Chapter 229: Taking Crayfish to the City to Sell

Brother, what do you think we should do?

Seeing this attitude, Ye Cheng was quite pleased, just worried about those greedy, desperate folks.

"Hey, shrimp crawlers, do you still remember?" Ye Cheng said.

"You remember, last time I didn't fix you and Xiao Hu Ge some, you said you wanted to eat it yourself?" Chen Zhangfu said.

I still want it—first 200 catties, I'll buy at 2 yuan per catty; whether you gather or catch them yourselves is up to you, but you need to supply me at least 20 catties a day, alright?

After saying that, Ye Cheng slowly sat down, lit a cigarette, and watched their attitudes.

Charging 2 yuan per catty is actually deliberately low; there's no way around it—if this business is to last, the raw material cost must be kept low.

But Ye Cheng's pretended depth lasted only a few seconds before Chen Zhangfu sprang up, delighted, and exclaimed, "Brother, just 20 catties a day? We can pull in 100 catties a day."

Cough—cough—

Those words left Ye Cheng gasping.

He quickly pressed his hand down and said, "100 catties is too much; start with 40 catties a day, about 400 in ten days—can you handle that?"

"What do we need to collect for? We can catch them ourselves," said Chen Zhanglong, who had been silent for a while, full of confidence.

Okay, I'll give you a 400-yuan deposit first; after that, whether you gather or catch them yourselves, just deliver 40 catties to Zhang Guafu every day.

Chen Zhangfu stared at the four big bills, rubbed his hands excitedly, a bit embarrassed as he took them, and said, "Brother, you're paying us before we even start work?"

"If I don't pay up front, are you going to pay me?" Ye Cheng snapped.

Well, since you've handed it over, we might need some startup funds in case we have to gather," Chen Zhangfu chuckled, quickly stashing the cash.

Ye Cheng didn't say much more, and before leaving he warned, "Don't spread this around; if anyone asks, just say someone at home likes to eat them, and don't push up the price of the shrimp crawlers—understand?"

All right, brother, just keep it under wraps." Chen Zhangfu flashed an OK sign, then lowered his voice smugly and said, "Brother, you can trust us—we definitely won't tell anyone about you and Aunt Zhang."

Ye Cheng gave a casual grunt, then immediately realized, turned and snapped, "Damn! I've got nothing to do with her; it's just poor Xiao Liang here, let her earn some honest money—don't talk rubbish."

Got it, bro, I understand—you can relax.

With the matter settled, Ye Cheng didn't add anything else and headed straight back.

Watching Ye Cheng's retreating figure, Chen Zhanglong turned to his brother and asked, "Brother, why do you think Cheng Ge likes Zhang Guafu? She's that old and still has a child."

Chen Zhangfu smirked slightly and said, "You don't understand; people say older folks know how to cherish others, Cheng Ge's parents died early, so he probably just likes that."

Alas, Cheng Ge is so pitiful.

Ye Cheng walked down the road, couldn't help but sneeze—'Ma de,' he muttered, not knowing which bastard was cursing him.

For now, assuming this project can get up and running, if any problems arise later...

As for the ball manager, let's just get it done first and figure out the rest later.

It's just about having capital, just about having the cost of trial and error.

This time the spices cost a few hundred bucks, and since the shrimp were just a trial, they ran under a hundred.

Then we also got Zhang Guafu some big pots and basins and the like, bringing the total outlay to six or seven hundred yuan.

On the third day, Ye Cheng led Zhang Guafu, carrying two basins of crayfish into the city.

As for where to sell it, Ye Cheng pondered for a long time, but ultimately decided to start in the city.

There are several reasons; one is that the villagers all know this, so if you sell it to them for ten yuan a catty, they'll accuse you of being money‑mad.

City folks, however, are different; many don't know what it is, so you tell them it's crayfish.

Crayfish—even with the word 'small' tacked on, it's still a lot cheaper, right?

And that's the gimmick.

Another reason is that ten yuan a catty isn't cheap, and not many villagers are willing to spend that.

As for the selling spot, it's the market where he used to sell vegetables together with Lao Wang.

This time Xiao Hu didn't come along—there was no room, so Ye Cheng pulled Zhang Guafu and carried two big basins, over forty catties of the spicy crayfish.

Seeing so many people, and having to hawk her wares in front of them, Zhang Guafu felt a bit nervous.

"'A Cheng, these... these are all strangers—should I just call out like this?'"

"'Auntie, just get used to it; think of them as people coming to give you money—people giving you money—tell me, are you happy or not?'"

"'Those giving money are naturally happy,' Zhang Guafu said, still a bit nervous."

"'Well, since people are coming to give you money, just smile and greet them; besides, we're selling stuff, not scamming—if they don't buy, forget it. And think of Xiao Liang, he's still waiting for you to raise him.'"

At the mention of Xiao Liang, Zhang Guafu's expression hardened instantly; she bit her lip and silently resolved to sell her goods properly.

"'A mother becomes strong'—this saying isn't just empty words."

Often, a mother for her child can truly do many things she previously couldn't.

Zhang Guafu helped Ye Cheng unload the goods, found an empty spot, set them down, and put up a cardboard sign.

Spicy crayfish, ten yuan per catty, limit two catties per person.

Advertising this is all about the gimmick—like a clearance blowout, a blood‑letting blowout, or the last three days before rent is due; one look and it grabs attention.

Ye Cheng deliberately wrote the words 'limit two catties' large, just to pique people's curiosity.

Sure enough, the first fish took the bait.

A burly‑looking big guy passed by the stall, glanced at the sign, and his steps unconsciously stopped, muttering,

"Limit 2 catties."

"These days, selling things still has purchase limits—this is like going back to the 1970s when you needed meat coupons, right?"

After venting, he planted his feet, pointed at the crayfish, and said, "What the heck is this stuff? I've never seen anything like it before."

Ye Cheng poked Zhang Guafu, signaling her to greet the customer.

Although Zhang Guafu had steadied her confidence, she was still nervous, hemmed and hawed for a while before beginning to introduce haltingly.

"'This is, crayfish, spicy—you... want some?'"

The big guy was also seeing a vendor this nervous for the first time; he almost laughed out loud, leaving Zhang Guafu embarrassingly flushed.

Stepping out the first step wasn't easy, Ye Cheng didn't force Zhang Guafu to continue speaking, but instead took over and said,

"Big brother, we can try this for free, free tasting, have one; if it's not tasty, you just don't buy it."

Saying that, Ye Cheng picked one and gave it to this big brother, afraid he wouldn't eat it, he also took one himself to demonstrate.

The big brother was just joking around, but now people have sent over the free stuff, so he felt embarrassed; imitating Ye Cheng's manner, he peeled open the shrimp and, with some hesitation, shoved it into his mouth.