The baskets were quite large, each containing at least seventy to eighty catties of crawfish, which worked out to less than two yuan per catty.
Live crawfish typically sold for eight to fifteen yuan per catty in the market.
If Tongtong could really keep all these crawfish alive, it would be equivalent to him buying them at one-fifth of the market price. The profit margin would be substantial!
With this thought, he didn't haggle and immediately agreed to the price: "Alright, one hundred per basket. Can your people help me move the crawfish to the car?"
"That can be done, we have movers. However, you'll need to return these baskets later," the gatekeeper nodded and said.
"Okay."
Then, Liu Yifeng counted fifteen baskets of crawfish, totaling fifteen hundred yuan.
He took out his wallet and counted out sixteen hundred yuan, with one hundred yuan specifically for the gatekeeper.
"Uncle, I was able to buy the crawfish so cheaply thanks to you putting in a good word. This is a small token, for you to buy some cigarettes. If you find any more of these half-dead crawfish, don't forget to contact me." With that, he pressed the money into the gatekeeper's hand.
The gatekeeper pretended to refuse for a moment, then accepted it and patted his chest. "Don't worry, young man. If there are any more like these crawfish, I guarantee I'll contact you immediately."
"Alright, thank you. Could you save my phone number so we can keep in touch?" Since Tongtong had a way to keep half-dead crawfish alive, Liu Yifeng naturally wanted as many of them as possible.
This batch of crawfish, totaling at most two thousand catties, was still too few.
Therefore, building a good relationship with the gatekeeper was essential. The hundred yuan was well spent.
After the gatekeeper saved his number, he immediately called for someone to help Liu Yifeng load the crawfish onto his vehicle.
Fortunately, the minivan Liu Yifeng drove was spacious enough. The back seats were also filled, and finally, all the crawfish were loaded.
"Young man, drive safely. If there are any more crawfish like this, I'll contact you right away," the gatekeeper said, standing outside the driver's window and waving at Liu Yifeng.
Liu Yifeng smiled, nodded, and then started the car to leave.
Through the rearview mirror, Liu Yifeng saw the gatekeeper holding the hundred yuan he had given him, grinning broadly.
Having appeased the gatekeeper, he wouldn't lack a source of supply in the future.
In the car, Liu Yifeng had already turned on the air conditioning, fearing that the crawfish would die from the heat.
These were already half-dead crawfish, and further heat would easily kill them.
"Tongtong, the crawfish daddy bought them. Quickly tell Daddy how you plan to keep them alive?" This question had been bothering him for a long time.
Tongtong said mysteriously, "Daddy, you'll know when we go to the fields later."
Seeing his son being coy, Liu Yifeng said no more and drove very fast all the way.
He was afraid the crawfish would die on the road. The usual forty-minute journey was shortened to twenty-five minutes. If there hadn't been police on the road, he could have driven even faster.
Liu Chunsheng knew his son had gone to buy crawfish, so he was already waiting on the road by the fields.
Seeing his son returning, he quickly waved to signal him to stop.
Liu Yifeng pulled the car over and immediately opened the trunk. "Dad, please help me move the crawfish into the fields."
"Do I need you to tell me that!" Liu Chunsheng didn't waste words and immediately picked up a basket of crawfish, walking towards his field.
Despite being fifty years old, he was still very strong.
In contrast, Liu Yifeng looked young but was actually less than half as efficient as his father when working.
By the time Liu Chunsheng had carried two baskets of crawfish, Liu Yifeng had only managed to put the first basket into the field.
"Go, Daddy!" Tongtong cheered Liu Yifeng on from the side.
"You're not doing well, kid. You can't even carry a basket of crawfish," Liu Chunsheng teased.
"Who says I can't? Dad, why don't we race? See who gets to the field first?" Liu Yifeng's competitive spirit was ignited.
Liu Chunsheng wasn't afraid of him. "Race then, just don't cry if you lose."
"Dad, you still treat me like a child. I haven't cried in years," Liu Yifeng said.
"In your father's eyes, you'll always be a child." After speaking, Liu Chunsheng picked up a basket of crawfish and headed towards the field, with Liu Yifeng closely following.
Although he tried his best to speed up, he clearly couldn't keep up in the latter half of the race, panting heavily.
Some passing villagers, seeing the father and son pouring crawfish basket after basket into the field, walked over curiously.
"Chunsheng, you and your son just finished planting vegetables and fruits, and now you're preparing to raise crawfish?" Liu Xincheng said, and then looked at the almost dead crawfish, bursting into laughter on the spot.
"When people raise crawfish, they start from fry. You're buying these almost dead crawfish to raise; are you out of your minds? Even the experts in crawfish farming couldn't keep these alive. Aren't you just wasting your money?"
He was the wealthiest man in the village, owning a three-story villa and two cars. He also had some experience in planting and farming, as he had gotten rich by contracting fish ponds and orchards.
Now, seeing this father and son buying almost dead crawfish to raise, he thought they were incredibly foolish.
"Whether they can be kept alive is none of your business," Liu Yifeng retorted first.
"Hmph, you'll regret it." Seeing that the father and son were indifferent to him, Liu Xincheng didn't want to embarrass himself further. He threw down this sentence and left, not bothering to lend a hand.
As for the other villagers, they felt Liu Xincheng's words had some merit and started to offer good advice: "Chunsheng, you and your son want to make money, but you can't just blindly try anything! Crawfish are not easy to raise in the first place, and you're buying these almost dead ones. I'm afraid they'll all be dead by the end of today. While they haven't all been poured into the field yet, take the rest back and get a refund. You can at least recover some losses! Otherwise, if they really die, you'll lose a lot."
"That's right. If you really want to raise them, you can buy fry and raise them. If you do a good job, they'll grow up in a few months. This batch of shrimp clearly won't live long, and you're still buying them. I really don't understand what you're thinking."
...
"It's alright, since we bought them, we'll try raising them." Liu Yifeng knew they were thinking of him, so his tone was not as sharp as it was towards Liu Xincheng.
Liu Xincheng was clearly just there to watch the show, so there was no need to be polite to him.
"My son is right, we'll try raising them. Don't you worry," Liu Chunsheng said. Although he was also a bit worried in his heart, he was willing to support his son's entrepreneurial venture, especially since his grandson was no ordinary child. Since they had already bought them, they should be given more confidence.
Seeing that they couldn't persuade them, the villagers stopped talking. The temperaments of this father and son were both stubborn.
Although they couldn't dissuade them, seeing the father and son struggling to carry the crawfish, they still lent a hand. With their help, all fifteen baskets of crawfish were quickly placed in the field.
Looking at the almost motionless crawfish, several of them sighed.
"Alas, you're going to lose a lot of money. If there's nothing else, we'll be leaving."
"Thank you for your hard work. Have a cigarette before you go." Liu Yifeng took out cigarettes and offered one to each of them.
Seeing that Liu Yifeng seemed unfazed, not worried at all about the crawfish not surviving, they didn't say anything more. They took the cigarettes and left.
Soon, the news of Liu Chunsheng and his son raising crawfish spread throughout the village. However, not a single person believed they could keep the crawfish alive.
Liu Yifeng didn't care what others thought. What he wanted now was to know how Tongtong planned to keep these crawfish alive.
These crawfish were barely breathing, almost as good as dead, and they weren't moving at all.
"Tongtong, these crawfish are almost dead. Hurry and tell Daddy how to keep them alive?"