Chapter 173: Chapter 173 Bargaining Chapter 173: Chapter 173 Bargaining “Second sister, look, up ahead is Madam Qin’s fish pond! Isn’t it huge?” Su Ningxiu pointed at the fish pond ahead and asked Su Yunjin with a smile.
Glancing over, Su Yunjin saw a very large expanse that was entirely made up of fish ponds, which covered at least a dozen acres. Such a large fish pond was a rare sight for Su Yunjin, not only in ancient times but also in the modern era.
“It’s big, really big!” The size of the fish pond implied there should be the kind of rice paddy fish she wanted to buy. Su Yunjin eyed the pond ahead and contemplated.
Her elder sister, Ningxiu, took Yunjin by the hand and walked over to the side of the fish pond, which was surrounded by a fence, with only a small gate for entry.
The gate was wooden and very securely closed.
Ningxiu stepped forward and knocked, “Is anybody there? We want to buy some fish.”
“Coming, coming.” Soon after, a man came out and opened the wooden gate. He appeared to be about forty years old, a middle-aged man.
He looked honest and straightforward.
After sizing up Su Yunjin and her group, the man asked with a smile, “Ladies, may I know how many fish you need?”
“Uncle, I need thirty pounds of Xiaoyu, do you have them in your fish pond?” Su Yunjin inquired first.
Upon hearing this, the man nodded immediately, “Yes, yes, miss, follow me! We have a small fish pond inside, where we raise only this kind of Xiaoyu. If you want it, I can take you there right now to have a look.”
A wave of joy washed over Yunjin’s heart.
“That would be great, uncle. Thank you.”
The man led the way, and the trio—Yunjin, her brother Xiaobao, and their father—followed him inside.
From outside, Yunjin had thought the fish pond was big, but once inside, she realized it was even larger than she had imagined.
Furthermore, in addition to fish, the fish ponds also bred shrimp, river snails, scallops, and even crabs, among other aquatic creatures.
Each fish pond was roughly the same size and divided by dykes. Seeing the setup, Yunjin felt that Madam Qin, the owner of the fish pond, must be quite the entrepreneur and good at earning money.
With so many varieties raised in the pond.
She could earn even more money.
If she had the chance, Yunjin would actually like to meet Madam Qin, whom she had heard much about. What kind of person was she?
The man stopped in front of a fish pond that was about half the size of the others inside and said with a smile, “Ladies, all the fish in this pond are Xiaoyu. Are these the kind of Xiaoyu you want?”
“Third sister, look, they’re all Xiaoyu! So many Xiaoyu! This is the first time I’ve seen so many Xiaoyu in one fish pond!”
Xiaobao was somewhat excited when he saw the fish pond ahead.
Yunjin also looked over and indeed, the pond was filled with Xiaoyu. To her surprise and delight, she noticed that these were precisely the type of rice paddy fish she needed.
Quite pleased, Yunjin said to the man, “Yes, that’s right, uncle. These are exactly the Xiaoyu I want. By the way, how much do you charge per pound for these Xiaoyu?”
“Miss, not many people buy these Xiaoyu, and our madam didn’t really raise them to sell! She primarily raised them for her own consumption and to give away as gifts. Since you want them, uncle will give you a good deal. How about this? Three copper coins for two pounds,” the man proposed with a smile.
Three copper coins for two pounds?
“Uncle, could you make it a bit cheaper?” Second sister felt it was too expensive and bargained with the fish seller.
The fish seller was quite straightforward, “How about this! After you weigh the fish, uncle will give you an extra three pounds for free, what do you say?”
“That’s a deal! We’ll take it!” Knowing that the uncle hadn’t overcharged them and considering that he was offering to give them an extra three pounds, Yunjin didn’t haggle with the man any further.