"Your price seems a bit high, don't you think? I don't mind borrowing the fishing trap and accepting crayfish. For your crayfish, I'll just handle them for you, no need to pay me."
Yang Xi was initially a bit excited, but after thinking it over, she still declined to take the money.
Liang Jingxian insisted firmly, "Not taking money won't do. If you don't charge me, I'll have to find someone else to do it."
Yang Xi could not refuse any further, "Alright, fine..."
Liang Jingxian smiled and said, "That's more like it. The money is the fruit of your labor and rightfully yours; you should take what you deserve."
He handed over the fragrance pouches to Yang Xi, then went into his house to fetch some needles and thread for her.
These fragrance pouches were all cut from old clothes and cloth scraps, various in color but lacking any real beauty.
"These are for personal use at home, but in a few days, once I buy some special bags for the fragrance materials, I can start selling them."
The main purpose of the fragrance pouch materials was to repel snakes, insects, rats, and ants, so the smell was not exactly pleasant, having a strong medicinal herb odor. However, if you add some fragrant herbs to the mix, you can achieve both effectiveness and a more pleasant aroma.
After assigning these tasks to Yang Xi, Liang Jingxian weighed her crayfish – a total of twenty-three Jin.
"Twenty-three Jin, that makes one hundred and fifteen yuan, plus five yuan for sewing the fragrance pouches, equals one hundred and twenty yuan. I have twenty-five Jin of crayfish at home, add your twenty-three Jin, making forty-eight Jin, with a processing charge of forty-eight yuan, it's one hundred and sixty-eight total. Plus forty from last night, I owe you one hundred and twenty-eight, but let's round it up to a neat one hundred and thirty. Here you go."
Liang Jingxian handed over one hundred and thirty yuan to Yang Xi with swift efficiency before going to prepare the eel. Half an hour later, Liang Jingxian brought out a pot full of eel.
"Ms. Xi, come taste the Spicy Stir-Fried Eel Shreds I made." Liang Jingxian served a bowl and handed her a pair of chopsticks.
"Delicious!" Yang Xi had finished sewing the fragrance pouches and processed some crayfish, so she washed her hands and took the bowl. She sniffed the dish and exclaimed with admiration, "Liang Jingxian, why are all your dishes so fragrant? Do you have a secret recipe?"
"Ha-ha, you already called it a secret recipe, how can I just let it out?" Liang Jingxian laughed heartily.
"So full of yourself!" Yang Xi could tell Liang Jingxian was joking and rolled her eyes at him. "You have no idea, after eating the crayfish you made yesterday, those two little ones don't even like my food anymore."
Liang Jingxian said, "If they like it, you can bring them another bowl later."
Yang Xi shook her head repeatedly, "No, they're still too young. Food like crayfish should be eaten in moderation."
"You don't have to worry about that. My crayfish are prepared with medicinal herbs. The flavor is just one aspect; they mainly serve a health-promoting purpose, so it's fine for the kids to eat more."
"I'd rather not. They're already starting to dislike the food I make. If they keep eating yours, they might never want my dishes again. Then our family of three would have to squat at your place every day."
"Ha-ha, you're welcome to come over for meals anytime."
After tasting the eel, Yang Xi was equally full of praise, saying, "Liang Jingxian, your eel is delicious as well, no less than the crayfish. You could sell the eel too."
Liang Jingxian replied, "Eel isn't like crayfish; it's not really suited for food stalls."
Yang Xi hmm'd in agreement, turning back to the task at hand. After a few bites of the eel, she stopped eating and focused on processing the crayfish.
The initial work was slow, but as she progressed, her speed increased. It took her an hour and a half to clean nearly fifty Jin of crayfish.
Liang Jingxian finished tidying up at home and dealing with the herbs. He distributed the fragrance pouches Yang Xi had sewn to Aunt Pang and a few other nearby households before he started cooking the crayfish.
Yesterday's crayfish were all spicy-flavored, but today, Liang Jingxian split them into two pots: one with thirty Jin of spicy crayfish and another with eighteen Jin of fragrant spicy crayfish.
He had barely parked his tricycle by the bus station when a man around thirty approached, "Buddy, why are you just getting here? Quick, give me two Jin of crayfish."
While taking out his money, he said, "I ate the crayfish my wife brought back yesterday, and I just can't stop thinking about them. I came here on purpose and have been waiting for nearly half an hour. I was worried you wouldn't set up your stall today."
"If you hadn't shown up today, I would've gotten scolded by my wife."
There we go, a loyal customer already. Not bad, another good start.
"Big brother, the crayfish I sold yesterday were spicy flavored. Today, I also have fragrant spicy ones. Want to try those too?"
Liang Jingxian parked the tricycle where he did the day before, started packing the food into takeaway containers and plastic bags, while promoting his produce.
"Are the fragrant spicy ones good? Alright, then let's do this: two Jin of spicy flavor and one Jin of fragrant spicy flavor."
"Tasty, guaranteed to please. Here, three Jin of crayfish, one hundred and five yuan, but I'll just take one hundred."
After receiving his crayfish, the young man tasted the fragrant spicy flavor.
"Mmm, tastes good." He gave Liang Jingxian a thumbs up, and as he walked down the busy street, he kept eating, his rich array of facial expressions once again drawing the attention of many passersby.
Liang Jingxian was quite honest when selling his shrimp, not filling the scales with soup, adding it only after weighing, and this was observed by many, earning his business greater trust. They felt that this young man was sincere in his dealings, not like some crooked traders known for shortchanging.
"Not bad, Xiao Liang, you've made a hundred yuan just by showing up, beating me by a lot," said the roasted sweet potato seller enviously.
"Heh, it's okay," replied Liang Jingxian with a chuckle. "Old Li, your business isn't bad either, your customers have been constant."
The two of them chatted, exchanging sentences back and forth.
Liang Jingxian's crayfish had excellent word of mouth; six people who ate them the day before came back for more. Additionally, several passersby were attracted to purchase. In less than two hours, forty-eight Jin of crayfish were sold out, earning him one thousand and six hundred yuan.
To tell the truth, even Liang Jingxian had not expected them to sell this fast.
After all, Xiushan Town is just a small town, and the surrounding villages are mostly poor areas. Even at the station with its extra foot traffic, Liang Jingxian thought he might have reached his limit and that selling out would take a while.
It seemed the market for crayfish extended far beyond his expectations.
After the crayfish were sold out, Liang Jingxian went to the supermarket to buy some candy and snacks, as well as some nice looking fabric.
The candy and snacks were for Xiao Long and Xiao Feng, and other children in the village. The fabric was for making fragrance pouches, as the forest had many mosquitoes. Wearing fragrance pouches was essential, and the market potential was definitely there.
Following that, Liang Jingxian went to a fishing supply store, purchasing ten fishing traps and some bait. Having made some money, Liang Jingxian was full of motivation.