Chapter 13

Today, there were especially many tourists on the beach, making it very lively.

One reason was that it was the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, and office workers had time to come out and play.

Another reason was that the news of Su Jing catching a marlin had spread, and many people came out of admiration.

Therefore, the seafood shops, barbecue stalls, and beach supply stores on the beach were all doing very well.

Su Zhenhong's seafood shop was not very big; apart from the kitchen, there was only a small pavilion with four rows of simple rectangular tables and chairs, and the ground was still sand. Although it was newly opened, with his good skills and the high foot traffic today, business was already booming.

"Is Jing not coming?" Su Zhenhong asked when he saw Zhao Mengxiang and Su Liang return but not bring Su Jing.

"He said he'll come over later," Zhao Mengxiang explained.

"Uncle, if we catch a lobster and steam it for you to sell, how will we split the money?" Su Liang asked.

"Thirty-seventy split, I get thirty, you get seventy. How about that?" Su Zhenhong thought for a moment and said.

"Sounds good." Su Liang nodded readily. A lobster weighing over a pound would be hard to sell for four hundred yuan if he sold it himself, but if Su Zhenhong steamed it, it could sell for over six hundred yuan, and he would get four hundred and twenty yuan, which was naturally satisfactory.

"Let's not talk anymore, let's set out to sea." Su Xiaolin and the others were eager to go.

"Let's go." The fishing boats from Su Family Village set out to sea. Thinking about how catching a large lobster would earn them around four hundred yuan, everyone was as excited as if they had been injected with adrenaline. They didn't consider that Su Family Village could hardly catch ten wild lobsters over a pound in a year, so how could they just catch them so easily?

Seeing the fishing boats from Su Family Village set out to sea, many tourists started to discuss:

"Are those the fishermen from Su Family Village? Are they the ones who catch marlins directly from the sea?"

"It seems the young man who caught the marlin is not among them."

"Don't get your hopes up. Catching a sixty to seventy-pound marlin by hand is absolutely impossible. Think about how fast marlins swim. Now, people in the countryside are also very cunning. It's probably a deliberate hype to promote local tourism. You actually believed it."

"Yesterday, a friend of mine was at the scene. He saw the young man with a net bag, go into the sea for a while, and then catch a lively and huge marlin. It was definitely real."

Yesterday, the photos and videos of Su Jing catching the marlin from the sea had gained some popularity online, with the post being forwarded tens of thousands of times. Using fishing boats or special fishing rods to catch fish was very common, but catching them by hand in the sea was definitely rare. Therefore, many people came to see how the marlins were caught while enjoying their vacation and swimming. Of course, many still didn't believe it and thought it was a hype.

After a while, the fishing boats from Su Family Village returned. Many curious tourists gathered to watch, but then they all looked disappointed. More people thought it was a hype. The fishing boats had only caught a small amount of fish, and there were no particularly valuable seafood, let alone any marlins.

Su Liang, Su Xiaolin, and the others all had bitter smiles on their faces. There were so many fish yesterday, but why were there so few today? If they had known, they would have fished more times yesterday even without resting.

"Li, how was the catch?" Su Zhenhong asked when he saw Su Liang and the others return.

"Not good, just some miscellaneous fish. See if there's anything you like and take it. I'll freeze the rest," Su Liang said with a bitter smile.

"Let me pick." Just as Su Zhenhong was about to pick the fish, a cry of surprise suddenly rang out from all around.

Su Zhenhong, Zhao Mengxiang, Su Liang, and the others looked curiously and were all stunned. They saw Su Jing carrying a large net bag, filled with fish and shrimp, including dozens of large lobsters that were particularly eye-catching. The fish and shrimp were all lively, clearly just caught.

"Damn, Su Jing, where did you get so many large lobsters and good fish?" Su Liang and Su Xiaolin's eyes nearly popped out. Yesterday, the fish and shrimp were unusually dense, and catching a lobster by luck was understandable, but today, there were no fish or shrimp to be seen, so how did Su Jing manage to catch so many alone? This was not scientific!

"Caught them in the sea," Su Jing replied.

"How did you do it? Did the fish and shrimp just stand there for you to catch?" Su Liang felt a bit unbalanced.

"Good luck, I guess," Su Jing smiled, leaving Su Liang and Su Xiaolin speechless. They didn't believe it and set out to sea again.

"Uncle, where should I put these fish and shrimp?" Su Jing carried the fish and shrimp into the shop. Many tourists were already clamoring to order lobsters. Some wealthy tourists had eaten lobsters before, but rarely in such a small seafood shop, and especially not freshly caught wild lobsters, which were even rarer.

"Put them in this fish tank." Su Zhenhong snapped out of his daze, helped to lift the net bag, and was surprised by its weight. "Good kid, this is over a hundred pounds. You carried it so easily?"

"Hehe, I used to exercise a lot in college," Su Jing said confidently. In fact, he rarely exercised in college and had become lazy. The strength he had now was probably due to the magic meat. If it were the day before, carrying over a hundred pounds would have been difficult, let alone walking a few hundred meters with it.

"Uncle, with so many customers, can you handle it? Should I help cook?" Su Jing suddenly asked.

"You? Haha, don't cause trouble for me." Su Zhenhong laughed.

"..." Seeing his uncle laugh happily, Su Jing was speechless. He was being serious, not joking.

"Uncle, Aunt, and Big Sister, you keep busy. I'll go catch some more." Su Jing wasn't really going to the sea but returned home. In a bucket, there were three large lobsters that Su Jing had specially picked out, each close to two pounds. In another bucket were several large yellow croakers and a dozen small yellow croakers.

"Let me steam them and let Uncle taste them. He shouldn't have anything to say then." Su Jing thought and decided to make a plate of steamed lobsters and a plate of steamed large yellow croakers. He carefully studied the recipes he found online and combined them with the knowledge his uncle had taught him and his own experience, starting to cook. With the magical heat shell and his improving culinary skills, the fish and shrimp would surely be even more delicious.

In less than half an hour, the steamed lobsters and steamed large yellow croakers were ready. The aroma made Su Jing's mouth water, and he almost couldn't resist eating a plate himself. The two little tabby cats smelled the aroma and ran over, but the parrot and the golden eagle showed no interest.

Su Jing covered the two plates of fish and shrimp and quickly walked to the beach. Just as he reached the pavilion, a man who had been waiting impatiently said, "Is this my steamed large yellow croaker?"

"You ordered steamed large yellow croaker?" Su Jing was taken aback.

"Yes, I've been waiting for over half an hour, and my son is already hungry," the man said unhappily.

"Sorry, there are many customers, and it's a bit busy." Su Jing said, placing the plate of large yellow croaker on the table.

The boy, sitting between the man and a middle-aged woman, eagerly opened the lid. When the aroma hit their noses, the three of them all brightened, instinctively swallowing their saliva and forgetting their complaints.

"Jing, where did you bring the steamed large yellow croaker from?" Zhao Mengxiang, who was serving the dishes, saw the situation and was puzzled. She hadn't seen Su Jing come out of the kitchen at all, so she pulled him to the kitchen and asked.

"I cooked it myself," Su Jing said.

"What?" Zhao Mengxiang, Su Zhenhong, and Liu Shu were all stunned.

"Quick, before the customers eat, quickly replace the yellow croaker." Su Zhenhong shouted, and Zhao Mengxiang immediately ran to the table where Su Jing had served the dish. They had tasted Su Jing's cooking before, and even the family had to make do with it, let alone selling it.

"..." Su Jing was speechless again. Did they really have so little faith in his cooking skills?