Huo Sining was stunned, she hadn't misheard, had she?
Liu Qingdong gave Huo Sining a blank look and repeated helplessly,
"I said I'll take all these goods off your hands. I run a restaurant, and we've run out of fresh produce. I just happened to come here looking to stock up, and after seeing your river clams, I reckon nothing else will catch my eye at this point."
Seeing that Huo Sining was still standing there dumbfounded, Liu Qingdong continued,
"You won't be at a loss. I've been dealing with fresh produce for decades; I can tell the price of each type of river clam with one look. Your clams are all at least three years old. Let's do this, twenty-five yuan per five-year-old clam, fifty for those six years old, and ten for the ones younger than five years. How about that?"
Huo Sining nodded hurriedly.
She was kidding herself; she had finally encountered such a generous buyer, why would she refuse?
Selling a river clam for dozens of yuan, she was making a killing.
Seeing that Huo Sining agreed, Liu Qingdong stopped chattering and started to pick and sort the clams, separating those of the same age.
It didn't take long for him to sort out a heap of river clams.
Three six-year-old clams, four five-year-old clams, and the rest were all under five years old, five in total, exactly three hundred yuan.
It was only after Liu Qingdong had packed all the river clams back into the snakeskin bag that Huo Sining came back to her senses.
Clutching three hundred-yuan bills in her hand, she looked foolishly delighted.
Liu Qingdong, seeing how happy she was, found it somewhat amusing,
"You're this happy over three hundred yuan? Here, this is my business card. If you have more of these good products to sell next time, you can come directly to me."
Liu Qingdong, head chef of Jixian Restaurant?
Huo Sining looked at the business card in her hand and was overjoyed.
So this man was the head chef of a restaurant—just what she needed when she was worried about not being able to make a long-term profit from the river clams. Now she had found a way.
Seeing Liu Qingdong about to leave, Huo Sining hurriedly asked, "Uncle Liu, how often do you usually need to restock?"
At her question, Liu Qingdong paused in his tracks and turned back to look at Huo Sining,
"These quality river clams are not common. How many can you supply me with daily?"
Huo Sining hesitated, Liu Qingdong's eyes scanning her like a detector. Her heart skipped a beat and she immediately wished she could bite off her own tongue.
Why couldn't she remember that Liu Qingdong was an expert? High-aged river clams were a rarity; how could she possibly supply them regularly?
If she really went every day to deliver the clams to Liu Qingdong, she feared it wouldn't be long before people got suspicious.
Huo Sining forced herself to calm down and said with a smile,
"Providing them daily is definitely not possible. It's a coincidence this time; I just happened to find a pond with a good number of these clams, so I thought I'd try to see if I could sell them. Plus, I've just finished my college entrance exams and will soon be leaving for university, so long-term supply is naturally out of the question."
Liu Qingdong, having lived almost fifty years, had noticed the oddness in Huo Sining's behavior and naturally knew that the girl in front of him wasn't telling the truth.
However, he did not possess such a strong curiosity to delve into the matter. At most, he just thought that Huo Sining was a bit cunning, which was not altogether blameworthy.
For Liu Qingdong, he wasn't interested in the girl's small schemes; what mattered most was getting good-quality river clams.
"What do you mean?" asked Liu Qingdong.
Huo Sining smiled, but inside she was nervously drumming,
"Since Uncle Liu knows so much about aquatic produce like river clams, you probably also know how to raise them, right? I'm thinking, how about this: I'll get up early tomorrow, get my family to help, and we'll fish out all the clams from that pond. I'll call you the day after tomorrow morning, and then you can send a vehicle to collect the goods at my place. How does that sound?"
Nights are long and full of dreams, it's safer to make a one-time deal.
Huo Sining chose the safest method, which was to gather more river clams these past nights and transport them all to the village entrance.
Then tomorrow night she would stay there to guard them until the early morning, when Liu Qingdong's truck would come to pick up the goods.
That way, she wouldn't have to worry about her secret being discovered and it saved her the daily hassle and conspicuousness of going in and out of the city.
