Jiang Xia placed her hand on her abdomen. Surely it wasn't that serious?
Jiang Xia mentally calculated the possibility of having a child; it was still somewhat possible.
If she was pregnant, she would still give birth.
It was the end of August now; if she was pregnant, the child would be born next May, still in time for university.
It was just that the child would be too young then…
Seeing her silence, Zhou Chenglei unconsciously tightened his embrace, whispering, “If you don’t give birth, it’s bad for your health; I’ve heard it’s very harmful.”
Jiang Xia was hurt by his touch and snapped back to reality: “If you’re pregnant, why won’t you give birth? Let go, you’re hurting me.”
“You’re willing to give birth?” Zhou Chenglei was a little incredulous, his arms tightening even more, as if he wanted to hold her close.
“That’s your child and mine, why wouldn’t I want to give birth? Don’t you want to give birth?”
“No, how could I not want to?” That was her and his child! How could he not want to?
He had been reluctant to let her have a child so young.
And she was still so young, only twenty, with a university she wanted to attend; he didn’t think she would want to have a child so early.
“If you’re pregnant, just have the baby. I’ve calculated the time; after the baby is born, I’ll still have time to go to university. It’s just that the baby will depend on you…”
“I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry, I’ll definitely take good care of our child.” Zhou Chenglei’s eyes and brows were full of smiles.
Jiang Xia believed him and smiled, “Okay.”
Actually, it was just a guess, but he was already acting as if he were really pregnant. Jiang Xia just found it amusing.
Seeing her accept being pregnant and having the baby so calmly, without dissatisfaction, anger, or reluctance, and even liking and anticipating it just like him, Zhou Chenglei’s heart was gently filled with an unknown emotion, leaving no gaps.
So good!
She’s really too good!
So good that he felt he couldn’t love her enough!
Zhou Chenglei gently kissed her lips.
He didn’t know how much time had passed. The desk was piled high with clothes, and Jiang Xia heard the faint sounds of people saying goodbye coming from outside the yard.
Zhou Chenglei carried her to the wardrobe to get tools.
Jiang Xia’s hand pressed against the wardrobe door.
Zhou Chenglei looked at her, his eyes deep and unfathomable.
Jiang Xia's face was flushed: "Let nature take its course this month. If it's pregnant, we'll
have the baby; if not, we'll continue with contraception next month." Love is a two-way street. He, nearing thirty, was willing to postpone having children for a few years for her. Now that something unexpected had happened, she was willing to try for him for another month.
Having a child sooner or later is better; there's no easy way to measure which is better. Both have advantages and disadvantages, but if their child came, whether unexpectedly or expected, she would look forward to it, be happy, and welcome it, no matter when.
Zhou Chenglei's Adam's apple bobbed. He hugged her tightly, fulfilling her wish, and fulfilling his own.
He always kept his word, so this time he kept his promise from noon, holding her tightly.
Without barriers,
two sincere hearts resonated, connected, and touched…
love seemed never enough, a constant desire to love more, more.
Zhou Chenglei knew he was doomed!
There was a knock on the door. Zhou Chenglei ignored it, but Jiang Xia was nearly scared to death!
Long, long afterward, Jiang Xia was pinned against the wall by him.
*
The next day at 6:30, the sky was clear and blue.
They both woke up at the same time, opened their eyes at the same time, and looked at each other at the same time.
Jiang Xia smiled: "Good morning!"
Jiang Xia's smile was gentle, her voice soft, melodious, and ethereal, like a nightingale singing in the early morning forest. It was
melodious and soothing, cleansing the soul.
Waking up in the morning to a smile beside you, a greeting in your ear, truly could warm the entire morning!
Zhou Chenglei smiled back, his cold brows softening. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her forehead: "Good morning."
Jiang Xia sensed something, her heart trembling.
Last night, time after time, he lasted so long each time. Was he even going to go out today?
She pushed him: "Get up quickly, we need to go to the city to buy a boat, hurry!"
Her hands weren't strong enough, so Jiang Xia kicked him.
Zhou Chenglei: "..."
"Don't move!" His deep voice was a little hoarse.
Jiang Xia: "…………"
Knowing that yesterday was already his limit, Zhou Chenglei held her tightly in his arms and sighed, "You need to exercise, you're really too delicate."
Jiang Xia: "……,……"
Bullshit!!
Why didn't he say he had too much energy!
"Get up and go for a run, run for a while. You have to run every morning and evening, ten kilometers every day, no, twenty kilometers!"
He needs to make him burn some energy, otherwise he'll just use it on her!
Zhou Chenglei chuckled: "You run with me."
Jiang Xia refused directly: "No."
When she was in school, the daily running exercises and 800 meters were her nightmare!
"When you can't run anymore, I'll carry you."
Jiang Xia's heart skipped a beat. If he carried her, his stamina wouldn't be as good at night, right?
"Then I'll try it when I have time. Get up now, I have a lot to do today." Jiang Xia took out her watch and checked the time, urging him again.
"Okay." Zhou Chenglei responded and got up to find her clothes.
Today she has to buy a boat, meet Zhang Rui, and go to the publishing house; there's definitely a lot to do.
*
Today's breakfast is millet and sea cucumber porridge, and only Jiang Xia's bowl has sea cucumber.
Not only that, but Jiang Xia's bowl also has a lot of shrimp.
At this moment, Zhou Chenglei put a peeled hard-boiled egg in her bowl: "Eat more." He
then put some shrimp from his bowl into hers.
Jiang Xia quickly stopped him: "I can't eat that. Mom, next time you can put more sea cucumber so we can all eat together."
Zhou's mother smiled: "Ah Lei said you're weak and often have fevers; eating more sea cucumber will strengthen your body. This stuff is hard to find; we're all strong and healthy, we don't need it. You eat more, but we don't like it."
Zhou's father nodded with a smile: "Yes, Xia, eat more. Good health is the greatest wealth. We used to eat too much; now we don't care."
What could Jiang Xia say? Knowing they were being accommodating, she could only wait until next time she cooked and make more for everyone.
After breakfast, the three of them, as usual, chose to ride bicycles to the city shipyard.
This time, Zhou Chengxin rode his bicycle with his father on the back, while Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Xia each rode their own bicycle.
If Jiang Xia couldn't pedal anymore, his father could pedal.
When they arrived at the shipyard, the gatekeeper, knowing they were there to pay the remaining deposit, led them directly to the factory manager's office.
Factory Manager Zhou, who had been frantically researching the Kent rings these past few days, perked up upon seeing them and smiled, "Have you prepared the money?"
Jiang Xia handed him a file folder, smiling, "This is the remaining deposit, Factory Manager Zhou, please count it."
Factory Manager Zhou took it, poured out all seven stacks of money, licked his fingers, and began counting in front of them.
Jiang Xia watched as his fingers flew across the paper, quickly finishing one stack.
Seven thousand yuan was counted in no time.
"That's correct. I'll give you a receipt."
Factory Manager Zhou stuffed the money back into the file folder, opened a drawer, put the money inside, locked it, and then began writing the receipt.
"Thanks to you, we've received a large new order. Your ship should be ready soon, maybe even a month ahead of schedule."
Jiang Xia smiled and said, "Thank you so much! Although we really hope to receive the ship sooner, the foreign order is also very important, and we can't afford to delay it. We can accept the ship on time."
Factory Director Zhou found Jiang Xia's words very pleasant and smiled, "No, we're working on completing the ship that's almost finished so we can free up manpower to complete those two large orders."
Jiang Xia then asked, "Have the Kent rings been made yet?"
Factory Director Zhou frowned upon hearing this and shook his head, "Not yet, we're trying to figure it out."
The Kent ring has a complex structure, with three parts and more than twenty surfaces. The precision requirement is less than a hair's breadth to fit it in, so it's not easy.
But no matter how difficult it is, it must be made!
Otherwise, if we buy Kent rings from Europe and America, which cost more than a thousand US dollars each, and such a large container ship needs a lot of Kent rings, we would have to spend tens of thousands of dollars on Kent rings for each ship. How would we make any money then?
At this moment, a technician came in with a stack of Kent ring drawings.
Jiang Xia, sensing the situation, tactfully offered to leave.
Zhou Chenglei glanced at the contents of the blueprints and stopped in his tracks.
Zhou Chenglei tugged at Jiang Xia's hand and whispered, "Wait for me."
Jiang Xia, confused, stood and waited.
Zhou Chenglei turned to Director Zhou and said, "Director Zhou, may I borrow some paper and pen?"
Director Zhou handed him some stationery and a Hero fountain pen from the desk.
Zhou Chenglei took the paper and pen and went outside, using the wall outside the office as a desk, and began to write seriously.
Jiang Xia watched Zhou Chenglei write down several sets of data, then went back inside and handed them to Director Zhou: "Director Zhou, see if this helps."
"What?" Director Zhou was looking at the blueprints, but he still took the paper, glanced at it casually, and then his eyes widened. He quickly told the technician, "Go and notify everyone to hold a seminar!"
Director Zhou excitedly walked forward and patted Zhou Chenglei on the shoulder: "Comrade Zhou, you may have done us a great favor! Haha... I'll thank you properly when it's successful!"
He wanted to think about what he could put on their ship?
Zhou Chenglei said calmly, "Director Zhou, no need to be so polite. Next time you buy a ship, just give me a discount."
