Zhang Tianxing sighed, heaven willed it, and his mother wanted to remarry, what could he do?
He would wait for the results. The crayfish would withstand the test of the market. Not everything would go smoothly. Sometimes, solutions were not about one's own methods but about public acceptance.
Manager Zhou looked at the customer flow at Zhang Ji Crayfish Barbecue and couldn't help but say, "Now the whole county knows that Fatty Wang's place had problems with crayfish. I didn't expect your place to be packed."
His tone was full of envy. There was no way, Zhang Tianxing was the first to venture into this. In the crayfish industry, Zhang Tianxing was an expert.
"That's natural. Everyone trusts eating at Boss Zhang's place."
The guests present became interested in the quality of crayfish: "Boss Zhang, tell us, how do we distinguish good crayfish from bad?"
This suggestion resonated with everyone. Zhang Tianxing saw that public opinion could not be resisted, and promoting knowledge about crayfish was his duty.
Zhang Tianxing stepped forward and explained in detail how to differentiate good crayfish from bad.
In the end, Zhang Tianxing said, "Most small crayfish weigh about one liang, the smaller ones about seven qian, and a very few can reach three liang."
Immediately, a diner exclaimed, "Boss Zhang, how much are three-liang crayfish? I want some."
Zhang Tianxing forced a smile and said, "Who among you sells three-liang ones? I'll buy as many as there are. They are all rare and hard to come by."
"What's the price per jin?" a kind person specifically asked.
"There's a price but no market," Zhang Tianxing gave a rather astonishing price.
The problem was not the price, but the complete lack of supply. None of the people present had ever seen such large crayfish, and they didn't know if Zhang Tianxing actually had any.
He didn't have many of these three-liang crayfish. They were prepared for crucial moments, treasures to elevate the crayfish industry.
Zhang Tianxing was reluctant to name a price per jin, but since someone asked, he casually mentioned a price with no market.
Everyone present was stunned, but they all seemed to have never seen such large crayfish, and they didn't know if Zhang Tianxing really had them.
Someone from a rural background, who was more knowledgeable, said, "Even two-liang ones are rare in the countryside, let alone three-liang ones. Boss Zhang, do you have any?"
Someone nearby laughed, "Even if Boss Zhang didn't sell crayfish, his business would still be good. The barbecue here is top-notch in the county."
He said this while giving a thumbs-up. If nothing else, Zhang Tianxing's barbecue was excellent.
Zhang Tianxing only offered barbecue, crayfish, boiled peanuts, and edamame. He had nothing else.
Even with just these, he left other barbecue stalls far behind.
...
Yangcheng County Committee Office.
Secretary Fang Youliang was furious. "Investigate this Wang Ji Restaurant. What's going on? Why did a mass poisoning incident occur there? Is it related to the crayfish?"
Fang Youliang was frustrated. Yangcheng had nothing. Since he became the top leader here, he had been thinking about how to lift the county out of poverty and enrich people's lives, even in his sleep.
The harder he worked, the more helpless he felt. This was just an agricultural county, without industry, and not suitable for industry. It also lacked historical and cultural attractions to develop niche tourism.
Fang Youliang was almost disheartened. He finally saw a glimmer of hope in the Zhonghai Daily. If the crayfish industry could be promoted, it would be a promising blue ocean.
He recalled the crayfish his daughter brought home some time ago and decided to make crayfish the signature product of Yangcheng.
Who knew that before the plan could even be implemented, there was a collective poisoning incident? Could these crayfish be eaten or not?
Could they cause food poisoning? Was this path also going to be blocked? It couldn't be. If it was poisoning, he himself had eaten a lot and was fine.
It seemed there was more to this.
"Right, ask comrades from the Public Security Bureau to come to my office. Report the inquiry materials about Fatty Wang to me immediately."
"Comrades from the Industry and Commerce and Health departments, please work hard to inspect all restaurants and food in the county, with a focus on crayfish."
"Secretary Wen, this matter is difficult. Everything else is fine, but crayfish are a new product, and there is no unified industry standard yet."
"Could it be a problem of heavy metal exceeding the standard? There have been food poisonings before due to heavy metals exceeding the standard."
Fang Youliang hung up the phone and remained still for a long time.
He was waiting. He had been following the crayfish.
For a while, he thought Yangcheng was on the verge of a transformation, but it turned out to be in vain.
He would first ask his daughter if there were any problems. When his daughter returned home, he planned to have a good talk with her.
When Wen Qing returned home, she was surprised to find her father waiting for her in the living room.
The ashtray in front of Fang Youliang was filled with cigarette butts. Wen Qing took a look. Something was wrong. Old Comrade Fang never smoked at home. Wen Qing didn't speak and sat down next to Fang Youliang.
"Xiao Qing, do you know that someone had food poisoning from eating crayfish today?"
"Yes, I heard it from Zhang Tianxing."
"Your place also has crayfish. In that case, can crayfish still be eaten? Isn't it heavy metal exceeding the standard?"
"Dad, not all crayfish are the same. Zhang Tianxing said that the crayfish Fatty Wang bought were unqualified. They were crayfish that lived in sewage and are not edible."
Hearing Wen Qing's words, Fang Youliang's furrowed brow relaxed. It seemed there was still hope.
"Is there any proof of that?"
This stumped Wen Qing. Zhang Tianxing hadn't said, but Wen Qing remembered the underside of the crayfish, a method Zhang Tianxing had mentioned.
"Zhang Tianxing said to look mainly at the underside of the crayfish. If the underside is black, it's not edible."
Hearing his daughter's words, Fang Youliang suddenly felt something was amiss.
This child had grown up. Now she constantly mentioned "Tianxing said." She always took Zhang Tianxing's word for it.
Fang Youliang pondered for a moment after hearing his daughter's words. Then he said to his daughter, "Go to bed quickly, you have things to do tomorrow!"
"Dad, our crayfish are the best. There are no quality problems," Wen Qing suddenly said with a smile.
Fang Youliang nodded without speaking, indicating that he understood.
Wen Qing didn't say much. Her father was always like this, rarely talking about work at home.
However, he had been a bit unusual lately, often paying attention to crayfish matters. Was this leadership role unqualified? He cared about food, could crayfish bring about a drastic change for Yangcheng?
As a worker at Zhang Ji Crayfish Barbecue, her current task was to work hard every day.
She just hoped this summer vacation would pass slowly, and she suddenly didn't want to go back to school. However, on second thought, she had applied to Zhonghai University anyway.
They would all be in the same school, which would be nice. But from her father's words, it seemed the crayfish were going to have problems. However, she had assured Comrade Fang that the crayfish were fine. Thinking of this, Wen Qing's heart skipped a beat.
No way, Zhang Tianxing could be considered the number one crayfish expert in Yangcheng. If the crayfish had problems, Zhang Tianxing would definitely not escape the blame.
Thinking of this, Wen Qing lost all sleepiness. However, due to her good upbringing, she couldn't go out and ask directly for clarity. She could only toss and turn in bed alone.
Fang Youliang, hearing his daughter tossing and turning in the living room, felt a pang of discomfort. His daughter was growing up. He raised his voice and said, "Xiao Qing, go to sleep. As long as there are no problems with the crayfish at your shop, Zhang Tianxing will have no problems."