Chapter 189 - 133: A School of Groupers Arrives, A Bustling Seafood Market (Part 2)

Chapter 189: Chapter 133: A School of Groupers Arrives, A Bustling Seafood Market (Part 2)

After sorting things out, he went back to the fish tank and picked out four of the smaller tiger head crabs, though they still weighed over half a pound each.

He also selected a few of the smaller Clam Kings, eight in total.

He also picked out some yellow clams to make soup for lunch.

"Yi Chen, no need to buy groceries for lunch. We’ll eat these," Gu Nan said, placing everything in a basket.

"Okay, how should we cook them?" Yi Chen saw the shop’s daily revenue, so she didn’t think much of Gu Nan splurging a little on their own stock.

"We’ll do the Clam Kings with scallion oil, make a soup with the clams, and just steam the crabs. I hear Steamed tiger head crabs are delicious."

Today’s dishes were all simple to make. Yi Chen nodded, but unlike usual, she didn’t wait until ten o’clock to start preparing the ingredients.

Just then, a middle-aged woman carrying a small bag walked by, glancing at the nearby seafood shops. She was clearly looking to buy some seafood that caught her eye.

However, as she passed the Fengnan Seafood Shop, she suddenly noticed what seemed to be a very familiar figure inside.

She quickly took a few steps closer. When she got a clear look at the person inside, she said in surprise, "Chenchen?"

Yi Chen, who had been talking with Gu Nan, jolted at the familiar voice. The smile on her face instantly vanished, replaced by a cold expression.

She looked at the person standing at the entrance, gave a slight nod, and called out expressionlessly, "Aunt Qiao."

Qiao Xiuxian walked into the shop and looked over at Gu Nan standing next to her. Seeing how young and handsome he was, she seemed to get the wrong idea and hesitated slightly. "You two are..."

"I work here. This is my boss!" Yi Chen’s brow furrowed. She immediately understood what her stepmother was implying and replied in a cold voice.

However, though she seemed cold, she wasn’t actually pushing her away completely.

Gu Nan wasn’t dense. He had already sensed something from Yi Chen’s sudden change in demeanor. Still, he smiled and nodded at the middle-aged woman before him as a simple greeting.

"I’ll let you two talk."

After saying that, he tactfully stepped away and sat down by the counter.

Although he was curious about the visitor’s identity, Gu Nan knew this wasn’t the time for him to butt in.

Seeing him leave, Qiao Xiuxian finally lowered her voice. "Chenchen, why are you working in a seafood shop?"

Although Yi Chen said Gu Nan was just her boss, Qiao Xiuxian didn’t really believe it. When a handsome man and a beautiful woman spend time together, something is bound to happen eventually, even if they’re already in relationships.

But this wasn’t her biological daughter, and she hadn’t raised her. There were some things she couldn’t very well ask.

"The pay is decent, and the boss is nice." Yi Chen clearly didn’t want to discuss this and changed the subject after her brief reply. "What would you like to buy? The seafood here is all very good, and the prices are quite reasonable. I can give you a discount."

Qiao Xiuxian felt a pang of helplessness. After she had married into the family, it wasn’t that she hadn’t tried to show concern for her husband’s daughter. But the girl had been rebellious and unappreciative, assuming Qiao Xiuxian was the reason her parents had divorced. Yi Chen was young back then, and Qiao Xiuxian had figured she would eventually grow up and understand. Unfortunately, her husband had no patience for his daughter. After he disciplined the girl a few times for being disobedient, her grandparents had felt sorry for her and taken her away, leaving Qiao Xiuxian caught in the middle. Now their relationship was strained, making her a mother in name only. There was nothing she could do at the moment; she could only wait for her husband to get home from work that night to bring it up.

Since that was the case, she decided to just browse the shop.

A quick glance revealed a lot of seafood she didn’t recognize. After asking about a few items, she heard that a pound cost at least a hundred yuan, with more expensive ones going for two or three hundred.

The fish looked quite large, too. A single one would probably cost several hundred yuan.

Qiao Xiuxian’s expression stiffened. Given her family’s financial situation, spending several hundred or even a thousand yuan on a single dish was clearly unrealistic.

Yi Chen knew her family’s financial situation, so she took the initiative to grab a pre-packaged fillet of hake. "How about this? It’s hake imported from Australia. It’s more nutritious and tastes even better than true cod, and you just have to steam it."

"How much is this?" Hearing it was imported from Australia, Qiao Xiuxian looked hesitant.

"Seventy a pound..." Yi Chen took it over to the scale. "A little over half a pound... just forty yuan will be fine."

Hearing it was only forty yuan, Qiao Xiuxian breathed an inward sigh of relief. That was a price she could easily accept.

A normal day’s grocery bill could be seventy to eighty yuan, sometimes even over a hundred. This fillet was more than half a pound, which wasn’t a small amount.

Qiao Xiuxian paid, exchanged a few polite words with Gu Nan, and finally turned back to Yi Chen. "Chenchen, come home for dinner when you have time. I’ll make you something delicious. Your two little sisters are always talking about you!"

"I know." Yi Chen neither refused nor explicitly agreed. After watching her leave, she grew very silent.

Gu Nan could tell something was off. He stood up, led her over to the counter to sit down, and asked gently, "What’s wrong? You look like this just from seeing an acquaintance?"

Yi Chen pursed her lips, looked up at him, and said in a low voice, "She’s my stepmom."

Gu Nan had actually suspected as much from the woman’s demeanor. A regular "aunt" wouldn’t act like that.

So, he wasn’t surprised to hear it.

"Is she the reason you live with your grandma?"

Yi Chen nodded, then shook her head, which only confused him. Fortunately, she explained right after.

"My stepmom’s actually a pretty good person, and I get along well with my two little sisters. I was just worried my grandma would be lonely, so I moved in with her."