Chapter 151 - 160

Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Xia turned around.

The leader's eyes flashed with surprise when he saw Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Xia: "Chenglei, Xiaxia?"

The staff member's heart skipped a beat.Full novel: After transmigrating into the book, she became wealthy in the 1980s. — read the rest free on N​o⁠v​e⁠l​C⁠o​d⁠e​x⁠.​o⁠r​g⁠

Chenglei, Xiaxia?

What's with this intimate address?

Jiang Xia glanced at the other person: Very well, another person she didn't know!

She could only wait for Zhou Chenglei to greet them first.

Zhou Chenglei: "Director Yang."

Director Yang had only been transferred here a few years ago, and Zhou Chenglei had met him when he was on a mission before.

Coincidentally, Director Yang and Jiang's father were classmates and had a good relationship.

So when he and Jiang Xia got married, Director Yang was also present at the banquet.

Jiang Xia smiled and politely greeted him.

Director Yang smiled and said: "Are you here on business or to visit this old man?"

The staff member looked at Zhou Chenglei nervously.

Zhou Chenglei smiled, "I'm here both to handle some business and to visit Director Yang. I was thinking of going to see you with Xiaxia after this is done."

This was just a polite remark; Zhou Chenglei liked to follow the rules and was a disciplined person who didn't want to bother others unless someone broke the rules.

Director Yang, recalling the earlier scene, immediately understood. He glanced at the staff member and asked, "Is it done yet?"

He didn't know who he was referring to.

Zhou Chenglei replied, "Not yet. I submitted my application the day before yesterday, wanting to apply for two areas of sea for fish farming. This lady said I was the first applicant in the city and should be approved quickly, and told me to come back today for the results. But when I came today, this gentleman said the sea area I applied for..."

The male staff member hurriedly said, "Misunderstanding! Misunderstanding! I made a mistake. You were the first applicant! You're Zhou Chenglei, right? I got the name wrong! I was just about to submit your application for stamping."

Zhou Guohua: "..."

Although he wanted to say something, he knew it was best not to say a word at this moment.

Yang, the director, understood immediately. His face darkened, and he said, "Bring it here so I can see."

Then he told Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Xia, "Come sit in my office."

So Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei followed him to his office.

The male staff member gave the female staff member a look, and she quickly brought out Zhou Chenglei's application materials.

The male staff member then took a pen and changed the sea area Zhou Guohua had applied for, giving him two random areas, before hurriedly taking the two documents inside.

Oh no!

He didn't even know if he could keep his job.

Zhou Guohua: "..."

Although he wanted to say something, he knew he couldn't.

After all, they were fishermen who made a living at sea; they couldn't afford to offend these people.

He was afraid that if he said a single word, they wouldn't even be able to rent the sea area.

Anyway, at least they had rented it, even if it was a different area, it should be about the same, right?

***

Half an hour later, Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei left with one of the application materials.

Zhou Guohua had gotten the materials before them and had already left.

With the matter settled, Jiang Xia's eyes crinkled with a smile.

Zhou Chenglei helped her adjust her straw hat. Seeing that she wasn't watching where she was going, he took her hand and led her to the bicycle.

The two got on and headed to the next department.

After the application for the sea area contract was approved, they still needed to take the application to other departments to obtain other permits.

In short, to get anything done, you had to visit at least three departments.

Sometimes, missing a document, a certificate, or even a missing stamp was unacceptable, and you had to go back to get it done. It was difficult to get the permits without running around like crazy.

But these things wouldn't happen to Zhou Chenglei. He was familiar with the way things were done within the system, so he would understand everything before he acted. He liked to be well-prepared.

Therefore, he would visit each place a maximum of twice: once to apply and once to pick up the permits.

The two arrived at the next department. Jiang Xia took out all the documents: "Comrade, we need to apply for an aquaculture license. These are the relevant documents and certificates."

Zhou Guohua had arrived a little earlier and was currently sitting there waiting for approval.

When Zhou Chenglei and the others came in, Zhou Guohua glanced at them but ignored them, focusing on watching the staff check the documents he had submitted one by one.

The staff on Jiang Xia's side also began checking the documents.

The first thing she checked was the sea area application. After confirming there were no problems, she started checking the household registration book.

The staff member opened the household registration book and paused for a moment when she saw the name on the head of household page, but just thought it was someone with the same name. She

continued to flip down and paused again when she saw the name of the female head of household. Then, remembering something, she glanced at the address where the household registration was located.

"..."

How many coincidences are there in this world?

She quickened her pace and quickly and carefully went through all the documents. After finding that all the documents were complete and there were no problems, she registered them and smiled, "That's fine. You can come back in half a month during working hours with your household registration book to pick up the certificate."

Then she returned the household registration book to Jiang Xia.

Zhou Chenglei retrieved Jiangxia's household registration booklet, and the two thanked him and left.

They could get the certificate in half a month, which was already quite fast. Zhou Chenglei knew that after they submitted the application, the Fisheries Department would send people from the local production team to conduct on-site investigations and surveys, confirm the boundaries, and determine if the area was suitable for fish farming, as well as any disputes regarding fish farming in that area. After that, it would need to be submitted for approval.

Usually, they would be notified to come back two months later to collect the certificate, so half a month was quick.

After all, conducting on-site surveys, confirming boundaries, and verifying relevant materials wasn't the work of just one department; it involved the cooperation of two or three departments from the city to the county to the local production team, requiring coordination and time, which meant it would take longer.

Just then, another staff member finished checking Zhou Guohua's documents and pushed them back, saying, "The documents are incomplete. A water area boundary map and an application for survey and reconnaissance are missing. Come back with the missing documents."

Zhou Guohua couldn't help but ask, "Did that couple have all their documents?"

The staff member didn't even look up: "How can we process their documents if they're incomplete?"

"Then let me see what that water area map and survey and reconnaissance application look like, and where they were obtained?"

He strongly suspected that this staff member was deliberately making things difficult for him!

Zhou Chenglei, like himself, had just come from the dock, and he didn't believe he had that map and application.

The staff member, upon hearing this, asked a colleague to bring them over for him to see. It wasn't that they couldn't show them; they also had an obligation to teach the public how to handle things properly.

The person who helped Jiangxia with the certificate pulled out the two pieces of paper for him to see.

After reading them, Zhou Guohua had nothing to say, asked which department to apply to, and hurriedly ran off to complete the process.

After finally submitting all the documents, Zhou Guohua was informed, "Come back in two months to pick up your certificate."

Exhausted from a long day, Zhou Guohua was furious: "Why did that couple get their certificate in half a month this morning, but I have to wait two months?"

The staff member who helped Jiang Xia with her certificate calmly replied, "Because they submitted their documents earlier than you! You know they came in the morning. You're so late, so naturally you're scheduled for two months later."

Zhou Guohua: "..."

He was furious!

Blatantly lying!

It was clearly preferential treatment; don't think he couldn't see it.

But he knew he couldn't say anything, so he could only leave feeling resentful.

At 4:30 PM, Zhou Guohua appeared exhausted outside the school gate. After waiting a while, Wen Wan came out and asked, "Did the sea area permit get approved? Is the certificate ready?"

Zhou Guohua didn't look her in the eye: "It was approved. They said the certificate can be picked up in two months. Xiao Wan, it's not closing time yet, shall we go pick up the certificate?"

Only then did he look at her, his eyes filled with expectation and admiration.

Wen Wan: "Okay."

She only remembered that afternoon that Zhou Guohua's wife from his previous life was the daughter of the man who drove them into town on the tractor today.

That woman was also on the tractor today, secretly glancing at Zhou Guohua several times.

She almost didn't recognize her; after all, he was still quite young and a bit rustic.

Zhou Chenglei had already been beaten to it by Jiang Xia, and Wen Wan was afraid of being beaten to it herself.

She wanted to keep Zhou Guohua, this obedient man, in her grasp; she didn't want to be forced to marry a divorced man.

After leaving the office of a certain department, Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei went to a restaurant for lunch. After lunch, they went to the publishing house to hand in the translations of two magazines.

Fan Lili was very happy to see Jiang Xia. She casually flipped through the translations Jiang Xia handed in and put them aside.

She trusted Jiang Xia's translations.

She said kindly, "The dried fish that Yan Yan brought back last time was delicious. If you have time, send a hundred catties to our newspaper's canteen to try. If everyone likes it, we'll order several hundred catties every month."

Their publishing house is affiliated with the newspaper, and about a hundred people eat there every day. Even if they only eat dried fish two or three times a month, they can still order several hundred catties of dried fish every month.

Jiang Xia smiled and said, "Xiao Yan already told me in her letter, but we don't have many dried golden pomfret left at home. How about some dried red snapper? If so, I'll bring some over next time."

"Sure, dried red snapper is good too, let's try it first. We can send a few different kinds for everyone to try." Fan Lili responded, then smiled and brought up another matter: "Have you heard of the Guangzhou Trade Fair? It's going to be held in a month, and several factories from our city are participating. Those companies and factories urgently need translators. Xia, your foreign language skills are so good, are you interested in being a translator?"

Jiang Xia was of course interested. She lacked nothing, except money!

She was interested in anything that could make money!

Besides, she wanted to see the Guangzhou Trade Fair in this era.

Once her family's fish farm had produced fish, she would see if she could sell them overseas.

Although they didn't even have any fish fry yet, it's always good to have a goal, right?

Jiang Xia said, "I'd like to go and see for myself. Is room and board included?"

Fan Lili replied, "Definitely room and board included. I asked around, and they charge 10 yuan a day for English translators and 15 yuan a day for other foreign language translators. Someone like you who knows two or three languages ​​gets 30 yuan a day, all including room and board."

Jiang Xia then said, "Actually, I don't just know two or three languages. I've almost mastered German and Japanese. I wonder what the pay is for someone who knows five languages?"

Zhou Chenglei was speechless.

He seemed to have only heard her play German and Japanese tapes once or twice, and then casually flipped through those books. She'd already almost mastered them?

Hmm, he must have married a language genius!

Fan Lili was also dumbfounded. Yan Yan had only brought those books to her recently, right? She'd already almost mastered them?

She must have already learned them before, right?

