Chapter 129 of "New Urban Farmers" (10082): The Miser Xiao Gangben (Two Chapters Completed)
"Wow, that's amazing dancing!" someone shouted. Immediately, a roar of voices erupted from the crowd. Xiao Gangben and Huang Anguo were chatting about the third son of the Huang family when they heard the cheers from the other side—cheers filled with surprise, envy, and disbelief!
But Zhang Guodong caught his eighth fish. A carp weighing over five pounds! This achievement stunned many people. Eight fish in one night? And all within two hours!
Except for the first one, which weighed a little over half a pound, the other seven never weighed less than two pounds.
However, Zhang Guodong himself was a little disappointed. Among the eight fish were grass carp, gudgeon, crucian carp, and common carp, but none of the rare fish that his sister-in-law had mentioned, such as bighead carp or certain bream.
It's funny to think that rare fish are so easy to encounter.
What my sister-in-law was talking about was from her childhood memories and past oral accounts. For example, the large-gilled fish and the good fish mentioned in her words were national protected animals. The large-gilled fish, of course, needs no introduction; it is also known as the giant salamander, a national second-class protected animal. Because its cry sounds like a baby's cry, everyone has a deep impression of it.
Fish is a large system comprising many species, the most famous being the Chinese paddlefish. The Chinese paddlefish is a Class I protected animal in China and one of the world's most primitive fish, often called a "living fossil." It has a history of 140 million years, but is now endangered or already extinct. Finding wild Chinese paddlefish in the Yangtze River system is virtually impossible! Some even suspect that wild Chinese paddlefish have already become extinct in river systems. Other fish have limited geographical distribution areas, resulting in extremely small overall populations.
My sister-in-law also said that in the past, people had caught large-gill fish, which looked like wild Chinese fish, in this little river. However, this is just a local oral tradition, and even if they did, they ended up in people's stomachs.
Zhang Guodong somewhat believed this.
The most precious thing about this river is that its source in the mountains is free from human intervention. Moreover, this mountain range, which the locals call the Dinosaur Mountains, is closely related to the dinosaur fossil site. The trees and other vegetation there are very primitive and well-preserved, so it is entirely possible that some extremely rare species could be found there.
Besides, is Zhang Guodong really that arrogant?
That's not the case!
It seems incredible to outsiders that he can catch eight fish in two hours, but Zhang Guodong has some idea that it might be related to himself.
Let's recall again the way Dahei and Erhei's mother looked when she died, her droopy head facing Daqing, Erqing, Sanqing, and Siqing. When Siqing was still a little one, she ran out of her den and wouldn't let go of Zhang Guodong's trouser leg. Then there was Laoqing, who circled around Zhang Guodong and surprisingly didn't attack him. This continued until the arrival of Da Sha and his wife...
These are all closely related to the existence of Peach Blossom Spring.
These animals can sense the fluctuations in the aura of spiritual energy sources.
They have a huge advantage over humans in sensing spiritual energy!
It could be said that they were attracted by this source of spiritual energy.
Now, Zhang Guodong's boxing technique has undergone a mutation and breakthrough. When his flesh and blood vibrate and strengthen, he can integrate the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. He himself has become a source of spiritual energy, constantly emitting faint fluctuations of spiritual energy, which is vastly different from ordinary people.
It's only natural that the fish are now chasing after him and taking the bait.
Lacking anticipation and enjoyment, Zhang Guodong felt helpless but also had a new desire: he hoped to encounter some precious things, such as cannons or Chinese armor.
However, this idea seems a bit wishful thinking at the moment.
These animals are so rare! He can encounter them just by catching a fish? It seems that his own spiritual energy fluctuations are not strong enough to affect an area of several kilometers, causing many fish to follow him.
The bucket was already full of eight fish, which stunned Zhang Guodong and a group of people.
The waiter came up again and asked Zhang Guodong if he wanted to sell these fish. Eight fish weighed more than 20 jin (10 kg)! Enough for a small restaurant's signature dish for a day.
Their eyes were bloodshot, as if they were spitting fire, and their breathing became heavy; even Zhang Guodong could feel it. In their eyes, this was a treasure, a source of wealth!
"Oh no!" Bu Gangben'er immediately realized something was wrong when he saw the situation over there.
"Brother Huang, wait a moment, I'll be right back." Xiao Gangben was immediately tempted when he saw that there were eight wild fish for sale.
He wouldn't bother buying just one or two fish normally, but buying more would be worthwhile! Besides, wild fish are much cheaper here.
Huang Anguo frowned, somewhat annoyed. This kid says he's still alive and busy doing business? A miser is a miser! Then he drank by himself. Anyway, someone else is paying for this meal!
Soon, Xiao Gangben arrived at Zhang Guodong's side.
"Brother, are you selling this fish? Sell it to me! The price is negotiable!" Ignoring the waiter's annoyance, Xiao Gangben walked over to Zhang Guodong and said with a smile.
I thought to myself, the fish caught by the customers here aren't just yours to decide who pays the highest price!
I never expected that coming here would come with an extra discount, and I could even make a profit by picking up some wild fish and cooking them!
"Hey, what are you doing? Are you trying to steal our business?" the waiter said angrily.
That miser from the same village is a real scoundrel! How dare he try to steal our business? Anyone would be furious. And now, the food we were about to get is in jeopardy!