"Okay, okay! Definitely a discount. By the way, how do you know all this? Have you studied it?"
Zhou Chenglei only said, "I've had some contact with it and know a little bit. I don't know if it's right or not, you try it."
If his comrades were there, they would know that he had indeed had some contact with it, not just a little bit.
Director Zhou laughed, "Really impressive! You and your husband are both impressive! Come on, let me see you out first."
At this moment, another technician walked in: "Engineer Zhou, it's no good, it's cracked again! Everyone suggested using propane for preheating."
Director Zhou frowned when he heard this: "Are you kidding me? It's a weld seam several thousand meters long. Using propane, how many tons would that require? At least tens of tons of propane. Where are you going to find a supplier?"
"Sigh, this is indeed a problem, but the supplier doesn't agree to use acetylene. I can't think of anything else to use. It seems like I've tried everything, and it always cracks!"
He was going crazy! If the preheating temperature for welding the pile legs is not controlled well, cracks are likely to occur during the welding process. This had been tried many times. The technical engineer scratched his scalp, where only a few hairs remained.
Factory Director Zhou also had a headache. "Think of another way! We've overcome so many technical hurdles, we don't believe we'll be stopped by the preheating of the pile leg welding!"
This self-elevating drilling platform was also an export order; they'd overcome dozens of technical challenges. Today, he refused to believe they'd be stopped by the preheating of the pile leg welding!
Jiang Xia, upon hearing this, said, "Preheating can also use silicon carbon rods, iodine lamps, tungsten lamps, and calcium silicate boards, etc."
The technicians looked at Jiang Xia in surprise: "What did you just say? Where did you hear that?!"
Factory Director Zhou also stared sharply at Jiang Xia.
Jiang Xia looked surprised: "Haven't you heard of them? I think I've seen them in a book, but I don't know if I'm mistaken. I don't remember the specific names. I don't know anything, so I'm just talking nonsense. Just listen and don't worry about misleading you; that's not my fault!"
Jiang Xia was simply mentioning the preheater she'd heard of in her previous life, giving them a hint.
As for how those preheaters were made, she really had no idea.
She didn't know if they could use them, or if they could even be made in this era; she simply didn't understand anything about them.
But with such an obvious name, Jiang Xia felt that those who understood would understand, and those who could make it would eventually do so.
Sometimes, scientists, inventors, and technicians just need a little inspiration, a little hint, and then they break through the bottleneck.
Hope this helps!
This era was one of rapid technological development and progress in China, but it was also an era of suppression everywhere. Everyone was holding their breath, desperately striving to improve and become stronger, so as not to be looked down upon by the great powers.
Director Zhou was one of those people who worked so hard, and he was also someone who understood!
He looked at Jiang Xia's expression and his lips twitched: Just who were these two?
"Meeting! Notify everyone of a meeting! No, wait a minute, I'll hold the Kent Ring seminar first, no, I'll hold this meeting first! Go and notify everyone of the meeting!"
The technician quickly ran to notify everyone to hold a meeting to discuss the matter. Factory
Director Zhou happily said to Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Xia, "Come on, I'll see you out!"
Jiang Xia, knowing he was busy, smiled and said, "Factory Director Zhou, no need to see us out, you go ahead and get busy! Just finish the boat my family ordered as soon as possible."
Zhou's father also said, "Yes, no need to see us out, we can go ourselves. Factory Director Zhou
, you go ahead and get busy!" Another boatman called to Factory Director Zhou, who responded before saying to Jiang Xia and the others, "It's alright, come on, I'll see you out. I promise to finish your boat as soon as possible, as quickly as possible! Remember to come to the shipyard more often, even if you have nothing to do."
Their visits to the shipyard either brought in orders or gave him inspiration; it wouldn't hurt to come more often.
This couple was truly their shipyard's lucky charm!
Some of the shipyard's boatmen, seeing Factory Director Zhou so warmly personally seeing them off, assumed Jiang Xia and his group were visiting leaders.
Factory Director Zhou escorted them all the way to the factory gate, watching them ride away on their bicycles before hurriedly running back.
Yes, running, running incredibly fast, even singing the national anthem: "Arise..."
In the distance, Zhou's father, riding Jiang Xia's women's bicycle, whistled. His son and daughter-in-law were truly a source of pride!
It's good to be educated!
After the boat returned, he planned to travel throughout the village, telling everyone about the entire process of buying the boat!
Jiang Xia hadn't even ridden halfway, maybe a quarter of the way, when she couldn't pedal anymore; her legs felt like lead. Zhou's father took the bicycle from her.
Zhou Chenglei looked at his father's piercing gaze at the women's bicycle he and Jiang Xia had used for their wedding, and felt a pang of heartache.
He wanted to keep it for life.
Couldn't his dad be a little more refined?
***
After leaving the shipyard, the four of them arrived in the city, ate at a restaurant, and then went to the publishing house.
Since they passed the publishing house on their way to the department store, they decided to deliver the books there first.
As soon as they arrived outside the publishing house, they encountered Zhang Fuyan, who was there to have dinner with her aunt.
"Xiaxia!" Zhang Fuyan happily stepped forward and took her hand. "Did you come to see me?"
Jiang Xia smiled and replied, "I had some business in the city today, and I just finished translating a book, so I brought it over for you to see if it's acceptable."
"So fast? Come on, I'll take you to my aunt!"
Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Xia went inside together, while Zhou's father and Zhou Chengxin decided to wander around and meet at the mall later.
Zhang Fuyan led the two to her aunt's office.
The office door was open, and someone was inside. Zhang Fuyan gestured for Jiang Xia and Jiang Xia to wait.
The three waited outside in the corridor.
Since the door wasn't closed, it meant what she said wasn't unacceptable, so Zhang Fuyan didn't leave and waited outside.
Inside the office, Wen Wan was sitting at a large desk, looking somewhat listless.
Fan Lili opposite her was proofreading the translated manuscript of the science magazine she had submitted, her brows furrowed.
Fan Lili flipped through two more pages, then couldn't bear to read any longer and closed the book. "Comrade Wen Wan, this translation for the science magazine is substandard and cannot be used. The payment for this magazine's translation cannot be settled. The other book is fine; you can go to the finance department to settle the payment."
Wen Wan blushed and forced a smile, saying, "I'm sorry, Editor-in-Chief, for causing you trouble. I'll take it back, check the dictionary, and translate it again."
It was all because she'd been at sea every day for the past two days, resulting in her poor translation.
What was infuriating was that she'd searched until sunset yesterday and still hadn't found the red coral.
She knew it wasn't Zhou Chenglei's turn to go out to sea today, so she rushed to finish the translation last night and sent it over. She hadn't been prepared, which was why this had happened.
"No need!" Fan Lili refused directly.
Science magazines value rigor above all else; how could they be careless?
Her translation wasn't rigorous and detailed enough, containing many errors.
"Does Editor Fan have any more books to translate?"
Fan Lili picked out two novels from a pile of English books. "These two are twenty yuan each. Translate them and bring them over."
Wen Wan's English was quite good, at least compared to many others. Few people truly understand English, and many technical terms were new, so it was normal that she didn't know them.
Wen Wan breathed a sigh of relief; at least it didn't affect her translating other books. She smiled and accepted the books. "Thank you, Editor. I will definitely translate them carefully and bring them over. I'll head back now."
"Okay." Fan Lili glanced at her watch; it was almost midnight.
Wen Wan glanced at her watch—a Rolex.
In this life, her goal was to be like the editor, sitting in such a large office, managing dozens of people, dressed in world-renowned brands, beautiful and cool. As
Wen Wan left with the two books, she saw the three people standing there.
The first person she saw was the editor-in-chief's niece. Just as she was about to greet her with a polite smile, she saw her turn and take Jiang Xia's arm. "Xiaxia, let's go! Let me introduce you to my aunt." Jiang Xia
again? Wen Wan felt like she'd fallen into an ice cave!
Why was she everywhere she went?!
She was so annoying.
Zhang Fuyan knocked on the wooden door and went in: "Aunt, I've brought Comrade Xia and her husband!"
Jiang Xia greeted her politely: "Hello."
Fan Lili stood up and smiled: "Welcome, please have a seat."
Fan Lili walked from her large desk to the coffee table and sofa in front of her, gesturing for them to sit: "Please sit!"
Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei sat down side-by-side on the sofa.
Zhang Fuyan, sitting on the armchair, smiled: "Aunt, Xiaxia has already translated a book. See if I'm exaggerating!"
Fan Lili smiled helplessly.
Jiang Xia took out her translated French book, handed it to Fan Lili with both hands, and smiled, "Editor-in-Chief Fan, please take a look."
Jiang Xia had just noticed the nameplate on the office door that read "Editor-in-Chief Fan. "
Fan Lili was surprised to see this book; it was quite thick and challenging.
She wondered how quickly it had been translated.
She took it with both hands and smiled, "Let me take a look first."
Fan Lili was also fluent in several languages; otherwise, she wouldn't have been an editor-in-chief. She had earned her position through her own abilities, not through family connections.
Fan Lili opened Jiang Xia's translation and was immediately struck by her handwriting!
It was incredibly neat and clean, each character the same size, with uniform strokes. It wasn't printed, but the font was as standard as if it had been printed.
