Chapter 15: All Wild Bulk Goods! Astonishing Results!
Chapter 15: All Wild Big Catches! Astonishing Effects!
For the next while, Qin Lin kept his game character fishing by the riverbank, with notifications popping up intermittently:
[You have caught a wild bluefish (Quality 1)]
[You have caught a wild grass carp (Quality 1)]
…
[You have caught a wild crucian carp (Quality 1)]
At first, Qin Lin managed to reel in a fish almost every moment. At this rate, he could have caught hundreds by the afternoon.
However, reality proved harsher than expectation. As time passed, the interval between catches grew longer.
After catching more than thirty fish, the game displayed a message:
[The river seems to have no more fish. Please wait for it to refresh!]
“???” Qin Lin muttered. It was just a game—why be so meticulous? Why not let players fish endlessly? This really affected the gaming experience.
Seeing he couldn’t fish anymore, Qin Lin had his character put away the rod and bait. Then he slipped into the small restroom in his shop and quietly re-entered the game.
He arrived at the storage room, where a pond already held a school of fish swimming about. At the edge was an information board listing the fish count.
He had caught a total of 35 fish: fifteen wild crucian carp, and ten each of wild grass carp and wild bluefish.
Wild grass carp and bluefish fetched about 20 yuan per jin, as both were quite nutritious.
Moreover, these ten wild grass carp and ten wild bluefish each weighed over ten jin.
Wild grass carp and bluefish naturally grow larger, and it’s common to see specimens weighing over ten jin in the market.
Yet, fish exceeding twenty or thirty jin of these species are rare in modern times.
But when Qin Lin examined the details of these fish, four of them surprised him:
[Wild Crucian Carp: Quality 2 (12 jin)]
[Wild Crucian Carp: Quality 2 (11 jin)]
…
[Wild Bluefish: Quality 2 (25 jin)]
[Note: This is a pure wild bluefish, a big catch, completely uncontaminated by game production.
Benefits: Qi replenishment +2, spleen and stomach health +2, liver nourishment and improved vision +2, dampness clearing +2, malaria prevention +2, deliciousness +2, texture +2]
[Wild Grass Carp: Quality 2 (31 jin)]
[Note: This is a pure wild grass carp, a big catch, uncontaminated by game production.
Effects: Weak constitution and poor digestion -2, liver yang hyperactivity -2, hypertension -2, headache and tinnitus -2, deliciousness +2, texture +2!]
Looking at these four big catches, Qin Lin couldn’t help but be amazed.
These quality 2 wild fish met the standard for big catches: crucian carp over 10 jin, bluefish over 20 jin, and grass carp over 30 jin.
Such sizes could earn the title of “King Fish” in wild fishing competitions, and with the game’s quality 2 attribute bonuses, even those King Fish would pale in comparison.
In fact, if these four fish were sold, wealthy people with frail health or illness would gladly pay exorbitant prices.
Such prized fish are nearly impossible to acquire, even for the wealthy, as even ordinary large wild catches are rare.
Qin Lin checked the remaining 31 fish, all quality 1.
Wild fish differ greatly from farmed ones, making them easy to distinguish. Wild fish have slender bodies, while farmed fish are short, fat, and plump. Their coloration differs too—wild fish are lighter; farmed are darker. Their excrement smells vary as well—wild fish’s waste is less pungent, farmed fish’s is stronger.
Still, wild fish were few, so Qin Lin didn’t rush to sell them, especially those four big catches—he planned to keep them for his mother’s health.
At dusk, after the strawberries and okra ripened, Qin Lin moved the items from the game storage to real life and sent them again to Darun, earning 18,505 yuan from strawberries and 19,870 yuan from okra, bringing his account balance to 356,787 yuan.
After delivering the goods and returning to the shop to greet Wangcai, Qin Lin re-entered the game, hooked the 12-jin wild crucian carp, threaded a string through its gills, and brought it out.
This one was chosen to bring home to nourish his mother.
Back at home, Qin Lin said to Lin Fen, “Mom, look what this is—something to help you get stronger.”
“A crucian carp this big? Wild?” Lin Fen was genuinely surprised as she took the 12-jin fish. She knew her stuff and understood how expensive such large wild crucian carp were—they only grow about one jin every few years and are hard to come by even if you have the money.
Some lucky people who caught one themselves wouldn’t even want to eat it and would rather sell it for a good price.
A fish this size would easily fetch over 2,000 yuan.
Of course, she had no idea about the attribute bonuses this fish had.
She sighed, “Xiaolin, why are you so extravagant? I don’t need to eat such expensive things.”
“Don’t worry, Mom. I’ve been making good money wholesale lately. We can afford this now. I’ll prepare the fish—I want to try such a big wild crucian carp myself,” Qin Lin said as he carried the 12-jin fish into the kitchen.
Despite her complaints, Qin Lin felt warm inside.
When he was studying, his parents’ nagging annoyed him. Now that his father had passed, he could only miss that nagging. Having his mother’s care and concern now made him cherish it all the more.
“You!” Lin Fen could only follow him into the kitchen.
For Qin Lin, cleaning the fish was no trouble, and soon it was ready.
But with a 12-jin fish, mother and son obviously couldn’t finish it all, so they cooked half and stored the rest in the fridge.
They still had tofu at home, and Lin Fen’s specialty was crucian carp tofu soup. The milky broth from ordinary wild crucian carp was already delicious; with the game’s fish, boasting +2 to taste and texture, it would be even better.
Indeed, Qin Lin was not disappointed. After sipping a bit of the soup, his eyes lit up.
The flavor and texture were superb—far surpassing dishes made by chefs at five-star or international hotels, no matter how many seasonings they used.
“Hmm! The flavor of this fish is surprisingly good today,” Lin Fen said, amazed. She had eaten plenty of crucian carp but never tasted anything this delicious. Had her cooking improved?
After a bowl, she felt a faint warmth coursing through her blood vessels and meridians, making her feel much more comfortable.
She wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but she truly felt more relaxed and at ease.
Qin Lin also sensed a warm current after his bowl—a very real sensation. If he hadn’t known the fish had a +2 blood circulation and meridian-opening attribute, he might have thought he’d become a martial arts master with internal energy flowing inside.
Such rapid effects were as astonishing as the quality 2 okra.
This crucian carp soup was so satisfying that Qin Lin immediately served himself a second bowl.
Lin Fen picked some fish meat for Wangcai, who eagerly licked the fish bones afterward.
“By the way, Xiaolin, there’s something I need to tell you,” Lin Fen suddenly said. “You know Qin Ren is getting engaged. Your dad once borrowed 50,000 yuan from his family for medical bills. Now, for his engagement, he’s borrowing money from others again.”
“They know our situation and haven’t demanded repayment yet. Even though we don’t have the money now, we can’t pretend we don’t know.”
“Go to his house tonight and see if there’s anything you can help with, maybe run some errands.”
Qin Lin nodded, “Okay, I’ll go check on him later.”
Qin Ren was his childhood friend. They used to live in the same old house in the countryside. Qin Ren studied photography in college and now co-owns an advertising and wedding planning studio in You City. They take all sorts of jobs.
When Qin Lin’s father was ill, Qin Ren’s family didn’t hesitate to lend 50,000 yuan—that was the greatest kindness to their family.
Now that Qin Ren was engaged, Qin Lin planned to visit him in the evening and return the 50,000 yuan.
There were others who had lent money as well. Qin Lin knew that as soon as he was able, he needed to repay them promptly.
Loans are kindness received; repayment must not breed resentment.
He would find time to settle debts with all lenders.
...
(End of chapter)