The Rise and Fall of the Last Imperial Cook

19. The Zhenhai Market

Translator: Li Ruoxuan

Proofread by Peter Gong

 

A very large seafood wholesale market called Zhenhai Market lies between Heyi Gate and Dongdu Gate in the northeast corner of Ningbo City. Though it is located on the outskirts of the city, it is near the confluence of three big rivers, which ensures the convenient and in-time transportation of fresh seafood from different waterways.

The seafood in the Zhenhai Market is mainly divided into two categories: big ones and small ones. The best big seafood comes from Xiang Shan, such as large yellow croaker, red crab, halibut, etc., while the most popular small seafood is sent from Zhou Shan, including the clam known as the “sea melon-seed”, goose barnacle, ark shell and many other kinds.

The seafood vendors in Zhenhai Market are also of two types: big traders and small vendors. But the distinction between them has nothing to do with big or small seafood; it depends on whether the seafood they sell is of high quality or not, the quantity of seafood and its destination of delivery.

Zhu Shengpeng can barely be a small vendor. Busying himself around the market every day with exhaustion, he can only get three or four baskets of seafood. One reason is that he is too picky with selecting seafood because the seafood he buys must be carefully selected to ensure its freshness. Another reason is that he really knows the ropes, being totally clear about the dirty tricks of some fishermen and fishing employers[i] who sell seafood in the Zhenhai Market. For example, the jargon of “putting on new-year clothes” among those sellers means making the seafood that has been on board for too long look fresher and thus more attractive to buyers. With the widespread practice of this dirty trick, it is not easy for Zhu Shengpeng to find some natural fresh seafood every day. Even if he manages to find some, the sellers will not necessarily strike a bargain with him.

The fishermen and fishing employers are all not willing to do business with Zhu Shengpeng, for every time this picky man will only take less seafood in a niggardly manner. The seafood of real high quality chosen by Zhu Shengpeng, however, does not look as good as those inferior products, and the price is not as competitive as that of the inferior ones. As a result, the good seafood selected by him is rather hard to sell. So day after day his business is getting worse. Today his situation remains unchanged: it’s nearly noon again, and half of his seafood remains unsold. It seems that he has to sell them at a loss to those small restaurants on the Bottom Street again; and, if they refuse to accept his seafood, Zhu Shengpeng will have to dry them for further preservation.

The best time of seafood selling has already gone after the noon. Standing straight in front of his stall, Zhu Shengpeng stares at his choicest seafood as if he can tell which part is going to lose moisture and about to shrivel. But totally different from those shriveled seafood, Zhu Shengpeng always looks neat with a tidy braid and clean clothes. In his opinion, it does not matter whether his business is good or not, or whether the comers buy his seafood or not; what he treasures most is the perfect spirit he shows while treating every customer, which, as a manifestation of respect, can help establish the image for himself and his stall as well.

“Brother! Brother Zhu! We are going to get rich! I finally got a big boss from Gulin town.” A young man with broom-like hair runs over with his sleeves flapping and greets Zhu Shengpeng with excitement from a distance.

The young man is called Cai Renxin, the sworn brother of Zhu Shengpeng. However, he lives worse than Zhu Shengpeng, and he can hardly be regarded as a small vendor; Cai Renxin is merely a “picker”. The so-called “picker” in the Zhenhai Market refers to those who wander around and look for some temporary businesses. Those pickers often introduce sellers to some outside buyers, or help buy seafood for some families who want to make a feast. If such kind of business is nowhere to be found, the pickers will then pick out those inferior seafood discarded by sellers before the market closes every day, and try to sell those leftovers in the living areas of the poor, such as sheds and workhouses.

“Brother Zhu, that Boss Bian is a long-term customer providing seafood to vegetable markets and restaurants in Gulin Town. Previously, people directly sent and sold goods to him in Gulin, and then he did the reselling. However, he gradually considers that there is little room for selection, and he can’t obtain the goods he wants with an appropriate price. So he comes to the Zhenhai Market himself with a view to finding a long-time partner who can collect seafood for him. Think about it! As long as you choose the goods according to the list he makes every day, the profit will be both handsome and stable. Really a good chance hard to come by! I don’t have enough money, so I want to take over the business with you, Brother Zhu.” Cai Renxin scratches his broom-shaped head excitedly.

