HPDBC Chapter 30 First Failure to Sell Fish
Chapter 30 First Failure to Sell Fish
As the market was about to close, Li Xiangyang returned to the carriage carrying a sack of fish.
"Fish...not all sold out?"
Li Xiangdong was somewhat surprised.
He turned to look at the carriage again and saw that there were still dozens of kilograms of fish left. His mood immediately became somewhat depressed.
He wanted to say something, but the words stuck in his throat.
When Li Xiangyang came to pick up the fish, he told him that there were more fish stalls selling fish on the black market today, and he had a bad feeling about it.
"Brother, what are you thinking? So what if the fish aren't sold out?"
Li Xiangyang smiled and comforted him.
At thirty, one stands firm; at forty, one is free from doubt; at fifty, one knows the mandate of Heaven; at sixty, one's ears are attuned to the truth; at seventy, one can follow one's heart's desires.
Having lived to be over 70 and reborn, Li Xiangyang is naturally much more open-minded than Li Xiangdong, both in terms of his character and his attitude towards life.
Therefore, this small setback is nothing to him.
He had just decided that if he couldn't sell the fish, he would take them to the dark alley in front of the supply and marketing cooperative to sell, and if he still couldn't sell them all, he would go to the coal miners' compound or the agricultural machinery factory.
Anyway, there's no rule that you have to go to the black market to buy fish.
"Let's go, brother, to the supply and marketing cooperative."
"Going to the supply and marketing cooperative? Is there anything else we need to buy today?"
"Don't buy anything, go sell fish."
"Going to the supply and marketing cooperative...to sell fish?"
Li Xiangdong couldn't understand why Li Xiangyang would want to sell fish at the supply and marketing cooperative.
But he still drove the carriage to the supply and marketing cooperative, wanting to see how Li Xiangyang planned to sell it.
When they reached a small alley not far from the supply and marketing cooperative, Li Xiangyang stopped the carriage and told Li Xiangdong to wait for him there. He then walked out carrying a small sack of fish.
Li Xiangyang's idea was simple: those who come to the supply and marketing cooperative must be there to buy things; they already have the intention to purchase.
It's better for him to come here and ask people if they want to buy fish than for him to go out on the street and ask everyone he meets.
This is not,
Just as Li Xiangyang was thinking this, he saw an old woman carrying a vegetable basket walk out of the supply and marketing cooperative. Li Xiangyang immediately went up to her and asked:
"Auntie, would you like a fresh big carp?"
The old woman instinctively tried to walk around Li Xiangyang, but after taking two steps, she turned back and said, "Let me see."
Li Xiangyang immediately opened the sack to show her.
"Winter-caught red carp, with very plump and sweet flesh, 1 cents a pound."
As he spoke, he picked out one of the fish, lifted its gill cover, and showed it to the old woman.
"Look at this, it was just caught yesterday, it's very fresh. This one weighs over 5 pounds. It would have sold for 75 cents earlier, but I'll give you 70 cents."
Li Xiangyang proactively lowered the price, showing that people who actively go to the black market fish stalls to buy fish have a demand for fish, unlike people like him who look for fish on the street.
You always need to have a reason to move people.
"Give me one."
The old woman hadn't originally planned to eat fish, but it looked fresh and the price was reasonable, so she decided to buy one to try.
The first transaction was successfully completed.
Li Xiangdong, driving his carriage, saw this scene from afar and smiled. He couldn't help but give Li Xiangyang a thumbs up.
"Brother, you're really something. You're definitely cut out for business."
Following the same method, Li Xiangyang approached people coming out of the supply and marketing cooperative one after another to ask them for fish. Of course, not everyone would buy fish from him.
However, on average, one out of every ten people would buy from him. He sold fish for another two hours in front of the supply and marketing cooperative, and surprisingly, he sold out all the remaining dozens of kilograms of fish.
Ok, Ok.
