As soon as Jiang Xia and the others' boat docked, everyone saw the Red Seabream piled all over the deck in Bamboo Basket after Bamboo Basket and cried out in astonishment.
"Did you run into a school of Red Seabream? You've struck it rich!"
"Brothers, what waters did you find that school of Red Seabream in? You're so lucky! Those fish are so hard to come across, and you actually found them!"
"There must be several hundred kilos of Red Seabream on this boat, right? That's nearly a thousand yuan! You've really struck it rich!"
"You've struck it rich, you've struck it rich!"
Some people stood on the dock, while others stood on their own boats, watching the excitement.
Zhou Chenglei said to Father Zhou, "I'll go to the dock and see if there are any fishmongers buying."
Father Zhou nodded.
At that moment, several people pushed through the onlookers. "Which boat caught the Red Seabream? Let me see! ... Good heavens! There are so many!"
As he spoke, he shoved through the crowd and jumped onto Zhou Chenglei's boat. He even touched the fish in the Bamboo Basket, uncovered them, and took a look at their gills. "These fish are dead, but they're still fairly fresh."
Jiang Xia corrected him, "They're very fresh. These weren't caught with a Trawl Net. They were still thrashing when we hauled them aboard, and we immediately turned back after catching them."
A man dressed entirely in a white shirt also climbed aboard and said directly, "Brother, I'll take these Red Seabream! I'm Xu Wen'an, the manager of Fu Tai Restaurant. How much are you asking for the fish?"
Today was an auspicious day, and the restaurant had taken several wedding-banquet orders, so it happened to be short on fish.
Red Seabream were red, and their name sounded festive, making them perfect for wedding banquets.
"Damn it, Manager Xu, I got on the boat first! How can you be so shameless?" the fishmonger who had just come aboard complained.
Then he pulled Zhou Chenglei over and pointed at the two Bamboo Baskets of different-sized fish. "Brother, my name is Yang Dayou. I buy fish too. I'll take the large Red Seabream at eighty yuan per dan and the small ones at sixty yuan per dan! I'll take them all! And that pile of miscellaneous fish on your boat—I'll take the whole lot for ten yuan."
Here, fish were sold either by the kilogram or by the dan, depending on the quantity. One dan was generally around a hundred kilograms.
In other words, Yang Dayou was offering only eighty fen per kilogram for the large fish and sixty fen per kilogram for the small ones.
Everyone at the dock knew Yang Dayou. They knew he was Zhou the Skinflint. Whenever he saw unfamiliar fishermen coming to sell fish, he always offered them rock-bottom prices.
But no one spoke up. Cutting off someone's livelihood was practically like killing their parents, and no one went looking for trouble without a reason.
Jiang Xia didn't know the prices, but she instinctively felt that this man was dishonest. The moment he opened his mouth, he deliberately disparaged her fish, clearly trying to drive the price down. His eyes darted everywhere, brimming with schemes.
She didn't understand the prices and stayed silent, looking toward Zhou Chenglei and Father Zhou.
Jiang Xia didn't know the prices, but Zhou Chenglei and Father Zhou did. The man's offer was too low! Zhou Chenglei hated dealing with people like this and said bluntly, "Not selling!"
That pile of miscellaneous fish on the boat was worth more than ten yuan alone.
Although the two nets contained miscellaneous fish, it was obvious at a glance that plenty of valuable fish were mixed in—they simply hadn't had time to sort them.
The restaurant manager spoke up. "Comrade, I'll pay one hundred yuan per dan for the Red Seabream weighing around half a kilogram each, and one hundred and twenty yuan per dan for those weighing around three-quarters of a kilogram. Will you sell? I'll also take ten fish weighing over one kilogram each."
The larger the fish, the higher the price. But for a restaurant hosting a banquet, fish weighing around half a kilogram were the most cost-effective. They didn't look too small or too large. Fish that were too small seemed stingy, while using fish that were too large for a banquet left little profit.
That was why he wanted the half-kilogram and three-quarter-kilogram fish. He also wanted ten fish weighing two or three kilograms each to keep in the freezer and serve later to ordinary diners ordering from the menu.
Jiang Xia knew that one dan was roughly a hundred kilograms, if not more. That meant the price was less than one yuan per kilogram—really cheap.
These were wild True Snapper.
But prices were like this at the moment. Ordinary people earned only thirty or forty yuan a month, so viewed that way, one yuan per kilogram wasn't cheap either.
The fishmonger glared at the restaurant manager. "How can you throw prices around like that? One hundred yuan per dan is too expensive! Don't ruin the market! At most, I can offer ninety yuan per dan! If they won't sell, then forget it! Let's go!"
