Chen Junxiao was full of anticipation, waiting for the old lady to speak. Seeing the expression on her face, Li Yifei already knew the result, so he said, "Auntie, if you can take them, then please take them. If you can’t, we’ll go sell them in town. We got lucky today and caught a lot, more than we can eat, so we thought we’d sell some and then buy a set of clothes for the girl later!"

Hearing Li Yifei say that, Chen Junxiao hurriedly shook his head and said, "No no, I don’t want clothes. Uncle, you caught these, I can’t take them!"

The old lady shook her head and smiled. "You caught way too many, too many. Granny can’t take that much. You can bring them to the buyers in town and sell them there!"

"Mm mm! Okay, thank you, Granny." Chen Junxiao nodded at once. Li Yifei also gave her a smile and said, "Sorry to trouble you, but do you happen to have a motorcycle or something at home? I’d like to borrow it for a bit, I’ll fill the tank up for you later."

The old lady hesitated. Li Yifei didn’t look annoying, nor like a bad person, it was just that he was bare-chested, muscles all over his sturdy body on display, which looked a bit scary at first glance, but he probably wasn’t the vicious type, the old lady thought.

"Or I can pay you," Li Yifei added. "Otherwise, it’s a bit of a distance from here to town, and it’s raining, it’s really hard to walk."

"Alright then, but you must be very careful. It’s not easy to ride in the rain. And... no need to fill the tank, it’s not that far, how much gas can it burn!" the old lady said.

Li Yifei laughed and said, "Thanks, Granny. Today the girl was just saying how good you are to her, and that when she makes something of herself in the future, she definitely won’t forget you!" As he spoke, Chen Junxiao lowered her head shyly. Hearing this, the old lady broke into a hearty smile and said, "It’s enough that she has that intention. I just think the little girl is pitiful. Go on then, the key’s by the door, the bike’s in the shed, you can go push it out yourself! Be careful, you hear."

"Okay!" Li Yifei nodded, went to the shed and pushed out a Suzuki 125. He stuck the key in, saw some rope on the rack, put the bike on its stand, went back to pick up the bag of fish, set it on the rack and tied it down tight. Then he looked back at Chen Junxiao and said, "Wrap yourself up tight in the plastic, sit on the back!"

"What a sin, let Granny get you a raincoat!" The old lady stamped her foot, then went to fetch a raincoat. Chen Junxiao pulled the raincoat over herself. Her clothes were already more than half soaked anyway, but it was still better than getting drenched through. Li Yifei swung his leg over the bike, and Chen Junxiao sat behind him. The little girl really was small and skinny—once she got on, he could barely feel any weight. He started the engine, twisted the throttle lightly, and rode out.

The town was indeed quite close, but on foot it would still take twenty minutes, whereas on a motorcycle it was only five or six.

The last time Chen Junxiao came to town was when she was little, and after that it was only when her parents were hospitalized. So she wasn’t exactly familiar with the town; she only knew the way to the hospital. That was why Li Yifei still stopped the bike, found a shop, and asked for directions. There were two markets here: one was a regular vegetable market, the other was a fish market, where peddlers bought fish. People who fished on their own would also bring their catch here to sell.

Li Yifei rode the bike and coasted slowly over, parked it, then, bare-chested with a bag on his back, walked forward with Chen Junxiao following behind him, clutching the raincoat with both hands and tailing along step by step.

The moment the two of them appeared, they became a bit of a sight, because Li Yifei was shirtless, and his build counted as tall and sturdy around here, with solid muscles. Many young women and young wives in the market couldn’t help but look over, and some even whistled.

Seeing this pair, people couldn’t help but find it odd. Li Yifei just pretended not to notice. In fact, even if he said he was a billionaire, probably no one would believe it. Mm, if there really were people who believed it here, that would be something else.

He found a stall that bought fish: a small vehicle, a few crates, and a sign in front that read "Buying Fish."

Walking over, Li Yifei asked, "You buy sea fish?"

"Handsome, you’ve got quite the body. From your accent, you’re not local, are you?" The peddler sized Li Yifei up, and when he heard his accent, a strange look flashed in his eyes.

Li Yifei smiled and said, "I’m local, I just run up north a lot, so my accent changed." As he spoke, he switched right into the local dialect. His pronunciation had a pretty good flavor to it. Of course, it was still a bit different from the peddler’s, because around here, the accent changes every so many miles. It’s not quite "a different sound every ten li," but there are still differences.

As soon as Li Yifei started speaking in the local tongue, the peddler froze for a second, thinking to himself that he’d misjudged him. At first he really had thought he was a northerner. If he were from out of town, that would be one way to treat him; if he was local, that was another. So the smile on the guy’s face became a lot more genuine.

Standing a bit behind Li Yifei, Chen Junxiao’s little mouth was slightly open in surprise, because she hadn’t expected Li Yifei’s dialect to be so good, and so close to theirs. But when the two of them talked before, they clearly hadn’t used dialect at all.

"Heh heh, brother, you sure know a lot. So, what kind of fish are you selling?"

