novelraw Chapter 242: Noah Arrives, Time to Forage
Chapter 242: Noah Arrives, Time to Forage
A five or six-jin lobster was incredibly strong. The old Chu Mingcheng might not have been able to grab it with one hand.
Placing the lobster into the mesh bag, he quickly swam back toward Jiang Luoluo. When he reached her, she was holding two abalones. Considering Chu Mingcheng's appetite, these two were also quite large.
The skirt of the blacklip abalone was black, while the tiger abalone, being a hybrid, had a skirt that was a mix of green and black. As for the "fair, rich, and beautiful" of the abalone world—the greenlip abalone—each person was limited to catching a maximum of two, and in Melbourne's inner harbor, catching them was even prohibited.
So both of them were curious: just how delicious was this greenlip abalone?
"Did you catch the lobster?" Jiang Luoluo asked.
"Look, isn't it huge!" Chu Mingcheng lifted the mesh bag and opened it for her to see.
"Nice! It looks like five or six jin. It could probably sell for over fifteen hundred back in China."
"Of course. The price per jin for Australian lobster in China is basically over three hundred, and it climbs to four hundred at the end of the year. Most people couldn't bear to eat it. We're getting it for free today."
The two chatted and laughed as they swam toward shore.
It seemed the two officers had noticed someone returning from a dive, as they immediately stopped on the shore to wait."Looks like those two are waiting for us," Chu Mingcheng said, still swimming along the surface, spotting the two men before they even reached shore.
"They probably think that since we're foreigners, we might not know the local rules, so they can fine us and get some beer money for the evening," Jiang Luoluo said with a laugh.
They had followed all the rules, so naturally they weren't worried.
As expected, upon reaching shore, they were stopped by the two officers, who asked to see their catch and licenses. Chu Mingcheng naturally complied, taking everything out.
Seeing that they had licenses and that their catch was all within regulations, the two officers nodded and walked off toward another spot where other tourists were returning to shore.
If one were simply foraging on the coast, many countries in Southeast Asia, or even Africa, were actually more interesting, as the rules weren't as strict. Here in Australia, you'd find public servants at almost any place suitable for coastal foraging.
However, Chu Mingcheng's main purpose was to earn Australian dollars, so he didn't really care how strict the foraging rules were.
That night, smoke curled up from the chimney of the B&B cottage.
Eating the three types of abalone, he honestly didn't feel that the greenlip abalone was any tastier—they all tasted about the same to him. Perhaps you could only taste the difference by eating them as sashimi?
But neither Chu Mingcheng nor Jiang Luoluo was particularly interested in sashimi, so they had cooked it all.
For the next two days, the pair visited all the attractions in Mornington. The hot springs, in particular, left Chu Mingcheng wanting more, unable to get enough. He even considered buying two oxygen tanks—when would he and Jiang Luoluo get to try scuba diving?
But it was just a passing thought. There were too many bacteria in the sea, which wasn't ideal. This made him think of an indoor swimming pool. Having experienced the hot springs, he became even more determined to make money quickly and buy a house soon.
From their arrival in Australia to now, the two had already been sightseeing for over a week.
After checking out of the B&B cottage in Mornington, they returned to Melbourne, checked into another hotel, and then visited Hosier Lane. But this was their last day of sightseeing.
The next day, Chu Mingcheng checked out of the room, moved all their luggage into the rental car, and then took Jiang Luoluo to the airport to pick someone up.
At one in the afternoon, he met Noah, who was wearing sunglasses and pulling a suitcase.
"Hey, Noah, it's a cloudy day. I don't think wearing sunglasses is a good idea."
Noah took off his sunglasses and wagged his finger. "No no no, a handsome man like me gets hit on easily when walking down the street. I have to wear sunglasses to look cool and aloof."
"Cheng, I'm sure you used to have this problem too. But now that you have such a beautiful wife by your side, you naturally don't share my troubles."
Jiang Luoluo smiled with pursed lips after hearing his words. "Noah, I like your honesty."
"Thank you, beautiful lady!" Noah gave her a slightly non-standard gentleman's bow.
Chu Mingcheng shook his head and chuckled. With this guy's thick skin, it was no wonder he became a father at only twenty-two. If it weren't for the kid, he probably would have led many women astray.
Afterward, Chu Mingcheng drove them to Noah's house.
His family's financial situation was quite good—he had made a lot of money playing the stock market with a friend in the past. It was just that Noah was the type of person who liked to slack off when he had no financial pressure. So after getting rich, he simply quit his job.
In those years of wealth and leisure, not only did he frequent nightclubs to drink, but he also fell in love with fishing. However, living off one's savings, there's always a time when the money runs out.
He had originally wanted to get back into stocks, but unfortunately, that friend of his had already jumped off a building. In the end, he had no choice but to look for another job.
Because he knew some Chinese friends, he decided to try his luck there. After arriving in China, he quickly fell in love with the country—here, he could get by without having to work too hard, much more easily than in Melbourne.
When his son grew up, he planned to send him over to study and also bring his wife over.
However, Noah was a natural-born thrill-seeker who loved adventure. So every year during the winter and summer breaks, he would return home, either going sea fishing or partnering with others to do bounty hunting for invasive species.
This time, he would continue to do bounty missions, but he planned to entertain Chu Mingcheng first. After all, he was very interested in the matter his friend had brought up.
