1983Fishing and Farming between Mountains and Seas

Chapter 312: Jade Giant Clam is Really Valuable
If you want to sell the jadeified giant clam, it is most appropriate to go directly to Pang Jiahui.

Liang Ziqiang had already memorized Pang Jiahui's phone number, so he didn't need to go back and look for it.

He was also very sure that Pang Jiahui must be interested in jadeified giant clams. They had talked about it verbally before, and it was also mentioned in the booklet he gave him.

After the call was connected, Liang Ziqiang was surprised. The person who answered the phone this time was not Pang Jiahui, but a woman's voice, who sounded not too old.

However, after hearing his purpose, the other party asked him to wait. In the blink of an eye, the voice on the other end of the phone sounded again, and it was Pang Jiahui.

Liang Ziqiang secretly breathed a sigh of relief. In fact, what he was most afraid of was that Pang Jiahui would not be in Yanghai recently, but in Hong Kong Island. After all, it seemed that Pang Jiahui had a home in both places.

Normally it was fine, but this time he really couldn't afford to delay! If he had to wait for ten days or half a month for Pang Jiahui to return to Yanghai, then the opportunity would be gone, and he would have to pay an extra two thousand yuan for the boat.

"A Qiang? Your call comes at a perfect time. I'm packing my things and preparing to go to Hong Kong Island this afternoon." Pang Jiahui recognized that it was Liang Ziqiang and said on the other end of the phone.

Liang Ziqiang's heart skipped a beat. This was a bad time. The other party left Yanghai in the afternoon. Even if he rushed to the city right now, when he arrived, the other party might already be on the way to Hong Kong Island!

"It's like this, Brother Hui, I must have something good to tell you..." Liang Ziqiang quickly got straight to the point.

"Are there any more beads? Are they abalone beads or flame beads this time?" Pang Jiahui asked casually, but his tone was not so urgent. "Is it urgent for you? If not, it doesn't matter how long the beads are left at home. Wait a week or two when I return to Yanghai from Hong Kong Island, and then you can come to find me."

Liang Ziqiang was afraid that he would say this, and you can imagine how depressed he was at this moment. But he still continued to tell the other party:

"Neither. This is a very hard-to-get jade giant clam, a complete one!"

Pang Jiahui's casual tone changed a bit:

"Giant clam? Are you sure it's jadeified? Giant clam shells are everywhere, but jadeified ones are different. They take thousands or tens of thousands of years to form. Do you really have one? How jadeified is it?"

"There's no doubt about it. As for the degree, except for the thin layer on the outside that looks like salt frost, the rest of the giant clam shell is white and translucent. The degree of jadeification should be 100%, right?" Liang Ziqiang said confidently.

"That's probably thousands or tens of thousands of years!" Pang Jiahui's voice became two degrees higher, "Is it very long?"

"It's quite big. I held it in my hands and weighed it. It must be more than 20 kilograms!"

"More than 20 kilograms?" Pang Jiahui stopped talking about giant clams and asked, "Where are you now?"

"In the village, I originally thought that I would definitely come to you first when I got this good thing, even if you asked me to deliver it to you this afternoon. Unfortunately, it will take another week or two for you to deliver it, and I can't just leave such a big and rare item at home, so I..."

Liang Ziqiang paused, his tone full of embarrassment.

Pang Jiahui's voice became more urgent:
"You don't have to go around looking for sellers! We've done business together many times before, so it's better to be familiar with the place. If you carry such a big thing outside, you might run into some traps!"

He seemed to be thinking about something, and soon made up his mind:
"It's not impossible for me to postpone the trip to Hong Kong Island for a day. So, you can take the boat now and come directly to the city. As for the location, why not go to Yuehai? We are familiar with the place anyway. I will ask Du Ziteng to find an empty box, and we can sit down and hand over the things and money. It won't take long!"

Hearing this, Liang Ziqiang finally breathed a sigh of relief. It seems that the key is that the jade giant clam is heavy enough and attractive enough to make Pang Jiahui make a quick decision to change his itinerary.

In fact, if Liang Ziqiang really wanted to find another buyer on his own, it would not be that easy. It would probably take several days, and even if he found a new buyer, the opportunity to purchase a new ship would have been missed.

Liang Ziqiang’s best option is to quickly reach a deal with Pang Jiahui.

"How much do you think a white jade giant clam of this size would cost?" He tried to find out in advance over the phone.

"I haven't seen the quality in person, so it's hard to say the price. But I can be sure that if it is really a jade giant clam, this will definitely be the biggest deal between us so far! The last few times I bought abalone beads and flame beads from you, if I remember correctly, the prices were between one hundred and two hundred. A whole jade giant clam can't be only two hundred or three hundred! Don't worry, I do business for the sake of both parties' happiness, and I won't let you suffer a loss on the price!" Pang Jiahui guaranteed.

After the call, Liang Ziqiang left some money for phone bill as usual and immediately returned to the boat.

It's probably only around three in the afternoon now. If we drive faster, it will be enough for a round trip to the city.

