Chapter 32: The Giant Squid

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

“Big business? How big is the business?” asked Chen Fan.

Before Yiteng Yun had the opportunity to answer, Yu Lin took the lead and asked, “Who do you think is the richest man in town?”

Without even thinking, Chen Fan said, “Of course it’s Ma Rongtao! This guy has been in the sea shipping industry for more than 20 years, owns at least seven ships with more than 10,000 tons of cargo and there were rumors spreading that his total assets have already exceeded two billion RMB five years ago.”

“Yes, it’s him!” Zhang Lele chattered like a sparrow, “Yesterday, when Ma Rongtao’s wife was preparing a stone fish at home, she accidentally pricked her arm with the stone fish’s needle-like spine and fainted on the spot due to extreme pain. By the time her daughter came back from school and found that she fainted in the kitchen, it was already the evening. When she was being admitted to the hospital, the doctor said that the toxin had stayed in her body for too long and her right arm needed to be amputated in order to save her.”

“Why do women love to eat stone fish?” Wang Bing rolled his eyes in annoyance.

“There are some who say that eating this fish beautifies the skin, but I have tasted it several times before and I’ve never seen a difference in my skin.”

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“You are only a soldier, how could you possibly know about this?”

Chen Fan said sarcastically, “What’s the best way to earn money these days? Of course, it’s by earning women’s money. Do you remember when we were kids? Nobody was willing to eat the ugly and poisonous stone fish. What about now? When the women heard that it was very effective in beauty and skin care, they wanted to eat it so badly! When we were young, these fish were sold for five RMB each and no one wanted to buy them, but now only a catty could cost more than four hundred RMB and there is still a high demand.”

“Well, don’t interrupt!” Chen Fan raised his hand to prevent Wang Bing from giving any more comments. “Zang Lele, go on!”

“Okay!” Zhang Lele cleared her throat. “Ma Rongtao, who rushed to the hospital, of course, didn’t agree with the idea of amputation, so he invited an old man from Beijing Union Hospital who is an expert on poisonous marine creatures. After a consultation session, the old man said that there was a method of treatment, but this method was way too difficult! All he could do now was ensure that the condition of the arm would not further deteriorate over the next week with the use of medicinal herbs. Within a week, a giant squid’s beak that is more than 10 years old must be obtained, ground into powder and applied to the wound in order to save her arm. Early in the morning, Ma Rongtao sent a man to announce to the fishermen that he will buy the giant squid that is more than 10 years old at a price of 20,000,000 RMB if somebody could get it within a week.”

Giant squid, being the largest Mollusca animal known in the world, were found to be 30 to 40 meters long. The only bone found in its body was its parrot beak-like mouth while the other parts of its body were soft and boneless.

Chen Fan’s mouth widened and said with exaggeration, “Two million RMB?”

“Yes, it is two million RMB. Now, even the fishermen in the nearby town know about it and all of them immediately went out to sea to look for the giant squid!” Yu Lin looked excited. “Boss, do you have a way to get it?”

Chen Fan frowned and said, “Giant squid… I had heard that a fisherman caught one using his fishing net about three years ago, but it was only a few meters long. An average adult giant squid can grow to more than 10 to 20 meters long and its minimum weight is about two or three tons. Since they only swim to shallow waters at night to hunt for food and spend their day sleeping at a depth of hundreds to thousands of meters, it’s very, very difficult to catch this creature. It’s not only difficult, it’s almost impossible!”

Yiteng Yun dampened the atmosphere and said, “Giant squids typically live in a depth at 500 to 2000 meters, so if you want to catch them at this depth, you will need a submarine with a torpedo launcher, otherwise there’s no other way. It’s true that they like to swim to the shallow waters to find food during nighttime, but the chance of finding them in the pitch dark, vast ocean is even less than winning a five million cash prize!”

Wang Bing looked at Chen Fan with doubt and said, “Do you have the ability to get the giant squid? I saw the boastful advertisement for your company saying that you are able to get anything from the sea as long it exists, is it really so?”

Chen Fan turned, sat on his chair, and folded his legs. “My business partners have been experts in fishing since their ancestor’s generation, so not only can I find the giant squid, even if a mermaid exists in the sea, I can get it!”

