As a Fisherman, My Fish Can Level Up
Chapter 283 - Chapter 283 Chapter 238 Customer Poisoning

Chapter 283: Chapter 238 Customer Poisoning Chapter 283: Chapter 238 Customer Poisoning First, they got the old foreigner, who wouldn’t even let go of his fishing rod as his two boats sank, aboard the ship. Then Chu Mingcheng used a rope from the crane to secure the soon-to-be-sunken lure boat, preventing it from sinking further, before turning back to inquire about the situation of the two foreigners.

The two foreigners, one weather-beaten and the other young, turned out to be a father and son from Australia.

The older one was named Noah, and his son was named Leo.

In Australia, two-thirds of the ordinary folks don’t hold much prejudice.

And of that two-thirds, one-third is relatively friendly.

This is a lot better than in Treasure Island and Japan; typical Australians are enthusiastic, nosy, follow rules, and value fairness.

They don’t care about social status and are extremely caring towards vulnerable groups.

Chu Mingcheng was planning to go to Australia during the fishing off-season, so he had taken the time to learn about the country.

After being rescued, Noah was very grateful, especially since the lure boat was saved from sinking by the rope. He then invited Chu Mingcheng to visit his home.

Saving them was just Chu Mingcheng encountering something he could easily help with, so he politely said it was no big deal.

However, he couldn’t leave right away as he had to wait for the rescue boat, so he took the opportunity to learn some details about Australia from Noah, mainly about fishing and spearfishing precautions.

Noah had actually noticed the various boxes on the boat. After giving a general introduction about the situation in Australia, he asked with more interest, “Mingcheng, can I take a look at your catch? You know, I’m also a fishing enthusiast, but unfortunately, our boat sank today.”

“Of course you can, but if you’re such a fishing enthusiast, Noah, why do you go out to sea in a lure boat? Maybe you’d be better off with a small boat instead.”

While opening the boxes to show him his catch, Chu Mingcheng voiced his curiosity.

Since Noah spoke Chinese quite fluently, there was no problem at all in their communication.

Of course, he could also speak English, the main language in Australia, though it’s Australian English.

If Chu Mingcheng were to speak English, their conversation probably wouldn’t be as smooth as in Chinese.

Noah felt somewhat embarrassed by the question, “I usually use a lure boat for fishing too. I just thought that the weather was nice and the waves were small today, so I went a bit further out. I didn’t expect to sink.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he was stunned by what Chu Mingcheng caught.

The box was opened, and the abundant catch inside made him exclaim, “Oh~my God!”

Then, he noticed the wounds from the fish arrows on the fish and was even more amazed.

“Mingcheng, these wounds, do you fish with a spear?”

“Yeah, I really enjoy the sport of free-dive fishing,” Chu Mingcheng nodded in acknowledgment.

Hearing it was free diving, Noah immediately gave a thumbs-up, “Mingcheng, I think we can become good friends. I love fishing and diving.”

“In Australia, I even join my friends on some bounty tasks.”

“I think you’re a man of great adventurous spirit. If you come to Australia, maybe we could do some really interesting things together.”

Chu Mingcheng was curious about the ‘interesting things’ and bounty tasks that Noah mentioned, but before he could ask, the rescue boat arrived.

So he put his question aside for now; after all, they had exchanged numbers and he could always ask later.

Noah and Leo said goodbye to Chu Mingcheng and boarded the rescue boat.

The lure boat, still held by the crane, was handed over to the rescue boat, and Chu Mingcheng continued to sail, returning to the dock first.

Because rescuing Noah and his son took some time, the transport vehicle was already waiting at the dock.

As soon as his boat was moored, the driver skillfully came aboard to pack the seafood.

By the time everything was done, it was already dark; after all, it took four hours to return from the small island, and it was already half past four when they reached the dock.

After delivering the Rat Spot to Wei Jiaguo, Chu Mingcheng made use of his speechless expression to have his chef cook a bit more, and scrounged a free dinner.

Jiang Luoluo felt somewhat embarrassed, but with Chu Mingcheng being so thick-skinned, she had no choice but to follow along.

Wei Jiaguo didn’t mind the extra dinner; he was more interested in the Rat Spot and asked Chu Mingcheng to help move the fish into the aquarium.

The aquarium was only half filled with water, but there was also seawater in the fish box.

Wei Jiaguo temporarily scooped the Rat Spot out, Chu Mingcheng poured the seawater from the fish box into the aquarium, and then he placed the Rat Spot into it.

After taking a short video with his mobile phone, he shared it on his social circle.

‘Caught a bucket today, and the bucket brought me a Rat Spot.’

Oh, right, he didn’t forget to specifically block Chu Mingcheng from seeing the post, but he forgot about Jiang Luoluo.

When Jiang Luoluo handed the phone to Chu Mingcheng with a snicker, he looked completely baffled (black_question_mark.jpg)

“I’ve become a bucket?”

“I don’t know, maybe Grandpa caught a bucket today…”

Jiang Luoluo shrugged, barely holding back her laughter; after all, Wei Jiaguo was right beside the aquarium, and laughing too loudly would be overheard.

Chu Mingcheng just spread his hands; he had a rough idea of Wei Jiaguo’s character after unintentionally hearing his braggadocio about the Weasel Shark.

After having dinner, the three of them sat on the living room sofa to rest.

Chu Mingcheng thought of the Jadeized Tridacna shell he found underwater and asked, “Grandpa, while I was diving yesterday, I found the back shell of a Conch.”

“The inside is as white as jade, quite beautiful. So, I wanted to ask if I can bring it back. Will there be any trouble?”

