Chapter 87: Cheap Seafood

Chapter 86 skipped because it was only Author Notes (No Story)

Chapter 87: Cheap Seafood

A small shop in Mountain Pass.

After weighing, the shop had a total of 8.6 kilograms of sandworms and 12.3 kilograms of squid.

The seafood store owner took out his abacus and started calculating: one pound of sandworms is 3.3 yuan, so 8.6 kilograms is 28.38 yuan. One pound of squid is 3.6 yuan, so 12.3 kilograms of squid is 44.28 yuan, adding up to 72.66 yuan.

The seafood store owner said with a smile, "Uncle, the total is 72.66 yuan. I won't count the 6 cents!" He had run this small store for over three months, and this was the first time he had encountered such a big customer.

Deng Shirong looked at the pile of sandworms and squid in front of him, which looked like a "small mountain," but only cost a little over 70 yuan. He couldn't help but sigh to himself that seafood in this era was really cheap. In a few years, the price of seafood would skyrocket, and it would be impossible to find such affordable seafood.

You must understand, this is dried seafood!

For example, don't think squid is expensive just because it costs 3.6 yuan per pound. In reality, it's not expensive at all. One pound of dried squid requires at least five pounds of fresh squid. If you calculate it based on the price of fresh squid, it's actually just over 70 cents per pound, which is much cheaper than pork.

As for sandworms, there's no need to say more. One pound of dried sandworms requires ten pounds of fresh sandworms to be dried. On average, one pound of fresh sandworms is only 33 cents, cheaper than eggs. This is truly a price that only exists in this era!

Deng Shirong took out a wad of money, counted out 72.60 yuan, and handed it to the seafood store owner, saying, "I'm getting married on the 12th of next month, so I need to buy a lot of crabs, prawns, and sandworms on the 11th. How much do you sell these fresh goods for per pound?"

The seafood store owner took the money and said enthusiastically, "Cousin, I usually sell flower crabs for 56 cents a pound, but I'll charge you 53 cents. Prawns are 88 cents a pound, so I'll charge you 85 cents. As for sandworms, I sell them for 35 cents a pound, but I'll charge you 33 cents!"

Upon hearing this, Deng Shirong sighed again, thinking how affordable seafood prices were in this era, all cheaper than pork.

Of course, even though it was cheap, he still wanted to negotiate the price further.

After some bargaining, the seafood store owner made concessions again and again. Finally, the two agreed on a price of 50 cents per pound for flower crabs, 80 cents per pound for prawns, and 30 cents per pound for sandworms.

There was nothing they could do—it was a buyer's market now.

Deng Shirong wanted to buy 36 kilograms of flower crabs, 24 kilograms of prawns, and 48 kilograms of sandworms. If the seafood store owner didn't make concessions, he wouldn't be able to close such a big deal.

After agreeing on the price, Deng Shirong took out a large bill and handed it over, saying, "Boss, this is your deposit. I'll come to pick up the goods around 2 or 3 in the afternoon on the 11th. You must ensure that the goods I want are fresh. Can you do that?"

The seafood store owner took the money, patted his chest, and said, "Don't worry, cousin. I promise that all the seafood you get will be fresh and of good quality."

Deng Shirong nodded with satisfaction and said, "That's good!"

Next, the seafood store owner took a pen and paper and wrote a deposit receipt for Deng Shirong. Then, he used a lot of newspapers and hemp ropes to pack the sandworms and squid.

"Cousin, this stuff is a bit heavy. It's not convenient for you to ride the bike with one hand. Do you want me to tie it to the back seat of the bike?"

"Okay, please help me fix it. Otherwise, it'll be hard to carry so many things back."

"Alright, let me help you tie it up."

…

When Deng Shirong returned home, it was already past four in the afternoon.

Seeing her father bring back two large bags, Deng Yunzhen asked, "Dad, what are these things?"

Deng Shirong handed her the two large bags and said with a smile, "These are the sandworms and squid I bought. Take a basket and hang them up."

Deng Yunzhen took them and asked, "Dad, this is the first time I've heard of squid. Is it delicious?"

"Of course, it's delicious. Fried squid is one of the best dishes to go with wine, but eating too much can easily cause a sore throat."

Deng Shirong pointed and said, "This is the squid. Open it and take out three or four. I'll fry them for you and your siblings to taste later."

Deng Yunzhen knew her father's cooking skills very well. Since he said fried squid was one of the best dishes to go with wine, it must taste first-rate. She couldn't help but look forward to it. She put the sandworms and squid on the dining table in the living room, untied the hemp rope that bound the squid, and saw the dried and flattened squids stacked together. Each one was as wide as her palm and had relatively thick meat.

Even though it was her first time seeing this, Deng Yunzhen could tell that the quality of the squid was quite good.

Following her father's instructions, Deng Yunzhen took out four squids, tied them up as they were, put them together with the bag of sandworms in a basket, and then hung the basket on an iron hook about two meters above the ground. The iron hook was hanging from the beam. At that time in the countryside, almost every household had such an iron hook. This way, they could hang delicious food in the basket without worrying about mice or other pests stealing it.

After hanging up the things, Deng Yunzhen picked up the four squids and asked, "Dad, do we need to clean the squid before frying it?"

"Of course, you have to wash it. Wash it clean and drain it."

"Oh, I see!"

A few minutes later, Deng Yunzhen was putting the cleaned squids on the bamboo cover to dry. At this time, Deng Yunzhu also came back from outside, skipping and jumping.

She greeted her father, who was smoking at the door, and then saw the squid hanging on the bamboo cover. Curiously, she asked, "Sister, what is this?"

Deng Yunzhen said, "Dad said it's squid."

Deng Yunzhu sniffed and said with some disdain, "Why does it smell bad? Will it taste good?"

Deng Yunzhen couldn't help but laugh and said, "It's raw, so it's normal for it to smell bad. For example, you said you like stir-fried pork belly the most. If you were asked to smell raw pork belly, I guess you'd dislike it too. As for whether this squid is delicious, I don't know, but dad said that fried squid is one of the best dishes to go with wine, so it should taste very good. You'll know when dad makes it later."

Deng Yunzhu said "Oh" when she heard this. Although her sister's words made sense, she didn't drink alcohol and wasn't very interested in the so-called side dishes.

Of course, the main reason was that she had been eating too well recently!

Especially yesterday, when her future sister-in-law came to visit, her father cooked a large table of food and wine, and there were still leftovers today. In a short period of time, her resistance to delicious food had greatly increased.

(End of this chapter)