“Nah! Keep boasting!” Wang Bing turned around and sat on the sofa. “If you can get it, I… I will…”

“What will you do? Let’s make a bet,” Chen Fan said slyly. “If I can get the beak of the giant squid you will be my bodyguard for free for two months, deal?”

“Aha, it’s a nice day today.” Wang Bing looked out of the window and said to himself, “See the white clouds floating…and the sunshine, it is indeed beautiful scenery…”

Chen Fan was speechless.

“Boss, if you say that you are able to dive to a depth of 200 meters by using an oxygen tank, I believe you! There is a diving association called the ‘Kingdom of Liberty’ in the Netherlands and there are a bunch of divers who are more amazing than you.

Yu Lin stepped forward and said, “You said that you have ways to get the giant squid… I’m a little doubtful, it is like a phantom sea creature. Even if your business partner is equipped with a whale-hunting fork, you will still need to find it!”

“Why are you worrying so much? I have many ways to accomplish it. I even have contacts with fishermen in Vietnam and Malaysia!” Chen Fan stuck out his tongue. “Plus, it’s not an issue at all if we don’t get it, we just won’t get the 2,000,000 RMB.”

“Yeah! We just need to run the business for you. Why should I worry about other issues?” Yu Lin’s thoughts were simple. As long as he was being paid, even if Chen Fan took a giant squid’s beak out of his pocket, it was none of his business, wasn’t it?

“Vietnam? Malaysia?” Wang Bing stared at Chen Fan with a ‘you’re definitely boasting’ look.

“Cheh!” Chen Fan looked up at the ceiling, pretending not to notice him.

“Well, well, it’s none of our business to care how our boss does it. Even if he uses magic, it doesn’t matter to us, right?” Yiteng Yun had a similar way of thinking like Yu Lin. Although he didn’t know what hidden skill Chen Fan had, it was fine with him as long as he got his salary.

“Boss, we will be taking our leave now. It is already past 5:00 and if we don’t leave now, you will have to pay us overtime!” Zhang Lele said smiling.

Chen Fan nodded. “Okay, take your leave then.”

After waiting for them to leave, Wang Bing immediately came to him and said, “Boss… Let’s… take a bath in ‘Victoria’!”. It’s close by! When you’re at the entrance of our company, turn left, walk for about a kilometer and you reach a place called ‘Caiyi Street’. After you enter any of the motels there, you will find someone who will help you call a GRO. The price is relatively cheap, where the cheapest price is only 50 RMB per service!”

Chen Fan ignored him, got up and made a delivery call. “By the way, would you like me to order fast food for you before you go?”

“Haha, I’m not going because ensuring your safety is way more important!” Wang Bing licked his lips and said, “Boss, let’s go and eat abalone!”

Wang Bing’s wish was not fulfilled, and he ended up eating fast food that only cost 15 RMB. However, his appetite was huge, and he burped happily in front of Chen Fan after eating three sets.

“By the way, Boss, where shall we stay at tonight? We can’t stay here at the company. It doesn’t even have a decent bed!”

Chen Fan thought for a while and finally decided to invite him to sleep at his house for the night. “Let’s stay at my house for the night then. With you as my bodyguard, I will not be afraid if someone comes to seek revenge!” Although Wang Bing’s character was a little bit despicable, his superb fighting skills had left a deep impression in Chen Fan’s mind.

“Boss, how did you manage to blend into society?” When they walked out of the company’s main entrance, Wang Bing couldn’t help but complain. “Look at those successful people. They drive at least an Audi A6, and what about you? Still taking a cab.”

“I don’t have the money to buy a car and I don’t know how to drive even if I owned one,” he replied as he stopped a cab. “You can drive, right?”

“You are insulting my talent! There are no vehicles that I can’t drive except for a plane!”

“Damn, I’ve met someone who’s even more boastful than me!” Chen Fan muttered and got into the cab.

When they arrived home, Wang Bing began to comment on everything and was even more annoying than a fly. A little annoyed, Chen Fan said, “Erm.. originally I wanted to let you sleep in the guest room, but I think those gangsters are likely to attack tonight, so to be on the safe side, you should sleep on the sofa in the living room!”

After that, he left Wang Bing to his protests and walked into his room without looking back. “I finally understand the real reason why this guy was expelled from the army!” Chen Fan said to himself. He shook his head and shifted his mind to the electric eel avatar in the sea.