novelraw Chapter 14 - 14. Reliable member of the Xia Family
Chapter 14 - 14. Reliable member of the Xia Family
Chapter 14: 14. Reliable member of the Xia FamilyThe 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 remembered 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 customers kept coming without end.
After a week of such busyness, Xu Qingfan got a taste of his own medicine for the first time.
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 method her son saw on TV, which led a bunch of "housewives" to come 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 time. If they kept this up for a month or so, couldn't they buy a shop in the nearby shopping street?
However, good times 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 customers. 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 home," 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 home.
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
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 some other girl behind my back, and he even has the nerve to tell me!]
"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 me to keep an eye on you!" Xia Xiaoxiao declared righteously.
Children have a sense of territory, just as some kids like to write their names 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 something like that before she left, but it sounded more like a joke, leaving Xu Qingfan feeling helpless.
"Fine, you can follow me then." There was no other choice; he would have to see if he could shake Xia Xiaoxiao off at some point during the trip.
"What do you mean '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 me, I'm going to change my clothes," said Xia Xiaoxiao as if she had just remembered something, 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 home full of confidence.