Noah's house was on the outskirts of Melbourne's city center, a house that resembled a B&B. But the house was quite large, with five rooms. The yard outside was also spacious, and Chu Mingcheng drove the car directly into it.
He got out and looked around, feeling a bit envious. Melbourne was generally compared to China's Magic City or Nanguang. In either of those places, getting a house like this even in the suburbs would cost a fortune, let alone on the edge of the city center.
[TN: Magic City — A nickname for Shanghai, China, referencing its rapid development and vibrant, almost magical, atmosphere. Nanguang — A fictional city name often used in Chinese web novels.]
"Noah, your house is really nice."
"Haha, Cheng, maybe you can buy a house here, and we can be neighbors."
"Okay, I'll consider it, provided I have the money."
The two chatted and laughed as they moved all the luggage from the car into the house.
Because Noah's house had been unoccupied for several months, it looked clean on the surface but was actually covered in a layer of dust. So the three of them spent the afternoon busy, cleaning the house inside and out. Jiang Luoluo even washed the quilts and bedsheets.
Fortunately, it was a coastal area, so even with the sun blocked by clouds, the sea breeze dried the quilts by evening, and there was no need for a dryer.
That night, after dinner, Chu Mingcheng and Noah sat on the sofa to discuss business.
"Noah, I want to personally catch some Giant Tasmanian King Crabs and Australian lobsters, so I need your help with selling them."
"Giant Tasmanian King Crabs?" Noah was instantly stunned.
He had originally thought Chu Mingcheng was just taking advantage of China's fishing ban to come to Australia and sell some seafood. He thought his friend would, at most, catch some lobsters, abalone, and some tropical fish. He never expected him to have his sights set on Giant Tasmanian King Crabs.
"Cheng, you might not know this, but I can help you get the commercial fishing licenses for abalone and lobster, but I can't help you get a quota for Giant Tasmanian King Crabs. So you should probably forget about the crabs."
"What if I can get the fishing quota myself?"
"Cheng, don't joke around. Those crab dealers will never let a stranger join in. It's just like the Bering Sea King Crab—it has become the private property of the locals. Outsiders can't get in."
Noah's meaning was clear: even he, a local, couldn't get it, so Chu Mingcheng, a foreigner, shouldn't even joke about it.
"So that's how it is!" Chu Mingcheng seemed to have a sudden realization, but a mysterious smile played on his lips.
If he didn't have his cheat ability, he naturally wouldn't be thinking about Giant Tasmanian King Crabs. But he did have it, so sorry, but he was going to take all the good stuff from this foreign country.
For now, there was no need to argue with Noah about this. Once he secured the fishing quota, he could just throw it in his face.
Chu Mingcheng had already learned a lot about the situation with the Giant Tasmanian King Crabs during his past few days in Melbourne. Although the crabs are said to come from Australia's Tasmania, they are actually harvested from the Bass Strait—the strait between Melbourne and Tasmania.
Therefore, to catch Giant Tasmanian King Crabs, he didn't need to go to Tasmania specifically. This meant he could stay at Noah's house, saving a lot on rent.
Finally, Chu Mingcheng asked him to help rent a boat. He agreed to this immediately. Catching Giant Tasmanian King Crabs was impossible, but other seafood wasn't a big problem.
At the same time, the two settled on the terms of their business. Chu Mingcheng would sell the seafood he caught directly to him, and Noah would then handle selling it off. Neither party had any objections.
Noah would buy it at the fishmonger's price, and whatever he sold it for was his own business. Chu Mingcheng was just foraging here, so selling to him was the most convenient option and wouldn't cause any trouble.
He had originally thought Noah would find some fishmongers to buy the catch, and they would probably split the income 70/30, with him taking seventy percent. Now that Noah was acting as the fishmonger himself, it was even better for Chu Mingcheng—he could earn an extra thirty percent.
After a night's rest, Noah, having just returned, planned to lounge around for another day before getting the fishing licenses and renting a boat from a friend.
But after Chu Mingcheng went out for a day, he brought back a huge surprise.
"Oh my God! Cheng, how did you pull this off? You got a commercial fishing license AND a quota for Giant Tasmanian King Crabs? Five tons!"
Noah shouted dramatically, but it was understandable. To him, this was truly unbelievable.
Chu Mingcheng, however, felt helpless. He had originally thought he could get a quota of several tens of tons, but even with his cheat ability, the most he could get was five tons, which was ten thousand jin.
This was mainly because the Giant Tasmanian King Crab population was small, not rampant like the King Crab. In Australia, Giant Tasmanian King Crabs were mostly sold after being cooked and frozen for three days, supposedly for sterilization. But fresh ones were also available.
The market price for a jin was around eighty Australian dollars. Seafood prices fluctuated daily, but usually not by much. At eighty Australian dollars, ten thousand jin would be eight hundred thousand Australian dollars, which converted to over 3.5 million in their currency.
But in reality, the price when selling to fishmongers was as low as fifty Australian dollars per jin.
Of course, he could also catch some other seafood. But he also had to factor in the fuel cost for going out to sea and the five hundred Australian dollars per day for renting the boat.
Noah had helped him rent a sixteen-meter fishing boat. This rental price was quite cheap. Chu Mingcheng was very satisfied. The boat was big enough, so he could catch more things.