Chapter 12 The First Bucket of Jin

Huo Sining was stunned, "Is this called a Golden Softshell Turtle?"

"You don't know?" Liu Qingdong glanced at Huo Sining sideways.

Seeing Huo Sining shake her head, Liu Qingdong was somewhat speechless.

"In ancient times, the Golden Softshell Turtle was a nourishing tribute presented to the Royal Family. These years, they have become increasingly rare, especially the wild ones. Looking at the shell, this one must be at least fifty years old. You don't know anything, yet your luck is quite good; you've managed to encounter such a rarity."

Seeing Liu Qingdong's probing gaze and his pensive expression, Huo Sining tensed up inside but could only play dumb and silly, scratching the back of her head with a foolish smile:

"Hehe, that's true, I am indeed lucky; otherwise, how could I have met someone as kind as Uncle Liu."

Liu Qingdong was both amused and exasperated, "Stop buttering me up. What do you plan to do with this turtle? If you want to sell it, I can find a buyer for you."

"That would be great." Huo Sining brightened up as she looked at Liu Qingdong, "Is the Golden Softshell Turtle very valuable?"

Liu Qingdong replied helplessly, "This kind of thing is priceless; if you find a buyer who likes it, no matter how expensive, there will be takers. But if you're in a hurry to sell, it's hard to say what the price will be. However, I conservatively estimate someone would take it for seven or eight thousand. Rest assured, the buyers I find are always reliable; I won't let you be taken advantage of."

Huo Sining was quite relieved by this point. Although she had only dealt with Liu Qingdong a couple of times, she felt she could trust his character.

Otherwise, with Liu Qingdong's capabilities, he could have used another excuse to lower the price of the turtle in her hands, pocket the Golden Softshell Turtle himself, and be done with it; why go to the trouble of finding a buyer for her?

Following Liu Qingdong to the county town and arriving at Juxian Restaurant, there was already someone waiting. As soon as the car stopped, a man in his thirties hurried over.

Liu Qingdong nodded and said to the man, "The goods have arrived; take them to the warehouse first."

The man nodded and followed the van without another word.

When they reached a bungalow at the back door, the man opened the door, and Huo Sining got out of the car along with Liu Qingdong.

"Uncle Dong, who is this young lady?" The man gave Huo Sining a few looks and asked in wonder.

Liu Qingdong gave the man an annoyed look, "Do you only take the goods without paying? I can't pull out that much cash in hand. This is my niece. She heard you were buying river delicacies. The poor girl and her family have been busy for two days straight just to catch these goods. Later you better count carefully; don't miscount the money."

The man laughed upon hearing this, "Uncle Dong, look at what you're saying. How could I ever cheat your niece?"

Liu Qingdong scoffed, "Heh, I know what you're like, you slippery merchant. Your parents are both honest people. I really can't tell who you take after, being so stingy, not willing to part with a single hair!"

"Uncle, if I weren't stingy, how could I have earned this bit of wealth? There are seven or eight mouths in my family waiting to be fed."

The man laughed, not at all offended by Liu Qingdong's remarks, and instead seemed rather pleased with himself.

Liu Qingdong turned his head to look at Huo Sining, "Huo girl, this is my boss, Zhao Xian, the owner of Juxian Restaurant. Although I'm the one who placed the order with you, the money still has to come from the big boss. You should ask him for the money later."

Huo Sining nodded and, seeing Zhao Xian look over, she extended her right hand generously, "My name is Huo Sining. It's a pleasure to meet you, Boss Zhao."

Zhao Xian was taken aback for a moment, but quickly reached out and shook hands with Huo Sining, saying with a smile, "Calling me Boss Zhao feels too distant. I'm a bit older than you, so I'll take the liberty of having you call me Brother Zhao."

"Brother Zhao." Huo Sining quickly corrected herself, her face showing no awkwardness at all.

Seeing that Huo Sining was young but spoke and acted with the experienced maturity of a city office worker, Zhao Xian found it refreshing, and the smile at the bottom of his eyes became much more sincere.

"Stop just talking; before the sun comes out, let's quickly get the goods sorted and into the pond."

Seeing Zhao Xian keep staring at Huo Sining, Liu Qingdong frowned and interrupted the two's conversation.

Men are strong and can easily carry several snakeskin bags at once; it didn't take much effort for them to move the goods in a line on the ground.

"Hey, this batch of goods is fresher than the one from a couple of days ago; look at how the flesh is poking out."

