“There are three snakeskin bags in total. I’ve counted them for you. There are 84 blue crabs in total,” Widow Zhang promptly reported the number.
Ye Cheng: Okay, you're even quick to answer now.
However, the fact that Widow Zhang was able to report the number so quickly at least shows that she is not a stupid woman, and we should really consider giving her a chance in the future.
Ye Cheng opened the bags and looked inside. They were filled with countless blue crabs, and each bag was only half full.
"If I pack too much, it'll crush them, and if they die, we won't get a good price. So I only packed half," Widow Zhang explained, looking at Ye Cheng expectantly.
Now is the time for Ye Cheng to fulfill his promise.
"Hmm." Ye Cheng nodded, glancing approvingly at Widow Zhang. He hadn't expected that a widow from a small mountain village would give him the feeling of seeing an executive from a large factory.
Ye Cheng picked out four of the larger blue crabs, put them in the bucket, and handed them to Widow Zhang, saying, "Auntie, these are for you."
"Huh? Didn't you say you'd give us three? Why did you give us one more?" Widow Zhang was excited. Of course she was happy to get an extra one, but she was too embarrassed to show it, so she could only rub her hands awkwardly.
Ye Cheng shoved the bucket into her hands, saying, "Auntie, you did a good job, so you should get more."
Widow Zhang gripped the bucket tightly, then glanced worriedly at Ye Guowei and Xiao Hu beside her, and whispered, "Won't they...?"
"It's alright, I'm in charge here," Ye Cheng said, patting his chest.
"Well, I'll take it then." Widow Zhang then picked up the bucket and smiled happily. Four blue crabs! That'll fetch a good price.
"Oh, by the way, are you going to sell these blue crabs?" Ye Cheng suddenly asked.
Widow Zhang: "Of course, how could we bear to eat it ourselves?"
"We also want to sell. Do you want us to help you sell and pay you, or do you want to sell it yourself?"
Ye Cheng kindly asked, "This time I plan to sell in a different place. I don't want to go to Lao Lin's anymore. That guy is not honest at all."
Widow Zhang hesitated for a moment, then looked at Ye Cheng somewhat awkwardly, "Um... I'll go sell them myself."
Ye Cheng could tell that although Widow Zhang was grateful to him, she was still very wary.
"Auntie, what do you mean? Do you think my brother would steal your money?" Xiao Hu couldn't stand it anymore and said unhappily.
Upon hearing Xiao Hu's words, Widow Zhang quickly waved her hand in denial, anxiously saying, "No, no, Acheng, that's not what I meant. Please don't misunderstand."
"I...I am..."
"Alright, Auntie, you don't need to explain." Ye Cheng interrupted her. "Don't worry about Xiao Hu. He's just a simpleton. If I said it's for you, it's for you. You can sell it wherever you want."
"Well, thank you, Cheng." Widow Zhang said a little embarrassed.
"It's alright, Auntie. You should go home early; the child is still at home."
"Okay, I'll head back now."
Widow Zhang carried the bucket to the shore, then turned back and said, "Acheng, I'll return the bucket to you later."
Ye Cheng waved his hand, indicating that he understood.
After Widow Zhang had walked away, Ye Guowei spoke up, "Acheng, are you going to sell them at the dock? I'll help you carry them over."
"I don't want to go to the dock; I want to sell in the city where the price is higher."
Ye Cheng did want to go to the city. From a sales perspective, Baiyun Village is the place of origin. The price at the place of origin has to include transportation costs, the price difference of middlemen, and losses, etc. By the time it reaches the customer, it has increased by at least 30%.
If I can find customers, I can earn that 30% myself.
Moreover, he already has a target client, namely Mr. Qian from last time.
"Going to the city? There are so many rules in the city. We country folk don't understand them. We might get scammed or even fined," Ye Guowei said with some concern.
It's 2002 now, and many things are just starting out. Even in later years, with so many management bodies and numerous livestreamers exposing counterfeits, the seafood market still couldn't be regulated.
Ye Guowei's concerns are understandable; everyone knows that prices are higher in the city, but the problem is you don't have the connections.
"Brother, don't worry. Xiao Hu and I will go into the city. If it doesn't work out, we can go back to the dock to sell. Anyway, it's still early."
"Okay, you guys be careful."
Since Ye Cheng had made up his mind, Ye Guowei didn't say anything more. He wasn't exactly a person with strong opinions anyway.
The three of them carried the blue crab back together and put it at Xiao Hu's house first. There was no other way; Ye Cheng's dilapidated door was left open, which wasn't safe.
Ye Guowei went back to work at the dock, and Ye Cheng told Xiao Hu to wait at home while he went to the convenience store to make a phone call.
I really should buy a cell phone, otherwise it's really inconvenient.
Many people in the village now have cell phones, but they are expensive, so many are reluctant to make calls. They usually just find a landline to make calls, which is cheaper.
Therefore, landline telephones still have a large market.
Li the Cripple had a telephone installed at his place. Local calls cost 50 cents a minute, and long-distance calls cost 2 yuan a minute.
Upon seeing Ye Cheng enter, Li the Cripple greeted him.
"I need to use the phone."
"Okay, go ahead and use it." Li the Cripple pointed to the telephone over there. "Local or long-distance?"
"From the East China Sea."
"Okay, I'll check the time after you finish playing."
After each call, the phone displays the time, and Li the Cripple charges based on the time.
Ye Cheng took out the phone number that Boss Qian had given him last time and dialed it. It had been a long time since he had called a client, and he was actually a little nervous.
The phone rang three times before I answered, "Who is it?"
"Mr. Qian, right? I'm Ye Cheng from Baiyun Village, the one who went out to sea with you last time and sold you a batch of seafood."
"Baiyun Village? Oh, you mean that batch of sea cucumbers and abalone? I remember now? What, you need something?"
Ye Cheng thought to himself, "This money is alright, at least they remember it. Otherwise, I would have had to explain myself again."
"Well, I caught a batch of blue crabs this morning while beachcombing. They're quite big, each weighing almost a pound. Mr. Qian, are you interested?"
"A batch?" A surprised voice came from the other end of the phone. "How many are in a batch?"
"80 blue crabs."
"Hiss." Mr. Qian gasped. "Are you doing beachcombing or aquaculture?"
Ye Cheng smiled and said, "Mr. Qian, you're joking. How could I afford to run a fish farm? I came here by fishing."
"You managed to catch 80 blue crabs while beachcombing? You must have fished out the whole ocean, right?" Mr. Qian joked.
"Does Qian Zong intend to buy this batch?"
"Okay, I'll definitely take it as long as it's good quality, and the price will definitely satisfy you, but I need to inspect the goods first."
"No problem, Mr. Qian, give me an address and I'll deliver it over."
"Okay, just come to Fuwang Seafood Restaurant and tell them my name."
Fuwang Seafood Restaurant, Ye Cheng thought to himself, it seems that this Boss Qian himself is in the seafood catering business, no wonder he can charge such high prices.
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