At this time, Zhu Tianpeng was still sitting on the boat, guarding the giant clam in the cabin for him.

Liang Ziqiang briefly explained what happened after the phone call, and Zhu Tianpeng immediately expressed his willingness to accompany him to the city.

Although there was no catch this time and there was no need to sell the fish, Zhu Tianpeng's meaning was very clear. This thing looked quite valuable, so it would be safer to go into the city with multiple people.

The two men moored the boat at Sham Shui Po, placed the giant clams in a basket, covered it, and carried it all the way to the Moon Sea.

When they arrived at the restaurant, they asked Du Ziteng and found out that Pang Jiahui had arrived before them. It seemed that he was really anxious about this matter.

The basket was carried directly into the box.

When Pang Jiahui saw him, he got up from his chair, ran to the basket without saying a word, opened it and looked at the things inside.

"Wow, so big?" This time it was Du Ziteng who was standing by who exclaimed first, "Hey, Aqiang, I just came here to sell a batch of valuable lampreys last time. Not only are you attracting fish, but you're also attracting more and more wealth!"

Liang Ziqiang just chuckled and didn't explain. This time it actually had nothing to do with physical constitution or not. It was not the giant clam he discovered at all.

Pang Jiahui squatted down, took a few glances at it, and then took out the whole jade giant clam. He rubbed it like a newborn chubby baby, and couldn't let it go, muttering:

"The jade degree is indeed 100%, and the size is not small."

After a moment of intoxication, he focused his eyes and suddenly noticed that there was a big gap in the corner of the giant clam. In addition to being surprised, a bit of regret appeared in his eyes:

"What a pity! How could such a large piece be damaged? You are lucky to have encountered such a large jade giant clam, but it's a pity that you don't know how to mine it. It's such a waste of natural resources!"

Liang Ziqiang knew that the missing piece would definitely result in a significant loss of points, so he said helplessly:

"Giant clams are hidden under the reefs, and it's very difficult to dig them out. If you're not careful, you'll still break them. Fortunately, there's not much damage, and there's only one gap. If you use it to carve ornaments, it depends on how you carve it. If you handle it well, you can still carve out something good!"

"The limitations are much greater," Pang Jiahui sighed, taking over his words, "Of course, don't worry, it's not to the extent that it will be ruined because of this gap. But I won't hide it from you, if your giant clam didn't have this big gap, its value would be completely different from your previous beads. It wouldn't be worth a hundred or two hundred, but more than three thousand! Now..."

Pang Jiahui touched his chin and frowned in thought.

His thoughts made Liang Ziqiang very nervous.

Pang Jiahui was straightforward and decided without thinking too long:

"Two thousand! I'll give you two thousand and take this giant clam!"

Liang Ziqiang heaved a sigh of relief when he heard the number of two thousand. In any case, the purchase of the boat was settled.

But in a flash, he thought about it quickly and realized that it was not enough!

Now, adding up all the savings on hand, the total amount is about 8,300.

Adding the two thousand from the giant clams, the family fortune would quickly increase to ten thousand, three hundred.

It is indeed enough to buy that big ship. After deducting the ten thousand for the purchase cost, there is even three hundred left!

But it's not that simple.

It was almost the beginning of next month, which was the due date of his wife. He had to let his wife go to the hospital to give birth. He couldn't let his wife give birth at home while doing some housework like other villagers did. The midwife was also very simple. He just asked an elderly midwife in the village to warm the scissors over the fire and that was it...

Even if the hospital is cheap now, it still costs money! In addition, the family needs to eat and the children need to buy supplies. The big ship is in hand, the steel ship of more than 20 meters, the fuel consumption is very fierce, and the diesel fee is a lot...

Three hundred yuan is definitely not enough to cover the expenses for the next period of time.

Of course, in the past, my family was very poor and we had to live on sweet potato porridge and vegetable leaves. Many families in the village could not even afford a few dozen yuan, but they still had to give birth to the baby even if the wife got pregnant.

But Liang Ziqiang had already experienced a period of time when he had enough food at home and was not worried, and he really couldn't force himself to experience that feeling again.

Slowly, slowly, let yourself calculate carefully.

A few mouths to feed, a big steel ship consumes oil, a hospital giving birth consumes money...

In addition to the ten thousand in hand, you need to have at least another thousand yuan to feel at ease, right?

"Two thousand seven!" He made the decision on the spot, blurted out the price, and bargained.

There is 8,300 yuan in the family, and adding 2,700 yuan, it can make up exactly 11,000 yuan.

The extra thousand is reserved for recent expenses.

"Two thousand... seven?" Pang Jiahui felt that his train of thought was suddenly disrupted by him, and asked curiously, "Why must it be two thousand seven? This number is not an integer!"

"It's like this, I'm planning to buy a boat recently!" Liang Ziqiang didn't intend to hide it, he opened the window and said frankly, "It's a large steel ship. After all the calculations, I'm short of 2,700 yuan. Without this 2,700 yuan, I can't do anything!"

It would have been better if he hadn't said this. Once he said it, not only Pang Jiahui but also Du Ziteng looked strange.

