Chapter 217: Playing the Good Guy
Chapter 217: Playing the Good Guy
Wen Wan was shocked to hear that the fish seed merchant was asking for a thousand yuan, feeling that he was demanding an exorbitant price.
She forced a smile, trying to remain patient, "Comrade, isn't a thousand yuan a bit too much? We're not refusing to take these fish seeds; it's just that the typhoon blew away our fish cage, and we have no choice but to postpone the order. Once the cage is rebuilt, we will still order from you. This time, we'll compensate you for some fuel costs and losses. How does that sound?"
"A thousand yuan is a bargain! When ordering fish seeds, a 50% deposit is required. You ordered 5,000 fish seeds, which totals 1,500 yuan. The deposit alone is 750 yuan, plus a small amount for fuel costs, which is just 1,000 yuan. If you cancel the order, the deposit is non-refundable, and you understand the rules, right? I trusted you, and I went out of my way to deliver the fish to you after a phone call, without even taking a deposit. Now, I'm asking for a thousand yuan and a small fuel cost, which is very reasonable!"
Wen Wan felt that this person was being completely unreasonable and trying to take advantage of them! It wasn't as if they intentionally wanted to cancel the order, and the loss of the fish cage due to the typhoon wasn't their fault!
Without the fish cage, how could they raise the fish? Isn't it normal to temporarily cancel the order and reorder later?
Moreover, they were only temporarily returning these fish seeds and would have them delivered again once the cage was ready, not truly canceling the order.
Wen Wan felt she couldn't let the merchant take advantage, so she said directly, "We'll compensate you with 300 yuan. Take it or leave it! Anyway, we're not canceling the order; we're just postponing it! So, there's no need to refund the deposit! Boss, we're being kind, not easy to bully. I'm offering you 300 yuan as fuel cost compensation, which is already very generous. With these 300 yuan, you can consider it a windfall."
After all, they hadn't paid the deposit, and if he didn't want the 300 yuan either, then so be it!
Zhou Guohua added, "Boss, we admit that we didn't think it through, and it's our fault. But 300 yuan is not a small amount, and it's enough to compensate for your losses. We definitely can't take these fish seeds today; we'll need a few days. We'll pay you 300 yuan, and you can deliver them in half a month. How about that?"
300 yuan was indeed a substantial amount! It was almost a common worker's annual salary.
The fish seed merchant laughed sarcastically, thinking that 300 yuan was a huge profit for him?
Did they not know how troublesome it was to transport these fish seeds?
Did they think it was easy to keep the fish seeds alive in the ship's cabin? Don't they need to be fed?
Just providing oxygen along the way would cost a significant amount.
Moreover, his large ship consumed a lot of fuel, and those with big ships knew how much fuel they guzzled!
Most importantly, their country hadn't successfully bred grouper fish seeds yet, and they were all imported from the island nation, making the costs extremely high!
Would 300 yuan for fuel be enough for the trip from the island nation?
The fish seed merchant pointed at Wen Wan and Zhou Guohua, "Just from listening to you, I can tell your family doesn't have a large ship! You also don't seem to know where these fish seeds you ordered come from, so you dare to say that 300 yuan is a huge profit for me? Such ignorance and lack of conscience are terrifying! Ignorance is not scary, but being ignorant and pretending to be knowledgeable and generous is! Offering 300 yuan and claiming it's a huge profit? Lack of knowledge and experience is embarrassing! Don't show it off!"
Wen Wan and Zhou Guohua: "..."
Wen Wan's face turned red with embarrassment.
In her two lifetimes, it was her first time being scolded for her ignorance and lack of knowledge and experience.
"Pfft! In my new life, I've gained far more knowledge than you!"
What did a fish seller like him know?
She was an educated person, a scholar, not a fisherman, so not knowing that the fish seeds were imported from the island nation seemed normal to her.
Zhou Bingqiang also didn't know that the fish seeds were imported from the island nation, and indeed, it wasn't easy.
One must have a conscience and a clear conscience to avoid bad luck.
"Old comrade, I'll compensate you with 500 yuan. Please help us take care of these fish seeds for a few more days, and we'll collect them later. You know this is due to natural disasters, and we truly didn't want this to happen. We're truly sorry."
He had calculated it; three hundred yuan was just breaking even for the other party, and they would only make a profit of about two hundred yuan if they charged five hundred yuan. A thousand yuan was indeed too much.
