Chapter 22: Chen Jinhai: You think this is good?

So, you know where they went?

Out at sea, where else could they go?

They went to that unnamed island you guys went to yesterday; yesterday Wang Haisheng came back and said it, saying you guys earned over 5000, saying the place is full of abalone and sea cucumber, the villagers went crazy, and early this morning they all went out to sea.

Eh...

Ye Lin scratched his head, "Is it necessary? You guys don't even have a system—why are you joining the fun?"

"If it weren't for my bad leg, I'd have gone too—picking up two abalones would have made a fortune." Li Quezi muttered.

Alright, stop talking about that, get me some stuff.

Sure, you made money and plan to buy some tasty stuff? From now on you gotta take care of my voice more. Li Quezi laughed.

Ye Cheng didn't speak, "With just your little convenience store, who else could you look after if not you?"

Give me a case of cola, and a case of beer too, instant noodles and sausage, do you have the old jar pickled mustard greens?

Yes, we have them all; if not, I'll go get them for you. Li Quezi promised, hobbling to get stuff from the house for Ye Cheng.

Do you have noodles or eggs?

Yes, are you planning to cook for yourself? Li Quezi asked curiously.

Yeah, no lunch today, I'll go back and have instant noodles.

How about I make you a serving of fried clams?

Huh? You still have this? Ye Cheng found it strange, as Li Quezi didn't used to sell this.

Fried clams are a favorite snack among seaside folks; Ye Cheng had eaten them before when traveling.

Clam meat mixed with flour, simply pan-fried until golden brown; one bite, the clam meat bursts with juice, that fresh fragrance—Ye Cheng's mouth watered just thinking about it.

Nowadays with more tourists, sometimes people want to eat it, so I've prepared some.

Sure, give me one serving, how much?

6 yuan.

Damn, Li Quezi, you're really dark—charging 6 yuan for a serving of fried clams.

According to 2002 prices, this should sell for about 3-4 yuan; Li Quezi is ripping off customers.

Li Quezi said with a righteous expression, "Ye Lao Er, this is authentic fried clams, no deceit. If you want the 3-yuan version, it's just a bit of meat, mostly flour. The 6-yuan version is all meat, you can't even see the flour."

Besides, Lao Er, what's your status now? Eating the 3-yuan kind would be a downgrade.

After saying that, Ye Cheng felt embarrassed to even say he wanted the 3-yuan version.

Fine, fine, 6 yuan it is then.

Alright, have a seat, I'll prepare it in the back.

Li Quezi's shop is just his home; going to the back is the living area and kitchen.

Ye Cheng boredly lit a cigarette, finished it, and Li Quezi's fried clams came out.

Then, take a look—is the filling generous?

A plate of golden fried clams, the filling is good, plus egg; Ye Cheng blew on it and took a bite.

Hmm, fresh clam meat, juicy and tender, full of juice—one bite sprayed into Ye Cheng's mouth.

A strong fragrance shot up to Ye Cheng's palate, piercing his forehead.

Hmm, not bad. Quezi, your skills are pretty good. Ye Cheng couldn't help but praise, the taste was similar to what he'd eaten while traveling, very delicious.

Sure, generous filling and good taste—6 yuan is worth it, right?

Worth it, eating this one I'm pretty much full.

After finishing the fried clams, Ye Cheng satisfiedly wiped his mouth, pointed at the shelf, "Give me two packs of Liqun."

Sure thing, Lao Er, you're making it big—now you're smoking Liqun.

Alright, also get me some eggs, noodles and flour, and tally up the cost.

Let me calculate: a case of beer 30 yuan, a case of cola 24, eggs 5 yuan, noodles and flour 8 yuan, two packs of Liqun 20 yuan, plus the fried clams just now 6 yuan, total 93 yuan. Li Quezi quickly typed on the calculator.

Looking at the pile of stuff, Ye Cheng couldn't help but feel that money in this era is real money.

Think about the future—any trip to the supermarket and you can't leave without spending three or five hundred.

With so much stuff, Li Quezi's leg isn't convenient, so Ye Cheng rode Li Quezi's tricycle himself to haul everything back.

At home, finally there's some stuff; looking at the packed fridge, he felt at ease.

After checking the time, Ye Cheng grabbed a bottle of soda and set off.

While he's young, he can still enjoy the soda; when he gets older, he'll have to take it easy.

When he reached the village entrance, Xiao Hu had already been waiting there for a while.

Brother, why are you only just arriving?

Ye Cheng glanced at him, "What's the rush this early? It's not like you're racing to be reborn."

Saying that, Ye Cheng handed the shovel to Xiao Hu; the two picked up their buckets, still with two snakeskin bags, and headed toward the sea.

Upon reaching the seaside, they unexpectedly found several people already there—leading them was Village Chief Chen Jinhai, along with Huang Hai, Duan Yong, and Yuan Jiansheng.

Brother, they wouldn't be here looking for us, would they?

Xiao Hu was a bit timid; he wasn't afraid of fighting, but he feared the village chief.

Chen Jinhai is like a local tyrant in Baiyun Village, wielding great power; moreover, the Chen family has relatives in Baiyun Village and several nearby villages, all interconnected.

Families like Xiao Hu's and Ye Cheng's—if Chen Jinhai wanted to deal with them, it would be a matter of minutes.

Xiao Hu, a youngster who hadn't seen much of the world, just knew Chen Jinhai was the big boss in this village, so upon seeing him he started to shrink back.

Ye Cheng didn't care—what official is a village chief?

He's seen plenty of big officials before.

Ye Cheng pulled Xiao Hu along, approached neither humble nor arrogant, and called out, "Village Chief, greetings."

After exchanging greetings, he pulled Xiao Hu and walked toward the tidal flat.

"Wait a minute." Chen Jinhai suddenly spoke, and Duan Yong and Yuan Jiansheng stepped in front of them.

"Hey, what does this mean? We can't even go to the seaside?" Ye Cheng turned his head and asked calmly.

"Yes, the beach belongs to all the villagers together. You, Ye Lao Er, are also a villager, so of course you can go—just..." Chen Jinhai said with a nasty grin.

"What do you mean 'just'?" Ye Cheng had a bad feeling, and Duan Yong and the others also wore looks of eager anticipation.

Yesterday you and Duan Yong's gang weren't fighting over territory, were you?

The Village Chief suddenly brought up yesterday's incident, and Ye Cheng couldn't help but snort. Really, twisting the facts—was it a land dispute? It was outright robbery.

No matter how you put it, I was acting in self-defense.

The Village Chief continued, "To prevent this from happening again, after research by the village, we plan to divide the tidal flat into zones, each household getting a plot. From now on, everyone can gather seafood in their own area, and conflicts will be resolved instantly."

You think that's good, right?

Seeing Chen Jinhai's punch‑worthy face, Ye Cheng knew this was definitely nothing good.