“Really? Excellent! Come on, take me to the boss.” Zhu Shengpeng also gets a little excited after listening to the whole story. “Don’t worry, brother. I’ve made an appointment with Boss Bian. He will hang about in the market personally for a while and come to your stall after lunch.” “You are too green! What if he chooses others after the walk? Come on! Take me to him now.”

“Can it be?” Cai Renxin scratches his head and says, “I don’t think he will go back on his promise. What’s more, he can get a better and general understanding of the market after his walking around. Only in this way can he see our advantages and be more confident of our cooperation, right?”

“That’s true. But every trader and vendor in the market has got a deceiving tongue; with their words, all their seafood is of good quality with such labels as ‘salty’, ‘fresh’, ‘specific’ and ‘seasonal’.” Indeed, Zhu Shengpeng tells the truth. Those traders and vendors in the market all live on their glib tongues. The words “salty”, “fresh”, “specific” and “seasonal” are actually used to praise seafood’s good quality from four aspects: “salty” refers to the genuine seafood with pure taste; “fresh” certainly refers to the freshness and good preservation; “specific” means the specific sea area, for good seafood always comes from the specific area at the specific time; and “seasonal” means that different seasons make different seafood, for seasonal seafood is always the most delicious. In addition to these four points, some marketers will also advocate the quality of “stormy”, which refers to the bad weather on the sea to imply the difficulty of fishing. And there is also “scarcity”, emphasizing the small amount and uniqueness of the seafood, which are important factors in raising prices.

“But we will select goods of high quality and make out the new-year clothes on board. If necessary, we can also ‘hang up’[ii] to get the best price.”

“Shush! Don’t make such a fuss. Wanna everybody hear you? These are not advantages at all. Tricks like ‘hang up’ can only be used as a play for once, for they will eat our own reputation up. People will always watch out for us, and that kills all possibilities of further deal.” Zhu Shengpeng cannot come up with any special advantage that he can rely on to win over the big outside customers.

“Alright, alright, my fault.” After having lowered his voice for just two seconds, Cai Renxin raises his voice again and yells: “Ah! Boss Bian is here! You see, I told you that he would keep his words. He said he would come after lunch, but now he’s coming ahead of the time.” Cai Renxin scratches his head, rushes to greet the coming fat man in a long silk gown and leads him to Zhu Shengpeng.

Zhu Shengpeng slightly frowns, for he knows that coming ahead of the schedule means not keeping promise; on the contrary, it is actually a shrewd approach. Because if Boss Bian had come with Cai Renxin immediately, Cai Renxin could show him some better and bigger stalls that did not belong to Zhu Shengpeng, and the real condition of such fake stalls will be hard to tell. But if he comes at the appointed time, there will certainly be some preparations on the stall, which make the stall totally different from the one in normal times; the truth of this kind of prepared stall is also concealed. Therefore, the best way to see the true picture of the stall is to arrive ahead of the appointed time. Therefore, judging from this aspect, Zhu Shengpeng can make sure that this Boss Bian is an experienced man, and he must be on guard.

“Good, good! That’s not bad. By midday, the goods on your stand are still so neat with a natural color, which shows that you have picked the goods of high quality.”

With a few glances at the stall, Boss Bian has made such a judgment, which shows that he is an expert in seafood. The fish on the stall of Zhu Shengpeng are all shriveled in shape and dark in color, which can perfectly serve as the evidence of no cheating. After cooked, they will certainly be much more delicious than those fake ones which still maintain a good color after the long-time exposure to the sun and air.

Boss Bian’s praise relaxes Zhu Shengpeng’s guard a little bit; he is pleased to think that he might finally meet a big customer whose business philosophy proves consistent with his.

“I met this little brother just now. After a little talk, I think you two are capable enough to get well along in the whole market. Now I’m even surer about it: it’s not easy to pick good seafood in such a big market, but you made it.”

“Boss Bian, you really know the ropes! You can rest assured about it. If you give us the business, I can guarantee to get the best and freshest seafood for you.” Zhu Shengpeng points to the seafood on the stall.

