Chapter 82: Young man, I earn far more than you in a day

Before pulling it up, Widow Zhang bowed in all directions, and they actually hauled up a grouper for her; although it was a bit small, it made Widow Zhang extremely happy.

Ye Cheng watched as everyone had a haul; feeling helpless, he guessed these were all attracted by his exclusive bait—with everyone setting so many fish traps, the fish and shrimp must have been going in circles.

If the fish trap is set up like this, it can't be placed at all.

Ye Cheng didn't bother watching the others' hauls; he and Xiao Hu carried their things back to the village first, since he had to go to town to sell fish.

The sky was pitch black, the darkest moment before dawn; the two felt their way back to the village, set their things down at Ye Cheng's place, and Xiao Hu went home to sleep—after an all‑night shift, he could barely endure it.

Ye Cheng began sorting today's catch:

Spider Snail: 33

Blue-clothed Fish: 6

Parrotfish: 5

Sea Cucumber: 40+

Blue Crab: 5

Small Blue Dragon: 1

White Shrimp: 30+ jin

Bread Crab: 1

Pond Shrimp: 5 jin

Then there were sardines and octopus, which could only serve as filler.

Not bad; Ye Cheng felt these could still be sold.

He secured the water tank on the motorcycle, placed the spider snails in a snakeskin bag, stacked and fastened them; before 6 a. m., Ye Cheng rode into town.

Ye Cheng still intended to sell at the vegetable market; Boss Qian's purchase was fine, but from a sales standpoint he needed multiple channels so as not to be strangled.

Having come today, it was already routine; Ye Cheng planned to first check yesterday's spot, where the old man had said he'd reserve a place for him, though he wasn't sure if it was genuine.

As he just rode his motorcycle over, an excited man's voice called out, 'Young man, here, here.'

Ye Cheng looked and saw it was indeed the old man from yesterday, only he had moved to a different spot—yesterday's spot was now occupied.

'Grandpa, are you saving this spot for me?' Ye Cheng pointed to an empty space beside the old man.

'Nonsense—if I don't save it for you, who would I save it for? I only have this little vegetable stall.' The old man happily complained; seeing Ye Cheng arrive, the wrinkles on his face smoothed out a bit.

Ye Cheng glanced at the old man's vegetable baskets and teased, 'Grandpa, you still only have this much vegetables? It's double what you had yesterday.'

Yesterday the old man had just two baskets with a few vegetables; today he has two large baskets—not just double, but five times as much.

'Yesterday it sold so well, I haven't had my fill; today I need to bring more, and you'll help me sell today—relying on myself alone definitely won't work.'

The old man's frank candor was good; Ye Cheng thought it fine—people needn't be too hypocritical, and sometimes being straightforward makes everyone comfortable.

'All right, Grandpa, thanks for you getting up early to reserve this prime spot for me—I guarantee I'll sell all these vegetables today.'

The old man helped Ye Cheng unload the goods; looking at the huge pile of seafood, he couldn't help but sigh.

'I increasingly feel you're like a fish farm, with so much stuff every day.'

'Could a fish farm have this?' Ye Cheng pulled out a spider snail.

'Spider snail—sure, you've caught so many, you'll strike it rich today.' The old man laughed heartily, genuinely happy for Ye Cheng.

To be honest, Ye Cheng was a bit curious—seeing him make so much money, the old man seemed to have no jealousy at all, which didn't quite make sense.

'Grandpa, you see I sell seafood while you sell vegetables—I earn more, aren't you jealous?' Ye Cheng gestured gently.

The old man instantly understood, patted him and said, 'Young man, I earn far more than you in a day—what do I have to be jealous of? Selling vegetables is just a pastime for me.'

'Earns more than me?'

Ye Cheng smiled, and inwardly had to give the old man a thumbs-up.

'You really know how to show off.'

'I'm a person with a system, and you say you can earn more than me.'

Ye Cheng didn't call him out, arranged his things, and suddenly his stomach growled.

'Haven't had breakfast yet? Come, I have steamed buns my wife made—have one?'

'Sure, Grandpa, then I won't be polite.'

Ye Cheng took the bun from the old man's hand; it was decent, with tight pleats and a nice shape, though a bit cool and small.

He shoved it in whole, took a bite, and a burst of fresh fragrance exploded in his mouth, reaching the tip of his tongue, making him involuntarily inhale deeply.

'Grandpa, this bun is fragrant—you're blessed.'

The old man looked speechless at him and said, 'Young man, eating like that, what filling can you taste? You're like Zhu Bajie eating ginseng fruit.'

'Grandpa, ginseng fruit isn't as tasty as a bun.'

Of course, Ye Cheng was referring to the so-called ginseng fruit of later times, which is mediocre in texture.

Before the old man could speak, a middle-aged woman came over, looked at the spider snail in front of Ye Cheng, and picked it up with interest.

'How much for this snail?'

'Beautiful, depending on size: big ones 150, small ones 100; the one in your hand is 120.'

After all, spider snail is spider snail; it sells for a bit less than the whelk, but taste-wise it's not inferior—just that its appearance is a bit poorer.

Upon hearing 'beautiful,' the woman was a bit dazed—she had half-white hair, yet a young guy called her beautiful.

'Haha, her charm is quite enduring.'

As for the price, 120 seemed a bit steep; the woman hadn't spoken yet when the old man beside her hastily held up a scallion.

'Buy the snail, and I'll throw in a scallion.'

'Damn, old man, you're even jumping in to answer.'

The woman looked at the snail, then at the scallion, still hesitating.

Ye Cheng then said, 'Beautiful, take one—it's very fresh; press it and it still squirts water.'

The auntie gave it a press, and sure enough water came out—it was still very lively.

"Okay, then give me one." The auntie pulled out her wallet and started counting money.

"Pretty lady, how about some white shrimp? I still have plenty of other seafood." Ye Cheng said while packing for the auntie, introducing his other products.

The auntie looked at the white shrimp and pond shrimp, bought some more white shrimp, and the uncle obediently handed over a bunch of chives.

In total the auntie spent 140 yuan; Ye Cheng gave the uncle 5 yuan as payment for the vegetables.

The uncle cheerfully pocketed the money, just about to pull Ye Cheng into a chat.

A pleasant hoarse male voice sounded, "Blue-clothed Fish, how beautiful!"

Ye Cheng looked up at the newcomer—a middle-aged woman with a young guy; the woman wore proper casual attire, graceful and refined; the guy was tall and long-legged, full of youthful vigor, wearing brand-name sportswear.

Just as Ye Cheng felt awkwardly jealous of that little puppy, the middle-aged woman, looking at the young man, said,

"Son, do you like eating this fish?"

Damn, they're actually mother and son.