Chapter 127: The Photo
Chapter 127: The Photo
This town was a small coastal town, and Jiang Xia had no idea if there were any Ten Thousand Yuan Households around. She certainly didn't want to end up in the newspapers, so she quickly corrected herself, "Three thousand seven hundred!"
Zhou Fu: "..."
Why didn't Xia Xia want to be a Ten Thousand Yuan Household and appear in the newspapers?
He was thinking!
What a glorious achievement that would be for the family!
The teller: "That's not right! You didn't say that earlier. You said thirteen thousand seven hundred just now."
Jiang Xia, with a serious expression: "You must have misheard!"
The other credit union staff members chimed in unison: "We all heard it! You clearly said thirteen thousand seven hundred!"
Jiang Xia: "..."
In the end, Jiang Xia deposited thirteen thousand seven hundred.
The staff mentioned that Ten Thousand Yuan Households would be recognized at an end-of-year commendation ceremony and might receive rewards. So, she registered her father, Zhou Fu, for the commendation ceremony.
After all, a Ten Thousand Yuan Household could refer to a family, and Zhou Fu was the head of the household. There was no mistake in registering his name.
On their way back home, Zhou Fu rode his bicycle with an erratic path, leaving S-shaped tracks on the yellow dirt road of the village path.
He couldn't control the bike's steering! The teller at the credit union mentioned that the county's notice had just been issued that afternoon, and they were the first Ten Thousand Yuan Household in town.
Haha... How glorious!
When the three of them returned to the village, Jiang Xia felt it was livelier than usual.
Along the road, groups of women were chatting while carrying urine buckets, hoes, or baskets of vegetables.
Some were sitting at their doorsteps, eating from bowls and chatting happily with their neighbors.
Initially, Jiang Xia thought they were discussing the Ten Thousand Yuan Household, but when she overheard Wen Wan and Tea Caihua's names, she lost interest.
Zhou Fu was excited and couldn't focus on others' conversations. Zhou Chenglei wasn't interested, and with one ear that struggled to hear, he didn't bother listening to the village gossip. He rode his bicycle swiftly, heading straight home.
So, the three of them were unaware that Tea Caihua and Wen Wan had caused quite a scene.
The fight occurred during the time when everyone was watering their vegetable gardens. Tea Caihua's drama quickly spread throughout the village before dinner.
People said that Wen Wan had taken a liking to the Zhou family's wealth and tried to get close to Zhou Chenglei, but when that didn't work, she turned her attention to Zhou Chengxin, as he had a new house.
Some claimed to have seen Wen Wan and Zhou Guohua going out to sea together for a day, and they admired her for being able to charm so many men at once."
Zhou Bingqiang's home was near the Great Banyan Tree, and villagers loved gathering there after dinner to chat and enjoy the cool evening breeze. Today's gossip centered around Wen Wan.
After finishing his meal, Zhou Bingqiang would often join the villagers under the tree, boasting and chatting. Hearing these rumors, he stormed home and ordered his son to stop seeing Wen Wan.
However, Jiang Xia's family was unaware of these events. They had several pieces of diving equipment worth over a thousand yuan, and Zhou Mu didn't dare leave the house.
When Jiang Xia and the others returned home, Zhou Mu had already prepared a meal and was waiting for them.
She was delighted to learn that the silver had sold for over thirteen thousand seven hundred yuan.
Zhou Fu mentioned that they might be the first Ten Thousand Yuan Household in town and could even attend the county's commendation ceremony.
The two elders excitedly discussed what to wear to the ceremony and what rewards they might receive.
It wasn't until Zhou Chenglei couldn't bear it anymore and shared his and Jiang Xia's plans to build a new house that their excitement shifted to the topic of the new home!
Zhou Fu laughed and said, "Building a new house is a great idea! It's about time."
Now that they were Ten Thousand Yuan Households, living in an old, dilapidated house would make others doubt their status. The land for the new house would be the empty space in front of their current home, which Zhou Mu had previously claimed for her sons' homestead. There were already some mud bricks piled up there.