Xu Wen'an had taken the smaller fish, and he had offered such a high price. The larger the fish, the more expensive they were—how could Yang Dayou lower the price later?
Yang Dayou kept winking hard at Xu Wen'an and tugged at him to leave.
Jiang Xia glanced at Yang Dayou and said flatly, "Safe travels. No need to see you out!"
Yang Dayou: "..."
Xu Wen'an didn't move. Red Seabream were rare, so he asked Jiang Xia, "Will you sell them?"
Jiang Xia said, "Ask my husband. He makes the decisions."
The words "my husband" brushed across the tip of Zhou Chenglei's heart like a feather. He couldn't help glancing at Jiang Xia, but before he could speak—
Another fishmonger pushed his way onto the boat. "I heard there are Red Seabream? I'll buy them! I'll buy them! What's the price?"
Zhou Chenglei remembered Father Zhou saying that these two days were auspicious, and that more people held wedding celebrations on auspicious days. Red Seabream were the most suitable fish for wedding banquets—their name sounded good and festive—so he said directly, "The ones weighing around half a kilogram are one hundred and ten yuan per dan, the three-quarter-kilogram ones are one hundred and thirty yuan per dan, the one-kilogram ones are one hundred and sixty yuan per dan, those over one and a half kilograms are two yuan per kilogram, and there's only one fish over two kilograms, which is three yuan per kilogram. Who wants them at this price? No haggling!"
Jiang Xia added, "Our fish weigh absolutely more than a hundred kilograms per dan. Even after deducting the weight of the baskets, there are at least one hundred and five kilograms."
Jiang Xia had lifted every Bamboo Basket of fish. She knew their weight as soon as they passed through her hands.
Zhou Chenglei looked at Jiang Xia when he heard that. She actually knew? The restaurant was waiting for fish to cook, and Xu Wen'an was in a hurry. The price wasn't too high, so he could accept it. He immediately said, "All right, I'll take them. I'll take all the half-kilogram and three-quarter-kilogram fish, ten of the one-kilogram fish, and all the one-and-a-half- and two-kilogram fish as well."
It was rare to encounter fish with such an auspicious name, and they were perfect for wedding banquets. More importantly, paying ten yuan more per dan worked out to less than one extra mao per fish. A restaurant could make half again as much profit, or even more, on a single dish, so an extra mao was nothing.
The people who came to eat at restaurants were all well-off. Wealthy people cared about appearances and liked large fish, so fish weighing three or four kilograms sold very well.
Red Seabream over one and a half kilograms cost two yuan per kilogram to buy, but once served at the restaurant, they could probably be sold for four or five yuan per kilogram. There was absolutely no loss.
The fishmonger who had come later was surnamed Hou. Everyone called him Old Hou or Lord Hou. Seeing that the fish were very fresh and could be stored, he said, "Then I'll take everything that's left. I'll take those Spanish Mackerel of yours too!"
Yang Dayou was seething with regret, but he still did the math. He could make a profit by reselling them. Even earning one or two mao per kilogram was still profit, and the more volume he handled, the more he earned. He was merely unwilling to give up because two competitors had appeared, preventing him from taking advantage and making a killing.
Everyone on this boat looked unfamiliar. They had never come here before.
He glared at the fishmonger who had arrived later. "Old Hou, I got here first. Don't snatch them from me. I'll take everything that's left!"
Old Hou gave him a sidelong look. "I heard them say they weren't selling to you!"
That Old Yang always wanted to swallow everything in one bite, bullying unfamiliar fishermen who came from elsewhere. But not every fisherman was honest and easy to bully! The young man on this boat clearly wasn't ordinary. He might even be a soldier who had come home on leave to help his family fish.
Yang Dayou: "..."
Zhou Chenglei said to Old Hou and Xu Wen'an, "There are also Yellow Croaker in the Live Well. Do you want them? There are probably several hundred kilograms."
Their eyes lit up, and they said in unison, "Yes!"
When Yang Dayou heard there were Yellow Croaker too, he was overwhelmed with regret. "I want them! I want them! I'll take the Yellow Croaker. We can discuss the price, Comrade. You name the price! You name it!"
What kind of dog-shit luck had this boat stumbled into?
They had actually caught so many valuable fish! If he'd known, he wouldn't have deliberately lowballed them in the beginning!
These two days were auspicious, and many people were holding wedding celebrations. Fish like Red Seabream and Yellow Croaker, with their attractive colors and fine appearance, were never hard to sell.
I discussed it with the editor yesterday, and this novel will be released on June 1! I hope all you darlings who enjoy it will give it lots of support.
Thank you~ I'll write it with all my heart!
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