Chapter 221: Grand Opening

Chapter 221: Chapter 221: Grand Opening

As soon as they entered, a welcoming shop assistant approached them.

He immediately noticed the two wooden buckets the Ling Family carried. Relying on his years of experience, the assistant quickly deduced their purpose, knowing they had come to sell goods. He peeked curiously at the contents of their buckets, and his eyes instantly lit up. Hurriedly, he asked them to wait patiently for a moment.

Before long, the assistant yelled at the top of his lungs, "Shopkeeper! Come over quickly and take a look, we’ve got some good stuff!" His loud voice was so booming it seemed capable of reaching the entire market street.

The shop assistant didn’t know how to hide his enthusiasm at all. Spilling his thoughts with absolute candor, he praised the Ling family directly. "The seafood you caught is really not bad! It’s definitely top-quality goods, and it will surely sell for a good price!" His words were sincere and straightforward, without the slightest bit of concealment or falsehood, making him seem genuinely honest and reliable.

Hearing this, the members of the Ling family exchanged glances, their eyes revealing joy and agreement. They thought to themselves that following Hua Buwan’s advice had indeed been the right choice, and the shop she recommended was truly reliable.

At that moment, the Shopkeeper hurried over.

As he stepped out, he shot the assistant a light glare and complained with a look of utter disdain, "My goodness, you’re constantly shouting all day long. Can’t you keep your voice down? My ears are perfectly fine, but you’re about to deafen me! Honestly..."

Facing the Shopkeeper’s scolding, the assistant wasn’t angry at all. Instead, he scratched his head like a child and laughed foolishly, nodding his head repeatedly. He hurriedly replied, "Oh, yes, yes, yes. I know I was wrong. I’ll definitely pay more attention in the future. HEHEHE."

Seeing the assistant’s endearing and simple-minded demeanor, the Ling family’s initial nervousness eased significantly. Just from the relaxed, natural, and completely open interaction between the Shopkeeper and his assistant, they could tell that this Shopkeeper must be a rather decent person.

The Shopkeeper stepped forward and took a look at their catch, his eyes lighting up as well. He rolled up his sleeves, scooped out a plump fish, and weighed it in his hands. As he calculated the prices for them, growing increasingly satisfied with the haul, he only felt a slight pang of regret over the size of one particular catch.

"This fish is not bad. It’s fresh and has good weight to it. Tell you what, I’ll give you thirty cents per fish. As for these oysters you dug up, they’re quite large, so let’s price them at one cent each.

"This leopard coral grouper is excellent. I won’t cheat you—based on its weight, I’ll offer you two taels of Silver for it. If it were just a bit bigger, the price could multiply several times over.

"This bucket of large crabs is also great. They are huge, and every single one is a mud crab full of roe. I’ll give you twenty cents each for them."

The members of the Ling family listened earnestly, simultaneously comparing his offers with the selling prices Hua Buwan had mentioned to them earlier. It had to be said that the prices the Shopkeeper offered were only marginally lower than what Hua Buwan had estimated. He was indeed an honest Shopkeeper.

Seafood was abundant in the Lingnan Region, meaning many common varieties couldn’t fetch high prices. However, they could still make a profit through sheer volume, as there were plenty of people who ate seafood here. If they got lucky and caught large, rare marine delicacies, they would make a fortune.

Therefore, those who made their living from the sea still relied heavily on luck.

Just as Hua Buwan turned around, the Ling family happened to be walking out of the shop.