Chapter 226 Receiving the Goods

Chapter 226 Receiving the Goods

Chapter 226 Receiving the Goods
"Dad, I'm worried about the tarpaulin covering the collapsed house. If a typhoon comes, it will most likely be blown away."

"Now we have the stones and oyster ash. When my fellow apprentices arrive in the afternoon, we will first repair the row of dilapidated houses and put up the roofs."

The three chief craftsmen invited by Zhang Dejin were all his fellow apprentices.

The three men called over some of the craftsmen they usually worked with, intending to rush the repair of the dilapidated house so that they could pile up materials and work more conveniently.

Father Li said cheerfully: "You are the master of building the house. The house is handed over to you. Just do whatever you want."

Brother Li took over and said, "Ah Jin, if we are going to start work this afternoon, why don't you invite your fellow apprentices to come over for a quick meal?"

"We are all family, so there is no need to be so particular." Zhang Dejin said with a smile, "They are finishing up in Shaji Village, eating there at noon, and will come here in the afternoon."

Brother Li thought for a moment and looked at Li Changle, "Then prepare some sea bream heads for them to take away later."

Zhang Dejin's fellow apprentices are all from their village. They are not near the sea, so fish jerky is rare.

"Okay, they like these. Ah Xi asked me to bring back some pickled cuttlefish roe when I go back. The kids I brought back last time also liked them."

"We have two large jars of pickled fish at home. I'll pack some more for you later." Father Li added, "Ask your mother-in-law to prepare some fish jerky this afternoon and bring some to your friend who sells stones."

Zhang Dejin agreed and turned to ask Li Changle about setting up the scaffolding. He still didn't understand how to get the retractable tarpaulin that Li Changle mentioned.
What Li Changle wanted was the retractable awning like in later generations, so he described to him the appearance of the awning he had seen, even with gestures.

After hearing this, Zhang Dejin thought silently for a while, "Ah Le, according to what you said, we may need to buy some angle irons, have someone drill holes in them, and connect them with screws to achieve the telescopic function."

"Brother-in-law is really smart, no wonder so many people are looking for you to work for them."

Li Changle knew that although her brother-in-law looked honest, he was actually very smart when it came to craftsmanship.

He is just timid, otherwise, he might be a famous contractor in a few years.

Zhang Dejin smiled naively, "What a craftsman does is to build a reputation. Only when the owner is satisfied will he introduce you to the next buyer."

Old Man Jin nodded and said, "Ah Jin, there are still a few families from the immigrant village who haven't started construction yet. They came to see us when we were transporting our things today. I'll ask them to come and see us when you start construction."

"Thank you, Uncle Jin." Zhang Dejin said gratefully.

As they were talking, the group had already reached the entrance of the alley.

Brother Li said to Li Changle, "Do you want to go to Ah Chun's house to see the fish jerky?"

“It’s okay to go and have a look!”

Li Changle agreed, said hello to Ge Changfa, followed Li Erge into the alley from the left, and walked towards the last house at the west end.

Along the way, we saw dried fish of all kinds drying in the yards of several households.

When we arrived at the last house, we saw a lame man turning over and drying mackerel heads in the yard. The bamboo racks and bamboo flats were full of dried fish.

The yard is kept clean and tidy, and you can tell at a glance that this is a family that loves cleanliness.

Li Changchun was the youngest son of his uncle, the same age as Li Changchun. His family used to have a small wooden boat. Once when they went out to sea to fish, they encountered a storm. They rowed desperately to escape to a small island. Although he broke one leg, he saved his life.

My uncle and his wife felt sorry for their son, so they moved from their old home to his house. My uncle helped go fishing at sea, and he set up traps at home and caught some fish.

The big ones are sold to seafood stores, and the small ones are kept for drying and selling as dried fish.

"Achun, are you still busy?" Brother Li greeted with a smile.

"You're here!" Li Changchun smiled as he put down the mackerel head in his hand, took out a cigarette and handed it to the two brothers. "I caught a few mackerels last night. I killed them, pickled them and dried them in the sun."

Li Changle took a look at the dried eels hanging on the bamboo rack. He saw that the knife edge was straight and smooth, and the almost dried water eels, horse mackerel... and mackerel heads all had a good smell, color, and feel.

Unlike some people’s undried fish jerky, which feels sticky to the touch, it’s obvious that it’s not turned over frequently or has been marinated for too long.

The bamboo racks and bamboo flats used to dry the dried fish seem to be cleaned frequently, unlike those untidy households, where the bamboo racks and bamboo flats are covered with a black layer that is disgusting to look at.

"Brother Chun's knife skills are pretty good."

"An is much better at chopping than me."

Brother Li: "I can't chop the fish as well as you do. You chop it all the way to the end without even pausing."

"You're flattering me again!" Li Changchun said as he pulled a stool for the two of them to sit on. "The day before yesterday, I passed by your house and saw that your yard was full of fish jerky."

"I asked my second aunt and found out that you guys posted it to be sold in Lucheng. I mentioned it to An today when I met him. Take a look at it. If you like it, take it. If not, just pretend I didn't say anything."

Li Changle smiled and said, "The dried fish you have is pretty good, but the price we can offer is definitely not as high as what you sell it for in town."

"They are all family members. I won't hide it from you. The main reason is that the sales volume in the town is low. They can't even sell all the ones I dry at home." "There are many people selling fresh goods in the town, and most of them buy them and dry them themselves."

