pjbooks Chapter 8: I Adopted an Older Sister
Chapter 8: I Adopted an Older Sister
Qiaotouwan is more than 40 kilometers away from Luoxian County. For a normal person carrying several hundred kilograms of goods, it would be good if they could get there in three hours.
Although Lin Chuan had taken a break, his physique was still within the human range. He rode for an hour or two, and by the time he arrived in Luo County, it was already fully light.
Along the way, Lin Chuan kept an eye out for road bullies. He wasn't afraid of a real fight, but he was worried that someone might suddenly jump out and cause him to overturn his car. Fortunately, he made it through without incident.
"Brother, where should we sell them?"
On the way, Lin Feng excitedly chatted about this and that, but when they arrived in the county town and saw the tall buildings, he lost his temper and even his tone became much weaker.
"It's okay, I know the way."
After getting his bearings, Lin Xue drove Lin Feng to the market. He parked the car some distance away and had Lin Feng watch over it while he went inside and took a look around.
Then he led Lin Feng to the entrance of the market. The market was chargeable, and the good spots were already taken, so it was better to stay at the entrance.
Many people are reluctant to pay the stall fee; most of them are farmers from the surrounding area who bring a small amount of vegetables they grow themselves to sell on the ground, ranging from a few kilograms to over ten kilograms.
No one else was carrying several sacks like Lin Chuan. When Lin Chuan parked the car and started unloading, everyone looked over. As soon as Lin Chuan untied the sacks, they surrounded him.
"Young man, how much are your fish and meat?"
"Grandpa, this meat is wild boar. It was killed last night and slaughtered overnight. Look how fresh it is. This fish was caught this morning. They're all purely wild. Look, they're still alive."
Every now and then along the way, Lin Chuan would put the fish bag in the river to soak. Wild fish are quite resilient, and they were indeed still alive.
After praising himself a couple of times, Lin Chuan continued:
"Grandpa, this meat is 3.2 yuan, carp is 2.2 yuan, grass carp is 3 yuan, and all other fish are 2 yuan."
Before coming, Lin Chuan had already asked his mother about the prices in town. Pork in town was 2.5 yuan, and fish was 5 mao cheaper than Lin Chuan's price.
My mom's idea is to sell them in the county town for an extra two cents, so that these two hundred-plus kilograms can fetch an extra forty or fifty yuan.
But Lin Chuan had just gone into the market and found that there was only some leftover meat and not much fish, and the price was two cents more expensive than his quoted price.
In those days, the aquaculture industry was not yet developed, and there was very little transportation capacity available for this remote county.
Rural people are reluctant to buy food and prefer to eat what they grow themselves, while city dwellers have no choice but to buy it because they have nothing to eat, which is why prices are about a third higher.
"Young man, can you give us a discount? You have so many, and they won't last in this weather. If you lower the price, we'll buy some."
The people surrounding him started haggling, but Lin Chuan shook his head.
"I caught this fish and meat with other villagers. We agreed on the price beforehand. I wouldn't be able to explain it if it were cheaper."
The onlookers kept saying that Lin Chuan just shook his head, because he simply didn't know how to bargain and didn't bother to negotiate at all.
Anyway, he knew how to make cured meat in the summer. If he couldn't sell it all, he could just take it back and make it into dried goods to eat slowly.
Seeing that they couldn't persuade Lin Chuan and had no other choice, some of the people started calling for the weight to be weighed.
Lin Chuan naturally brought his weighing tools with him, and he began to systematically collect the goods according to the requests of others, while Lin Feng assisted him on the side.
"Sir, this meat weighs three jin and one liang. I'll charge you three jin, which is 9.6 yuan. I'll give you 9.5 yuan and give you 5 mao in change. Here you go."
"Uncle, this carp weighs twelve pounds and three ounces. Let's just say three ounces, that's 26.4 yuan. We can waive the four mao, just give us 26."
Lin Chuan was simply too lazy to haggle and waste his breath. He wasn't a Pixiu (a mythical creature), so he would usually waive some of the difference if you bought a lot.
Watching a spectacle is in the nature of Chinese people. When people see a crowd gathering, more and more people gradually gather around, and once there are too many people, things get a bit chaotic.
"Don't push, one at a time. Hey, don't reach your hands out."
