065 Fish Maw for Nourishment

The fish sold for an excellent price, and both Chen Jue and the proprietor of the guesthouse were quite pleased. They laughed and chatted as they climbed into the car.

“Uncle, I have to thank you for the introduction and for bargaining with the owner. If I’d gone alone as an outsider, I would surely have been taken advantage of. I’ll transfer twenty thousand yuan to you later, as a token of gratitude for the help you and Auntie gave me,” Chen Jue said.

Earning more than a hundred thousand in a single morning—he would have had to work hard for two years to save that much in the past. Now, with a simple sweep of his hand beneath the sea, he’d gathered it in an instant.

Though he owed this transformation to the attribute panel, Chen Jue still felt the money had come too easily and wanted to reward the guesthouse owner. After all, without his help in raising the price, the big yellow croaker would never have fetched over a hundred thousand; at best, it would have been taken by the fishmonger for eighty or ninety thousand.

“Twenty thousand?” the uncle exclaimed. “No, no, that’s far too much! I wouldn't even take a few thousand—it was just a small favor. Besides, you’ve already booked a room in my house for so many days. It wouldn’t be right to take more money from you.” The guesthouse uncle was a straightforward man, shaking his head vigorously and refusing at once.

“Then how about this, Uncle,” Chen Jue replied, “I like the scenery here and plan to stay another half month. Let’s keep the room rate at eight hundred a night, as before. How does that sound?” He guessed the uncle wouldn’t accept any payment and decided to offer a gesture of goodwill instead. After all, someone running a guesthouse would surely welcome a long-term guest.

“Well… alright, alright! Just stay as long as you like. If you don’t feel like going out to eat, you’re welcome to join us for meals. Cooking for one can be a hassle. Your aunt is a fine cook, especially with seafood—her dishes are as good as any restaurant’s, and other guests always praise them.” The uncle, recognizing Chen Jue’s intent to repay the favor, agreed and invited him to dine together.

“Great! I’ll definitely try Auntie’s cooking. But I have a big appetite, so I’ll pay for the groceries myself,” Chen Jue replied with a cheerful smile, appreciating the uncle’s character.

Had his own father not passed away, he would likely be about the same age as this uncle—fifty or so. The help the uncle had given him made Chen Jue feel a particular sense of kinship.

Since they’d left in a rush that morning, neither had eaten breakfast. The uncle drove Chen Jue to what he claimed was the best seafood noodle shop in the county to fill their stomachs.

The signature seafood noodles were indeed much tastier than the rice noodles Chen Jue had tried elsewhere.

Sure enough, it took a local to know where the best places to eat were.

After breakfast, they drove back. Along the way, Chen Jue chatted more with Uncle Yu, learning that the couple spent their days tending to several villas, hosting guests. They also had a son and a daughter, both older than Chen Jue by a few years.

The daughter had gone to university and married in Wenshi; the son had inherited the uncle’s old trade, venturing out to sea for deep-sea fishing.

With five in the family, their income was substantial—they’d bought homes for their children in the county, bought a fishing boat for the son, and built those impressive guesthouse villas. They were undoubtedly the local elite.

As for the twenty thousand Chen Jue had mentioned, to them it was merely a few days’ worth of peak-season room fees—not surprising they didn’t care to accept it.

They clearly weren’t short on money.

…

Back at the guesthouse, Chen Jue told Auntie about the successful sale of the fish; she was so delighted she couldn’t stop smiling. Even though the giant croaker wasn’t caught by their family, it was caught by a guest staying in their home—a stroke of luck that would serve well in conversations with villagers and future guests.

Auntie was equally enthusiastic about Chen Jue joining them for meals, saying he only needed to give advance notice and she’d have food ready. Other guests often did the same, and anyone running a guesthouse or farmhouse knew how to cook well.

It would save Chen Jue considerable effort—not needing to take a taxi to the county for meals every day.

After paying for another half-month’s stay, Chen Jue returned to his villa for a rest.

Reflecting on the morning’s events, he couldn’t help but laugh. He checked his mobile banking app and found that, for his cultivation, money came and went swiftly. The proceeds from selling the fish hadn’t even warmed his pocket before over twenty thousand was already spent.

With the newly bought fish maw in hand, he entered the kitchen, washed the clay pot he’d used for herbal medicine the previous day, and looked up a recipe for stewing fish maw online. He learned that the fish maw needed to be soaked before cooking, so he boiled some water and followed the instructions.

As the soaking process would take an hour, Chen Jue headed to his room to work out with dumbbells, practicing the Thirteen Guardians’ Iron Body technique.

That morning, he’d only practiced Tai Chi and stance training underwater for ten minutes, so he still had plenty of energy and didn’t feel tired as he continued.

He spent the morning in high spirits, improving his skill count and strength attributes. As the fish maw finished stewing, he glanced at his ample free attributes and decided to level up the Thirteen Guardians’ Iron Body technique to Lv2.

At level two, the technique’s siphoning effect was just as intense. After a morning spent training, Chen Jue felt his muscles trembling all over and even his bones creaking.

He threw two powerful punches in his room to vent the surge of energy, then ran to scoop up a large bowl of fish maw and swallowed it.

The stew contained longan, lotus seeds, rock sugar—things highly nourishing. But making it for the first time, Chen Jue found it had a faint fishy taste; he pinched his nose and ate it anyway.

His stomach churned violently, speeding up the digestion of the fish maw’s nutrients. Only after finishing over a pound of fish maw did he finally stop.

Checking his attribute panel, his constitution had increased by 0.08, agility by 0.03, and strength by as much as 0.1!

Compared to the Palm-Striking technique, the Thirteen Guardians’ Iron Body was clearly more effective for muscle growth and boosting strength. The jump from level one to two had yielded such significant gains that Chen Jue started looking forward to the technique’s future improvements.

“Should be even more impressive than the Palm-Striking technique when it reaches perfection,” Chen Jue mused, recalling his previous experiences. Feeling content, he went to the bathroom to brush his teeth, ridding himself of the fishy taste left in his mouth.

Though fish maw was nourishing, if not prepared properly, it could be overwhelmingly fishy.

Chen Jue felt the online tutorials were unreliable—the pictures looked good, but who knew how they tasted in reality? Even video guides were the same; the food always looked vibrant, but whether it was delicious only the food blogger on camera knew.

After all, you couldn’t smell the aromas through the screen.

Especially those obsessed with restaurant-hopping—he suspected that even if they ate something truly awful, they’d force themselves to say “delicious!” on camera; otherwise, they’d never leave the place alive.