The crayfish sold out unexpectedly fast.
Two hundred pounds per day, the stand opened at eight in the evening, and by nine, they were snatched up, which significantly increased the sales of syrup water as well.
Left with no choice, Xu's mom had to temporarily give up her stir-fried river snails business and focused wholeheartedly on selling crayfish.
Yao Jiping rembered her son suggesting selling them for six yuan, a thought she dared not entertain, but she still raised the price to two yuan per pound, and custors kept coming without end.
After a week of such busyness, Xu Qingfan got a taste of his own dicine for the first ti.
Every day there were crayfish veins that couldn't be processed, and perhaps to show off her child, Xu's mom told the neighbors it was a thod her son saw on TV, which led a bunch of "housewives" to co asking which TV station it was on.
Xu Qingfan had no choice but to make up a story about Xiangjiang Channel Two, and fortunately, there was no playback on TV yet, so he managed to escape unscathed.
Xu's dad also stopped taking clients and shuttled between the village and the neighborhood, bringing a steady stream of crayfish over.
The villagers noticed the grandparents' family was catching hundreds of pounds of crayfish every day and grew curious.
The grandfather, a smart man, simply told them they sold them to a city food processing factory for one yuan per pound to make cat food.
Considering the fuel cost of ten plus yuan for a round trip to the neighborhood, how much could they earn? This discouraged others who were considering following suit.
Of course, there were those who didn't believe it, but since catching them proved to be useless, they had to give up.
These past few days, Xu's mom was even happy while cooking, as in less than five days, they had earned more money than they did in half a year's ti. If they kept this up for a month or so, couldn't they buy a shop in the nearby shopping street?
However, good tis never last.
On the fifth day, the first store selling crayfish appeared.
Soon after, crayfish popped up like mushrooms after the rain in all the streets and alleys.
But whether they didn't fry in oil or couldn't control the heat properly, the crayfish sold outside never tasted as good as Xu's mom's, so the business wasn't affected.
On Sunday, the Xia and Xu families had dinner together.
"There are a lot of places selling crayfish now, has it affected your business?" Xia's dad peeled a spicy crayfish and placed it in his wife's bowl, inquiring.
"Not much impact really, they can't make it as tasty as we do, and we still have a lot of custors. It's just that it takes longer to sell out now, before we could finish by nine, but now it's up until eleven," Yao Jiping said, a bit troubled as she looked at the crayfish on the table.
Being in the catering business herself, she knew all too well this wasn't a long-term strategy, and it wouldn't be long before others figured out her crayfish recipe and maybe even made them tastier than hers.
"These past few days, catching crayfish back in the countryside hasn't been as easy, with many people joining in. After catching, they just keep them at ho," Xu's dad recalled yesterday's cray-catching scene in the countryside and couldn't help but give a wry smile.
[If I can't convince my parents, maybe I can try convincing Uncle Xia!] Xu Qingfan made up his mind.
"Mom, I've said before that we should sell the crayfish for more. Look, now, the market price for crayfish is two yuan per pound!"
Yao Jiping knew all too well she was selling too cheap, but she was still displeased with her son publicly undermining her, giving him a look that said you'll get it when we get ho.
Xu Qingfan continued, "You're working yourselves to death for this little money, I say you should make the recipe public, and then ask them to order crayfish from you. In the countryside, crayfish are only worth a few cents per pound, and bringing them to the city nets a tenfold profit—that's where the real money is!"
"What do you know about business, I've eaten more salt than you've eaten rice!" Xu's mom replied irritably, giving her son a flick on the head.
"How can you talk to your mom like that, you little rascal!" Xu's dad looked around; he was already searching for a weapon at hand.
Words spoken without thought; Xia's dad, already in the business, suddenly saw the enormous opportunity after Xu Qingfan's hint.
"Yeah, how did I not think of that!" Xia's dad trembled, slapped the table in excitent, and stood up.
Everyone was baffled by Xia Guofu's unusual behavior, especially Xu's dad, who was fumbling with his belt, looking lost and confused.
"What a brain on Xiao Fan, to think of these things at his age," Xia's dad exclaid, patting his thigh and sitting back down.
"Ah, Screen, this is doable. While now the countryside doesn't know the value of crayfish, we can capitalize on this information gap—there's so much potential!" Xia Guofu said, rubbing his hands together excitedly.
"Really? Can it work?" Xu's mother was skeptical.
"Absolutely! You go talk to the store owners right after dinner and negotiate. If they place an order over a thousand pounds, we'll give them the formula for free. I'm heading back to the countryside right now to buy the crayfish!" Xia's father grabbed the keys on the table and prepared to leave.
Lin Jing helplessly slapped her forehead, "Eat first, then talk. What's the rush!"
No further guidance from Xu Qingfan was needed after that; it's said that nas carry weight, and Xia Guofu certainly lived up to his.
The four of them split up to act separately. Xia's dad and Xu's dad drove back to the countryside to buy crayfish at low prices, while Xu's mom and Lin Jing went to speak with store owners about placing orders.
Despite being a week late, things eventually got back on the track he had initially envisioned.
Now free from the unfortunate events at the shrimp line, Xu Qingfan could finally have so leisure ti.
Poor kid, he's only six years old, and those tender little hands had peeled no less than ten thousand crayfish over the past week.
Sigh, when can a child stand tall!
"I'm going out for a walk. You stay ho by yourself," Xu Qingfan said to Xia Xiaoxiao, who was watching TV at his house.
"What are you going out for!"
[Here we go again. It's supposed to be a question, but it sounds more like a statent no matter how you hear it.]
Of course, Xu Qingfan couldn't tell her that he was going out to buy lottery tickets. The little wallet incident hadn't been put behind them yet; if Xia Xiaoxiao found out he had taken money from ho to buy lottery tickets...
Thinking of this, Xu Qingfan couldn't help but feel a toothache.
"I'm going to play with Lin Wanning!" He said, knowing Xia Xiaoxiao didn't seem to like Lin Wanning much.
Xia Xiaoxiao: ???
[He goes out to play with so other girl behind my back, and he even has the nerve to tell !]
"I'm going too!" said Xia Xiaoxiao.
Xu Qingfan: ??? [The script isn't supposed to go like this!]
Clearly, as a rookie to both his lives, Xu Qingfan didn't understand a woman's heart.
"Why are you coming?"
"Auntie Yao told to keep an eye on you!" Xia Xiaoxiao declared righteously.
Children have a sense of territory, just as so kids like to write their nas on their toys. Xia Xiaoxiao felt like Xu Qingfan was hers; without her permission, Xu Qingfan was not allowed to play with other little girls.
Xu's mom did say sothing like that before she left, but it sounded more like a joke, leaving Xu Qingfan feeling helpless.
"Fine, you can follow then." There was no other choice; he would have to see if he could shake Xia Xiaoxiao off at so point during the trip.
"What do you an 'I can follow'? I'm going to make sure you behave on behalf of Auntie Yao!" The little girl stood arrogantly with her hands on her hips.
"Wait for , I'm going to change my clothes," said Xia Xiaoxiao as if she had just rembered sothing, and she ran back to the house next door.
[After earning so much money for the house these past few days, taking another hundred bucks as a small gesture shouldn't be too much, right?]
He sneaked into his parents' room, opened the wardrobe, and it was surprisingly empty!
That's right, the daily earnings these past days were almost as much as a month's worth; no need to ask, it must have been deposited in the bank.
Xu Qingfan, not giving up, felt around in his parents' coats and pockets and actually found a few ten-dollar notes.
Taking the hundred yuan he had prepared earlier, Xu Qingfan left ho full of confidence.
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