With the precedent set by the first elderly gentleman, the elderly men and women waiting in line could no longer contain themselves, one after another urging Zhou Chong'an to help them weigh their goods.
"Boss Zhou, since you already collected money for that young lady on behalf of that stubborn old man, hurry up and weigh these Black Tiger Prawns for me first!" The auntie in front pointed at the jumping prawns in the bucket, her eyes full of urgency. It looked like only four or five pounds; she hadn't managed to grab the Grouper, so she couldn't miss out on these prawns too.
Zhou Chong'an gave a helpless, bitter smile: "Aunt Fang, you saw it yourself, I was just suddenly handed the money by him."
"Oh, you've already collected it, so just conveniently help us weigh them," Aunt Fang said, already picking up a bag and moving toward the prawn bucket.
"I want a portion too! These prawns are large, my granddaughter loves eating them, save some for me!" Another auntie squeezed over, fearing that if she were a step slower, they would be gone.
Even the elderly gentleman who had been leading the line didn't follow the rules, running off while clutching his fish. The people behind him had even fewer scruples, one after another taking bags to pack the goods themselves.
One person wanted a dozen Large Oysters and two pounds of razor clams.
Another wanted twenty oysters and three pounds of Black Tiger Prawns; the commotion made it feel like a bustling market fair.
The Black Tiger Prawns were soon sold out. Those who didn't get any had to settle for oysters and razor clams, but Zhou Chong'an and Li Hongyu had no idea what Jiang Tang's pricing was, and they were momentarily stumped.
"This young lady's seafood is much fresher than what's in the market; it doesn't look farmed at all," Aunt Fang muttered while packing razor clams. "What she sold me yesterday was cheaper than the market price; I'm afraid she doesn't know the market price."
"Looking at how she's dressed, she must be having a hard time at home," another auntie sighed. "In this day and age, whose child still wears clothes with so many patches? She must have hit a rough patch."
"We can't let our conscience go and offer a low price." Aunt Fang's words drew agreement from everyone. "Indeed, it's heartbreaking to look at her; I hope she isn't really in some kind of trouble."
Li Hongyu and Zhou Chong'an listened from the side, not finding it appropriate to say much. Li Hongyu thought for a moment and then said softly: "Xiao Tang has indeed encountered some issues and is in urgent need of money." Anything more would be her private affairs, and it wasn't right to reveal them.
He spent his days at the seafood market and knew the prices like the back of his hand. After a little thought, he said: "Large Oysters are twenty yuan each, small ones are ten; razor clams are twenty-eight a pound, premium razor clams are thirty-eight; Black Tiger Prawns are sixty a pound. This price is about the same as the market price. Does everyone think that's okay?"
"That's fine!" Aunt Fang was the first to agree. "We can go to the supermarket to grab free eggs, so if this child is in trouble, we should help out. Besides, this seafood is worth this price just by the taste of it!"
"Boss Zhou, hurry and weigh mine! I still have to rush to go square dancing." She urged, and the aunties behind her echoed her sentiment. They were all people who trusted Aunt Fang, and seeing her nod, they had no objections.
The two men were thus forced into "business." Zhou Chong'an was busy weighing, and Li Hongyu was in charge of collecting money; it was quite orderly.
By the time Jiang Tang returned carrying more seafood for the second time, the stall was already bustling with activity, and another wave of people had arrived.
On her back was a basket of razor clams with a bag of oysters on top, and in her hands, she held a large wooden basin filled with Black Tiger Prawns, as well as the octopus and crabs that Jiang Yi had caught yesterday.
As soon as she put the things down, the elderly men and women who hadn't managed to grab prawns earlier spotted them and immediately crowded around. Now, even the crabs and octopus became hot commodities.
Running back and forth, Jiang Tang was exhausted. She sat down on the steps at the entrance of the shop, gasping for air.
Seeing Zhou Chong'an and Li Hongyu busy to the point of not having a moment to rest, she quickly said: "Brother Zhou, Brother Li, thank you for helping me sell these!"
"Don't be so polite!" Li Hongyu laughed while collecting money. "I just didn't know your pricing, so I set it according to the market price. Do you think that's okay?"
