Chapter 113: Grand Opening, Great Fortune

Feng Chunhua hesitated, then smacked Chu Zhi on the back again. “If you keep talking nonsense, watch out—I won’t give you any spending money!”

“Don’t be like that, Mom! You’re the best! I just have a loose tongue, please don’t take it to heart.”

Chu Zhi didn’t dare speculate further, but he was sure now—he definitely wasn’t his mother’s only child. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have said that.

Looks like he’d have to be even more filial to his mother from now on...

As soon as Chu Xuan got home, Wen the village accountant came over to call her.

She had a phone call—it was Boss Hou, and he’d call back in about ten minutes.

Chu Xuan hurried to the village office to wait for the call.

She hadn’t been there long when the phone rang.

Wen answered, confirmed it was for Chu Xuan, and handed her the receiver.

Chu Xuan took it, thinking it was Boss Hou, and said directly, “Hello, Boss Hou! This is Chu Xuan.”

But it was Boss Yuan’s voice on the line. “Chu Xuan, it’s Yuan Banyue. Are there other bosses chasing you for goods? I’m in a hurry too! I’ve sold out of grilled fish fillets these past few days, and I urgently need to restock. Tomorrow, you must send me 500 jin first. We have a contract, remember.”

Chu Xuan almost choked—she hadn’t even bought the skinless fish yet, and he wanted 500 jin of grilled fish fillets by tomorrow?

“Boss Yuan, could you give me a couple more days? Boss Hou also wants goods, I was just about to turn him down, and then you called.”

“You can turn him down, but not me. That’s settled—500 jin! Tomorrow morning around 8, I’ll send a truck to your house to pick it up. Give me your address.”

Chu Xuan quickly recalled what the fish catch was like on this day in her previous life.

She remembered the Mu family complaining that most of the catch was skinless fish.

She should be able to collect enough today, but it would mean working through the night.

“As long as you send a truck to my house to pick up the grilled fish fillets, I’ll do whatever it takes to get you 500 jin.”

Yuan Banyue’s hearty voice came through, “No problem! Tomorrow, 500 jin; on August 20th, 1,500 jin. I’ll have the driver bring cash. I’ll pay for all 2,000 jin of grilled fish fillets in one go! I’m being straightforward, so you have to give it your all too.”

The offer of full payment upfront was too tempting, and Chu Xuan promised without hesitation, “Deal! I’ll do my best!”

Full payment for 2,000 jin of grilled fish fillets was 3,200 yuan, with a net profit of 1,600 to 2,000 yuan, depending on the purchase price of the skinless fish, overtime wages, and transport costs.

She’d need to prepare at least 14,000 jin of skinless fish within nine days—not a problem for Chu Xuan.

After hanging up, Boss Hou Mingliang called.

“Hello, is this Chu Xuan?”

“This is she, Boss Hou, you—”

Before Chu Xuan could finish, Hou Mingliang said anxiously, “I need 500 jin of grilled fish fillets, rush order! I need them tomorrow. My factory’s truck can pick them up from your house.”

Chu Xuan did the math—two bosses, 1,000 jin on rush order, meant she’d need to buy about 7,000 jin of skinless fish today.

Granny Gao and the others could each process 100-130 jin of fish per hour. Averaging 115 jin per hour, five people working nonstop would need over 12 hours; with six people, over 10 hours.

They could only start work around 4 or 5 in the afternoon. If she recruited a few more reliable people, they should be able to finish by tomorrow morning.

To be safe, she negotiated with Hou Mingliang, “How about picking up the goods after 4 p.m. tomorrow? Otherwise, we really won’t make it. We have to ensure the taste and quality of the grilled fish fillets, right?”

She convinced him.

“Four in the afternoon, my driver will be there on time, and I’ll pay in full on the spot.”

“Great, it’s a deal.”

“It’s a deal.”

After hanging up, Chu Xuan ran to Gao Meijuan’s house to ask her to find two reliable people to help process fish at her place at 4 p.m.

