With several consecutive days of good weather, the village seemed busy and prosperous.
After a month, the whole village was hung with dried fish again. Ye Yaodong took advantage of the breakage of the machine and asked someone to repair it, so he had a rare day off.
But before going out to sea, he started weighing the goods again. The villagers have dried a large number of fish in the past few days.
The ones in his house are basically intact. Now he has to collect a large batch. There is still enough space at his eldest brother and second brother's houses today, but if he collects more in the next few days, there won't be enough space.
All the dried fish at home must be transported to the city to make room for them.
The army only asked for 2,000 kilograms that day and didn't ask for any more after that. I guess they haven't digested it all yet, and I don't know when they will ask for more. We can store them in the city so that they will be convenient when the time comes.
He also thought that he had not been to the city for five or six days, so he would transport some dried fish at night and take the opportunity to see how Mr. and Mrs. Lin's goods were doing and whether they were used to it. He could also bring him some food and vegetables.
Unexpectedly, the two old people adapted quite well. Not only did they become familiar with the only four or five shop owners around, but they also planted mustard greens and leeks on the roadside.
"Fortunately, you delivered the dried fish today. Otherwise, I would have to call you back after daybreak, and if I sold it for another day or two, it would have been sold out."
Ye Yaodong had actually calculated the time well. If he didn't have to ship out several hundred kilograms, if he just sold them in small quantities, they would be sold out in about two days.
And he didn't receive any call, which was a pity. He thought that the trader Boss Zhou would be able to sell him several thousand kilograms of goods, but now he can only keep them and sell them in small quantities.
At two or three o'clock in the morning, when the market is busiest, Ye Yaodong goes to unload the goods first, and after unloading, he also goes to the store to help.
As the sun rose and the sky became bright, there were fewer people coming and going in the market, but there were still many people, just relatively not as busy.
Ye Yaodong was so busy that he took off his cotton jacket. It was not until around eight or nine o'clock that he sat down to rest, took a breath and drank a sip of tea.
"Dad, are there so many people here every day recently? Why did it feel like there weren't so many when we came a few days ago?"
"That's right. It probably rained a few days last week and the new market had just opened, so there weren't many people. But in the past few days, there have been more and more people. We haven't even sat down since it opened yesterday."
“That’s good.”
"Yes, yes, it's a good thing. It's a good decision to open this store. I was worried that your money was not worth it. Now it seems to be going well. It won't be long before you can make back your money."
Father Lin handed him the cloth bag he was carrying as he spoke. "The money from this morning's sales is all in here. I put away the money from the previous few days and hid it in another store. Otherwise, with so many people coming and going in this store, if I put it in a drawer, I wouldn't know when someone stole it."
Mother Lin also smiled and added, "There are hundreds of them. We dare not even put them on us. Like usual at this time, we would take the ones we have and hide them before coming back."
"Hey, luckily you, Dad and Mom, are here to help me earn money, otherwise I would have earned much less money. Without you, I wouldn't be able to be a hands-off boss so easily."
This was his true feelings. Now he realized how much he had missed in his previous life.
As he spoke, he took off his cotton jacket and poured the money from the cloth bag into his own cloth bag.
"Haha, we're all family, there's no need to thank me, you'd better bring more. I've seen quite a few peddlers come here to buy dried fish these past two days, and there are people who want 50 to 60 kilograms every day, and there are still people coming to buy in the afternoon."
"I don't have a big Jiefang, otherwise I would have finished all the hauls in one trip. I'll go to the market later to see if anyone knows someone who drives a big Jiefang, so I don't have to use the tractor for multiple trips. I have work waiting for me at home, so I can't go here every day."
"Yes, it would be best if you could deliver it in one trip, so you don't have to take time to run back and forth. The weather has been good these few days, and if you don't come out for a day, it will be a day's loss."
Ye Yaodong nodded and said, "I'll go to the market and buy some breakfast."
"No, no, we have a pot of porridge on the stove, which has been simmering there. We can just eat this later. Don't spend money outside."
He also saw the coal stove in the corner. It probably started cooking as soon as the door was opened, as there was no flame to be seen underneath.
"Then I'll buy a few meat buns and eat them with porridge to fill my stomach."
There is no earthen stove here, only a coal stove, so it is not very convenient to cook. The two old people probably haven't had a decent meal in the past few days, let alone meat. At most they could have some dried fish. Although they only ate meat a few times a year in the past, it is indeed inconvenient to live here.
If we move all the goods at home to this store, they probably won’t have any space to sleep or move around.
Ye Yaodong walked out while thinking, maybe he could go to the nearby village later to see if there were any old houses to rent, or even buy, but he didn't know if he was allowed to buy them.
Logically speaking, the management is not strict now, as long as the village agrees, it's fine.
There is a house nearby, which makes it convenient to travel back and forth for food and accommodation. There is also a market here, and it is only a matter of time before the surrounding area develops. It is not a loss to set up a home there.
Old houses are very cheap now, and he has enough money, so it is not a problem to buy a small one for his parents to live in first.
The two elders shouted at him from behind, asking him not to buy it, saying that they would just eat porridge. Ye Yaodong thought about the matter and didn't turn around.
