TWWMABMTBH Chapter 9

Zhang Dagou choked, the words stuck in his throat, unable to get out for a long time. Meanwhile, more and more people gathered around, drawn by the smell.

If someone else had muttered a few words, it wouldn’t have been a big deal, but Zhang Dagou was the first one to rush to the stall. If he had no reaction at all, he would truly lose face.

But to start cursing… with over a dozen dead fish eyes staring at him, Zhang Dagou really couldn’t do it. He even felt a subtle sense of shame, as if he and these salted fish were gazing at the same starry sky.

Ultimately, after a complex mental process, Zhang Dagou chose to fight fire with fire.

“Give me a plate of salted fish.”

“Okay, okay.” The husband at the stall reacted first, subconsciously handing him a plate of salted fish, a salted duck egg, and a bowl of millet porridge.

Zhang Dagou took the tray, went to a small table nearby, and began to eat.

Almost with the intention of biting the salted fish to death, Zhang Dagou took his first bite of the deep-fried salted fish.

However, just as his teeth began to apply pressure, he heard a crisp “crunch” sound. It was the crispy fried shell of the salted fish. Then came the salty, fragrant fish meat.

Compared to fresh fish, the meat of the salted fish was drier. But unexpectedly, it wasn’t tasteless, but had a unique resilience. It even had a bit of a springy texture that resisted the bite.

It was like a corporate slave who acted like a grandson 365 days a year. They used a harmless exterior to disguise their inner wildness. But over time, the 996 work style made rest a luxury, and the pressure of life made them want to lie in bed like a salted fish, craving a long sleep. After all, everything is possible in dreams.

As for those hidden “ambitions,” even if they still existed, they couldn’t, or rather, didn’t dare to reveal them. Only during candid conversations with close friends after drinking could they let a few words slip.

Zhang Dagou suddenly felt that the delicious food in his mouth didn’t taste so good anymore. But when he turned his head to look at the dead fish eyes staring at him, he felt encouraged.

If even a salted fish could look up at the stars, could he, a living person, live a worse life? At worst, he would end up like this fish, dried in the sun, thrown into a frying pan, and placed on a table. But what if he won?

If he won, he could soar freely in the vast sky!

Thinking this, Zhang Dagou felt a long-lost urge to strive. He even wished he could start a new round of struggle right away!

But before that, “Boss! Do you have any more of this salted fish that hasn’t been cooked? I want to take two!”

“Yes, I do.” The boss’s wife could tell from Zhang Dagou’s reaction that there was a market for the salted fish. Her worries from the morning completely disappeared. She quickly packed the salted fish for Zhang Dagou in a plastic bag.

“Brother, is this especially delicious?” someone nearby asked curiously.

Zhang Dagou nodded deeply while holding the salted fish. “Eating it can purify your soul.”

“…” The person immediately thought Zhang Dagou might be sick.

Nevertheless, with Zhang Dagou being the first to try it, and even buying more to take away, others became curious about the taste of the salted fish.

After all, the fishy smell of this salted fish was really strong, but it turned out to be delicious?

But they couldn’t generalize, stinky tofu was stinky! But wasn’t deep-fried stinky tofu with special garlic sauce fragrant? Absolutely!

So maybe this salted fish was also incredibly delicious!

The economic level of the townspeople was quite good, and spending a little over thirty for breakfast was indeed a bit extravagant. However, novelty always attracted brave people. Soon, after Zhang Dagou, someone else ordered a plate of salted fish.

This time, the person didn’t take it to a table but tried a bite right where they stood, and was immediately amazed.

“Holy crap! This is so delicious! Boss lady, pack me another one, I want to take it away.”

Rong Ziyan had only provided fifteen salted fish in total, and it was clear that two people had already bought almost half of them. Obviously, if the people who came later didn’t buy them, there probably wouldn’t be any left.

Therefore, those who had come for the salted fish decided to stop watching. Soon, all fifteen salted fish were sold out. The salted duck eggs too. The customers who came last and missed out on everything were too lazy to leave, so they simply bought some other breakfast items from the stall.

At ten o’clock in the morning, the couple finally returned from town. Because business was so good, they returned a bit later than usual today. Thanks to the salted fish and salted duck eggs, all of the breakfast they had prepared themselves had also sold out, without even a single grain of rice left.

But it was precisely because of this that the couple was troubled. They were mainly worried that Rong Ziyan couldn’t provide so much stuff by himself.

