Chapter 219: Next time, call me to the class reunion

"What's up? Brother, do you have some unspoken difficulty?" Shopkeeper Hu asked curiously.

Ye Cheng shook his head. "Boss, to be honest, these bird's nests were picked by my father and older brother. To harvest them, my father and brother even injured their feet, which is why I'm here selling them. My father said this is genuine top-grade goods, and they must sell for 20,000."

"This..." Shopkeeper Hu didn't know how to respond; it was so tragic that if he haggled again he'd seem unscrupulous.

But not haggling seems a bit high.

"However!" Ye Cheng suddenly raised his voice, startling Shopkeeper Hu.

After saying that, Ye Cheng looked at Shopkeeper Hu with sincerity: "I think you're a decent boss, so I'll decide myself—no 20,000, just 18,000. At worst I'll get a beating from my father when I go back; consider it making friends. What do you think?"

Shopkeeper Hu looked astonished; these words sounded familiar.

While Shopkeeper Hu was still stunned, Ye Cheng brought out all the bird's nests: "Look, they're all here, top-quality, completely natural."

"As long as it's 18,000, we'll have more stock later—I'll come to you first."

"From now on we'll be long-term customers—what do you think?"

Shopkeeper Hu stared at the large pile of bird's nests, his eyes wide.

Good goods!

Nice goods!

And there's so much!

If we have steady supply later, even if it's a bit pricey it's worth it.

"Then let me weigh my goods?" Shopkeeper Hu got a bit excited—this would be a long-term business; with such a good source, he could hold his head high in the trade.

"Of course, you weigh it."

Shopkeeper Hu fetched a special small scale, placed all the bird's nests on it, and carefully moved the slider,

"It totals 485 grams, 18,000 per catty, that is yuan."

Shopkeeper Hu's fingers trembled on the calculator—such an expensive item.

"Fine, let's go with that price. Do you have good sliced American ginseng? Give me two boxes."

The American ginseng was bought for Jiang Yunxiang's elderly mother; after all, the in-laws from the Ye family were visiting, and with the parents absent, I, as the junior, had to keep up appearances.

"Yes, yes, this is top-grade American ginseng—1,000 per box." Shopkeeper Hu quickly brought over two boxes.

"This won't be like the inferior white bird's nests you sell outside, will it?" Ye Cheng eyed Shopkeeper Hu scrutinizingly.

Shopkeeper Hu relaxed his face: "Those lines fool idiots like your class monitor, but I couldn't deceive you, brother—just look yourself."

Ye Cheng also really opened it, casually picking a few slices; they were pale yellow, not white, suggesting they hadn't been processed.

He lightly bit a piece—slightly bitter then sweet, with no off-flavor.

The slices were fairly intact, with clear grain, not like those made from glued-together scraps; they seemed like a good batch.

After settling the bill, Ye Cheng walked out with the money and American ginseng, while Shopkeeper Hu followed behind, earnestly urging him to come back for any future good goods.

Just stepping out of the Hall of Shared Virtue, he saw that idiot actually standing at the door; Ye Cheng turned his head, intending to leave, as there was really nothing to say to that idiot.

"Hey, Ye Cheng, don't go—did you sell your bird's nests?" Wu Bin called out from behind.

Ye Cheng resignedly turned back and began boring small talk: "Yeah, sold them, and I also picked up some American ginseng."

"Sorry, I originally said I'd buy it for 1,200, but the boss wouldn't agree, and it's not that I don't want to help you—how much did you end up selling for?" Wu Bin began speaking hypocritically, estimating that Ye Cheng must have sold it for around 1,000.

"Oh, sold at 18,000 per catty." Ye Cheng replied flatly.

Wu Bin's mouth twitched, and his girlfriend snorted coldly, "You can really pretend, still claiming 18,000."

Ye Cheng gave her a glance, thinking inwardly, "With you pretending, even the powder would fall off."

"Well, class monitor, if there's nothing else I'll head back first—I still need to return to the village." Ye Cheng couldn't be bothered to continue chatting.

Upon hearing Ye Cheng still had to go back to the village, Wu Bin's sense of superiority rose again: "Still going back to the village? I'm already preparing to buy an apartment in the city."

"Oh, you're impressive." Ye Cheng rolled his eyes, truly not wanting to continue the conversation—did he have to tell him he'd already bought two apartments?

Ye Cheng waved vaguely and walked off.

"Hey, Ye Cheng, you're invited to the next class reunion— the class belle will be there too." Wu Bin shouted from afar.

In the distance, Ye Cheng staggered.

Class belle...

His girlfriend slapped Wu Bin: "Why would you invite someone like that? He's just a waste—class reunions don't cost money."

Wu Bin gave a hehe smile, pinched his girlfriend's cheek, and said, "Silly, without such fools, who'd know I'm smart?" Hahaha.

"Yeah, and claiming the bird's nests sold for 18,000—really laughable."

"Too funny."

"No, could it be that you're just like seeing our class belle?"

"No way, how could I possibly..."

Although there was that interlude, Ye Cheng ultimately managed to sell the bird's nests, and the price wasn't low.

Well, maybe it was a bit high.

As for whether we can get bird's nests in the future, that remains to be said.

Before heading back, Ye Cheng went to the previous real estate agency and retrieved the property deed.

Looking at the booklet in his hand, Ye Cheng felt a bit sentimental: people in this country spend their whole lives just for this little booklet.

In his previous life he was paying off a mortgage; in this life he has to continue doing so.

He owned two apartments—he left his older brother's unit untouched, and entrusted his own to Xiao Chen to rent out; although the rent wasn't high, it was at least some income.

After completing the paperwork, Xiao Chen thanked Ye Cheng profusely and saw him out.

With Ye Cheng's two apartments as performance, she had become a formal employee.

Riding his beloved scooter, Ye Cheng also bought a spotted grouper, a cooked pork hock, braised beef, white liquor, and then chocolate—who let his nephew love eating it?

After finishing all that and returning to the village, Ye Cheng first gave Xiao Hu 6,000 yuan, then carried the goods to his older brother's house.

Just as he reached the doorway, he saw Qian Shen from next door standing at the doorway, ears perked up, looking all gossipy.

"Aunt, eavesdropping on the wall?" Ye Cheng teased.

Qian Shen spat at him upon seeing Ye Cheng, saying, "Get lost, you little kid, what do you know about eavesdropping? I'm listening to your sister-in-law's mother."

"The old lady's here, huh? What's she up to, causing trouble inside?"

"Not just causing trouble, this one left and right dislikes, oh dear, she's about to drive your sister-in-law to distraction, and she still says your older brother has been doing hard labor all these years, good-for-nothing. And besides, Qian Shen's imitation is lifelike, just as Ye Cheng remembers."

"Wow, you've been complaining for so long, not even a word about me? That's not normal." Ye Cheng self-deprecatingly remarked.

"How could it not? They also talked about you, saying you spend all day stealing chickens and dogs, that your older brother still has to protect you. Your sister-in-law says you've become successful now, will go out to sea to make money, the old lady almost rolled her eyes out of her head."