Li Long had not expected anyone to remember him just from selling fish.
"Young man, were you the one selling frozen fish here in winter?"
Li Long looked at the middle-aged woman in her forties in front of him and said with a smile:
"Ma'am, I did sell fish here in winter."
"I thought so! You looked familiar! Your fish were good. I bought one to take home, and my neighbor insisted it couldn't be fresh, but once it thawed, it really was good... These fish look pretty good today too. Here, weigh me out two yuan's worth of crucian carp!"
"Sure, I'll give you a generous measure!" Li Long said with a smile. "You're a returning customer, so I'll throw in an extra one. These were only caught this morning, and they're alive. Take them home and stew them right away-they'll be deliciously fresh!" Li Long had prepared some Achnatherum splendens stalks, which became very tough and flexible after being soaked. Seeing that the woman had nothing to carry the fish in, he threaded them onto a stalk, bent it into a loop, and handed it to her.
"Young man, you know how to do business. I'll buy from you again another day."
The woman left carrying her fish, satisfied, and the other onlookers began buying fish by weight.
Some people were still asking where the fish came from. When Li Long said they were wild fish from Big Haizi, someone in the crowd who knew the place immediately began explaining:
"I know that place. It used to be wetlands, just a natural hollow full of water, with reeds growing there and loads of mosquitoes. But the fish there really are good... Look at these crucian carp, with a little gold on their heads and tails. Pretty, aren't they?