Rebirth of Fishing Village: Starting from Hua Axiang in Jiehu Village

Chapter 1533 The Only Way

"Almost all the fishing boats at the dock have gone out to sea to fish!"

"Fishing boats will start returning gradually tomorrow or the day after."

"The fishing moratorium has just ended, so the fishing boats that came back earlier must have had a lot of fish, shrimp, and crabs on them!"

Sun Tie took a deep drag on the cigarette in his hand, exhaled a thick cloud of smoke, and disappeared in the blink of an eye as the sea breeze blew by.

"Correct!"

"Isn't it the same every year?"

Ma Ping's expression was very solemn.

Every year when the fishing moratorium just ended, Sun Tie and I were very happy, because it meant that the fishing boats that went out to sea had caught a lot of fish, shrimp and crabs, and we could make a lot of money.

But this year is different.

Tonight, Sun Tie and I are here trying to figure out a way to solve the problem.

"Damn it!"

"We really didn't think this through! Who could have imagined it would turn out like this? We just wanted to sell to the fish on the fishing rafts, and we just asked for a price. If you didn't want to sell to us, you shouldn't have done it at all. How could you do something like this?"

Sun Tie pointed to a brightly lit fish raft not too far from the dock. That was Zhao Dahai and Ding Xiaoxiang's fish raft, which had a lot of valuable grouper and sea bass.

During the fishing moratorium a while ago, neither Ma Ping nor I had any valuable live fish.

They planned to ask Zhao Dahai and Ding Xiaoxiang for some fish.

Both Ma Ping and he wanted to make more money, and they thought that they were the biggest buyers of fish, shrimp and crabs at Shijiao Village Wharf, and their business was doing very well.

The price they offered was indeed lower than the market price, and by a significant margin. I had expected Zhao Dahai and Ding Xiaoxiang to haggle over the price, but they simply refused to do business with me.

Neither Ma Ping nor I expected this. We never imagined that Zhao Dahai and Ding Xiaoxiang would show us no respect at all, mentioning it several times during meals, until the whole circle knew about it.

Originally, I thought everyone would think that Zhao Dahai and Ding Xiaoxiang were disrespectful, but unexpectedly, the news that came out was that everyone thought that Ma Ping and I had done something very unfair.

After examining the situation carefully with Ma Ping, they were shocked to discover a problem.

For ordinary people who go out to sea to fish, doing what Ma Ping and I did shouldn't have any major problems.

Even if they had any opinions, it wouldn't matter. They and Ma Ping had made a lot of money and were influential figures at the Shijiao Village Wharf. Ordinary fishermen or fishermen couldn't do anything to them.

However, Zhao Dahai and Ding Xiaoxiang were not ordinary people who went out to sea to fish.

Zhao Dahai can catch several thousand kilograms of fish every day, and all of them are valuable, large sea bass. Sometimes, they catch large groupers that weigh tens or even more than a hundred kilograms.

The two of them did make money, and a lot of money at that, but compared to Zhao Dahai, they were far behind.

Zhao Dahai is not only an excellent fisherman himself, but he also collaborates with Shi Guangming and other villagers in Shijiao Village to catch a lot of fish on their deep-sea fishing boats.

It's not easy for many people to establish themselves at the Shijiao Village Wharf, but for Zhao Dahai, it's not difficult at all.

Another thing that must be paid attention to, or that must be considered, is that Ding Xiaoxiang's father, Ding Chongshan, is a colleague of Zhao Dahai and Ma Ping.

Ding Chongshan is a very shrewd businessman, a fact acknowledged by everyone in the industry. Anyone can tell that a businessman like Ding Chongshan has been eyeing the business at Shijiao Village Wharf for many years, but there's nothing anyone can do about it.

"Who could have imagined that something like this would happen?"

"We initially felt that although what we did was unethical, it was in the past!"

"Who would have thought that Ding Chongshan, or rather Ding Xiaoxiang, would release the news that he was preparing to collect fish, shrimp and crabs here, and that his target was the fish, shrimp and crabs from the fishing boats we have."