She smiled and said, "I didn't ask in detail. How about I recommend you to those manufacturers, and you can discuss the pay directly with them?"

Seriously, who doesn't know five languages ​​and end up in the diplomatic service instead of staying in a small fishing village!

Jiang Xia smiled and said, "Okay, thank you, Editor-in-Chief Fan."

"Don't mention it. They asked me for help, and I thought of you. Just translate for whoever offers the highest price. Your foreign language skills are so good, I think you should be able to get higher pay. After all, there are very few people who understand foreign languages ​​these days, and even fewer who understand multiple languages. Hiring you is like hiring several people. I think 100 yuan a day is possible. They really need translators."

Although there will be translators at the Guangzhou Trade Fair, some manufacturers prefer to hire their own translators, which is more convenient.

Many manufacturers who have participated in the Guangzhou Trade Fair said that they rely entirely on sign language without translators.

Jiang Xia smiled and said, "Thank you, Editor-in-Chief Fan. I'll leave you our production team's phone number. Please give it to them so they can call me to discuss things!"

Fan Lili smiled and said, "Okay, then leave me your phone number. I'll give it to manufacturers who need translators."

Jiang Xia left a phone number and then asked her to help find some books on aquaculture and aquaculture techniques from island nations or other overseas countries before taking her leave.

After leaving Fan Lili's office, Jiang Xia went to the finance department to collect her royalties before leaving the publishing house.

Then, Jiang Xia went to the post office to mail a letter to Zhang Fuyan and Jiang Dong.

The letter to Zhang Fuyan mainly informed her that a batch of dried fish would be sent to the train station in six days for transport to Beijing, and asked her to keep an eye out for it.

Jiang Xia had glanced at the letter Jiang Dong had sent; it would take five days to arrive. That's why she decided to send the dried fish six days later, so Jiang Dong could pick it up at the train station after receiving the letter.

Of course, Jiang Xia also asked Zhang Fuyan to call her after receiving the letter.

In her letter to Jiang Dong, Jiang Xia wanted to ask if he could ask his seniors or professors at his university to design a vacuum packaging machine.

Jiang Dong's major seemed to be mechanical design and manufacturing. Jiang Xia

knew that vacuum pumps existed in this era, but vacuum packaging machines probably didn't yet. With a vacuum packaging machine, the snacks she wanted to sell could be preserved longer.

But there was no rush; she just needed to plan ahead and prepare step by step.

In the letter, Jiang Xia drew pictures of the appearance of vacuum packaging machines she had seen, some of their parts, and wrote down what she knew about the principles involved. She sent it to Jiang Dong.

Watching her slip the letter into the green metal mailbox, Zhou Chenglei pushed his bicycle and asked, "Want to go to the department store?"

Jiang Xia walked back to his side, shook her head, put her arm around his broad shoulder, and got on the bicycle. "I don't need to buy anything. Let's go! Let's go to the shipyard to see if our ship is almost finished, and maybe discuss a business deal."

Zhou Chenglei immediately understood what kind of business she was referring to.

He pedaled as he asked, "Want to go to the Guangzhou Trade Fair?"

Jiang Xia nodded happily, "Yes."

Then, thinking of something, she asked, "Do you want me to go?"

Zhou Chenglei squeezed her hand. "If you want to go, then go. I'll go with you, and then we'll come back. I'll pick you up when you return."

Although he was reluctant to be separated from her for a month, he had said that she could do whatever she wanted.

Besides, by then the big ship should be in hand, and if he missed her, he could sail there fishing to see her.

Jiang Xia smiled, her fingers intertwining with his, their fingers tightly interlocked.

Zhou Chenglei squeezed her hand in response.

Both of them beamed with joy.

Zhou Chenglei told her his idea: "If you want to work as a translator at the Guangzhou Trade Fair, I think it's better to take commissions, not a fixed salary."

Otherwise, earning only a few dozen yuan a day, and being so far from home, isn't worth it!

She could earn that much by fishing at sea.

Jiang Xia's eyes lit up. She glanced around; they were on their way to the shipyard, and no one was around. She kissed his back through his shirt as a reward!

He and she were on the same page!

She didn't want a fixed salary either; if she was going to go, she wanted to earn as much as possible!

Zhou Chenglei's Adam's apple bobbed, and he gripped her hand tightly. If it weren't for the main road and the inconvenient location, he would have stopped the car and pulled her into his arms!

"Go to sleep early tonight," he said in a low, husky voice.

They hadn't been intimate for two nights.

He wanted to make up for it.

Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Xia arrived at the shipyard, and the gatekeeper let them in directly.

Now, almost all the technicians in the shipyard knew they were the shipyard's heroes.

Factory Director Zhou had just finished a meeting and taken a sip of water when he received an internal call from the gatekeeper informing him that Zhou Chenglei and his wife had arrived. He stayed in his office to wait for them.

As soon as Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei entered the office, Factory Director Zhou said warmly, "Xia, you've come at the right time! Interested in coming with our shipyard to the Guangzhou Trade Fair? One hundred yuan a day, including food and lodging!"

One hundred yuan a day was very high; probably no other factory would offer such a high price for a translator.

But Jiang Xia only wanted commission, the more she worked, the more she earned!

And if she accepted the shipyard's one hundred yuan a day wage, Jiang Xia couldn't earn money from other factories.

It was a rare opportunity to encounter such a grand event, so of course she wanted to make the most of her knowledge!

Jiang Xia then said, "Director Zhou, I might not be able to work as a translator only for the shipyard, because the editor-in-chief of the publishing house also asked me to be a translator at the Guangzhou Trade Fair today. She recommended several factories to me!"

Director Zhou hadn't expected someone to beat him to it!

He overlooked the word "only," and when he heard she might be working as a translator for someone else, not the shipyard, he panicked. He had already reserved a translator position for her at the shipyard and hadn't considered using anyone else; Director Xu had already agreed.

"Xia, our shipyard desperately needs you. Director Xu and I have already reserved a position for you. Whatever other factories offer you per day, we can offer you!"

He didn't believe any other factory in the city was as wealthy as their shipyard!

One hundred a day was a lot!

Jiang Xia laughed, "It's not about the money. I've already promised the editor-in-chief of the publishing house and other manufacturers I've talked to. I'm not just translating for one manufacturer, I'm translating for several, so I can't postpone it."

Factory Director Zhou immediately said, "Xia, you're translating for several manufacturers, why not translator for our shipyard? Don't you care about our friendship? Help us all! Don't forget our shipyard! I'll still give you 100 yuan a day!"

Jiang Xia laughed, "No need for 100 yuan a day. After all, I'm translating for several factories, I can't stay at the shipyard all day. How about this, I don't want 100 yuan a day. If I can secure an order for the shipyard, you only need to give me 100 yuan based on the transaction amount." "A 0.1% commission, no pay if the deal falls through, so the shipyard doesn't lose money, and I don't feel bad. Director Zhou, what do you think?"

Director Zhou's eyes flashed with surprise: "0.1% commission? How does that work?"

Jiang Xia: "It means I don't need a salary from the shipyard for translating. If I close a deal, the shipyard gives me 0.1% of the transaction amount. That is, 10 cents for a 100-yuan deal, and 1 yuan for a 1000-yuan deal. If it doesn't work out, I don't get paid."

No pay if the deal doesn't go through? Director Zhou felt Jiang Xia was losing out. "Aren't you losing out?"

What if the deal falls through, then you've worked for nothing?

Jiang Xia smiled: "It's just a part-time job anyway! I also translate for other manufacturers, and they get commissions too. With so many manufacturers, I can't possibly fail to close a single deal, right? But if Factory Director Zhou thinks I'm losing out, just give us a discount next time we come to buy a ship!"

Losing out? The Guangzhou Trade Fair is full of foreign businessmen. A single deal can be worth hundreds of thousands, millions, or even tens of millions! A deal worth

100,000 earns you 100 yuan, a deal worth 1 million earns you 1,000 yuan, and a deal worth tens of millions earns you 10,000 yuan!

While it's not guaranteed to close a deal, if you want to earn a little money, you can play it safe and earn a few dozen or a hundred yuan a day. Attending the Guangzhou Trade Fair once can easily bring in over a thousand yuan.

But to earn big money, you have to take a gamble!

As the saying goes, "A gamble can turn a bicycle into a motorcycle!"

She was willing to give up the stability and gamble for an opportunity to earn 10,000 yuan a day, a fortune.

After all, the Guangzhou Trade Fair lasts about half a month. If she only earns a few hundred yuan a day, she might as well go to sea!

There's a chance to earn over a hundred yuan a day fishing at sea.

Factory Manager Zhou said, "Don't worry about that. We've agreed on a discount for you when you buy boats in the future. Are you sure you don't want a salary, just commission? If the deal falls through, you won't get a penny!"

Jiang Xia replied, "I'm very sure. Because I don't just translate for the shipyard, I won't take a salary, just commission!"

Factory Manager Zhou said, "Alright then! Your translation fee will be calculated based on commission. Don't regret it!"

A hundred yuan a day, a single trade fair in Guangzhou could easily net her over 1500 yuan. How big of a deal would she have to close to earn that commission?

Jiang Xia laughed, "How could that be! If the deal goes through, just don't go back on your word and refuse to give me the 0.1% commission."

"Absolutely not! If you close the deal and I don't pay you, what kind of person would I be? Our shipyard is so big, we keep our word!"

Jiang Xia smiled, "That's fine then, it's settled then. I'll only take 0.1% of the transaction amount, not the profit!"

"Okay! I know, the transaction amount."

Jiang Xia then asked, "Factory Manager Zhou, is the Kent ring ready?"

At this, Factory Manager Zhou's eyebrows danced with excitement, "Almost! It'll definitely be able to take it to the Guangzhou Trade Fair. We've also figured out the calcium silicate preheater you mentioned before, we tried it, and the effect is very good!"

Jiang Xia was relieved to hear this and smiled, "That's good!"

Improved technology means a greater chance of closing a deal!

At this moment, neither Jiang Xia nor Factory Manager Zhou expected that these two technological improvements would shine so brightly at the Guangzhou Trade Fair, especially the Kent ring.

"How much longer until my boat is ready for delivery?"