“Why don’t we go find Doctor Xiao Rong? Let’s tell him we’ll give him the money for the salted fish we sold today.” The boss’s wife urged her husband.

The husband nodded in agreement. “Let’s change into some cleaner clothes first, and we’ll go together!”

In the couple’s eyes, Rong Ziyan was not just a consignment customer, but a golden goose that could help them improve their business and make more money. They definitely had to pay extra attention to him.

It was also a coincidence that Rong Ziyan didn’t have much to do this morning. But he didn’t invite them into the animal husbandry station, instead, he spoke to them outside.

The boss’s wife, with her smooth tongue, described what had happened in town, “So, Doctor Xiao Rong, do you think you can keep the supply stable? Or tell us how often you can provide us with a batch!”

“I can. But I need to think about it.” Rong Ziyan nodded, agreeing, but also giving them a heads up. “I’m just doing this casually. Once things settle down, it’s impossible for me to supply in large quantities.”

“Besides, right now everyone is interested because it’s new. Once the novelty wears off, even if we get a lot, no one will buy it.”

“Will it be like that?”

“Yeah.” Rong Ziyan nodded. “Moreover, even if salted fish is delicious, you can’t eat it every day. It’s still on the list of category one carcinogens!”

“!!!” [Disappointment Value 1000] The couple exchanged glances, both feeling a bit sad. They had finally found a way, but according to Rong Ziyan, it couldn’t be a long-term business.

Rong Ziyan advised them, “It’s not like eating it will cause cancer, it just can’t be consumed densely for a long time. And it’s just the salted fish that’s like that, salted duck eggs are still okay.”

“So what do we do now?” The couple looked at Rong Ziyan with a sense of urgency.

Rong Ziyan recalled some of the practices of the online celebrity stores he had seen in Beijing and made a suggestion to them, “I think, you can actually limit the amount.”

“Limit the amount?”

“Yes. You can just directly tell them that salted fish is a category one carcinogen, so as a shop, even if you sell it, you have to limit the amount. Specify that each person can only buy it twice a week at most. If they exceed the limit, you won’t sell it to them for health reasons.”

“This way, you’re considering the health of your customers and avoiding future conflicts if problems arise. You’ll also make them feel that you’re honest, and they’ll trust and understand you more. And it will also be a gimmick, people are curious, and such a strange requirement, where you won’t sell even with money, will attract more people to buy.”

“I see.” The couple nodded repeatedly, and the respect they had for Rong Ziyan in the comments section of their minds was constantly increasing. They thought Rong Ziyan was just amazing. With just a few words, he had pointed out a path to success for them.

The couple’s eyes were filled with excitement as they looked at Rong Ziyan. In that moment, the cold monetary transaction seemed especially heartwarming. Even the little people in the comments section were doing the “kneel to dad” gesture towards Rong Ziyan.

Rong Ziyan couldn’t help but laugh, but it was still work time, so he couldn’t talk to them for too long. After explaining everything, he urged the two to leave first. It was almost noon, and the snack bar was waiting to open!

The couple’s respect for Rong Ziyan had now reached the four thousand mark. Therefore, Rong Ziyan just mentioned it casually, and the couple happily bid him farewell. They weren’t too worried that Rong Ziyan hadn’t set a time to send them the next batch of salted duck eggs and salted fish.

Rong Ziyan had given them a new idea, limited items, scarce commodities. Right now, everyone was still tasting the freshness. Rong Ziyan’s next batch of duck eggs would probably be ready soon, and when they were, it would be perfect for hyping it up. They remembered that a college student who majored in economics seemed to call this “hunger marketing.”

“Ah! As expected, Doctor Xiao Rong has read so many books and knows so many ways!”

The couple walked excitedly, also providing Rong Ziyan with several hundred points of respect. Accumulating the previous points, they quickly reached five thousand, meeting the standard of a recruitable follower.

And Rong Ziyan once again chose to give up this opportunity.

The system was very sad: Host, don’t you really want to become a king and dominate the world?

Rong Ziyan was speechless: This is a society governed by law, I don’t want to call myself a king.

System: …

Ending his mental conversation with the system, Rong Ziyan prepared to continue working. The work at the village animal husbandry station was not easy and was relatively complicated. Not only did the villagers bring their sick pigs, sheep, chickens, and ducks to ask about, but they also had to be responsible for regular immunizations every quarter.