When Xiao Gangben heard the other person call him by his nickname, he immediately became angry and his face darkened. He only allowed his elders to call him by his nickname; anyone else who did would make him furious!
“You think you can just call it ‘original’? Go back and ask your father. There are different sizes of cannonballs, one for each type of steel,” Bu Gang said. “Besides, in this business, whoever pays the highest price gets it. What’s this about fighting over it? Do you think your family wants to monopolize the business?”
"You!" The waiter glared at him, speechless with anger.
Zhang Guodong hadn't decided whether to sell the fish and continue fishing, or wait a while. The two started arguing. They were actually arguing about his fish?
However, he doesn't care if it doesn't concern him. In business, the higher the price, the happier he is.
Zhang Guodong said, "Whoever offers the highest price wins. Let me know when you've decided." Then he carried his bucket over to spot number eighteen, sat down, and continued fishing with his older brother and sister-in-law, a smile playing on his lips.
The eldest brother only caught one fish, while the sister-in-law didn't catch any, and he himself had already caught eight fish, a huge difference.
But Zhang Guodong was thinking about something else at the moment. Xiao Gangben? This person was actually so enthusiastic about inquiring about his family situation? Was that Huang Anquan's second brother sitting at that table?
During their conversation, Zhang Guodong learned that Huang Anquan's second brother was very dissatisfied with the Da family!
"Do you recognize that little steel notebook, sister-in-law?" Zhang Guodong asked, a thought suddenly occurring to him.
The older sister-in-law gave him a questioning look and nodded, saying, "That guy, known as a miser, everyone in the village knows him. He's annoying, greedy for money. He won't even spend a penny on his own family. So what if he's a miser?"
"Haha, I don't really feel anything special, this guy's just interesting. By the way, what does he do?" Zhang Guodong said with a laugh.
"He runs a small restaurant there, and I heard business is pretty good," the older sister-in-law said. "We never see him come back to the village usually. It's strange that he's here at the night market today."
Zhang Guodong thought to himself, "That's strange, but they're really interested in your family and my family's situation!"
Was it Huang Shuli who assigned it? Zhang Guodong wondered. But how could he possibly know anything from Huang's second son? He was puzzled.
After a while, the argument stopped, and Xiao Gangben walked triumphantly toward Zhang Guodong. He said, "We won! We increased the price by an average of twenty yuan per pound based on different types of fish!"
This barbecue stall isn't competing with them anymore. For them, it's not worth raising the price so high when they can usually buy fish for cheaper prices here!
"Young man, how about increasing the price by twenty yuan per jin (500g)?" Gangben said obsequiously as he approached. "I'll buy as many fish as you have!"
Wow, that sounds like a lot of breathing.
Zhang Guodong's eyes lit up, and he immediately nodded and said, "Okay, let's weigh it right away!"
"Alright!" Little Steel was delighted.
After weighing the fish, they were found to be worth 1,520 yuan! Xiao Gangben readily paid the full amount, but Zhang Guodong noticed a slight twitch at the corner of Xiao Gangben's mouth, a hint of pain in his eyes.
Zhang Guodong was in a good mood after receiving the money and decided to continue fishing for a while.
It's still early before bedtime, so I can fish for a while. At least I can have some fun fishing. I can't go empty-handed, right?
However, the older brother still made sixty yuan from the fish, so at least he got something.
"What's your name, young man?" Xiao Wangben asked, stopping Zhang Guodong as he was about to leave. "Judging by your earnings, you must make two or three thousand a night, right? Tens of thousands a month, young man. How about we team up?"
Zhang Guodong feigned interest and said, "You can catch fish every day? That must be difficult. How can we cooperate?"
"Shall we sit down and chat? I really admire your fishing skills; you earn tens of thousands a month, wow!"
Seeing that Zhang Guodong was interested, Xiao Gangben immediately encouraged him.
I feel a little envious!
"Forget it? I still don't believe that you can earn that much in a month. It's more realistic; it's impossible to catch this much every day!" Zhang Guodong thought for a while and then said.
"Hey young man, you're not interested in this little bit of income?" Xiao Gangben got anxious when he saw that Zhang Guodong wasn't taking the bait.
"How can I afford tens of thousands a month? That's a lot of money! But I just don't feel secure. Let me think about it tonight, and we can talk about it tomorrow," Zhang Guodong said with a pained expression.
A delightful surprise awaited me in my little steel notebook.
How much money? Tens of thousands a month is a lot of money? Bullshit! Liu Daneng gives me ten thousand in kickbacks every trip, as easy as dropping by. Now it seems the Zhang family isn't so great after all; they think tens of thousands is a lot of money? Hmph, country bumpkins! He's achieved more than half of his goal on this trip!
Before coming, Liu Neng gave a brief instruction: "Go and find out what they're up to. 10,000 yuan reward!"
He thought Liu Daneng was playing a trick on him. He never expected it to be true!
This money is so easy to earn!
While Zhang Guodong was still hesitating, Xiao Gangben became even more persistent in his persuasion, subtly extracting a lot of "information" about the Zhang family. Finally, seeing that Zhang Guodong wasn't taking the bait, he said, "Alas, what a pity. Since you're not interested, young man, I won't force you!"
Then he greeted Huang Lao Er, paid the bill, and left! He seemed to be in a hurry.
Editor's Note: Second update! I wasn't in the zone today, so it took some time. Next time, I'll definitely finish writing before reading. It's painful; I'm a veteran bookworm after all!
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