"Freshly caught, just a mixed batch of species, but all good stuff, nice and fresh." Li Yifei dropped the bag down.

The vendor scooted over, reached in and grabbed two fish, weighed them in his hands, and had already done the math in his head. The fish really were fresh, but the types were a bit mixed. The key thing was, he was a fish vendor—how could he not try to push the price down first.

So he rattled off a price. Li Yifei frowned when he heard it and said, "Buddy, don’t mess with me. I still know what the going rates are in this fish market. The price you’re giving is just a joke."

"How is it a joke? Prices in the fish market change every day; they can’t stay the same. There’s a lot of fish today, so the price is low," the vendor said.

Li Yifei shook his head, named a few kinds of fish and their prices, then said, "If you can do this price, we’ll deal. If not, I’ll go see someone else. I don’t have a lot of fish right now, but my supply is stable. For a stretch of time, I can get this much every day, even double or twice that is fine."

All the fish together were only fifty or sixty jin, really not much. But if there could be a steady supply down the line, that would be pretty good. The vendor did a quick calculation in his mind, then looked up and chuckled. "How about this, I’ll bump it up a bit each. But the price you’re asking really is a bit much. If I buy at that price, I’ll be losing money the second it lands in my hands."

"I actually didn’t need to come in person. I came because I want to find someone to take fish on a regular basis. Cooperation should be win–win. I can’t stop you from making money, but I can’t take too big a loss either, right? I just told you, the buying price for these fish in the market is like this. I didn’t raise it on purpose, but you also shouldn’t press it too low, otherwise that’s not doing business anymore." Li Yifei looked straight into his eyes as he spoke.

Li Yifei’s muscles were all tensed, very visually striking. The vendor’s eyes flashed with a bit of irritation. He cursed inwardly, How the hell does he know that? I sit in this fish market all day and I’ve never seen him. First time here and he knows things this clearly?

What he didn’t know was that Li Yifei basically just had good hearing. When he’d just walked into the fish market with Chen Junxiao, he’d already picked up a lot of people’s chatter, and had also overheard some fish prices. After listening to them talk for so long now, he had an even better handle on the prices.

Once he had the prices straight, there was no way he’d be fooled. But the vendor still wouldn’t budge, so he shook his head and said, "Buddy, your price is too high, I can’t afford to take it. If it’s the price from just now and you agree, I’ll buy it from you. If not, forget it!" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Alright then, forget it." Liu Yifei said lightly, and turned to leave. But just as Li Yifei turned around, the vendor suddenly spotted that bucket and hurriedly shouted, "Hey, buddy, wait a sec, let me see what you’ve got in that bucket."

"A few crabs and lobsters," Li Yifei said.

"Lobsters?" As soon as he heard that, the vendor craned his neck over and reached in to grab one. He pulled out a three- or four-jin lobster. The thing looked fierce, and its two big claws instinctively tried to clamp down on him, scaring him into yanking his hand back. But with just that one look, the vendor could tell this lobster was wild, because it wasn’t the same as the farmed ones. He couldn’t help but feel delighted. Those fish were nothing special, but this wild lobster was good stuff—it could fetch a high price. Some people specifically wanted to buy wild lobster, believing it tasted better.

So once he was sure, he gave a little chuckle and said, "How about this, I’ll give you more for the lobster, and the crabs are pretty good too. I’ll take them along with those fish!"

Li Yifei gave him a look; he could read the man’s mind all too clearly, so he shook his head and said, "Forget it. I’m going to have a stable supply in future. At your price, I can’t sell."

He said it and went to leave. The vendor was anxious about the lobster and hurriedly grabbed Li Yifei’s arm to pull him back, only to find he couldn’t move him. Li Yifei turned back, expressionless, looking at him—well, looking down at him. The vendor quickly let go and forced a smile. "We can talk about it. Honestly, I’ve got my eye on what’s in your bucket. I’m actually not that interested in those fish. But since I want what’s in your bucket, I have to take the fish with it. Sell it all to me together, it’s easier for you too."

"I don’t want to sell." Li Yifei replied straight out. "We’re all locals, all from the same place. Business should be done properly. Pulling tricks like this isn’t good."

"I..." The vendor was at a loss for words, eyes widening as he was about to argue back, when a woman’s voice sounded from behind Li Yifei, saying, "I’ll take that lobster. Name your price."

Without his True Qi, Li Yifei’s perception was weak, and he’d also been distracted, so he hadn’t even noticed someone coming up right next to him.

Chen Junxiao tilted his head up, his little face full of amazement. The uncle he’d saved was really something else.

Li Yifei turned his head and sure enough saw a woman standing beside him. In fact, she had just walked up to him and stopped, and was already bending over to look at the lobster. Li Yifei asked, "You only want the lobster?"

"Hey, I say, miss, that’s not right. I’m talking business with this brother here!" the vendor said unhappily.

The woman lifted her head when she heard that and looked at the vendor.

The vendor got a clear look at her face and shut up instantly. Just now he’d even thought about scolding her—after all, this deal was his in the making, and this woman suddenly barging in like that was against the unwritten rules.