“Great, great, I absolutely believe that. But the first thing of doing business is to make big profits. The price of such goods will certainly not be low. But that will not be a problem if you can sell them at a high price accordingly. But in my opinion, the buyers who come to your stall are attracted by the low price. If I guess it right, you won’t gain much every day; only a few discerning restaurants and big families will buy some seafood from you, while the rest will only be sold as inferior goods in the afternoon.” Boss Bian hits the mark and immediately points out the embarrassing situation of Zhu Shengpeng’s stall.

“What do you mean, Boss Bian? Let’s talk directly about the business. Do you want to cooperate with us? Don’t beat about the bush.” Cai Renxin has always been frank and open, and he asks before Zhu Shengpeng is able to answer anything.

“Oh well, do you want me to get this straight? The goods you have chosen are already like this. And what will they be like after being transferred to Gulin Town? No doubt that they will be even less attractive. But I want to keep both the fresh appearance and low price. So after the transfer to Gulin Town, I hope that you can still guarantee the good looking of the seafood. As for the low price, well, the final say belongs to me.”

Zhu Shengpeng knows what he means at once. Due to the lack of reliable fresh-keeping measures and the slow transportation, there will always be a long delay on the way of seafood transfer. Though the distance between Gulin town and the Zhenhai Market is only a few dozen miles, it still takes at least half a day to transport the seafood collected in the morning. Even with the best preservation measures, more or less, the freshness of the transferred seafood will be reduced. Seafood is a special kind of cooking ingredients; its price goes down with its appearance, even in a harsher way; even the original texture and the same taste won’t help. So if the appearance gets discounted, the price will be reduced 50% accordingly.

Cai Renxin also gets the point. Again, before Zhu Shengpeng opens his mouth, he asks: “Boss Bian, do you mean that we should not only pick the seafood for you, but also ‘dress’ it with ‘new-year clothes’?”

“That’s it! You youngsters are truly smart; it seems that I don’t need to explain more.”

“So why don’t you get straight to the point? If you want to get the seafood with new-year clothes, you can go directly to those vendors who collect the low-price goods from the boats. We will never do this kind of dishonest thing.” Cai Renxin refuses flatly.

“He can’t corporate with those who collect low-price goods, because the quality of the seafood with new-year clothes has been greatly slashed; their speed of getting stinky, rotten and sticky is much faster than that of fresh seafood. Any delay in the process of transfer will lead to a worse quality. At that time, even if the disguise is still there, the smell of those goods, the color of fish gills and the quality of meat can be seen and felt directly. Therefore, he must buy fresh seafood in the Zhenhai Market and then send it to Gulin Town after secondary processing; only by this can the appearance be guaranteed, and the inferior seafood can be sold at a good price.” Zhu Shengpeng seems to be teaching Cai Renxin, but in fact these words are addressed to Boss Bian.

“Exactly! Mr. Zhu, you’ve got a clear mind. It’s a sure deal for you two. I see, Mr. Zhu, you are the boss. What about it? Will you accept this good business?” Boss Bian expects that Zhu Shengpeng will swing this deal, for a business like this can completely change their current awkward situation; this is even a chance to make fortune expected by many people in the Zhenhai Market.

“No! Business is a matter of faith. To earn that kind of dirty money is to abandon our moral virtue. If I really want to make money at the cost of my faith and virtue, why should I wait for your business? You might be talking with a big boss now!” Zhu Shengpeng answers directly with clear but sharp words.

Being totally surprised by the answer, Boss Bian can’t help showing his embarrassment and starts to fidget. After a short time, he responds with a scornful smile: “Well, well… You two still want to stay in the Zhenhai Market with such a boat-pile-like head? Silly as a goose! No wonder the best seafood in your hand is always sold as dry goods. I’m not cursing you, but I’ m sure sooner or later you two will take the initiative to leave this Market. There is no life for men like you here. In my opinion, the only place you can turn to is Shanghai. Those foreigners do business seriously as you, but how can you two have that skill and capital to deal with them? You’d better accept your fate, you beggars!” After saying that, he stands up, dusts his long back hem and stalks off.

“You…” Cai Renxin understands that Boss Bian is pissing them off, but as soon as he is about to catch up and return the insult, Zhu Shengpeng suddenly pulls him back.

