Chapter 10: I'll eat the bitter fruit, but I also have a temper

The price of seafood is not fixed.

It changes with market demand.

There are also off-seasons and peak seasons; for example, when shuttle crabs flood the market, the price is much lower than usual.

Elder Chen walked out of the storefront, and when he passed by the water tank, he scooped up a handful of water with his hand, casually washed his hands, and greeted, saying, "Yo, you two rascals."

"Such a big tackle box."

"You two pulled a big haul today; you wouldn't have gone and taken the whole catch of those fishermen, would you?"

Others don't like Wu An, but he actually likes it when the two of them come to sell goods—after all, it's stolen fish—and helping them launder the catch lets him drive the price down.

Even if the victim comes looking, they won't find it on his head.

A Qing immediately shouted, "It's not stolen!"

"'It's me and my brother who caught it fishing at the seaside.'"

"'It's a lot more work than stealing fish, so this time you'd better give us a good price.'"

Wu An nodded; A Qing is just like that—too honest, he says whatever's on his mind, no wonder people call him stupid, but he doesn't think it's a big deal.

Being honest is good.

So he's willing to bring A Qing along; if it were someone shrewd instead, he'd have to think twice.

Elder Chen chuckled, his gaze toward the two clearly saying, "Do you think I'm stupid? Believe you, my ass," and without further ado he said, "Fine, fine, fine."

"'Open the tackle box and let me see the goods.'"

A Qing opened the tackle box.

Elder Chen lowered his head to look, his eyes widening: "Holy shit, this… this much? You guys have guts!"

A Qing laughed: "What guts do you need to catch a fish?"

Elder Chen gave him a sideways glance, thinking, "You're pretending pretty well; if I didn't know what kind of people you two are, I might actually have been fooled."

He really wanted this tackle box of fish—he could turn it around for a big profit—but after a moment's thought he said, "I dare not take this much."

A Qing grew anxious: "Not taking it?"

"'Elder Chen, this isn't stolen.'"

"'My brother borrowed Lin Hu and Lin Bin's fishing rods and caught them one by one.'"

Elder Chen stared: "What?"

"'You stole from Lin Hu and his brother?'"

"'Then I definitely can't take it—what if they come and wreck my stall?'"

A Qing scratched his head: "How are you even more stupid than me? I already said it's not stolen."

Elder Chen laughed: "Who would believe that?"

"'This isn't just one or two fish; the risk is too high.'"

"'Unless…'"

A Qing hurriedly asked: "Unless what?"

Elder Chen said: "Unless you sell each fish for ten dollars, I'll take it."

"'I'll give you two hundred dollars for this whole tackle box of fish.'"

"'That's not too little; it's enough for you two to live it up for several days.'"

A Qing glared and cursed: "Elder Chen, how can your heart be so black!"

"'That big sea bass my brother caught alone weighs over ten kilos, and you're only giving us two hundred?'"

Elder Chen said: "That's practically found money; what do you have to complain about?"

"'Besides, who else at this dock would dare buy your goods but me?'"

"'One word: sell or scram.'"

He spoke rudely, and with two rascals he didn't need to put on a pleasant face—making a profit would be nice, but if not, it didn't matter.

He wasn't just talking nonsense; he really did have to bear the risk—if Lin Hu came causing trouble, he'd have to figure out how to settle it.

"'Damn... fuck...' A Qing couldn't hold back, and he started cursing right there."

As A Qing shouted his curses, more and more people gathered, all coming to watch the spectacle.

Li Juan hurried back, pulling A Qing away and scolding him to shut up.

A Qing was still unable to let go of his anger.

"'What the hell, Elder Chen only gives us two hundred for this whole tackle box of fish?'"

"'Elder Chen, you're not just trying to fool us like idiots.'"

"'At the very least you should give us three hundred.'"

"'Elder Chen is too black-hearted.'"

The speakers were other buyers at the stalls, who considered themselves competitors; now they had a chance to talk back to Elder Chen, and one after another they began to speak up.

It was all in jest, but if Elder Chen turned hostile, it wouldn't be a joke anyone could afford.

Elder Chen shouted: "Get lost, what's all this fuss?"

"'You dare buy the fish these two rascals are selling?'"

"'Just now A Qing himself said the tackle box belongs to Lin Hu and Lin Bin.'"

Upon hearing that,

Everyone immediately began to discuss, and even passersby who weren't clear on the situation curiously asked.

"'Those two are rascals, stealing people's catches to sell.'"

"'Today it looks like they pulled a big job.'"

"'Elder Chen is deliberately suppressing the price.'"

Don't even mention two hundred; I wouldn't dare take one hundred.

Exactly, taking them would cause trouble; with this many fish, it's enough to get a criminal sentence.

Wu Erzi, quickly return the fish, or else if you get caught, you'll drag your father into trouble.

Wu An sighed to himself.

He doesn't blame these people for misunderstanding; it's because he was too reckless before, and now he has to eat this bitter fruit, but he also has a temper—you're not buying, right?

I still won't sell it.

At worst, I'll go back by bike and make a trip to town to sell.

Crossing a hill, riding for over an hour, the road is a bit far; it's a hassle, but at least I won't have to put up with this nonsense.

He said: "A Qing, close the fishing box."

Let's go.

A Qing grumbled while closing the lid, and Li Juan sighed as she went to pull the cart.

Not to mention Old Chen and the other vendors; even she had doubts in her heart, but Wu An really seemed different—he didn't argue or shout, just calmly said they should leave.

She could tell it wasn't guilt, but rather disdain for arguing with everyone.

They had barely taken two steps when a buyer named Lao Xie shouted: "Don't go, don't go!"

Others won't take them.

I dare to take them!

Wu An was somewhat surprised and asked: "How dare you?"

Lao Xie hehehed a smile: "Anyway, I just dare."

If you go to town, the hassle will surely kill these fish, and the price will definitely drop.

Better sell them to me; I guarantee a fair price.

Wu An thought it over, nodded: "Okay."

Lao Xie's stall wasn't far, just two stalls away from Old Chen's purchasing stand.

As Wu An went over, everyone followed to watch the excitement.

Old Chen was there too, sneering: "Lao Xie, Lin Hu and Lin Bin are your old regulars; aren't you afraid they'll overturn your stall later?"

In the crowd, someone who knew Lin Hu secretly made a phone call.

Onlookers saw it and laughed, thinking a good show was about to begin.

Lao Xie ignored the bystanders, poured the fish from the fishing box into a large basin, sorted them by size into several portions, and announced the price for each.

Naturally the most expensive was the grouper, at 150 per catty.

The sea bass was the cheapest, at only 25 per catty.

However, the largest sea bass weighed as much as sixteen catties, priced separately at 35 per catty.

As for the Stone Nine Public's price, it surprised Wu An—30 per catty, but these fish are too small to fetch much money.

The black bream's price wasn't bad either, at 45 per catty.

These are all purchase prices.

If they were sold retail at the town market, the price could probably go even higher; the fishermen of their village, whose catches from sea fishing and shore gathering are usually sold to purchasing stalls, or else they set up a small stall at the dock to sell retail, but even retail doesn't fetch a high price.

Customers who come to the dock to buy seafood are all after the low price.

If the price were high, they'd rather buy at the market.