After waiting for a while, when there were fewer people outside, the old man led them into the warehouse. They found it was very large, with a cold storage room and a room outside where shrimp and live fish were raised in the sea. "Don't buy these live ones. If you want to eat them, go to the village. There are shrimps in the cold storage room that are even bigger than these. I saw a box of them broken apart by the door this morning. There are no yellow croakers, as the ones that are broken apart are cooked by the canteen."
The two men followed him into the cold room, shivering with cold. Although the air conditioner was on, the temperature inside was not very cold. Liu Sanyuan and Zhou Xiaozheng first looked for the broken boxes by the door. There were quite a few of them, at least 300 kilograms, all piled up.
Liu Sanyuan turned his back to the old man and gestured to the number 5. Seeing Zhou Xiaozheng nodded slightly, he took out five one-yuan bills and stuffed them into the old man's coat. The old man didn't hesitate to put them inside his coat. He probably did this often and was not unfamiliar with it at all.
The old man pointed at the pile of consumables, threw them two large sacks, and said, "Fill them all yourselves. Do you still want the yellow croaker and prawns? The prawns are only 25 cents this time, that's what the higher-ups said, but then they said no, so they'll sell them domestically instead. The yellow croaker is 15 cents, the same as Xiao Liu's. If you want them, I'll move them out. A box weighs 50 kilograms, so you can figure it out."
Liu Sanyuan looked at the pile of seafood, which included prawns, and hesitated. He looked at Zhou Xiaozheng, and when he saw him nod, he indicated that he didn't want any.
Zhou Xiaozheng did some calculations and said directly to the old man, "Uncle, give me three boxes of prawns and three boxes of yellow croaker. Do you want me to pay you here or pay you when we get home?"
"Give it to Xiao Liu, and he'll settle the bill later. You guys clean up the pile at the door first, and I'll go inside and find some good prawns for you. The public ones don't matter the size, they have to be evenly proportioned."
"Thank you, sir." Zhou Xiaozheng watched the old man walk inside, turned around and came to Liu Sanyuan. When he saw him, he burst into laughter.
"Brother, don't compare like that. Just look at it and see if it's about right. Thanks to you for bringing me here today. Even if you take them all, I won't say anything." After Zhou Xiaozheng finished speaking, he opened the sack directly and stuffed the two halves into the sack as he saw them.
Liu Sanyuan said with a laugh, "It's okay. We can still install it after uncle has moved it in. You can install more. I can buy more when I come back next time."
When the two men finished packing and stood up, they saw that the old man had already moved the boxes and was waiting for them. "Are you done packing? Let's get out quickly. It's freezing in there."
After leaving the cold storage room, the old man pushed a cart over. "Put everything on top and pull it directly to the cart. Xiao Liu, you can go directly outside to count these six boxes together. Do you two want the dead prawns outside? If so, just put them in a sack and take them back. If it's too late, the driver outside will want them all. If this old man wants to give it away, he will give it to you."
Liu Sanyuan happily ran to the edge of the pond and looked at the bamboo baskets outside, which were filled with all sorts of dead things. "Uncle, I'll take them all without hesitation. I'll bring you some good wine next time. Thanks in advance."
After saying that, they directly loaded the two sacks on the cart. They didn't stop until the two sacks were full. The three of them pushed the cart out of the gate and started loading it. Each sack was so heavy that it took two people to lift it.
After seeing the old man off, Liu Sanyuan looked at Zhou Xiaozheng's car and laughed, "Brother, it's quite rare to see your car on the road. I lost money on those 100 kilograms of vermicelli. I can't take away any more if I buy more."
Zhou Xiaozheng took a look at the car and found that there was not much space inside. "Haha, there is no other way. I can only put the more things I buy in the front. After you settle the bill, shall we go to the village?" After saying that, he took out money from his pocket, counted out six boxes and 3 yuan for the spoils and handed them to Liu Sanyuan.
Liu Sanyuan took the money without even looking at it and stuffed it directly into his pocket. "Go, you must go. You must buy live crabs, and also buy some dried fish to take back as gifts. I've already thought about it. I'll add some meat to the crab roe to make dumplings, and stir-fry the rest with chili peppers. I know a place that specializes in red crab roe, while others have male crabs mixed in, and the price is the same. He also happens to have dried fish and dried seafood. Next time you come by yourself, just go directly to his place. He knows the area and can usually buy anything."