The handwriting resembled regular script, written with a fountain pen—it was extremely beautiful to read.
She didn't look at the contents but casually flipped through the entire translation.
Every page she turned to was free of typos.
Honestly, if it weren't for the lines on this notebook, I could just photocopy it and make a book without any typesetting!
"Xia's handwriting is so beautiful!" Fan Lili couldn't help but sincerely praise.
Jiang Xia smiled.
Fan Lili started reading the translation from the first page and was immediately struck by the writing style!
Translation also depends on writing style; the same sentence can be translated in a flat, straightforward way by some, while others can bring out a touch of poetry.
Therefore, even with the same original book, the translated book will be different for each translator.
Zhang Fuyan asked impatiently, "Auntie, isn't Xiaxia's translation excellent?"
Fan Lili closed the book after checking a few pages and smiled, "Yes, yes, it's very well translated!"
Then she said to Jiang Xia, "Very impressive! The translation is really good! No wonder Yanyan praises you so much! If it weren't for the timing, I would have read it all in one go."
Jiang Xia smiled, "I'm very happy to receive your approval. I didn't embarrass Yanyan."
Fan Lili took out her wallet from her bag, counted out ten ten-yuan bills, and handed them to Jiang Xia, smiling, "This is the royalties for this book, one hundred yuan."
To be honest, one hundred yuan was originally a special price for Yanyan, wanting to give her niece a little more pocket money. So that day, when she heard Yanyan say that she was offering Jiang Xia one hundred yuan per book, she scolded her niece. But today, Fan Lili felt that Jiang Xia's translation was worth one hundred yuan!
Wen Wan didn't leave. Standing outside, she heard that a book was only one hundred yuan and couldn't help but secretly glance at it. That book wasn't even as thick as the two she was holding!
Connections really make a difference!
Jiang Xia accepted the magazine and smiled, "Thank you, Editor-in-Chief Fan."
"You're Yan Yan's friend, why are you being so formal? Just call me Aunt Fan from now on. You understand English, right?"
"Yes, I studied it."
"I have a few English science and technology magazines here. I'm in a bit of a rush, could you see if you can translate them?"
Jiang Xia replied, "Okay, I'll take a look."
Zhang Fuyan, with her keen eye, ran to fetch all the magazines from the desk.
Fan Lili directly gave all five magazines to Jiang Xia: "They're all quite academic magazines, rather difficult, with many technical terms and vocabulary. You might need to do a lot of research to ensure a 100% accurate translation. If you translate these magazines, it'll be sixty yuan per magazine."
Wen Wan gritted her teeth upon hearing this; Editor-in-Chief Fan only paid her fifty yuan per magazine.
Having connections makes all the difference!
However, she couldn't even translate these science and technology magazines well; she didn't believe Jiang Xia could. She herself had passed the College English Test Band 4 in her past life! Jiang Xia, in her past life, was a short-lived person, killed by domestic violence. How could she compare to her?
Jiang Xia flipped through a magazine and immediately understood its contents. The content of science magazines from that era was no challenge for her. "Okay, I'll translate one first and bring it over for you to see."
"Alright!" She glanced at her watch; it was time to leave work. She smiled and said, "Let's go eat first."
Jiang Xia smiled, "We already ate before we came."
Fan Lili felt a little disappointed. She wanted to have a good chat with Jiang Xia and try to recruit her to the publishing house.
Her niece had told her that Jiang Xia not only spoke French but also several other languages; such talent was truly hard to find.
She smiled and said, "Oh, okay. Then let's have dinner together next time you come over, and you and Yan Yan can come to my house to play sometime."
Jiang Xia just smiled politely and said, "Okay."
Wen Wan, hearing this, knew they were leaving and quickly left.
Jiang Xia also said goodbye and left shortly after, smiling broadly as she walked out of the publishing house with Zhou Chenglei.
The midday sun was quite strong, so Jiang Xia quickly grabbed the straw hat hanging on her bicycle and put it on.
Zhou Chenglei placed a few magazines in the bicycle basket, then picked up the arm sleeves and took Jiang Xia's hand to put them on her.
Just then, a black sedan drove by on the road and suddenly stopped.
Zhou Chenglei recognized Jiang's father's car and reminded Jiang Xia, "It's Dad's car."
Jiang Xia looked over.
The back door of the black sedan was pushed open, and Jiang's father got out.
He had seen his daughter and son-in-law by chance, which was why he had the driver stop.
Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Xia quickly went over.
At this moment, a gust of wind blew, and Jiang Xia's straw hat flew off her head!
Jiang's father saw this and quickly chased after her to pick up the straw hat.
Zhou Chenglei also moved, but Jiang's father was closer and picked it up first.
He pulled Jiang Xia over, and the two of them called out in unison, "Dad."
Jiang's father smiled and responded, then put the straw hat on his daughter's head, tying the string for her just like when she was a child. While tying the string, he said, "Why didn't you call ahead before coming to the city to come home for lunch?"
Jiang Xia smiled and replied to her father, "It's a weekday today, and I thought you and Mom wouldn't be home for lunch, so I didn't go back."
"Since you're here, come home for dinner." Jiang's father then asked Zhou Chenglei, "Chenglei, are you and Xiaxia staying at home tonight?"
Jiang Xia replied, "No, my father-in-law and uncle came to the city too, and we're going out to sea tomorrow."
Jiang's father, thinking something was wrong, asked, "What are you doing at the newspaper office? Is there anything I can help you with?"
Jiang Xia smiled and said, "We came to the city today to book a boat. I found a part-time translation job at the local publishing house to take some foreign books back for translation."
Jiang's father felt both gratified and heartbroken. His daughter had grown up and was already earning money to support the family. He must be under pressure from the boat. He said, "Buying a boat is good. Do you have enough money? I have some savings..."
Zhou Chenglei replied, "It's enough, Dad, don't worry."
Jiang Xia said, "Yes, it's all enough."
Jiang's father smiled and said, "Good, remember to let me know if you need more money."
Jiang Xia asked if her mother was busy and if Jiang Dong had returned to school.
"Yes, he has yesterday's train tickets." The father and daughter exchanged a few more words.
Just then, Jiang's father's driver pulled a can of peanut oil, a bag of rice, a box of canned yellow peaches, and a box of mooncakes from the trunk and came over.
They greeted each other.
Jiang's father said, "This is the Mid-Autumn Festival bonus my company just gave out today. Take it home and eat it."
Jiang Xia refused, "No need, we have plenty of food at home."
Jiang's father wouldn't allow it, "It's just your mother and me at home now. Your mother also gets bonuses from the factory, and we can't finish them all. Take it home and eat it. I have to go back to work, so I'll be going now. Be careful on your way home, don't go back too late."
"Okay," Zhou Chenglei replied.
Jiang's father had a meeting to attend, so he gave a few more instructions and got into the car. He rolled down the window and waved to his daughter.
Jiang Xia waved back.
The car slowly drove into the street and drove away, but Jiang's father kept looking back at his daughter through the rear window.
Fan Lili, who had just left the publishing house to get her car, witnessed the whole scene and was secretly shocked.
As someone who works in media, it was impossible for her not to know Jiang's father—he was a frequent newspaper reporter. What
was the relationship between Jiang Xia and him? She was surprised to realize they both shared the surname Jiang.
No wonder Jiang Xia's French was so good; she came from a family with a strong French background!
She had been misled, and her niece was wrong too. Jiang Xia wasn't just some ordinary girl from a small fishing village; she was the city's little princess!
Just then, Zhang Fuyan ran up to Jiang Xia, handing her an envelope containing several foreign language books and a few cassette tapes: "I almost forgot to give these to you. These are the photos I took when I visited your house last time. These are the books you wanted."
Jiang Xia hadn't expected to find them so quickly. She took them, smiling and thanking her: "Thank you. How much? I'll pay you."
Zhang Fuyan: "No need, they're all old books my cousin used."
Just then, Fan Lili's car pulled up.
She rolled down the window, smiling and waving goodbye to Jiang Xia, even more enthusiastic and friendly than before.
Zhang Fuyan was returning to Beijing tomorrow, and told Jiang Xia to write to her when he had time. Then she got into her aunt's car, waved goodbye to Jiang Xia, and drove away.
Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei also gathered the things Jiang's father had given them and headed towards their bicycles. Jiang Xia
held the bicycle, while Zhou Chenglei was responsible for loading the things onto it. The can of oil, the bag of rice, and the mooncakes were hung on either side of the handlebars; they weren't very heavy. The oil and rice were in ten-pound bags, and the mooncakes were the lightest. Then the box of canned peaches and the books were put in the bicycle basket. There were two cans in total, and they could barely fit halfway in before getting stuck.
After Zhou Chenglei finished loading the things, he took the bicycle and left with Jiang Xia.
Wen Wan only emerged from the corner pushing her bicycle after everyone had left.
Her expression was somewhat unpleasant.
So that's how it is!
No wonder Jiang Xia was working at the publishing house and earning such high translation fees; it turned out it was because of her father's connections.
She finally understood; Editor-in-Chief Fan was giving Jiang Xia money.
Regardless of whether Jiang Xia could translate or not, or how well she translated, she would earn more than her.
Even if Jiang Xia couldn't translate, the publishing house staff would praise her to the skies, after all, they were finding a way to give her money.
