Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 38: Battle of Stone City
"How much is this big silver carp? It looks like it weighs ten kilograms, right?"

"This one is eight dollars." Li Long said with a smile, "Other big fish, carp, black carp, grass carp are two dollars each, silver carp is one dollar and fifty cents each."

With the experience of selling fish yesterday, the fish Li Long picked this time were of more uniform size. They looked about the same size and were less likely to cause disputes.

Many people looked at the big fish with envy, but no one made an offer. Instead, two big carps were sold quickly, and someone who knew the value of the fish picked up the only three five-striped black carps on the stall.

Then there were more people looking than buying. Li Long took the opportunity to take a quick look and found that the people selling tickets were still there, and there were also many people at the meat stall, probably because the New Year was coming soon and everyone wanted to weigh some meat.

There were people selling grain, but there were fewer people at the stalls selling other things.

After more than half an hour, it was already getting light outside and most of the big fish on the stall had been sold. Some people gathered around, but they were pointing at the big silver carp and no one was buying it.

"Little brother, your silver carp is too big. I can't eat it even if I buy it. Can you just give me the fish head?" Someone asked. "Anyway, there is not much meat in the fish head. Can you give it to me for two dollars?"

"No." Li Long hastily refused. Unlike silver carp, bighead carp has a big head, which is very good for making soup. Is this person bullying him? "Fish head is a good thing. If you take it away, others will not be so delicious just by the back. Of course, you can pay more. Fish head is five yuan."

The head of this big silver carp weighs three or four kilograms, so Li Long’s asking price is quite steep.

The man made a "tsk" sound and didn't make any more bids.

After a while, someone else came and bought a carp and a silver carp. Only the big silver carp and two bighead carps weighing more than two kilograms were left on the stall.

Seeing people starting to disperse, Li Long knew that this was about it.

There are few people in the county town, and even fewer people dare to come to the black market to buy things. The purchasing power market is so small, he thought about it, and simply rolled up the fish and left with it.

Coming to the carriage, he said to Tao Daqiang, who was walking back and forth to warm himself up:

"Let's go to the big meat canteen."

The total amount was 17.5 yuan. Li Long bought six meat buns at the big meat canteen, and the two of them ate while heading to Shicheng.

Tao Daqiang was still a little hesitant as he walked:
"Brother Long, why don't we just find a family compound in the county and sell it like we did yesterday? If we go to Shicheng, we'll be in the dark..."

"No, let's go to Shicheng. The families in this family compound are all well-connected. If we encounter someone with bad intentions, we can be arrested with just one report.

There are many factories in Shicheng, and the people in the factory families' quarters don't care about this. Besides, the workers have money, so it's easy to buy fish, but it's a little far away."

The road was indeed long, and by the time we arrived in Shicheng, it was almost twelve o'clock.

Li Long looked at the city that was slightly strange and yet somewhat familiar. He just sighed secretly and drove the carriage to the staff quarters of the agricultural machinery factory.

Although the agricultural machinery factory was still implementing unified purchasing and sales at this time, it seemed that it would also do some OEM and repair work. In any case, it certainly had no shortage of money.

He still asked Tao Daqiang to park the carriage outside the staff quarters, and he rushed in carrying the urea bag.

The guard was an old man. He saw Li Long rushing in and tried to stop him. Li Long smiled and said:
"Uncle, I want to send some fish to my uncle..."

"Fish?" The old man's eyes lit up when he heard there were fish. "Are all those fish on your back?"

"Hey." Li Long put down the urea bag and opened it for the old man to see, "They are all big fish."

"So many? Who are you sending them to? Sell me two. It's almost Chinese New Year and it's hard to prepare New Year's Eve dinner without fish."

"Two dollars for one." Li Long heard this and hurriedly followed the pole. "Silver carp is cheaper, one dollar and fifty cents." "This price... is not bad." The old man was also very happy. In fact, it was already very cheap. Although the factory had already distributed welfare, how could the hairtail frozen in ice compare to this big carp with a red head and a red tail?
After paying for two carps, the old man exposed Li Long:

"Young man, you are here to sell fish, right? Okay, go in, just don't go into the building."

"Thank you, uncle!" Li Long said sweetly and hurriedly picked up the bag and walked inside.

The family compound is not big, with two buildings and two units in each. There are a few children beating an old cow in the yard, and they are curious when they see Li Long coming in.

Li Long regretted not bringing some candies with him, but he had no choice but to coax him. He walked up to the child, opened his pocket and said:

"Children, do you want to eat fish? I have a big fish here. If you want to eat it, go home and tell your family and bring money to buy it. This fish is cheap!"

The children were half-believing and half-doubting, and one little boy suddenly shouted:
"I want to eat. I'll go find my mother!" After saying that, he ran into the corridor.

Two of the other children followed suit, and the rest, either because they had enough at home or because they were not interested in the fish, just took a look and continued playing.

Li Long was waiting there. At this time, someone came in from outside. Li Long saw that it was a middle-aged man. He knew that these days it was basically women who cooked and men seldom took care of kitchen affairs, so he did not go up to greet him.

But the man took the initiative to come over and ask:
"I heard from Uncle Li that you are the one selling fish?"

"It's me." Li Long looked at the man with a little caution.

"What kind of fish is that?" The man came closer.

Li Long saw that the man was a cadre and was worried that he was going to detain him. However, he thought that with his youth and strength, he could just give up the fish, so he opened his pocket to let him see.

"The fish is good, and quite fresh." The man picked at the gill cover of a fish and asked, "What's the price?"

"Silver carp is one dollar and fifty cents each, and the other kinds are two dollars each," said Li Long.

"That's a high price." The middle-aged man said, "The fish I sold two days ago were about the same size as yours. They sold for one dollar each. You're charging too much."

Li Long sneered. There was a river called Ma River near Shicheng. If you wanted to break the ice and catch fish in winter, you might not be able to catch two or three fish a day. The nearest reservoir was 40 to 50 kilometers away from the city, even farther than his home. If someone really caught fish and sold them here, would they get one yuan for each? Three yuan would be impossible!
This guy is full of nonsense!
But he did not reveal it, and said with a smile:

"First, my fish is fresh, I just caught it yesterday. Second, this big carp with a red head and red tail is rare, and it looks festive. It would be nice to make a plate of it and put it on the table during the New Year. Third, I earn my money through hard work. It takes two or three hours to break a meter of ice, and another half a day to wait for the fish to come. I can only catch a few fish in a day..."

"Oh, you are so well-informed." The middle-aged man didn't expect Li Long to speak so logically. Just as he was surprised, a child came down, pulling his mother's sleeve and came to Li Long's side:

"Mom, I'll eat this fish!"

Seeing that there was really a fish, the woman looked at it and asked:

"How much do you sell fish?"

"Silver carp is one dollar and fifty cents, and the others are two dollars."

"By kilogram? So expensive?"

"In article."

"That's really cheap, give me two!"

Okay, reopen!
(End of this chapter)