"Why are you still asking me why I'm unwilling to sell to you?" the boss fumed. "I heard you got rich by buying my crayfish, is that true?"
Liu Yifeng was stunned. Did he know about that?
Before Liu Yifeng could speak, the boss continued, "I've never seen anyone as despicable as you. You buy my crayfish at a low price and then try to cut off my livelihood!"
During this period, he had clearly noticed a decline of at least thirty percent in his crayfish sales within the city.
This resulted in many unsold crayfish becoming dead or half-dead.
He had inquired among the local buyers of his crayfish, as these people were buying significantly less than before.
The answer he received was that a young man in the city had managed to cultivate extraordinarily large crayfish, two to three times bigger than the largest ordinary ones, thus impacting their sales.
Now, anyone with money was willing to pay a higher price for his crayfish rather than the cheaper ones they were selling.
Therefore, they dared not purchase in large quantities anymore.
After all, crayfish died constantly.
The more they bought, the more they lost.
Upon hearing this, he began to investigate what kind of young man could cultivate crayfish two to three times larger than the ordinary large ones.
He investigated and was shocked to discover it was none other than Liu Yifeng, who had been buying his half-dead crayfish at a low price from him every other day.
Although he didn't know how Liu Yifeng managed to grow the crayfish so large, he remembered asking him why he needed so many crayfish every day, and Liu Yifeng had lied then, saying he was feeding fish.
It turned out that Liu Yifeng bought them, raised them himself, resold them at a high price, and then they entered the market, causing his crayfish sales to plummet. This person was more than just detestable.
And now, he still wanted to buy crayfish from him, further cutting off his livelihood. Was this not wishful thinking?
Liu Yifeng pretended to be oblivious, "What do you mean?"
"What do I mean? You're still playing dumb in front of me. I know everything. You're not buying my crayfish to feed fish, but to raise them yourself and sell them at a higher price. You've made a fortune during this time, and I've been working for your benefit," the boss roared.
Liu Yifeng knew he could no longer hide it and explained, "I never intended to cut off your livelihood. There are still many people who eat crayfish this season, and the market demand remains high. Moreover, my crayfish are sold at a higher price, so not many people can afford them. I didn't tell you because I was afraid you'd misunderstand. Besides, if your crayfish aren't sold to me, they will be disposed of at an even lower price, resulting in greater losses."
"Go to hell! You've already affected my sales, and you're talking about greater losses? I'd rather these shrimp die and be thrown away than sell them to you again. Get out now, or I'll call someone to throw you out!" the boss said agitatedly.
He still expected Liu Yifeng to be his stepping stone? Did he take him for a fool?
"Don't be angry. How about I give you an extra fifty yuan for each basket?" Liu Yifeng was unwilling to leave just like that. If he couldn't buy crayfish from him, could he still raise crayfish in the future? He had even rented a piece of land specifically for raising crayfish!
"Are you trying to bribe a beggar? It's not impossible for you to buy them, but you must buy them at the normal price per jin. It's not much, five yuan per jin. And I know you can still make a profit even at five yuan per jin," the boss's tone softened. His ultimate goal was to pave the way for a price increase.
"But these are almost dead crayfish. Is it a bit too much to ask me to buy them at the normal price?" This was beyond Liu Yifeng's acceptable range. If he truly had to buy these dying crayfish at the normal price, why wouldn't he just buy live, active ones? Furthermore, crayfish on the market were only about five to six yuan per jin.
"Young man, you can't just think of yourself when making money. Others should also have a share. Only then can you survive in the market. Otherwise, everyone will gang up on you, which is not a good thing," the boss advised.
At this point, it was a naked threat. Liu Yifeng, being young and full of spirit, feared threats the least. "If that's the case, then we have nothing to discuss!"
"Hmph, you ungrateful fool!" the boss immediately turned cold.
Liu Yifeng ignored him and turned to leave.
After leaving the crayfish farm, Liu Yifeng began to worry. This was the only crayfish farm in the city. If he couldn't buy from them, where else could he buy? Buying individually from stalls would be too time-consuming and labor-intensive, and buying too much might arouse suspicion. Then they might refuse to sell to him. So, this was not a long-term solution.
With this thought, he immediately dialed Du Ziheng's number.
On the phone, Du Ziheng was busy selling crayfish. His crayfish were so popular that as soon as they hit the market, many people would rush to buy them. He knew that Liu Yifeng rarely called him at this time because he was busy. Therefore, if he called now, it must be something important. He put down his work, handed it over to his family, and moved to a quiet spot to answer the call.
"Hello, little brother, what's up with the call?"
Liu Yifeng immediately said, "Brother Du, I'm afraid I won't be able to sell crayfish to you anymore."