Sometimes life is just that unfair; many jobs in this world can be inherited!
However, Jiang Xia's time to rely on her good family background won't last much longer. In two or three years, her father will fall from power, and her mother's garment factory will go bankrupt. Let's see what she'll have to rely on then.
Zhou Chenglei treats her so well, and the Zhou family is so tolerant of her, but only because of her background.
Just wait!
In a few years, let's see how everyone treats her!
***
Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei left the publishing house and went to the department store.
Zhou's father and Zhou Chengxin were waiting outside; the two had looked around before coming here to wait.
They all went to the jewelry store in the mall.
The sales clerk from last time recognized Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei and warmly led them to Zhang Rong's office.
Seeing them arrive, Zhang Rong quickly invited them to sit down. After they exchanged greetings, he said to Zhou Chenglei, "Arui called me the day before yesterday saying something came up and he couldn't come. He said
he'd come to see you in a few days." Zhou Chenglei understood that he must have been suddenly called away on a mission. "It's alright, Second Brother, how much is this worth?"
Zhou Chenglei gestured for his father to bring out the item.
The silver piece had always been held by Zhou's father. He felt his youngest son's eyes were only on his wife, and he couldn't see anything else, plus he was deaf in one ear. He was afraid his son would lose it without even realizing it, so he didn't trust Zhou Chenglei to handle it.
Zhang Rong assumed they were there to sell pearls again, but instead, Zhou's father pulled a huge object from a snakeskin bag.
When this object, about the size of a small washbasin, was placed on the table, he was startled: "This is silver?"
Zhou Chengxin was also stunned!
Zhou Chenglei nodded: "Could you please tell me how much I can sell it for, Second Brother?"
Zhang Rong excitedly replied, "I'll take it to be cleaned and then calculate it for you."
Then, Zhang Rong took the silver and left.
Good heavens, there are so many good things in the sea! He doesn't even want to be the manager of this jewelry store anymore!
Half an hour later, Jiang Xia emerged from the department store carrying 13,775.55 yuan.
Zhou's father and son, Zhou Chengxin, supported each other as they followed behind the couple.
They had never seen so many 10,000-yuan notes in their lives; their legs were weak, but they had to pretend nothing was wrong.
They couldn't understand why Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Xia could be so nonchalant, as if they only had 1.7 yuan in their pockets.
Jiang Xia felt it wasn't safe to keep the money at home. These past two days, Zhou's mother had checked the gate three times before bed to make sure it was locked, and she didn't dare go out during the day.
She said, "Why don't we open a bank account, deposit the money, and then withdraw it when we need it?"
Zhou's father replied, "That's safer, but it's too much trouble to come to the city every time we need money."
Zhou Chenglei also had this plan; keeping the money at home was never safe: "Let's open an account at the credit union in town; it's closer."
There was only one bank in town, the rural credit union.
"Let's open an account back in town." The internet wasn't as developed then, and cross-bank withdrawals weren't possible, so they definitely needed to find a bank close to home.
So the family hurriedly rode their bicycles back to town to open an account.
However, they couldn't get much faster, because Jiang Xia had fallen asleep again. It was around 1 or 2 pm, the perfect time for a nap,
and sitting on the back of the bicycle was boring, plus Zhou Chenglei was riding steadily, so she easily drifted off to sleep.
Zhou Chenglei noticed Jiang Xia was asleep and slowed down, gesturing for his father and older brother to go back first.
But Zhou's father and Zhou Chengxin wouldn't allow it.
Jiang Xia was carrying a huge sum of money!
What if she lost it?
So the two of them followed behind him at a leisurely pace.
Zhou Chengxin admired Zhou Chenglei; braving the scorching sun, he slowly pedaled, not wanting to wake Jiang Xia.
His father was the same!
He completely thought there was no problem, even smiling broadly, as if he'd found money.
Halfway there, they encountered Wen Wan.
Wen Wan had also arrived by bicycle and was currently resting by the roadside, feeling like she was about to suffer from heatstroke. She
had run out of water and was both hot and thirsty.
The sun was blazing, and Wen Wan, like Jiang Xia, had wrapped herself up tightly. She wanted to take it off, but hesitated.
Despite her many farm chores, her skin was still fairer than most, a natural beauty, but not as fair as Jiang Xia's—she was a shade darker. Thinking that even someone as fair as Jiang Xia was afraid of the sun, she didn't want to take it off. Wen Wan
was seething with anger, wanting to outdo Jiang Xia in every way.
Just as she was hesitating whether to remove her hat and arm sleeves, she saw Zhou Chenglei and his group approaching on bicycles.
Wen Wan didn't want to deal with Zhou Chenglei anymore, but she was so thirsty!
She felt like she would die if she didn't drink some water soon.
Zhou Chenglei saw someone ahead, but Wen Wan was so bundled up that he didn't recognize her and was about to walk past.
As they approached, the other person reached out and stopped them, shouting, "Brother Zhou! Uncle Yongfu! Brother Zhou!"
Jiang Xia was woken up again!
Zhou Chenglei: "..."
Zhou Chenglei felt a hand move at his waist. He steadily stopped his bicycle, squeezed her wrist, and asked, "Awake? Do you want some water?"
Jiang Xia, who had been sleeping with her head resting on his back, nodded and then sat up straight, removing her head from his back: "Yes."
Zhou's father and Zhou Chengxin also stopped their bicycles.
Wen Wan glanced at Zhou Chenglei, then looked at Zhou's father: "Uncle Yongfu, I'm so thirsty, I feel like I'm getting heatstroke. Do you have any more water? Could you give me some? I've finished my water, it's so hot."
Zhou's father and Wen's father were elementary school classmates and old friends. Heatstroke in the middle of summer can really kill people, and since they were all from the same production team, it wasn't good to ignore Wen Wan. But having just finished her water, she asked Zhou Chengxin, "Do you have any water in your water bottle?"
Zhou Chengxin replied, "I just finished mine, but Lei has some."
Zhou Chenglei unscrewed the kettle and handed it to Jiang Xia behind him: "There's not much left. Jiang Xia has been sleeping the whole way without drinking any water, and she needs some too. There's a mountain stream not far ahead; you can go get some, it's very close."
Unlike them, who grew up in the village and drank stream or well water directly without boiling it, Jiang Xia wasn't used to drinking tap water and would easily get a stomachache if she drank it suddenly, so the water in the kettle had to be saved for her.
Upon hearing this, Zhou's father immediately said, "Yes, there's a mountain stream ahead. Let's go get some water and wash our faces while we're at it; it's so hot!"
Zhou Chengxin immediately replied, "Hurry up! I want to wash my face too. It's been so hot all this way; I bet another typhoon is coming."
Zhou's father said to Wen Wan, "Wan, hurry up and get on your bicycle and come with us to get some water."
Wen Wan watched Jiang Xia sip water, and subconsciously swallowed, her mouth completely dry. She said, "Uncle Yongfu, I can't even ride my bicycle anymore."
Zhou's father frowned, feeling that Wen Wan was a bit of a problem, but she was his old friend's daughter, and he couldn't just ignore her. Heatstroke could be serious or minor, and if something happened to her, Zhou's father would feel guilty. So he said, "Chengxin, take Wan to get some water."
Moreover, Zhou's father was a bit superstitious; he believed that good deeds would be rewarded and that accumulating good karma would bring blessings.
He was kind-hearted and wouldn't repay evil with good, but he also wouldn't stand by and watch someone die. Wen Wan's complexion did look terrible.
Zhou Chengxin carrying Wen Wan wasn't a problem, but Wen Wan also had a bicycle: "What about her bicycle?"
Zhou's father looked at Jiang Xia: "Xia, why don't you ride it?"
Jiang Xia nodded: "Okay."
Then she handed the water bottle to Zhou Chenglei.
Zhou Chenglei took it and screwed on the cap: "Dad, give yours to Jiang Xia to ride."
Zhou's father immediately said: "Okay! I'll ride Wan's. Hers is bigger, Xia might not be used to it."
So Jiang Xia rode back to her own women's bicycle, Zhou's father rode Wen Wan's old-fashioned bicycle, and Zhou Chengxin carried Wen Wan. The group continued walking for a few hundred meters until they came to a mountain stream.
They stopped their bicycles by the roadside and walked down the path.
Zhou Chenglei told them to get off first, while he and Jiang Xia watched the bicycles from above.
After the three of them had washed their faces and filled a water bottle, Zhou Chenglei pulled Jiang Xia down.
The mountain stream water was cool and refreshing. Jiang Xia washed her face and hands, feeling completely refreshed.
After washing his hands and face, Zhou Chenglei noticed a tree nearby with blooming red flowers. He pulled Jiang Xia over, picked an unopened bud, removed the sepals, and held the flower to Jiang Xia's lips: "Suck it."
Jiang Xia took a sip, her eyes lighting up with delight: "Sweet! Honey?"
Zhou Chenglei smiled and nodded, knowing she hadn't tried it before. "Want some more?"
"Yes!" Jiang Xia nodded.
Zhou Chenglei then turned to pick more.
The three of them stood on the road watching them, one picking flowers, the other collecting nectar.
Wen Wan, having just drunk a whole jug of stream water and washed her hands and face, felt completely revitalized. She watched the two with mixed feelings.
Zhou Chenglei was truly a wonderful man.
