He was just curious how Liu Yifeng managed it.
To raise nearly dead lobsters so well, these were no longer mere lobsters, but veritable gold and silver!
"I'm asking you, how are you planning to sell these lobsters to him?" Qiangzi snapped back to his senses and pulled Liu Yifeng aside, asking in a low voice, afraid he would sell them too cheaply and incur a loss.
Liu Yifeng held up two fingers, and Qiangzi's eyes widened instantly: "Two yuan?"
Liu Yifeng gave him a glare on the spot: "Have I never seen two yuan before?"
"So it's twenty?" Qiangzi exclaimed.
Even the lobsters that had just come onto the market, at their most expensive, were no more than fifteen or sixteen yuan a jin. Moreover, now that they were widely available, they were generally sold for ten yuan.
Some were even sold for eight yuan a jin. For Liu Yifeng to sell them for twenty yuan a jin, how much profit would that be?
"Calm down, calm down. Even selling them for twenty, that boss Du will still make a good profit." Although Liu Yifeng was quite satisfied with the price, it hadn't reached his utmost satisfaction.
Seeing his son whispering with Qiangzi, Liu Chunsheng walked over to Du Ziheng and asked, "Boss, are you satisfied with our family's lobsters?"
Du Ziheng nodded repeatedly: "Satisfied, very satisfied."
"Then when do you plan to take them? So we can arrange to have the lobsters caught," Liu Chunsheng knew that Du Ziheng genuinely wanted them.
Just now, the look in his eyes when he saw the lobsters was extremely eager, so he certainly wasn't a fraud.
"I plan to distribute them to various stalls tomorrow. Can you have them all caught by tomorrow morning?" Du Ziheng asked.
Hearing Du Ziheng's voice, Liu Yifeng walked over: "Boss Du, as long as you want them, we can prepare them for you in advance. However, we don't have any tools to pack the lobsters."
The baskets he had used to pack lobsters at the farm last time had been returned, and he only had a few buckets at home.
"That's not a problem. My family has plenty of baskets. Tomorrow morning, I'll drive a truck over. You can use hand nets to catch them, and load them directly into the baskets once they're out of the water," Du Ziheng said.
Liu Yifeng nodded: "I've bought both trap nets and hand nets, so we can catch them anytime.
However, this will likely require you to pay a portion of the deposit in advance, so everyone can feel at ease, right?" Liu Yifeng was worried that after he caught all the lobsters tomorrow, Du Ziheng might decide he didn't want them, which would be a waste of his time.
Du Ziheng nodded understandingly: "To be honest, I was planning to pay a deposit even if you didn't mention it. I was just afraid you might sell them to someone else.
How about this, I'll give you a deposit of five thousand yuan first, and the rest we'll settle after all the lobsters are weighed. What do you say?"
"Alright, we'll do as Boss Du says.
But we need to make it clear in advance, if you change your mind and don't want them, I won't refund this money," Liu Yifeng agreed readily.
With these five thousand yuan, even if Du Ziheng didn't come, he wouldn't suffer any loss. When they were caught, he could still take them to the market himself.
Du Ziheng smiled and said: "It's impossible for me to go back on my word. I'm just afraid Mr. Liu won't sell them to me.
Since we've agreed, I won't waste any more time. Here is five thousand yuan in cash, please count it." Du Ziheng took out a wad of cash from his handbag, which he had already counted.
Liu Yifeng handed it over to his father. Elderly people are careful and meticulous, and he also didn't recognize counterfeit money.
Liu Chunsheng took the money and carefully counted it twice. He found no counterfeit money and nodded at Liu Yifeng.
After confirming that the money was legitimate, Liu Yifeng extended his right hand: "Boss Du, happy cooperation!"
Du Ziheng firmly shook Liu Yifeng's hand: "Mr. Liu, happy cooperation!"
Afterwards, he drove back, stating that he would arrive at five in the morning to load the lobsters and would need to have them at the market by seven to sell, otherwise there wouldn't be many customers.
Liu Yifeng said there was no problem and watched Du Ziheng leave.
"You're quite something, kid. You're really a hidden talent, possessing such excellent breeding techniques. You've even brought dead shrimp back to life, and they're this big," Qiangzi couldn't help but punch Liu Yifeng in the chest.
As for how Liu Yifeng managed such good breeding, he didn't ask further. He wasn't so tactless as to expect someone to reveal their profitable secrets.
However, seeing his good friend secure such a big deal, he was genuinely happy.
"Qiangzi, I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you again tomorrow. With so many lobsters, my dad and I won't be able to manage," Liu Yifeng chuckled, feeling a bit embarrassed.
After all, Qiangzi still had to go to work tomorrow, leaving at seven or eight o'clock. He would have to get up at four to be in the fields.
"Do I need you to say that? Of course I'll help. I can't just eat your lobsters for free," Qiangzi said with a half-joking tone.
However, Liu Yifeng had no intention of letting Qiangzi work for free. Even hiring someone would cost money, let alone asking his good brother.
But he also knew that if he directly offered money, Qiangzi wouldn't be happy and it would affect their friendship.
Conveniently, his son's tenth birthday banquet was coming up soon. He would give him a generous red envelope then.
The next day, Liu Yifeng and Liu Chunsheng got up very early.
Last night, Liu Yifeng had set trap nets and hand nets in the fields, and he didn't know how many lobsters they would catch.
It was four-thirty in the morning, and it was still dark.
Tongtong was sleeping soundly, so Liu Yifeng didn't wake him. By the time he finished his work around six-thirty, Tongtong would probably still be asleep when he returned, so he wasn't afraid of him waking up and not seeing him.
Father and son, carrying flashlights, headed towards the fields. Qiangzi met them halfway.
"Qiangzi, thanks for getting up so early. Come over for dinner tonight," Liu Chunsheng said to Qiangzi.
"Uncle, Yi Feng and I are good buddies. Helping each other is what we should do. Don't say such formal things," Qiangzi yawned several times, as if he hadn't woken up yet.
Upon reaching the edge of the field, Liu Chunsheng was in charge of the flashlight, while Liu Yifeng and Qiangzi were responsible for hauling in the nets.
Inside the trap nets, there were densely packed lobsters, at least several hundred jin.
This was just the first trap net, and the other two would surely yield just as many, plus the hand nets.
Liu Yifeng estimated that they had caught at least twelve hundred jin of lobsters.
The two of them struggled to drag the trap net ashore when the sound of a car horn was heard from not far away.
It turned out to be Du Ziheng and the truck driver who had arrived. He had also brought his two younger brothers to help.
The four of them came to the field, looked at the lobsters on the bank, put on gloves, and started working, slowly emptying the lobsters into the baskets.
Initially, Du Ziheng's two younger brothers were very displeased upon learning that their elder brother was buying lobsters for twenty yuan a jin.
But after seeing the size of the lobsters, they all dropped their objections and became energetically involved in the work.