Jiang Tang nodded repeatedly, "That's perfect, thank you!"
Zhou Chong'an finished weighing a portion of oysters and took a moment to look at her. Seeing her breathing heavily, he slapped his forehead: "I completely forgot, there's a handcart in the shop. If you still have goods left to move, feel free to use it!"
"That would be a huge help, Brother Zhou!" Jiang Tang's eyes lit up. "There are still some oysters I haven't brought over yet, I really need it! Could you please help me watch the stall for a while?"
"No problem, go ahead!" Zhou Chong'an waved his hand. "I'm just idling anyway."
Li Hongyu also teased, "I'm off today, helping you sell goods is a fun pastime, but you have to save some for me, otherwise I won't be able to answer to my son when I get back."
"Definitely! I'll save plenty for you, but you're not allowed to pay, or I won't have it!" Jiang Tang agreed with a smile. Like a gust of wind, she rushed into the shop to push out the handcart and then quickly ran off.
When Jiang Tang returned pushing the cart, the basket and three large bags of oysters on it were heavy, causing the wheels to make a steady sound as they rolled over the Bluestone Road.
Daybreak arrived, and pale golden sunlight spilled onto the street where the stalls were set up.
The crowd of early morning shoppers surged in like a rising tide, and the boss of the fish stall next door was loudly shouting about the newly arrived sea fish.
The beef stall was surrounded by customers picking out meat, the sound of the blade hitting the chopping board ringing out with a "thud-thud," full of a Lively Atmosphere.
The breakfast shop was packed to the brim. Young people rushing to work held hot soy milk, took a bite of a crispy fried dough stick, and chatted vaguely with their companions about work.
A mother with a child patiently fed the little fellow wontons, occasionally wiping the soup from the child's mouth.
Several white-haired elderly people sat in the corner, slowly eating Sesame Paste.
Just as Jiang Tang parked the cart, she was surrounded by customers waiting on the side: "Young lady, give me twenty oysters, the biggest ones!"
"I want three pounds of razor clams too, they look so fresh!"
"Alright, I'll weigh them for you right away." Jiang Tang scrambled to bag them and put them on the scale.
Zhou Chong'an also had business; quite a few people needed plastic bags to pack their goods, all of them old customers from the surrounding stalls.
Jiang Tang also patronized his business, buying several bundles of bags and a scale. She figured she would need a scale often in the future, so she bought one; she couldn't keep borrowing Zhou Chong'an's.
Li Hongyu hadn't left yet. Seeing that Jiang Tang was too busy to handle it alone, he stayed to help, opening the calculator on his mobile phone to help calculate the money.
Around seven o'clock, Jiang Tang's seafood was completely sold out.
Li Hongyu handed the cash to her: "Xiao Tang, the cash totals five thousand six hundred and eighty yuan."
Zhou Chong'an also handed her the three thousand one hundred yuan from WeChat payments, along with the one thousand yuan that the elderly gentleman had given for that fish. "Xiao Tang, here is one thousand yuan, the money that elderly gentleman paid for the Grouper."
Jiang Tang was stunned, her eyes full of surprise: "This fish... it wasn't sold for the wrong price, was it?"
In her view, that fish was worth at most five hundred yuan.
"Haha... it wasn't sold for the wrong price, the elderly gentleman gave it voluntarily." Zhou Chong'an recounted how the several elderly gentlemen had bid against each other to grab the fish.
Jiang Tang was amused, but still felt it was too expensive: "This is just too much..."
"It's fine, Uncle Zhao isn't short on money," Zhou Chong'an explained. "He has a pension, and his son is a big boss. Don't let his plain short-sleeved shirt, big shorts, and Flip-flops fool you when he visits the Morning Market; he lives in a Villa."
Jiang Tang was shocked once again. Truly, one cannot judge a book by its cover; he was a hidden billionaire!
Last time she didn't have tools to clean the fish, she gave him five yuan in change, and he had accepted it with a smile. She had just assumed he was an ordinary old man, at most someone with a pension.
It turns out her perspective was just too small...
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