Capable and good at making money, attentive and caring, even a little romantic—he was practically the ideal husband.
If only she had been reborn earlier!
Zhou's father chuckled as he watched his son pick flowers for his wife: his son was so good at coaxing his wife! Today we've unlocked a new way to show our affection; tomorrow, may wealth flow in!
Finally, Zhou Chenglei plucked all the unopened buds from the tree, and even picked a flower, tucking it behind Jiang Xia's ear.
Jiang Xia looked embarrassed, laughed, took it off, and glared at him.
Zhou Chenglei smiled, took the flower she had picked, put it on her straw hat, and then took her hand, "Let's go!"
Jiang Xia, holding a bunch of flower buds, happily returned to the main road. She planned to take them home for Zhou Zhou and Zhou Jie to try.
The group continued riding their bicycles home.
Zhou Chengxin was still carrying Wen Wan.
Wen Wan had regained some energy, but she was afraid she wouldn't be able to ride for long, so she told them she hadn't recovered her strength and couldn't ride.
She was afraid that after Zhou Chenglei and the others left, she would be too tired to push the bike home herself.
Jiang Xia continued riding her bicycle alone. Zhou Chenglei was worried that Jiang Xia was struggling too much, so whenever they reached an uphill section, he would reach out and take her hand, pulling her up.
That way, Jiang Xia hardly had to exert any effort; she only needed to hold the handlebars with one hand and control the direction.
On flat roads and downhill roads, Jiang Xia could ride by herself, so she hardly had to exert any effort; Zhou Chenglei was the one leading her the whole way.
Later, Zhou Chenglei simply stopped letting go and pulled her along the way.
Every now and then he would ask, "Are you tired?"
Jiang Xia replied, "No."
She didn't even need to pedal; what was there to be tired about?
Jiang Xia truly admired Zhou Chenglei's cycling skills; he rode so steadily even with her on the back.
She suspected he was the kind of person who could ride a bicycle without hands, but Jiang Xia didn't dare.
Wen Wan rolled her eyes at the two of them pedaling hand in hand; it made her nauseous. She wouldn't eat dinner tonight!
Didn't they know what era this was? It was utterly shameless!
Back in town, Jiang Xia glanced at her watch; it was five o'clock. She asked Zhou Chenglei, "Are we still going to town?"
Wen Wan noticed Jiang Xia's Rolex, its dial adorned with pale purple orchids—beautiful, exquisite, and obviously expensive. She'd heard that Zhou Chenglei had bought her a watch for their wedding, and her heart couldn't help but ache.
Zhou Chenglei glanced at his watch; the credit union wouldn't close for another half hour. "Let's go,"
Zhou's father said. "I'll go with you."
Depositing money was such a private matter; they couldn't very well take Wen Wan with them. Zhou Chengxin asked Wen Wan, "Xiao Wan, can you ride your bicycle back to the village by yourself?"
Wen Wan realized they wanted to leave her behind to go to town, and not knowing what they were planning, she said, "I still can't ride."
Zhou's father frowned, thought for a moment, and then said, "Ah Xin, then you and Xiao Wan go home first! Xiao Wan, I'll bring your bicycle back to you later."
Wen Wan said, "This is my uncle's bicycle."
"Then I'll take it to your uncle's house."
"Okay, thank you, Uncle Yongfu."
Wen Wan had borrowed the bicycle from her uncle's house.
Her aunt was furious when she found out she had borrowed the bicycle.
But her uncle had been kind to her and lent her the bike, and she didn't want to put up with her aunt's attitude; Zhou's father could help her return the bicycle.
So Zhou's father, Jiang Xia, and Zhou Chenglei headed straight for the credit union, while Zhou Chengxin drove Wen Wan back to the village first. As they exited the village road, a dog suddenly ran out, and Zhou Chengxin slammed on the brakes.
Wen Wan was startled and almost fell, instinctively grabbing Zhou Chengxin's waist.
The Zhou family had a vegetable garden at the village entrance, and Tian Caihua was watering the vegetables while waiting for Zhou Chengxin to return.
Zhou Chengxin hadn't spoken a word to her for the past two days, and he slept with his son at night.
Tian Caihua could ignore him on the first day, but today she was starting to panic. Zhou Chengxin hadn't even gone out to sea to fish!
That meant losing tens of yuan, maybe more.
She wondered if she'd gone too far.
In their over ten years of marriage, Zhou Chengxin had never lost his temper like this, never ignored her, and never neglected his chores or fishing—leaving early in the morning and returning late at night.
This morning, she went to Zhou's mother to ask if Zhou Chengxin was at the old house, but her attitude was extremely cold. She only said he'd gone to the city and then ignored her.
The Zhou family was generally good-natured, and her in-laws were also very kind, rarely showing their daughter-in-law a cold shoulder. Even when Jiang Xia caused such a scene, her mother-in-law hadn't given Jiang Xia a hard time.
Tian Caihua felt a little wronged, but more than anything, she was afraid. She was afraid Zhou Chengxin would divorce her.
Tian Caihua watered Zhou's mother's vegetable garden before finally spotting Zhou Chengxin!
But what did she see?
Zhou Chengxin's bicycle had a woman on the back, and such a young woman at that!
Zhou Chengxin had taken this woman out all day?
What had they been doing?
Tian Caihua's head buzzed, and she angrily dropped the chamber pot and rushed over!
Zhou Chengxin thought they had reached the village and told Wen Wan to walk back herself.
Wen Wan jumped off the bicycle, but as soon as she did, a piercing pain shot through her foot. She instinctively reached out to steady Zhou Chengxin.
Tian Caihua rushed over, grabbed her, and slapped her across the face: "You bitch! How dare you seduce my man! I'll beat you to death, you bitch!"
Wen Wan couldn't help but scream, instinctively hiding behind Zhou Chengxin: "Ah! Big sister, you've misunderstood?"
Tian Caihua was even angrier, reaching out her claws to scratch her face: "Who's your big sister? You bitch, who's your big sister!"
Wen Wan felt her face being scratched by Tian Caihua, both angry and scared. What if she was disfigured! Enraged, she grabbed Tian Caihua's hair and retaliated by scratching her face.
Wen Wan was furious: Did they really think she was easy to bully?! She started fighting without warning!
So Wen Wan and Tian Caihua started fighting right there on the village road.
...
Jiang Xia, Zhou Chenglei, and Zhou's father arrived at the rural credit cooperative's business office in town.
Whether it was because it was close to closing time or for some other reason, the credit cooperative was nearly empty, with only two or three staff members drinking tea, chatting, and waiting to close.
Jiang Xia noticed the counter was quite high, and there were no seats; she had to stand to conduct her business.
She went to the counter and, through the railing, told the staff member sitting inside that she wanted to open an account and deposit money.
A teller looked up at Jiang Xia, asked if she had her household registration booklet, and told her that the minimum deposit for opening an account was one yuan.
"Yes," Jiang Xia replied, having already planned to deposit money in the bank, she had brought her household registration booklet with her. She took it out and gave it to the teller.
Perhaps because not many people were literate in those days, the teller didn't let Jiang Xia fill in the information herself, but instead asked her questions while filling it out.
When she asked Jiang Xia how much money he wanted to deposit, Jiang Xia replied, "Thirteen thousand seven."
A moment of silence fell over the room, and several staff members looked up at Jiang Xia: a ten-thousand-yuan household?
The teller, worried she had misheard, couldn't help but ask again, "How much?"
Her voice was noticeably more excited! Her eyes were burning with anticipation!
The staff members' eyes were burning with anticipation!
Jiang Xia suddenly remembered that in those days, being a ten-thousand-yuan household was still very rare and quite prestigious. If a county produced a ten-thousand-yuan household, it would even be reported in the newspaper, and some regions even issued ten-thousand-yuan household certificates.
This town was a small town, a seaside town. It was unclear if anyone had ever become a "ten-thousand-yuan household" (a household with 10,000 yuan in savings). Jiang Xia didn't want to be in the newspaper, so she immediately changed her answer to "three thousand seven!"
Father Zhou: "..."
Why didn't Xia want to be a "ten-thousand-yuan household" and be in the newspaper?
He did!
It was such a glorious thing!
The teller: "No! You didn't say that just now, you said thirteen thousand seven."
Jiang Xia's expression was serious: "You misheard!"
The other credit union staff said in unison: "We all heard it! You just said thirteen thousand seven!"
Jiang Xia: "..."
In the end, Jiang Xia still deposited thirteen thousand seven.
The staff mentioned that there would be a county-wide commendation meeting for "ten-thousand-yuan households" at the end of the year, and there might be awards, so she reported Father Zhou's name for that commendation meeting slot.
Anyway, a "ten-thousand-yuan household" didn't necessarily refer to an individual; it could also be a family. Father Zhou was the head of the family, so reporting his name was correct.
On the way home, Father Zhou rode his bicycle with a erratic, erratic gait, the wheels leaving S-shaped lines on the dirt road.
He simply couldn't control the handlebars!
The credit union teller said the county's document had just been issued that afternoon, and he was the first person they had discovered in the town to have ten thousand yuan in income.
Haha… how glorious!
***
When the three returned to the village, Jiang Xia felt it was more lively than usual.
Groups of women were chatting along the roadside, some carrying chamber pots, others hoes, and still others baskets of vegetables.
