Chapter 578: Chapter 12: Selling Crabs (Part 2)
Now is the crab-eating season, and ordinary families also like to buy a few to dip in ginger and garlic paste and enjoy them fresh with some liquor.
The market is bustling, and there’s no worry that people will find out that these crabs labeled as Mi Yun Crabs are indeed Yangcheng Lake Crabs.
"I can’t claim to be a connoisseur, but I can say I’m a food lover. My niece and her friends love hairy crabs, and so does my family. Tell you what, please pick more than a dozen fresh ones for me, I’ll steam them for lunch today," Zhuo Feng asked for the price, such good crabs, and yet not expensive, they are sold by piece, and each one is only 15 yuan.
"Alright," the first deal was with a significant buyer, Uncle Lu happily picked a few crabs, and packed them for Zhuo Feng.
"If they taste good, I’ll come back for more," Zhuo Feng said cheerfully.
"If you really like them, feel free to come back. There are plenty of crabs in the pond, we’ll have enough until mid-October." The market sells hundreds of pounds a day, and with Uncle Lu and Yezi taking turns, they could keep selling for more than a month by rotating through different markets, though it’s exhausting for Yezi.
After sending Zhuo Feng off, Uncle Lu felt more confident and after calling out a few times, attracted a few more customers. By the time Yezi arrived from another market to meet him, there were only seven or eight crabs left in Uncle Lu’s crate.
"How’s it going here, uncle," Yezi was all smiles - obviously, the crabs at his stall read faster than Uncle Lu’s. Yezi is tall and thick-skinned, not afraid to shout. Although he never sold goods, he learned to shout when he followed his father who was a silver craftsman.
Selling hairy crabs indeed, the shouting was like the Miao Family singing, with high and low pitches that filled the ears of the whole market.
Fifteen yuan for a hairy crab, not exactly cheap, but the young salesman, meticulous, swiftly calling out "auntie, uncle," to the customers.
He also prepared a lot of dried chrysanthemums in small packets, claiming they were wild chrysanthemums gathered from the Miyun Mountain Area, intended to cleanse the palate after eating the crabs, dispel the cold from the crabs, and remove fishy smells when washing hands.
Seeing such a likable and thoughtful vendor, the customers, who usually held tightly to their wallets, couldn’t help but loosen up, buying a few crabs each, and soon the hairy crabs were sold out.
"Not bad, not much left, we’ll take the remaining crabs back. We’ve been raising these hairy crabs for over half a year, and you haven’t yet had a chance to taste them. Tonight, Uncle Lu will go home and steam some for you, served with authentic Red Star baijiu, to enjoy a warm meal," Uncle Lu packed up the scale, and Yezi helped pack the crates. Although he smiled broadly, his mind was occupied with thoughts, only masked to keep Uncle Lu from worrying.
Actually, Yezi had finished selling crabs early, by nine in the morning.
Leaving the market, Yezi found a public phone booth and made two calls to Guizhou. One to Dongnan Miao Village, where after some kind-hearted people donated fiber optic cables, the village had got phone service just like Ge Village.
He had written home last month and just got the telephone number.
Mama had given birth to a daughter, making him a brother.
Hearing his voice, father, who was always stern, choked up a bit. Guilt surged in Yezi’s heart, and after much effort, he finally hung up the phone. Father didn’t scold him but asked him to find time to come home soon. The more he said, the more distressed Yezi felt.
The second call was to Mr. Zhu, who directly started scolding him over the phone.
Listening to him inquire about Xiao Xian’s school, Zhu Shijun hesitated for a moment then asked from the other end: "Yezi, what are your intentions towards Xiao Xian?"
Yezi and Xiao Xian got along well as children, Mr. Zhu thought it was mere childlike friendship.
But after Yezi went to Beijing for Xiao Xian, friendship had turned into affection. Both kids had grown up. Mr. Zhu had watched Yezi grow up - a sincere and earnest boy. But Xiao Xian had been away for over two years, and what she felt for Yezi, that was uncertain.
"Mr. Zhu, I... I haven’t thought that far, I just want to see her," Yezi scratched his head, unsure about love, he only knew that thinking of Xiao Xian made him feel very sweet, enough to disregard the hardships of crab farming and the bitterness of being far from home.
"Silly boy, I remember you being quite clever as a kid, how come you’ve become so clumsy when you grew up? Xiao Xian’s school is called Sacred Heart Middle School, located in Chaoyang District of Beijing," Mr. Zhu laughed, eyes narrowing happily.
Chaoyang District? Sacred Heart Middle School? Today is a Wednesday; Xiao Xian must be at school.
Armed with this information, Yezi, like a bird with wings, immediately rushed to Sacred Heart Middle School to inquire about Xiao Xian.
The security at Sacred Heart Middle School was quite kind, not rudely dismissing him but informing Yezi that there indeed was a student named Zhu Xiaoxian, but she had transferred out over a month ago.
As for where she transferred, nobody knew. A cool feeling washed over Yezi, he slapped his head, why hadn’t he asked Mr. Zhu where Xiao Xian’s aunt lived. But then, if he had asked and simply turned up at her door, he wasn’t sure how Xiao Xian’s aunt might view him.
Feeling burdened by these thoughts, Yezi gathered his crab-selling equipment and climbed onto the truck. Uncle Lu counted the money in his hands, feeling warmly content, this year they could finally give his wife and child a good New Year.
"Yezi, here’s a thousand yuan for you," Uncle Lu handed a stack of money to Yezi.
"Uncle, what’s this for? I eat your food, use your stuff, how can I take your money," Yezi hurriedly tried to refuse.
"It’s not a lot. Once Uncle Lu has sold all the crabs, I’ll give you the rest of the money. You’ve really worked hard this past half year. It’s not enough for you to place ads to find Xiao Xian, but don’t worry, it will be soon," Uncle Lu patted Yezi’s shoulder, his eyes full of gratitude.(To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian () to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)