Lin Chuan slapped away several hands that reached into his bag. The others withdrew their hands as soon as he slapped them, but there was one man with a pointed face who wouldn't let go even after Lin Chuan slapped him.
Seeing that he had already taken the fish out, Lin Chuan kicked him. If he got away with the fish, others might follow suit.
Human nature can be evil at times.
The man was kicked and fell, then stood up angrily and said:
"You little brat, you dare to lay a hand on me? You're asking for death!"
Lin Chuan raised the knife in his hand and shouted sharply:
"Taking someone else's things without permission is theft. If you don't let go after I remind you, that's robbery. If I attack you, that's self-defense to protect my property. If you say another word, I'll just chop you up. The government will have to give me an award and recognize me as an advanced worker."
"You just wait."
The man shouted a harsh threat and left in a sorry state amidst the pointing fingers and whispers of the crowd.
"Please don't push, it'll only make things slower. Ma'am, what would you like to order?"
"Oh, Hongmei, he's calling you 'big sister'."
The woman Lin Chuan called "Big Sister" was a woman who looked to be in her thirties. She was dressed in bright colors and her hair had been permed. She was clearly not a farmer. The person who spoke to her was a middle-aged man.
Lin Chuan glanced at the middle-aged man and said with a smile:
"Uncle, look at my sister's skin and her demeanor. She's not much older than me, so it's not wrong for me to call her 'sister'."
"You, you call her 'sister' and me 'uncle'?"
The middle-aged man looked at Lin Chuan with a hurt expression, while the older woman burst out laughing:
"He's my classmate, don't mind him, he's a jerk. But don't call me that, I'm almost forty, you should call me auntie, little brother."
"Almost forty, that's only in your thirties. In later years, people would be furious if you didn't call me 'sister,' but in today's world, it does seem a little incongruous. However, seeing her beaming smile, Lin Chuan nodded in agreement."
"Okay, sister, what do you need? I'll pick one for you first."
"I only brought ten yuan with me. Little brother, could you cut me ten yuan's worth of meat? I'll come back to buy some fish later."
Previously, when others bought meat, they would gesture and Lin Chuan would cut it themselves. Now, they have to cut it in fixed quantities. Lin Chuan didn't get it right, and when he weighed it, it was more than four pounds, costing thirteen and fifty cents.
"Oh, that's too much, little brother, cut off a pound."
It was clear the woman was a woman of principle; she didn't say she'd take the meat back and bring the money later, and she didn't even agree when the middle-aged man offered to pay for it.
"Sister, what are you saying? Here, take this. Consider it a little something from your brother to show your respect."
This woman's demeanor clearly indicated she wasn't an ordinary person. Lin Chuan wasn't stingy with the meat, and besides, with so many people watching, cutting it off wouldn't be a problem, but it would seem a bit stingy.
The woman declined a few times, but seeing Lin Chuan's resolute attitude, she finally accepted the meat, said she would bring the money later, and left.
A few more people were sold, and it looked like half of the place was already sold. When it was the middle-aged man who had spoken earlier's turn in line, he immediately said:
"Kid, you call my classmate 'sister' and me 'uncle,' you're making me feel old. You'd better give me a discount."
"Sure thing, Uncle. If you buy a lot, I'll call you Big Brother. If you'd like, I can call you Little Brother, no problem."
The middle-aged man looked both amused and exasperated.
"Alright, alright, everyone says I'm not serious, but I don't think you're any better. Give me ten pounds of meat, one grass carp and one black carp, the biggest ones."
Lin Chuan quickly weighed and selected the fish, but he still didn't get the quantity cut right. He cut half a pound of meat, thirteen pounds and four ounces for the grass carp and eleven pounds and six ounces for the grass carp.
"Brother, ten catties of meat, thirteen catties of grass carp, and eleven catties of silver carp, 93 yuan."
Lin Chuan didn't mention the fractional amount that was rounded down; some people need to talk about it, and some don't.
The middle-aged man pulled out a hundred-yuan bill and handed it to Lin Chuan:
"No need to look anymore," he said, leaning closer as Lin Chuan seemed about to speak.
"This money settles the debt with Lin Hongmei. Kid, you'd better get out of here. The guy you kicked earlier has an older brother who's a thug around here. Watch out, they might come after you."