https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-94-A-Happy-Couple-Adding-to-the-Fortune/12831800/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-96-She-Actually-Believed-They-Were-Fishermen-/12831804/
Chapter 95: Selling Pearls
Chapter 95: Selling Pearls
The door to the room suddenly knocked, and Zhou Mother’s voice rang out, "Ailei, aren’t you going to the city? It’s six o’clock, get up!"
Startled by Zhou Mother’s voice, Jiang Xia quickly lay back down.
Zhou Chenglei opened his eyes, his arm resting on his forehead, and responded to Zhou Mother, "Alright."
He then turned and gently touched Jiang Xia’s forehead.
Jiang Xia held his hand. "I’m fine. Let’s get up! We still need to go to the shipyard."
"Okay." Zhou Chenglei nodded, but he pulled her into his arms, reluctant to move.
Jiang Xia’s lips curved into a smile as she let him hold her.
The summer morning was filled with the chirping of cicadas, the songs of birds, and his strong, steady heartbeat.
Their hearts beat in harmony, a perfect and peaceful moment.
After a while, Zhou Chenglei kissed her forehead and released her. "Get up!"
He still needed to borrow a tractor from the production team.
Both of them got out of bed, and Zhou Chenglei started folding the quilt.
Since that day, he almost always slept naked, wearing only a pair of shorts.
He bent slightly to fold the quilt, his six-pack abs clearly defined, his long, muscular legs strong and powerful.
Incredibly sexy!
Jiang Xia had never seen him so clearly before and couldn’t help but blush. She quickly grabbed a shirt and a pair of trousers from the wardrobe and handed them to him. "Your clothes."
Zhou Chenglei finished folding the quilt and saw that she had prepared his clothes. A smile spread across his face as he took the clothes from her. But when he noticed her blushing like a ripe apple, he was taken aback. He tossed the clothes onto the bed and, with a long arm, pulled her into his embrace, touching her forehead. "Not feeling well?"
Jiang Xia’s face pressed against his chest, her cheeks even hotter, pushed him away. "No! Hurry up and get dressed."
Seeing her increasingly red face, Zhou Chenglei couldn’t help but smile. He leaned down and kissed her lightly. "Not enough time. We’ll go to bed earlier tonight."
Jiang Xia glared at him. She didn’t mean it that way!
But Zhou Chenglei, with a mischievous glint in his eyes, lifted her by the waist and pressed her against the wall...
Feeling like her breath was being taken away, Jiang Xia finally managed to break free as Zhou Chenglei finished dressing and left the room, knowing his mother would start nagging if he didn’t.
Not enough time today; they had a busy day in the city!
Whenever Zhou Chenglei left the room, he was always neatly dressed, his shirt buttons done up to the top.
After he left, Jiang Xia changed into her clothes and combed her hair. Looking in the mirror, she noticed her lips were unusually red, and the old marks on her neck had faded, only to be replaced by new ones. It was obvious what had happened!
She had to put on a collared shirt to cover it up, then took out the makeup Zhou Mother had prepared, applied a light layer, and added some lipstick to hide the marks. Only then did she realize she hadn’t brushed her teeth or washed her face!
When Zhou Chenglei came in, Jiang Xia glared at him and told him to bring in a basin of water so she could remove her lipstick.
Seeing her even more radiant face after she put on makeup, Zhou Chenglei said, "You don’t need to go through all this trouble."
He stepped forward, cupped her face, and kissed her.
Today, they were going to the city by bicycle, and the production team’s tractor was occupied.
The bus didn’t pass by the shipyard, making it inconvenient.
Zhou Father rode one bicycle, while Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei shared another, heading to the city.
On the way, they encountered some villagers who asked where they were going. Zhou Father smiled and replied that they were going to the city to sell dried fish, and everyone lost interest, knowing they had been drying shrimp and fish.
For this trip, they brought twenty pounds of dried shrimp, eighty pounds of dried golden threadfin bream, and twenty pounds of mixed dried fish to deliver to the trader, Hou Ye, whom they had met last time.