Ma Ping could only manage a wry smile.

Realizing that what they had done was dishonest, Sun Tie and I remained silent for a while, as if the incident had never happened.

My heart, which had been hanging in suspense, slowly relaxed. But just a few days ago, news suddenly came out that Ding Chongshan was planning to collect fish, shrimp and crabs here.

When Sun Tie and I learned of this news, it was like a bolt from the blue.

Ding Xiaoxiang had already bought a shop at the dock, and soon after, Ding Chongshan stayed at the shop, occasionally going to the dock to talk and smoke with the captains of the fishing boats.

Ding Chongshan's ulterior motives are as clear as day.

But there haven't been any good opportunities.

As a result, Sun Tie and I gave each other an opportunity—an opportunity, or rather an excuse, that no one could say anything about.

"The other fish, shrimp, and crab buyers at the dock gave us a real dressing down!"

Ma Ping sighed. Ding Xiaoxiang and Ding Chongshan had found the perfect excuse to spread the word that they wanted to do business here. This wouldn't just affect their own fish, shrimp, and crab business. Another crucial point was that everyone knew if Ding Chongshan and his group established themselves firmly here, they would definitely buy even more fish, shrimp, and crabs, impacting the businesses of other buyers.

In other words, in the eyes of the people in the same trade who are buying fish, shrimp and crabs at the Shijiao Village Wharf, the two of them are inviting trouble.

Sun Tie's face darkened instantly.

This is the most troublesome part. Now, almost all the fish, shrimp and crab buyers at Shijiao Village Wharf have this idea or statement: they all feel that the two of them made a huge mistake in handling this matter.

Ding Chongshan had found a perfect excuse to start collecting fish, shrimp, and crabs here. "Damn it!"

"Ding Chongshan has been pacing around here for a while now. Who doesn't know what he's up to? Even if it weren't for what happened with us, Ding Chongshan would definitely find another opportunity to start doing business here again, buying and selling the fish, shrimp and crabs here."

"How can you put all the blame on us now? How could it be that we were the ones who brought Ding Chongshan here?"

Sun Tie was furious.

Ding Chongshan had already been staying at the shop here for a while. Anyone could tell what Ding Chongshan was planning. Everyone knew that sooner or later Ding Chongshan would start doing business here and start buying fish, shrimp and crabs. But now he was just pushing this task onto himself and Ma Ping.

“You’re right. Ding Chongshan will definitely do business here sooner or later, and he will definitely buy fish, shrimp and crabs here. But the key issue is that Ding Chongshan hasn’t started buying fish, shrimp and crabs here yet, but our actions have given him an excuse.”

"Ding Chongshan seized upon this issue and insisted on doing it. How could our colleagues not bring this up?"

Ma Ping was extremely frustrated. Sun Tie's words were absolutely correct; that was definitely the case. However, the key issue was that, under the current circumstances, all the other fish, shrimp, and crab buyers at the Shijiao Village wharf would inevitably bring up him and Sun Tie, and the crucial point was that he and Sun Tie had no way to refute them; that was simply the truth.

"Ding Chongshan and Ding Xiaoxiang are really too insidious. They seized this opportunity so suddenly. Now the blame is on both of us, and there's really nothing we can do."

Sun Tie slapped his forehead.

When Ma Ping and I were making the offer, we really didn't think about it in this way. What we didn't expect was that Ding Chongshan and Ding Xiaoxiang would seize such an opportunity.

Despite being competitors, it must be acknowledged that Ding Chongshan and Ding Xiaoxiang handled this matter exceptionally well, seizing the opportunity immediately. Otherwise, even if Ding Chongshan and Ding Xiaoxiang started collecting fish, shrimp, and crabs at the Shijiao Village Wharf, they would become the common enemy of all their peers there.

If Ding Chongshan and Ding Xiaoxiang become the common enemy of the entire industry, many things will be much easier to handle.

Everyone will unite to deal with Ding Chongshan and Ding Xiaoxiang.

