Struggle Life in the 1970s

The next morning, more than sixty workers gathered at the fish pond. Chu Ye and Mu Jiajun got up early, poured out the ice in the basin and stored it in the cold storage, and then collected the plastic sheet on the site to make room.

After yesterday's day, the workers got busy after they arrived. Needless to say, Mu Jiajun and a group of strong men cleaned out the fish pond here. It will take another half a day to clean out the fish pond in the distance.

Chu Ye thought about it. In the morning, many people would go out to visit relatives and friends. There would be more people on the street, so it was a good time to sell things. Therefore, she told these strong men not to go to the distant fish pond. She reassigned work for them here, and she cooked fish balls and put them in a small pot. Then she took a pair of chopsticks and arranged for Mu Jiajun to stay here to watch. She rode the tricycle, filled the car with fish balls, and went to the town.

It was after the New Year and there were many pedestrians on the street. Most of them were children jumping in front, while adults walked behind carrying gift boxes. Some people held New Year's goods in one hand and held their children in the other hand, muttering something like "don't let the children run around."

"Selling fish balls - selling fresh fish balls - healthy and delicious -" The loud voice pierced through the void, and for a moment, people looked over in surprise.

Fish balls? The name sounds like fish balls, nothing special.

At this time, Chu Ye's tricycle was parked at a busy intersection, and it was very eye-catching with people coming and going.

Chu Ye remained calm and even raised her voice, "Freshly baked fish balls - sweet and delicious without bones - not only do the elderly and children love to eat them, but they are also very prestigious when given as gifts during the Chinese New Year -"

Some people rolled their eyes at this stunt and quickly left with their things, while others were stopped by curious children and stood there to watch the fun.

Chu Ye stepped up his firepower, "New Year's gift - the first ten people who buy can try it for free! If it doesn't taste good, you don't have to pay -"

Not many people were fooled by her words. After all, her intentions were too obvious and people were always skeptical about unexpected things.

However, the title of free tasting can also attract attention. There are always some adults who will be tripped by greedy children. At this time, a middle-aged man holding a fruit box looked helpless, and beside his legs was a little boy, who was white and fat, like a white dough ball.

The little boy stared at the tricycle, and when he saw clearly that there were unappetizing white meatballs in a plastic bag inside, he curled his lips, pulled the man's trouser leg with disinterest and was about to walk out.

"Hey, kid, this is fish balls. Have you eaten them before?" Chu Ye took the initiative to strike up a conversation with a smile. She knew that many people were looking at this side at this moment. This was her first customer of the day. If these two people took a look and turned away, then the crowd watching not far away would also disperse.

She had to keep these two guests.

"I've never eaten it." The child said in an impatient tone. He didn't see it clearly from a distance and thought it was something delicious. When he got closer, he found out it was meatballs, which didn't look delicious!

The man smiled apologetically and let the child pull his trouser leg. Seeing the two of them turning around to leave, Chu Ye quickly stopped them.

"Little boy, these are fish balls for you. Take them as a snack. They are free." The child turned around when he heard the words, and the man also stopped and waited for the child's reaction.

The little boy first looked at the two fish balls stuck on the chopsticks, frowned, and did not reach out to take them. He subconsciously felt that these white balls would not be very delicious.

"Little boy, take it and try it. It might be delicious." She smiled with a coaxing tone, then raised her head and looked at the adults, her smile unchanged, "Don't worry, there are no bones in this fish ball, and it's okay for children to eat it."

The child hesitated for a moment, but finally the thought of trying it overcame the thought that it was not tasty. He reached out to take the chopsticks from Chu Ye, thanked him softly, and walked away pulling the adult's trouser leg.

Chu Ye smiled and waved to the children. Seeing this, the people around them walked away quickly without any interest. However, some children saw that someone had received the food and clamored to try it.

The adult was so annoyed that he followed the child to the tricycle in distress, saying in a stiff tone, "Didn't you say we could try it? Let my child have one to try."

"Okay!" There was no displeasure on Chu Ye's face. His smile was like welcoming the God of Wealth. The visitor's expression softened a little. Chu Ye skewered the fish balls and handed them to the two children, one big and one small, beside him. The older one was sweet-mouthed and immediately thanked him after taking it. The younger one was a little timid and hid behind the older one after taking it, not daring to say a word.

Seeing that they had gotten a bargain, the adult turned around and took the two children away. Chu Ye sent the three away with an unchanged smile. After that, no one came over again. Chu Ye sighed lightly. The current situation seemed to have returned to the time when he had just set up the stall to sell fish. The beginning of anything is always difficult.

I don’t know if this truckload of fish balls can be sold today. If not, I will have to sell them elsewhere in the next few days.

Just at this moment, a pair of hurried footsteps came running over. Chu Ye looked up and saw the little boy who had tasted the food at the beginning was rushing towards him like a small cannonball. Behind him was the middle-aged man, who kept shouting at him to slow down and not to fall.