Just like now, Rong Ziyan had only rested for a short time before someone came to his door.

Rong Ziyan looked out the window and saw the person’s malicious expression, not feeling particularly surprised.

To be honest, Rong Ziyan knew this person. He was a well-known loafer in the village. He didn’t commit major crimes, but he often engaged in petty theft. He would go to the county town every now and then. He was almost thirty and didn’t even have a job. In a nutshell, he relied entirely on stealing batteries to support his family.

The reason Rong Ziyan knew him was also related to Wang Dazhuang, the veterinarian from the neighboring village who had been severely scolded for his ducks.

Many people in the village were related, and that Wang Dazhuang and this loafer were cousins. Wang Dazhuang had suffered a loss with Rong Ziyan, and it wasn’t convenient for him to seek revenge, so the first thing he thought of was to push this foolish cousin out to charge forward.

Rong Ziyan, despite having had a difficult life, was a good student! He had always been someone else’s child since he was young. He had always disliked loafers like this.

In his mind, they were all muddy monkeys from the village. Rong Ziyan, who couldn’t even afford to eat, what right did he have to act so high and mighty? It would have been fine if he had climbed a high branch, but now he had returned to the village with his tail between his legs.

Therefore, he had drunk a bit of alcohol at the dinner table and heard that his cousin had been humiliated. After receiving a few compliments, he didn’t even need to be persuaded. He got fired up and insisted on helping his cousin get revenge.

But Rong Ziyan had always been cautious, so it wasn’t that easy to find fault with him. In the end, the loafer and Wang Dazhuang put their heads together for several days and finally decided on a method to teach Rong Ziyan a lesson.

So, this loafer carried a duck, strolled along the small road at the head of the village, and came to find Rong Ziyan.

He really thought he was someone important. After entering the door, he threw the duck at Rong Ziyan’s feet with a flick of his wrist.

“What kind of veterinarian are you at this animal husbandry station? You disinfected the whole village but not my house. Are you looking down on me?”

Rong Ziyan didn’t get angry. First, he looked down at the duck at his feet.

The duck had been pinched all the way, and it was clearly breathing more than it was exhaling, but it was still quite energetic. The comments above its head read, “Give me a lever, and I can fk the sky!”

A normal duck wouldn’t be like this. Rong Ziyan’s first reaction was that this was a setup.

Sure enough, the loafer said, “Give it an immunization! I just brought it back.”

Seeing that Rong Ziyan didn’t act immediately, the loafer urged him anxiously, “I have something to do later. Hurry up and finish it, and we’ll be done.”

But the more he urged him, the calmer Rong Ziyan became. Not only did he not immediately give the duck an injection, as the loafer had imagined, but he also took out other medicines as if he were going to do a more detailed examination on the duck.

Each village raised different breeds of ducks. For example, in the village where Rong Ziyan was, they mainly raised Beijing ducks.

But the duck that the loafer brought, although still a young duck, Rong Ziyan could tell that it was a Muscovy duck.

There were only a few villages within a few miles that raised Muscovy ducks, and the closest one was Little Wang Village. But Little Wang Village was currently undergoing a check for duck tuberculosis! Yet this person brought a Muscovy duck.

Rong Ziyan clearly felt that something was wrong with this person.

And at this moment, the system prompted: [Loafer Li Tiezhu’s Conspiracy Value +200].

At the same time, the skill that the system had provided earlier, [Thunder, This Heavenly Cultivation], was also activated.

Several black spots with ominous mist suddenly appeared on the duck’s body. Rong Ziyan observed the positions and felt that the duck’s condition was really not right.

It definitely had duck tuberculosis. But looking at the lesions, Rong Ziyan felt that this duck might have more than one problem, like it had something else.

But the specifics would have to be determined through examination. As for why this sick duck was still so lively, it was probably because it had been injected with hormones.

Hormones don’t necessarily cure diseases, but they can help increase the vitality of livestock.

After thinking for a moment, Rong Ziyan understood the plot. There were many requirements for poultry vaccinations. If you didn’t do it right, you could accelerate death after the injection. This duck was from Little Wang Village, and if it was sick, this person had been urging him all along, probably waiting to cause trouble later.

System: This is too unethical! Host, what do you plan to do?

Rong Ziyan thought for a moment and very calmly said to the loafer, “Immunization for the duck is fine, but you have to pay first. The tests and immunization together cost 1,700.”

“We don’t accept card or transfers, please pay in cash.”