Factory Director Zhou chuckled. "I was just about to call you if you weren't coming. Come on the 10th! The new boat can be launched that day. After the launch, once it's tested and there are no problems, it can be delivered!"

The 10th is the second day of the eighth lunar month, the day their house construction started. Jiang Xia looked at Zhou Chenglei.

Zhou Chenglei understood her look and nodded, "That's the day."

Jiang Xia smiled; it was truly double happiness.

Only nine days left, almost there!

Factory Director Zhou: "What for that day? Do you have something to do?"

Jiang Xia: "Nothing, even if you have something to do, you can still come to collect the boat. It's an auspicious day; there's a happy event in the village."

Factory Director Zhou replied, "Yes, it's an auspicious day. I specifically chose an auspicious day for the new boat's launching ceremony."

Jiang Xia then asked Factory Director Zhou for some shipyard information to review in advance, preparing for the Guangzhou Trade Fair, and then took her leave.

After the two left, Factory Manager Zhou calculated the commission rate: how big of a deal would he need to close to earn 1,500 yuan?

He'd never heard of anyone asking for commissions instead of a fixed salary; usually

, it was a fixed wage. But then he did the calculation and was stunned!

A deal worth 1.5 million yuan would only earn him 1,500 yuan in commission?

His heart skipped a beat. If the deal was 10 million, wouldn't he get tens of thousands of yuan in commission?

Damn!

Factory Manager Zhou's heart pounded. Did Xia really have the confidence to close a deal worth tens of millions?

Factory Manager Zhou: Damn! I've been tricked!

Haha…

everyone, guess how many tens of thousands Xia can earn with her silver tongue?

When Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Xia rode their bicycles back to the village dock, they found it bustling with activity.

Jiang Xia asked curiously, "What's going on?"

"I don't know, let's go see."

Zhou Chenglei rode his bicycle to the big banyan tree, stopped, and helped Jiang Xia off the bike.

Jiang Xia took off her straw hat after getting off, but her hair got caught on something. She tugged at it but couldn't get it off.

Zhou Chenglei propped up the bicycle, turned around, saw her, and quickly helped her.

Not far away, Zhou Bingqiang was handing out wedding candy, and the villagers were congratulating him.

"Congratulations! You've become a millionaire today, and your son is getting married! Double happiness!"

Zhou Bingqiang chuckled. "Haha, thank you. Here, have a couple more candies to share in the joy. Soon you'll be a millionaire too, and your son will get married!"

"Congratulations! You've become a millionaire, and your youngest son is married! You can finally enjoy life! You don't have to work anymore!"

"Congratulations! All your sons are married! And you have so much money! You can retire and not work anymore!"

...

Zhou Bingqiang chuckled as he handed out candies, saying, "What do you mean I don't have to work? They just got their marriage certificate, and they haven't even had their wedding banquet yet. I still have to earn money to host the banquet and build them a house. I'll have to work for another ten or eight years. These sons are all like debt collectors! Come on, have some candy! Have some candy!"

At this moment, Zhou's father arrived at the dock. He had just returned from ordering bricks, sand, cement, and steel bars from the brick factory.

From afar, he saw his youngest son helping his daughter-in-law remove her hat and fix her hair; the two were so affectionate, a display of love he'd never seen before!

Mr. Zhou chuckled: Had his trip to the city led him to some new money-making scheme?

The waves were high at the beach, and Mr. Zhou seemed to hear the sound of gold coins cascading down.

But this sound was quickly interrupted.

Mr. Zhou was spotted by Zhou Bingqiang as soon as he appeared at the dock.

Zhou Bingqiang quickly came to his side and grabbed a handful of candy for him: "Come on! Have some wedding candy! Have some wedding candy!"

Zhou's father was puzzled, but still took it: "What wedding candy?"

A villager chimed in: "Bingqiang has double happiness today, he got married and became a 'ten-thousand-yuan household' (a household with tens of thousands of yuan in income), so they're handing out wedding candy!"

Zhou's father raised an eyebrow, "Became a 'ten-thousand-yuan household' and got married? Congratulations!"

"Yes, that's impressive! A 'ten-thousand-yuan household'! The people in the production team said he'll be going to the city for an awards ceremony! He'll even be in the newspaper, isn't that amazing?!"

Zhou's father laughed: "Indeed!"

He wondered what Zhou Bingqiang's expression would be when he saw him at the awards ceremony.

Those who rank high in the city and have over 10,000 yuan in income receive prizes. Zhou's father was certain he had one, but Zhou Bingqiang wasn't sure. Haha!

Zhou Bingqiang: "What's so great about that! Just a 10,000 yuan household. I haven't heard of many 10,000 yuan households in the city this year, over a hundred in total! What's so great about me? I only got wedding candy because Guohua and Wenwan got their marriage certificate."

There are so many households in the city, and he's one of those hundred-odd households!

He's already the richest person in the village, only a hundred or so people away from being the richest person in the city, hahaha…

Zhou Bingqiang looked at his father. Zhou Chenglei is the future richest person? He'll become

a 10,000 yuan household first!

Getting a daughter-in-law is indeed a joyous occasion. Zhou's father smiled and asked, "When are you inviting us to the wedding banquet?"

Zhou Bingqiang laughed, "Not so fast. Xiaowan is going to take the college entrance exam. Besides, I'm planning to build them a new house as their wedding home. We can get married after the house is finished. Weddings cost so much money; the bride price alone is two thousand! Building the house will cost a fortune. You know, I just bought a boat, where would I get any money? So the house won't be built until the end of the year. Luckily, Xiaowan is going to college, so they're not in a rush to have a wedding banquet." Changing

his tone, Zhou Bingqiang feigned envy, saying, "You're so lucky to have such a good daughter-in-law. Even the city's young ladies are happy to live in your old house. I couldn't bear to. Of course, I have to provide for a well-educated daughter-in-law, so I couldn't resist building them a new house as their wedding home! I tend to spend money recklessly when I have too much, so I couldn't resist building one house after another for my son. Unlike you, so frugal, you'd rather live in an old house than build a new one."

Who would want to be a bald man with hair? Zhou Bingqiang was implying that his father couldn't afford to build a house!

Zhou's father's lips twitched, and he was about to say something when a villager ran over and asked, "Yongfu, my wife said you asked me to help you build a new house this morning, right? Is construction starting on the second day of the lunar new year? What's the auspicious time?"

Zhou's father smiled and said, "Yes, eight o'clock in the morning on the second day of the eighth lunar month."

"Okay, okay, I got it! I'll be there on time." As

soon as he said this, Zhou Bingqiang's expression froze, and the surrounding villagers were shocked: "Yongfu, your family is building a new house again?"

"So soon? The last one wasn't even built for many years! You're really rich! What kind of house are you building? A brick house or a multi-story building?"

"Nonsense, the last one was a multi-story building, how could we possibly change to a brick house? Building a brick house is not as good as living in the old house! Yongfu, how many stories are you planning to build?"

Zhou's father chuckled and said, "It's A-Lei who wants to build it, I don't have the money to build one, he's planning to build two and a half stories."

Two and a half stories, the villagers were shocked again!

"Bricks are expensive this year, sand, steel, cement, and labor are all expensive. Building a two-and-a-half-story house, even without exterior walls, would cost seven or eight thousand yuan, right? With exterior walls, a yard, and a kitchen, it'd easily cost over ten thousand!"

"Yongfu, the production team just asked who has ten thousand yuan a year, why didn't you sign up?"

"Yongfu, I've discovered you're the richest person in the whole village! You're a hidden ten-thousand-yuan household!"

"Go tell the production team, we have two ten-thousand-yuan households in our village!"

Zhou's father wanted to keep a low profile, but reality wouldn't allow it!

Whatever, let's enjoy ourselves first!

Zhou's father's eyes disappeared from his smile, his lips agape: "No need to sign up at the production team, the credit union has already registered us."

The villagers were shocked again. Why would the credit union register them? It must mean they'd deposited over ten thousand yuan there!

Someone gave Zhou's father a thumbs up: "The richest man! The richest man in the village!"

"Zhou, you're amazing! You became a millionaire without saying a word! Congratulations! Double happiness! You built a new house and became a millionaire!"

Zhou's father chuckled: "Actually, I don't have any money. I'm just benefiting from Ah Lei and his wife's wealth. It's their money, but Xia put my name on the register."

"Ah Lei became a millionaire at such a young age, amazing! So amazing!"

"Zhou, you're amazing! Congratulations..."

...

In an instant, everyone congratulated Zhou's father.

Getting a daughter-in-law is nothing compared to building a new house! Whose house isn't built with the savings of two or even three generations?

How many people can't earn enough for a house in their entire lives?

So building a house is a bigger celebration than getting married, so everyone went to congratulate Zhou's father!

Amazing! After building one house, he bought another in town, and now he's preparing to build a two-and-a-half-story house!

A two-and-a-half-story house is the tallest in the village. Zhou Bingqiang's house was also two and a half stories, but the whole family lived together.

For a time, Zhou's father was the center of attention! Then

Zhou Bingqiang left with a dark face, refusing to hand out wedding candy!

Richest man my foot! Has everyone forgotten that he also owns three boats?

Three boats are worth far more than ten thousand yuan!

Someone saw Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei and ran over to ask them questions.

Zhou Chenglei didn't like responding to these questions, just mumbling "uh-huh" as he pulled Jiang Xia towards the dock.

Jiang Xia was a little better; facing everyone's congratulations and inquiries, she would smile and say "thank you," replying with a few words, and finally saying, "The boat is back! We need to go help, we'll be going now," before leaving.

Thankfully, their family's boat had returned!

However, suddenly someone shouted loudly behind Jiang Xia, "Jiang Xia, you have a phone number! They left their number, they want you to call back!"

Jiang Xia turned around and replied, "Okay, thank you!"

Zhou Chenglei said, "You go call back, I'll go help my brother."

"Okay," Jiang Xia replied and walked towards the production team.

Jiang Xia walked into the production team's office. The person sitting by the phone smiled as she entered, "I've received so many calls from you this afternoon. I've already gotten two. Both left their numbers for you to call back, saying they need you as a translator. I've written the phone numbers down on this piece of paper."

Jiang Xia took the phone, thanked them with a smile, and then dialed the first number.

