Chapter 8 Selling River Delicacies

By the side of the Baiyun Reservoir, Huo Sining took clams out of the snakeskin bag and then hurried non-stop towards the county town.

There was a bus to the county town at the entrance of the village. Huo Sining was lucky; as soon as she got to the village entrance, she saw a bus coming.

She climbed aboard swiftly. The driver glanced at the sack on her back but didn't pay much attention.

The trip from Baiyun Town to the county town took only half an hour, and the large vegetable market was just a few tens of meters away on foot.

The market was crowded with vendors from the countryside who came to the city to do business, so Huo Sining's arrival didn't stand out.

At the market, she chose a corner and laid out the clams one by one on the ground.

The clams had been frightened and were all retracted into their shells, but now they sensed the danger was gone and started sticking their bodies out again.

Huo Sining had never done business before and was too shy to hawk her wares like the other vendors.

Moreover, since she hid in a corner, there were pitifully few buyers who came to see her clams.

Finally, a woman came along, and upon seeing the large size of the clams, she couldn't help but be skeptical and muttered to herself:

"Clams this big mustn't be wild, they have to be farmed, perhaps even injected with hormones," and after just a few glances, she quickly walked away.

If Huo Sining had known what the woman was thinking, she would have cried:

"What artificial cultivation, auntie? These are absolutely real and genuine wild clams, no fakery! I personally dove into the reservoir to catch them!"

By 10 o'clock in the morning, the crowd at the vegetable market had slowly diminished.

The sun was getting fiercer and fiercer. The vendors with stalls were alright, at least they had a shady spot to sit.

But itinerant vendors had no such luck; worried about their vegetables wilting in the sun, they had to lift their burdens and head back.

Huo Sining squatted at the market for more than two hours, her legs going numb without attracting a single customer.

The clams couldn't survive long without water, and with the sun's exposure, they wouldn't last long.

Feeling somewhat depressed, Huo Sining hadn't anticipated such a situation. This was nothing like what she had imagined.

Weren't wild river delicacies in high demand? How come her clams couldn't sell a single one?

This severely discouraged Huo Sining, and her initial enthusiasm to make money by selling river delicacies gradually receded.

Just as Huo Sining was about to give up and head home, a lean man in his forties or fifties stepped into the market.

He walked past her stall, intending to head straight for the fresh seafood section, but his eyes glanced unintentionally and caught sight of what was laid out at Huo Sining's stall.

His eyes lit up inadvertently, and he let out an "eh," stopping his hurried steps dead in their tracks, and turned to stand in front of Huo Sining.

Huo Sining was startled and looked up to see the man crouching down and picking up a clam.

Overjoyed, she quickly asked, "Uncle, do you want to buy clams? My clams are top quality, no fakes. Why don't you buy some to try?"

Liu Qingdong weighed the clam in his hand and counted the growth rings along its shell. The more he looked, the more surprised he became and finally looked up to ask:

"Young lady, how much are you selling these clams for?"

Huo Sining promptly replied, "Three yuan per jin, with shells."

Liu Qingdong was taken aback, looked at the clam in his hand again, thinking he had made a mistake: "These clams aren't wild?"

Huo Sining laughed, "Look at what you're saying, uncle. If they weren't wild, would I dare to advertise them as wild delicacies? Ten losses for one fake, these are genuine wild clams that I just caught this morning."

Seeing how earnestly Huo Sining spoke, Liu Qingdong immediately laughed, "Young girl, it must be your first time doing business, right?"

"Huh?"

Huo Sining was taken aback, having no idea how Liu Qingdong had figured it out, and awkwardly touched his nose with embarrassment.

"How did you know?"

Liu Qingdong smiled and said, "I come here every day to pick ingredients, and am very familiar with this place. Seeing your new face, it's clear you are here for the first time, and besides, selling wild river seafood has its own set of rules. Clams are not sold this way, did you know that?"

Huo Sining paused, then looked at Liu Qingdong with a desire to learn:

"Uncle, you're right. I just finished my exams and wanted to earn some money, so I thought of selling river seafood. But I've been setting up for half a day now without a single buyer. I've just started in the business and don't understand the rules. Uncle, if you don't mind, could you give me some advice?"