Some were sitting at their doorways, chatting happily with their neighbors.
At first, Jiang Xia thought they were discussing the ten-thousand-yuan household, but after vaguely hearing the names Wen Wan and Tian Caihua, she lost interest.
Zhou's father was excited and completely oblivious to what others were saying. Zhou Chenglei wasn't interested, and since he had hearing problems in one ear, he didn't bother to listen to the gossip and rode his bicycle home at high speed.
So the three of them had no idea that Tian Caihua and Wen Wan had actually put on such a big show.
The time when the two were fighting was when everyone was watering their vegetables in the garden, and Tian Caihua's stunt had spread throughout the village before dinner.
Rumors circulated that Wen Wan, attracted to the Zhou family's wealth, had tried to seduce Zhou Chenglei but failed, so she switched to Zhou Chengxin, since he had a new house.
Others claimed to have seen Wen Wan and Zhou Guohua go out to sea together for a day, praising her for seducing so many men simultaneously.
Zhou Bingqiang's house was near the big banyan tree, a popular gathering spot
for villagers to chat and cool off after dinner; today's gossip revolved around Wen Wan. Zhou Bingqiang, who often boasted under the banyan tree after dinner, was furious upon hearing these rumors and stormed home, forbidding his son from dating Wen Wan again.
***
However, Jiang Xia's family was unaware of all this. They owned several pieces of diving equipment worth thousands of yuan, and Zhou's mother dared not even leave the house.
When Jiang Xia and his family returned home, Zhou's mother had already prepared dinner.
She was overjoyed to learn that the silver had been sold for over 13,700 yuan.
Zhou's father even joked that they might become the first household in the entire town to earn over 10,000 yuan, and they could attend the county's commendation ceremony.
The two elderly people were excitedly discussing what clothes to wear to the commendation ceremony and what awards they would receive.
Their excitement only shifted to the new house when Zhou Chenglei, unable to bear it any longer, revealed his and Jiang Xia's plans.
Zhou's father chuckled, "A new house is good! It's time!"
They were already wealthy, yet they lived in an old, dilapidated house; would anyone believe they were truly wealthy?
The land they chose was the open space in front of their house, the very plot Zhou's mother had reserved for her sons, which was still partially marked by mud bricks.
Zhou's mother had also planted a few guava and loquat trees, which weren't yet fully grown, but they could be moved to the old house's yard later.
She happily said she would look for an auspicious date the next day.
Because they were going out to sea the next day, the family excitedly discussed it for a while. After dinner and showers, they all went to their rooms to sleep.
Zhou Chenglei finished showering and washing clothes, then came in with a bowl of milk and found Jiang Xia looking at photos.
He pulled her up, sat down in a chair, and held her as they looked together.
There were several photos: one of Jiang Xia with her arms outstretched on the beach, one of her smiling brightly with her back to the sea, and one of her jumping in mid-air. It looked like she was jumping very high, but Zhou Chenglei knew it was just for the camera effect; he knew his girl couldn't jump that high.
Every single one was beautiful, and Zhou Chenglei looked at each one for a long time. Although they were only black and white, they all seemed vibrant to him.
Zhou Chenglei liked the two photos of him washing Jiang Xia's feet the most; he looked at them for a very long time.
Jiang Xia liked those two photos too.
The photos showed a farmhouse courtyard, a pomegranate tree, a bicycle, a bamboo chair, a wooden basin, a water pump, blue sky and white clouds, and her and him.
Jiang Xia then noticed that Zhou Chenglei's expression was very serious and gentle as he washed her feet.
There are two photos of this scene; another one shows them glancing in Zhang Fuyan's direction while she's taking a picture—it's beautiful too!
Zhou Chenglei's gaze is sharp and cold, yet very handsome, something Jiang Xia rarely sees in him.
He doesn't have that sharp look in his eyes when he's looking at her; he only looks at others with that gaze.
Zhou Chenglei stares at Jiang Xia's shy face in the photo, enjoying seeing her blush because of him, never tiring of it.
Especially the way she looks at him, on his body and beneath him.
That night, he naturally took in all her charms again.
The next day, they set sail on time.
Zhou Chengxin also went out to sea today; Zhou Chenglei had asked him to come yesterday.
Jiang Xia was surprised to see the scratches on Zhou Chengxin's face, but didn't ask, since Zhou Chenglei had many scratches on his back from her.
Zhou's father did ask, and Zhou Chengxin was filled with regret. He said irritably, "I took Xiaowan back to the village and Ahua misunderstood. Dad, don't make me do this kind of work again next time."
Zhou's father: "..."
It seems he has to stay away from Wen's daughter next time. She's such a troublemaker!
If he hadn't been afraid she might really get heatstroke and he would feel guilty for the rest of his life, he really wouldn't have bothered with her!
Moreover, Zhou's father believes in karma, that good deeds are rewarded and evil deeds are punished. What you get from others, you will have to pay back sooner or later. You have to live with a clear conscience, then even the biggest storms will be protected!
After Zhou Chenglei steered the boat out, he headed directly towards the city. He was going to raid the abalone den.
Wen Wan also arrived at the dock at 4:30 today to wait for Zhou Guohua, but she found that all three of Zhou Guohua's boats had already gone out to sea.
She hadn't found the coral yet. Remembering that Zhou's father had been very easy to talk to yesterday, she walked towards the Zhou family's boat.
Zhou Chengxin was terrified when he saw Wen Wan approaching. His face still stung from being grabbed by Tian Caihua when he tried to break up the fight yesterday. He urged Zhou Chenglei, "Hurry up and set sail! What are you dawdling for?"
Just as Wen Wan reached the side, she saw the Zhou family's boat sail away. She called out to her father and Zhou Chengxin, but no one paid her any attention.
She watched helplessly as their boat headed towards the city, stamping her feet in anger!
They had indeed gone back to the island where she had found the coral.
After Zhou Chenglei steered the boat away, he and Jiang Xia lowered the net.
Zhou's father volunteered to steer the boat and drag the net along the shore.
It was still early, before dawn, and it wasn't suitable to dive immediately upon reaching the same area as before. There was still over an hour until daybreak, and dragging the net would only take two hours; they couldn't waste time.
After Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei finished lowering the net, they continued translating.
Zhou Chengxin was fishing. He wanted to call Jiang Xia, but seeing that Jiang Xia was translating, he felt embarrassed and called Zhou Chenglei instead.
Zhou Chenglei glanced at him indifferently: "I'm learning translation from my wife. You fish by yourself!"
Zhou Chengxin's lips twitched: "Can you?"
Zhou Chenglei: "Of course."
Zhou Chengxin: "..."
He regretted not studying harder back then.
If only he had studied even one more day than Zhou Chenglei, things wouldn't be like this today!
Zhou Chenglei could speak and read English, and ordinary communication was no problem, just not as good as Jiang Xia.
So he also picked up a science magazine and started translating. Anyway, being with Jiang Xia was better than going fishing with his older brother.
Including the hour or so he spent translating after dinner last night, Jiang Xia finished the magazine in a little over three hours, and would check it again that evening.
Zhou Chenglei tried translating half of it as well, but there were some parts he wasn't sure about, so he had to ask Jiang Xia.
It was time to haul in the net, so the two packed up the magazine and prepared to do so.
Jiang Xia was again urged by Zhou's father to touch the net before Zhou Chenglei and Zhou Chengxin could haul it in together.
The catch was good, mostly sole, along with a dozen or so bigeye snapper and other miscellaneous fish of varying sizes.
Bigeye snapper are nocturnal, with their peak season in winter and spring; these dozen or so probably hadn't even had a chance to go home to sleep before falling in love.
Sole are sometimes called tonguefish or treadlefish because they resemble both a tongue and a treadle.
Sole fish has delicious flesh, a high yield of meat, a smooth texture, and the flesh doesn't get tough even after long cooking; it's very tender and has almost no fishy smell, making it delicious when pan-fried.
Jiang Xia decided to bring a few sole fish and a bigeye snapper home to eat.
Zhou's father estimated that this net could sell for fifty yuan, haha, not bad!
Any net that Wangcai touched never sold for less than thirty yuan.
The sun was already up, and Zhou Chenglei steered the boat to the area where they had dived that day.
It was early morning, and Zhou Chenglei was worried about Jiang Xia going into the water so early, especially since it was a cave, and they didn't know what was inside.
Zhou Chenglei needed to check first to see if any dangerous or poisonous marine life had come out.
Jiang Xia wasn't in a hurry; diving is risky, so safety was the priority.
She could go down after noon.
So Jiang Xia stayed on the boat to distribute the fish, and the three of them warmed up, put on their diving gear, and went into the water to dig for abalone!
John and Jill had taught everyone how to use the equipment that day, and Zhou Chenglei already knew how, so he taught them again today.
Jiang Xia was sorting the fish on the boat, going to collect nets of abalone from Zhou Chenglei and his two sons every ten minutes or so.
Each net was full, and each abalone was huge; some looked bigger than one side of Jiang Xia's face!
The three of them went back and forth into the water five or six times, prying open eleven bags of abalone. Zhou's father couldn't take it anymore and went back to the boat first.
Then Zhou Chengxin got on.
Zhou Chenglei went back into the water three more times than them before returning to the boat to rest.