The first call was from the textile factory, asking if Jiang Xia spoke English, as they needed to hire a translator. Jiang Xia arranged to meet them the day after tomorrow. The second call

was from the food factory, saying something similar. Jiang Xia also arranged to meet them the day after tomorrow.

The reason for the meetings was that they needed to assess her foreign language skills, and Jiang Xia also needed to learn about their products.

She didn't fight unprepared battles; if she was going to do something, she wanted to do her best. Otherwise, even if she didn't want a salary, just a commission, without doing her homework, she might really be working for nothing.

Jiang Xia hung up the phone and was about to leave when it rang again. A member of the production team answered and called out to Jiang Xia, who was about to leave, "Xia, your call!"

Jiang Xia went back to answer it. This time it was the machine factory calling. Jiang Xia left their phone number and arranged to meet them the day after tomorrow.

After Jiang Xia hung up, the production team member asked with a smile, "Xia, so many calls today asking you to translate?"

Jiang Xia smiled and replied, "Yes, there will probably be quite a few these next few days. Please let me know if you receive my call."

"No problem, it's your pleasure! Your English must be very good, so many people need you to translate!"

Jiang Xia replied, "I can only understand and speak it, it's nothing special. I need to go to the dock, I'll be going now, thank you for your help!"

Jiang Xia then took the piece of paper with the phone number written on it and left.

After Jiang Xia left, Zhou Li silently memorized the list of phone numbers Jiang Xia had just written down.

She answered both of the calls that came in today, because the callers wanted Jiang Xia to be a translator and asked her to call back. So she made sure to copy down both numbers.

She decided to give these three numbers to Guohua after work so he could give them to Wen Wan and see if there was any chance of finding her another translation job.

Anyway, with so many people asking Jiang Xia for translation work, she could

n't handle it all by herself. Before she even got off work, Zhou Guohua arrived, bringing a bag of candy for her: "Auntie, Xiao Wan and I got our marriage certificate today. Share this candy with everyone."

That's right, Zhou Li was Zhou Guohua's aunt.

Zhou Li exclaimed happily, "Oh my, you got your marriage certificate already? Hurry up and have the wedding banquet, and try to have a big, healthy baby boy next year!"

Zhou Guohua blushed slightly: "Not so fast, Xiao Wan still needs to take the college entrance exam, no rush."

​​"That's true, no rush, going to college is important too. Once Wen Wan gets in, our family will have a college graduate!"

Wasn't Zhou Chengsen famous because he went to a worker-peasant-soldier university? You could easily become a leader in the town.

Don't say that studying isn't important; without some education, it's hard to get promoted!

Then Zhou Li handed the paper to Zhou Guohua and whispered a few words in his ear.

Zhou Guohua clutched the paper and stuffed it into his pocket. "Auntie, thank you. I'll give it to Xiaowan later."

"Don't mention it. We're all family. Tell Xiaowan to hurry up and find out if there are any events going on. I heard from Jiang Xia that she'll be getting calls soon, which means many factories are looking for translators. Go and find one that Jiang Xia turned down. Don't compete with her; we're all from the same village, so we don't want people talking about us, understand?"

Zhou Guohua nodded. "I understand. I'll tell Xiaowan tomorrow."

***

After Jiang Xia finished her call, she went to the dock. By then, all the fish on the boat had been unloaded. Zhou Chenglei didn't wait for his older brother to sell the fish before going home. Seeing Jiang Xia come over after her call, he told Zhou Chengxin, then pushed his bicycle and took Jiang Xia home.

On the way, Jiang Xia asked, "How was your catch at sea today, brother?"

Zhou Chenglei replied, "Not bad, more than usual, over a hundred yuan. He brought back two baskets of small fish for us, saying he'd dry them and bring them over later."

Jiang Xia smiled, "That's good. We'll settle the bill with your brother later."

"Okay," Zhou Chenglei responded.

When the couple returned home, they saw several bags of dried fish and several large jars in the yard; these must have been the jars she bought in town that day, delivered to their door.

Jiang Xia asked, "Did everyone bring dried fish so early today?"

Zhou's mother smiled and said, "Yes, these are all dried red snapper. Everyone brought them over after drying them. I saw that these dried fish were dried quite well, fully dried, and the heads were removed, so I only charged them 2.5 yuan per jin, a total of 257 jin. Some people sold the dried fish to Zhou Bingqiang's family, otherwise we could have collected even more!"

At this point, Zhou's mother launched into a series of scathing remarks: "That guy, he buys dried fish from everyone, and then he buys dried fish too, #@#*?%, those people, they agreed to sell to our family, then changed their minds!..."

Jiang Xia smiled and comforted her, "Mom, it's okay, you..." "If you're unhappy, we'll only accept dried fish from the families who delivered today from now on."

Hearing this, Zhou's mother felt embarrassed and scolded, "Aren't you worried it won't be enough?"

Jiang Xia smiled, "No, we'll sell as much as we can. We won't earn money that makes us unhappy! We won't accept theirs anymore!"

Zhou's mother smiled, feeling as sweet as honey, "I'm not unhappy, I'm just a little resentful!"

Jiang Xia smiled, "If you're a little resentful, then don't accept it. We won't earn money that makes us uncomfortable! Earning money is for enjoyment, there's no reason to make yourself unhappy."

Jiang Xia only accepted dried fish because of Zhang Fuyan's letter; otherwise, she wouldn't have accepted dried fish from the villagers.

She had two principles for making money.

First, she wasn't afraid of trouble, but she wouldn't earn money that involved trouble!

Second, she wouldn't earn money that made her uncomfortable!

Jiang Xia wasn't afraid of trouble when it came to making money. For example, she could collect miscellaneous dried fish, sort them, and sell them—it was troublesome and she earned less, but she was happy to

do it. But she wouldn't earn money that involved trouble. Some people were particularly annoying, and she wouldn't earn that kind of troublesome money.

Mrs. Zhou was overjoyed and laughed, "Alright, from now on we'll only accept these few families. I won't accept any more from others."

Mr. Zhou glanced at Jiang Xia; Wangcai was not only lucky, but also insightful!

For the next two days, Jiang Xia didn't go out to sea. Instead, she stayed home teaching He Xinghuan how to make dried fish. She made three flavors: spicy, sweet and sour, and sauced.

They were so delicious that both families couldn't stop eating them.

Especially the children, who kept exclaiming how delicious they were!

Early on the third day, Zhou Chenglei borrowed a tractor, loaded a large truckload of dried fish, and went to town with Jiang Xia.

Driving the tractor to the city was much easier, so Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei went to the plastic products factory first.

The factory had called Jiang Xia yesterday; its address wasn't in the city center, but Zhou Chenglei knew the location, and they would be passing by on their way, so he brought Jiang Xia there first.

Besides translation, Jiang Xia also wanted to order some food packaging bags from the plastic factory and buy some ready-made ones to repackage the small fish.

The plastic factory was in a relatively remote location, surrounded by a road and somewhat desolate, with waist-high weeds growing on both sides.

Jiang Xia got off the tractor, went to the guardhouse, and explained their purpose. The guard, having apparently received word, let them in upon hearing that Jiang Xia had arranged to meet the factory manager for a temporary translation job, and even let them drive the tractor in to prevent their belongings from being stolen if parked outside.

Jiang Xia gave him half a snakeskin bag of dried fish; the guard was incredibly kind and helpful, even offering to watch the things on the tractor and assuring them.

Jiang Xia brought the factory director a bag of dried fish and three cans of small dried fish in three different flavors. She used empty food cans from home, washed and sterilized with boiling water, to pack them; plastic resealable bags weren't available yet, and she hadn't found any packaging.

Following the gatekeeper's directions, the two arrived at the first room on the first floor of the factory building—the factory director's office.

Jiang Xia knocked on the door.

Inside, a middle-aged man in a white shirt was reading a newspaper.

He looked about the same age as Jiang's father, but his hair was much thinner.

Director Feng looked up at the knock and was immediately struck by the handsome man and beautiful woman outside.

Jiang Xia was wearing a fitted dress that accentuated her slim waist; her skin was radiantly white, making her incredibly eye-catching.

Zhou Chenglei was still wearing a white shirt and black suit pants, buttoned all the way up. He

was handsome and upright, with a cold and aloof demeanor. He glanced casually at the office, his powerful aura making him seem like an inspector.

Factory Director Feng unconsciously stood up: "Hello, what brings you two here?"

Jiang Xia smiled and said, "Hello, is this Factory Director Feng? I'm Jiang Xia, the foreign language translator you spoke with yesterday, and this is my wife, Zhou Chenglei."

Factory Director Feng secretly breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "So it's Comrade Jiang and Comrade Zhou! Welcome! Welcome! Just by looking at your distinguished bearing, I can tell you're highly educated people. I was just wondering why two college students had come to place an order!"

As expected of a factory director, he resolved the awkwardness that had just occurred with a single sentence.

"Please have a seat!" Factory

Director Feng went to the coffee table and personally brewed tea for the two of them.

Zhou Chenglei placed three jars of dried fish on the table and the half-bag of dried fish on the ground: "These are snacks my wife made and dried fish from our own sun-drying. Director Feng, please try them."

"You're too kind," Director Feng said, looking at the small red fish in the glass jars. "They look delicious! Perfect with drinks!"

Jiang Xia smiled and said, "They're homemade. We didn't have anything else to put them in, so we used clean and sterilized jars. I'm glad Director Feng doesn't mind."

Director Feng picked up a jar and unscrewed the cap: "Why would I mind? Everyone puts their food like this. My mother sends me soybean paste from Northeast China, and she puts it in this kind of jar too. These dried fish look delicious! I'll try some."

In those days, various packaging bags and gift bags weren't common. If you were giving someone homemade food, this kind of packaging was acceptable.

It's just that very few people gave Director Feng everyday gifts; they usually gave expensive things like cigarettes and alcohol.

He opened the bottle, which happened to be spicy. Factory Director Feng, a northerner, couldn't live without spicy food. After taking a bite

, his eyes widened: "Delicious! Absolutely perfect with alcohol!" He couldn't resist trying a few more, then wiped his hands clean and said with a smile, "These dried fish are much more convenient to pack in our newly developed food-grade plastic bags. If we used these bottles, they wouldn't hold much, and they'd be too heavy, inconvenient to carry and transport."