“Come on, don’t seek for trouble. He is right. We really can’t stay in the Zhenhai Market anymore. Business is getting worse day by day; actually I’ve been losing money at my stall recently. You rush about picking up remains and selling them, and you are no better than those beggars.”

Zhu Shengpeng’s knife-like words frustrate Cai Renxin enormously. He kicks the stool at the foot with hatred, and then rushes away in the other direction with his swinging sleeves, leaving Zhu Shengpeng standing in front of the stall alone as if lost in deep thought.

Zhu Shengpeng lies in bed that night, completely sleepless. His tossing and turning like the pancake in the pan constantly makes a creaking noise from the bed. His wife Ming Zhen sleeping beside him has been interrupted several times and asks what happened to him every time she wakes up. This kind of repeated inquiry, however, keeps challenging Zhu Shengpeng’s patience. Finally he puts on his clothes and steps out of the door. Ming Zhen calls him several times, but he merely turns a deaf ear to her.

It is only a few steps after he steps out of the courtyard that Zhu Shengpeng bumps into a black shadow coming from the next lane, which scares him greatly.

“Who’s there? Sneaking in the corner in the dead of the night, so terrifying!”

“Brother Zhu, it’s me.” The voice of Cai Renxin comes.

“Why are you hanging out at my yard so late?” Zhu Shengpeng asks on the surface, but he feels strongly in heart that Cai Renxin might not be able to sleep for the same reason as his.

“So why are you here, brother? Is it because of what Boss Bian said during the day?” Cai Renxin scratches the broom-like head and grins.

“He said a lot. You mean which sentence?”

“Going to Shanghai! Brother, he said we should go to Shanghai. To be honest, I’ve lost my patience with this Zhenhai market; I can’t stay here any longer. This kind of business is not for us. Every day I just pick up those inferior goods and sell them to others, and that makes me frustrated. Everybody knows that they are the goods disposed of by others, but still I can’t bear to take coins from those who can’t afford good seafood. Heaven knows how they cook those leftovers… Sometimes the goods I pick up are just bad as shit, and I’d rather throw them away than try to sell them. If I go on like this, soon I will get starved. In fact, brother, you are the same. I’m single, but you have a family to support. Things are now fairly well because you haven’t been separated from your grand family, and your parents and brothers will all help each other. But what about the life after separation? You will have to live a harder life if you don’t make a change.” Cai Renxin’s words are filled with both excitement of finding a way out and eagerness to escape.

Zhu Shengpeng’s eyes also light up, “But what can we do in Shanghai?”

“Come on, brother, think about it! Go and do business with foreigners, or help them do business, of course! By the way, you can also specialize in foreign business. Foreigners are the same as us. They also need to eat, drink, sleep and buy seafood. We can collect seafood and sell it to them. Or at worst, we can run errands for them and do the collection.”

A smile spreads across Zhu Shengpengs’s face, which is not a mocking one towards Cai Renxin’s simple idea, but a show of approval after seeing the hope in Cai Renxin’s words. But the smile disappears before it fully blooms, and the flashing light in his eyes also quickly dims: “Alas… But saying and dreaming mean nothing. How can we go to Shanghai with empty hands? How to do business with foreigners without any capital?”

“Well, I never think about the way back. I’ll find someone to pawn my house with two rooms at the entrance of the lane at dawn.” Cai Renxin has really made up his mind. His parents passed away when he was still very young, leaving him alone without any brother or sister. It is noised that he is a jinx with a broom-like head who brings bad luck to his whole family. However, the biggest advantage of being a jinx is that he can be his own master at will. Pawning the house, leaving the city, he can do whatever he wishes to.

“You won’t get much from your shabby house. There’s no spare house for me to pawn… I can assign the stall and sell those saved dry goods at a low price, but that’s far from enough.” Zhu Shengpeng calculates the money while speaking, “No, certainly not enough. We can’t even afford a better rickshaw to do pulling in Shanghai, let alone doing business.”

Cai Renxin scratches his head again. “Or we can borrow some money?” “From who? Who has spare money? And who will lend it to us?” Suddenly Zhu Shengpeng thinks of something and continues, “Yes! I can find my second brother!”

Translator’s Note:

[1] People who pay to hire boats to go out to sea and fish, and the gains all belong to them.

[2] A deceptive method of seafood trading generally used for keen competition in bidding.