But now, it's just the two of them facing Ding Chongshan and Ding Xiaoxiang directly, and the difference between them is significant.

"Ding Chongshan will definitely not let go of such an opportunity."

"Tomorrow or the day after, as soon as fishing boats return, Ding Chongshan will immediately open his shop and start buying fish, shrimp and crabs from here."

Ma Ping's face was extremely grim. The matter was now obvious; once the fishing boats docked, Ding Chongshan would definitely come to collect fish, shrimp, and crabs, and he would never let such an opportunity slip by.

"Humph!"

"Even if that's really the case, so what? We've been in this business for so long, we're not pushovers, we're not people that Ding Chongshan or Ding Xiaoxiang can just bully."

"If they really insist on targeting us, then we are not to be trifled with, and we will definitely take action."

"If Ding Chongshan were to collect fish, shrimp, and crabs from other people's fishing boats here, would the other fishermen just stand by and watch? Wouldn't they come after Ding Chongshan? At that time, Ding Chongshan and Ding Xiaoxiang would definitely become the common enemy of everyone who collects fish, shrimp, and crabs at Shijiao Village Wharf."

"Ding Chongshan can't possibly say that he only accepts fish, shrimp, and crabs from our two fishing boats and not from other fishing boats, can he? How could he possibly do such a thing?"

Sun Tie gritted his teeth.

This situation puts them and Ma Ping in a very passive position, but it would be naive of Ding Chongshan and Ding Xiaoxiang to think they and Ma Ping could be so easily dealt with. Another crucial point is that Ding Chongshan is running a business here.

It's impossible to put up a sign, or to ask every person who comes to sell fish, shrimp, and crabs if they were the ones who sold to you and Ma Ping before.

There is a possibility that you might receive fish, shrimp, and crabs that other competitors are supposed to receive, which could potentially lead to conflicts with other competitors.

“You’re right, it’s really possible for this to happen. In fact, this is exactly what our competitors are worried about, because it would take away their market share. That’s why our competitors are so angry!”

Ma Ping couldn't help but laugh. He and Sun Tie were definitely under tremendous pressure in this matter, but the key issue was that what their competitors were really worried about was that Ding Chongshan would indiscriminately attack and steal their market share.

Otherwise, these people would never be so angry, and they would never have to curse at me and Sun Tie.

"We definitely need to be on high alert, but there's no need to worry too much about it. We'll just watch how Ding Chongshan incurs the wrath of his fellow fish, shrimp, and crab buyers at Shijiao Village Wharf!"

Sun Tie breathed a slight sigh of relief. The current situation was certainly very unfavorable for him and Ma Ping, but there was really no need to worry too much. It would not be easy for Ding Chongshan to accomplish this.

"One thing we need to figure out now is what kind of method Ding Chongshan will use to collect fish, shrimp and crabs here."

Ma Ping's smile vanished instantly. The biggest problem now was not knowing what method Ding Chongshan would use.

"Is there any need to say that? There's only one way to steal business: offer higher prices. Only by offering higher prices can you attract those who go out to sea to fish to come back and sell their fish."

Sun Tie had thought about this matter long ago.

Doing business can seem complicated, or even extremely complicated, but from another perspective, it's actually not that complicated at all; it's actually a very simple thing.

As long as the price offered is high enough, we can acquire any kind of fish, shrimp, or crab, and our competitors have no way to compete with us.

"Will Ding Chongshan really do that? Will he really offer such a high price? If that's the case, what can we do?"

Ma Ping's face immediately turned extremely ugly.

Sun Tie's method is very simple, but the key is that it is very useful.

If Ding Chongshan really uses this method, it will put enormous pressure on himself, Ma Ping, and even the entire dock and other people who buy fish, shrimp and crabs. It could even be an insurmountable method.

"If Ding Chongshan really uses this method, we only have one option: to raise the price."

Ma Ping's face was as dark as the sky before a storm. There really was only one way to deal with this kind of method: to offer higher prices in order to hedge and to get more fish and crabs from other people.

(End of this chapter)