The factory had recently acquired several new packaging bag production lines, one of which produced food-grade plastic bags. He felt that plastic bags were very convenient and had a promising future.

Therefore, a large sum of money was spent to purchase the production line.

Then, Factory Director Feng naturally began to introduce the product by taking out a plastic bag, saying, "Bags like this are specially made for food. They are moisture-proof, oil-resistant, highly transparent, and have good rigidity. Once sealed, they don't leak at all—no air leaks, no juice leaks! They are lightweight, don't take up much space, and are convenient for transportation! Logos and other designs can also be printed on them as needed."

Jiang Xia nodded, "I can imagine how convenient they are."

The convenience brought by plastic packaging bags is enormous, even driving the development of many food industries. They are good in every way, except for being environmentally unfriendly.

But at that time, there was no concept of environmental protection, and every industry was focused on development.

"This is a product from one of our plastics factory's production lines. It's a new product I plan to take to the Guangzhou Trade Fair. May I hear Comrade Jiang Xia introduce it in English?"

Jiang Xia smiled and said, "Sure."

Director Feng thought it was excellent, very fluent: "I heard from Editor-in-Chief Fan that you speak several languages. May I have the honor of hearing it?"

"Of course."

So Jiang Xia introduced it again in French: "This is French."

Then she introduced it again in Russian: "This is Russian."

Then German, and finally Japanese.

Zhou Chenglei looked at Jiang Xia, listening intently, almost without blinking.

It was also the first time he had heard Jiang Xia speak Russian, German, and Japanese. He found that she sounded beautiful no matter what language she spoke, with a gentle smile, radiating beauty!

Zhou Chenglei could speak Russian and Japanese, and he could tell that Jiang Xia spoke them very fluently, naturally, like her mother tongue.

He had crammed for Japanese when he was on a mission years ago, spending two months to be able to speak and understand it. Even then, the person who taught him said he was very good.

Zhou Chenglei thought to himself: That's because he hasn't taught his wife!

Factory Director Feng was amazed!

Factory Director Feng had also traveled to several countries for inspections, and he was already quite satisfied after hearing Jiang Xia's English summary!

Now he said directly: "Comrade Jiang Xia, how about 100 yuan a day to be our factory's translator during the Guangzhou Trade Fair? To be honest, before you came, I only planned to spend 20 yuan a day to hire a translator. After hearing your English introduction, I decided to give you 30 yuan a day, but you're too amazing! I felt that I was offering too little, and you would go and be a translator for other factories, so 100 yuan a day, am I being sincere?"

Jiang Xia smiled and mentioned that she didn't want a fixed salary, only a 0.1% commission on the transaction amount.

It was a similar approach to the shipyard.

No factory would refuse Jiang Xia's offer of a commission, since if a deal was made, the factory would get an order, and if not, they wouldn't have to pay a salary, how great was that?

Factory Director Feng agreed, but he was heartbroken!

"Comrade Jiang Xia, can't you just work as a translator for our plastics factory? How about 150 yuan a day?"

He had already interviewed two translators, but wasn't very satisfied with either. Jiang Xia was his favorite.

This year, the plastics factory invested heavily in several production lines, and their export earnings were a tough task!

They were relying on securing a large order at the Guangzhou Trade Fair.

Jiang Xia smiled: "I'm really sorry, I've already agreed to work at the shipyard."

Factory Director Feng felt it was a great pity, then looked at Zhou Chenglei.

This man had barely uttered a word since sitting down, merely serving as an accompaniment, yet his aura was so powerful that it couldn't be ignored.

He seemed to understand everything just now.

"Comrade Zhou, do you speak any foreign languages?"

Zhou Chenglei: "I know a little bit, but I'm going out to sea to fish."

The implication was that he didn't have time to be a translator.

Factory Director Feng: "..."

A highly educated man who knows foreign languages ​​actually wouldn't be a translator to go fishing?

What a waste!

Is there such a surplus of talent in our country?

Jiang Xia smiled: "Factory Director Feng, may I learn about the products your factory is exhibiting?"

Factory Director Feng was even more heartbroken; what a dedicated temporary translator!

Then, accompanied by Factory Director Feng, Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei learned about all the products of the plastic factory.

Seeing something suitable, Jiang Xia casually asked Factory Director Feng to buy one hundred food packaging bags to hold small fish.

Coincidentally, the factory had a batch of packaging bags that were made to the wrong size. The customer wanted one jin (500g) bags, but the workers made two jin bags instead. The customer thought they were too big and didn't want them.

Factory Director Feng then gave all two hundred-plus bags that had been made incorrectly to Jiang Xia.

Factory Director Feng said, "You don't have a sealing machine, so you'll need to pack it up properly. You can send it to me, and I'll have someone seal it for you."

Jiang Xia smiled and said, "Thank you, Factory Director Feng, but no need for that. I'll just gently press it down with a heated wire."

Factory Director Feng paused for a moment, then understood and gave Jiang Xia a thumbs up: "Smart!"

He couldn't help but ask again, "Really not just a translator for our plastics factory? Two hundred yuan a day!" He

asked this every now and then, and Jiang Xia smiled and shook her head: "No, I'll just take the commission! If Factory Director Feng likes the dried fish, could you see if your factory canteen needs to order some? If so, you can call me to order. My family makes a living by fishing."

Factory Director Feng feigned anger and said, "If you're not going to be a full-time translator for our factory, I won't order any for you! Get out, get out..."

Jiang Xia couldn't help but laugh.

Then, Factory Director Feng, with a pained expression, personally saw the two of them off from the factory, arranging to meet them at the Guangzhou Trade Fair.

Fishing, fishing! Isn't it better to be educated and dedicate yourself to the socialist cause? What's with the fishing!

Factory Director Feng was so angry he lost a few strands of hair, making him look even smarter.

***

After leaving the plastics factory, Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei ate a bowl of noodles in the city before heading to their next factory, a textile factory.

This time, tractors weren't allowed in, so Zhou Chenglei had to wait for Jiang Xia outside.

Jiang Xia again brought the factory director some dried fish and small fish; these large factories had employee canteens, making them potential customers for dried fish.

Because they were introduced by Editor-in-Chief Fan, the textile factory director personally received Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei.

The textile factory director was a woman, about the same age as Jiang's mother, named Peng Yuhua, a very strong-willed and subjective woman.

She disliked Jiang Xia at first sight!

Women who are too beautiful and from good families are mostly all show and no substance.

Of course, she wouldn't show her dislike; she simply smiled and asked Jiang Xia to introduce herself in English from the start.

After hearing Jiang Xia's self-introduction, Peng Yuhua's opinion changed somewhat. Her smile became more sincere, and her tone gentler: "Not bad, that's fine. We'll hire a translator for 25 yuan a day, for about fifteen days."

Jiang Xia smiled and said, "Director Peng, can I choose not to take the 25 yuan a day salary, and just take the commission?"

Peng Yuhua was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

Jiang Xia repeated her statement about only taking 0.1% of the transaction amount as commission.

Peng Yuhua frowned slightly, thinking, "See!

Beautiful women are always so troublesome!

Either they use their beauty to their advantage, or they're arrogant because of their talent!

She doesn't want the salary; does she think she can close a big deal and get more commission than 25 yuan a day?"

Peng Yuhua wanted to hire a full-time translator, not a part-time one. However, considering that the Canton Fair might require more than one translator, hiring two would be too costly. Jiang Xia's approach of not taking a salary and only taking commission after a successful deal was actually quite good.

Peng Yuhua mentally calculated how much 0.1% commission would actually be.

Then she calculated that she only got a 10 yuan commission for every 10,000 yuan sold, and only 100 yuan for every 100,000 yuan sold.

For a part-time worker like her to secure orders worth over 100,000 yuan for the factory, that was already quite impressive!

"Okay! Let's do it your way. Only commission, no salary."

Jiang Xia then asked, "Director Peng, do you have fabric samples? I'd like to learn about your factory's products first."

Peng Yuhua hadn't expected a part-time translator to be so diligent, so she had someone bring her a copy of the color swatches for each fabric sample from the Guangzhou Trade Fair.

Jiang Xia flipped through the fabric swatches; some were made of polyester, some of suit fabric, some were silk, and of course, there were various patterns of cotton.

Jiang Xia: "Do you have process descriptions?"

"Yes." Peng Yuhua then had her assistant give Jiang Xia a copy of the process descriptions for the fabrics she had specially prepared for the Guangzhou Trade Fair.

Jiang Xia asked again, "Can I take these back to look at?"

She had to rush to the next store and didn't have much time to waste here.

"Sure!"

So Jiang Xia left with the fabric swatches and process descriptions.

After Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei left, Peng Yuhua said to her subordinates, "Go and hire another translator."

Knowing that Peng Yuhua disliked beautiful women, her assistant said, "This lady seems quite diligent at work, and her English is fluent!"

Peng Yuhua pursed her lips, "We'll see how diligent she really is later."

To be honest, Peng Yuhua was surprised by Jiang Xia's serious attitude, but whether it was just an act or genuine dedication, they'd only know later.

She never jumped to conclusions.

She gave the dried fish and small fish that Jiang Xia had given her to her assistant, "You can have these small fish! Take the dried fish to the canteen to add some dishes for everyone."

***

The next stop was the food factory, but before that, Jiang Xia went to the publishing house first, delivering a French book she had translated, a magazine, and 100 jin (50 kg) of dried fish.

Jiang Xia also gave Editor-in-Chief Fan three jars of small fish weighing five jin each, thanking her for introducing her to the translation work.

Editor-in-Chief Fan smiled and asked which factory she had chosen.

Jiang Xia smiled and said, "I chose both. I didn't want a fixed salary, just commission."

"Commission?"

Jiang Xia explained simply, "It means no salary, only commission if the deal goes through. I don't know if I'll be able to close the deal, but I'll treat it as experience."

Editor-in-Chief Fan understood immediately and gave a thumbs up: "That's good, the more you work, the more you earn. With your abilities, you'll definitely earn more than a fixed daily wage."

Jiang Xia smiled, exchanged a few more pleasantries with Editor-in-Chief Fan, and then went to the finance department to settle her account.

