Duan Yong walked to the smaller seedling pond, squatted down, and pointed to something on the water plants.
"Brother Cheng, look, this is our first batch of crayfish."
Ye Cheng didn't sit idle either; he immediately scooped up a few, which were already 4 centimeters long and very lively. If they continued to grow like this, they would soon be ready to be transferred to the finished pond.
“Brother Cheng, we draw fresh water from the river for both ponds, so we don’t have to change the water ourselves. It’s so convenient. You were so wise to rent this place back then,” Duan Yong said, pointing to the water inlet.
There was a wooden sluice gate installed there, connected to the stream. When it was opened, the water immediately flowed in, and when the outlet was opened, the water was changed effortlessly.
"Okay, remember to spray the medicine. It would be troublesome if there were any pests or diseases later." Ye Cheng took out a few more packets of medicine powder given by the system. He didn't have many points left, and these were all he had for now.
"By the way, Aunt Zhang recently went out to sea with me. Are you still collecting crayfish?"
When Ye Cheng asked about the crayfish, the two men's expressions darkened, and they immediately fell silent.
Ye Cheng smiled and patted the two of them.
"Just say what you have to say. The crayfish business is definitely getting harder and harder to run."
Seeing Ye Cheng's response, Duan Yong finally looked up and said, looking embarrassed.
“Brother Cheng, crayfish are selling for 5 yuan a pound now, and Boss Qian is only selling them for 11 yuan a pound, so the profit isn’t much. We originally wanted to raise the price, but Boss Qian said there are many crayfish vendors in the city now, so raising the price won’t make a difference.”
"So you just stopped?" Ye Cheng said calmly.
"We...we had no choice. Aunt Zhang and Aunt Qian wanted to go out to sea, and we didn't know how to cook," Duan Yong explained.
“Brother Cheng, there’s really not much profit to be made now. A-Yong and I went to the city and saw that they make similar dishes to us. In addition, they have many other flavors now, just like selling braised food. We can’t raise the price per piece, and the cost is increasing.” Yuan Jian was afraid that Ye Cheng would scold him, so he quickly explained.
"It's alright, it's not your fault, this is normal, but they're already selling for 5 yuan a pound, it seems our crayfish need to be on the market sooner."
The original plan was to raise the acquisition price.
I just didn't expect it to happen so quickly.
As for my method of cooking spicy crayfish, that will be learned sooner or later.
There's nothing special about it; if someone from Sichuan or Chongqing came, they'd probably recognize it after just one look.
And it's better than what I make myself, with a more authentic taste.
However, they didn't expect that they would change tracks.
That's how business works; you first need to meet the needs of your customers.
A famous case once involved how you sold sneakers to a black man who didn't wear shoes.
Everyone said it was impossible, but look at Black guys now, who doesn't wear shoes?
If there is no demand, create demand.
Now that the demand for crayfish has been created, people will shift their focus from taste to safety.
That's when my farmed crayfish will be ready for market.
Duan Yong and Yuan Jiansheng are now full of energy, and Ye Cheng is happy to have some free time, so he gave each of them 10,000 yuan.
The two were completely stunned.
"Brother, is this severance pay?" Duan Yong was a little dumbfounded when he saw the 10,000 yuan.
"Look at you, so useless. When your dad was taking 10,000 yuan a day from me, he never hesitated to pay me," Ye Cheng said with a laugh.
"Don't worry, this is a reward for the two of you. The next batch of crayfish should be put on the market as soon as possible. As for spicy crayfish, since the competition is too fierce, we will withdraw from it. We don't need to do things with such low profits."
Hearing Ye Cheng's explanation, the two finally felt relieved and accepted the money.
Yuan Jiansheng said happily,
"Brother Cheng, it's more interesting to work with you. I can make money and feel a sense of accomplishment. Look at that idiot Chen Zhangfu, he's almost driven crazy with worry now."
Speaking of Chen Zhangfu, Ye Cheng remembered that he should be helping the Chen family with crayfish farming.
"What's wrong? The Chen family's crayfish business should have started earlier than ours."
He remembered that the Chen family used wild juvenile shrimp directly for farming, skipping the seedling stage. Logically speaking, they should have already produced adult shrimp.
"What good is starting early?" Yuan Jiansheng said smugly.
"Brother Cheng, you don't know, most of the crayfish in the Chen family are already dead."
"Dead? How did he die?"
"They say the shrimp have developed some kind of white spots, and they've stopped eating. They're just lying there waiting to die."
"Vitiligo?" Ye Cheng searched his memory, but it was of no use.
He wasn't involved in animal husbandry, so he had no idea what these white and black spots were. He figured it must be some kind of virus or something.
If it weren't for the medicine provided by the system, I might have ended up like this.
“Brother Cheng, we went to check on them secretly. Chen Zhangfu has grown a lot of white hair lately. He doesn’t dare to tell the village chief. They’re definitely going to lose money this time,” Duan Yong added.
So what if we lose money? The Chen family is so big and powerful, it's not a big deal for them.
But now that we've added the issue of buying a large ship, things are a bit hard to say.
Ye Cheng didn't want to get involved in other people's affairs for the time being; he wanted to take care of his own business first.
After saying goodbye to the two, Ye Cheng went back to catch up on his sleep, as he still had to go out to sea that night.
At 7 p.m., everyone gathered at the pier again.
The Chen family also arrived, but the personnel had changed.
"Brother, look, the Chen family has changed. Yesterday's people are all gone except for Chen Jinfa. Do you think they've replaced them with a group of experienced people?" Xiao Hu asked.
“It doesn’t seem like it. I know all these newcomers from the Chen family. They’re not exactly good at working, and they rarely go to sea. I don’t know why the Chen family sent them out to sea.” Duan Chunsheng, standing behind, also couldn’t figure it out.
The men didn't know, but the women did.
Han Xiaotao, her face flushed red, said timidly in a low voice,
"Brother Cheng, I know. The Chen family had a meeting yesterday and said that everyone should take turns earning wages at sea."
Upon hearing this, Widow Zhang made a joke.
"Hey, Han girl, you can work on both sides then!"
Han Xiaotao's face paled, and she immediately looked at Ye Cheng, waving her hands in explanation.
"No, Brother Cheng, they didn't count me in. They wouldn't let me on the Chen family's ship at all."
She was afraid that Ye Cheng wouldn't let her go on the boat.
"Alright, Aunt Zhang was just joking. If I go out to sea to catch crabs, you can come if you want."
As Ye Cheng spoke, he felt a surge of heat in his lower abdomen. To be honest, Han Xiaotao was quite in line with his aesthetic preferences, especially since she would blush for no reason.
That shy look, so coy and alluring, makes anyone want to tease her.
And that thick, black ponytail, wow, it must be really fun to pull on it.
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