There are only four telephones on the entire Baishi Island, belonging to the village committees of the four villages on the island. If you want to make a phone call, you have to go to the village.
Feng Jiafa returned in about ten minutes. As soon as he got back to the purchasing point, he said, "I've already made the calls. I contacted six bosses, all of whom are powerful. They should all arrive in about half an hour."
"Thanks, Uncle Fa."
"What are you going to do when the people arrive?"
"Of course it's a bidding process; we'll sell to whoever offers the highest price."
Ah-chan, being straightforward, answered first.
Feng Ye pondered for a while and came up with a better solution than bidding, which would not hurt feelings and might even sell for a better price: sealed bid.
While sealed bids may seem to eliminate competition, they actually introduce greater uncertainty, playing a psychological game that often results in unexpected prices.
So Feng Ye said, "No, we won't do competitive bidding, we'll do sealed bids."
"What is a sealed bid?"
Everyone looked on with curiosity.
These days, very few people in China know about sealed bids; they only know about open bids with clearly stated prices.
"We set a base price for each fish based on its size, and then let them write down their own prices. We give them a chance, and we sell to whoever offers the highest price."
"This...they won't be in cahoots, will they?"
"Won't."
Feng Ye said with certainty, and then explained the benefits of sealed bidding.
After listening, everyone couldn't help but give a thumbs up: "Brilliant, truly brilliant."
After agreeing on the bidding method, the group began to sort the large yellow croakers by size and weigh them.
53 pieces weighing less than one jin (approximately 500 grams) totaled 31.3 jin (approximately 15.95 catties);
There were 73 animals weighing between one and two jin, totaling 128.4 jin;
There were 58 animals weighing between two and three jin (approximately 1.5 kg), totaling 135.2 jin (approximately 67.6 catties).
There are 18 animals weighing between three and four jin, totaling 63.5 jin;
Eight animals weighing between four and five jin (approximately 2.5 kg) each, totaling 35.3 jin (approximately 17.9 catties);
There are four that weigh over five jin (2.5 kg): one weighs 5.6 jin (2.3 kg), one weighs 6.2 jin (3.3 catties), one weighs 6.7 jin (3.3 catties), and the largest one weighs 8.6 jin (4.3 catties).
A total of 214 fish, weighing 420.8 jin (approximately 214 catties).
A crowd of villagers who had come to watch the spectacle also gathered at the purchasing point, all of them speechless with astonishment.
There are too many, how much would they cost?
Even based on Feng Jiafa's previous offer, it would still be tens of thousands, right?
The Feng family has really struck it rich!
So, none of them wanted to leave; they all wanted to see how much money they could make in the end.
Half an hour later, one of the bosses that Feng Jiafa had contacted finally arrived.
"Boss Feng, where's the big yellow croaker? I even rented a speedboat to come here. If I don't see any big yellow croaker, don't deliver any more goods to my shop."
A short, stout man with a receding hairline was the first to arrive, and he started shouting as soon as he entered.
"Mr. Song, how could I possibly lie to you? I'll need your continued support in my future business."
Feng Jiafa immediately went up to him, took out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes from his pocket, and offered one to him.
Where's the fish?
Mr. Song didn't stand on ceremony at all, took the cigarette, lit it, and then thought about the fish again.
Feng Jiafa pointed to the bamboo basket: "Boss Song, look, isn't that it?"
Mr. Song took two quick steps, lifted the black cloth covering the basket, and his eyes lit up. He then looked at the other baskets and asked, "Are they all large yellow croakers?"
"Yes, they are."
"Okay, I'll take them all. Name your price."
"Fatty Song, are you trying to eat alone?"
Suddenly, a deep, resonant voice rang out.
President Song frowned slightly, and said to Feng Jiafa with some displeasure, "You also notified Zhang Dazui?"
Feng Jiafa gave a wry smile: "President Song, this fish isn't mine, it belongs to those young men. I'm just a middleman. They asked me to notify a few more bosses, what could I do?"
Feng Ye and the others nodded in agreement.
Mr. Song frowned even more deeply, sensing that acquiring this batch of large yellow croakers would likely require a significant financial investment.
Then, four more bosses arrived one after another.
After everyone had arrived and examined the large yellow croaker, Feng Jiafa said, "Thank you all for your kindness, but today's large yellow croaker doesn't belong to me. It belongs to these young men. We'll discuss the price with them; I won't participate."
"Why didn't you say so earlier? You're wasting my time."
"Young man, name your price, I'll take them all, and I, Old Wang, will never haggle."
"Just now, Fatty Song wanted to eat alone. Old Wang, you still want to eat alone in front of us?"
"Exactly, it's shameful to eat alone."
"Young man, if you sell me the fish, I'll definitely give you a satisfactory price."
“None of you are being sincere. How can you let someone name a price? I’ll offer a high price: 85 for less than one jin, 105 for one to two jin, 125 for two jin, and 145 for more than three jin…”
“What do you mean by high price? I’ll add 1 yuan per kilogram to that price.”
"Only one yuan more? I'll add two."
"I'll add three more."
...
In an instant, Feng Ye seemed to hear hundreds of ducks quacking, but he couldn't make out what anyone was saying.
"Bosses, please don't rush, let me explain first."
Feng Ye pressed down with both hands to stop them from continuing their pointless scramble.
"What else is there to say? It's just bidding, right? I'll go first, under one pound..."
Mr. Song, who arrived first, couldn't wait to speak.
"Mr. Song, right? Wait a minute."
Feng Ye quickly stopped him.
"Young man, what's wrong?"
"Gentlemen, open bidding can easily damage relationships, so today we'll opt for a sealed bid instead of an open auction..."
Feng Ye then shared his thoughts.
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