After Jiang Xia left Editor-in-Chief Fan's office, Editor-in-Chief Fan received a call from the textile factory. She couldn't find a better translator than Jiang Xia, and considering Wen Wan's good English, she recommended her.

When settling accounts at the finance department, Jiang Xia also gave them a jar of sweet and sour dried fish, all potential future clients.

Offices are always full of snacks.

After the finance department staff settled the bill for Jiang Xia, she couldn't help but say after leaving the office, "This is the first time I've ever settled someone's translation fee and dried fish money at the same time!" Dried

fish? Is this really the daughter of a high-ranking official?

But these dried fish are really delicious, so fragrant!

In no time, the finance department employees ate more than half the jar.

Someone said, "Eating more fish makes you smarter. My child doesn't usually like fish, but they'll definitely love these dried fish. I wonder if Comrade Jiang Xia sells them?"

"I'll ask her next time. They're so delicious, I'll buy some to take home for my child."

"My mom especially loves dried fish, I'll buy some to take back to her for the Mid-Autumn Festival."

Next stop, the food factory.

At the food factory, Jiang Xia didn't give them the dried fish she made herself, only a bag of dried fish.

The purpose was naturally to let them know that her family were fishermen, and that they could contact them if they needed to purchase any fish as raw materials.

The large ship is almost ready for delivery, and then it can go out to sea to fish, catching even more fish.

Selling the fish directly to the food factory will naturally fetch a higher price, and the food factory will also get a better deal from them than from middlemen, since there's no middleman taking a cut or commission.

This time, the tractor also drove into the factory. When Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei entered the factory manager's office,

the factory manager, a middle-aged woman, smiled warmly at Jiang Xia and said, "Xiaxia, I knew Editor-in-Chief Fan was talking about you."

Jiang Xia: "..."

It's someone she knows, but someone she doesn't!

She subconsciously looked at Zhou Chenglei, and Zhou Chenglei looked at her.

Jiang Xia: "..."

Jiang Xia could only smile and say, "Aunt Fang."

Luckily, she had asked the gatekeeper what the factory manager's surname was!

Zhou Chenglei had never met Fang Aiyuan before, so he said, "Factory Director Fang."

"Don't be so polite. Just call me Auntie, like Xiaxia does. Sit down!"

Fang Aiyuan smiled and invited them to sit down, poured them a cup of tea, and then smiled at Jiang Xia, saying, "Since you're working as a translator for the food factory, Auntie has complete peace of mind. How about we calculate it at 150 yuan a day?"

Jiang Xia smiled and went on to explain the commission structure.

Fang Aiyuan laughed and said, "I can't not pay you. How about we calculate it at 100 yuan a day, and then we'll calculate the commission."

A sales volume of 100,000 yuan was already quite good for the food factory, but with a sales volume of 100,000 yuan, the commission was only 100 yuan.

She really felt embarrassed to give that!

She knew Jiang's mother, and Jiang Xia and her son were classmates; she had practically watched Jiang Xia grow up. How could she possibly take advantage of Jiang Xia?

Jiang Xia refused, "Aunt Fang, because I've already promised other factories I'd be doing part-time translation work for them, I can't be a translator for the food factory all day, so really, you don't need to pay me a salary, just consider it commission."

Jiang Xia was too embarrassed to accept a day's pay; she wasn't helping the food factory all day.

Fang Aiyuan said, "Alright, as long as you've translated for the food factory, that day counts as a day's pay, plus commission, so don't argue with me!"

Jiang Xia didn't say anything more, they'd settle it later.

When leaving, Fang Aiyuan had several boxes of food loaded onto the tractor, saying it was for her to try and understand the products.

Jiang Xia felt embarrassed.

Fang Aiyuan smiled, "Try it well, give us some feedback, and help our food factory get more orders!"

Jiang Xia smiled and agreed, "Aunt Fang, see you at the Guangzhou Trade Fair, we're leaving now."

Fang Aiyuan smiled and nodded, "See you at the Guangzhou Trade Fair, Jingxuan also said he's coming back, he's going to help with translation too."

Zhou Chenglei froze.

Jiang Xia was stunned!

Who was Jingxuan?

The tractor left the food factory, and Zhou Chenglei asked casually, "Are you very familiar with Director Fang's family?"

Jiang Xia wasn't familiar with them at all. She recalled the book and couldn't recall any mention of the food factory director or Jing Xuan.

After all, the original owner wasn't the female lead, and the author wouldn't have made the interpersonal relationships of a cannon fodder female supporting character's family so clear.

Jiang Xia felt that given her parents' status, many people who knew her identity would act very familiar, but Fang Aiyuan didn't seem that kind of familiar.

Was Jing Xuan a childhood friend of the original owner?

Damn it, she really had no recollection of him!

Jiang Xia could only vaguely reply, "Yes."

She changed the subject: "Anyway, it's on the way. Should we go to the shipyard to buy anchors and anchor chains? Aren't we going to secure the fish cages?"

Zhou Chenglei tightened his grip on the tractor handle; he naturally noticed her changing the subject.

"Okay."

Buying anchors and anchor chains wasn't urgent; they could be bought on the day the ship was returned, but Zhou Chenglei still agreed.

So the two visited the shipyard again.

After getting off the tractor and entering the shipyard, Jiang Xia noticed that Zhou Chenglei had accidentally smeared some tractor oil on his face. She took his hand, signaling him to stop, and helped him wipe it clean.

Zhou Chenglei looked down, watching her hook her arm around his neck, stand on tiptoe, and intently wipe the dirt off his face.

He wrapped his long arm around her waist, bent down so she wouldn't have to stand on tiptoe, and a smile involuntarily crept onto his lips. The bitterness in his heart vanished.

He didn't care about the Jingche or Jinggan, he didn't care if he was waiting for her at Tsinghua University!

He would never see him again!

Jiang Xia was now his wife, rightfully and truly his wife.

The shipyard gatekeeper, awakened by the tractor noise, peeked out, quickly covered his eyes—oh dear, was this something he could see?

After Jiang Xia cleaned it for him, the two greeted the gatekeeper with smiles and went inside.

Seeing the two men arrive again, Director Zhou guessed, "Is it because you're changing the date for launching your new ship?"

Launching a new ship is a big event, and fishermen are generally quite superstitious, usually choosing an auspicious date that aligns with their family's birth charts. So sometimes, people want to change the date.

Jiang Xia smiled and shook his head, "No, we're here to buy some anchors and anchor chains."

Director Zhou: "What kind of anchors do you need?"

Zhou Chenglei: "Naval anchors will do."

Director Zhou then asked, "What size ship are you going to get them for you?"

Different tonnage ships require different anchor weights. For example, a 200,000-ton ship would typically need anchors weighing around 10 tons.

Zhou Chenglei: "No need. They're not for the ship. We only need the smallest naval anchors, four of them, and four 8-section anchor chains."

There are many types of anchors. Naval anchors are a type of mast anchor, and they are the oldest type of anchor. Their characteristics are strong holding power, allowing them to firmly grip various types of soil. Their disadvantage is that they are inconvenient to retrieve and deploy.

However, Zhou Chenglei was using it to secure the net cages placed on the seabed, preventing them from being swept away during typhoons. So, a firm grip was enough; easy deployment and retrieval weren't necessary.

Factory Director Zhou nodded: "Okay, I understand. Do you want the old ones? They're much cheaper. Otherwise, even with a discount, it'll still cost at least two thousand yuan!"

Jiang Xia immediately said, "The old ones are fine too, as long as they're cheap."

In the end, the old ones weren't cheap either; they were rusty and still cost a thousand yuan, and that was only after Jiang Xia's persistent haggling!

Factory Director Zhou even said he was losing out big time!

Jiang Xia, who controlled the finances, reluctantly paid a thousand yuan, and the two left.

The anchor and anchor chain were very heavy; Zhou Chenglei would transport them out to sea when the large ship was delivered, and it was impossible to bring them back now.

When Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei returned home, it was already past five o'clock.

A tractor was parked on the path in front of their house, blocking their way.

The tractor was half-loaded with bricks.

Jiang Xia saw a man standing shirtless on the back of a tractor, using something like pliers to grab a few bricks and move them onto a pile of bricks that was half a person high on the ground.

Zhou's father was also helping to move the bricks, carrying them by hand, one brick at a time.

Jiang Xia called out, "Dad, the bricks arrived so quickly?"

Zhou's father wiped his sweat and smiled, "Yes, five thousand bricks were delivered today, and more will be delivered tomorrow."

"Oh."

Zhou Chenglei said to Jiang Xia, "You go home first. I'll unload the stuff from the tractor and then drive it back to the production team."

"Okay!" Jiang Xia replied and got off the tractor.

Zhou Chenglei helped her up.

Jiang Xia only took the two hundred or so packaging bags at her feet, "You carry the rest inside? I'll take these bags inside."

"Okay." Zhou Chenglei replied.

Jiang Xia returned to the yard, where Zhou Zhou was sitting on a small stool, using a chair as a table, doing his homework.

At this time, the room was dimly lit, and to save electricity, Zhou Zhou had been doing his homework in the yard after school for the past few days, using a chair as a table.

She greeted Jiang Xia obediently when she saw her return, "Auntie."

Jiang Xia smiled and replied, "Be careful not to lower your head too much while doing your homework, or you'll become nearsighted."

"Okay, I'm almost finished."

Jiang Xia didn't pay much attention; first-grade homework wasn't much, and she could finish it in ten minutes, so it wouldn't cause nearsightedness.

Zhou Chenglei made three trips back and forth before unloading the boxes of food that the food factory had given to Jiang Xia for tasting from the tractor.

Jiang Xia looked through what was available and found a lot of luncheon meat cans, as well as various biscuits, sandwich biscuits, sesame biscuits, soda crackers, savory, sweet, and cheese flavors—both loose and in tins. There were also various candies, shortbread, walnut shortbread, mooncakes, and even two boxes of instant noodles.

The luncheon meat cans and some of the biscuits were the main export items from the food factory, but Jiang Xia wasn't sure about the instant noodles.

But Jiang Xia tried everything to get a better understanding of what she was getting.

