章 15: Chapter 13: Selling at a High Price
After greeting those customers, Zhao Xian had the kitchen bring up breakfast.
Huo Sining had been busy since early in the morning and was indeed hungry, so he naturally didn't hold back.
Huo Sining had planned to go get a bank card first, but Liu Qingdong's actions were clearly faster than Huo Sining's.
While still having breakfast, he began making calls, and as soon as he mentioned the Golden Softshell Turtle, the person on the other end immediately agreed to hurry over and take a look.
Perhaps feeling that the price of the Golden Softshell Turtle was too volatile, he was somewhat uneasy, making three or four calls one after another, all to his merchant friends.
No sooner had Huo Sining and the others finished breakfast than the people who came to look at the goods had already arrived outside the restaurant.
"Golden Softshell Turtle, I say Uncle Dong, how come you didn't tell me about this treasure at the warehouse just now?"
Upon hearing that Huo Sining had a Golden Softshell Turtle that weighed over ten pounds, Zhao Xian immediately widened his eyes discontentedly at Liu Qingdong, feeling that he had lost out.
This Golden Softshell Turtle was a treasure; if the price was right, he would also want to buy it.
Liu Qingdong glanced at Zhao Xian and sneered:
"Don't I know what kind of person you are? If I had told you about the Golden Softshell Turtle just now, you would have definitely driven the price down. Even I am not sure how to price this thing, do you think they would be willing to sell it to you cheaply? Come on, don't be greedy, just be happy with the clams you got, and know when to stop."
Feeling guilty, Zhao Xian touched his nose and muttered in a mixture of embarrassment and reluctance:
"Uncle Dong, why do you always have to undercut me? I was just asking. Besides, selling it to others is a sale, but selling it to me is considered selling cheaply?"
Watching the two bicker, Huo Sining found it interesting.
Although Zhao Xian was the owner of this restaurant and held some authority here, he was oddly fearful of the chef, Liu Qingdong.
Moreover, the two didn't seem like the typical boss and employee, but rather like a senior interacting with a junior.
A chef constantly challenging the owner, and Zhao Xian not getting angry, was truly fascinating.
After the meal, a middle-aged man entered the restaurant and eagerly asked upon seeing Liu Qingdong, "Uncle Dong, where's the Golden Softshell Turtle?"
Liu Qingdong pointed unhurriedly at the room behind the man.
The man, puzzled like a monk unable to find his head, pushed the door open only to see familiar faces, and his smile froze:
"Well done, Uncle Dong, you're being sneaky with me, calling so many people over. Are you afraid I'll drive the price down and you'll be at a loss, or what?"
Liu Qingdong walked into the room, saw the disapproving expressions on the faces of the other merchants, and couldn't help but laugh:
"Today, indeed Uncle Liu didn't handle things properly, but I dare say that everyone here is an old friend of Liu Qingdong. I have no reason to cheat any of you. Golden Softshell Turtles are rare, and a fifty-year-old one even more so; mainly, I wanted you all to come over and broaden your horizons. If we weren't so close, I wouldn't have called you."
After hearing what Liu Qingdong said, everyone in the room looked a bit better, and Liu Qingdong continued to explain:
"Honestly, I've never come across a Golden Softshell Turtle. I've seen a fifty-year-old one, but never a Golden Turtle; therefore, I don't have any reference for pricing it. If it were mine, I wouldn't sell it, I'd simply invite everyone over for a meal at my place. But this turtle belongs to a young friend, and the young lady is counting on selling this turtle to go to university. I really wouldn't feel right about cheating her."
"So what you're saying is, if we offer too low a price today, we'd be deceiving her, right?" a man said with a laugh.
"Alright, Old Liu, there's no need to play the sentiment card. Let's see the goods first. If it really is something good, we hearty men won't let a young lady suffer a loss!" someone said impatiently, urging them on.
Pleased with this remark, Liu Qingdong nodded contentedly and smilingly welcomed Huo Sining who was outside the door into the room.
Huo Sining was carrying a snakeskin bag, and under the watchful eyes of everyone, she boldly opened the bag.
A round, hard-shelled object rolled out; its golden-yellow shell still faintly wet, shone brilliantly under the light, as impressive as armor.
Goodness gracious, that thing must weigh at least ten pounds, right?
Seeing such a huge creature, everyone inside the room was incredibly surprised, their eyes widening instinctively as they swallowed their saliva covertly.
Before anyone could ask, Liu Qingdong had already fetched an electronic scale, placed the Golden Softshell Turtle on it, and my, it weighed a hefty sixteen and a half pounds.
With the Golden Softshell Turtle on the ground, several Taotie hurriedly crowded around it.
Nobody had ever seen such a large creature, and they couldn't help but be a bit curious.
One of the men reached out to flip the turtle over, but just then, the turtle suddenly stuck its head out.
The Golden Softshell Turtle had been uncomfortable inside the snakeskin bag; Huo Sining had just untied the vines that bound it, and it was feeling pleased when suddenly someone came over trying to fiddle with it, which instantly angered it.
An enraged Golden Softshell Turtle can be quite terrifying; once a turtle gets vicious, it won't let go after biting.
There's a saying that goes, "When an old turtle bites, it won't let go until it thunders." This saying alone illustrates the turtle's ruthlessness.
The Golden Softshell Turtle at hand seemed to be in a fighting mood, stretching its neck and opening its mouth wide; if Liu Qingdong hadn't quickly reacted by kicking the turtle away with his foot, that man's fingers would have been bitten.
The Golden Softshell Turtle, flipped onto its back with its stomach facing skyward, was still flailing its legs about, but its eyes still stared at the people resentfully.
The man who narrowly avoided being bitten didn't get angry; instead, he laughed, pointing at the Golden Softshell Turtle and said joyfully, "This creature is no ordinary turtle, so fierce! You must have put in a lot of effort to catch it, right? How did you manage to get it?"
Huo Sining's eyelid twitched subtly, and without any change in her demeanor, she glanced at Liu Qingdong and responded with a smile,
"It was indeed a bit difficult to deal with. It's very alert and rarely surfaces, usually hiding in the mud. We spotted it and watched the spot for several days, and it took a colossal effort to catch it."
Huo Sining lied without a blush or a skip of her heart, speaking as if it were all true.
In reality, her story was quite far-fetched. Although it explained why the turtle was difficult to catch, she didn't reveal anything about how it was actually captured.
Luckily, the man wasn't genuinely interested in the process of catching the Golden Softshell Turtle. His question was just casual talk, and after receiving Huo Sining's reply, he nodded and didn't pursue it further.
The people in the room observed the Golden Softshell Turtle for a while, clicking their tongues in admiration.
Liu Qingdong started the bidding, and without any idle chatter, the price started being called out. After a round of bidding, the price astonishingly reached fifteen thousand.
Huo Sining was somewhat dumbfounded; the money she had worked hard for over several nights couldn't even match what she got from catching an old turtle randomly?!
Even when a large stack of banknotes was in her hands, it still felt a bit surreal to her. In just one morning, she had earned twenty-seven thousand yuan?
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