Chapter 112: Purchasing Crayfish in the Village
When Li You said their agreement still stood, both Xia Xiaoyue and Mu Qingye were delighted.
"Thank you, Boss. We’ll come over again the day after tomorrow, then," both Xia Xiaoyue and Mu Qingye said.
The other girls, along with the teachers like Chu Yiwei and Lin Xin, were even more curious and confused.
’Does Mu Qingye have some kind of agreement with the boss too?’
"Xiao Yue, Sister Qingye, what’s this agreement you have with the boss? Can you tell us?" Yu Wei asked.
Xia Xiaoyue and Mu Qingye both looked at Li You.
Li You smiled. "Of course you can tell them."
So, Xia Xiaoyue explained the details of the agreement.
’So that’s what it was.’
Yu Wei and the other girls, along with teachers like Chu Yiwei and Lin Xin, were all quite envious. ’We want to have an agreement like that with the boss too!’
Just then, Li You added, "If you all would like to try them, I invite you to come for a free taste test the day after tomorrow as well."
They were all regular customers, after all. Li You was more than happy to invite them for a tasting.
"Really? That’s fantastic! Boss, you’re the best!"
Yu Wei and the other girls, along with the teachers like Chu Yiwei and Lin Xin, were all pleasantly surprised.
"Boss, what about us?"
The voices of business owners like Zhao Yu and Deng Luping, as well as the male teachers like Zhang Qinghe and Cai Peng, drifted out from inside the restaurant.
They had heard the entire conversation between Li You, the female teachers, and the students outside.
They were also pleasantly surprised about the two new dishes being launched the day after tomorrow: crucian carp with agastache and spicy crayfish.
They had just been saying that now with such fine wine available, it would be perfect if the boss could introduce a new dish that paired well with it.
’They never expected it to happen so soon.’
’And two new dishes at that.’
Especially the spicy crayfish. It was simply one of the best dishes to pair with drinks.
Drinking this fine wine while eating spicy crayfish—it just doesn’t get any better than that.
’The boss really came through this time!’
As for the boss offering a free tasting, they didn’t actually expect him to include them in the offer.
Seeing how lively the conversation was outside between the boss, the teachers, and the students, they couldn’t resist joining in on the fun.
’They would definitely pay for the dishes themselves.’
Soon, Li You’s voice came from outside the restaurant. "Of course, you’re all included. Everyone is welcome to come for a tasting."
Zhao Yu laughed after hearing this. "Thanks a lot, Boss! But if we all come for a free tasting, there’ll be too many people. We can just order from the menu then."
The other business owners and male teachers all said the same.
Li You smiled. "It’s alright. I’ll just prepare some more then."
Li You genuinely welcomed the business owners and the male teachers to come for the tasting too.
It was no trouble at all to prepare a bit more.
"HAHAHA! Thanks, Boss. We’ll see when the time comes, then," Zhao Yu said again.
Outside the restaurant, Xia Xiaoyue spoke up again. "By the way, Boss, you’re adding more and more dishes, and business is booming. Have you considered hiring some help? You’re going to be swamped if you keep doing everything by yourself."
The other girls and the teachers, including Chu Yiwei and Lin Xin, all nodded in agreement.
’They were thinking the same thing.’
Li You smiled. "I’ve already found two helpers. They’ll be officially on duty tomorrow."
’Oh, I see.’
Xia Xiaoyue, the other girls, and the teachers all nodded.
’So the boss already hired two employees. Looks like we were worrying for nothing.’
Li You knew everyone must have misunderstood, but he didn’t explain.
Anyway, once tomorrow came and they saw the robots, they would realize the helpers he mentioned weren’t employees, but robots.
"Well, Boss, we’re going to head to the canyon now," Mu Qingye said. "I’m hoping to run into the Red-crowned Crane again today. If I do, I’ll take another set of photos."
Li You nodded. "Okay, you guys go ahead. Be careful."
"Okay."
"We don’t have class this afternoon, so we’ll go take a look as well," said Chu Yiwei, Lin Xin, and the other teachers.
"Alright, you go ahead too. Be safe."
"Okay."
The students and teachers walked off toward the canyon together.
Li You took out his phone to call his father. "Dad, I’m about to launch a new dish: spicy crayfish. I need to buy a large amount of them. Could you spread the word in the village and see if anyone wants to catch and sell them to me? Let’s set the price at 14 yuan a pound. I only want medium and large crayfish, no small ones."
The current market price for crayfish was generally around twenty to twenty-something yuan per pound.
However, that was the city price.
In Wenxian Town, however, the price usually didn’t exceed fifteen yuan per pound.
And they weren’t easy to sell.
That was because if people in town wanted to eat crayfish, many would just catch or fish for them themselves for free.
So, Li You’s offer of 14 yuan a pound was actually an excellent price for Wenxian Town.
Over the phone, his father said, "Spicy crayfish is a great idea. More and more people are eating crayfish these days, especially you youngsters. But 14 yuan a pound is too high. Eleven or twelve a pound would be plenty. Even at that price, you’d definitely have a lot of people catching them."
Li You chuckled. "It’s fine, Dad. They’re our fellow villagers. Everyone helped us out a lot in the past. Besides, this price isn’t really high; it’s just a fair market rate."
His father replied, "Alright, then. I’ll go spread the word now. The villagers will be thrilled to hear this. Are you starting to buy them right away?"
Li You said, "Yes, starting right now. And I’ll be buying them long-term."
"Got it," his father said.
...
「Changle Village.」
After hanging up, Li You’s father was overjoyed and immensely proud.
He knew that once he spread the word, the villagers wouldn’t just praise Li You for his success; they’d also be grateful that he thought of them whenever a good opportunity arose.
’After all, if he wasn’t thinking of them, he could buy crayfish from anywhere.’
In a place like Wenxian Town, crayfish were abundant everywhere.
’My son has really made something of himself!’
Li You’s father was beaming with pride.
He told Li You’s mother the news and then headed out.
As soon as he stepped out, the news that Li You was buying large quantities of crayfish for 14 yuan a pound began to spread slowly throughout the village.
Every villager who heard the news was pleasantly surprised.
Crayfish were abundant around the village; it was easy to catch several pounds, or even more than ten, in a single day.
That meant earning several dozen yuan, maybe even over a hundred, in one go. It was an incredible deal.
Of course, they could have taken their crayfish to the town market to sell before, but they never sold well.
Taking them to the county seat to sell was too time-consuming.
Besides, even in the county seat, sales weren’t guaranteed. There were too many people selling crayfish there.
So, whether they tried to sell in town or in the county seat, there was never much to look forward to.
As a result, very few people bothered catching crayfish to sell. Only occasionally would someone gather a batch to try their luck.
But now, with Li You buying, the situation was completely different and incredibly exciting.
Not only was the price good, but they didn’t have to travel far.
Most importantly, they didn’t have to worry about their catch going unsold. All you had to do was bring the crayfish to him, and he would buy them on the spot, no matter the quantity.
’This wasn’t just catching crayfish anymore; it was like catching cash.’
For the villagers, this was incredibly welcome news.
So, the villagers were all very excited.
Everywhere Li You’s father went, the villagers he met would say, "Old Li, your Xiaoyou has really made it big! He’s definitely going to be making a fortune soon. And he’s still thinking of us... we’re so grateful."
His father was delighted and proud, but he would always say humbly, "Oh, not at all, not at all. It’s just the beginning, who knows what the future holds. As for buying crayfish from you all, it’s only right."
His words were humble, but he couldn’t hide the beaming smile on his face.
...