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

Chapter 1563 A Fatal Blow?
"Can they really collect that many?"

Ma Baozhu only had such thoughts, but she didn't really think there would be such an opportunity to receive so many crabs.

"Now it seems that not only is there a chance, but the chance should be quite significant."

"There shouldn't be any major problems with 200,000 jin or even 250,000 jin of crabs."

“It’s really not easy to get this many crabs from other places or other docks. The problem is that this is the dock of Shijiao Village. Not only are there many fishing boats going out to sea here, but most of them are also very big.”

"We have received about 100,000 catties of crabs in the past two days, and we will definitely continue to receive crabs in the next week or so. Although it will not be comparable to the amount received in the past two days, it will certainly not be much less."

Ding Xiaoxiang is very confident that she can really do it.

"If we get 200,000 catties of crabs, we're really going to make a lot of money this time!"

Ma Baozhu laughed immediately, saying that when it came to business, she was definitely no match for Ding Xiaoxiang. If Ding Xiaoxiang said she could collect so many crabs, she definitely could.

"Judging from the current situation, it's really not too difficult for us to get so many crabs. The only thing we're a little worried about is whether the crabs we get can survive at the fish farm."

Ding Xiaoxiang wasn't worried about that at all. Her only concern was whether the crabs here could survive.

"There really is no problem!"

"These crabs were just caught from the sea and have been back at the dock for a short time. They are very lively. If they hadn't been kept here with their claws tied, many of them would probably have fought and died. But now all of these crabs are tied up."

"They put the net bags into the seawater one by one. As I just mentioned, the seawater here is very deep and the current is fast enough."

"From any perspective, they can absolutely be fed, and they can be fed for a very long time!"

Ma Baozhu was very confident that there would be absolutely no problem in raising them, and that they would be able to keep them alive for a considerable period of time.

Ding Xiaoxiang knew that Ma Baozhu had been working at the fish farm for a while and was very experienced. She even knew more about this than she did. Since Ma Baozhu said she could raise them, she definitely could.

Ding Xiaoxiang glanced at Ma Baozhu and then at Ding Ailian. Everyone had been busy all day, and now they needed to make the most of their time to get some sleep, because they would definitely have to keep busy the next morning.

It's quiet at night.

The fish rafts were brightly lit.

The dock was brightly lit.

The shops on both sides were brightly lit, and many people were busy at work.

Ma Ping and Sun Tie sat on the sofa with gloomy faces. The tea on the table in front of them had long since gone cold, but neither of them had any appetite for it.

"Has Ding Chongshan gone mad? He bought tens of thousands of catties of crabs yesterday, and he bought tens of thousands of catties of crabs again today. And it looks like he bought even more crabs today than yesterday."

Ma Ping's face was extremely pale, without the slightest hint of a smile.

"Correct!"

"Ding Chongshan has received a lot of crabs in the past two days. I estimate that if you add them all up, it will be no less than 100,000 catties."

"The prices they were bought at weren't low. Yesterday's prices were already high, and today's prices are even higher."

Sun Tie nodded.

"With so many crabs piling up in his hands, and at such high prices, I reckon Ding Chongshan is really in big trouble this time."

Ma Ping gloated.

Ding Chongshan did receive a lot of crabs in the past two days, but these crabs were not purchased at the normal market price; rather, they were purchased at prices significantly higher than the market price, especially the crabs he purchased today, which were at an exceptionally high price.

Tens of thousands of catties of crabs wouldn't have much of an impact, but now it's a hundred thousand catties of crabs, and judging from the current situation, we'll have to continue to buy them at even higher prices.

"Ding Chongshan is now in a dilemma. He paid such high prices to buy crabs here yesterday and today. The price of crabs will definitely continue to rise tomorrow and in the next few days."

"Even if it doesn't continue to rise tonight, it has to be exactly the same as today's."

"what!"

"Such a high price! It won't be easy to sell these crabs. I reckon it will be a very troublesome matter."

"Humph!"

"We originally thought Ding Chongshan was a good businessman, but now it seems he's just an old man who only acts on impulse! There's nothing to worry about! We really wasted our time."

As Ma Ping spoke, a smile crept onto his face. The lack of crabs he hadn't been able to collect in the past few days had indeed put him under some pressure, especially since his business partners were furious about not getting any crabs and were calling to ask when they would receive them. This was the real reason why he and Sun Tie had looked so grim earlier. However, the thought of Ding Chongshan paying such a high price for so many crabs immediately brought him a sense of relief.

"Ma Ping."

"Let's not get too excited about this too soon, or rather, I think Ding Chongshan is very likely to make a lot of money from this."

Sun Tie shook his head.

At first, especially yesterday, and even this morning when we saw Ding Chongshan buying these crabs at such a high price, Ma Ping and I had the same thought: Ding Chongshan was in trouble this time. With such a high price, he shouldn't expect to make any money. But now we realize that things might not be as we imagined.

"How is that possible?"

"Ding Chongshan bought these crabs at such a high price, and with so many crabs, it's impossible for him to sell them in a short time. Even if he could sell them, the price wouldn't be higher than the price he paid."

Ma Ping shook his head, thinking Sun Tie was overthinking things. Buying so many crabs at that price would be extremely costly and put a lot of pressure on them. No one would pay that price to buy crabs from Ding Chongshan now, especially since the fishing ban had already ended.

It's impossible for anyone to pay a high price for fish, shrimp, and crab.

"Ma Ping."

“Normally, this is how it would be. Just like you said, no one would pay such a high price for these crabs. But this is not the normal situation.”