Some clamshells were originally open, but they snapped shut instantly when startled. Zhao Xian's face lit up with surprise; it was rare to see such fresh large clams.

Two days ago, Liu Qingdong had taken all of Huo Sining's river clams at the market. As soon as he brought them back to the restaurant, some customers saw them and clamored for Liu Qingdong to prepare a taste for them.

With no other choice, Liu Qingdong picked some and made a dish called "Old Clam Gives Birth to Pearls".

Unexpectedly, this started an uncontrollable craze; other guests who caught the fragrance insisted on ordering Old Clam Gives Birth to Pearls, and more than a dozen old clams were sold out in just one meal.

Those who didn't get to taste the dish sighed with frustration. Yesterday, they came back to ask if there were any more wild river clams available.

Who knew a dish could ignite the restaurant's business like that? Zhao Xian saw a financial opportunity and, upon hearing from Liu Qingdong that Huo Sining might be able to supply in bulk—even if just for once—he had no reason to turn away the cash at hand and readily agreed.

"They were in the water just before, and they were delivered here not long after being caught," Huo Sining explained with a smile, "The river clams Uncle Liu bought last time had been out of the water for half a day and under the sun, so they weren't as fresh."

Of course, the next step was to grade the river clams according to their age and quality.

Because Huo Sining selectively harvested, there were not many three to five-year-old river clams; most of them were over five years old.

After Liu Qingdong sorted the clams into piles, he noticed this issue, looked up at Huo Sining, and then started recording.

The quality of this batch was indeed high, and even a connoisseur like Liu Qingdong could find no fault with them.

After calculating, five to six hundred pounds of old clams managed to sell for twelve thousand and five hundred yuan, which even surprised Huo Sining.

Although Zhao Xian was sly, he was very straightforward when it came to paying, taking out the money and handing it to Huo Sining without any trickery.

Of course, Huo Sining dared not carry so much cash on her person—this was her first big earnings, and if she lost it, she would have nowhere to cry.

Huo Sining decided to go to the bank afterward, open a bank account, and deposit the money.

Having sold the river clams, Huo Sining felt at ease; at least she no longer had to worry about her tuition fees for the upcoming school term.

Helping Liu Qingdong and Zhao Xian, the three of them carried the clams in batches to the breeding pool and walked out of the warehouse.

Just as they returned to the entrance of the restaurant, a group of people rushed towards them.

"Uncle Liu, I heard your place got a batch of old clams. You didn't do right by us," one man said discontentedly. "We have had many years of friendship, and I've been a regular at Juxian Restaurant. How could you get good stuff and not let me know?"

"Exactly," echoed a few others. "Five-year-old clams are rare; you should have called us to try them first instead of letting others eat them. Is this how you treat old friends?"

Only then did Huo Sining notice these people were about Liu Qingdong's age but dressed luxuriously and were plump in stature.

No need to say more; at the very least, they must be doing well financially, which explained how they caught wind of the delicacy so quickly and rushed over eagerly for the sake of a good taste.

However, Liu Qingdong was caught between laughter and tears: "I forgot to notify you when the clams arrived. I only got about a dozen the other day, and even I didn't get a taste before they were all sold out."

At this, he couldn't help but look at Zhao Xian with a touch of resentment; if it weren't for this money-eyed guy, he would have saved a few to try for himself.

"Sold out?" The men were dumbfounded. "How can that be? We heard you had good stuff and hurried over here. Are you telling us that it's all sold out and we've come for nothing?"

Liu Qingdong opened his mouth to explain, but Zhao Xian interjected eagerly:

"Gentlemen, don't be in a rush. Uncle Dong hasn't finished speaking. The supply from two days ago did sell out, but starting today, Juxian Restaurant will offer a limited supply of wild river delicacies. Old clams from three to seven years old are available, six per day, first-come, first-serve. If you want to sample them, please head to the restaurant and book your meal with the bartender."

Hearing this, the customers were overjoyed and scrambled to make reservations.

Who would have thought that old clams could be so popular? Zhao Xian indeed had a talent for business.

The number of river clams wasn't high and the restaurant ran out of supply, yet Zhao Xin knew to apply a strategy of limited availability.

A steady trickle ensures supply during the high demand season for river clams; his restaurant won't have to worry about running out.

Moreover, with only six per day, it keeps people's interest and desire to taste fresh. With this hunger marketing approach, as long as he promotes the signature wild old clams, his restaurant is sure to be extremely busy for a while.