Free Web NovelChapter 701: Chapter 618: Soaked Oysters and Oyster Crabs
The airshow’s professional group only lasted for two days, and the rest of the days were for the general public. Mr. Zhuo and Second Uncle had already had their fill, having seen everything there was to see, they exchanged farewells and each returned to their hometowns, leaving Wang Fan to continue running the business.
He didn’t really want to stay; after all, the task at hand was about building connections with big clients, and it wouldn’t improve his culinary skills. He preferred visiting tea restaurants and specialty food streets in Zhuhai. However, in the end, he decided to stay.
The reason for staying wasn’t because of the big clients, but because a ton of fans flocked to his Weibo asking what he would be eating for the next three days.
He could forgo the friendships with big clients, but he definitely couldn’t disappoint his fans. So, on the third morning, he went to the market to shop.
The variety of seafood in Zhuhai was truly dazzling, but the one drawback was the dizzying prices.
Wang Fan could afford it himself, but considering that most of his fans were ordinary folks, he aimed for the best value for money. He soon stopped at a stall specializing in oysters.
This booth only sold oysters, and it was packed with oysters of all sizes and varieties.
Buying oysters is a skill.
Cheap ones have reasons to be cheap, and expensive ones have justifications for their price. Whether one can understand those reasons is the key point.
Although Wang Fan didn’t have much experience in this area, he had his hacks.
The biggest fears when buying oysters are encountering two types: water-soaked oysters and oysters with crabs inside.
The crabs inside oysters are called pea crabs, which often parasitize in the mantle cavity of various shellfish, using their tiny claws to touch the oyster’s mouth, hindering it from eating, and then gorge themselves, growing plump and fat.
These little creatures aren’t parasites and are harmless to humans when eaten, but they have no meat, and the oysters they parasitize become very skinny, making it a terrible purchase.
Water-soaked oysters are even worse; if crabs in oysters are a pitfall, then water-soaked oysters are a meteor crater, a trap people step into by themselves.
Unlike water-injected pork, water-soaked oysters can swell overnight, gaining weight and looking plump without any trace of tampering.
An oyster that was once small becomes medium, and a medium one turns large overnight, barely recognizable to their parent shells, and the vendor will glorify them to you. Seeing such plump oyster meat, you then naturally fall into this meteor crater.
These types of oysters are usually sold as oyster meat directly, but the scariest situation is...
"Boss, how much for the oysters?"
In the corner of the stall, a man in his forties, wearing a tank top and slippers, was holding an oyster knife, prying out an exceptionally plump oyster. Before him was a tank of fresh water filled with many white and plump oysters.
Seeing a customer enter, the boss quickly stood up with a smile: "Different varieties and sizes have different prices. What type do you want, and how much?"
He sized up Wang Fan, his eyes lighting up.
This height, this appearance, this attire—definitely not a local, an ideal customer!
"Just some regular oysters around three taels, 300 jin in total."
An ideal big customer!
The boss’s heart warmed at the sight; such prime targets... oops, I mean, ideal customers, aren’t seen every day.
"I suppose you’re not buying this for personal consumption?"
Wang Fan nodded: "I’m planning to make oyster chicken pots for sale."
The boss was even more delighted: "I see, in that case, I think you might as well buy the ones I have here; they’re all premium oysters, just slightly opened with lower activity, but there’s absolutely no problem eating them. I can even shuck the oyster meat for you, making it more convenient for cooking, right?"
With that, he extended his hand to Wang Fan: "I won’t say much about the quality of this oyster meat; just try it yourself and you’ll know."
Wang Fan looked blankly at the oyster meat in the boss’s hand, not expecting to encounter a meteor crater right off the bat.
Indeed, this was the kind of situation that novices most dreaded.
The vendor pries the oysters open right in front of you, showing plump, seemingly fresh meat, and there’s no decaying smell to detect, making it look like excellent oysters.
However, once you take them home and cook, those once ’plus-sized adult clothes’ turn into baby-sized once heated.
"Boss, I don’t want those water-swollen oysters. Just give me the shelled ones from the counter."
Wang Fan didn’t want to waste time, so he directly told the boss he knew what he was doing.
The boss knew his ploy had failed but wasn’t embarrassed, cheerfully replying: "Alright, would you like to pick them yourself?"
Wang Fan moved to the counter, completely ignoring the long, skinny ones, picked up a round, chubby one, weighed it on the electronic scale, and it immediately showed 4.2 taels.
Wang Fan said speechlessly: "Boss, aren’t your tricks a bit too much? Can you do business properly? If not, I’m leaving."
Today, he regretted going out to buy; using the System Mall would have avoided these hassles.
The boss was anxious: "Sir, please mind your words. I’m conducting business honestly, how is that improper?"
Wang Fan said: "The oyster I just picked was at most 3 taels, yet you jumped it to 4.2. Your trickery has no bounds, huh?"