Liu Qingdong was interested in the batch of goods in Huo Sining's hands, and seeing Huo Sining's sincere and earnest attitude, he took a liking to him. He did not put on airs and began lecturing Huo Sining while holding a clam in his hand.

"Clams are a multi-year species, rich in calcium. The larger they grow, the older they are, and the more nutritious and tougher the meat when you bite into it. It's like how an old chicken tastes better than a young one. How good a river clam tastes has a lot to do with its age. Similarly, for clams to grow big, they need water. The cleaner the lake, the fresher and tenderer the meat. Only clean water can raise good clams."

Huo Sining nodded seriously.

Baiyun Mountain is rich in mineral resources, and the water from the mountain is clear and sweet, with several drinking water companies sourcing their water from here.

The water in Baiyun Reservoir comes directly from the mountain, so the water quality is naturally clean and clear—no wonder such large clams can be reared there.

"How do you judge the quality of river clams? First, look at the size of the river clam, or feel its weight, like this one I'm holding. You can tell just by holding it."

"This river clam should weigh around two and a half pounds; then look at its age. The growth lines of a clam are similar to those of a tree, stretching from spring to autumn, from dense to sparse."

"Clams that have grown for several years will have thick, dark concentric circles formed on their shells. To determine the age of river clams, you count the number of growth lines."

"Take this clam, for example, roughly estimated, it should be over five years old. Lastly, choose by the meat quality. Generally, the more bulging the base where the clam shells join, the thicker the meat inside, and the higher the cost-performance ratio."

Huo Sining was amazed. She had not expected such an unassuming river clam to have so much to it. Recalling Liu Qingdong's previous mention of the rules for selling river seafood, curiosity got the better of her:

"Earlier, you said that this is not how you sell river clams. How should they be sold then?"

"They should be sold by the piece, not by weight," Liu Qingdong explained with a smile.

"Ah?" Huo Sining couldn't help but widen her eyes.

Liu Qingdong continued, "Ordinary river clams are about the size of a palm. Those annual river clams can of course be sold by weight, but your clams are not ordinary. It's really a waste to sell them by weight. It's also lucky that no one recognized their value this morning, otherwise, selling this top-grade seafood for three yuan per pound would be a huge loss!"

Huo Sining couldn't help but laugh and cry at Liu Qingdong's words.

Selling by the piece, she thought, but she had been setting up her stall for several hours with not a single person asking the price; she simply couldn't sell them at all.

Seeing Huo Sining's perplexed expression and probably guessing her thoughts, Liu Qingdong became somewhat frustrated with her.

"Why don't you get it, girl? This high-quality river clam is something hard to come by even in fresh food supermarkets. How could you possibly sell it at a vegetable market?"

Upon hearing this, Huo Sining had an epiphany.

Right, why hadn't she thought of that? If she couldn't sell at the market, she could take them to fresh food supermarkets where high-quality goods were appreciated. Her wild river clams were of such high quality, surely someone would want them.

Deciding to act on the idea immediately, Huo Sining bowed to Liu Qingdong, acknowledging that she had gained from his advice. She didn't want to take advantage without expressing thanks, so she gratefully said, "Uncle, thank you for the reminder. This clam is for you to taste, as a gift!"

She picked up a snakeskin bag and began packing the clams.

Since she couldn't sell them, there was no point in suffering under the sun at the market anymore. It was better to try her luck at a fresh food supermarket.

"Hey, wait a minute, what are you doing?"

When Liu Qingdong saw Huo Sining packing all the clams back into the snakeskin bag, he became anxious and grabbed her arm to stop her.

Huo Sining asked, puzzled, "I'm packing the clams to sell to the fresh food supermarket."

"I was just saying you're not getting it, and here you are being hasty. I haven't finished talking yet, what's the rush?"

Liu Qingdong was both exasperated and amused, "Do you think I talked so much nonsense for nothing? Do you think I run a charity? I'll take all of these river clams of yours."