Under the blazing sun, Ye Yaodong trudged along, carrying a bucket of sea chicken feet, feeling quite unwilling to walk.
It only took ten minutes to reach the town by car, but on foot, it took an hour.
By the time he reached the roadside, he was already drenched in sweat.
Unfortunately, it was difficult to catch a passing car, so he could only walk while glancing around.
Luckily, he had picked a taro leaf on his way out to shield the bucket from the sun; otherwise, the sea chicken feet would spoil.
As he continued walking, he found himself right in the town without spotting a single car.
His poor legs—
He simply sat down in the shade of a tree to rest.
Just then, a tractor rattled past him from behind.
“Damn it, why is it that the tractor shows up just when I’ve walked this far?”
Was the heavens intent on making him walk? He was furious.
After drinking a couple of sips of water, he sat for only two minutes before getting up and heading directly to the Hongsheng Hotel.
It was only about 8:30; he wondered if it was open.
Forty years later, the Hongsheng Hotel still stood in the same spot, just remodeled to be more in line with modern tastes, shining even brighter than before.
To him, the Hongsheng Hotel looked a bit retro now, but it was still the best in the nearby county.
The hotels in the county looked shabby compared to the prestige of the Hongsheng, and there were plenty of amusements inside, for their town was a port city bustling with Taiwanese business people coming and going.
Ye Yaodong, wearing drab clothes and shabby shoes, didn’t feel ashamed as he boldly made his way inside.
But just as he pushed the door open, a security guard stopped him.
After explaining his situation, the guard told him to wait at the entrance while he fetched the person in charge.
To his surprise, a well-dressed man came over, took a glance at his bucket, and questioned, “Buddha’s hand?”
Ye Yaodong was taken aback and said, “Hey, wait! This isn’t Buddha’s hand; this is sea chicken feet!”
“What sea chicken feet? Are you talking about the aquatic duck feet? Don’t be ridiculous!”
Ye Yaodong narrowed his eyes at the man’s retreating figure and sighed inwardly.
Well, it was a wasted trip.
If he couldn’t sell it, he might as well take it back and eat it himself.
He was eager to try this “seafood from hell,” the “ham of the ocean.”
Just as he was about to leave with his bucket, the door swung open, and a young man stepped out.
“Hold on! Are you the one selling sea chicken feet?”
Ye Yaodong turned around and his eyes brightened.
Isn’t this Hongsheng’s young master, Hong Wenle? And behind him were two foreign friends.
This made him very happy—someone who would recognize its value!
“Yes! I risked my life to dig up a bucket of sea chicken feet yesterday, and to think that such a big hotel as yours has no one who recognizes them.”
The two foreigners stepped forward to look at the contents of his bucket, excitedly chattering in a language Ye Yaodong couldn’t comprehend.
He looked from side to side, trying to read their expressions, noticing they were quite happy, while Hong Wenle smiled and chatted with them.
The well-dressed man, who had just failed to recognize the goods, was also nodding and smiling behind them.
Waiting patiently, Ye Yaodong was grumbling inside, “Couldn’t you just speak Chinese first? Talk about the price? The sun is blazing, you know?”
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he stepped under the eaves.
“Wait, don’t go, I want this!”
“How much? If it's too cheap, I won't sell.”
“Money isn’t the issue; I just didn’t expect someone in our little place to know about sea chicken feet. And you seem to know quite a lot.”
“Not too much, really. Just let’s see how much you’re willing to offer,” Ye Yaodong said nonchalantly.
He wasn’t expecting any favors; he really just wanted to sell this bucket of goods.
“Sea chicken feet from rocky beaches in Spain, France, and Portugal are the best. The sea area of Costa da Morte in northwestern Spain produces the finest. I wonder how ours compare?”
Huh? What is that?
Ye Yaodong frowned as he listened to the man’s long explanation but hadn’t heard any price yet, which was frustrating.
“You’ll know if you taste it. Anyway, there’s this much. If you don’t want it, I’ll just take it home to eat.”
“Ah, no, I want it! How much do you plan to sell it for? How many pounds do you have?”
“There’s about 5.2 pounds here. Let’s say 20 a pound; I’ll give it to you for 100 altogether. It’s surely worth more abroad.”
He named a random price.
Twenty now was equivalent to two thousand later, and he wasn’t sure how much it was worth at the moment.
All he knew was that in decades to come, good quality would sell for hundreds of euros a pound.
Since this particular batch was overnight now, he was just tossing a number out there, hoping for the best.
It would be hard to find this in the market; he just wasn’t sure if the son of a wealthy family would haggle.
A hundred bucks was just pocket change for them.
The two foreigners looked like friends of Hong Wenle, and face was much more important than money.
He had seized on that point!
“Alright, I’ll take it all.”
Hong Wenle was decisive, pulling out cash and handing him ten large bills.
Then he instructed the others to take the bucket to the kitchen.
Ye Yaodong gleefully accepted, saying, “Thank you! You really know your stuff. Make sure to wash the bucket and return it to me; it may not be worth much, but I still need it to hold my things later.”
“Sure! If you have more sea chicken feet next time, bring them over. If you have other rare things, I’d also be interested.”
“Will do.”
With the money in hand, everything felt good!
Ye Yaodong stepped out onto the street, heart bubbling with joy, completely oblivious to the sun blazing down.
Spotting a stall selling fried dough cakes, he decided to buy one.
After walking so far, that bowl of porridge he had for breakfast was long gone.
Taking a bite, he found it crispy and delicious, the oiliness just right.
“Give me one more cake, cut it in half for me!”
He wanted to eat the filling more easily.
“Fry me a few more of the dough cakes, let me have… 16 of them.”
At a dime each, that amounted to a mere 1.6 yuan.
Having just made a fortune, he regarded this as a treat for the family, one for each.
Since he hadn’t split the family yet, it wouldn’t be good for his family to eat while the others looked on with watery mouths.
Better to give each one a piece; it was just a bite anyway, and it wasn’t expensive.
Wrapping each in newspaper, he placed them in the cleaned empty bucket.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the pastry stall nearby looking enticing.
A few days ago, he bought two packs of millet cakes, which were shared among the kids, leaving his wife without any.
He remembered she liked those a lot.
Checking his pocket, he decided to buy one for her, leaving it in the room to give to her after the children fell asleep!
Content, he glanced around at the shops, hoping to find a fabric store, but found more food stalls instead.
(End of chapter)