At 8 o'clock, Zhao Zhiming finally arrived. He had already eaten breakfast at Xiaohu's house.
"Second brother, you're up so early."
"Yeah, my head hurts from drinking."
"You're just not drinking enough. If you drink more, you'll get used to it."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Zhao Zhiming glanced at Ye Cheng's fish and chuckled, "So, do you want me to take you to sell these fish?"
Ye Cheng was overjoyed to hear this. This guy was actually quite capable, unlike some people who talk big but make excuses when it comes to doing things.
"Then I have to thank Brother Zhao. I was still wondering where to sell it."
"Alright, we're all brothers. Next time you go fishing, take me with you so I can take some pictures. I'll upload yesterday's photos to the QQ group, and everyone will be so envious." Zhao Zhiming couldn't suppress his smugness. For them, money was secondary; face was the most important thing.
"QQ group?" Ye Cheng murmured.
"Well, you must have QQ, right? You can join our fishing association's group. Here, I'll give you my QQ number. When you're online, add me as a friend and I'll add you to the group."
Zhao Zhiming assumed that Ye Cheng was unaware of group functions.
Ye Cheng felt a bit unfamiliar with QQ. He hadn't used it in a long time. In his later years, WeChat was the dominant platform, so he rarely used QQ anymore.
Moreover, in 2002, there was no mobile version of QQ, and WeChat was not yet available. He didn't have much social interaction, so he didn't even apply for one.
"I haven't applied for QQ yet," Ye Cheng told the truth.
"Damn! I despise you. What era are we living in? It's the internet age, and you still don't have QQ." Zhao Zhiming sneered at Ye Cheng, then wrote down his QQ number for Ye Cheng.
"Brother Zhao, are we still using dial-up internet?"
"It's up to you. If you don't use it much and don't have much need for it, just use dial-up. If you're willing to spend money, use AdSL, it's super fast."
However, installation alone costs 10,000 yuan, and it adds several thousand more each year, which isn't cost-effective.
Bored, Xiao Hu stood up straight when he heard "ten thousand," and asked in a trembling voice, "Brother Zhao, you're saying it costs ten thousand to go online?"
"What do you mean by 'going online'? That's called broadband. Of course it's expensive, it's the latest technology, right?" Zhao Zhiming boasted.
Damn, the internet is really expensive these days. Ye Cheng gave up the idea of getting broadband. Broadband isn't wide these days either, so he decided to wait a few more years.
I first set up a dial-up internet connection. I haven't heard that mesmerizing dial-up sound in years. Every time I dialed, I felt my heart was about to jump out of my chest when I got to the last few rings, afraid that something was wrong and I wouldn't be able to connect.
"Broadband and seaweed shouldn't cost 10,000 yuan, and it costs several thousand yuan a year. It's outrageous," Xiao Hu muttered under his breath.
"What a rip-off!" Zhao Zhiming gave a sly smile and whispered in Xiao Hu's ear, "You can watch porn on broadband."
Xiao Hu looked at Zhao Zhiming with a slightly naive yet clear gaze, "What small movie? Aren't all movies the same? What's the difference between big and small movies?"
"Brother Zhao, stop teasing him. He's still young," Ye Cheng said jokingly.
"I can see that, but you don't seem like a newbie anymore, second brother. How many girlfriends have you had?"
"Alright, alright, if you keep talking, you'll sound like a pervert. Hurry up and take us into the city."
"Old pervert? That's a good term." Zhao Zhiming's eyes lit up.
"Brother Zhao, my brother taught me a word about Versailles the other day, saying it means something awesome." Xiao Hu proudly showed off Versailles again, like a treasure.
For someone hearing it for the first time, Versailles sounds very high-class and sophisticated, like a French royal palace.
"Second brother, does Versailles really mean 'awesome'?"
"That's what he said. You believe what he said?" Ye Cheng looked at Xiao Hu with extreme disdain.
Xiao Hu was unhappy about this. "No, brother, that's exactly what you told me back then."
"Your brain is so stupid you can't even explain yourself. What else can I pretend to be if I don't talk to you about it?"
"No, then what exactly does Versailles mean?"
Even after all three of them got into the car, Zhao Zhiming still wouldn't let the topic go.
“Well, let me give you an example,” Ye Cheng said. “Xiao Hu and I don’t have a car. Let’s say you have a lot of cars at home, and this car is just the most ordinary one.”
Then you tell us, "Oh dear, we don't have too many cars at home."
"Hey, this is what Versailles is like."
Zhao Zhiming scratched his head. "No, why is it hypothetical? I really do have a lot of cars at home."
Ye Cheng: ...
"Alright, you've already learned it and are using it right away, keep going." Ye Cheng rolled his eyes at him speechlessly, then sat down in the back seat and fell asleep.
"No, second brother, besides 'old pervert' and 'Versailles,' are there any other new words? Let me learn them too. I'll teach them on QQ next time so they can envy me."
"Yes, you old man, you spirited young man, you punk..."
Along the way, Ye Cheng felt like he was being driven crazy by the two curious children, but luckily they weren't far from the city.
Zhao Zhiming drove the car directly to the entrance of a courtyard and then made a phone call to summon someone to come out.
While waiting for others, Zhao Zhiming said to Ye Cheng, "Hey, second brother, this place is run by one of my buddies, it's a private kitchen, you know what I mean?"
Home-style cooking, haha.
Of course I'm familiar with it.
High-end shopping venues, where items are two to three times more expensive than outside.
However, it offers good privacy and doesn't require crowding with many people, so it still has a significant market.
Of course, only big bosses with very strong connections can afford to run such a business.
I didn't expect Zhao Zhiming to have such good connections, knowing so many people.
Soon, a man wearing glasses, a suit, and a tie came out. Upon seeing Zhao Zhiming, he immediately greeted him with a smile.
"Damn! What brings you here?"
"You brought some people to sell seafood, so you need someone who knows how to handle it, right?" Zhao Zhiming handed over a cigarette, then pointed to Ye Cheng and Xiao Hu and introduced them.
"This is Ye Cheng, and this is Xiao Hu. We just met, and they're really good at fishing."
Then he pointed to the man in the suit, "This is my buddy, Wang Ke, he's the manager here."
After introducing themselves, Zhao Zhiming pointed to the trunk and said to Wang Ke, "My buddy caught some seafood. You guys are buying seafood, right? Take a look."
Wang Ke's face showed a troubled expression. "Zhiming, you know I serve high-end seafood here, so the requirements for ingredients are quite high. Besides, I'm not the owner, you..."
Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Zhiming grabbed him and said, "You old man, you talk too much nonsense. Just look at it first. I'm not asking you to eat it."
Wang Ke was reluctantly pulled to the trunk. He really had no interest in looking. These kinds of personal fishing trips usually only yield a few fish, and they're all very ordinary ones. He didn't know what was wrong with his friend today.
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