Pang Jiahui looked at him, with a question mark on his forehead: ???
When other people do business, they negotiate the price based on the goods, and they set the price accordingly. Brother, are you trading based on demand?
How much money do you need, so sell it at that price? Even Pang Jiahui, who has been doing business for half his life, can't figure out this algorithm.

Liang Ziqiang also noticed that Pang Jiahui seemed to be in an awkward situation.

So he changed his words in time:
"Brother Hui, do you think it has to be an integer? I don't think it's necessary. Of course, it's not impossible to make it an integer. Then... three thousand?"

Pang Jiahui had just heard the number two thousand seven and was picking up the teacup to drink a sip of tea to adjust his thoughts, when he suddenly heard his next sentence. He didn't pay attention and choked up.

Du Ziteng quickly patted Pang Jiahui on the back and said to Liang Ziqiang:

"You've choked me! Let's stop making trouble and talk about a reasonable price!"

Liang Ziqiang feels that he has always been very serious!

He said, "The real price is still two thousand seven!"

Pang Jiahui took a deep breath and regained his composure:
"I can tell you're short of money. How about I make less, two thousand and two?"

"I also thought about asking the shipyard to charge 500 less, but they refused to reduce it even a penny. I have no choice. I can't buy the boat for 2700 less..." Liang Ziqiang said helplessly.

Pang Jiahui: “…”

In the end, Pang Jiahui was finally convinced by Liang Ziqiang on the spot, and even Du Ziteng tried to smooth things over:

"Forget it, Mr. Pang. You are a big businessman. Don't bother with this kid. Two thousand seven is two thousand seven. Consider it as a favor to him and help him raise money to buy a boat!"

Pang Jiahui had already reached into his bag to take out some money. He counted and found exactly 270 big unity notes. He handed them to Liang Ziqiang and emphasized with a bit of toothache:

"after……"

Liang Ziqiang took the money with one hand and kept his mouth busy:

"From now on, whether it's shellfish, conch pearls, or jade giant clams, I will never look for a second place outside and will contact Brother Hui first!"

Pang Jiahui rubbed his lips, but his words were interrupted, what else could he say?

However, Liang Ziqiang's statement was still very useful to him:
"Well, it's okay if I earn less. It's not a big deal. Your luck has never disappointed me. Keep bringing me good stuff next time!"

Until Liang Ziqiang put the money into his pocket and walked out of Yuehai Restaurant, Zhu Tianpeng still felt like he was in a dream.

"The deal is done just like that? Two thousand seven hundred yuan, and he just gave it to you like that?" Zhu Tianpeng couldn't believe it.

There were actually people who could bargain so well, and the key was that they succeeded. This really opened his eyes.

"Don't worry, even if it's 2,700, he'll still make some money!" Liang Ziqiang said soberly, "He's willing to postpone his return to Hong Kong Island just for this giant clam, which shows that this thing is very attractive to him. For such an attractive thing, I only asked him for a few hundred dollars more, which should be quite generous, right?"

Zhu Tianpeng stood there stupidly for a moment: It seems to make sense?

Liang Ziqiang did not go back to Sham Shui Po directly, but walked towards the department store nearby.

"Are you going shopping?" Zhu Tianpeng asked.

"Buy some food and some small things you need."

When I entered the department store, I bought some rice, noodles, and flour as usual, and asked the salesperson:

"Two things. Hairpins for hair, a little prettier, should be available, right? And a water bottle for drinking water, should be available, right?"

The salesperson glanced at him:
"There are hairpins, but I can't guarantee whether they look pretty or not. You have to decide for yourself. There are two kinds of kettles, you can take a look at both!"

When the things were brought to him, Liang Ziqiang looked at them carefully. There were pink butterfly-shaped hairpins. Although they seemed a bit rustic from the perspective of later generations, they were considered good things in that era.

As for the kettle, one was a flat aluminum kettle with a strap, but long-term use of aluminum kettles might not be good for the body, so he refused. The other was a ceramic kettle with a plastic lid, and there were floral patterns on the ceramic.

Liang Ziqiang asked for ceramic ones.

Although Chen Xiangbei bought new clothes after getting married, she still habitually tied her black hair with a red rope. She started tying her hair with the red rope when she was a daughter.

Although any simple thing would look refreshing and beautiful on her head, Liang Ziqiang felt that if she changed to a beautiful hairpin, it would definitely make her look more charming.

As for the kettle, the one she had been using from her parents' home had been taken over by him last month, so it was a good opportunity to replace it with a nice new one.

The day after tomorrow is Chen Xiangbei’s birthday.

Last year he had thought about working hard to earn money and buy her the three golds as soon as possible;

This year he thought again that he could buy a tape recorder as the first of the “three turns and one ring”.

As a result, I now have over ten thousand yuan in my hands, but I am still extremely poor. All the money has to be used for urgent and important matters.

The three golds are still out of reach, and even a tape recorder is still out of reach.

I can only choose these two things, the butterfly hairpin and the ceramic kettle, as her birthday gifts.

(End of this chapter)