Volume 1, Chapter 19: Five Thousand for the Lot

"Uncle, would I ever lie to you?"

"I've been out there before, so why haven't I ever seen such high-quality goods?" Wang Haisheng muttered under his breath.

"That's because you're with my brother now. He has good luck."

Wang Haisheng’s interest piqued, and he glanced at Ye Cheng, who had remained silent on the side.

"Young man, how about this: I'll take all of your haul. What do you say?" Boss Qian suddenly interjected.

"You'll take it all?" Ye Cheng was a bit surprised. There was quite a lot in the crate, plus the snake-skin bag he was holding—together, it must have weighed dozens of pounds.

"Yes. Don't worry, the price will definitely be better than what you'd get from the wholesalers. They have to make a margin, after all." Boss Qian offered him two cigarettes with great sincerity—Chunghwa brand.

Regardless of the era, Chunghwa cigarettes were a status symbol. Even in later times, when many cigarettes costing over a hundred yuan appeared, they still held a prestigious position.

Especially in this day and age, Chunghwa was definitely something only the wealthy smoked. However, Ye Cheng didn't care for the taste—it was simply a matter of personal preference.

Ye Cheng took one and lit it himself.

"That works. Why don't you name a price, Boss Qian?"

"Pour out that bag too. I want to see the quality," Boss Qian said, smiling and pointing to the snake-skin bag in Ye Cheng’s hand.

"Sure. Xiaohu, pour it out for Boss Qian to see."

Xiaohu responded and went into the cabin to grab a plastic basin, dumping out the contents of Ye Cheng's bag.

Wang Haisheng’s eyes turned green with envy. These two boys had struck it rich.

The haul was full of large sea cucumbers and some abalone. As for the snails and such, he automatically ignored them.

Boss Qian stopped smoking his cigarette and cursed softly under his breath, "Damn."

He picked out the largest abalone from the crate; it was easily a four-head abalone. That single piece was worth a fortune, let alone the many smaller ones.

Then there were the sea cucumbers—the thickest one was nearly as large as his own forearm.

Ye Cheng remained quiet, watching silently. This batch could fetch a good price; it all depended on how much Boss Qian was willing to offer.

By his estimation, if he had sold it to old Lin, it would have fetched around 3,000 yuan.

Boss Qian had his companion bring over a few crates to roughly sort the seafood: the abalone, sea cucumbers, and razor clams were packed separately, while the miscellaneous items were left in the crate.

"I'll take these three crates. The rest—the snails and such—can stay. I'll pay you 5,000 for everything. How does that sound?"

Ye Cheng’s eyes lit up. 5,000—that was a good number.

Wang Haisheng and Xiaohu were already gasping for air, unable to hide their excitement. 5,000! That was 5,000 in a single day! This...

Xiaohu looked at Ye Cheng with hopeful eyes, itching to say, "Brother, hurry up and accept!"

Ye Cheng glanced at Boss Qian, smiled slightly, and extended his hand. "Deal."

"Hahaha, good! You've got guts, young man. You didn't even blink when you heard 5,000." Boss Qian burst into laughter.

At his level, he had met many people. It wasn't that they didn't bring him good goods, but they were usually incredibly agitated the moment he named a price.

Few people were as composed as Ye Cheng.

Ye Cheng couldn't help it. As someone who had been reborn, he knew that in the future, 5,000 yuan wouldn't even buy a single square meter of housing. It wasn't a huge amount of money; he was used to it.

"Pay him," Boss Qian ordered. His companion immediately opened his waist bag, pulled out a thick stack of large bills, and began counting.

Fifty large bills—it was quite a thick wad.

Ye Cheng patted the money in his hand and cupped his hands in a gesture of thanks toward Boss Qian. "Much obliged, Boss."

With that, he counted out 1,500 and handed it to Xiaohu. "There, this is your share."

Wang Haisheng’s eyes were glued to the cash. That morning, he had tried to lure his foolish nephew with just 15 yuan, never imagining the boy would make 1,500 in a single day. He himself only made a few hundred yuan after driving two bosses around and providing a seafood meal.

He stared longingly at Ye Cheng, wondering if he might get a cut, but to his surprise, Ye Cheng simply tucked the money into his pocket.

"A-Cheng, you made quite a bit on this trip," Wang Haisheng said, rubbing his hands together.

"Yeah, Uncle. How about I sell you the remaining seafood? Let's call it 100 yuan," Ye Cheng said, pointing to what Boss Qian had left behind.

He knew exactly what Wang Haisheng was thinking. But the man had almost refused to take them out that morning, and it had been agreed that the catch belonged to them. Ye Cheng wasn't stupid enough to give Wang Haisheng any money.

Sometimes, people are just like that—if you are too kind to them, they are never satisfied.

"Although this seafood is what I left behind, it should easily fetch over 200 yuan. Old Wang, you're getting a good deal," Boss Qian added.

Wang Haisheng looked at his nephew, but Xiaohu had already tucked his money away and turned his head to look at the sea.

Wang Haisheng gritted his teeth. "Fine, 100 it is."

"Thank you, Boss." Ye Cheng held out his hand immediately.

Wang Haisheng’s face darkened. "You're afraid I'll welsh on the deal?"

Ye Cheng smiled but said nothing. Who knew what he was thinking? What if he decided to deny it once they reached the shore?

Wang Haisheng begrudgingly took out 100 yuan and handed it to Ye Cheng, who flicked it happily and tucked it into his pocket.

Not bad. He had made 3,600 yuan on this trip. Added to the money he had already given his older brother, he was nearly debt-free.

"Do you often come out to forage, young man?" After paying, Boss Qian began to chat with Ye Cheng with genuine interest.

"Yeah, I come whenever I'm free. Nothing else to do—I don't have a job," Ye Cheng said casually.

"Well, if you get your hands on good stuff in the future, remember to find me. I'll give you my mobile number."

Ye Cheng scratched his head awkwardly. "Actually, I don't have a phone yet."

"Xiaohu, go find a piece of paper inside and write it down."

"You made a good profit on this trip, young man. You should really get a phone; otherwise, it’ll be hard to expand your business," Boss Qian joked.

Ye Cheng nodded. He was right; it was time to buy a phone, but that would have to wait a little while.

Xiaohu found paper and a pen and noted down Boss Qian’s number.

"I'm based in Donghai City. If you have goods, call me anytime. It's better than selling to wholesalers—but the quality must be good."

"Got it. Don't you worry."

After a short chat, the group arrived at the shore.

Ye Cheng helped Boss Qian load the goods into the car, then took Xiaohu to buy some braised dishes. After a long, tiring day, he felt he owed it to himself to have a good meal.

By the time they returned to the village, it was already time for dinner. Xiaohu headed home, but Ye Cheng went straight to his older brother Ye Guowei’s house.

"Brother!" Ye Cheng called out as soon as he stepped through the door.

Ye Guowei had just returned and was still bathing, so Jiang Yunxiang came out instead.

Seeing Ye Cheng, a smile immediately appeared on Jiang Yunxiang’s face—she was far more enthusiastic than she had been during his last visit.

"A-Cheng is here. Have you eaten? If not, join us."

Ye Cheng felt a pang of realization. In the past, Jiang Yunxiang had never invited him to eat with such warmth, but he understood—the original owner of his body had indeed been a bit of a scoundrel.

"Sister-in-law, I just got back from the sea. I haven't eaten yet. I brought some braised dishes," Ye Cheng said, placing the food on the table.

"A-Cheng, don't waste money on food like this in the future; it's expensive outside," Jiang Yunxiang said with a gentle, chiding tone.