Chapter 256

"That He Lao Ban, quickly count the money, then take me to see who wants to sell a Boat." Ye Cheng also didn't care about those few hundred dollars; what he needed now was a proper fishing Boat.

That 5-meter fishing Boat is indeed a bit small; like last night, when the Fish Trap burst, it wasn't enough to hold.

He Lao Ban transported the red shrimp back, weighed them together, totaling 270 catties, 5130 dollars.

After giving the money to Ye Cheng, He Lao Ban took Ye Cheng to find the Boat seller.

"Lao Er, the Boat seller is Laochen from Baiyun Village; his son went to the city to buy a house, and since he's already old, he wants to sell the Boat."

"I heard that in the city, a set of housing costs tens of thousands, it's too expensive, you agree, right, Lao Er?"

Xiao Hu curled his lip at the back, "Expensive is expensive, but my older brother has already bought two units."

Ye Cheng smiled, "If others say it's expensive, just let it be; you, a big boss, saying it's expensive, that doesn't hold water."

Lao He hehe laughed, "We can't say that either; our earnings are hard-earned money, and seafood this thing carries some risk; if we mishandle it, we'd lose a big sum!"

"Unlike you guys, after selling to me it's done; after I finish introducing you, I still have to rush back to transport the red shrimp out, or if they die I'll suffer a big loss."

"What he said is actually true; they are middlemen profiting from the price difference, but transportation carries risk."

"Like Ye Cheng's batch of red shrimp, bought at 19 each; if they die on the way, then even 12 can't be sold, resulting in a huge loss."

The three chatted while walking, and soon arrived at a Boat at the edge of Matou.

"Well, that's the one—Laochen's Boat; it looks not bad, much newer than Wang Defa's Boat."

Ye Cheng looked it over; this is also a 12-meter small fishing Boat; judging by appearance, it's a bit newer than Wang Defa's Boat, but surely not young either.

"Laochen! Laochen!" Lao He shouted loudly from the shore.

"Coming!" a voice replied from the Boat; a half-white-haired old man stepped out, looking not young, but his physique was quite straight, appearing as someone who works year-round.

"He Lao Ban, what good business brings you to me?" Laochen was fairly talkative.

"Well, you're not trying to sell a Boat, are you? Let me introduce someone: Ye Cheng, from Baiyun Village; his older brother Ye Guowei has been unloading cargo at the Matou for many years, all our own people; he wants to buy a Boat, why don't you two talk?"

Lao He's words gave a brief introduction of Ye Cheng's basic situation; actually, after all that, it boils down to two points: one, Ye Cheng is a local, not a swindler; two, Ye Cheng wants to buy a Boat.

"Buying a Boat, right? Good, young man, come up and have a look." Laochen made room, gesturing for Ye Cheng to board and inspect.

Seeing Ye Cheng and Laochen hit it off, Lao He gave a greeting and left; the introduction fee was earned.

"Xiao Hu, come up and help have a look."

Ye Cheng called out, and together with Xiao Hu he went aboard the Boat to inspect.

The Boat's structures are pretty similar, but this Boat's live-well is larger, which is nice and meets Ye Cheng's requirement.

He often gets high-grade catch; it's best to keep them lively, so a large live-well is most suitable.

The horsepower is also 60, visible from the helm; this Boat is indeed considerably newer.

"Laochen, how many years has this Boat been in service?" Ye Cheng said, handing over a cigarette.

Laochen took the cigarette, lightly tapped the Boat's gunwale, "I've had it for ten years, no major issues, just regular maintenance; the Boat's hull is sound. If I weren't in urgent need of money, I wouldn't want to sell."

"At your age, with your son gone to the city, it's time to enjoy life."

This Boat is also a single trawl; Laochen added, "Mine is a single trawl, mainly because I have no help; you two lads could modify it into a double trawl, though actually they're quite similar."

At sea, fishing is usually done with longline and trawl; a 12-meter fishing Boat generally doesn't go offshore, longline use is relatively rare, and trawl is the norm.

The Boat itself is basically a single trawl; some add two poles at the Boat's stern to make a double trawl, balancing left and right.

"I also have the license; once you buy it and transfer ownership, you can go straight out to sea to fish."

Ye Cheng glanced at Xiao Hu, who gave a slight nod, indicating the Boat's hull was fine.

"Then, Uncle Chen, how much do you want for it?"

"32,000; originally I could sell it for 35,000, but I need money urgently, so I'll take 32,000, but I want cash."

This price works; the Boat's hull is newer than Wang Defa's and cheaper, and seeing Laochen like this, he's a genuine person.

Ye Cheng gave the go-ahead directly: "Fine, Uncle Chen, 32,000 it is; I have the cash, let me know when you're free, I'll hand over the money and we can transfer title right away."

While they were speaking, Ye Cheng's phone suddenly rang; he glanced at it—it was Boss Qian's call, presumably because Boss Qian had arrived.

"Hello, Boss Qian, have you arrived?"

"Then wait a moment; we're at the Matou, we'll be back in about twenty minutes."

Boss Qian came pretty quickly, probably because he heard about the Ornate lobster.

After hanging up, Ye Cheng looked at Laochen: "Uncle Chen, how about this afternoon—if you're free, we can go straight to the transfer office; I'll give you a deposit of 3000 first."

Laochen waved his hand: "No need for a deposit; Lao He said we're all folks from the same Matou, so this afternoon we'll go to the city together, pay cash and transfer title on the spot."

"Cheng! Then we'll meet in the city this afternoon."

After getting off Laochen's Boat, Ye Cheng looked at Xiao Hu and sighed, "Hu, speaking of which, your second uncle really is beyond words."

"He's been like that his whole life—can't be helped, his eyes only see money." Xiao Hu said resentfully.

Over there, Old Qian was still waiting; the two walked back along the Matou and ran into Lao He.

"Lao Er, how'd it go? Did you close the deal?"

"Boss He, the deal's done, and thanks a lot for your good introduction." Ye Cheng laughed heartily; those few hundred dollars were well spent.

"Of course, I couldn't cheat you; we're all one family—next time you have good goods, remember to come find me first."

"Cheng!"

Ye Cheng let out a ha-ha, "Damn, just now I was still thinking Old Zhou was trying to trick me, and yet we're all one family."

The two hurried home; Old Qian was already sitting in Ye Cheng's courtyard, and upon seeing Ye Cheng return, he hurried out to greet him,

"Brother, you're getting busier and busier."

"No choice—if I don't sell those shrimp, they'll die, and dead shrimp are worthless."

"I get it, Brother—I can't help it either; I truly can't eat several hundred jin of shrimp." Boss Qian began to vent, "Nowadays customers are picky; if you dare serve dead shrimp, they'll curse you out."

"Now living conditions have improved, and diners' demands keep rising; Ye Cheng recalls that in his previous life, he wasn't by the sea, back then shrimp were just shrimp, eaten during the New Year."

"They just sort them into big shrimp and small shrimp; nobody cares whether they're alive or dead."

During the New Year, when a plate of shrimp was brought out, everyone's eyes lit up green; any talk of alive or dead was just nonsense.

Later, when conditions improved, we began eating whatever pond shrimp, and then we stopped eating frozen shrimp.