Chapter 496: Jiang Yunxiang's uncle has arrived

All right, I understand.

Lao He, don't listen to his nonsense; there's no giant grouper, he's just messing with you.

What!? Lao He exploded upon hearing it, looked at the boat, then turned to look at Xiao Hu, his face alternating between pale and flushed.

Well done, Wang Xiaohu, you dare to tease me.

Lao He flew into a rage, took off his slipper and threw it at Xiao Hu, but the distance was a bit far, and Xiao Hu easily dodged it.

Ye Cheng quickly grabbed him and patted his shoulder, "All right, Lao He, he's still young, immature."

"He's taller than me and still immature." Lao He muttered a few complaints.

Xiao Hu walked over with a smirk, looking at Lao He teasingly, "Boss He, you're old, running is good for your health."

Lao He snorted dissatisfiedly, "I'm an old bag of bones; if I get lost, you'll be responsible."

"Tch, the other day when there was a giant grouper, I didn't see you having any problems." Xiao Hu retorted teasingly.

"All right!" Ye Cheng said lightly, cutting off their pointless conversation.

Let's check the goods.

Duan Chunsheng had already moved quite a bit ashore; Lao He inspected box after box.

Upon seeing the Pipi Shrimp, Lao He's anger vanished instantly, his legs no longer sore, his bones no longer aching; he straightaway picked up two and examined them closely.

"This size is okay, this batch has yellow; look at this yellow, it'll definitely fetch a good price." Duan Chunsheng brought up a box of the yellow ones.

"There's yellow?" Lao He hastily grabbed another yellow one, his old face lighting up.

Lao Er, I'll take all these Pipi Shrimp.

Fine, I called you over just to have you take them.

"I'll give you 30 per catty for females, 20 for males, 50 for the yellow ones—okay?" Lao He quoted smoothly.

Ye Cheng shook his head slightly, "Lao He, add a bit more for the yellow ones; yellow ones this big are rare."

Lao He picked up a yellow Pipi Shrimp, looked at it twice, gestured a bit—indeed, it's large-headed,

"All right, 60 per catty for the yellow ones; that's already plenty—I can't go higher."

Okay, 60 per catty then.

Lao He called out, and the workers behind came over heavily.

"Mackerel, cod, and such are about the same; I've packed them at 5 yuan per catty, while sardines only go for 2."

"Sea snails 40, fragrant snails 30, octopus 30; this sea carp is uncommon, at most 20 per catty."

Lao He walked and quoted prices; these are common fish, low-end goods.

Huh, what's this?

Lao He stopped in front of the croaker; a dozen or so croakers, split open and gutted, lay in the basket.

Why were they killed?

Oh, my mistake; this isn't for sale, I'll take it back to feed the shrimp—look at this.

Ye Cheng kicked the croaker aside and pulled over another basket.

Lao He's face flickered, and he squatted down in puzzlement,

Fish maw?

Yeah, fish maw—see if you'll take it; if not, I'll dry it myself and sell it.

What fish maw? Still drying it to sell?

Lao He was speaking when his eyes flashed, his heart stirred; he took over the basket of just‑killed fish and flipped it over to look.

Damn!

Croaker!

Lao He's eyes widened instantly.

So these are fish maw.

No wonder, no wonder Ye Cheng said he'd take them back to dry and sell.

How about it? Will you take these too, Lao He?

Ye Cheng's voice came from behind.

"Take them! I must!" Lao He exclaimed delightedly, picking up the fish maw and weighing it in his hand.

As long as you know the goods; Ye Cheng just fears running into someone who doesn't, and then can't explain.

Lao He liked it more and more, clicking his tongue, "Good, really good—just a bit small; if it were bigger, it'd be worth even more."

Ye Cheng, waiting in the back, grew bored: "All right, we've seen enough—tell me what price you can offer."

When it came to quoting a price, Lao He hesitated; this item isn't common, he needed to check the market price.

In under five minutes, Lao He returned and held up two fingers,

This size, 200 yuan each.

200 each—not cheap, but Ye Cheng nodded, agreeing.

Calculate by category, settle in one go.

In total, the sales amounted to yuan, enough to break ten thousand, purely thanks to the fish maw and Pipi Shrimp.

Lao He, after paying, wanted to leave, but Ye Cheng grabbed him.

What's up? Anything else?

Yes. Ye Cheng pulled Lao He aside and lit a cigarette.

Seeing Ye Cheng's mysterious look, Lao He's eyes flickered: "Is this about the Kong Lao Ban I introduced you to?"

Damn, you're a god—how do you know all this? Ye Cheng was a bit surprised, you'd jump in to answer.

Seeing Ye Cheng's surprised look, Lao He immediately showed a proud expression,

「I'm telling you, this Old Kong likes to take small advantages a bit, but he's been in the business a long time, has wide connections, so as long as you're familiar with his tricks, finding him is no problem。」

You've just gone there, he'll definitely test you。」

Saying this, Lao He curiously glanced at Ye Cheng, 「What are you having him sell for you? I didn't ask you before. 」

「Crayfish, I sent 200 catties over this morning, saying only 60 catties were sold. 」

「If it's not that your crayfish aren't selling well, then it's that he wants to press the price. 」

Lao He's tone was firm.

It's not selling well, but it's not impossible on the first day.

If it doesn't sell for several days in a row, Ye Cheng wouldn't believe it.

As for foodies, he understands them well—money isn't the issue; what matters is having something to eat.

That means this guy probably wants to press the price.

Alright, let's see tomorrow.

After collecting the money, it was just over ten thousand; Ye Cheng gave each person 2000, kept 6000 himself, and after factoring in the expenses of going out to sea, he didn't make much.

Before he even returned to the village, Jiang Yunxiang's call came through, letting him know to come at noon, saying her maternal uncle had already arrived.

Since the person had arrived, Ye Cheng, on his way, bought some braised dishes at the dock to bring along; after all, they're relatives.

Returning to his older brother's house, it was lively inside; as soon as he entered, he saw Jiang Yunxiang busily running back and forth.

And Ye Guowei didn't need to work today either; he was inside chatting with two men.

Seeing Ye Cheng come in, Ye Guowei immediately stood up, wearing a warm smile,

「A Cheng, come, let me introduce you—this is Yunxiang's maternal uncle, Sun Baocheng. 」

「Ah, hello, Uncle. 」

Ye Cheng reached out his hand, intending to shake Sun Baocheng's hand.

Sun Baocheng's hair already had quite a bit of white, his dark face full of the marks of years; seeing Ye Cheng reach out his hand, he hurriedly wiped his hands on his clothes, then gave a simple, honest smile.

As soon as he took hold of that hand, Ye Cheng felt like he was gripping a piece of old bark; looking down, he saw nothing but old calluses—definitely not someone who avoids work.

After shaking hands briefly, Sun Baocheng quickly pulled his hand back, then stood there awkwardly, not daring to sit down.