnight-Dried Fish

Upon hearing how low the prices were, Chu Mingcheng immediately started sorting through his basket, picking out all the mackerel that were over thirty-five centimeters.
At only eighty yuan for ten jin, he figured he was better off keeping the larger ones. Besides, he could turn them into dried fish snacks for his cat. After setting aside the big ones, he sold the rest.
Then he brought out his green grouper. The fishmongers' eyes lit up instantly.
However, the highest price they offered was only forty yuan per jin, which was clearly a terrible deal. In truth, that was a normal wholesale price. The fishmongers buy from the fishermen, then sell to the shops. The shops then sell to customers at the standard market price of eighty yuan per jin.
Chu Mingcheng was about to ask the big shots in his group chat if anyone was interested when a random bystander who had been watching the commotion offered to buy it. He sold it for 1,050 yuan, which worked out to about eighty yuan per jin.
All in all, he had earned over 1,200 yuan in just a few hours that evening. How could a regular job even compare to this?
Chu Mingcheng said goodbye to Zhao Jun, grabbed his fish and tackle, and squeezed his way through the crowd at the pier. He pulled out his phone and called Zhang Wei.
"Where are you?"
"I'm right here on the pier, by the railing."
Chu Mingcheng glanced around and finally spotted Zhang Wei, who was still casting his line with no intention of leaving. He walked over and peeked at his friend's catch, which looked to be about half of his own haul, and all of them were small.
"You're still fishing? The school left ages ago. What the hell are you still fishing for?"
"I was waiting for you, of course!" Zhang Wei said, reeling in his line. He glanced at Chu Mingcheng's bounty, his eyes widening slightly when he saw that all the fish his friend was carrying were huge. "You found that good a spot? All big ones?"
"I was using a sinking minnow to fish the bottom. The bigger mackerel stay in the lower water column, so naturally, the ones I caught were larger."
"Well, look at you. You've only been at this for a few days and you're already such an expert!" Zhang Wei teased as he packed up his rod. He nodded toward the fishmongers in the distance. "Aren't you going to sell those?"
The mere mention of the price made Chu Mingcheng grimace. This was, by far, the cheapest fish he had ever encountered.
"The small ones are four yuan a jin, the big ones are only eight. Sell my ass. I'm keeping the fat ones to eat myself, and I'll turn the leaner ones into dried fish. I can eat them or give them to my cat as treats."
"Haha, cheap is cheap. I don't care—I had a blast today anyway."
Zhang Wei wasn't bothered by the price; it's not like he made a living from fishing. But after comparing his catch to the fish in Chu Mingcheng's hands, a sly grin spread across his face.
"Hey, Ah Cheng... look at my fish, they're all so small, they probably don't even taste good. Your fish are so big... how about you give me a couple to try?"
"Sure."
Chu Mingcheng had been willing to give away even his prized black carp and bighead, though that had been for a specific purpose. Zhang Wei was a friend of many years; a few mackerel were nothing to be stingy about. If Zhang Wei had been the one who wanted the black carp back then, Chu Mingcheng would never have accepted any money for it.
But a true friend wouldn't let him take a loss, either, which is why Zhang Wei would never have asked for something like that. Cheap fish like mackerel, however, were a different story.
"Go sell your fish first," Chu Mingcheng said. "It's still some money, at least. I'll pick out a couple of fat ones for you when you get back."
"Alright." Zhang Wei nodded and headed off to sell his catch.
A few minutes later, he returned, grumbling and cursing under his breath.
"Damn it, I thought I had a lot more. It wasn't even a hundred yuan."
Chu Mingcheng stifled a laugh. "How much did you get?"
"Ninety-five yuan and seventy cents. That damn shark wouldn't even give me the seventy cents, just rounded it down."
"Forget about it. Let's head back to my place for now. Text Chen Yang and tell him I'm treating you guys to a late-night snack."
"Ooh, a late-night snack? Nice, nice."
