The two began to argue about the processing fee for the crayfish.
"My crayfish is only thirty jin, and you want five yuan per jin for processing, which would be 150 yuan? The crayfish sold outside is only five yuan a jin. Let's settle for three yuan a jin, and no more haggling."
Liu Xiaohai said helplessly, "Don't you see how big your family's crayfish are? Processing them is a big project, and to make them delicious, you have to be generous with ingredients. The labor and cost alone are more than three yuan a jin! Besides, I heard your family is doing well now. It's really not worth arguing with me over two yuan!"
Liu Chunsheng wanted to say more, but Liu Yifeng interrupted him, "Dad, five yuan a jin is fine. Let's not delay. Everyone is hungry!"
Seeing his son approach, Liu Chunsheng could not say anything more. "Alright, five yuan a jin it is!"
Liu Xiaohai smiled and praised Liu Yifeng, "Yifeng is so magnanimous. No wonder you can achieve great things. Then I won't say anything more. I have to go help in the kitchen. You all sit here for a while, and take whatever you want to drink from the freezer." With that, he went to the kitchen.
"Everyone, please sit here for a while. The food will probably take some time. Feel free to take whatever you want to drink from the freezer, and don't be shy!"
The crowd was indeed a bit thirsty, and they opened the freezer to grab their favorite drinks!
"Dad, I have something to do, so I'll go back first. Ask Uncle Three to come over for dinner later!" Liu Yifeng said.
Liu Chunsheng was about to speak when he noticed Liu Yifeng's bandaged hand. He quickly asked, "What happened to your hand?"
"It's nothing. I just accidentally injured it while hiking. I just went to town to get it bandaged, and it will be fine in a few days." Liu Yifeng said nonchalantly.
"How can you be so careless? It's so hot, it'll be troublesome if it gets infected," Liu Chunsheng said, his tone scolding but his expression full of concern. He knew Liu Yifeng. If it were just a small wound, he wouldn't have gone to town to get it bandaged. A wound that required him to seek medical attention must be quite serious.
"We're on the mountain, so bumps and scrapes are inevitable. But it's already bandaged, so don't worry, Dad. I have other things to do, so I'm leaving!" Liu Yifeng feared that if he stayed any longer, his father would tear off the bandage to check the wound.
After driving the van home, Liu Yifeng opened the trunk and took out the medicinal herbs and wild mushrooms. If he didn't take them out, they would have been stifled. The midsummer heat was unbearable, and at noon, the hottest time of the day, the temperature inside the car could reach sixty to seventy degrees Celsius, hot enough to fry eggs.
"What's this?" Su Wanru, who was sitting in the living room scrolling through her phone, asked curiously as she saw Liu Yifeng carrying several large bags.
Liu Yifeng put the items down and said, "This is the result of Tongtong and my efforts on the mountain." He then poured all the wild mushrooms onto the floor. As for the medicinal herbs, he did not open them, but set them aside.
Looking at the wild mushrooms scattered on the floor, Su Wanru couldn't help but exclaim, "So many wild mushrooms! Did you pick them all on the mountain?"
Liu Yifeng nodded, "Yes. I plan to sell them in the county town after dinner!"
"If you want to sell them, I can recommend someone. He is an old gentleman who particularly likes wild mushrooms, but they are hard to find, and ordinary wild mushrooms don't impress him. Although I don't know much about wild mushrooms, I've seen these before and know they are rare. For such rare and high-quality wild mushrooms, he will surely love them." Su Wanru said.
After listening to Su Wanru, Liu Yifeng smiled and said, "Thank you. If that old gentleman buys my wild mushrooms, I'll give you a share of the profits!"
"No need for a share. It's just a small favor, and I consider it repayment for you treating me and my employees to a meal! Oh, by the way, is this bag also filled with wild mushrooms?" Su Wanru asked, looking at the tied-up bag.
Liu Yifeng shook his head, "No, this is a medicinal herb I found. I'm not selling it!"
"You know about medicinal herbs too?" Su Wanru was a little surprised.
"Not very well, but this medicinal herb is useful to me!" Liu Yifeng did not elaborate. Su Wanru was not one to pry. Seeing that Liu Yifeng did not wish to say more, she did not ask further questions.
At noon, a large round table was filled with more than a dozen people. The table was piled high with food, and it was very bountiful. However, the most popular dish was undoubtedly the crayfish. There were three flavors of crayfish: spicy, garlic, and thirteen-spice. Since Liu Yifeng's hand couldn't handle spicy food, he could only eat the garlic-flavored crayfish, but it tasted alright. The others were eating such large crayfish for the first time. The meat was firm and tender, and the taste was completely different from the crayfish they had at late-night snack stalls. Even Su Wanru, who didn't usually eat much crayfish, ate quite a bit. So engrossed was she in eating that she accidentally splattered some of the sauce on her white dress. But she didn't seem to care and continued to eat with focus.
"Mr. Li, I find you to be an extraordinary person. Not only are your watermelons bigger than others', but their taste is also dozens of times better. Even your crayfish and vegetables are grown better than others'. I really don't know what secret technique you have." Su Wanru was simply admiring him and didn't intend to uncover his secrets.
Liu Yifeng felt a little embarrassed by the praise. "Actually, I don't know much about planting or breeding. It's all based on intuition. Perhaps by abandoning traditional breeding methods, I've achieved different results!"
"You're too modest. How could you grow them so well if you didn't know how? With your skills, you'll surely prosper!"
"I'm not expecting to get rich. I just hope my family will be healthy in the future." Liu Yifeng knew that no amount of money could buy health. Many wealthy bosses ultimately succumbed to illness. Money is neither brought nor taken away in death. Nothing is more important than health. Su Wanru greatly admired this mindset. Liu Yifeng was different from the men she knew, who were all driven by immediate gain and would stop at nothing to make money. If they had such skills, they would have found ways to monopolize the entire market, which would have put many people at risk of bankruptcy.
As they were eating and chatting. The owner of Jing Tian Hotel was worried sick as the hotel's business had been declining day by day! Their hotel's business had always been stable, with daily revenue from the restaurant department exceeding 200,000 yuan. But in less than a week, the customer traffic had halved, from being fully booked to having empty seats everywhere. He didn't know what had gone wrong, as they hadn't changed chefs or service staff. Both the service and the taste of the dishes were the same as before. So he asked his manager to investigate why customers were decreasing. But several days had passed, and no conclusion had been reached. If the root cause was not found, his hotel would not be able to sustain itself. Today, after the mealtime, only three tables of guests had been served, with revenue less than 20,000 yuan. If the evening was the same, the revenue might break its all-time low again. He wondered what his manager was doing, having found nothing after so long. This made him doubt the manager's competence. Just as he was considering whether to fire the manager, the manager rushed into the lobby from outside the hotel. Seeing his boss there, he said breathlessly, "Mr. Zhou, I have... I have found out."
"Found out what? You can't even speak clearly. Go get some water to moisten your throat first, then tell me!" Zhou Libo said with a stern face. Manager Zheng did not drink water but took a moment to catch his breath before saying, "I have found out why our hotel's business is getting worse and why customers are leaving. It all has to do with Long Teng Hotel!"
"It has to do with Long Teng Hotel? What exactly is going on? Did they use any special methods?" Zhou Libo asked urgently. Long Teng Hotel had always been a competitor of Jing Tian Hotel. Therefore, open and covert struggles were common, but never had they managed to capture so many of his customers in such a short period.