NOVPUB
Chapter 601: Chapter 591: Gathering of People from All Sides
After discussing the plans here, it wasn’t two days before Ma Liguo took leave and headed south to personally check on the supply. He couldn’t sit still any longer; he had to get things settled.
Of course, this trip was also about networking, smoothing out relationships.
A week later, he returned covered in dust, smelling faintly of fish, but judging by his wide, beaming smile, it looked like the trip had been quite fruitful.
"Hongjun, you have no idea, this trip really broadened my horizons. They’ve got an abundance of sea fish over there, dirt cheap. I visited, and they treated me to a lavish meal, whoa, man, the lobsters they served were this big," Ma Liguo said, gesturing the size of the lobsters with great excitement.
Li Hongjun and his wife saw how thrilled he was and didn’t have the heart to burst his bubble, so they just nodded along.
"Look at you, acting as excited as a country bumpkin. Since you got back yesterday, you haven’t stopped talking. Aren’t you afraid of being laughed at?" Mu Huazhen didn’t mince her words and ribbed him a few times.
One trip out, and he came back with his tail up in the sky like he could fly any minute. She had to toss him a few words to keep him grounded, or who knows, he might have floated right up into the heavens.
Ma Liguo was immune to his wife’s occasional digs and took it in stride without getting upset, instead responding with a chuckle, "Your classmate did good. He took me to several fishing grounds and even helped me negotiate some quality stock." And, of course, he’d also delivered his own gestures of goodwill at the right moments—it was all about mutual benefit.
"Sure, he was my classmate, and his family has quite some clout locally. That’s why he went back after graduation, and I’ve heard he’s doing really well," said Mu Huazhen. At times like these, school ties could be very genuine and dependable.
"Yeah, he seems quite capable. There were no difficulties dealing with the fishing grounds, everything went smoothly," Ma Liguo could tell this guy was no ordinary joe. Otherwise, in a time when the whole nation was lacking, getting several carloads of seafood wouldn’t have been an easy feat.
"What exactly did you get?" Shen Yunfang asked.
"Mainly two things: sea fish and large prawns. Among the fish, the primary ones were hairtail, yellow croaker, and Spanish mackerel. For the rest, I just had them throw in a variety of whatever else they had. That way, it’ll be easier to sell them in combination," Ma Liguo said sheepishly. When he saw all the different kinds of sea fish, his head spun, and in the end, he simply chose the types he recognized. He figured that if he didn’t know them, the people in the Capital likely wouldn’t either. Even if he brought back some rare species, nobody would know their value, so he decided to stick to the more common, affordable options.
Shen Yunfang nodded upon hearing the types of fish he had ordered. They were all popular varieties that should sell well locally.
"When will they send us the goods?"
"It’ll take a little while longer. We’re asking for a lot, and they need to prepare it first." The south was warm while the north was cold, so the freshly caught sea fish had to be flash-frozen before being loaded onto trucks for transport here—a very meticulous process.
"Alright, I hope they can send it to us as soon as possible, so we have enough time to sell before the New Year," Shen Yunfang considered it for a moment and commented. This year, the New Year was coming early, which was somewhat disadvantageous for them.
This year, Li Xianglian and Dashuan’s families would probably have to come over around January 10th. Once they arrived, they’d start selling, but that would only leave about fifteen days to sell, which wasn’t a lot of time.
Shen Yunfang shared her concerns with everyone, and they all started thinking of whom else they could ask for help.
"I think we shouldn’t ask them to come together. There isn’t much work left in our hometown now, so let’s have my brother-in-law and Dashuan come early. Once the fish arrives, we can start selling. The women and kids can come over during the winter break, so they won’t miss the sales of couplets and fireworks," Li Hongjun proposed.
"Hey, this really might be a good idea," Ma Liguo immediately felt this was a good plan, something he hadn’t considered before, so he thought they’d wait until his whole family could come over to discuss it.
"But having just two people coming over might not be enough," Mu Huazhen said hesitantly.
Yunfang probably hasn’t gotten off work yet, and Li Hongjun will have to return to the military by then; surely, we can’t be the ones to show our faces, so thinking it over, there simply aren’t enough people to sell the goods.
Then everyone started to ponder who else they might be able to ask for help. 𝓷ℴ𝓋𝓅𝓊𝒷.𝒸𝓸𝓶
"If these fish can be delivered before New Year’s Day, I could also help sell them for a few days," said Li Hongjun, who wasn’t afraid to show his face, it was just that his leave was limited and he would have to leave after the Solar Calendar year, "How about we ask Chen Jing if she can come over to help?" This was his way of trying to rope in a comrade-in-arms.
Even though he had given Chen Jing five hundred yuan, from what he knew about her, Chen Jing would likely not want to spend that money. She might scrimp and save, holding on to the money tightly, waiting to use it only when something came up.
Ah, Chen Jing was an honest and hardworking person, but a bit slow-witted and inflexible.
"Hey, that might actually work. Didn’t you say she’s currently unemployed? If she comes over to help us for a month, she could make some money and have a good New Year’s," said Ma Liguo who, as Chen Jing’s comrade-in-arms, also understood her temperament.
"Alright, that should give us three or four people; let’s make do and open for business," Shen Yunfang decided with finality.
Afterward, everyone took action. Writing letters was too slow, so they made direct phone calls. Shen Yunfang was in charge of notifying Dashuan, Li Hongjun was responsible for contacting his brother-in-law, and he also got in touch with Chen Jing over the phone to ask her willingness; of course, the answer was that she would set out for here immediately.
Finally, under Ma Liguo’s persistent urging over the phone, the first batch of sea fish arrived in the Capital on December 25th.
Before this, allies had also gathered as planned at Shen Yunfang’s family courtyard in the Capital.
Dashuan came along with his wife, leaving their child to be watched over by Granny Wang, intending to have relatives send the three generations to the train, so they could be received here.
Only the brother-in-law came from Li’s eldest sister’s home, but he brought two others with him—Li Hongxing and his wife. The brother-in-law was quite embarrassed upon arrival; he hadn’t intended to bring others with him, but on the day he packed up to leave, he just happened to meet Li Hongxing and his wife at the train station. They said they were coming to find their younger brother, and as their brother-in-law, he couldn’t refuse. So, he ended up coming along with them. However, as soon as he saw Li Hongjun and Shen Yunfang, he quickly explained that he really hadn’t brought these people here; he was afraid of a misunderstanding.
Wang Dan was also single and started to butter up Shen Yunfang as soon as he arrived. He and his wife weren’t here to freeload; since the younger couple also needed workers, they figured it was better to help their own family rather than someone else, as they were both capable of working.
Looking at her rascal demeanor, in the end, Shen Yunfang discussed with Li Hongjun and Ma Liguo and decided, given the real shortage of workers, to let them stay and give them a try.
Chen Jing also came with her spouse; ever since Chen Jing became unemployed, they began doing odd jobs together and indeed hadn’t touched the five hundred yuan given by Li Hongjun. When Chen Jing heard that Hongjun needed help here, she quickly brought her wife along, leaving her widowed mother-in-law to look after their home for a while.
Well, even though they had originally planned for three people, seven had shown up instead—now, there were probably enough hands.
