Chapter 255: with translation of chapter title

He poured out the shrimp, a boat full to the brim, estimating there were several dozen catties.

These shrimp are each ten-odd centimeters long, their shells light red or orange, and their abdomens bear light-colored rings.

This is the East Sea red shrimp; a similar kind is called red-haired shrimp, but the red-haired shrimp is darker in color, deep red or purplish red, and its size is generally smaller, usually not exceeding 10 centimeters.

The flesh of the East Sea red shrimp is firm and plump, usually used for blanching or braising in oil, while the red-haired shrimp is mostly made into dried shrimp, so the East Sea red shrimp commands a higher price than the red-haired shrimp.

Shrimp are worth more alive than dead; with this many East Sea red shrimp, the hold of this 5-meter fishing boat simply cannot contain them, so the two had no choice but to temporarily stop pulling the fish traps, first placing this batch of shrimp into the hold to keep them alive, then they took the boat back to the village.

Originally they had planned to have Ye Guowei help, but seeing that it was already late, Ye Cheng gave up on that, and he and Xiao Hu transported the batch of shrimp back home, then took the water tank and went back out to sea.

There were still five fish traps; even if they were all that full, it should be about the same.

The second fish trap also contained East Sea red shrimp, a bit less than the first, estimated at around fifty catties.

This time they apparently encountered a surge of East Sea red shrimp; the later fish traps were mainly East Sea red shrimp, with some smaller white shrimp mixed in.

The five fish traps yielded several hundred catties, though the two didn't bother to count exactly; in any case, they filled both the boat and the water tank.

By the time the two returned to the village, it was already past midnight.

The two moored the boat, then struggled to carry the water tank back.

The night was very quiet, aside from the occasional dog bark, there was no sound at all.

It would be best if no one saw Ye Cheng, for he had become too conspicuous; if others saw him hauling in so much shrimp, they'd probably start spreading rumors again.

Checking the time, it was already past 2 a. m.; both were tired, so they lay down and went straight to sleep.

Perhaps knowing that Ye Cheng had been tired from last night's foraging, Ye Guowei did not come to wake him, allowing Ye Cheng to sleep straight through until 9 a. m.

After waking, Ye Cheng's first act was to check on the shrimp; a few lobsters were fine, and with the aerator they remained alive decently, while the East Sea red shrimp had died a few, but not many, and it didn't affect the overall situation.

But Ye Cheng didn't dare delay; he quickly called Boss Qian to have him come collect.

Upon hearing there were several hundred catties of East Sea red shrimp, Boss Qian didn't dare take it all, mainly because shrimp taste bad when dead; he could only take a few dozen catties at a time, which was enough.

He could take those few lobsters, especially the Chinese ornate lobster, which is quite rare.

Since Boss Qian couldn't take that much, Ye Cheng had no choice; he called Xiao Hu over, and the two loaded several large boxes onto Xiao Hu's tricycle and headed for the dock.

The dock is full of wholesalers; not just a few hundred catties, even several thousand catties could be sold.

In the morning, there were many buyers at the dock, since many boats fished at night; when Ye Cheng and his party arrived, the whole dock was bustling with haggling.

As soon as Ye Cheng, this rising star, appeared, several buyers walked over and started chatting him up,

"Lao Er has arrived! What did you bring this time?"

"East Sea red shrimp, several hundred catties—take a look." Ye Cheng had Xiao Hu set down the water tank; there were exactly five boxes of East Sea red shrimp, and the several merchants kept clicking their tongues in amazement.

"Lao Er, I thought you said you couldn't buy a boat—how did you manage to get so much red shrimp? Don't tell me you got it from foraging; picking them one by one would take a whole day."

"Xiao Hu, your second uncle is really impressive—he can go back on a price we agreed upon."

I never expected that my attempt to buy a boat would be known to everyone at the dock, but thinking about it, having asked Ye Guowei to inquire about used boats, it's no surprise these people know.

When others mentioned Wang Defa, Xiao Hu replied in a gruff voice, "He's him, I'm me—don't lump us together."

The idea to buy Wang Defa's boat originally came from Xiao Hu, meant to help his second uncle find a buyer, and Ye Cheng was generous enough to add an extra 3000; who knew they'd get stood up, and to this day Xiao Hu doesn't want to deal with his own second uncle.

Those few buyers, hearing Xiao Hu say that, just gave a heh-heh laugh and said nothing; they were there to collect goods, and they treated it as a joke.

Several people picked up the red shrimp to examine them; Ye Cheng said they were East Sea red shrimp, but they themselves still needed to check.

After some inspection, they confirmed it was indeed East Sea red shrimp, and then the several began to make offers.

"Lao Er, I'll take all of it at 15 yuan per catty," said the first man, Lao Zhou, quoting his price.

That price was fairly standard, the starting price for red shrimp, but Ye Cheng knew his batch of red shrimp were generally larger than average, and 15 yuan was for the smaller ones.

He said nothing, just watched the others.

"Eighteen, eighteen yuan per catty—I'll take it all, fair enough?" said the second man, Lao He, speaking up.

"Lao He, aren't you afraid of losing money at 18?" Lao Zhou said displeasedly; although buying and selling involve each naming their own price, there's no rule against a bit of teasing, right?

Facing the peers' mockery, Lao He calmly said, "That batch of Lao Er's goods is indeed good; a higher price is warranted."

"Eighteen yuan will lose you money," Lao Zhou muttered, then turned and walked away.

Lao He looked at Ye Cheng and said, "How about it, Lao Er? Uncle's taking a loss to back you—at eighteen yuan I'm basically breaking even."

Ye Cheng remained silent the whole time, waiting until Lao He finished before saying, "Boss He, there's no need for this double act—we're all our own people; if you want to take it all at twenty yuan, you and Boss Zhou have pulled this stunt on my brother more times than I can count."

Lao Zhou and Lao He run two different shops, but they often team up, playing good cop and bad cop, making other sellers think they're getting a bargain.

Anyone familiar with them knows Ye Cheng simply didn't expect them to try this routine on him as well.

Having been called out, Lao He wasn't angry; he readily said, "Fine, twenty it is, Lao Er—we do business based on judgment; we'll take the low price if we can, but we keep our word: if we say twenty, we mean twenty, unlike Wang Defa."

Seeing Xiao Hu's unpleasant expression, Lao He didn't go on, but instead turned to Ye Cheng and asked,

"Lao Er, are you still looking to buy a boat?"

Seeing Lao He's demeanor, Ye Cheng guessed there must be some connection; he took out a cigarette and lit one for Lao He.

"What's up? Boss He, do you have a lead?"

Lao He happily lit his cigarette, blew a smoke ring, and said, "I actually know someone who wants to sell a boat, only…"

Having said that, Lao He glanced at the red shrimp.

Ye Cheng immediately understood—this guy wanted a kickback—and he at once said, "Fine, I'll give you a discount of one yuan, nineteen yuan per catty—does that work for you?"

"Sure!" Lao He exclaimed, delighted, and slapped his thigh hard.

This boat-selling news wasn't known to just him; a discount of one yuan per catty amounts to several hundred yuan, so it's definitely worth it.