When Liu Qingdong heard this, he had no suspicions, only thinking that Huo Sining really had stumbled upon a deep pool teeming with many old river clams.
As a young girl, seeing how profitable river clams could be, it was normal for her to worry that someone else would find them and to want to scoop them all up first.
It was rare to come across old river clams, and if this young girl could indeed supply them in large quantities, Liu Qingdong would take as many as she could provide.
Even if the restaurant didn't need so many, he could always sell them to others. No matter what, he wouldn't suffer a loss.
So, after hearing Huo Sining's words, Liu Qingdong didn't hesitate, nodded with a smile, and said,
"No problem. I'll just have to mention it to our boss and it'll be done. When the time comes, we will follow the price we discussed today."
Seeing that Liu Qingdong had agreed to her proposed plan, Huo Sining couldn't contain her joy and hurried back gleefully.
The bus made a stop in Baiyun Town and a few more passengers got on. Huo Sining was calculating how much tuition and living expenses she would need for her first year of university when she suddenly heard a surprised exclamation.
"Ningning, what are you doing here?" Wu Jingyi said, looking at her in amazement.
Why do I run into her everywhere I go?
Huo Sining had the impulse to roll her eyes. Ridiculous, this bus isn't owned by your family. If you can ride it, why can't I?
Unaware of Huo Sining's inner ridicule, Wu Jingyi didn't even ask; she simply took a seat beside Huo Sining without any qualms and grabbed her arm, pretending to be friendly as she asked,
Aren't you afraid you'll get prickly heat from sticking together in such hot weather?
Huo Sining was speechless, she shifted to the side but failed to shrug off Wu Jingyi's arm.
Feeling Wu Jingyi's half body weight press against her, Huo Sining ran out of patience: "Don't you feel hot?"
Unfortunately, Wu Jingyi acted as if she couldn't grasp the implication of Huo Sining's words: "Not hot, the window is open. By the way, Ningning, I've chosen Imperial Capital Medical University as my college preference, what do you think?"
Although she seemed to be sincerely asking for Huo Sining's opinion, the smugness in Wu Jingyi's eyes was unmistakeable.
Huo Sining sneered inwardly, so you're trying to provoke me, aren't you? Well then, I'll give you a taste of displeasure.
"That's great, you performed well this time, and with your scores, you'll definitely get in," Huo Sining said with a beaming smile, appearing genuinely happy for the other person.
However, she then paused and asked with some concern, "But I heard that tuition at the Imperial University is not cheap, especially for medical studies. I heard tuition alone is over ten thousand yuan a year, and with the high cost of living in the capital, I guess living expenses for a month would also be quite substantial."
Wu Jingyi's smile immediately faded, and she looked up at Huo Sining before sighing and looking down,
"I know, but I want to go to the Capital City. I've lived in Baiyun Village for over ten years, and I want to venture out. The Imperial Capital is the most bustling place, and I feel that's where I belong."
Huo Sining fell silent.
In her previous life, Wu Jingyi had also chosen Imperial Capital Medical University, and not long after receiving her acceptance notice, she was taken by the Liang Family to the Capital City, naturally without having to worry about tuition fees.
But in this life, Wu Jingyi didn't have such luck. Without the Jade Pendant as a token for recognition, the Liang Family would never find her.
Huo Sining couldn't help but sneer inwardly. She wanted to see how, without the Liang Family, Wu Jingyi would pay such hefty tuition fees and how she would manage to live in the capital.
"Let's not talk about me. What are your plans for the future, Ningning? I used to think you were joking, but I inquired with Teacher Jin yesterday, and I found out you really didn't fill out your college entrance application. Why would you be so reckless? You worked hard for three years in high school just to look forward to this day of passing the college entrance exams. You're giving up so easily—you're going to regret it later on."
Wu Jingyi wore a disposition as if she was frustrated by incompetence, but Huo Sining knew all too well how gleeful she must be feeling inside.
Huo Sining sighed to herself; it seemed her worries were justified. Wu Jingyi indeed had inquired about her college entrance application from Jin Chenyu, but fortunately, Jin had been forewarned by Huo Sining not to divulge her college application details to Wu Jingyi.