"Put-put-put-put..."
Accompanied by the eye-catching roar of the age,
Wei Donglai and the other two bounced along with the tractor's rhythm as they headed toward town.
The place He Dongliang had mentioned was diagonally across from the state-run restaurant, a restaurant called Full of Fragrance.
Li Guowang parked the tractor nearby, then tucked the large crank handle away and walked to the restaurant with the other three.
At the entrance, they told the young hostess they were there to sell seafood. She asked them to wait outside while she went in to fetch their manager.
Before long, a man in a suit and leather shoes, his hair slicked straight back, came out.
Wei Donglai had just stepped forward to greet him when the manager asked, "Are you the ones selling seafood? Our restaurant doesn't buy ordinary seafood."
Although the three of them had cleaned some of the mud off at noon, they still looked grubby.
Seeing the disdain on the manager's face, Wei Donglai frowned slightly.
He turned and waved to Li Guowang and the others. "Uncle Guowang, let's go."
Li Changfeng grew anxious. "Wait, A Lai, aren't we selling the mud eels?"
"Didn't you hear him say they don't buy ordinary goods here? Let's try somewhere else."
The moment the manager heard Li Changfeng say "mud eels," his expression changed. "Wait a moment."
He hurriedly stopped them, his face full of warmth. "You're selling mud eels?"
Wei Donglai nodded. "That's right. Didn't you say you wouldn't buy them?"
"If you'd said they were mud eels, how could our restaurant possibly turn down such good stuff?"
"Oh? So if our goods weren't worth much, we wouldn't be fit to come here?"
The manager could hear that something was off in Wei Donglai's tone. Thinking back to how he had spoken just now, he immediately understood why.
He took a pack of Peony cigarettes from his pocket and offered them around while apologizing to Wei Donglai. "My surname is Gong. What should I call you, young brother?"
"My surname is Wei."
Wei Donglai's words were still a little icy. When he didn't take a cigarette, the others didn't reach for one either.
At that, Manager Gong's face turned bitter.
"Brother Wei, my attitude just now was wrong, but there was a reason for it. Our restaurant has been paying high prices for live seafood lately, and a lot of people have been bringing in things that aren't worth much. With all that back-and-forth every day, I got a little fed up."
After hearing the manager's explanation, Wei Donglai's expression improved considerably.
Manager Gong offered the cigarettes again. Only after Wei Donglai accepted one did the others take theirs.
"Manager Gong, we sell ordinary stuff at the dock. If it weren't good, we wouldn't bring it over here."
Manager Gong hurriedly offered an apologetic smile. "You're right, Brother Wei. I jumped to conclusions. How about we take a look at the goods first?"
Wei Donglai nodded, then called on the others to show Manager Gong the mud eels they had each brought.
The four of them had quite a few mud eels between them, all lively and fresh, including two big ones.
Especially the one that weighed more than two and a half jin.
Put that in the restaurant, and the bosses who came to eat would absolutely love it.
"Brother Wei, there's nothing to fault with these. I'll buy the lot."
"Manager Gong, Uncle Guowang here is an old hand at catching mud eels. If the price is good, maybe we'll be bringing them over to you regularly from now on."
He left the rest unsaid, but Manager Gong already understood.
He had been in the wrong first today. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Brother Wei, since you found your way here, you probably know what we pay, right?"
Seeing Wei Donglai nod, Manager Gong continued.
"Let's call this making a friend today. I'll give you 4.6 yuan per jin for the ones under a jin, 4.8 yuan per jin for the ones over a jin, and 5.5 yuan per jin for the biggest one. You could say that's the highest price in town. If you don't believe me, you can ask around elsewhere."
Everyone was delighted to hear a price even higher than expected.
Wei Donglai really did think the price was good enough.
He glanced at Uncle Guowang and the others, and when he saw them all nod, he agreed.
"Then thank you, Manager Gong. We'll go with the prices you said."
Manager Gong led them around to the back kitchen and began weighing the catch and working out the payment.
He Dongliang's two weighed a total of 1 jin and 9 liang and sold for 8.96 yuan, rounded up to 9 yuan.
Li Changfeng's weighed 1 jin and 7 liang and sold for 8.2 yuan.
Of Li Guowang's five, the three smaller ones weighed 1 jin and 9 liang, and the two bigger ones weighed 2 jin and 1 liang, for a total of 18.8 yuan.
Wei Donglai had the biggest haul. Apart from the one they had eaten at noon, he still had two small ones, three large ones, and one enormous one.
The biggest weighed nearly 2 jin and 7 liang and sold for 14.85 yuan on its own. The remaining five sold for 18.37 yuan, bringing the total to 33.2 yuan.
After collecting their money, they were all overjoyed.
Wei Donglai waved to Manager Gong. "Manager Gong, we'll head back now. We'll come again next time we have something good."
"All right. Next time you have something good, just come straight to me. I guarantee you'll be happy with the price."
After they left the restaurant, Li Changfeng couldn't keep the happiness off his face. "A Lai, I didn't expect that manager to be pretty decent."
"If we didn't have those mud eels, see if he'd treat you well. Still, that fellow knows when to bend and when to stand tall. He's somebody."
But all under heaven bustled for profit; all under heaven hustled for gain.
Wei Donglai had no particular criticism of the way Manager Gong had handled things.
At that moment, He Dongliang said goodbye to the others.
"A Lai, Uncle Guowang, I'll be going first. Next time I have a day off, I'll come back and have a drink with you."
Knowing he was going to see his girlfriend Xiao Min, they naturally didn't try to keep him.
After parting, Wei Donglai and the other two headed toward the place where they had parked the tractor.
Li Changfeng looked troubled. "A Lai, can I wait a couple of days before giving you the eight packs of cigarettes I owe you?"
Seeing that Li Changfeng still remembered, Wei Donglai smiled and waved a hand. "Forget it. You don't have to give me those eight packs."
"No. A bet's a bet, and I have to pay up. I'll go catch more mud eels over the next couple of days, and I'll definitely give them to you then."
"Then we'll talk about it after you've made the money."
"Don't worry, I'll definitely make it."
The two chatted as they walked and soon reached the tractor.
Li Guowang still had to start the tractor, so the two of them waited to one side.
"Make way, make way, please make way."
Hearing the shouting, Wei Donglai turned and saw someone coming out of the nearby alley, carrying a large cardboard box.
Quite a few things were stacked on top of it, higher than his head, almost completely blocking his view ahead.
He shouted as he walked, completely unaware of a stone in his path.
"Watch out!"
Wei Donglai called out a warning, but it was a little too late. The man stepped right on it.
"Ow!"
The things he was carrying tumbled all over the ground, and he toppled sideways after them.
But before he hit the ground, a hand caught him and held him steady.
It was Wei Donglai.