Feng Ye inquired about the prices of other fish, shrimp, and crabs, then thanked them before returning to the Rising Sun.
"How's the price? Can you sell it for 70 cents?"
Ah-chan was getting impatient.
Feng Ye shook his head: "You're overthinking it. It dropped to 60 cents yesterday, and whether it can sell for that price today is still unknown."
"So low?"
A look of disappointment appeared on Ah-chan's face.
"There are more small yellow croakers here, but they can't compare to those back home, so the price won't be as good."
Feng Jialing chimed in, "Selling it for 60 cents isn't too bad. We have about 4,000 catties on our boat, which should sell for 2,400 or 2,500."
Upon hearing this, Ah-Can's mood improved: "That's fine too, it's better than staying at home."
Feng Ye's lips twitched, but in the end he didn't voice his prediction that the price might fall below 40 cents.
He simply said, "Ah Chan, you need to be prepared that the price may very well fall further."
"Huh? It's going to drop further?"
"The flood season has just begun, and the catch of small yellow croaker is not too large yet. When the peak season arrives, the catch will increase further, and the price will naturally fall."
"Yes, Ah Ye is right."
Feng Jialing echoed, "I remember that the lowest prices used to usually occur about half a month after the start of the fishing season."
"How low will it fall?"
"I don't know, the situation is different every year. Besides, those were things from more than ten years ago, so they don't have much reference value."
"Don't overthink it, just take it one step at a time."
Feng Ye laughed and said, "If the prices drop so drastically that they don't even match the money we earn at home, then we'll just go back."
"A tree dies when transplanted, but a person thrives. We don't necessarily have to stay here. We have a boat; where can't we go?"
"Brother Ye, you're right,"
Ah-Can nodded, then asked, "What about the prices of the other fish?"
"Plum fish 90 cents, sea bass 1.5 yuan, yellow croaker 60 cents..."
Feng Ye recounted the prices he had found out, and added, "There are more boats here, and the catch is larger, so it's lower than where we are."
With the small yellow croaker as a base, Ah-Can was mentally prepared for the prices of other fish and didn't seem too disappointed.
"Who will we sell our goods to? Do we have to go ashore to find a buyer to collect them?"
"No rush, let's wait and see who the ship next door sells to, then we'll sell to that ship. If we rush to the owner, we might get ripped off."
"Yes, observe first, don't rush to make a move."
Feng Jialing agreed, "If you're bored, you can go for a stroll at the dock. I'll stay on the ship and keep watch."
Feng Ye and A-Can exchanged a glance, both seeing the interest in each other's eyes.
"Then let's go to the dock and take a look, and find out what's going on."
The two disembarked and walked along the dock, observing the crowds coming and going.
The dock was bustling with activity, filled with fishermen, brokers, and fishmongers.
The ground was wet, and the air was filled with a strong fishy smell.
The open space was filled with baskets of fish, shrimp, and crabs, with small yellow croakers making up the vast majority of them.
People were packed together, baskets were next to baskets, and it was difficult to walk.
"Brother Ye, look over there. That guy in the red shirt should be the boss. He looks like he's buying fish."
Ah-chan pointed to a boat not far away and said.
Feng Ye looked over and sure enough, next to a boat, a man in red was discussing something with an older fisherman.
"Let's go take a look."
As the two approached, they saw the man in red shake his head and leave.
Feng Ye quickly stepped forward, took out a cigarette, and offered one to the fisherman: "Uncle, could you tell me if that man in the red shirt was the boss?"
Unexpectedly, the fisherman spat in the direction the man in red had left, and then said in Mandarin, "What a bastard, he's just a conman."
He lit the cigarette that was handed to him and continued, "This guy is a middleman. He said he'd help me find a boss to pick up the goods and asked me to give him a five percent commission."
"Damn it, I'm already at the dock. Do I need him to find the boss? Can't I find him myself?"
"At worst, it will just take a little more time. I'm not in a hurry to go to sea."
After saying that, he seemed to still feel unsatisfied and spat at the man's back again.
After hearing what the fisherman said, Feng Ye understood completely.
He encountered a similar situation the first time he came here to fish in his previous life, and almost fell for it.
During the flood season, the number of fishing boats coming to fish in Hai Zhong Zhou is so large that the fishing docks in various places are overcrowded.
The number of fishmongers who buy fish is pitifully small compared to the number of fishermen who sell them.
This means that it can take a considerable amount of time before fishermen can sell their catch.
After all, each returning ship brings back anywhere from several thousand kilograms to tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of kilograms of various seafood.
As a result, the time required to trade the cargo of a fishing boat cannot be short.
The bosses who made a profit were too busy to handle it all.
This gave rise to the profession of intermediary.
And these intermediaries are divided into two types.
To be more precise, it would be more accurate to call them middlemen.
They need to pay real money to buy the fishermen's goods and then resell them to the boss, earning a 5% to 10% profit margin.
Some fishermen who are in a hurry to go out to sea again and don't want to waste time will choose to sell their catch to them.
The other type is a legitimate intermediary.
They don't buy fish directly from fishermen; instead, they promise to help fishermen find buyers and then charge a percentage of the catch as a commission.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
