By the time Jiang Nanzhou woke up, the Xingfu was already nearing the town pier.
Second Uncle Jiang had contacted the local police station before they even turned the boat around, and officers were already waiting at the pier. As Jiang Nanzhou finished a quick wash and stepped onto the deck, he was met with a massive crowd. There were uniformed police officers, coast guard personnel, and even members of the armed forces, not to mention a large group of curious locals gathered to watch the commotion.
A man handed a cigarette to an officer he knew, but the officer didn't dare take it; the bureau chief himself had arrived today, and he couldn't afford to be lax.
"Brother, what’s going on here? This is quite the scene."
The officer chuckled upon hearing this, noticing that those nearby were pricking up their ears, hoping for some insider information. "I can't say. You'll just have to wait for the news."
A few young men overheard this and chimed in directly. "I know, I know! I was in Fisherman Brother’s livestream yesterday. He caught a fake bluefin tuna—it looked like a spy device. It’s such a shame I didn't record the screen."
Another young man with dyed blonde hair burst into laughter. "Haha, why would you need to record it? The replay is already up on Fisherman Brother’s account."
Realizing this, several people in the crowd immediately pulled out their phones to watch the replay. The police didn't stop them; they had held an emergency meeting that morning and decided to use this surge in popularity to educate the public on maritime and national defense security.
Jiang Nanzhou looked over at Second Uncle Jiang and the others. Despite having stayed up all night, they appeared energetic, showing no signs of fatigue as they bustled about with excitement. He smiled.
When they docked, an expert from the Ministry of National Defense boarded and had the crate containing the fake bluefin tuna carried off immediately. The heads of the Public Security Bureau and the Maritime Bureau stepped forward to shake the crew's hands. Looking at Jiang Nanzhou, one of the officials said, "Young man, I watched your video. It’s eighty percent certain that it’s an American spy device, though we’ll have to wait for the experts to confirm."
"The younger generation is truly impressive," the other added. "That hook of yours did a great job."
Jiang Nanzhou felt a bit embarrassed by the praise. He thought to himself that it was only thanks to his system cheat—otherwise, he never would have caught it, and he was mostly just worried about going bald. "It’s nothing, really. I just got lucky. As a law-abiding citizen, it was the least I could do."
Second Uncle Jiang and the rest of the crew were so nervous they could barely speak. They didn't even know what they were saying as they responded to the officials; their minds were completely blank, as they had never encountered such a high-stakes situation before. It wasn't until a police officer came over to register their IDs that they finally snapped back to reality.
This time, the Xingfu and Jiang Nanzhou had truly made a name for themselves locally, stealing the spotlight completely.
After the crowd finally dispersed, a middle-aged man in a sharp business suit stopped them. "Hello, I am the general manager of Guanhaige Private Cuisine. My surname is Yang." He handed each of them a business card.
Jiang Nanzhou took the card. He had a deep impression of Guanhaige Private Cuisine, as he had tipped them quite a bit on their platform. "Manager Yang, is there something we can help you with?"
"Fisherman Brother, I saw on your stream that you caught a yellowfin tuna weighing over a hundred pounds yesterday. Are you interested in selling it? Guanhaige is willing to pay a high price: 220 per jin."
"We are selling. But we have more than just one; we have twenty in total. I’m not sure if Guanhaige can handle that much."
Manager Yang beamed at this. "We’ll take every single one. Fresh, wild-caught fish are rare to come by. The price will depend on the weight: 220 per jin for those over 100 jin, 190 for those over 80 jin, 160 for those over 60 jin, and 140 for those over 40 jin. For the smaller ones under 40 jin, I can only offer 100."
Jiang Nanzhou felt the prices were excellent—much higher than what wholesalers would offer—but he still turned to Second Uncle Jiang for his opinion. "Second Uncle, what do you think?"
Second Uncle Jiang was already overjoyed at the quote and quickly agreed.
Manager Yang was equally pleased; it had been worth getting up early to rush over. He had sent several private messages to Jiang Nanzhou on Douyin without a reply and had originally planned to head to Jiangjia Village. Just as he stepped off the boat, he saw the crowd and heard people mentioning "Fisherman Brother." Asking around, he realized they were right there—what a coincidence!
"I’ll need to trouble you to help me transport the goods to the city pier; I’ll arrange for people to receive the shipment there."
Second Uncle Jiang readily agreed. After all, this was a god of wealth. Manager Yang also bought the rest of their catch, including the crabs, fish, and shrimp they had caught the day before.
By the end of the trip, Second Uncle Jiang and his crew had made a small fortune. Between the wages and their shares, Jiang Tianfu and the others walked away with over 20,000 each. Jiang Nanzhou had made even more. Manager Yang had tried to buy his bluefin tuna as well, but Jiang Nanzhou refused; he had never eaten a proper, wild-caught bluefin tuna, and he wanted to keep it.
On the way back, Jiang Nanzhou charged his phone with a power bank and transferred 10,000 to Second Uncle Jiang. Second Uncle Jiang immediately sent it back.
"Nanzhou, why are you transferring money to me? I was actually planning to transfer some to you. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have sold our catch for nearly as much." If not for Jiang Nanzhou, their tuna wouldn't have fetched such a high price, and if he hadn't told him to set the crab cages, he wouldn't have caught so many white crabs.
"Second Uncle, don't send it back. I won't accept it. We’re family; don't be so formal."
"You boy, you have an answer for everything. Tonight, everyone come to my place for dinner. Bring your families—everyone, not a single person missing! Come over and have a drink."
Second Uncle Jiang specifically told Jiang Damao and his brother. Usually, when he invited them, they would come alone, but this time, he insisted on the whole family. Jiang Damao and his brother had previously been too embarrassed to bring their whole families to Second Uncle Jiang’s house for a meal, as it would cost a lot of money to feed so many people. But this time was different; they had earned enough that they had to bring their families to join in the celebration.
"Fine, we'll all be there this time. We’ll eat you out of house and home!"
Jiang Nanzhou told Second Uncle Jiang to take the bluefin tuna home so everyone could have a taste that evening. Second Uncle Jiang had actually been craving that bluefin tuna himself. He would have liked to keep a yellowfin tuna for himself, but he couldn't bear to let the profit go. So, when Jiang Nanzhou told him to take the bluefin tuna home, he didn't decline. Before leaving, he specifically urged Jiang Nanzhou to invite his aunt’s family as well.
As Jiang Nanzhou walked into the courtyard of the old house, he saw someone who looked somewhat familiar.