Reincarnated as a Fisherman and a Dad Chapter 43
"I'll buy this fish for 600 pesos per kilo."
"600 pesos per kilo!" Andres was shocked, and so were the others who watched the situation unfold.
"Karlos, that price means your tuna is sashimi-grade and sushi-grade. Also, that guy buys tuna here at least three times a week. He's a frequent buyer with deep pockets," Joseph informed him.
"Mister?"
"You can call me Mr. Sanchez. I took a liking to this fish, and I'm ready to offer 600 pesos per kilogram. Let's see, it says here this tuna is 327 kilograms. That means you can earn around 196,000 pesos in just one transaction. That's amazing, right?"
Someone gasped from the audience, although most of them weren't too shocked. In this fish port, that kind of transaction wasn't rare, especially with tuna. Big-money buyers often showed up, and locals had become accustomed to outrageous amounts being thrown around like pocket change. However, it further confirmed that Karlos was a lucky fisherman for catching a Bluefin tuna.
Karlos licked his lips. He was tempted to take the deal since the number alone made his heart pound and his palms sweaty. However, he was waiting for the foreigners to inspect his catch, hoping for a better deal because his gut told him the tuna he caught was far too valuable to sell in haste.
He looked around and found two foreigners and one local inspecting a tuna a few meters away with intense concentration, poking at the flesh and nodding at one another.
"I know that look. You're probably waiting for the foreigners to check your catch and offer a higher price. You are free to do that, but if their offer is smaller than mine, then you'll regret it because I won't take a tuna that's already been stabbed twice," Mr. Sanchez said.
"... I'm sorry, but I have to decline."
Karlos gritted his teeth and refused. Mr. Sanchez was disappointed. He glanced at the Bluefin tuna, which clearly had excellent quality. He worked in an import company that delivered high-quality sashimi-grade tuna to Sushi Country. His job was to find quality fish and earn commission from it.
600 pesos per kilogram was actually cheap because their company could sell it for seven times that price once it reached Sushi Country, where demand for premium tuna was insatiable and chefs were willing to pay fortunes just to slice the perfect sashimi. Even after subtracting importation expenses, the profit was still extravagant, and Mr. Sanchez was frustrated that his golden opportunity was slipping away.
"How about I buy it for 750 pesos?" Mr. Sanchez offered a higher price with a slightly forced smile, hiding the irritation building in his chest.
'Today is bad luck for me. Why did foreigners from Sushi Country have to visit this port? Now I can't find a proper tuna because of the competition.' Mr. Sanchez bitterly sighed.
The appearance of the foreigners prevented him from buying high-quality tuna that day. The one in front of him was the best he had found, and he didn't want to let it go without a fight because losing it meant losing not only commission but also face in front of the other buyers.
Karlos quickly computed the profit. If he sold the tuna for 750 pesos per kilo, he would earn about 245,000 pesos! That was nearly two months' worth of fishing compressed into a single glorious payday, the kind of windfall most small fishermen only dreamed about.
Even Andres and Joseph looked at Karlos, waiting for his response. Honestly, they felt the amount was already high, maybe even too good to refuse. Even Joseph, who handled about 50,000 pesos of revenue per trip, couldn't handle that amount without feeling dizzy just thinking about it.
However, Karlos decided to trust his instinct. He shook his head and apologized to Mr. Sanchez.
"I'm sorry, but I'm interested in selling the tuna to the foreigners."
"... Then don't regret it if they buy it for less." Mr. Sanchez moved on to the next tuna with a bitter taste in his mouth, grumbling silently that he had wasted his time.
No one else inspected Karlos's Bluefin tuna because they probably couldn't afford it, especially after he revealed that the last buyer had offered 750 pesos per kilo. The buyers scoffed at that price and didn't bother stabbing his tuna, since risking damage to something they couldn't afford was pointless. This kept the quality intact until the two Japanese buyers and a local man finally showed up.
The Japanese meticulously punctured the fish and checked its quality. They started talking in Japanese, and even the local man gave his opinion in fluent Japanese, which made Karlos narrow his eyes in curiosity.
Unbeknownst to them, Karlos could also understand and speak Japanese.
"This fish is high quality. I have no problem buying it for 15,000 yen per kilogram."
"You're right. My personal chef can make amazing sushi and sashimi with this meat. We can invite our business partners for a nice dinner."
"That's right, that's right." The two foreigners spoke without concern for their surroundings, completely oblivious that their every word was being understood.
"Mr. Geto, Mr. Satoru, how about I buy this tuna as a gift? Our business deal has been fruitful, and I feel bad not delivering any gift. Don't worry, the importation is on me. This fish will reach Sushi Country in just a day."
The local man spoke fluently in Japanese. He had black hair and blue eyes, and he was strikingly handsome with a polished presence that made him stand out in the crowded port.
"That will be great, I appreciate your hospitality."
The local man slightly bowed and looked around.
"Who's the man who caught this tuna? We are interested in buying it. How about 1,000 pesos per kilogram?" He switched to the local language and raised his voice.
"That's me," Karlos replied, stepping forward while feeling the weight of the crowd's curious stares.
The two foreigners watched their negotiation but didn't understand what was being said.
"You... Have we met before?" The man with black hair and blue eyes, Roman Alejandro, raised his brow slightly, looking at Karlos with faint recognition.
"I'm not sure," Karlos answered honestly.
Neither of them remembered the other. Roman had no reason to remember a fisherman, while Karlos had been too busy earning money to even notice Roman back when their paths unknowingly crossed.
"Anyway, I will buy this tuna for 1,000 pesos."
"Nope. If you convert 15,000 yen to pesos, it would be 6,600 pesos." The last time Karlos checked the yen-to-peso conversion was last week at the bank when they deposited money. It was 1 peso = 2.3 yen.
"Huh? Can you repeat what you said?" Roman was confused.
"I want to sell the tuna for 6,600 pesos. I heard your conversation earlier. They said they had no problem buying my tuna for 15,000 yen."
"Wait a minute, you can understand Japanese?"
"That's right. I can also speak it."
"... "
Roman was left speechless, as if his brain had short-circuited trying to process how a simple fisherman could not only catch top-tier tuna but also understand Japanese with ease.
'What the hell? Since when did fishermen know how to speak Japanese? Did they change the education curriculum or something while I wasn't paying attention?'