Earning two hundred yuan for a trip, the other party should be willing.
After all, the fish fry he delivered could still be sold for a profit when taken back, and even if they couldn't be sold, he had ordered a batch of fish fry himself a few days later.
Zhou Bingqiang decided to take a loss, pay a tuition fee, and remind himself to be more careful in the future.
The villagers who saw this couldn't help but speak up, "Comrade, I can testify that their fish cage was indeed blown away by the typhoon! There's no place for him to raise these fish fry! It wasn't easy for you to deliver the fish fry from so far away. Let Bingqiang compensate you a little, and we'll all take a step back. Let's be harmonious and prosper together, shall we?"
"That's right! I can testify too! We all saw their fish cage being blown away by the typhoon! Comrade, please be more understanding! We all rely on the sea for a living, and it's not easy for any of us! Accept this five hundred yuan as compensation, and let it go! As for a thousand yuan, we small fishermen can't afford to pay that much!"
...
With so many people speaking up, and having entered another village, the fish fry merchant was at a disadvantage and didn't bother to argue, "Forget it, I won't hold it against you! Six hundred yuan! I'll take it as a tuition fee!"
Five hundred yuan was still a loss, and they thought he had made a lot of profit, so he had to ask for six hundred to break even!
The fish fry merchant decided not to sell fish fry to them in the future! In business, one must keep their word, and doing business with someone who doesn't keep their word will only lead to losses!
Zhou Bingqiang frowned, six hundred yuan was a bit much, and the other party was clearly trying to take advantage of them. But he let it go and asked Zhou Guohua to hurry home to get the money, then apologized to the fish fry merchant, "Alright, let's make it six hundred then. This time, we were not thorough in our consideration, making you come here for nothing. We're truly sorry."
Zhou Guohua hurried home to get the money. They had just returned from fishing and had only made a few dozen yuan from selling fish, so they didn't have that much cash on them.
At this moment, Zhou Chenglei approached with a basket, accompanied by Jiang Xia.
Zhou Father and Zhou Chengxin each carried a load of barracuda, and Zhou Mother followed with two buckets, which were for tonight's dinner.
The barracuda was to be brought back to be dried, while the buckets contained their dinner for the evening.
Zhou Chenglei saw the fish fry merchant and stopped, "Why is He Boss here?"
He Boss saw Zhou Chenglei's unpleasant expression and his face softened a little, "Don't mention it! This family asked me to deliver fish fry, and now they don't want it! I wasted a trip, and almost lost money on the oil cost!"
Zhou Bingqiang saw Zhou Father, and his expression turned sour, feeling embarrassed in front of him again. After hearing He Boss's words, he lost his patience, especially since he had already paid compensation and apologized. Yet, the other party still had this attitude!
He replied irritably, "It's not that I don't want the fish fry; it's just not the right time. I asked you to take them back and deliver them later. I didn't make you come for nothing, and I agreed to compensate you six hundred yuan, right? Isn't that enough? If the fish cages hadn't been blown away, I wouldn't have refused to take these fish fry."
He Boss sneered, "Yes, six hundred yuan is a lot of compensation! I made a huge profit! Pah! Six hundred yuan isn't even enough to cover my oil cost and labor expenses, and you think I made a huge profit! I should be thanking you!"
Zhou Bingqiang: "..."
Zhou Father glanced at Zhou Bingqiang and smiled, "He Boss, I can testify that their fish cage was indeed blown away."
The other villagers also chimed in, "Yes, it was blown away, it wasn't intentional!"
He Boss: "The fact that the fish cage was blown away is their problem, not mine! They ordered the goods, so I delivered them. They should receive the goods and pay up! I braved the wind and waves to deliver the goods! We all make a living from the sea, and who doesn't face risks?"
After hearing this, Zhou Father didn't know what to say, as each had their own reasoning.
Jiang Xia spoke up, "He Boss, how many fish fry did you deliver?"
Wen Wan couldn't help but look at Jiang Xia when she spoke. Was Jiang Xia trying to act kind and take over this batch of fish fry?
No, that wasn't it!
Wen Wan immediately realized that the reason they had ordered the fish fry was because Zhou Li had overheard Jiang Xia's phone call. Could Jiang Xia be colluding with He Boss to scam them out of their money?
(End of Chapter)
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