Zhou Mu had also planted a few pomegranates and loquats, which hadn't grown big yet, but they could be transplanted to the old house's courtyard when they were ready.
Zhou Mu happily expressed that she would go and choose an auspicious date for the move tomorrow.
As they were going out to sea the next day, the family excitedly discussed it for a while. After finishing their meal and taking their baths, they each returned to their rooms to sleep.
After Zhou Chenglei finished his shower and washed his clothes, he entered the room holding a bowl of milk and found Jiang Xia looking at photos.
He pulled her up and sat in the chair, holding her and looking at the photos together.
There were several photos, including one of Jiang Xia's silhouette with her arms spread wide at the seaside, one of her laughing brightly with her back to the sea, and one of her jumping in mid-air, appearing very high, but Zhou Chenglei knew it was just a photographic effect. His little girl couldn't jump that high.
Each photo was beautiful, and Zhou Chenglei spent a long time looking at each one, even though they were in black and white. In his eyes, they were all full of color.
Zhou Chenglei's favorite photos were the two of him washing Jiang Xia's feet. He looked at them for a very long time.
Jiang Xia also liked these two photos.
The photos depicted a farmhouse courtyard, a pomegranate tree, a bicycle, bamboo chairs, a wooden basin, a water pump, the blue sky and white clouds, and the two of them.
Jiang Xia then noticed the serious and gentle expression on Zhou Chenglei's face as he washed her feet in the photos.
There were two photos of this scene; in the other, the two of them realized that Zhang Fuyan was taking pictures and looked in her direction, and it was also beautiful! Zhou Chenglei's gaze was sharp and cold, but it was so handsome, a look that Jiang Xia rarely saw in him.
Zhou Chenglei didn't have such a sharp gaze when looking at her; he only had it when looking at others.
Zhou Chenglei stared at Jiang Xia's bashful face in the photo, enjoying seeing her blush because of him, and he never tired of looking at her.
Especially the way she looked on him and beneath him.
That night, he, of course, saw through all her coy and charming expressions.
The next day, they set out to sea on time.
Zhou Chengxin also went to sea with them; Zhou Chenglei had invited him the day before.
Jiang Xia noticed the scratches on Zhou Chengxin's face and was surprised, but she didn't ask. After all, Zhou Chenglei's back also had many scratches left by her.
Zhou Fu asked about it, and Zhou Chengxin regretted it. He grumbled, "I was sent to take Xiao Wan back to the village, but Ah Hua misunderstood. Dad, next time, don't ask me to do this kind of thing again."
Zhou Fu: "..."
It seems that next time, he needs to stay far away from his brother's daughter, who is a real troublemaker!
If it weren't for his fear of her really getting heatstroke and something happening yesterday, he would never have bothered with her!
Moreover, Zhou Fu believed in karma; good deeds bring good rewards, and evil deeds bring evil consequences. What you take from others will eventually have to be repaid. As long as you have a clear conscience, even in the face of great adversity, there will be protection.
After Zhou Chenglei sailed the boat out, he headed straight towards the city. He was going to raid the abalone nest.
Wen Wan also arrived at the dock at 4:30 AM to wait for Zhou Guohua, but she found that all three of Zhou's boats had already set sail.
She hadn't found that coral yet, and since Zhou Fu was still in a good mood yesterday, she walked towards Zhou's boat.
When Zhou Chengxin saw Wen Wan approaching them, he was scared. His face still hurt from being scratched by Tian Caihua while breaking up the fight yesterday. He urged Zhou Chenglei, "Hurry up and sail the boat! Why are you dawdling?"
Just as Wen Wan reached the side, she saw Zhou's boat sailing away. She called out to Zhou Fu and Zhou Chengxin, but no one paid her any attention.
She watched helplessly as their boat headed towards the city, stomping her feet in anger!
They were indeed going to that coral island where she had found the coral.
(End of Chapter)
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