Chapter 102: Overnight Wealth

Chapter 102: Chapter 102: Overnight Wealth

"Three thousand?" Yun Zhen was shocked.

One catty was... three taels of silver? And ten catties? Thirty taels of silver... thirty thousand yuan!

The last time she found a wealthy family’s lost kitten, she had received a reward of thirty thousand yuan. She used it to buy dozens of tents to settle the villagers, solving the village’s urgent crisis.

Her eyes were startlingly bright. She was going to be rich!

The eyes of the man next to her lit up even brighter. "What a beautiful color! Miss, sell this leopard coral grouper to me for three thousand a catty. I’ll have the staff weigh it right now, and I can pay you on the spot!"

A well-dressed elderly man nearby spoke up loudly, "I’ll offer three thousand five hundred! Sell it to me. Tomorrow is my wife’s birthday, and I want to add a spectacular main dish for her."

An older woman raised her hand. "I’ll offer four thousand! I’ll put it in the pond in my courtyard and keep it as an ornamental fish."

Another person quickly interjected, "Miss, I’ll pay four thousand three hundred. Give the fish to me; I’ve never caught a leopard coral grouper before."

Another man wearing sunglasses said, "I’m an investor in Dongxing Restaurant. I’ll offer four thousand five hundred. Give it to me, and I’ll take it to the restaurant so they can entertain VIP guests."

Four thousand five hundred a catty—this completely exceeded the actual value of the fish.

Yun Zhen calmed down and kept quiet, because she saw other people in the back eager to make a bid. Li Mei saw it too but pretended nothing was happening.

An older female bystander suddenly raised her hand. "Five thousand! This price already exceeds what the fish is worth. Miss, sell it to me. If the price goes too high later, it will be hard for you to sell."

The elderly man slapped his thigh and declared boldly, "Five thousand five hundred! My wife really wants a bite of leopard coral grouper. I’ve searched all the hotels in the city and couldn’t find any. The ones shipped from outside aren’t fresh; after being kept for a week or two, they look so sluggish they might as well be dead. The fish this young lady just caught is lively and jumping, so you know it’s fresh. You all should yield to the elderly. I am determined to get this fish!

"Tell you what, I’ll add another five hundred. Six thousand!"

Six thousand? The people who had bid earlier all fell silent. At that price... it wasn’t worth it.

Yun Zhen was ecstatic, but then she thought of a troubling problem. "Sir, I don’t have a phone to receive the payment. Can you give me cash?"

"Cash?" The elderly man was stunned. "If you don’t have a phone, the lady next to you does. Let her receive the money for you first. Whether you want it on a bank card or in cash, the two of you can discuss it when you go back.

"If you want cash right now, I really don’t have it on me. The nearest bank is a two- or three-minute drive from here. It’s too much of a hassle."

"Yun Zhen, let’s do that. Once we leave the aquarium, I’ll go to the bank with you to withdraw the money." Li Mei also understood Yun Zhen’s predicament.

"Okay, sorry to trouble you, Meimei," Yun Zhen said gratefully.

Li Mei smiled. "It’s no trouble. Hanging out with you has been an eye-opener. With your luck, you could be the Emperor in ancient times! The Emperor probably wouldn’t even have a life as good as yours."

"Excuse me, please weigh it for us," Li Mei said to a staff member.

The staff member had watched the whole process. He was so envious! Judging by this young girl’s posture, she was a complete novice at fishing. Yet, she had actually caught a leopard coral grouper. A medium-sized grouper, originally worth three thousand a catty, was auctioned off on the spot for a sky-high price of six thousand a catty. As a mere wage earner, his heart ached with jealousy.

"Sure!" He weighed it right then and there. "Fifteen catties and seven taels. See for yourself."

Yun Zhen was so excited that she didn’t know where to put her hands.

The elderly man took out his phone to calculate. "Fifteen point seven multiplied by six thousand... that’s a total of ninety-four thousand two hundred yuan."

Ninety thousand? Ninety taels of silver? Yun Zhen almost fainted from excitement.

"Meimei, I’ll give you a thirty percent cut." Calming down, she hadn’t forgotten that Li Mei was the one who paid for the fishing session.

