Chapter 444 Buying Fish Fry

Carrying two wooden buckets, I walked through most of the market before finally seeing a stall selling small fish.

There was a large wooden basin on the stall. There was a pile of big fish in the wooden basin, and next to it was a slightly smaller wooden basin with some small fish and shrimps in it.

There were a few customers picking fish in front of the stall, but they were all big fish in big pots, and no one looked at the small fish and shrimps at all.

In this era when oil and salt were very expensive, people usually put a few drops of oil in the fish and steamed it with a little ginger and garlic. Few people were willing to use oil to fry fish.

Therefore, those small fish and shrimps are not delicious when steamed, and the fish bones are small and numerous, so most people will not buy small fish and shrimps.

Qiao Ran walked in carrying two wooden barrels, bent down to look at the small fish and shrimps in the wooden basin, and asked: "Uncle, how do you sell these fish and shrimps?"

The stall owner was a very honest and honest-looking farmer. He was busy weighing fish and collecting money. When he heard that someone wanted to buy small fish and shrimp, he turned around and saw a little girl carrying a wooden bucket. I got up to buy fish, so I quickly responded:

"Girl, those fish and shrimps are all caught after my fish pond has dried up. Most people don't eat such small fish. They are usually used to sell big fish and send them out to dog owners to feed their dogs. Can you Do you want it all? If you want it all, I’ll charge you a hundred cents, it’s dozens of kilograms here!”

One hundred pennies is equivalent to about twenty yuan in modern currency, so dozens of kilograms of small fish and shrimps only cost twenty yuan, which is an absolute bargain.

If in modern times, these small fish and shrimps were coated in flour and egg liquid, fried in oil until both sides were golden and crispy, they would definitely make the kids next door hungry!

But no one is eating here! No one ate it!

Qiao Ran suppressed her inner complaints. When she saw that her uncle had finished selling a big fish, he fished out a handful of small fish in a small wooden basin to give to the buyer. Qiao Ran quickly said:

"Uncle, I want all these fish and shrimps! I want them all! Sell them all to me!"

When the uncle heard this, he couldn't let go of the fish and shrimp he was holding, and he stood there awkwardly.

The fish buyer was a fat man with a face full of meat. Judging from his appearance, he looked like a cook from a wealthy family.

When he saw a little girl stopping the fish seller from giving him small fish and shrimps, he immediately glared at her fiercely, his tone full of anger:

"Little girl! What are you causing trouble? There are so many fish and shrimps left that are not enough for you to buy? One hundred coins, can you afford it? Hey, fish seller, give me those fish and shrimps quickly! I have to rush back to cook them for the master. Here’s the food!”

There were many stalls selling fish in the market, and he chose this one so that the stall owner could give him some small fish and shrimps so that he could take them back and use them when the meals were ready for the masters. Once these small fish and shrimps are fried in oil, it becomes a fragrant dish that goes well with wine.

This little girl wanted to ruin his good deeds, so he naturally refused to do it. Being used to being arrogant, he immediately threatened the girl.

Upon hearing this, the fish seller hurriedly smiled apologetically at Qiao Ran and said, "Girl, wait a moment, I'll fill you with fish and shrimp later, and I'll charge you a few cents less."

Qiao Ran heard that the uncle who sold the fish didn't want to cause trouble, and she didn't want to embarrass him, so she nodded and watched the uncle stuff a large handful of fish and shrimp into a bamboo basket that the fat man had brought. He glanced at Qiao Ran, turned around and left with satisfaction.

"Girl, I'm sorry! Do you still want these fish and shrimps? I gave some to that man just now, so I'll charge you five cents less!"

The fish seller wiped his sweat and apologized to Qiao Ran sheepishly.

Qiao Ran nodded and shook her head: "Uncle, I want all these small fish and shrimps. No need to charge me less, I will still give you a hundred coins. Do you still have such small fish and shrimps at home?"

The uncle gratefully thanked Qiao Ran: "Thank you for your kindness and not caring about it. I also have a bucket of small fish and shrimps at home. I wanted to keep them to dry and cook them as vegetables in the winter when there is no food to eat. Girl, do you still want to buy them?" After buying so many small fish and shrimps, will the girl raise them or feed them to the dogs?"

Qiao Ran nodded: "Well, uncle, I'll buy the bucket you have at home too!"

The uncle asked curiously: "Girl, why did you buy so many small fish and shrimps? These things are too small and not delicious. Are they used to feed the dogs?"

Qiao Ran shook her head: "No. To tell you the truth, my family dug a fish pond to raise fish, so that we can often have fish to eat in the future."

The uncle nodded understandingly, thought about it, and then advised straightforwardly:

"Girl, you'd better let your family think about it! It's not easy to raise fish. Not only do you have to cut grass to feed the fish every day, but you also worry about the villagers' ducks and geese going down to eat the fry. There are also people who steal fish in the middle of the night. Conflicted people will secretly poison the fish pond, and all the fish in the pond will be poisoned to death!"

"These are all man-made disasters, as well as natural disasters. If it rains heavily for several days in a row and the water in the fish pond is too full, the fish will escape. Even if it rains for a long time, the fish pond dam collapses and all the fish will be killed. Rush out and lose all your money."

"My family has been raising fish for several years, and we have encountered all kinds of natural and man-made disasters. This year, I really don't want to raise them anymore, so I drained all the water in the fish pond, sold all the fish, and transferred the fish pond to others. You listen to me, it’s too tiring to raise a fish pond, so stop raising it!”

Qiao Ran couldn't help but smile a little sincerely when she saw that this uncle was so honest and honest, that he would rather risk failing to do business than persuade her family not to raise fish.

"Uncle, thank you for telling me this! However, this fish farming is unanimously agreed by the family, and I can't make a decision. I am only responsible for buying fish fry. You sell all the small fish and shrimps to me, and the other ones at home I want it too. Where do you live? Is it far from here?"

The uncle sighed, stopped trying to persuade, and said: "My surname is Fang, and my home is in Fangjia Village, Huangshan County. If the carriage is fast, it will take about two quarters of time, and the ox-cart will take almost half an hour."

Fangjiacun? Isn't it Sun Xiucai's sister's husband's family?

After estimating the distance, Qiao Ran thought for a while and said:

"My surname is Qiao. My family lives in Devil's Valley in the western suburbs. If it is convenient for you tomorrow, can you send the bucket of fish from home to my house? Then I will give you one hundred and twenty coins, and treat it as... Your carriage fare.”

When Uncle Fang heard that Qiao Ran said that her home was in Devil's Valley, his eyes widened: "Girl, are you from Devil's Valley? This is the same village where Sun Xiucai, our village's brother-in-law, Fang Chenghai, was hired as his wife?"

Qiao Ran nodded: "Yes, that's right, our Qingshui Village hired Sun Xiucai to be the tutor of the village school."

Uncle Fang was excited when he heard this and slapped his thigh: "Oh! So it's you! Everyone in our village has heard that not only did the people in Devil's Valley not contract the disease, they even had money to open a village school to educate All the children in the village can go to school. I heard that there is a girl named Qiao in the village who has excellent medical skills and cured Sun Xiucai's old disease for many years in front of our village chief!"

After saying that, he suddenly remembered something, looked at Qiao Ran up and down, and asked uncertainly: "Girl, you...couldn't you be that Miss Qiao?"