After saying that, he looked anxiously at the opposite side and said, "Brother, you wait here, I'll go find someone to urge him." After saying that, he ran to the opposite side without waiting for Zhou Xiaozheng's response.
After waiting for about ten minutes, Liu Sanyuan ran out and saw Zhou Xiaozheng, and shouted anxiously, "It's finally ready, let's go buy crabs. If we're any later, we won't be able to make dumplings in time."
Zhou Xiaozheng laughed out loud after hearing this. He knew this guy's personality. No wonder they were familiar with each other at first sight. As long as the topic was about food, this foodie would be happy and excited. No wonder he said he wanted to buy a lot of rice. Liu Sanyuan was not surprised at all. As long as it was food, this guy would never think that buying as much as he wanted was too much.
Zhou Xiaozheng drove behind his car, which was not far away. They just turned a corner and arrived at the place. Liu Sanyuan waited for Zhou Xiaozheng to arrive. The two of them entered the yard and saw a pool of sea water with crabs on the left. There was also a couple in the yard. When the middle-aged man saw Liu Sanyuan, he hurried to meet him.
"Brother Liu, this time we have a lot of red crabs. How about it? Do you want to take some back?"
Liu Sanyuan looked into the pond and said slowly, "How much are they selling for this time? If the price is low, I'll buy more. If it's too expensive, I can't afford it. I can't even buy a few crabs with my monthly salary."
Zhou Xiaozheng clenched his fist and put it to his mouth. He was happy to see Liu Sanyuan like this. If the other party didn't sell, he would probably be anxious.
"Five cents was already considered low last time. How much do you want to buy?"
Liu Sanyuan looked at him in surprise. "Brother Wang, this is impossible. Rice is only less than 1.2 yuan. Since we bought too much this time, can we charge it for 1 yuan? Let's buy 100 kilograms, and I'll buy some dry goods."
Lao Wang lowered his head and thought for a moment. "I'll give you 1.4 cents for 100 kilograms. No less. Look, there's not a single male here; they're all covered in red roe. Five cents for small dried fish, eight cents for large ones. If you want me to ask my wife to go back inside and get them, I'll give them to you."
Zhou Xiaozheng nodded at Liu Sanyuan, who looked at him and said cheerfully, "Alright, I'll do as you say. Bring everything out. Use the larger crab roe and pack them into two portions, each weighing 50 kilograms. I'll pick out some dried fish and then we'll settle the bill."
"I'll put them all in bamboo baskets for you, so they won't die easily. The tide's going out now, so do you want to take some conchs and shrimps back with you like last time? If you want, let my youngest son collect them. You don't have to go by yourselves. Give me one dollar and the children will bring them over."
"Okay, we'll give each of us two pieces. You can ask your child to go and prepare it first. I'm in a hurry to get home. Brother Zhou, take the fresh ones back and let the neighbors next door taste them."
Zhou Xiaozheng didn't care about the small amount. "Okay, you arrange it."
After waiting for an hour or so and paying the money, the two men carried three bamboo baskets and loaded them into the car. Zhou Xiaozheng and Liu Sanyuan both breathed a sigh of relief and looked at each other and laughed.
Zhou Xiaozheng took out a piece of paper and pen from the car, wrote down the address, tore it off and handed it to him. "This is my address in Beijing. Call me when you have time. Below is the address of my daughter and son-in-law. If you encounter any problems in L Province, just contact them directly. They can usually help you. Give me your address as well, and I'll send you some game when I get back. It's not much, just for you to taste."
Liu Sanyuan looked at the handwriting on the note, listened to what he said, and nodded happily, "Okay, we are destined to meet. I will also write down the address of my workplace and family. Come to the provincial capital and find me. I will take you to eat delicious food. I won't be polite with you. I am embarrassed to accept other things, but I can't refuse game."
Zhou Xiaozheng walked up to him and shook his hand. "Keep in touch. Remember to write letters when you have time. I won't keep you from eating buns. Let's get going quickly."
The two exchanged a few reluctant words before getting in the car and heading back. Zhou Xiaozheng was driving, looking at the stuff in the car, thinking about Liu Sanyuan, and laughing to himself. This guy was really quite interesting, very much like an ancient hero, unconcerned with trivial matters and carefree, quite similar to Zhao Chuangguang's personality.
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