By then, the boat was filled with five large bags of abalone!
After Zhou Chenglei took off his diving gear, Jiang Xia handed him a water bottle, chocolate, and boiled eggs to replenish his energy.
She had done the same for Zhou's father and Zhou Chengxin, except that she had already opened the water bottle for Zhou Chenglei, unwrapped the chocolate, and peeled the eggs.
Zhou Chenglei took one bite of the chocolate but didn't eat any more; it was too sweet. He wouldn't have eaten a single bite if Jiang Xia hadn't fed it to him.
Jiang Xia fed him the egg, and ate the remaining chocolate herself.
"Are there still abalone in the sea?" Jiang Xia asked.
Zhou Chenglei: "Yes."
Zhou's father said excitedly, "There are still many. There's a cave at the bottom of the sea, and the walls are full of them. I estimate we won't be able to pry
them all off by tomorrow." Although these abalone are variegated and don't taste as good as the wrinkled abalone, they are still abalone. And abalone is valued for its size; these are already quite valuable. The largest ones, if dried properly, can be sold to restaurants during the New Year, and each one should fetch seven or eight yuan.
They caught the big ones—so many! There should be over a hundred; they should earn at least a thousand or so today.
Zhou Chengxin: "There are so many! I've never seen so many abalone before."
Jiang Xia laughed: "Then let's come here to pry abalone these next few days."
Zhou Chenglei: "Okay."
Zhou Chenglei rested for a bit and was about to help Jiang Xia put on her diving suit and take her into the water when a boat approached them in the distance. Zhou Chenglei said: "Big brother, move the boat."
Zhou Chengxin was also preparing to go into the water again. Hearing this, he glanced at the boat and quickly went to start it.
Jiang Xia asked: "Are you worried that someone will discover the cave?"
Zhou Chenglei nodded: "Yes, the cave isn't very deep. People who are good swimmers can still dive down there. It's a good place for abalone to grow. As long as we don't get discovered, we can pry them down later. Shall we haul in a net of fish now, and I'll take you diving down again when we get back?"
Jiang Xia had no objection, "Okay."
So their boat started hauling in the net again.
The people on the other boat saw that the Zhou family's boat had been sitting there for almost half an hour and were curious about what they were doing, so they came over to see.
Seeing the Zhou family's boat starting to trawle, they sailed to the vicinity where the Zhou family's boat had just been moored, but finding nothing, they sailed away.
After hauling in a net full of fish, Zhou Chenglei sailed the boat back to that area of water.
This time, Zhou's father stayed on the boat, while Jiang Xia, Zhou Chenglei, and Zhou Chengxin went into the water
. Before going into the water, Zhou Chenglei patiently and repeatedly taught Jiang Xia, teaching her for a full half hour, confirming her answers several times before finally taking her into the water. It was
Jiang Xia's first time diving into the sea, and she saw sunlight piercing through the water, making her feel like she was inside a blue gemstone.
It was dreamlike and beautiful!
Zhou Chenglei determined the direction and then led Jiang Xia in a certain direction. This time, the boat was moored a bit far away, as it's difficult to judge position in the open sea.
But it didn't matter; it was a good opportunity to let Jiang Xia swim around the seabed and get familiar with it.
Mainly, she wasn't very skilled at wearing the equipment.
Because there was an island not far away, the seabed wasn't very deep, and the light was good; Jiang Xia could see some small schools of fish swimming past her.
The three of them quickly swam to the cave, and Jiang Xia finally saw what an abalone den looked like.
However, the cave was pitch black and very deep, with no bottom in sight, which looked a bit eerie.
It was said that abalone were nocturnal, and it was probably because the cave was so dark that they made their home there.
Everyone was curious about how deep the cave was and what was inside, but no one had the heart to explore it for the time being.
Jiang Xia, using an iron hook, followed the method Zhou Chenglei had taught her, quickly hooking the abalone into a net. When the
net was full, she swam up and handed it to Zhou's father, who emptied the abalone onto the boat, emptied the net, and then dived back down.
After doing this three times, Jiang Xia couldn't take it anymore and returned to the boat.
Zhou Chenglei and Zhou Chengxin continued to go down to harvest abalone.
Shortly after the two went into the water, the boat that had been there before spotted their boat again and headed towards the Zhou family's boat.
Jiang Xia saw a boat approaching and quickly put away his diving equipment. He then threw a large abalone into the sea to warn Zhou Chenglei, hoping he would see it.
Zhou's father also quickly put several bags of abalone into the hatch.
While hiding the diving equipment, Jiang Xia said, "Dad, you pretend to be eating while fishing, and I'll pretend to be dividing the fish." They
tried to avoid letting the other side discover that someone had dived to the bottom of the sea to disturb the abalone nest.
"Okay!" After hiding the abalone, Zhou's father took out an air rifle and placed it beside him. Then he took out a fishing rod, baited it, and pretended to fish.
Jiang Xia was taken aback when he saw the air rifle, but not surprised.
There wasn't a nationwide gun ban in this era; it seems that a nationwide gun ban only started in the 1990s. In this era, it wasn't very strict, and a few villagers still owned air rifles for hunting.
After putting away the diving equipment, Jiang Xia opened two lunchboxes and placed one next to Zhou's father.
The lunchbox was empty; they had long since eaten it all. Jiang Xia just wanted to make it look like they had just finished eating.
Then she took out an ear of corn and gave it to Zhou's father: "Dad, eat while you fish."
The corn had been cooked by Zhou's mother that morning and brought to the boat for them to eat when they were hungry.
Jiang Xia pretended to eat biscuits while dividing the fish, with an empty lunchbox next to her.
Not long after she finished doing all this, the fishing boat pulled up.
The other fishing boat was a little smaller than theirs, but there were seven or eight people on board.
Jiang Xia recognized the people on the boat at a glance; they were old acquaintances—Boss Guo and several boatmen whom she had seen at the shipyard last time.
Boss Guo also recognized Zhou's father, raised an eyebrow, glanced at Jiang Xia who was dividing the fish, and asked, "Uncle, what are you doing here for so long?"
Ever since encountering that group of teenagers on the way back last time, Zhou's father remembered who Boss Guo was!
Legend had it that there was a big ship owner in the city named Guo, a former pirate who had been a tyrant at sea for many years.
Sometimes at the dock, you'd encounter people collecting protection money; I heard they were all his henchmen.
Mr. Zhou took a bite of corn and calmly said, "Fishing."
He'd been fishing while waiting for them on the boat, so there were a few fish he'd caught in the bucket.
Boss Guo glanced at the fish in the bucket, then at the gun, and smiled, asking, "Where's your son? This boat is huge, you didn't go out to sea alone, did you?"
Jiang Xia: "Boss Guo, am I not a person?"
Boss Guo hadn't taken Jiang Xia seriously to begin with, and he hadn't expected a woman to speak so calmly at this moment. He glanced at Jiang Xia and ignored her.
A woman wasn't worthy to speak to him!
"Uncle, did your son dive to the bottom of the sea?"
He'd been searching for things underwater recently; had they found something?
Zhou Chenglei then emerged from the water and quickly climbed onto the boat.
His net bag contained a dozen scallops, a conch, several starfish, and other odds and ends, but no abalone.
It gave the impression that he'd just gone down to the sea and picked up some random things.
The people on the opposite boat thought so too.
When Boss Guo saw the diving gear on Zhou Chenglei, his eyes lit up!
He smiled and said to Zhou Chenglei, "If you give me your diving gear today, I will forgive and forget what happened before. Moreover, if you want to fish in this area in the future, I will guarantee your safety."
"Just mention our boss's name, and absolutely no one will dare bully you in these waters!" The boatmen behind Boss Guo were also eyeing Zhou Chenglei's equipment.
With this diving gear, getting to the seabed would be much easier!
There are many good things in the sea, and most importantly, they recently heard that their founding ancestor had thrown many treasures into the sea to preserve his strength.
They had been searching the seabed near various isolated islands all month but hadn't found anything.
They couldn't dive any deeper because of the ear pressure.
They couldn't find diving gear anywhere in China, and their boss had asked someone to help them buy it abroad, but that person was a smuggler and often disappeared for months at a time, so they didn't know when they would be able to get it.
Unexpectedly, what they had been searching for had come to them so easily!
Zhou Chenglei came to Jiang Xia's side, calmly took off his diving gear, and said in a low voice, "I don't need anyone to protect me."
As Zhou Chenglei took off each piece of equipment, Jiang Xia took it and put it aside to dry.
The couple worked together seamlessly, completely disregarding the people on the opposite boat.
Boss Guo's face darkened: "You probably haven't heard of me. In this sea area, no one dares to disrespect me."
A boatman beside Boss Guo chimed in, "Don't think you're so great just because you beat those young punks last time. They're still green on the outside, unlike us!"
"We've been at sea for years. If you want to fish properly in the future, you'd better hand over your gear to our boss. Otherwise, you think you can come back to this area? Dream on!"
Zhou Chenglei, after removing all his equipment, said calmly, "Since Boss Guo has reformed, I advise you to make a living by fishing and not cause trouble. Otherwise, if I see you, you won't be able to handle it."
The boatman couldn't help but sneer, "Kid, you're so arrogant! Who do you think you are? When our boss was at sea, you weren't even born yet!"
