“One ton a day!”

David Thompson frowned. That was a lot, and Big Beard’s shop simply couldn’t handle it. He didn’t want to run out of business in a few days and have to look for new buyers again—it would be troublesome and a waste of his time.

Big Beard noticed David Thompson’s doubt, a smile appearing on his face as he lowered his voice and said, “To be honest, little brother, the other shops selling crayfish at the Nanping market are all my relatives. If one shop can’t handle it, five or six together won’t be a problem.”

David Thompson rolled his eyes. Another family monopoly.

This kind of thing was common. His own dad was the same way—most of the other seafood vendors at the market were either brothers or cousins.

These guys would gang up to squeeze out the competition, often preferring not to make money just to drive others out.

Only after forcing others out of business would they raise prices together. By then, with no outsiders left, they could set the price as they pleased.

When his family’s stall first started, they almost got squeezed out too. Luckily, his parents were tough and gritted their teeth to keep going, finally managing to establish themselves.

But David Thompson wasn’t in the mood to fight for others. That’s just how society works—if you don’t have the skills, just work honestly for someone else. If you want to do business, be ready to lose money.

“All right then, if it’s one ton a day, I’ll give you a fifty-cent discount per jin…”

“Come on, I don’t want you to lose out either, little brother. Five yuan per jin, cash on delivery. As long as they’re not dead, I won’t be picky!”

Glancing at Big Beard, David Thompson judged that this was probably Big Beard’s bottom price.

After some mental calculations, Big Beard probably got his goods from wholesalers at around six or seven yuan per jin, but since he bought less, his risk was lower.

Now, with ten thousand jin a day, his risk was much higher. If the price was too high, he wouldn’t want to do it either.

After hesitating for a moment, David Thompson nodded and said, “All right, I’ll deliver the first batch the day after tomorrow. You can check the quality—if it’s acceptable, we’ll keep working together. If not, you still have to take this first batch. How does that sound?”

Now it was Big Beard’s turn to hesitate. Ten thousand jin wasn’t a small amount—that was fifty thousand yuan. In 2004, fifty thousand yuan could buy a small house in the suburbs of Pingchuan.

Gritting his teeth, he said, “Let’s write up a note then. No more than five hundred jin can be dead, and those under 150 grams can’t be more than half!”

David Thompson breathed a sigh of relief. Even though he knew the note didn’t have any legal effect, small business owners valued this kind of thing.

Thinking it over, he nodded. “All right, but Boss Brooks, just writing a note isn’t enough. If I deliver and you really don’t want them, there’s nothing I can do. I’m new here—if I can’t sell the crayfish, who am I supposed to complain to? How about you pay a deposit first…”

Seeing Big Beard hesitate, David Thompson quickly said, “I’ll leave my ID with you too. That way, we’ll both feel secure, right?”

“All right, how about five hundred?”

David Thompson rolled his eyes. “This is fifty thousand yuan worth of goods, Boss Brooks. Five hundred isn’t even enough to cover my gas and travel expenses, let alone labor.”

“Haha, I guess I was being stingy. I’ll give you three thousand up front, and we’ll deduct it from the payment later.” Big Beard laughed, clearly in a good mood.

He didn’t really think David Thompson would run off with the three thousand yuan. As a businessman, he could judge people fairly well.

Besides, anyone running a family monopoly in the provincial capital’s market wasn’t short on money. Even if he did lose three thousand, it wouldn’t hurt him much.

With David Thompson’s ID in hand, he was sure he could track him down if needed. He’d make sure the kid paid for it if he tried anything.

The two quickly wrote up the note, and David Thompson received the three thousand yuan deposit, feeling even happier.

He left his ID with Big Beard, agreeing to pick it up when he delivered the goods the day after tomorrow. Neither of them cared about the address on the ID—after all, not everyone hustling in the provincial capital was from Pingchuan.

……

By the time David Thompson left the market, he was starving and drenched in sweat.

He grabbed a bite at a random stall, which perked him up. Thinking about the delivery in two days, he realized he still needed to find someone to get the crayfish—he had his work cut out for him.

He wanted to contact Old Walker, but without a phone, it was inconvenient. Phones were still a luxury for ordinary people, and not having one was a real hassle.

After thinking it over, David Thompson headed to a place he remembered that sold second-hand goods. Phones were being updated quickly, so buying a new one wasn’t worth it.

Besides, he needed the three thousand yuan for more urgent things—he couldn’t waste it.

A second-hand phone just needed to make calls. If he wanted something better, he’d wait until he made more money.

Chapter 9: Placing the Order

After leaving the second-hand shop, David Thompson had a nearly new treasure in his hand—a Nokia.

He’d spent a full four hundred and fifty yuan on it. Ten years from now, no one would even bother picking it up off the ground, but now, even second-hand, it was still so expensive.

Checking the time, it was already eleven thirty. David Thompson hurried to catch the bus home.

……

At three in the afternoon, David Thompson arrived at Dongping Station.

He bought a SIM card at the station, put it in, and used the business card Old Walker had given him to make a call.

“Hello, is this Uncle Walker?”

“……”

“It’s me, Little David, we talked this morning…”

“Yes, yes, yes, I told you this morning I wanted to buy some crayfish. I’ll need them the day after tomorrow—ten thousand jin, all with red shells. Can you give me a better price?”

“……”