Gao Meijuan agreed immediately.

Then she went to Qin Mahua’s house to ask her to find reliable people to help as well.

Qin Mahua also agreed without hesitation.

After that, Chu Xuan went down to the dock to talk privately with Li Tong about buying skinless fish—over 7,000 jin, the more the better, but the price had to be kept down, no more than 0.04 yuan per jin.

Li Tong agreed without a word. A few days ago, Chu Xuan had sold him two or three truckloads of fish, and he’d made a good profit.

He had to help her with this—he was hoping for more cooperation in the future.

Chu Xuan was confident Li Tong could keep the price down. If so, she could make an extra one or two hundred yuan tomorrow.

Tomorrow, the buyers would send trucks to pick up the goods, so she wouldn’t have to pay for transport—saving her over a hundred yuan. Just thinking about it made her excited.

At that moment, Mu Chenze tugged at Qin Mahua’s sleeve.

“Mom, what did Chu Xuan want just now?”

Qin Mahua said anxiously, “Let go, quick! I need to ride my bike to your grandma’s house and ask your two aunts to come help Xiao Xuan process fish at 4 p.m. The pay is the same as mine—one yuan per 100 jin, and there’s overtime tonight, double pay for overtime.”

“How much fish are you going to process?”

“At least 7,000 jin.”

“You stay home, I’ll go—I’m faster on the bike.”

“Alright, when you get there, tell your aunts that if they miss this chance, they’ll regret it later. I guarantee they can make dozens of yuan tonight.”

“Don’t worry, Mom, I’ll tell them.”

Mu Chenze rode off.

A few minutes later, he ran into Chu Xuan returning from the dock.

“Boss Chu, wishing you a prosperous grand opening today!”

Chu Xuan didn’t hide it. “It has to be a great day! I just landed a big order for 1,000 jin of grilled fish fillets—500 to be picked up in the morning, 500 in the afternoon. You won’t have any to sell tonight, but for Boss Hou’s 500 jin, I’ll give you half the profit share.”

If it hadn’t been for Mu Chenze, she wouldn’t have gotten in touch with Boss Hou, and wouldn’t have landed such a big order.

Mu Chenze waved his hands. “No need! Are you looking for trouble? Are you trying to get a share of my men’s shirt sales profits? If you keep breaking our agreement and giving me extra shares, I’ll find a new partner for clam digging.”

Threat successful.

After all, Chu Xuan really valued that secret clam digging spot.

“Alright, I won’t give you any extra. When I make some money, I’ll buy you a gift.”

“That’s more like it. But listen, the gift can’t cost more than twenty yuan, or I won’t take it.”

“Got it. You get back to work—I still have to stop by Liu Zhaodi’s house.”

To see if Liu Zhaodi was home.

After all, she was a top fish processor.

And this could help Liu Zhaodi earn some extra money.

Mu Chenze waved and rode off.

A few minutes later, Chu Xuan arrived at Liu Zhaodi’s house.

The gate was wide open.

She knocked.

“Zhaodi, are you home?”

As soon as Chu Xuan finished speaking, Liu Zhaodi came running out of the kitchen. “I’m home! Sister Xuan, I was just about to go to your place and ask when we’d start work.”

“We’re starting today, and we’ll be working overtime. How’s your mom? Has she had her surgery? Which hospital is she in?”

Liu Zhaodi beamed. “She had the surgery in the city hospital, and it went really well. The doctor said she’s recovering nicely, and the tests showed it was benign. My brothers and grandma are taking care of her in the city, and I came back to earn money to pay off our debts.”

In this life, Mu Xing’s life was saved.

Chu Xuan was happy for her. After chatting a bit more, she gave Liu Zhaodi ten yuan—the bonus from before that she hadn’t had a chance to give her.

Liu Zhaodi accepted it gratefully, determined to work hard and pay off her debts as soon as possible.

Chu Xuan headed home, and as she neared her door, she saw Liu Dapeng pacing under a tree.

What was this guy doing here?"