今天一共带了190斤鱼出来，50斤小狗鱼、80斤鲤鱼跟60斤鲫鱼，卖了35块钱。
Normally, Li Xiangdong would have been overjoyed, but he wasn't particularly happy today, since they had just sold the first deer for over two hundred yuan yesterday.
This 35 yuan is less than a fraction of what they made selling that deer yesterday.
"Sigh, if only I could catch a big deer every day."
Li Xiangdong suddenly felt a pang of emotion.
Sure enough, a person's ambition can be nurtured little by little. Li Xiangdong's appetite is now much bigger than before, and Li Xiangyang has noticed it too.
He said with a smile:
"Brother, don't think like that. It's better to live life slowly and steadily. A flowing river doesn't compete for the lead, but for its endless flow."
"The flowing water doesn't compete for the first place, but for its endless flow..." Li Xiangdong silently recited to himself.
Suddenly, he seemed to have an epiphany.
It felt like a sudden enlightenment, a moment of clarity.
"Brother, when did you become so cultured? Your words really resonate with me."
"Brother, I didn't say that. It was said by a friend of mine, someone I know called 'Netizen'."
"Your online friend is quite cultured, haha."
The two brothers laughed together.
They drove the carriage back, but just as they passed a blacksmith shop, Li Xiangyang suddenly had an idea and called Li Xiangdong to stop.
The carriage stopped in front of a low, blackened brick house. A yellow and white flag hung on the door, which read:
"Old Wang's Blacksmith Shop, Serving the People"
On the left side of the entrance, there are scattered, somewhat broken farm tools, probably brought by herdsmen or farmers to be repaired, while on the right side is a row of brand new triangular plugs.
As soon as Li Xiangyang approached, he felt a wave of heat mixed with the smell of rust hit him.
My chest felt warm, but my back felt chilly.
In the air, one can hear the clanging and banging of blacksmithing, a sound full of everyday life.
"Master Wang, is Master Wang here?"
Li Xiangyang called out and then lifted the curtain to go inside.
Upon seeing the newcomer, a middle-aged man dressed in thin clothes immediately stopped his hammering and said in a somewhat rough voice:
"The farm tool repair shop is outside, and the farm tools you buy are also outside. Just pick them out and come in to pay; no tickets are needed."
"Okay, I don't need to buy farm tools, just make me a wire snare."
"Wire sheath? What kind?"
Wang the blacksmith handed Li Xiangyang a pencil and a stack of yellowed straw paper, gesturing for him to draw it out.
Taking the paper and pen, Li Xiangyang also started drawing crookedly.
Since there is competition in the fish market now, he decided to increase the variety of fish he sells. The sika deer he caught last time gave him a lot of inspiration.
Fishing can gradually be handed over to Brother Li Xiangdong, since we don't need that much anymore. He can then use the time to hunt and catch small wild animals to sell, which is a new way to make money.
Upon receiving the draft drawing from Li Xiangyang, Wang the blacksmith discovered that it was something he had never seen before and examined it carefully.
A steel bar over a meter long has wire loops evenly arranged on it, each loop having its own small buckle.
If a living creature passes through the wire loop, the loop will tighten, and the more it struggles, the tighter it will become.
Very clever.
"Young man, what's this for? It looks simple, but it's not so easy to use in a fight."
"We're going to use it to trap pheasants and rabbits. It's been snowing a lot lately, and there's no food outside. We'll have to use the fodder from the cattle and sheep at home to keep them warm through the winter."
"Master Wang, this is a bit urgent. When can you finish it?"
Li Xiangyang was not lying.
He remembered that in his previous life, due to a severe snow disaster, the wild grass was buried too deep, and the rabbits could not eat it, so they came to gnaw on the winter fodder that the herders had prepared for their cattle and sheep.
Back then, many herders caught wild rabbits in their hay sheds.
"The rabbits are scrambling for fodder, aren't they?" Blacksmith Wang glanced at the blueprints. "Alright, I'm not too busy today. I'll help you finish it. Come pick it up tomorrow at noon."