Du Ziheng was instantly anxious upon hearing this. Their seafood stall's business had been improving precisely because Liu Yifeng's crayfish had boosted the sales of other seafood. If he stopped selling to them, other sales would also decline.
"What's wrong? Why aren't you selling to me anymore? Didn't we sign a contract? Do you think the price isn't satisfactory? We can negotiate, I can offer more."
Seeing that Du Ziheng had misunderstood, Liu Yifeng quickly explained, "Brother Du, you've misunderstood. It's not about the price. It's that in a few days, I won't have any shrimp to sell you."
"What does that mean? Why won't you have any shrimp to sell?" Du Ziheng couldn't comprehend it for a moment.
So, Liu Yifeng told him what had just happened: "It's like this, I buy my crayfish from the only crayfish farm in our city. The owner of the farm knows that I buy his crayfish for resale, which has affected his sales. Therefore, he's unwilling to sell to me anymore. Even if he does, he wants to buy his dying crayfish at market price, and I refused, so I left. But our city only has this one crayfish farm. If I buy from out of town, the dying crayfish won't survive the bumps on the road, and buying good crayfish isn't cost-effective."
Du Ziheng was relieved to hear that it wasn't because Liu Yifeng was unwilling to sell to him, but because of this reason.
"Brother Li, have you considered letting the crayfish reproduce, raising fry, and then growing them? This way, you wouldn't have to buy crayfish from outside to raise."
Liu Yifeng thought this was a viable method, but crayfish reproduction takes time. It would take at least two to three months for them to lay eggs, and by then, the crayfish season would be over. He still wanted to make a good profit by selling crayfish now!
Just then, he suddenly thought of Tongtong. Since Tongtong could keep dying crayfish alive and even make them grow so large, perhaps he also had a way to make crayfish lay eggs quickly.
With this thought, he couldn't wait to find Tongtong and ask him.
"Brother Du, the method you mentioned is feasible, but I'm not very familiar with it. I'll research it thoroughly when I get back."
Hearing Liu Yifeng's eager tone, Du Ziheng smiled and said, "It's not that I'm flattering you, but not only are your crayfish raised well, but your vegetables and watermelons also look better and are larger than those grown by others. Therefore, making crayfish produce fry should be no problem! I believe in you!"
"Thank you for your trust, Brother Du. I'll hang up now and call you back later!"
"Okay, alright!"
After hanging up the phone, Liu Yifeng immediately started his car and drove home.
"Why are you back so early today?" Liu Chunsheng and Tongtong were having breakfast and looked curiously at the person who got out of the car and walked into the living room.
Liu Yifeng looked at the steamed buns on the table, picked one up, and started eating. He hadn't had breakfast and was quite hungry.
"I'm asking you, why are you back so early today?" Liu Chunsheng asked again.
Liu Yifeng finished the steamed bun and then replied, "Don't even mention it. The owner of the crayfish farm is unwilling to sell crayfish to us. He already knows I'm buying his crayfish to resell them at a higher price, which has affected his sales."
"Then what do we do?" Liu Chunsheng was a bit anxious. The family was counting on the crayfish to make money!
Liu Yifeng didn't speak. Instead, he looked at Tongtong, "Tongtong, there's something Dad wants to ask you!"
"Dad, what is it?" Tongtong asked curiously.
"Well, do you have any way to make crayfish lay eggs and grow quickly? Dad wants to cultivate fry himself, so it won't be so troublesome to buy them from outside every day." After speaking, Liu Yifeng looked nervously at his son, afraid he would say no.
Unexpectedly, Tongtong immediately nodded. "Yes, that's not difficult. As long as I add something else to the Soul Revival Powder, the crayfish will lay eggs within three days. However, the growth period for the fry will be a bit longer than the large shrimp you buy from outside."
"How long will that be?" Liu Yifeng pressed. But after hearing that Tongtong could make them lay eggs in three days, he was relieved.
"It will take at least ten days for them to grow to the size of ordinary crayfish. If you want them to reach the size of the crayfish you sell, it will take about half a month!" Tongtong said seriously.
Liu Yifeng thought it would take much longer. It would only take half a month to be ready for sale, which was much faster than he had imagined. It was early August now, and crayfish could be sold until October. This meant he could still sell crayfish for at least a month and a half, so he wouldn't lose money. Moreover, there would be no cost, just the crayfish mating to produce eggs themselves. Wasn't this much better than him driving out every day to buy those rotten shrimp?
"Then when can Tongtong develop the medicine to make crayfish lay eggs?"
"If Dad is in such a hurry, Tongtong will develop it for you tomorrow. It won't be today because the ingredients need to be collected from the mountain."
"What ingredients? Tell Dad, and Dad will go to the mountain to collect them!"