Sun Tie sighed deeply.

Generally speaking, once the fishing moratorium ends, fishing boats flock out to sea to catch fish, shrimp, and crabs. When they return to the dock, the quantity of fish, shrimp, and crabs will be very large. The price of fish, shrimp, and crabs is unlikely to rise; at most, it will be the same as the normal price. However, in most cases, the price will drop a little.

It's highly unlikely that anyone would pay a higher price, especially the price Ding Chongshan paid for these crabs. The key issue is that this isn't a normal situation.

"What's wrong with the current situation? I think it's perfectly normal."

"Sun Tie".

"There's no need to worry about this, we don't even need to worry about Ding Chongshan targeting us."

"They have indeed taken a lot of our crabs these past two days, and they even dealt with those boat captains who have been doing business with us for over ten years, taking these crabs from them."

"So what? The more crabs we collect, the more money we have to spend, and the tighter our cash flow becomes."

"Zhao Dahai will indeed support Ding Chongshan, but he can't support him like this forever. Also, if the money is going to be lost, it can't keep going like this forever; no one can withstand that."

"For the next week to ten days, Ding Chongshan must buy crabs at the dock at today's price or even higher every day."

"If he lowers the price, his reputation at the dock will be affected; if he doesn't lower the price, he'll end up spending more and more money."

"Either of these points would be a fatal blow to Ding Chongshan, so we don't need to worry about them at all."

"We can just wait for Ding Chongshan to kill himself."

Ma Ping was beaming with pride.

When I first saw Ding Chongshan doing business here, especially when he spread rumors that he wanted to take away the businesses that I and Sun Tie had. I was really worried.

After studying it carefully for a long time, I found that there really wasn't any good solution.

Now, there's no need for me and Sun Tie to even think about how to deal with him; Ding Chongshan will collapse on his own.

"Ma Ping!"

"This is really not how you imagine it."

"If Ding Chongshan only had 10,000 to 20,000 catties, or even 50,000 catties of crabs, there wouldn't be any problem. But as you said, it really will crush the funds in Ding Chongshan's hands."

"But Ding Chongshan already has 100,000 jin of crabs in hand, and he will be able to receive even more crabs in the next few days."

Sun Tie shook his head.

Ma Ping was stunned for a moment, then looked at Sun Tie and found that Sun Tie's expression was very serious, and he really didn't seem to be joking.

"Sun Tie! What exactly are you trying to say?"

Ma Ping's heart skipped a beat. He was completely confused, but he also felt that something was really wrong.

"Ding Chongshan has collected so many crabs, which means that the number of crabs on the market has suddenly become very small."

“We’ve been in business for so many years, and we know very well that once this happens, there’s only one outcome: the price of crabs will go up.”

"Ding Chongshan did spend a lot of money to buy so many crabs, but if he doesn't sell them for the time being, as I just said, the number of crabs on the market will become very small, and the price will definitely rise."

"At that time, Ding Chongshan would not only not lose money, but would actually make money, and quite a lot of money at that."

Sun Tie initially shared Ma Ping's opinion that Ding Chongshan was definitely in for a lot of trouble.

But upon closer examination, it becomes clear that something is truly amiss. Judging from the current situation, Ding Chongshan is unlikely to lose money; on the contrary, he will make a profit, and quite a lot of it.

"impossible!"

"How could this be? How could Ding Chongshan make money? The price he paid for these crabs was extremely high, far exceeding the normal market price. There's absolutely no way he could make a profit."

Ma Ping suddenly shouted loudly.

"Why is it impossible?"

"If it was impossible at the beginning, especially yesterday, it is now possible."

Sun Tie could only manage a wry smile. Ma Ping's strong reaction actually proved that Ma Ping had figured out that Ding Chongshan really knew how to make money, and could make a lot of money at that.

"Dry!"

"You're right! Ding Chongshan really can make money, and he really has a good chance of making a lot of money."

Ma Ping took a deep breath to calm his extremely angry mood. He had to admit that Sun Tie was right. Ding Chongshan could really make money this time, and a lot of money at that.

"Could it be that Ding Chongshan had already planned this all along?"

"Ding Chongshan only wants to buy the crabs from the dock; he doesn't care about the other fish and shrimp."

“We all think that Ding Chongshan is likely to lose money, and possibly a lot of money. Today we are just raising the price a little, but not too much, in order to force Ding Chongshan to pay a higher price to buy the crabs at the dock.”

"How come we've discovered that not only can we not cheat Ding Chongshan, but Ding Chongshan has actually made a lot of money from this opportunity?"

Ma Ping couldn't take it anymore as he talked. He never expected things to turn out this way. He never imagined that things would turn out like this, and that it would become a situation that neither he nor Sun Tie, nor even their colleagues at the dock, wanted to see.

Why did this happen?

Very simple!
Once Ding Zhongshan has a certain number of crabs, and the number of crabs on the market decreases significantly, the price of crabs will rise. At that time, Ding Zhongshan will be able to sell the crabs he has collected and make a profit, and a considerable one at that.

Ma Ping suddenly stood up and rushed out of the shop. He glanced at the fish rafts that weren't too far from the dock, and his face became even more grim.

“No one else can do this, but Ding Chongshan happens to have the qualifications to do it.”

"If it were us, we couldn't do this even if we wanted to!"

Sun Tie walked over to Ma Ping's side, and the two of them stared wide-eyed at the brightly lit fish rafts not far away. They knew that all the crabs that Ding Chongshan had collected were being kept at the fish rafts.

(End of this chapter)