Live by the mountain, live by the water. Zhenyang is a place where shipping is more developed than land transportation. From the huge flow of people coming in and out of the small pier, it can be seen that they are used to traveling by boat.
Hua Zhi first visited several passenger terminals, and then went to the cargo terminal.
The smell at the freight terminal was extremely unpleasant, a mixture of various odors, with the heaviest smell of fish. Hua Zhi took a while to adapt before taking a step, walking towards the place with the heaviest smell with a clear goal.
She didn't go any closer, just looked at him from a distance.
At this time, there were five ships unloading cargo on the shore. There were shouts, scolding, laughter, compliments and all kinds of other sounds. In this small world, one could see all kinds of life.
After a while, Hua Zhi walked towards one of the boats. Buckets of fish were being unloaded from the boat and directly loaded onto trucks and towed away. The waiters and managers all had smiles on their faces and spoke in cheerful voices.
Hua Zhi walked to the big barrel that had just been moved down and looked at the barrel full of blue grouper.
"Miss, do you want to buy some? We don't sell them individually." A man in shorts approached, his face dark red, and he looked like someone who often worked on a ship.
Guessing his identity, Hua Zhi said crisply, "Look at the goods, they look very fresh."
"Of course. The fish caught this morning must be sent here without any delay. Stale fish cannot be sold here." The man's official language was not very standard and could only be barely understood. Perhaps he was aware of his own shortcomings and spoke slowly.
Hua Zhi nodded slightly. There were many people doing this business in this area. If they wanted to sell well, they had to ensure the quality. Looking at the fish still moving in the big barrel, Hua Zhi's heart moved. According to the time, they had spent about four hours on the road. The fish were still alive after such a long time...
"Is it filled with sea water?"
"It's sea water." Fish in the sea cannot survive without sea water. This is common sense. The man secretly criticized the nonsense said by this beautiful girl, but he remained respectful on the surface.
Hua Zhi no longer had any worries in her heart. She would just have someone load the seawater and head north. It didn't matter if there was less cargo. At most she would have to make one more trip. She also needed to make preparations for both situations. Yan Xi's ice-making business had great potential here. She would have someone load some on the boat. Even if someone really died on the way, she wouldn't have to worry about the loss being too great.
With these thoughts in mind, Hua Zhi began to ask, "What's your name?"
"My name is Chen, Chen Er, and I'm a junior manager at Antai Fishing Company." Chen Er was very perceptive and could tell that Hua Zhi was either rich or noble, and didn't look like she was looking for trouble, so it was possible to make a deal. If he could secure this deal, he would surely get a big reward this month. Thinking of this, his attitude became even more enthusiastic.
Bao Xia stepped forward and whispered, "Miss, why don't we talk somewhere else?"
The smell was indeed unpleasant. Hua Zhi looked at Chen Er, who understood and bowed, saying, "Please wait a moment. I will go and arrange something right away."
Chen Er quickly called a waiter to come and take care of the goods. After giving him a few instructions, he walked over quickly and led a group of people out of the dock. He didn't want to attract the attention of his colleagues, nor did he take people to those eye-catching tea shops. Instead, he invested a lot of money to lead them to a teahouse and asked for a private room. This was the style of the boss. Chen Er felt sorry for the money but also felt a little happy.
After ordering some tea and snacks, Chen Er swallowed his saliva, feeling a sharp pain in his flesh.
Hua Zhi found his behavior very interesting and she liked it very much. When doing business, she was most afraid of meeting stingy people.
"I wonder how far away Antai Fishing House is from here? How big is it?"
Chen Er perked up and answered very carefully, "It takes four hours to get here from our fishing company. If the wind and the sea are favorable, it will only take three and a half hours. If you go by land, it will take longer. Our fishing company is of medium to large scale."
After a pause, Chen Er continued, "Although it is middle-class, it is also acceptable for ordinary businesses. The food is absolutely fresh. I would never dare to do anything against my conscience."
Honestly speaking, Hua Zhi was secretly pleased that her vision of people had not deteriorated. She observed for a while, not looking at whether the business was good or not, but the mental state and some details of the guys. Those who came to pick up the goods took the goods away after just one look, which showed that they trusted them a lot, unlike the other few shops next door, where those who came to pick up the goods had to look through them carefully for a long time to make sure whether the goods were good or not. One comparison was enough to explain the problem. In business, trust is the most precious thing.
Motioning to Bao Xia to hand over the drawings, Chen Er wiped his hands on his body before carefully taking them. After flipping through them, he looked up and said, "They are all from our fishing company."
"Are there any rarer ones?"
Knowing that this business is promising, Chen Er answered more cautiously, "I don't know what the customer's standard is, but if other companies can get it, my company can get it too. Sometimes I can even come across some rare items on the market, but those are often ordered by people all year round, so I'm afraid they are not easy to get."
Hua Zhi nodded slightly, and inquired about some more things. After she had a clear idea in her mind, she said, "I still need to think about this for two days. If you are interested in your fishing company, I will go to the dock to find you at this time the day after tomorrow, and go to the fishing company with you."
Chen Erzi also knew that a deal would not be finalized so quickly, and he was not disappointed. He knew there was hope when he heard this, and nodded quickly, saying, "I will wait for good news."
Hua Zhi smiled, stood up and left, Bao Xia put down a red envelope and quickly followed.
After sending the man out the door, Chen Er turned around to pick up the red envelope, opened it and saw that it contained a few pieces of silver, which probably added up to about four or five taels. He was delighted. No matter whether the deal was successful or not, he didn't lose money today anyway.
After packing up the untouched pastries, Chen Er went to pay the bill and found out that it had already been paid. He held the money tightly and his heart was also lifted. If he could negotiate with such a generous customer, how could he miss out on his benefits? Thinking back on his words and actions today, Chen Er asked himself that he couldn't do better even if he started over again, so he suppressed his temper. Two days, he really hoped it would pass in the blink of an eye.
Before getting on the carriage, Hua Zhi motioned Xu Ying to come forward, "Did you remember what Chen Er said just now?"
Xu Ying was startled, "Yes, I remember everything."
"You stay here and contact other families to find out what's going on."
"yes."
Xu Ying took his leave, but was stopped again after taking a few steps.
Hua Zhi looked at the Sixth Prince who was looking around, "Little Six, did Bolin tell you that one of their brothers' homework is to find out the prices of various things in the capital?"
"Yes, Berlin said so."
"Then, during this time you stay here, you should find out the prices in this small place." Hua Zhi looked at the busy dock, "Let's start by negotiating the source of goods. Xu Ying, follow me closely."
"yes."
"This is not the capital. We only have a few people here. You need to put your own safety first."
The Sixth Prince felt warm in his heart and became extremely docile.
"Go ahead."