Li Mei was also shocked that a single fish could sell for so much money. Hearing that Yun Zhen wanted to share the money with her, she waved her hand dismissively. "No need. Earlier, I just didn’t want to fish anymore, but I also didn’t want to waste the money, so I let you take over for a bit. You caught this fish with your own skills, so you don’t have to share the money with me. If you really want to thank me, just give me this large yellow croaker. Outside, they go for a thousand yuan each. I’ve never been willing to spend that much before, but I’d really love to taste it."

After thinking about it for a moment, Yun Zhen realized Li Mei felt embarrassed and didn’t want to make things difficult for her, which was why she chose the yellow croaker. "Deal! You can take the yellow croaker home."

Li Mei smiled. "You said it. I have to see what the difference in taste is between a thousand-yuan fish and a fish that costs a few dozen yuan."

She whispered to Yun Zhen, "There are still about ten minutes left. Cast the line a couple more times. You might just catch another leopard coral grouper."

Having good luck once was already great, but after tasting the sweetness of selling the big red fish for ninety taels of silver, Yun Zhen was full of anticipation.

The elderly man looked at Li Mei and asked Yun Zhen, "Are you sure you want this lady to receive the money on her phone?"

Yun Zhen nodded.

Li Mei opened her phone. "Sir, you can scan my payment code."

DING!

"The money’s in."

"Sir, your fish."

The brightly colored leopard coral grouper was transferred from Yun Zhen’s bucket into the elderly man’s bucket. In his bucket, there appeared to be a large yellow croaker, a snakehead, and a fish with a chubby head.

Yun Zhen sat back down and cast her fishing rod out. Her posture and movements were completely unorthodox.

The fellow anglers watching were gritting their teeth in frustration. She didn’t know a thing, yet she had reeled in a massive catch. They had been fishing for years, and aside from relaxing their minds and bodies, they had gained absolutely nothing else.

The fishing rod suddenly jerked up. "I got another one!" Yun Zhen said with eager anticipation.

Everyone around snapped their gazes toward Yun Zhen. They were terrified that she had hooked another leopard coral grouper.

SPLASH! The fish had just broken the surface when it dove back into the water.

"Ah!" Yun Zhen was nearly pulled over.

"It’s a big one!" Li Mei and the staff member rushed over to help her pull the fish up. Everyone else stopped fishing and gathered to watch the commotion, dying to see what kind of monster this young girl had caught this time.

Nearby, the manager of the fishing area wore a shrewd smile. He called several staff members over to help and brought in a photographer to capture the scene. The earlier transaction involving the leopard coral grouper had also been recorded. This was a heaven-sent, premium advertisement! If they used this for promotion, customers would be lining up in droves to fish at their aquarium.

This young girl was truly incredible. It was obvious she had never fished before. She swung the fishing rod like a whip, didn’t bother checking the spot, and just chucked the line in—reckless and ignorant. But the result? First, it was a smaller snakehead and a large yellow croaker. And then? A leopard coral grouper straight out of the water! And now, she had hooked another monster.

Several staff members came forward together to help.

THUD! A round, chubby fish that was fully half the height of a person was hauled up. It was a black rockfish, about one point six meters long and weighing seventy or eighty catties!

The onlookers gasped. Small black rockfish weren’t worth much—ten yuan a catty at most. But a giant one weighing seventy or eighty catties and measuring one point six meters long would easily fetch tens of thousands of yuan.

"Miss, are you selling this black rockfish? I’ll give you twenty thousand for it," the man in sunglasses asked. He was the one who had earlier mentioned investing in Dongxing Restaurant.

The large black fish wasn’t pretty. It was pitch-black all over, with a head as round as its body. It had no ornamental value, only culinary value. Rumor had it that the meat was quite good and incredibly delicious. Not many people had the desire to buy the big black fish; at most, they were just shocked that this young girl had reeled in two massive catches in a row.

However, twenty thousand was a bit too cheap.

The elderly man who had bought the leopard coral grouper clicked his tongue. "Twenty thousand is way too cheap. A large black fish like this should go for at least thirty to forty thousand. Just look at how fat it is, and how vigorously it’s thrashing around."

The man in sunglasses twitched the corner of his mouth, annoyed at being undermined by the elderly man. If he used this fish to entertain VIP guests and had it meticulously prepared, it could easily sell for over a hundred thousand yuan, maybe even more. Thirty thousand was a fair price.

He spoke up, "Final offer—forty thousand!"

"Deal!" Yun Zhen had caught two fish and earned over a hundred thousand yuan.

She had struck it rich overnight!