Li Changle pointed at the dried eels in the yard and said, "The dried eels I use are all fresh ones weighing 40-50 grams each. How much do you sell them for per pound?"

"Let me show you." Li Changchun turned and went into the house, took out a piece of dried eel and mackerel head and handed them to Li Changle.

"This is fresh food weighing 450 grams per piece, which is dried in the sun. I sell it in town for 1.1 yuan per catty. The dried shrimps in the yard are 1.5 yuan, the dried cuttlefish are 1.6 yuan, and the green shrimps and water bream are 1.2 yuan per catty."

Li Changle calculated and decided to accept the price. He could make a profit of 40 cents per pound by delivering it to Lucheng. He looked up at Brother Li Er and then said to Li Changchun:
"Brother Chun, bring the dried cuttlefish and other things to me. If it's okay, I'll buy them at the same price you sell them in town."

"Okay! Ah Xian, take out some fish jerky from the tank." Li Changchun happily turned around and shouted towards the house. After a while, a round-faced woman in her thirties came out carrying a backpack.

"Ah Le, look, this is the freshly bloomed cuttlefish, and these water chestnuts and green mullets..."

Wang Shuixian had a warm smile on her face. "Don't worry, the fish jerky in my house is all cleaned up, and the cuttlefish is also killed and cleaned by carrying it to the beach."

Li Changle looked at the dried cuttlefish and dried shrimp after they had bloomed. "The dried shrimp you bought only had the shrimp threads removed. If I want to buy them, you have to cut off the shrimp whiskers."

"There are about 50 to 60 kilograms of dried shrimp. Do you want them all?"

"I'll take everything once you clean it up..."

Wang Shuixian rushed to say: "Don't worry, I will start cutting right away and make sure it is trimmed cleanly."

"Okay!" Li Changle pointed at the fish in the dustpan, "Cuttlefish, eel, and those sea bream heads. As long as they are the same quality as the ones I've seen now, I'll take as many as you have."

"There are still quite a lot, do you really want them all?" Wang Shuixian said quickly, "There are probably about 80 to 90 kilograms of dried cuttlefish.

There are 50 to 60 kilograms of dried shrimps, which will be cleaned up for you in the afternoon. There are also more than 100 kilograms of dried eels. Yellow eels, green eels, and water eels... these are a bit more, about 800 to 900 kilograms."

She was worried that Li Changle was bragging, and was also worried that she wouldn't get the cash after weighing. The people in her cousin's family were nice, but Ah Le's reputation in the past was not very good.

They have been cooperating with vendors in the town. Now, more and more people are drying fish jerky and sending them to the town to sell, and business in the town is not doing well.

Ah Chun was thinking of finding someone new to cooperate with because he still had several dozen yuan left for the fish jerky he had delivered two months ago.

If Ah Le was like the vendors in the town, she might as well just give it away and sell it, and she wouldn't have to get into any disputes with Uncle Tang and Ah An.

Brother Li said with a smile, "Sister Chun, don't worry. My Ah Le said he wants all of it, and we will pay for it immediately."

Wang Shuixian nodded happily after hearing this.

Li Changchun smiled and said, "Ah Le, women are like this, don't bother with her."

"It's okay, sister-in-law is right to ask." Li Changle said to the two of them, "Brother Chun, we are all uncles and brothers, I will say the ugly words first.

As long as the quality of your other dried fish is the same as the one you showed me, I will take them all. "

Li Changchun nodded repeatedly, "Don't worry, Ah Le, we dry all the fish jerky in the same way, so it's guaranteed to be clean."

Wang Shuixian also said: "We eat it ourselves, and we also give some to relatives. Besides, if we don't clean the food we eat, we won't be able to sell it for money."

"Sister-in-law is right. Hygiene is the most important thing for imported goods. As long as your goods are good, our two families will cooperate for a long time in the future."

Li Changle stood up and said, "We have guests at home, so we will go back. You guys pack up the dried fish, and we will weigh it after we come back from the construction site to inspect the goods. Don't worry, we will pay in cash."

"Don't worry, don't worry!" Li Changchun and his wife saw the two brothers off attentively, and only walked back happily after watching them go far away.

Brother Li Changle walked to the alley entrance, and Brother Li said, "Ah Le, Qingzhan and Shuichan don't make much profit except for the freight."

Li Changle calculated, "There is an eight cent difference in price. After deducting the expenses, I can make five or six cents per kilogram. Although it is cheap, there are many people buying it. If the shipment volume is large, I can make a lot of money."

"We don't know how to do business, just let you do it."

"After Ah Chun's family collects, there will be enough dried eels and dried shrimps. When the dried cuttlefish at home blooms, I will send the goods over."

"We just put the jar in yesterday afternoon, it will take a few days for the flowers to bloom." Brother Li said, "I discussed it with my eldest brother, eldest sister-in-law and Ah Zhen that day.

We'll do as you say about paying wages. After deducting expenses from your mother-in-law, we'll give her 10% of the profit. What do you think?"

After hearing this, Li Changle realized that it was pretty much what he expected, so he nodded and said, "Okay, let's tell Mom and Dad when we get off work tonight."

Li Changan patted his shoulder and said, "I'll be working hard for you in the future."

"One family doesn't speak the same language!"

(End of this chapter)