Jiang Xia told Zhou Zhou there were many cookies and candies, and that she could take them and eat whatever she wanted after finishing her homework, and also take some for her older brothers and Zhou Jie.

Then she took two cans of luncheon meat to cook, while Zhou's mother probably went to the dock or to tend the vegetables.

Dinner consisted of stir-fried cucumber with luncheon meat, fried eggs with luncheon meat, and stir-fried water spinach. Since the Zhou family was used to seafood and loved fish, Jiang Xia also made a dish of pan-fried dried red snapper, frying the dried fish until golden brown on both sides, and then sprinkling it with chopped green onions and red chili flakes.

Four simple dishes, each looking incredibly appetizing.

After finishing her homework, Zhou Zhou came over to help with the fire, and Jiang Xia saw her swallow several times while looking at the luncheon meat.

Whether it was because the pork in this era was mostly from local pigs, or because the export quality was better, Jiang Xia thought the luncheon meat from the food factory was delicious.

The family rarely ate meat, but they all thought it was delicious, especially Zhou Zhou.

Zhou Chenglei thought Jiang Xia's pan-fried dried red snapper was even better, fried until very fragrant, and he ate five bowls of rice.

The luncheon meat had a bit too much seasoning for him.

He could eat five bowls of rice with every meal Jiang Xia cooked, whereas he usually only ate four.

The consequence of eating five bowls of rice and replenishing his energy was that Jiang Xia was tossed and turned by him three times that night.

Her legs were weak when she woke up the next day.

Jiang Xia hadn't been out to sea for several days, and she sleepily got up, wanting to go out to sea with him, but when she changed her clothes, she noticed her pants were a little red.

"..."

Jiang Xia looked up at Zhou Chenglei.

Zhou Chenglei was fastening his belt when he noticed Jiang Xia looking at him. He looked up at her, "What's wrong?"

Jiang Xia turned around, gesturing for him to look at her pants.

Zhou Chenglei: "..."

"Your period?"

Jiang Xia looked at him and nodded, "Yeah, not pregnant."

"Then let's try again in a few years." Zhou Chenglei didn't seem to care much. Although he looked forward to their child, he knew that having a child was a matter of fate.

He went to the drawer to get her a sanitary napkin, afraid she would be disappointed. He hugged her and kissed her forehead, "No rush, we're still young, let's try again in a few years."

Jiang Xia: "I am young, but you..."

Zhou Chenglei held her waist and pulled her into his arms, "I'm young too!"

Jiang Xia looked up at him in his arms, not saying anything, just smiling.

A man nearing thirty, still dared to say he was young?

Zhou Chenglei directly picked her up and kissed her until she was breathless, proving with his strength that he was not only young and strong, but also young and vigorous!

So, they were a full hour and a half late setting sail that day. The extra half hour was spent by Zhou Chenglei making brown sugar water for Jiang Xia and washing his soiled clothes.

Jiang Xia, whose legs were weak and hands ached, swore he would never dare say he was old again. He

was absolutely young, strong, and full of energy!

For the next two days, Jiang Xia stayed home doing translation work, familiarizing himself with the shipyard's data, the textile factory's fabrics, the plastic factory's products, and tasting the food from the food factory.

And now, he was making dried fish with He Yuhuan and his great-grandmother.

Jiang Xia planned to sell this batch of dried fish directly to the Marquis.

However, making dried fish required frying, and the oil they bought was quickly used up; both families were out of oil coupons.

These days, you still need coupons to buy things, although some things no longer require coupons, but grains, oil, meat, and electronic products still do.

Zhou Chenglei had saved up quite a few coupons, but Jiang Xia had already squandered all the oil coupons.

They usually went out to sea to fish and sold their fish to the purchasing center; the price was cheap, but they received a certain number of coupons each month based on the amount sold.

However, Jiang Xia noticed that although they had sold so many fish last month, Zhou's mother only brought back two oil coupons worth four liang (approximately 200 grams) each. Of course, Zhou's mother had exchanged other coupons for others.

The Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching, and coupons were needed to buy meat, mooncakes, and gifts.

He Xinghuan said, "I'll go find someone to buy some oil coupons and see if I can manage."

Great-Grandma said, "After the peanuts ripen this year, we'll use them all to press oil."

Jiang Xia replied, "Okay, let's leave it at that for now. Once we have a stable business with dried fish, I'll think of something else."

Now that restaurants are allowed to open, applying for a small food workshop business license would make buying oil and grain easier.

In the evening, Jiang Xia went to the dock as usual to wait for her family's boat to return. The production team told her that two packages had arrived from Beijing.

Jiang Xia went to collect the packages first.

Zhou Li looked at the two large packages curiously and asked, "Jiang Xia, why do you receive packages from Beijing every day? Who sends them to you? Do you have relatives in Beijing?"

Jiang Xia replied, "It's my brother. I asked him to buy some things for me."

Zhou Li looked at the two packages, eager to open them and see what was inside. "Your brother studies in Beijing? That's amazing!"

She had seen the address on the packages.

Jiang Xia just smiled, thanked her, and then excused herself to go to the dock to check if the family's boat had returned, before leaving with the two boxes.

Zhou Li really wanted to talk to Jiang Xia more and build a good relationship.

Jiang Xia's family was influential; if she wanted to transfer to a different position in the future, or if her son wanted to get a government job after graduating, it would be easier to ask for her help.

Although her son was still in junior high school, establishing a relationship now would make it easier to ask for help later.

Jiang Xia left the production team and returned home with the two packages.

She opened the larger one first and found two cashmere sweaters, a lot of imported snacks, and even cola!

One of the cashmere sweaters must have belonged to Jiang's mother.

Jiang Xia opened another package, which contained a Seagull brand camera. It had dual lenses, resembling a rectangular box with an openable lid.

It looked a bit complicated, so she studied it for a moment before checking Jiang Dong's letter. She confirmed that one of the cashmere sweaters belonged to Jiang's mother, and the letter mentioned that he had already had film loaded into the camera.

He had bought two rolls of film; if you didn't know how to remove the film after use, you should take it to a photo studio to have it removed. Don't try to remove it yourself, or the film will be exposed, ruining all the photos.

After reading the letter, Jiang Xia studied the instruction manual, roughly understanding how to take pictures. She found the buttons and snapped a picture of Zhou Zhou doing her homework in the yard and her mother weaving a fishing net.

Both looked over.

Zhou's mother smiled and asked, "Is this a camera? Did Xiao Dong send it?"

Zhou Zhou also looked curious.

Jiang Xia nodded and replied with a smile, "Yes, I had my brother help me buy it. It arrived just in time. We can take a picture of the new ship being launched when it returns."

Zhou's mother's eyes lit up at the mention of it: "That's right! We'll take a picture when the house construction starts too! Your father will be very happy." Jiang

Xia smiled and asked Zhou's mother and Zhou Zhou to stand together so she could take a picture of them.

Zhou's mother quickly waved her hand: "No need, no need, don't waste the film. We'll take the picture when the ship returns, the whole family together."

Zhou's mother knew that taking a photo at a photo studio was expensive, costing two yuan, and even more for color photos, with additional charges for enlargements.

The photo studio owner said it was expensive because the film was costly, twenty or thirty yuan a roll.

Therefore, she felt that the more people in a photo, the more cost-effective it was!

Besides, why take photos for no reason? It's only worthwhile to save them for special occasions, when the whole family is reunited.

Jiang Xia said, "It's okay, we have two rolls of film. I'll take a picture of you and Zhou Zhou."

Zhou's mother refused to have her picture taken, and Zhou Zhou didn't dare to either. Jiang Xia had no choice but to take the camera to the dock and photograph her old man sailing the boat!

Jiang Xia arrived at the dock with her camera. She took a picture of the bustling scene, a picture of fishing boats returning at sunset, and a picture of women chatting and laughing under a large banyan tree while waiting for the fishing boats to return.

She also took a picture of the line at the weighing station.

Jiang Xia took a few pictures and then stopped. She didn't want to take too many, mainly because she didn't know how to change film and needed to save it for photographing her old man and the launching ceremony of the large ship.

At this moment, Tian Caihua and Zhou Chengxin came to Jiang Xia's side.

Tian Caihua asked curiously, "Xia, is that a camera?"

Zhou Chengxin also looked at her curiously, "I heard that Seagull brand cameras are hard to buy. How long did you queue up to get one?"

Jiang Xia was surprised for a moment and shook her head, "I don't know. I asked my brother to help me buy it. Come on, brother, sister-in-law, let me take a picture of you."

"What? Take a picture? But I don't look good today!! My clothes are too old, aren't they?" Tian Caihua suddenly didn't know what to do with her hands and feet. She wanted to take a picture, but she was afraid that she didn't look good and that the picture would be too ugly.

"It's okay, we'll take another one another day when we're dressed better." Jiang Xia found a spot and gestured for them to stand properly.

Then, with the sunset, the vast sea, and the bustling dock as the background, she took a picture of them.

After taking the photos, Jiang Xia noticed that her family's fishing boat had docked.

She quickly ran over to take pictures of her husband, otherwise, it would be a waste of his good looks!

Zhou Chenglei, holding a rope, was about to disembark when he saw Jiang Xia running towards him with a camera. He frowned, "Slow down, don't run!"

Jiang Xia snapped a picture of him!

Zhou Chenglei finished tying up the rope and came to her side, saying, "Don't run away next time!"

Jiang Xia ignored him, ran back onto the boat, and said to her father, "Dad, let me take your picture."

Zhou's father's eyes lit up when he saw the camera. The boat was already docked, and he was about to leave when he turned back and cooperatively gripped the rudder, striking a pose as if to sail: "Is this okay?"

"Yes! So cool!" Jiang Xia found the right angle and snapped a picture. "That's good!"

Zhou's father quickly went to Jiang Xia's side, ignoring the fish on the boat. "How do you take this picture? Take it and take one too."

Jiang Xia took the camera off her neck and taught him.

Zhou's father was quite clever; he learned quickly. He hung the camera around his neck and then looked for Zhou Bingqiang.

Zhou's father immediately spotted the figure he had been longing for every day.

He shouted to Zhou Bingqiang, "Bingqiang! Bingqiang! Come, come, come! My family bought a camera! Let's take a picture together!"