"Sister, I want some more fish balls." The little boy was still panting, but couldn't wait to speak first. He handed over the chopsticks in his hand, then looked at the car full of fish balls with eager eyes and swallowed his saliva.

He almost missed out on such delicious fish balls!

He quickly turned around and saw his father catching up with him. He quickly said, "Dad! Buy me fish balls! I want to eat fish balls!" Who did he inherit this temper that made him unable to walk when he saw food? The man behind him held his forehead with his hands, feeling quite disappointed. Finally, he spread his hands helplessly and said, "Okay, okay, I'll buy it for you."

After hearing what the child said, Chu Ye took the chopsticks with a smile, and skewered two fish balls from the small pot and handed them to him, "You are the first customer today, this is an extra gift from my sister."

"Great!" the child cheered, and did not forget to say thank you politely. He took the fish ball and ate it eagerly.

His father couldn't bear to see him like this, but thinking back to the fish balls his son had just handed to him for him to try, they were indeed very delicious. No wonder the child, who already liked eating fish, was so happy.

The little boy enjoyed the meal very much. The man looked at Chu Ye and asked about the price.

"Our bag contains thirty fish balls, about one pound, and one bag costs two dollars and fifty cents." Chu Ye responded with a smile, his face full of sincerity.

The man frowned slightly and looked at the child beside him. The child also looked up and looked back at him with a pleading look. The man did not speak for a while.

"Our fish balls are made with sea bass meat, which has good quality and tastes great. It also takes a lot of effort to make, so the price is indeed a bit expensive." Chu Ye explained in detail, and the man's brows relaxed after he finished speaking.

Chu Ye continued, "And you can take these fish balls. They are very good to eat when visiting relatives and friends or for your family. Just boil water and put them in a pot when you go back. A simple fish ball soup is ready. It can be eaten by both the elderly and children. It is not only nutritious, but you don't have to worry about fish bones."

The child finished all the fish balls once again, but he still felt it was not enough, so he pulled his father's trouser leg and begged him to buy more.

The man did think the price was high just now, but after Chu Ye’s explanation, he felt that the price was in line with the quality. He also remembered that the relative he was going to visit had a daughter-in-law who was still in confinement after childbirth. Compared to the fruit plate, the fish balls seemed to be more suitable as a gift for health supplement.

"Okay, bring me two bags."

"okay!"

"Great!"

Two voices were heard. Chu Ye handed over the fish balls with a smile on her face. The other voice came from the child, who stared at the fish balls with star-like eyes and looked extremely happy.

Today was the day of the opening, and Chu Ye was happy. He wanted to give the child another fish ball, but was rejected unexpectedly.

"Sister, I've already eaten four for free. I can't eat any more. This is not good." The child obviously didn't eat enough, but he was also very polite and knew that three times the limit is enough. Chu Ye kept praising him for being a good child, and his father also looked down at him with approval.

Although the child is greedy, he knows his limits, which is great.

After the two of them left, the business slowly took off. Some people came over to try the food out of curiosity, some came to get free fish balls, and some people came back to buy after thinking the taste was good.

There are only a few people who are willing to buy directly after hearing the price. Most people frown and hesitate after hearing the price. Some people turn around and leave, cursing as they leave, saying what a piece of junk it is, why is it so expensive!
They didn't lower their voices when they spoke, as if they were deliberately speaking for Chu Ye to hear. Chu Ye didn't get annoyed when she heard it. She smiled even more and took the fish balls to introduce the nutritional value to those who were hesitant. "Actually, this pound of fish balls is about the same price as a pound of sea bass, but you don't have to worry about bones when eating fish balls, and in this kind of weather you can keep them for three or four days without any problems. Not to mention that they are also convenient to eat. You can eat them with water or cook porridge or dishes."

After her careful introduction, many people were willing to pay for the products. The rest of them hesitated and still thought it was expensive, but it didn't matter. These people gathered in front of Chu Ye's tricycle and had already attracted customers for her invisibly.

Near noon, Chu Ye closed the stall. The fish balls in the small pot had been sold out, and more than half of the fish balls in the carriage had been sold. In just one morning, he earned 65 yuan. Although it was not much, it was a good start.

When she returned, the workers had already left. Mu Jiajun was waiting for her at the entrance of the fish pond. When he saw the tricycle, he hurried over and asked her if she was tired or hungry.

"Not tired! I stayed in one place for half a day and didn't move much, but I'm a little hungry." After he finished speaking, his stomach growled again. Chu Ye lowered his head embarrassedly, and then suddenly remembered that he had taken the pot out, so Mu Jiajun couldn't cook.

She scratched her head and watched Mu Jiajun take the small pot, then pulled her back into the house with one hand. Then he arranged for everyone to sit down, and he took the rice pot, washed it, and started cooking.

"Oh, by the way. I fired two people when you were not here in the morning." Mu Jiajun said while holding a spoon, as if he remembered something.

(End of this chapter)