No matter where you go, markets are always filled with noise, and the mix of various smells makes people frown.

David Thompson had long since gotten used to this kind of scene. When he was a child, his parents were busy, so they often brought David Thompson to the market and let him play by himself—sometimes for an entire day.

Following the crowd, David Thompson quickly found the seafood section. The Nanmen Market was much larger than the one in Dongping, with more vendors as well.

The seafood section here was also different from Dongping’s individual stalls; instead, it consisted of storefronts, which were much cleaner than the messy, dirty little markets.

At a glance, David Thompson could easily spot the bright red crayfish, and there were quite a few vendors selling them.

Although it wasn’t yet the official crayfish season, the people of Pingchuan were already showing a growing enthusiasm for eating them.

Feeling a bit relieved, David Thompson wandered around and chose a slightly larger storefront to stop at.

“Boss, how much are the crayfish?”

The busy shop owner didn’t even look up and shouted, “Small ones are 8 yuan, big ones are 10.”

David Thompson squatted down to take a look. They were all red-shelled crayfish; the small ones aside, each big one weighed about 100 grams.

After estimating for a moment, David Thompson felt reassured. The retail price at the market wasn’t low, and compared to his own profit margin, the wholesale price was about five or six yuan per jin.

He didn’t say anything more and waited until the bearded boss finished his work before David Thompson stood up to talk.

“Boss, it’s only April. Are crayfish selling well?”

“Not bad. The weather’s hot this year, so a lot of people are eating them. Mostly the barbecue stalls and open-air restaurants want them. You should buy some to try—they taste pretty good.”

David Thompson took out a pack of Yuxi cigarettes from his pocket. His dad had bought them for show during the New Year, and he’d never wanted to smoke them. David Thompson had taken them with him that morning.

He handed one to the boss. The bearded boss wiped his hands, took the cigarette, lit it, and smiled, “You look unfamiliar, little brother. Do you run your own shop?”

David Thompson took a drag and shook his head, “My family contracted a few hundred mu of lake over in the southern suburbs. There are a lot of crayfish this year, so I’m looking for ways to sell them. The price offered by the middlemen who come to buy is a bit low, so I decided to check things out myself.”

“Oh!”

The boss nodded in understanding. This kind of thing was common.

Those fish vendors who came to buy at the door always tried to force the price down. Some farmers, unwilling to accept that, would go out and look for buyers themselves.

There were many lakes in the southern suburbs of Pingchuan, and quite a few were privately contracted. Much of Pingchuan’s seafood came from there.

“Little brother, are you interested in selling to me?”

The bearded man grinned fiercely and said, “Don’t be fooled by my high prices. Actually, I can’t sell that much in a day. And if I sell to restaurants, the price has to be even lower. If you have goods, I can take some off your hands, no problem…”

No wonder successful businesspeople are all shrewd—David Thompson hadn’t even said anything, and the boss already understood his intentions and started bargaining.

“Come on, Boss Brooks, you’re being too modest. I just took a look, and you must have sold at least a hundred jin just now.”

“You know me, little brother?”

The bearded man was a bit surprised that David Thompson called out his surname. As for how much he’d sold, David Thompson had just seen it, so there was no need to deny it.

David Thompson smiled and pointed at the shop sign, which had the boss’s surname and phone number on it.

The bearded man smiled, turned around and signaled his wife to serve the customers, then pulled David Thompson aside and said, “To be honest, I haven’t seen your goods yet, so I don’t know what they’re like. Besides, all my suppliers are old acquaintances—it’s not just convenient, it’s also cheaper. If you don’t have much to sell, there’s no point talking about this. Business is all about long-term relationships, right?”

David Thompson nodded. No matter what business you’re in, long-term convenience is what matters. Since David Thompson’s own family was in this business, he naturally understood.

But making money is the real truth. As long as he was a bit cheaper than the wholesalers, these people would definitely come to him.

“Boss Brooks, let’s not stand on ceremony. I’m just here to ask around. Name your price—if it’s reasonable, I can supply you with about ten thousand jin a day, no problem.”

“Heh, you’re joking. I can’t handle that much. Two thousand jin a day—three yuan for small ones, five for big ones.”

David Thompson turned to leave. With the price cut so much for two thousand jin of crayfish, there was no profit to be made. He might as well go directly to the barbecue stalls.

“Don’t be in such a hurry, little brother. Then you name your price.”

The bearded man quickly stopped David Thompson. In small business negotiations, money is always more important than face or etiquette.

“Mixed sizes, six yuan per jin, mostly big ones.” David Thompson had checked the Dongping crayfish market that morning—they only distinguished between green and red shells, not by size.

“Six yuan! That’s too expensive. I’ve never paid that much from anyone else!” The bearded man exclaimed, clearly unable to accept it.

As for mixed sizes, he didn’t mind. In fact, all the goods he bought were mixed sizes; it was just that the vendors sorted them themselves at the market.

“You’re asking for too little. If I sell to you any cheaper, it’s not worth it for me to deliver. I might as well just sell to the fish vendors.”

David Thompson shrugged, indicating there was nothing he could do. After all, this wasn’t the only market—there were plenty of markets in Pingchuan, so he wasn’t worried about the deal falling through.

The bearded man hesitated for a moment, then asked, “How about this—if I can take more, how much cheaper can you go?”

“How much do you want?”