Chapter 587: Chapter 16: Puppy Love Problems
After Xiao Xian and Yiyi relished the hairy crabs, Yezi and Uncle Lu’s crab business also took a turn for the better.
Since the crabs began to be harvested, the largest order Yezi encountered was from a local restaurant, which bought about fifty hairy crabs. They only bought once and then stopped because they complained that their crabs were not famous and were also expensive.
Those are people who don’t know how to appreciate crabs, Uncle Lu said, then turned around and squatted by the crab pond, staring out distractedly. Always relying on selling odd lots in the vegetable market, when would Uncle Lu’s crab pond get on the right track?
A few days later, Yezi heard from Uncle Lu that someone wanted to wholesale some hairy crabs.
"It’s a comrade who knows how to enjoy crabs. That day when I set up a crab stall at Jingxi Vegetable Market, she came alone and bought more than ten crabs. Her family ate them and said they were delicious. Her family just happens to run an Agricultural Specialty Store, and the business is not bad, the area nearby is quite bustling too. Let’s deliver fifty crabs to try today." Uncle Lu picked out dozens of fresh crabs, packed them by hand, and asked Yezi to help deliver them with him.
Selling crabs in the specialty store?
Dongnan Miao Village is not a tourist village; it does not have so-called local specialty stores, but Yezi has been to some Miao family villages, where specialty stores are specifically designed to cater to tourists from all over. Regardless of the quality of their products, the prices are high. Their hairy crabs, lacking a place of origin, how could they sell at a high price just displayed there.
"In terms of price, the other party also said that she isn’t looking to make a profit, she truly thinks our crabs are good. The variety of goods in her store is limited, adding another product is also good. Selling one crab at the market price, factoring in two dollars for rent and labor costs," said Uncle Lu, who is also a straightforward person. If others are straightforward, he doesn’t hesitate, saying to sell is to sell. That morning Yezi had already bought crabs once, and he was free in the afternoon, so he thought it might as well go downtown with Uncle Lu.
After Mama gave birth to the little sister, him being an older brother wasn’t at home; a meeting gift must be prepared, he thought about it and it might be better to go to Beijing City to look for a suitable gift to send back.
It took a little over an hour to transport the crabs from the small reservoir to Zhuo Feng’s Agricultural Specialty Store. The man that greeted Uncle Lu and Yezi was a good-tempered man in his thirties. The comrade who had made contact with Uncle Lu was not there, saying she went to take her niece to school.
Feng Xing, seeing the crabs brought by Uncle Lu and Yezi, indeed as Zhuo Feng said, they were all large in size and still fresh after being transported for over an hour.
Initially, when the hairy crabs were bought, Mao Dazhu personally soaked them in aged wine to get them drunk, added minced ginger, and steamed them. The meat was tender and full, the white paste inside was pure white like jade, Xiao Xian and Zhang Yiyi, who hadn’t touched seafood in a long time, each nibbled on two. Zhuo Feng also ate one and even suggested having the uncle from the vegetable market consign hairy crabs in the store.
Mao Dazhu also loved to eat, but was embarrassed to compete with the younger ones for crabs, hearing about selling crabs in the store, being close to the water he got ahead first, he quickly agreed.
Anyway, now most of the store is operated by Zhuo Feng and his wife. Xiao Xian had brought back a dozen cushions from home, Mao Dazhu looked at the cushions and saw nothing special, too lazy to contact buyers, just let Xiao Xian make do and displayed them together in the Agricultural Specialty Store, sell one if possible.
So when Yezi and Uncle Lu first entered the Agricultural Specialty Store, they encountered a very strange scene. Mats were placed on the left side, and the shelf on the right neatly displayed sweet potatoes. Freshly ground sweet potato flour was placed in the corner; there was also a stack of new cushions piled together, placed at the entrance.
"Uncle Lu, your crabs are top-notch, but aren’t hairy crabs difficult to preserve?" Feng Xing wondered about how to preserve these crabs, it’s hot now, and if left in a box, they shouldn’t spoil. Regarding Zhuo Feng’s suggestion, Feng Xing actually didn’t have a clue, after all, crabs and sweet potatoes are completely different concepts.
"Don’t worry about that, does the store have a fridge? For the unsold hairy crabs, just tie them up and stuff them into foam boxes, they can be preserved for about ten days." Yezi had a good impression of Feng Xing, he helped tie a few crabs and put them in foam boxes.
There’s a freezer in the Agricultural Specialty Store, previously bought by Mao Dazhu for cooling down, used for chilling watermelons in the summer, Zhuo Feng also stuffed some ice pops in there.
"Then I won’t disturb you any longer, if the hairy crabs still sell well, remember to call me to deliver another batch," Uncle Lu also saw the prices of the sweet potatoes sold in the store, they were a bit more expensive than outside, yet quite a number of people still came in to buy sweet potatoes, it seems this Agricultural Specialty Store really has its uniqueness, it made him feel even more optimistic about the sales prospects of his batch of hairy crabs.