At that moment, two dark figures silently and simultaneously climbed onto the Zhou family's boat!
Zhou's father was startled and quickly grabbed his air rifle: "What are you doing?"
A ruthless glint flashed in Zhou Chenglei's eyes, and he grabbed one of them in a flash.
Jiang Xia didn't see how he grabbed him either. When she looked again, she saw Zhou Chenglei lift the man high, like throwing a sandbag, and toss him back onto the other boat, where he slammed heavily onto the deck with a loud "bang!"
Then, he turned and kicked away another boatman who had just climbed aboard, grabbed him in a flash, and
hurled him back onto the other boat's deck!
It all happened so fast!
So fast that the people on the other side fell silent.
Zhou Chenglei looked at Boss Guo, his gaze as calm as an abyss, but he didn't speak.
It was as if he were saying: Bring it on.
One by one, I'll throw you away; two by two, I'll throw you away!
Let's see who has the guts to board my boat!
Boss Guo stared intently at Zhou Chenglei, inwardly alarmed.
He was a man who walked the line.
He trusted his intuition, and his intuition told him that Zhou Chenglei was dangerous!
His reaction was too fast, too quick.
His own crew had barely boarded when he was thrown back!
Yes, thrown back!
Could an ordinary person do that?
Without extraordinary skill, who could do that?
His movements were too fast, too precise, and too ruthless—a reaction only someone who had fought death countless times could possess!
Even Boss Guo admitted he couldn't do it.
If he couldn't, his men certainly couldn't either.
A wise man knows when to yield, and a hero can bend and stretch. Boss Guo only wanted equipment, not to capsize the ship. He smiled and said, "We're all friends. If it's inconvenient to lend it, then don't. We've been presumptuous. As the saying goes, 'No fight, no friendship.' Shall we become friends?"
Zhou Chenglei: "My friends are all upright."
Boss Guo: "..."
What does that mean?
He's upright too, okay! He
's never done anything illegal like murder or arson.
Intimidation is just a way to survive; it's just a scare tactic and won't really harm them. It's just that those people aren't easily intimidated.
When he collects protection money, he genuinely protects them!
Who wouldn't thank him for paying protection money?
"Hehe, that's perfect. I'm an upright person too. Everyone says I'm a great guy, a philanthropist! I've helped many people and saved many lives from drowning, really!"
Boss Guo still had his eye on Zhou Chenglei's diving gear. If he couldn't get it, borrowing it would do. Anyway, he's tough when facing the weak and shameless when facing the strong.
He doesn't feel ashamed at all for calling himself a philanthropist; he's saved people too!
Zhou Chenglei remained silent: "Anything else?"
Boss Guo replied: "No, that's all. I won't bother you any longer today. I'll be going now. I'll treat you to drinks another day!"
Boss Guo then looked at Zhou's father and Jiang Xia: "Uncle, sister-in-law, I was just joking. Don't be afraid. I'll treat you to dinner another day to calm your nerves."
He wanted to make friends first, and then borrow the diving equipment another day, or maybe ask him to help him find someone to buy a set!
After saying this, Boss Guo quickly directed the boatmen to sail away.
Once the boat was far away, one of the boatmen couldn't help but say: "Boss, are we just going to give up on that diving equipment? It's
so impressive! There are so many of them, it's not like we can't beat them or take it!"
Another boatman chimed in, "Boss, maybe they've found something good on the seabed. Otherwise, why would they stop there twice?"
Boss Guo looked at them, his previous demeanor completely gone. "So what? Didn't you see who they are? A soldier, the kind who's been to the battlefield! Didn't you see the calluses on his index finger and the web of his thumb are thicker than the calluses on your mother's heels? Going against soldiers? They're asking for trouble!"
The two boatmen, whether thinking about their mothers' calluses or something else, fell silent.
Boss Guo looked at the boat floating in the middle of the sea.
Backing down?
What did they know!
Sometimes retreating is for better advancement.
The waves in the ocean test the waters every day, but what if there's a sudden low tide? Who knows if a tsunami will follow?
After the last incident, he had already investigated.
Zhou Chenglei, though retired, was a regimental commander before.
Someone from a small fishing village becoming a regimental commander at such a young age—what does that mean?
Exceptional ability!
And what kind of people did someone at the regimental commander level associate with? Who are his friends?
Not to mention his wife isn't an ordinary person either!
There are some circles he wants to enter but can't, but even getting close to the edge is a stroke of luck.
So, if he could befriend Zhou Chenglei, it wouldn't be a loss!
He was just putting on an act earlier; he wanted to use his shamelessness in borrowing diving equipment as a breakthrough to slowly befriend Zhou Chenglei. Of course, he didn't need to tell his subordinates about this.
*
After Boss Guo's boat sailed far away, Zhou Chengxin swam up as well. He had also seen the shadows of two boats underwater.
A-Lei told him not to go up yet, but to collect all the abalone in Yankou first.
So he collected all the abalone he could see in Yankou on the seabed.
He had already collected almost all of them, leaving only some small ones, so he collected even the small ones, throwing the very small ones into the cave to let them continue to grow.
After boarding the boat, Zhou Chengxin took off his snorkel and asked, "Who was that just now? Are you alright?"
Jiang Xia handed Zhou Chengxin a water bottle and smiled, "I'm fine."
Zhou Chengxin was relieved, took it, and thanked her.
Zhou's father glanced at the time; it was 3:30. "Are we going back into the water? Or should the three of us go down and harvest another batch?"
They had met Boss Guo earlier that day, and Zhou's father noticed their clothes were wet, indicating they had also gone into the water. He was worried they might discover the abalone den at the bottom, and he wanted to harvest another batch.
It was still early, so Zhou Chenglei nodded, "Okay, let's go down again."
Jiang Xia didn't go into the water; the pressure underwater was high, and carrying the equipment was tiring. Besides, Zhou Chenglei was worried about her and would slow her down, which wouldn't be worth it.
She stayed on the boat to process the abalone.
So the three of them went into the water again, bringing the abalone up four or five times before returning to the boat.
It was past four o'clock when Zhou's father steered the boat back.
Since they planned to dry the abalone before selling them, Zhou Chenglei, Zhou Chengxin, and Jiang Xia started cleaning the abalone on the boat, salting them afterward.
By the time they returned to the village dock, it was already seven o'clock. The dock was full of boats, with only a few fishing boats still unloading fish.
A villager, seeing them return so late, asked, "Yongfu, why are you so late today? Did you have a lot of fish?"
Zhou's father laughed, "No, we just didn't have much fish, so we thought we'd shuck some oysters, that's why it's so late."
The abalone were all packed into burlap sacks, so no one could see what was inside. They could only tell from the outlines that they had shells, and although the protruding shapes were slightly different, no one thought much of it. It was seven o'clock, and everyone was rushing to sell their fish, go home for dinner, and then wash up and go to bed.
Fishermen go out to sea early and usually go to bed by eight.
Zhou's mother knew they had gone out to sea to catch abalone and would be back late, but she was still a little worried about how late it was. However, seeing them return put her at ease.
Tian Caihua, completely unaware of anything, had been worried for a long time!
The mother and daughter-in-law quickly went aboard to help.
Jiangxia had already sorted the fish, and Zhou Chenglei and Zhou Chengxin carried the fish off the boat in loads to the purchasing area for weighing.
Zhou's father, meanwhile, carried a bag of abalone off the boat and placed it on a cart.
Seeing that there weren't many fish, but many bags of abalone tied up, Tian Caihua asked, "Xia, did you not trawle today? Were you just busy prying oysters?"
With so many people talking, Jiang Xia evaded the question, saying, "We trawled two nets."
After speaking, Jiang Xia and Zhou's mother unloaded a basket of small, worthless fish from the boat. It was a pity to sell them, so they took them home to dry and eat or feed the ducks.
The two nets of fish sold for a total of ninety-six yuan. Zhou Chenglei divided the money into three parts, and in front of Tian Caihua, he gave thirty-two yuan to Zhou Chengxin: "Brother, this is yours. The rest of the unsold goods will be paid to you later."
Tian Caihua couldn't help but glance over.
Zhou Chengxin refused directly: "Why would I need money? You don't need to give me any. I just went to help you today."
Zhou Chenglei insisted, to avoid discord between him and his wife, and besides, his elder brother had been unlucky, not earning much from fishing at sea, and had several nephews to support; he couldn't take advantage of him: "Take it! You worked too hard today."
Zhou's father also knew his eldest daughter-in-law's character and advised: "Take it!
Even close brothers should keep clear accounts." Zhou Chengxin was a little unhappy: "I'm just helping you out, and you're being so calculating? Are you going to get angry again!"
Having said that, Zhou Chenglei couldn't give him any more.
Oh well, he and his elder brother would go out to sea the day after tomorrow and catch more abalone, it would be the same.
Zhou Chenglei put all the money together and handed it to Jiang Xia.
Jiang Xia took it directly and stuffed it into his pocket.
Tian Caihua: "..."
Oh well, oh well! It's only thirty-odd yuan, it's okay!
Tian Caihua kept reassuring herself.
But when Tian Caihua learned that the bags weren't oysters, but abalone—and abalone of that size at that!
she couldn't convince herself to give up anymore!
She felt that Jiang Xia had deliberately concealed from her at the dock that the burlap sacks contained abalone!