Chapter 58: First Time Breaking Ten Thousand

Most villagers are Flower Clam Kings, with a few octopus and Chiling fish here and there—not many, just a few dozen each—this is extra income, and Boss Qian pays more than the dock, so the villagers who get paid are overjoyed.

Zhang Guafu's five catties of Flower Clam King sold for 120 dollars, making her delighted.

Next up is the main event.

"Xiao Ye, it's up to you—show me what big catch you've got."

"Lao Er really has something good this time." Zhang Guafu didn't wait for Xiao Hu to act; she herself lifted the two red-spotted fish over to Ye Cheng and carefully poured them into the water tank.

The villagers still there stared at the red-spotted fish, shocked.

"Wow! Red-spotted fish!"

"Such a big one—Lao Er's going to make a fortune."

"Haven't seen one in years; catching one at sea feels novel, and you can even get it while gathering—Lao Er really is impressive."

"When I get home I'll pray to the Sea Dragon King, hoping to snag one—dead or alive."

Boss Qian couldn't help swallowing, he'd rarely seen such a thing.

"Brother, you really…" Boss Qian gave Ye Cheng a thumbs-up.

"Let's see the price—getting these two was a lot of work for me."

"Alright, live red-spotted fish—I'll pay 800 per catty, how's that?"

Even though I knew red-spotted fish was expensive, Boss Qian's quote still made everyone suck in a breath of cold air, and the scene fell silent.

Everyone looked at Ye Cheng with envy.

To be honest, Ye Cheng's own heart raced a little—damn, it felt more exciting than signing a ten-million-dollar contract with a big factory.

"Okay." Ye Cheng forced out a strained "okay."

The two fish were weighed: one 4 catties 8 taels, the other 5 catties 6 taels, total 10 catties 4 taels, coming to 8,320 dollars.

Over eight thousand dollars for two fish—yes, really yes—Ye Cheng's eyes were about to glow.

He steadied himself, waved his hand, signaling it was fine.

Next was the sea eel; Xiao Hu poured it into the water tank, prompting another round of exclamations.

"Such a big sea eel, so fatty."

"Damn, we're from the same village—this gap is huge."

"Xiao Hu, you guys can actually catch this? That's too impressive."

Hearing the crowd's praise, Xiao Hu felt a bit smug: "Originally there were two, one got away—bigger than this one—and I caught them both."

"Wow, Xiao Hu's that good too."

"Xiao Hu, aren't you married yet? My niece's family has a girl—why not bring her over sometime for everyone to meet?"

"My niece—strong, hardworking, able to endure hardship—Xiao Hu, you'd be perfect for her."

Several aunties started matchmaking Xiao Hu on the spot, leaving him blushing.

"Um… um… I'm still young."

"Right, he's young." Ye Cheng added cheekily, provoking laughter.

"Xiao Ye, this sea eel is forty dollars per catty; this one is 4 catties 2 taels, 168 dollars."

"Okay, that works."

To be honest, after hearing the eight-thousand-dollar price, this bit over a hundred felt nothing to Ye Cheng.

"Xiao Hu, first bring out the Chiling fish." Sell the cheap first, then the expensive—that gives a sense of achievement. Damn Zhang Guafu sold the red-spotted fish right off the bat, making Ye Cheng feel a bit bland selling the rest.

Xiao Hu did as told, dumping a sack of Chiling fish—alive and dead in a noisy bunch—something everyone could accept, since they're common; it's just that Ye Cheng's lot happened to be larger.

"This is good; I'm not—old customers love this, though it's rare, so they can eat it for a couple days." Boss Qian was quite pleased.

Sometimes not every customer wants such pricey seafood; big spenders are few.

"I'll price the Chiling fish at ten dollars per catty; here we have 42 catties, so 420 dollars."

After counting the money, Xiao Hu produced the last sack of red nine-spine fish, dozens packed tightly.

"Holy crap, Xiao Ye, where'd you get so many red nine-spine fish?" Boss Qian was a bit startled.

"They fell from the sky."

A group of villagers gave Ye Cheng a big white eye—"As if the sky only drops things on your head."

"These red nine-spine fish aren't small; I'll give you 140 per catty—here we have 24 catties, total 3,360 dollars."

Boss Qian tallied the cash, eyed Ye Cheng's empty sack, then rummaged through it.

"Anything left?"

"Nope, it's all here."

"Impossible—you're not still hiding some big haul, are you? Like a golden big conch—any left?"

Boss Qian still remembered the scene last time Ye Cheng produced a conch; this guy loves that trick—maybe he's got something else stashed, waiting to pull out and shock himself.

Ye Cheng looked speechless, shook his head, and said helplessly,

"No conch left, but there's a geoduck I was planning to eat myself."

As he spoke, Ye Cheng pulled the lone geoduck from his pocket.

Boss Qian snatched it without hesitation: "What are you eating? My customers are waiting—I'll take this too."

"This one's not heavy on you—just 200 dollars, okay?"

"Okay, okay, I'll do as you say."

"Damn, next time I'll put what I want to eat with Xiao Hu—this old Qian really has a sharp nose."

"Really nothing left this time?" Boss Qian double‑checked.

"Nothing left, truly nothing—just a few Flower Clam Kings; I'll give them all to you."

"That works."

"..."

"You're such a big boss, and you're really not picky."

"Nonsense, the boss also has to eat; if there's money to be made, of course we make some."

"Boss Qian shamelessly took more than ten Flower Clam Kings from Xiao Hu as well."

"All right, all right, hurry up and count the money; it's getting late."

"Boss Qian pulled out a calculator and started pressing the buttons,"

"168+8320+420+3360+200, total is ___ yuan."

"Wow! It's over ten thousand!"

"A wave of exclamations came from the surroundings."

"Foraging can bring in over ten thousand, eat two bowls of noodles, eat one bowl and dump another, enjoy endless luxury cars and beauties."

"Several old women glanced at each other, swarmed over, grabbed Ye Cheng and started trying to set him up."

"Lao Er, my relative's daughter is a college student, still in school, fair-skinned, beautiful, with legs longer than her life—do you like her? Next time I'll bring her for you to see."

"What's the use of a college student? I have a girl back home who can chop firewood on the mountain, plant vegetables in the field, build chicken coops by day, warm the bed at night—she's the ideal wife."

"Lao Er, none of those suit you; I have a girl here, look, I even have her photo—her mouth is as long as Zu Xian's, her smile is as lovely as Man Yu's, her face is better than Qing Xia's."

"A crowd of old women chattered noisily, making Ye Cheng's head swell."

"He stretched out his hand, squeezed out a bit of space with effort, and shouted loudly,"

"I have no car, no house, rural hukou, premarital property needs notarization, bride price at most eight hundred flat, I smoke, drink, and shout 'attention!'"

"After shouting that sentence, the whole venue fell silent."