The two drove back to Chu Mingcheng's house separately. Once home, Chu Mingcheng checked the weather forecast. Seeing clear skies for the next two days, he separated the mackerel he intended to dry, leaving only the nine especially plump ones in the freezer—including the two he'd promised Zhang Wei. He also prepared some ice in a cooler so the fish wouldn't spoil on the way to their late-night meal. Mackerel is a type of fish that spoils very easily, so you either have to eat it quickly or preserve it as dried fish.
"Wei, get over here and help me clean these fish. I need to hang them up to dry tonight."
Zhang Wei had already texted Chen Yang and was now dangling a mackerel in front of Mimi, the cat. But Mimi had eaten well tonight; she gave the fish a curious sniff and then lost interest. Hearing Chu Mingcheng's call for help, he didn't refuse, heading into the kitchen and grabbing a knife.
The kitchen was well-stocked with knives. Chu Mingcheng was already using a cleaver to gut one of the fish. Instead of slicing open the belly, he cut down from the back, splitting the mackerel in half while leaving the belly intact so the fish remained in one piece. He removed the guts and gills, tossed the fish into a basin, and moved on to the next. The two of them made quick work of the sixteen fish.
Chu Mingcheng rinsed the fish with clean water, then used paper towels to pat them as dry as possible. He didn't want the dried fish to be overly salty, so he just lightly rubbed the bodies with coarse salt and let them sit for three minutes. Next, he prepared a basin of saltwater and added a splash of baijiu 【TN: Strong Chinese liquor, often used for cooking and sterilization】 to sterilize the fish and remove any lingering smell. The baijiu was a gift from relatives during the New Year; his family didn't drink much, so it just sat around the house. He had even more bottles of baijiu and red wine at his family's home in town.
He let the fish soak for half an hour, then took them out, dried them again with paper towels, and strung them up with twine. He carried them to the second-floor balcony to let the nighttime sea breeze dry them out. His method was for making geye ganyu 【TN: "Overnight-dried fish," a quick-drying technique that produces a softer texture than traditional sun-drying】—which was different from traditional sun-drying and produced a less tough final product.
Mackerel needed about sixteen hours of drying. If you wanted it softer, you could shorten the time. Chu Mingcheng didn't plan to dry them for too long. He had intentionally used a saltwater brine so that he could later add some seasonings and bake them in the oven for a fragrant, delicious snack.
Just as they finished cleaning the kitchen, Chen Yang pulled up.
Chu Mingcheng was a bit surprised to see him. "Ah Yang, what are you doing here?"
"I was bored sitting at home, figured I might as well come hang out. I heard from Wei that you quit your job. How about you come work for me?" Chen Yang wasn't exceptionally handsome, just average-looking. He was about the same height as Chu Mingcheng, but his face had a bit of baby fat that made him look younger. Coupled with the fact that his family was well-off, he had always lived a comfortable life.
Chu Mingcheng didn't answer the question directly, instead offering a mysterious smile. "Do you know how much money I've made fishing and foraging at the beach these past two weeks?"
"How much can you even make from that? Wei told me you made nine thousand from that alligator gar, but that was just a fluke, right?" Chen Yang couldn't imagine making much from fishing. Hearing Chu Mingcheng ask him to guess his income, he immediately recalled what Zhang Wei had told him.
"Besides the nine thousand from the gar, guess again."
"Well..." Chen Yang stroked his chin, hesitating. From Chu Mingcheng's expression, it must have been a good amount. To be safe, he threw out a number he thought was quite high. "Five thousand?"
Zhang Wei snorted with laughter. "Are you kidding? Ah Cheng makes almost that much just from digging up beach worms. And that's not even counting the fishing he does at night. I'd say he made at least eight thousand."
"That much? Eight thousand?" Chen Yang was stunned. Eight thousand in half a month meant sixteen thousand a month. Even if the income wasn't stable, at that rate, making over ten thousand a month was definitely possible. He knew he couldn't offer a salary that high, and the thought of having Chu Mingcheng work for him instantly vanished.
In reality, his shop wasn't short-staffed; he was just thinking of helping out a brother. His plan was that after Chu Mingcheng got familiar with his family's products and built a small customer base, he could branch out on his own, and Chen Yang could even give him some business.