Chapter 85: It’s absolutely wonderful!

Chapter 85: It's absolutely wonderful!

At five o'clock in the afternoon.

In a boys' dormitory at Songshan High School, more than 20 students shared the leftovers that Deng Yunheng had brought from home.

Of course, except for one or two classmates who had a particularly good relationship with him and could get a bit more, the other students could only get a piece of braised pork, a slice of pork belly, or an egg roll.

Even so, the entire dormitory was filled with laughter. For students who couldn't eat meat even once a month, even a small piece of braised pork, paired with the pickles they had brought from home, could make them extremely satisfied.

As for Zhu Chenglong, being one of Deng Yunheng's closest classmates and the first to arrive, he naturally got the most leftovers. He had his share of braised pork, pork with sauce, meatballs, egg rolls, and more. He ate so much that his eyes almost popped out.

It's absolutely wonderful!

Even during the New Year celebrations at home, he couldn't eat such a sumptuous meal.

It's no exaggeration to say that this was the best meal Zhu Chenglong had ever had since he was old enough to understand.

After all, in rural areas of this era, every household had several children, and few families could let their children eat meat to their heart's content, even during the Chinese New Year. And now, Deng Yunheng had given Zhu Chenglong so many leftovers, and these leftovers couldn't be kept for long—they would go bad if not eaten soon.

So, for the first time in Zhu Chenglong's 16 years of life, he could eat as much meat as he wanted.

This was definitely a memory he would never forget.

The students finished their meals with great care, and then they began to chat with Deng Yunheng. With this meal, Deng Yunheng's status in the eyes of his classmates was firmly established.

After all, in this era when people couldn't eat meat even once a month, not everyone was willing to share so many meat dishes with their classmates.

…

The next day.

After breakfast, Deng Shirong rode his bicycle to New Dock Village again.

Today, he would deliver the previously agreed-upon bride price to the girl's parents and, at the same time, discuss the wedding banquet for their children.

More than an hour later, Deng Shirong arrived at the Zhang family's house again.

After exchanging polite greetings and sharing a few cups of tea, the two sides began the formal discussion.

Deng Shirong took out 1,380 yuan wrapped in red paper from his pocket, placed it on the table, and pushed it toward Zhang Zhenfa, saying with a smile, "Dear relative, this is the bride price we agreed on for A Ping. Please keep it."

After Zhang Zhenfa took the red envelope, Deng Shirong took out a list of dates from his pocket and handed it to him, saying, "These are the auspicious dates I asked a master to choose for them. If you have no objections, we'll hold their wedding on this day."

Zhang Zhenfa took the date list and saw that the wedding date was set for the 12th day of the 11th lunar month. With less than a month left, he couldn't help but say, "Uncle Jiu, isn't this wedding date a bit too rushed?"

Although he was eager to have his daughter marry into the Deng family as soon as possible, as the girl's parent, he still had to maintain some reserve.

Deng Shirong smiled and said, "The master said that this day is the most auspicious day this year. If we miss it, we'll have to wait until next year. So, while it's a bit soon to have them married next month, good things come early, and there's nothing wrong with letting them marry sooner."

Zhang Zhenfa nodded and said, "Okay, since you've said so, Uncle Jiu, we definitely have no objections."

…

After leaving the Zhang family's house, Deng Shirong didn't go home directly. Instead, he rode his bicycle to Mountain Pass Commune in Hepu County.

Mountain Pass Commune is located by the sea, about ten kilometers away from Longtan.

Since he had some free time, Deng Shirong decided to go to Mountain Pass Market. On one hand, he wanted to get some seafood to try, and on the other hand, he was going to marry his daughter-in-law next month, so he planned to find someone to reserve some seafood in advance.

When Deng Shirong arrived at Mountain Pass Commune, it was already noon.

After eating a bowl of noodles at a random noodle stall, Deng Shirong pushed his bicycle around the market.

Since today wasn't a market day, there weren't many people around, and few businesses were open. Deng Shirong walked around for a while before he found a small shop selling seafood.

The shop had not only fresh seafood but also dried goods that could be stored for a long time, such as sandworms, dried shrimp, squid, and crab meat. As for fresh goods, given the transportation conditions of this era, it was really difficult to get them unless you were in a coastal city.

Deng Shirong took a look at the price tags in the seafood shop and found that the prices of various seafood items were quite different from those in later generations.

For example, sandworms, which used to sell for hundreds or even thousands of yuan per pound in later generations, now sold for only 3.6 yuan per pound. Dried shrimp, which were much cheaper than sandworms in later generations, now sold for the same price as sandworms, at 3.6 yuan per pound.

And squid, which was several times cheaper than sandworms in later generations, was now even more expensive than sandworms, at 4 yuan per pound, which was outrageous!

Of course, no matter what the price of seafood was, it was still too cheap for Deng Shirong, but he still bargained out of habit: "Boss, if I buy a lot of these sandworms and squid, can you give me a discount?"

The owner of the seafood shop was a middle-aged man in his forties. When he saw Deng Shirong riding a bicycle, he knew he was a potential customer with purchasing power, so he asked kindly, "Cousin, how much do you want to buy?"

Deng Shirong said, "That depends on how much of a discount you can give me. If the price you offer satisfies me, I'll buy all the sandworms and squid in your store!"

The seafood shop owner was shocked when he heard this. This was truly a big customer. He suppressed his excitement, calculated silently, and said, "Cousin, if you can really buy all the sandworms and squid in my store, I'll charge you 3.4 yuan per pound for the sandworms and 3.8 yuan per pound for the squid. What do you think?"

Deng Shirong didn't comment immediately and then asked, "Boss, don't you have crabs, shrimp, sandworms, or other fresh goods for sale?"

The seafood shop owner said, "We don't have many of these fresh products on weekdays because there aren't many customers buying them, but they're definitely available on market days."

Deng Shirong said, "Boss, please give me a discount on these sandworms and squid. If you're willing to give me a good price, I'll place a large order for crabs, shrimp, sandworms, and other fresh goods from you in advance. What do you think?"

The seafood shop owner was shocked again and asked excitedly, "Boss, are you serious?"

Deng Shirong smiled and nodded, "Of course I'm serious. I'm getting married next month, and I plan to buy a lot of fresh produce for the wedding banquet. But you have to give me the best price. Otherwise, I'll just go find a few fishermen to cooperate with, and I'm sure they can meet my requirements."

The seafood shop owner was anxious and patted his chest, saying, "Uncle, I'll charge you 3.3 yuan per pound for sandworms and 3.6 yuan per pound for squid. To be honest, this is the lowest price I can offer. If it's any cheaper, I'll lose money!"

Deng Shirong knew that the price was about the limit, so he nodded and said, "Okay, that's the price. How many sandworms and squid do you have? I'll take them all!"

(End of this chapter)