Chapter 8: Finally Wealthy

“Are you here to sell fish, young man? How much do you have?”
“Let me introduce myself. I’m Shi Guanglin, the group leader of the third team in the Procurement Department of Sijiu City Cotton Mill. If you have a large quantity, sell it all to me. We can do business officially or privately, either way works.”

Xiao Weiguo’s mind was racing. He hadn’t expected that just by asking someone for directions, he’d run into such a heavyweight. In these times, a procurement officer was a big deal, especially for rural folks.

“No trouble at all, comrade. I only have a few fish, not much at all. Next time, if I have more, I’ll come find you,” Xiao Weiguo replied after thinking it over. He had only been in this era for a short time, and he needed to ask around later to find out whether it was risky for the Procurement Department of a city factory to purchase goods directly from rural individuals.

“All right then. If you ever have something good, just come to me. I guarantee you’ll be satisfied,” Shi Guanglin said, half-seriously, half-casually. “The fish shop is in the small bungalow to the right of the supply and marketing cooperative, over there.” He pointed out the direction to Xiao Weiguo.

Xiao Weiguo walked to the door of the bungalow and peered inside. He saw the room was filled with basins of all sizes, each holding different kinds of live fish.

A chubby middle-aged man, wearing a leather apron and boots, was standing at a counter, cleaning a grass carp.

“Young man, are you here to buy or sell fish?” the man called out when he saw Xiao Weiguo peeking inside.

“I’m here to sell fish, uncle. What’s the current buying price?” Xiao Weiguo replied.

“Twelve cents per jin, paid by weight, regardless of the size of the fish. But don’t bring me anything too small—I won’t take fish that are a waste of effort,” the man answered.

“All right, uncle, wait a moment. I’ll bring the fish right over,” Xiao Weiguo said happily when he heard the price. He had expected it to be around ten cents per jin at most, so twelve cents was a pleasant surprise.

He began to wonder if he should sell all the fish he had in his space. The only problem was the lack of a container; all he had was a burlap sack.

Thinking about how to carry the fish, he took out a large carp he had prepared in his space and went back to the fish counter at the supply and marketing cooperative.

“Uncle, I have quite a few fish to sell, but nothing to carry them in. Could you lend me a few bags? I’ll be right back,” he said, holding up the carp. “Let me leave this fish here as a deposit while I fetch the rest.”

The fish buyer, whose name was Lu Dayou, wondered how many fish this young man could possibly have, but he looked up and replied, “All right!”

He turned and picked out a few bags, handing them to Xiao Weiguo.

Xiao Weiguo took the borrowed bags and walked toward a slightly secluded spot outside the town, looking for somewhere safe and hidden to take out his fish.

After a few minutes, he found a small grove. He checked to make sure no one was around, then entered his space and began scooping out the fish from the pond, loading them into the bags. The fish were fresh and lively, causing quite a commotion in each sack.

He returned to the grove and placed the bags of fish on the ground, but then realized he was in trouble—he had filled four bags with fish, but how was he going to carry them all?

Why was it so difficult just to sell some fish?

In the end, he put the fish back in his space, left the grove, and looked around for some kind of vehicle or cart.

Not long after, he saw a porter resting in the shade with his handcart. Xiao Weiguo hurried over to ask, “Brother, how much to haul some goods?”

“How much and to where?” the porter asked.

“Just from the small grove up ahead to the fish counter at the supply and marketing cooperative. Four bags of fish, not much.”

“One more thing, uncle—I don’t have any cash on me right now. Could I give you a fish as payment later?” Xiao Weiguo added.

“Ha! That’s a new one. For this distance, fifteen cents. When we get there, just let me pick a fish weighing one or two jin. I’ll make some fish stew at home tonight,” the porter replied cheerfully. “Let’s go, young man.”

Xiao Weiguo jogged ahead. He wanted to make sure the fish were already at the roadside before the porter arrived; otherwise, it would look suspicious if the ground was empty when they got there.

“Come on, let’s lift these together and head out,” the porter said as he came over and saw the four bags.

“These fish are really fresh, still flopping around,” the porter remarked, peering into the cart.

“That’s right. I just caught them from the river,” Xiao Weiguo replied as they walked back into town, chatting along the way.

When they arrived, Xiao Weiguo immediately picked out a fish for the porter. “Uncle, here, this one weighs a solid two jin.”

“You’re generous, young man. That settles our account. Now let’s see how many jin your whole batch is,” the porter said, not leaving after receiving his fish, but standing at the door to watch Xiao Weiguo sell the rest. Xiao Weiguo felt awkward trying to get rid of him.

Lu Dayou, surprised by the amount of fish Xiao Weiguo had brought, called out, “Come, let’s weigh them.”

“All together, four bags—sixty-two jin and eight liang. At twelve cents per jin, that makes seven yuan, five mao, and three fen,” Lu Dayou said, counting out seven one-yuan notes, two twenty-cent notes, one ten-cent note, and three fen, and handed them to Xiao Weiguo.

“Young man, which village are you from? Next time, try to bring the fish in the morning. Once I buy them in the afternoon, they usually can’t be sold until the next morning,” Lu Dayou said as he looked over the fish, mentally planning his sales for the next day. “Next time, just tell them Lu Dayou sent you—I’ll make sure the scale is fair.”

“Thank you, Uncle Lu. If I have more, I’ll try to come in the morning. I’m from a nearby village,” Xiao Weiguo replied.

“Goodbye, Uncle Lu. See you in a few days,” Xiao Weiguo said as he turned to leave, money in hand.

Once Xiao Weiguo was out the door, Lu Dayou counted out thirty-six fen from the cash and slipped it into his own pocket.

No wonder he was so well-fed.

At the entrance, the porter looked enviously at the money in Xiao Weiguo’s hand and said goodbye. “Young man, next time I want fish, I’ll come to you.”

“Sure thing, uncle. Next time, I’ll ask you to haul my goods again,” Xiao Weiguo called after him with a wave.

Finally, Xiao Weiguo had a chance to examine the money carefully. This was the first sum of money he had earned himself in this era, making it especially precious.

He noticed that the one-yuan notes came in both red and black, but all depicted Tiananmen on the front. The twenty-cent note was a pale green, with a train on it. The ten-cent note was brown, featuring a tractor. The three fen consisted of a two-fen and a one-fen coin; the two-fen showed a large airplane, the one-fen a big truck.

“I’ve heard that the big black ten and the three-yuan notes from this era are especially valuable. I should try to save up as many as I can,” Xiao Weiguo thought.

He stuffed the money into his left pocket, but in reality, he instantly put it in his space. There was no safer place in the world.

When he reached the main entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative, Xiao Weiguo finally felt confident enough to go inside—after all, he now had money in his pocket.