At that, Wei Jiaguo was startled, his first thought being, this guy stumbled upon another treasure?

Returning to his senses and seeing his desire for knowledge, he began to explain, “The inside is the same as white jade, that should be Jadeized Tridacna, and it can be mined.”

“In our country, only the living Tridacna is protected. Mining Tridacna fossils and conch shells doesn’t pose any problem.”

“If it were an ordinary Tridacna conch shell, I wouldn’t recommend you take it back. If someone who holds a grudge against you reports it, you could be in some trouble.”

“But there is no issue with Jadeized Tridacna conch shells, you just go ahead and bring them back. I’m quite interested in those, how about selling them to me later?”

Wei Jiaguo had an old friend who was a master sculptor, perfect for carving the Jadeized Tridacna, which would then become a rare and precious collectible in his home.

But what he didn’t know was that Chu Mingcheng had thought of this as well.

He even considered the background decoration for Jiang Luoluo’s underwater dance. After the carving of the huge Jadeized Tridacna, wouldn’t it be perfect as a backdrop?

So he tactfully declined and explained the situation with Jiang Luoluo’s underwater dance.

Wei Jiaguo understood after hearing the explanation and was not angered by the refusal. The fun-loving man in his fifties wouldn’t let his feelings get the best of him.

Chu Mingcheng and Jiang Luoluo left the villa, and it was already past eight o’clock in the evening.

“Ah Cheng, are you planning to buy a large house with an indoor swimming pool?”

“Eh, how did you know?”

“When you mentioned using the conch shell as a backdrop, I guessed it. With your personality, you wouldn’t place something in a swimming pool at a rented club.”

Chu Mingcheng nodded and smiled, “You really understand me.”

“I think considering our current income, buying a smaller villa shouldn’t take too long.”

“You really are willing to…” Jiang Luoluo didn’t know quite what to say, after all, Chu Mingcheng was considering her in his plans.

“What’s there to be willing or not, since we plan to settle down in Xia City, we’ll definitely need to buy a house. Since we need a swimming pool, might as well buy one that’s suitable directly.”

Chu Mingcheng didn’t necessarily insist on buying a villa, but if there was a need for an indoor swimming pool, apartment buildings were definitely not suitable.

Rural self-built houses could work, but there could be various problems in case of expropriation, and he hated trouble; it was better to aim for villas from the start.

The night passed quietly, and Chu Mingcheng did not go out to sea the next day.

Since it was raining and the wind was strong, he simply rested at home for the day.

Jiang Luoluo was not idle; she began choreographing a new dance video in the dance studio.

Until that evening, when Chu Mingcheng received a call that made his scalp tingle.

A Grouper fish he had sold to a restaurant owner was found to contain ciguatoxin poison. After eating it, a customer had fallen ill and was hospitalized.

Following treatments like induced vomiting and gastric lavage, the patient finally began to improve.

But full recovery would take 2 to 3 weeks, and various complications might occur in the meantime.

The patient’s family demanded that the restaurant owner pay for the medical expenses and also wanted two hundred thousand in compensation.

Chu Mingcheng’s heart sank, as the primary responsibility was his.

The restaurant owner, a decent person, did not call to declare blame but instead discussed with Chu Mingcheng how to solve the problem.

The situation was such that he indeed shared some of the responsibility.

The customers ate live fish that day, and they were aware of the risk of ciguatera poisoning in coral fish. Normally, the fish should be raised for a period before consumption.

But the fish had just arrived, and they were sold right away in the restaurant, which unfortunately led to this incident.

However, it wasn’t just bad luck; thankfully, only one person fell ill, not the whole group who ate together.

Considering that those who dine at restaurants are rarely alone, the others who were checked shown few issues.

The restaurant owner explained that the customer was poisoned primarily because he ate the head and the innards of the fish, while others only consumed the flesh.

Chu Mingcheng breathed a sigh of relief, glad that it was only one person and that they had been successfully treated.

He then asked the restaurant owner to wait for him to come over to deal with the issue and to notify the other four owners to test the fish for ciguatoxin at his expense.

If it was present, he would treat it as a return, and they should physically dispose of the fish.

The restaurant owner immediately agreed and quickly notified the other owners.

Chu Mingcheng stared at the disconnected phone, feeling annoyed and thinking he had been careless.

Testing for ciguatera poison is troublesome, and he couldn’t afford to handle coral fish for the time being.

Coral fish in March and April are most likely to contain ciguatera poison, a toxin that accumulates over time but is harmless to the fish.

Fortunately, the person involved was not seriously harmed this time, and he would only be liable for medical expenses and compensation at most.

If the person had died, it would have been a real disaster and a significant blow to his business.

“Ah Cheng, what happened?” Jiang Luoluo had noticed his uneasy expression and immediately asked when he hung up the phone.

“I sold a fish that had ciguatera toxin, and a customer had to be rushed to the hospital. The person is fine, but their family wants two hundred thousand in compensation, and the restaurant owner called to discuss how to resolve the issue.”

“I plan to go to Wen City tomorrow. Whatever I need to compensate for, I’ll do it; whatever requires an apology, I’ll apologize for.”

When it came to his own responsibilities, Chu Mingcheng wouldn’t shy away from them.

Two hundred thousand was not a small sum, but the effect of ciguatoxin depends on the person’s constitution; there could potentially be lingering effects.

If the other party filed a lawsuit, there was a decent chance he might have to compensate around two hundred thousand. Therefore, if the other party was willing to settle for that amount, he would be willing to pay.