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

Chapter 1565 Giving the Newbies Some Training?
"Sun Tie!"

"Is there even a need to say it? Things are definitely not right now, and they're definitely not right at all!"

"In any case, we certainly have no way to stop Ding Chongshan from establishing himself in this place and starting to do business here."

"We're sure to make a fortune this time with so many crabs."

"Ding Chongshan quickly established himself at the dock."

"This is something no one can stop; we can only watch helplessly as it happens."

Ma Ping let out a long sigh.

The situation is now very clear. Ding Chongshan has firmly established himself through this crab harvest, and he's very firmly in control. No matter how much he, Sun Tie, and the other dockworkers don't want this to happen, it's all in vain.

Sun Tie was right; Ding Chongshan has now established a firm foothold in the situation.

Ding Chongshan is very likely to take away a significant portion of the market share that the two of them have here.

"A significant portion of the crabs Ding Chongshan received in the past two days came from the boat captains who had worked with us in previous years."

“Ding Chongshan has already done business with these people and made contact with them. When they return from fishing at sea, as long as Ding Chongshan’s price is higher than ours, even if it’s just a little higher, their downstream customers will sell to Ding Chongshan. Even if we arrive late, they will sell directly to Ding Chongshan, even if the price is the same as ours.”

As Ma Ping spoke, his expression turned extremely ugly.

This was a very troublesome matter. Taking advantage of this crab harvest, and the high price offered for crabs, Ding Chongshan and many other boat captains made their first business deal.

Things in this world are never easy the first time, but they get easier the second, third, and fourth time.

Now Ding Chongshan and his group are on the same starting line.

It will become increasingly difficult to obtain fish, shrimp, and crabs from the boat captains who have cooperated with me in previous years.

"Does that mean we have absolutely no solutions?"

"Is this really all we can do but watch helplessly?"

Sun Tie was furious.

The current situation is truly frustrating for both Ma Ping and me.

"Method?"

"I really want to think of some good ways to deal with Ding Chongshan, but judging from the current situation, there really is no way to deal with Ding Chongshan."

Ma Ping smiled wryly. The two of them made a lot of money from their business here every year, and they certainly didn't want to just watch Ding Chongshan take away their business.

However, there is really no good way to deal with this kind of thing, not even the slightest way. When doing business reaches a certain point, it really comes down to everyone's true abilities. If you have the ability, especially if you have a lot of capital, your competitors really don't have any good ideas or methods.

This is the situation the two of them are facing now.

"Ma Ping."

“I think our good days are over. From now on, we have to come here earlier every day to collect fish, shrimp and crabs, and negotiate with these boat captains as soon as possible. Otherwise, Ding Chongshan will take away our business in no time.”

"We can't just stand by and watch Ding Chongshan snatch away a business worth millions or even more than ten million a year, can we?"

Sun Tie became ruthless.

Over the past few years, Ma Ping and I have been doing very well in our business. We no longer need to come to the dock to collect fish, shrimp and crabs ourselves. We hire others to do these jobs. The two of us can earn millions or even more than ten million a year just by staying in the company or even at home and looking at the daily accounts.

Some of the boat captains hadn't seen each other much throughout the year.

But now it's different. I have to come to the dock every day to deal with these boat captains, I have to bargain with them, and I have to buy as much fish, shrimp and crab as possible from them.

This is absolutely what Ma Ping and I must do now. If we don't do it, it won't be long before Ding Chongshan takes away all the businesses we have.

"Damn it!"

"Who could have imagined this? Who could have imagined that we would have to do this kind of work again after so many years?"

Ma Ping nodded helplessly. It seemed that he and Sun Tie really had to do this. If they didn't, Ding Chongshan could easily snatch away their business like cutting melons and vegetables.

"If this continues, we will become a laughing stock among our dockworkers."

Sun Tie slapped the back of his head hard. He and Ma Ping hadn't been to the docks for many years, but now they had to go back to their old ways. Others would laugh at them for this, but they had no choice. For money and to maintain their market share, they had to do this.

Sun Tie and Ma Ping glanced at the brightly lit fish rafts, then turned to look at Ding Chongshan's brightly lit shop next to the dock. They remained silent for a long time before turning back to their shop, sitting down, and quietly drinking tea, waiting for dawn and for the fishing boats to return to the dock to see if they could catch any fish, shrimp, or crabs.

It's getting light.

As the sun slowly rose, the entire dock became incredibly lively, with one fishing boat after another returning from the sea.

Ding Xiaoxiang was having breakfast with Zhong Cuihua and Huang Jintao. The seafood porridge with salted fish was very simple, but delicious.

"You don't need any help today?"

Zhong Cuihua pointed to the dock.

Ding Xiaoxiang smiled and shook her head. She had agreed yesterday that she would go to the fishing boat today to help with business negotiations, but just about an hour ago, her father, Ding Chongshan, called to say that it wasn't necessary for the time being and that she should call him if she really needed help.

"Why is that? Why don't you need help?"

Huang Jintao found it very strange and didn't know what was going on. She thought that Ding Xiaoxiang would have to go to the dock to help with the work and deal with the boat captains, so Ding Xiaoxiang would definitely be needed.

"Second Grandma."

"I don't know what happened, but I think the main thing is that I really don't need to do this."

Ding Xiaoxiang smiled and shook her head. That's what they said last night, but if they told me not to go today, then I might as well not go at all.

