Chapter Sixty-Nine: Planning to Do Business
After confirming her feelings, Xin Li began to think about her future with He Mingzhou.
She originally came to the island with the intention of having a vacation, but this typhoon changed Xinli's mind.
He Mingzhou is the instructor here, and he certainly wouldn't want to leave to develop elsewhere.
Therefore, Xinli will spend a long time on the island in the future.
It's unrealistic to just sit around and live off our savings, so Xinli needs to plan what she'll do after the typhoon passes.
For this reason, Xin Li specifically consulted Zhang Jinhua.
"They say people live off the land and water, and if we're talking about what our little island has to offer, it's seafood."
“There is so much seafood every year, sometimes in such large quantities that every household gets sick of eating it.”
Xin Li's eyes lit up.
"Has anyone thought about selling these things?"
Zhang Jinhua exclaimed, "How could I not have thought of that?"
"But it's not worth it."
"Seafood is most plentiful in the summer, so we can eat fresh seafood here, but do you know how long it takes to transport it out?"
"By the time we manage to get the seafood ashore, it will probably be spoiled. We don't know how much we'll earn, and if someone gets sick from eating it, we can't afford to compensate them."
"The island is really far from other places. It takes a long time to travel by sea, let alone by land."
Xin Li thought about the shelf life of the crabs she had caught last time, which was indeed a headache.
Especially since there was no cold chain in those days, refrigerators were a rare commodity, and you might not be able to find more than a few in the whole country.
In an era where seafood preparation methods are still quite limited, even if seafood can be successfully sold, people who have tried it once are unlikely to eat it a second time.
In places like Shanghai, where there are many wealthy people, there might be a demand for seafood.
But it's too far from here to Shanghai. Even if the seafood doesn't spoil, it definitely won't be fresh. Once the taste is affected, I'm afraid no one will buy it anymore.
If long-term cooperation cannot be achieved, then the path of making money through seafood exports will collapse midway.
"Why are you asking these questions?" Zhang Jinhua looked at Xinli with suspicion, then, as if realizing something, asked nervously, "Xinxin, you're not planning to do this, are you?"
No, no, no.
Zhang Jinhua shook his head violently.
Xin Li was puzzled by Zhang Jinhua's attitude and asked with a puzzled look, "What's wrong? Did someone do this before?"
"yes!"
Zhang Jinhua said earnestly, "It's a pity we lost everything."
"He still has connections. He's made arrangements with people in the city. He's only responsible for buying the seafood. They'll send someone to collect it, and there's no need to worry about transportation or anything else."
"As a result, the first batch of seafood was all spoiled when it was delivered, and the other party demanded compensation from him."
“Where would he get so much money to pay compensation? He almost committed suicide. Fortunately, his family managed to scrape together the money to cover the loss. After that, he fell ill and spent a few years in bed. He died because he was frustrated and unsuccessful.”
"My family was heartbroken, but there was nothing they could do."
"Isn't he only responsible for buying seafood? As long as he ensures that the seafood he sells is fresh, isn't that enough? He's not the one who should bear the responsibility."
"But who can say for sure when the seafood will spoil?"
Zhang Jinhua said, "It was the first time anyone had done this, and he was even more inexperienced. He blindly trusted others and ended up losing everything."
"Xinxin, listen to me, seafood is indeed difficult to export, please don't make a mistake."
Just as Xin Li was about to nod, she suddenly remembered something and grabbed Zhang Jinhua's arm, asking, "Is seafood safe as long as the preservation problem can be solved?"
Zhang Jinhua didn't understand why Xinli asked that question. Seeing how stubborn she was, Zhang Jinhua became more serious: "Of course, isn't the point of this kind of thing to be fresh? You can't taste the flavor if you don't eat it fresh."
Xin Li thought to herself that there would be far more ways to eat seafood in future generations than there are now.
Currently, humans have explored less than one percent of the potential of seafood.
"If this problem can be solved, seafood will definitely become one of the best-selling products."
Zhang Jinhua nodded and continued to persuade him earnestly, "But that's precisely the problem that can't be solved."
"Xinxin, listen to me. You must not repeat the same mistake that has already been made before."
“Xiao He receives a good amount of money every month, so you two don’t need to spend much. Just be a little frugal with your food and other necessities, and you won’t be struggling financially after having a baby.”
"Moreover, there are so many people on the island, so everyone can help each other out and life won't be too difficult."
"Don't overthink it."
Xinli nodded obediently.
She knew that Zhang Jinhua was genuinely worried about her, fearing that she might lose everything if she went all in.
Xin Li didn't explain much, since she hadn't yet tested how long the space could keep food fresh.
She needs to figure everything out before deciding whether or not to take this path.
So it's best not to say it out loud and make people worry.
"It's good that you can understand. Our island's geographical location is really bad. I'm afraid we can only develop when both water and land transportation are accessible. That would be a great achievement, but it probably won't happen in the next few years."
"Making our own lives better is the most important thing."
Everything will be alright.
Xinli nodded: "I understand."
Zhang Jinhua breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Xin Li had truly given up the idea.
"Then I'll go back and cook. You can come over for dinner later, don't be shy."
These days, Zhang Jinhua and the other sisters-in-law are cooking communal meals. Since Xinli is alone at home, she sometimes goes to help out when she's bored, and also gets a free meal there.
Since all the food was provided by her, Xin Li felt no guilt whatsoever about mooching off her.
With everyone on the island working together, life basically returned to normal a week after the typhoon passed.
Xinli distributed the last batch of grain, which was well received by everyone.
Some people said they would buy a banner for Xinli when they go to the market next time.
The others said that it was no problem, and soon a handmade brocade banner was delivered to Xinli.
"Aren't you all being too polite?"
Looking at the bright red banner, Xin Li actually felt a little shy.
She distributed the food without expecting anything in return, but to her surprise, everyone not only remembered it but also showed their gratitude through their actions.
Xin Li felt as if she had truly become a savior.
A subtle sense of responsibility enveloped her heart.
She couldn't help but start thinking about selling seafood again.
Most of the people on this island are good people, and they deserve a better life.
We shouldn't be trapped here on this small island, isolated from the world.
The children on the island should also have a better education so that they can serve the country and become pillars of the nation in the future.
With this thought in mind, Xinli mentioned it to He Mingzhou on the very night he returned.
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