Liang Jingxian smoothly packed a Jin of crayfish into the to-go box; he could roughly estimate the weight, but he still put it on the scale. To celebrate the first sale, he added two more crayfish to the mix.
"Thirty-five yuan, thank you."
After the crayfish were packed, he put two pairs of chopsticks and four plastic gloves into the bag and handed it over to the two girls.
His movements were smooth and practiced, showing no sign that it was his first time.
"I'll try them first." The two girls didn't wander off and, right next to his stall, put on the plastic gloves and prepared to start eating.
"Wow, it's so fragrant. I didn't even notice before." Peeling open one, the shrimp was still warm, and immediately a lingering fragrance filled the air.
"How is it, how is it?" Seeing her companion put a crayfish into her mouth and chew eagerly, the other girl couldn't help but ask.
"It's delicious, really delicious. Xiao Li, you should try it too—it's so tasty, it tastes even better than the crayfish we had in Gusu."
"The flesh is tender and the flavor is everlasting. I've never had crayfish this delicious in my whole life."
Girls can be quite alarming when they get excited; their actions surprised many people around them.
"Come on, seriously? It's obvious these are shills." Passersby shook their heads, chuckling without a word.
Even the uncle selling roasted sweet potatoes couldn't help but whisper, "Young brother, are these your relatives acting as shills? It's a bit much; this act is overdone."
Liang Jingxian couldn't help but laugh and cry: "Uncle, I don't know them. They must really like the crayfish I make."
At that moment, the other girl also began to exclaim in surprise, incessantly raving about how delicious it was.
The crayfish Liang Jingxian sold were quite large; there weren't even ten in a Jin. Even after Liang Jingxian added two, there were just barely eleven.
Quickly, the two girls finished a portion of crayfish and, because the number was odd, they hadn't divided it evenly, so they came back to buy another portion.
"Young brother, could your crayfish really be that tasty?" The uncle selling roasted sweet potatoes couldn't help but take a few extra looks, swallowing his saliva.
"Haha, if it's good or not, why not try it? Uncle, I'll give you a discount, thirty yuan for a Jin," laughed Liang Jingxian.
"Stingy," the uncle selling roasted sweet potatoes said with a laugh, and stayed quiet as another customer came to buy sweet potatoes, busying himself with weighing them.
Perhaps influenced by the excitement of the two girls, a few more people nearby came over to buy crayfish.
The thirty-five yuan per Jin might seem expensive; after all, living standards near Xiuyue Mountain were indeed not high.
But if you think about it, it wasn't too pricey either.
After all, many restaurants were selling crayfish for fifty yuan per Jin, which didn't even include the filling of cucumbers, green peppers, corn, and potatoes.
Anyone who had tried Liang Jingxian's crayfish only had high praise for them.
His reputation quickly built up, and surprisingly, sales went fast. In less than twenty minutes, fourteen Jin of crayfish were all sold, totaling four hundred and ninety yuan.
This made the uncle selling roasted sweet potatoes covetous; he couldn't make that much money in a whole day of sales.
Liang Jingxian was also quite pleased with this outcome. However, the problem now seemed to be the limited quantity of crayfish.
So, Liang Jingxian took a stroll and found a fishing gear store nearby. He bought ten fishing traps, four large ones and six small ones, and after some bargaining, he spent one hundred and twenty yuan and even received two packets of special bait as a bonus.
Thinking the seasonings at home were almost out, Liang Jingxian also purchased some oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, cooking wine, chicken essence, and other condiments, as well as some household essentials like toilet paper, toothpaste, soap, and shampoo. Altogether, he spent nearly two hundred yuan.
When he got home, it was already after eight o'clock.
"Xiao Xian is back? How did the sales go?" Luo Xiaofen asked with concern.
"The sales went very well. Everything sold out within an hour—fourteen Jin of shrimp for four hundred and ninety yuan," Liang Jingxian said with a smile as he brought out the condiments. "Mom, these are the condiments and household items I bought. I also got some fishing traps and am planning to go set them."
Hearing that Liang Jingxian had made four hundred and ninety yuan in just a while, Luo Xiaofen's eyes lit up.
It was well known that Huang Liang Village was a famously poor village, with an average annual income of just five to six thousand yuan—and that was for the entire family's income.
If Liang Jingxian could earn four hundred in a day, then per month, one person could make the equivalent of two years' income for an entire family, couldn't they?
"There's still some flour at home, I'll go get some." Excited by earning over four hundred in one night, Liang Bin went straight to get some flour to make bait.
He mixed the special bait from the fishing store with the flour to make a new bait. Thinking it was too late, he took a flashlight and accompanied Liang Jingxian to set the fishing traps.
The water quality near Huang Liang Village was decent, not too deep, and there were plenty of crisscrossing rivers and streams.
The next day, Liang Jingxian got up just over five in the morning, washed up, and went to retrieve the fishing traps alone.
"Ms. Xi, good morning. Are you catching crayfish this early?" Liang Jingxian parked his electric tricycle nearby, carried a bucket over, and spotted Yang Xi catching crayfish.
Today, Yang Xi had wisely worn a pair of rain boots, seemingly scared off by the snake bite. She was dressed conservatively, in a white long-sleeved T-shirt and light-colored jeans.
Liang Jingxian thought of going up the mountain later to pick some herbs and make sachets to repel snakes and bugs, which he could distribute to everyone.
"Yes, these crayfish are only active early in the morning and at night," Yang Xi explained, then widened her eyes in curiosity, "How did your crayfish sell yesterday?"
"They all sold out," replied Liang Jingxian with a shake of his head, "Ms. Xi, catching crayfish like that won't do. You should use fishing traps like me."
"Fishing traps?"
"No way, you've always been catching them by hand? And you can still catch two or three Jin each day?"
Liang Jingxian was amazed by this naive woman and also felt a bit sorry for her, saying, "Come with me; I'll teach you how to use fishing traps."
But this also proved just how plentiful the nearby crayfish really were.
Yang Xi was indeed strapped for cash, so she didn't refuse and blushed as she followed behind Liang Jingxian.
Soon, the two arrived at the first fishing trap.
Liang Jingxian pulled up the first trap and just by tugging it a little, he could tell there was a hefty catch inside.
"Oh my goodness, so many... there must be two Jin of crayfish here, and there are even loaches...," Yang Xi, who had never farmed or fished before and didn't know how to use fishing traps, was taken aback by the bounty in one trap. She was so delighted by the sight as if they were her own.