Hadn't Zhou Bingqiang been clamoring everywhere for a Seagull camera lately?

He said Seagull cameras were incredibly hard to buy; he'd queued for ages and still hadn't gotten one! He

even said he'd pull strings to buy it, but didn't know when he'd get it.

He'd been shouting about it everywhere, the whole village knew, but still no sign of the camera!

Haha, his daughter-in-law had bought it without a word!

Now, he had to capture that forced smile on Zhou Bingqiang's face!

Zhou Bingqiang heard the shouts and looked over, seeing the camera in his father's hand, his face darkening.

It was the camera he'd wanted to buy, but hadn't been able to afford—it cost almost five hundred yuan!

Zhou's father not only called out to Zhou Bingqiang but also to the other villagers.

"Guocai, Guangcai, come on, let's take a picture! Let's all take one!" Are you

kidding me? Taking a picture is so expensive, of course we can't just take one for Zhou Bingqiang!

It's the village's first camera!

Such a glorious thing has to be known by the whole village, and we should take a group photo!

Later, when he tells people, he can say, "The first photo of your life was taken by your father!" How awesome is that?

"Chaohua, Chaoming... come on, let me take a picture of you! Let's take a group photo!" Everyone was busy moving and selling fish, but now they were all attracted to Zhou's father!

Taking pictures was quite novel for everyone, and everyone knew that taking a picture at a photo studio was really expensive!

So everyone stopped selling fish and rushed to Zhou's father's side: "Yongfu, take a picture of me sailing the boat."

"Take one of me too, I caught a whole boat full of fish today, let's keep it as a memento."

"Take one of me too, I want a picture of me sailing the boat."

...

Zhou's father: "One for each person, where are we going to get so much film? Let's take a group photo! Let's go to Bingqiang's new boat!"

Haha... I'll make him furious!

Everyone was happy to take a group photo, so they all boarded Zhou Bingqiang's new boat.

Zhou's father said, "Xia, take the picture for us."

So Jiang Xia took a group photo of everyone on Zhou Bingqiang's new boat.

Villagers sat or stood on either side of the boat, which was laden with baskets of fish. Zhou's father stood in the middle, his arm around Zhou Bingqiang's shoulder, beaming with pride!

Jiang Xia then suggested taking another picture at the entrance of the production team building. Soon the production team would be reformed and become the village committee, and the production team would become their most cherished memory.

The photo in the production team was a group photo, with both men and women.

The one on Zhou Bingqiang's boat just now only had men.

Jiang Xia took another photo of the village women under the big tree in front of the ancestral hall, also including a corner of the purchasing station in the distance as a backdrop.

The small fishing village will be expropriated in the future, and everything at this dock will change, but this century-old tree will always be there, protecting the descendants of this place.

After taking three group photos, Zhou's father was reluctant to take any more for everyone!

Someone asked Zhou's father to take one for him, offering to pay, but Zhou's father smiled and declined, "In a few days, I'll take you there when I still have film left. I'm saving this film for the day I break ground on my new house!"

What a joke! The house hasn't even started construction yet, and the big boat hasn't returned. He wants to save the film to record that historic moment.

In a couple of days, when his big boat returns, he'll have everyone take a group photo on his big boat—how impressive!

And he also needs to take photos when he attends the award ceremony for the "ten-thousand-yuan households"! Such a glorious moment naturally deserves to be captured on camera for future generations to see.

Mr. Zhou, thinking about how his family had become the first in the village to earn ten thousand yuan, acquired the village's first camera, and was about to own the village's first large ocean-going fishing vessel, felt it was all thanks to his son, Jiang Xia, who was considered a lucky charm.

So he said to Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Xia, "Come on, let Dad take a picture of you two together."

How could he not take a picture of his youngest son and daughter-in-law with a camera?

A loving pose today might just bring a huge wave of good fortune tomorrow!

Jiang Xia also wanted a picture with Zhou Chenglei, so she pulled him to find a background.

Zhou Chenglei didn't like taking pictures, but he let Jiang Xia pull him and direct him.

Wherever she told him to stand, he stood.

Seeing this, Tian Caihua immediately ran back to find her sons; she also wanted to take a family photo!

She also called over Zhou's mother and Zhou Zhou.

Finally, Jiang Xia pulled Zhou Chenglei to stand in front of the row of fishing boats. After he was in position, Jiang Xia ran to Zhou's father, glanced at the image in the camera's viewfinder, found a satisfactory angle, and said to him, "Dad, take the picture from this angle, capturing the corner of the tree drooping down, that row of fishing boats, the vast sea, and the red sunset on the horizon."

Zhou's father couldn't see the image clearly, but he vaguely felt that the scene was extremely pleasing!

No wonder she's his daughter-in-law; even her photos are exceptionally beautiful.

"Okay!"

After instructing Zhou's father, Jiang Xia ran back to Zhou Chenglei, hugged his arm, and smiled sweetly.

Zhou's father: "One, two, three!"

Click!

As Zhou's father pressed the shutter, Zhou Chenglei's lips curled into a slight smile, his eyes and brows brimming with joy.

Zhou's father smiled and said, "That's good."

The two looked like a perfect couple; tomorrow's wealth would surely come like a surging tide.

Later, Zhou's mother, Zhou Zhou, and his brothers Guangzong and Yaozu all arrived. The family asked someone to help take a group photo.

In front of them were baskets upon baskets of fish, behind them the boundless sea, and on the horizon a magnificent sunset. The family's eyes crinkled into crescents with laughter.

Later, so many villagers asked Jiang Xia to take their photos that day that they wanted to be photographed. Jiang Xia remembered he was going to the city the next day to deliver dried fish to Zhang Fuyan. Once the film ran out, he could take it to a photo studio in the city to have the photos developed. He could also have the studio staff teach him how to load and unload the film to prevent overexposure.

Then he could take

the photos however he wanted. Jiang Xia didn't charge the villagers for the film, but if they wanted it developed, they would have to pay.

Jiang Xia would charge them the same amount the photo studio charged. He explained this to everyone beforehand, and only after they agreed did he start taking their photos.

So Jiang Xia took a group photo for each villager until the film ran out.

After taking the photos, Jiang Xia asked everyone if anyone wanted the group photo from before, telling them to speak up and she would help them get it developed.

Everyone shouted that they wanted it and pulled out their money.

That day, the dock was unusually lively; even the magnificent sunset couldn't compare to the radiant smiles of everyone.

***

The next day, Zhou Chenglei borrowed the production team's tractor again and hauled all the dried fish and several large jars of small fish he had collected over the past few days to the city.

He had already called Lord Hou in advance and arranged to meet at the city dock at ten o'clock in the morning.

Many villagers saw Zhou Chenglei leaving the village with a tractor full of goods.

Today was Friday, and Zhou Guohua was going to the city to pick up Wen Wan and bring her back to the village. He went to the town early in the morning to take a bus to the city, and also took four large sacks of dried fish to sell.

When the bus passed the tractor, Zhou Guohua saw that the driver was Zhou Chenglei and saw the load of goods on the tractor, knowing that Zhou Chenglei was also going to sell dried fish today.

What a coincidence! He wondered where Zhou Chenglei was going to sell his dried fish? Did he have a regular customer base, or was he selling to familiar middlemen?

It was a pity he hadn't been able to borrow a tractor; otherwise, he could have gone along to sell as well.

Cars are faster than tractors. Zhou Guohua arrived at the dock half an hour earlier than Zhou Chenglei. He carried four large burlap sacks of dried fish on a carrying pole, found a spot near the dock, opened the sacks, and waited for the middlemen to come and buy them.

Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Xia arrived at the city dock at 8:50.

Jiang Xia spotted Zhou Guohua at his street stall immediately. She wanted to change spots, but Zhou Guohua also spotted them right away.

So she decided against it.

Besides, they had arranged to wait for Lord Hou here.

However, Jiang Xia still had Zhou Chenglei park a little further away from Zhou Guohua, so that he wouldn't overhear how much they were selling for and how much they were making during the transaction.

Lord Hou arrived at 8:56 and quickly came over when he saw them.

The Marquis looked at the large cart of dried fish and several large jars in surprise and asked, "Isn't this dried fish? What are these jars of? Fish sauce?"

Jiang Xia smiled and said, "The ones in the snakeskin bag are dried fish. These jars of fish are snacks I made. There are three flavors: sweet and sour, spicy, and sauce. There's also a jar of spicy small yellow croaker and two jars of spicy mixed small fish."

Jiang Xia took out nine individually wrapped and sealed bags of small fish in three flavors—small yellow croaker and mixed small fish—from the snakeskin bag in the driver's seat.

She had already tied them into a bundle with rope.

Jiang Xia handed them to the Marquis: "These are the small fish. Take them home for you to enjoy with your drinks, and also let your sister-in-law and the children try them."

The Marquis looked at the red fish coated with white sesame seeds in the package, which looked very appetizing. Moreover, Jiang Xia had given so many at once. He said embarrassedly, "You're too kind! I'm embarrassed."

Of course, the gift should be given first, and then the price can be discussed!

Jiang Xia smiled and said, "What's there to be embarrassed about? It's all homemade, it doesn't cost much, and you'll only know if it's good or not after you try it, whether it's worth stocking up on."

As she spoke, Jiang Xia opened another bag of spicy mixed fish. "My lord, please try some

." "Then I'll try some." The lord reached out and casually picked up a small fish and put it in his mouth to taste. Then he gave a thumbs up, chewing as he said, "Delicious! Very delicious! Fragrant! Chewy! Did you make this?"

He then reached out and picked up a second one.

Because these fish were relatively small, and were dried and then deep-fried, the meat was firm, chewy, and especially fragrant, becoming more fragrant the more you chewed.

Jiang Xia controlled the heat very well, even the bones were fried until crispy and could be easily chewed without having to spit them out.

The Marquis couldn't stop eating; he loved spicy food. "This will definitely sell well, how much?"

Not far away, Zhou Guohua had been watching Jiang Xia's direction. Seeing Jiang Xia giving away gifts while selling dried fish, he realized he'd miscalculated. No wonder after half an hour, people had only asked a few questions and left.

So he asked someone to watch the dried fish for him while he went to a small shop across the street.