"These past two days I've been doing business at the dock, especially since our family is offering relatively high prices for the crabs that come back from the sea."

"The news must have spread a long time ago; those who go out to sea to fish all know about it now."

"Who wouldn't want to make more money?"

“Any fishing boat that catches crabs, whether they are big or small, will definitely want to sell them to my dad.”

"I estimate that the price offered today will not be low."

"There's no need for each fishing boat to borrow another to negotiate prices with the captains; we just wait for them to come to us."

"They're all doing business at the shops, so I don't need to help them at all."

Ding Xiaoxiang didn't know the details of the situation, but she guessed it was at least directly related to the reason she had mentioned.

Zhong Cuihua and Huang Jintao thought about it and realized that it was true. If they were just discussing business at the shop, they wouldn't need Xiao Xiang to go there to help. But once they were at the dock, with so many fishing boats, it would definitely be safer to have one more person. Besides, business could be discussed much faster.

"The prices offered over the past two days have been quite high, and this news has definitely spread throughout the entire port."

"Ding Xiaoxiang, you're right. It's definitely the same. We need to find a way to make more money. We'll sell to whoever offers the highest price. Once those boat captains find out, they'll definitely come knocking on our door. Nobody wants to turn down money."

Zhong Cuihua smiled and took a sip of seafood porridge.

It's actually that simple.

"Correct!"

"Everything is difficult at the beginning! Doing business is the same. We've already passed the most difficult stage, and it will definitely be easier from now on. There's really no need to have every fishing boat go on board. At least we don't need to do that for this crab harvest."

Ding Xiaoxiang thought about it and realized there was another possibility.

"The business here at the docks actually belongs to my dad and his family no matter what. After we take it over, my brother and his family will definitely take over. When we divide the family property later, my brother and his family will take over."

"Although my eldest and second eldest brothers are good at business, they have been working in companies in big cities for many years and have spent very little time at home. They certainly don't have enough experience in this area."

"Now that we've collected fish, shrimp, and crabs in the past two days, business here is very easy to discuss."

"My dad will probably consider having my eldest or second eldest brother take over this matter and talk business with these boat captains. If you really want to gain knowledge and experience, you definitely have to do it yourself."

"You might suffer a small loss, but if you don't suffer losses or get cheated, you'll never learn these things, right?"

Ding Xiaoxiang thought it was very likely that her father, Ding Chongshan, thought it was a good learning opportunity last night or early this morning, so he simply told her that she didn't need to help and asked her eldest brother, Ding Jie, or her second brother, Ding Weijun, to do it.

"Yo!"

"That's really a great method! You're right! No matter what it is, you have to do it yourself to know the key points and how to handle these things."

Huang Jintao immediately nodded. It was indeed true. If one didn't stand on one's own, one would never grow up. It was perfectly normal and not surprising at all for Ding Chongshan to have such thoughts and to do such a thing for Ding Jie and Ding Weijun.

"Xiao Xiang".

“There is nothing wrong with what your father did. I think we really need to give your older brothers a chance so they can learn how to run a business successfully.”

"But these boat captains are all formidable. They are all very experienced. If they see that it is your elder brother Ding Jie and Ding Weijun, they might actually have some wicked ideas."

"Should you go over there and keep an eye on things?"

Zhong Cuihua was a little worried.

Ding Chongshan's approach is perfectly reasonable. Everyone who wants to truly stand on their own must have this kind of experience and do this kind of thing.

However, the boat captains at the dock are all shrewd and cunning, and they are not easy to deal with.

Dealing with these people requires a lot of shrewdness; you have to be extremely vigilant. However, simply being vigilant doesn't guarantee success; you also need the necessary skills.

Although Ding Jie and Ding Weijun are older than Ding Xiaoxiang and are considered her older brothers, the problem is that neither of them has actually done business with Ding Chongshan in recent years.

Dealing with these shrewd old boat captains at the docks is no easy task.

"Yo!"

"How could I have forgotten about this?"

Huang Jintao slapped her knee, suddenly becoming worried.

Zhong Cuihua was absolutely right; every single one of these boat captains was incredibly cunning.

Collecting fish, shrimp, and crabs may seem simple, but it really requires a lot of experience. You need to be able to distinguish between good and bad fish, shrimp, and crabs, and you need to pay attention to whether they are alive, or whether they are fat or thin.

If it's ten or eight pounds, or a hundred or so pounds, it's not difficult to tell the difference. But if it's several hundred pounds, or even several thousand or ten thousand pounds...

To see clearly, you really need a lot of experience; otherwise, you simply can't do it.

“Grandma and Grandma are right. My brother and his friends don’t have much experience yet, so they might be able to do this.”

"If the boat captain sees the two of them, he'll definitely try to bully them and take advantage of them."

Ding Xiaoxiang smiled and nodded. This kind of thing is actually very normal, and even if you are bullied, even if you find out later that something is wrong, there is nothing to say.

Doing business is essentially a one-time transaction. Once you've paid and settled the accounts, the matter is considered closed. If you lack the discernment to distinguish between good and bad deals and get cheated, or something similar, you simply have to accept it without question. There's no better way, and certainly no reason to seek revenge later.

Seeing that Zhong Cuihua and Huang Jintao were even more worried after hearing what she said, Ding Xiaoxiang smiled and said that her eldest brother, second brother Ding Jie, and Ding Weijun would never encounter such a thing.

(End of this chapter)