Some vases that my wife doesn't use were sold at the seafood market, 14 in total. Previously, one was sold for five yuan. There are still 13 left. My wife took some photos and sent them to me; everything is fine except there are no dimensions. I took out a steel tape measure, found a piece of paper, and sketched a rough outline. According to the family photo position of the vases, one by one, I marked the round ones with diameter and height, and the square ones with length, width, and height. The markings were not on the actual photos but on my sketch, which saved more time.
Packing all 14 vases costs 50 yuan. Now there are only 13 left, so packing costs 45 yuan. Someone might say they want them on Friday; let's see if they have time to pick them up on Sunday.
I just finished cooking and had some time. I checked the seafood market app and found messages from around ten o'clock. They asked if I was free at noon. I replied that I was, and apologized for the wait. By this time, it was already noon.
After I replied, I quickly had my meal; the 13 vases were not yet packed in bags for easy transport.
About half an hour later, I received a call from a local phone number. I answered, and a man with a local accent said, "I'm the one buying the vases. I should arrive around one o'clock; are you free?" I said yes, I was packing them, and it would be convenient to carry them down when he arrived. We agreed to meet at the bus stop we had previously arranged.
I used all the spare plastic bags at home. If that wasn't enough, I also took two black plastic bags. I combined everything into three large plastic bags, put on my coat, hat, and gloves, and went downstairs directly to the bus stop.
There was no one waiting at the bus stop for a few minutes, so I sent him a message asking where he was. Then I put my phone in my pocket; about 20 meters away, I saw a man seemingly taking photos. I didn't check my phone; I had a feeling it was him since it wasn't convenient to park at the bus stop.
I walked straight towards him, holding bags filled with vases in both hands. I nodded at him and said, "Are you here to pick up the vases?" He replied, "Yes." I said, "Well, let's open them to check the quantity and quality." He took my bags and walked straight to his SUV. He opened the right rear door and placed the bags inside. I noticed that his car was filled with green plants and various items; I only recognized the green plants. He took the other two bags from me and placed them in the back seat as well.
Then he said, "While my phone still has battery, hurry up and transfer the money to me." There was no bargaining; he transferred the money directly.
I asked him how long he had been in this business. He said he hadn't been doing it for long, just a few months. I asked what he did before, and he said he worked on projects with his father-in-law but couldn't recover too many debts, so he was transitioning to selling flowers and fish. He mentioned that it was hard to do anything.
Regarding the vases, he said that flower prices are too high now; even adding a thermal preservation film costs an extra five yuan per bunch, which is not worth the trouble. I asked if the flowers were local or from Yunnan, and he said they were all local because out-of-town flowers might be hard to keep alive. I asked how the prices compared between Yunnan and local flowers; he said Yunnan flowers were cheaper, while local ones were more expensive. However, local flowers are more resilient in the long run.
I mentioned that I also kept a few parrots, and he said parrots are hard to keep; their calls can be annoying and might disturb the neighbors. I told him I watched videos on hatching eggs and hand-feeding, and he said it takes about two hours to deal with them, which is exhausting. I asked what was easier to keep, and he said he raised guppies, which breed quickly and sell well. He buys fish for fifty cents each and sells them for ten yuan per bag of eight at his stall; they sell pretty fast. He also mentioned breeding pure strains, and there’s a type called "ladyboy fish," which I didn’t understand. He talked about how to feed the fry with fish worms, mixing them until they were finely crushed, and then supplementing the fish's nutrition. The thought of fish worms made me feel uneasy, and I casually mentioned that every time I tried to keep fish, they all died. He agreed, saying that if one fish gets sick, it could wipe out the whole tank. He prioritizes fish he raises himself, not those soaked in chemicals, as those are harder to keep alive.
He continued talking about parrots, saying that sun conures and monks don’t need certification anymore and can be kept freely, but they are expensive. I agreed, and he said parrots are messy and need frequent cleaning. I said yes, and he mentioned that sun conures can hold their poop, which is why they can store it. I admitted I hadn't really studied the principle behind it.
He said if one wants to make money, it's better to raise the more expensive ones since the time cost is about the same for all.
To be continued.