"Shop No. 12, Ye Yaodong's phone number, Shop No. 12, Ye Yaodong's phone number..."
A half-grown boy ran past him like a gust of wind, shouting as he ran, instantly pulling him back to his senses.
He quickly turned around and ran to catch the young man, "Is there my phone? Where is it?"
"Ah? You are Ye Yaodong. You are in the market. He said he would call back in five minutes. Go and wait."
“Lead the way, lead the way…” Ye Yaodong pulled the young man and hurried towards the market, his heart burning with excitement. He only left one phone number in the market for Ah Qing and Boss Zhou.
It was nothing, A Qing wouldn't call, he was more inclined to believe that it was Boss Zhou who called.
There are too many dried fish piled up at home. Although it is not a problem to sell them slowly, there is no room for them. It will save some trouble if we sell them early, and the two old people can go home and stay for a few days to rest.
Ye Yaodong walked in a hurry when he entered the market, but when he came out, his steps became extremely light and his face was full of smiles. Even a fool could tell that good things were about to happen.
With just one phone call, not only 3,000 kilograms of goods were delivered, but the problem of transporting the goods was also solved. Boss Zhou knew someone who drove a large Jiefang truck, so he could pick up the goods himself, without having to transport them to the city himself.
It was extremely convenient, and he also lowered the price to 40 cents per pound, which was equivalent to him selling all the dried fish in his home at once.
Business is really good these days, you can sell anything.
He happily bought five big meat buns and returned to the store. Father and Mother Lin had already eaten the porridge and filled a bowl for him, leaving it to cool on the side.
There were also two small bowls on the table, one with a few slices of dried fish in it, and the other with half dried radish and pickled mustard. There were also two small jars on the side, which were jars of radish and pickled mustard. The food was exactly the same as when I first arrived a few days ago.
He thought that they had just arrived a few days ago and had not yet fully settled in and were not familiar with the surroundings, so they just ate casually. He didn't expect that it was still like this now...
No, at least there is an extra bowl of dried fish...
He could already imagine their lunch and dinner...
It was a mistake, but luckily I discovered it early.
He guessed that the bowl of porridge on the table was the rice they saved from their own meals and they specially prepared a bowl for him, otherwise they would not know that he had come here early this morning.
I'll rent a house for them later. At least they need a clay stove so they can cook some proper meals, and they can also sleep more peacefully if they have a house.
Living in the village, I can also exchange some vegetables with the villagers, which is more convenient.
"Eat two buns to fill your stomach, they're still warm."
"You eat, you eat, porridge is enough for us..."
"I've already eaten two, one more will be enough. You guys each eat two, or they won't taste good if they get cold."
They would probably be willing to eat only if they knew he ate more than they did.
Mother Lin said with a smile: "Although your business is good, you can't spend money like this. Five big meat buns cost 50 cents."
"Eat it. It's nothing. It's just the price of one pound of dried fish. You can help me sell two or three hundred pounds a day."
After dinner he went to visit the nearby village.
Father Lin asked curiously, "Just now I seemed to hear someone from a distance saying that there was a call from you, right? I saw you followed that child."
"Oh, yes!" When I came back, my attention was distracted by the food. Now I was in a hurry to rent a house for them and forgot to tell them.
"Boss Zhou, who came a few days ago, called and said he needed 3,000 kilograms of goods and would come to pick them up tomorrow. I said I didn't know what time the tractor would arrive tomorrow. He said he would just ask someone to drive a big Jiefang to my village to pick them up."
The quality must be guaranteed and so on. If it is not good, it will be rejected. There is no need to say more about these things. This is certain. He is also confident in his products and he has basically touched every bag.
Father Lin was delighted. "3,000 kilograms! Why are you buying so much at once?"
"Is this guy so rich? With so many of them, how are they going to sell them?"
"You are stupid. Others have the Da Jiefang. Why are they worried about selling it? They must have sold it all over the country. Isn't it better than us selling it here?"
Mother Lin smiled and slapped her forehead. "Look at me, I'm so happy. The big Jiefang truck travels long distances, all over the country. What can't be sold? Selling so many at once is much easier than selling them by kilograms."
"Who said it wasn't?" Father Lin looked at Ye Yaodong again, "Can there be so many at home?"
"Yes, we weighed several hundred kilograms yesterday, and a truckload was brought in this morning. The remaining quantity should be enough. If not, I can collect some more when I go back in the evening."
"The weather has been good these past few days, so we can stock up a few thousand kilograms in the next few days. I was originally worried that there would be no place to store the goods, and I would have to make several more trips to the city to store them. Now it's much easier. When the goods in the city are sold out, I can go back to the village and rest for a few days."
"It doesn't matter to us. It's more important for you to make money here. Eat first, eat first, and then we'll go to another store. I'll give you the money from the sales in the past few days, you can count it and take it back in the afternoon, so you don't have to leave it here with me. It's unsafe with people coming and going."
Ye Yaodong nodded.
After receiving the money, he estimated that it was enough to pay the final payment for the big ship and he no longer had any shortage of money.