They had given away some of the dried shrimp, leaving only twenty pounds, while they still had several dozen pounds of dried golden threadfin bream at home.
Before they left, Zhou Chenglei had gone to the production team to borrow the tractor and called Hou Ye to set up a meeting at the dock around eleven o’clock.
On the handlebar basket of Zhou Chenglei’s bicycle, he placed twenty pounds of dried shrimp, and on each side of the handlebars, he hung fifteen pounds of dried fish.
Mr. Zhou's bicycle had fifty pounds of dried fish tied to the back.
Jiang Xia noticed that despite being in his sixties, Mr. Zhou didn’t seem to struggle much while riding the bicycle with such a heavy load. She was truly impressed.
“Dad, you’re amazing! Carrying such a heavy load and riding so far, you’re not even out of breath. Are you tired at all?” she asked, showing genuine concern.
Mr. Zhou chuckled, “I’m used to it. Besides, the bicycle does most of the work, so I’m not tired.”
In the past, when he worked in the production team, he used to pull hundreds of pounds of fish with a cart from the boat and start heading to the city to sell them in the evening. It would take him until dawn to reach the city, and that was truly exhausting.
For him, pulling a few dozen pounds on a bicycle was nothing too strenuous.
Their generation was used to hard work and didn’t fear it.
Zhou Chenglei couldn’t help but reach out and squeeze the hand she had around his waist. Why didn’t she show concern for him?
He was carrying fifty pounds on the front of the bike, and she, who weighed ninety pounds, was on the back. Together, that was over two hundred pounds!
Jiang Xia didn’t understand his meaning and instinctively intertwined her fingers with his. Zhou Chenglei was satisfied, and a smile played on his lips.
Mr. Zhou turned his head and saw their interlocked hands. “Do you want me to put the fifty pounds of dried fish on the front of your bike too?”
That way, it might sell for a better price!
Zhou Chenglei: ???
When they reached the city, Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Xia went to sell their pearls. They placed all the dried fish on Mr. Zhou’s bicycle, and he headed straight to the dock to sell them.
Zhou Chenglei took Jiang Xia to the department store, parked the bike outside, locked it, and they walked in together.
Zhou Chenglei led her directly to the jewelry shop.
Wearing a white shirt and green military pants, Zhou Chenglei exuded a commanding presence.
Jiang Xia wore a floral cotton shirt and green military pants, with fair skin and a beautiful face. She carried a military-green crossbody bag, giving her an extraordinary aura.
As soon as they entered the jewelry shop, a saleswoman warmly greeted them, “Welcome! What can I help you with today?”
The saleswoman, a middle-aged woman, glanced at them and her eyes lingered on Zhou Chenglei’s face.
Jiang Xia said, “We’re not here to buy anything.”
The saleswoman’s enthusiasm waned. “If you’re not buying, what are you here for? Looking for the restroom? The public toilet is about five hundred meters to the left outside the mall, then turn into a small alley.”
Zhou Chenglei said, “We’re here to sell pearls.”
The saleswoman’s expression brightened, and her tone became curious. “Sell pearls? Where did you get them?”
Jiang Xia said, “We’re fishermen. We harvested the pearls ourselves from the sea.”
Fishermen?
You don’t look like it! What are you trying to pull?
The saleswoman couldn’t help but add a hint of disdain to her tone. “How many do you have? Are they pretty? Let me see.”
Jiang Xia took out a particularly good pearl from her bag. “How much would you pay for a pearl of this size and quality?”
The pearl Jiang Xia showed was about 10mm in diameter, golden, with a beautiful luster and only a few minor flaws that could be easily hidden.
The saleswoman’s eyes lit up as she took the pearl. “Let me see.”
Jiang Xia handed her the pearl.
The saleswoman examined it closely, turning it over in her hand and inspecting it from all angles.
The pearl was soft and lustrous, with a full and rich color, a perfect shape, and very few flaws that could be concealed. It was truly a rare find, a top-quality pearl.
She tried to hide her excitement and said nonchalantly, “Your pearl is quite nice, but it has some flaws. Usually, we pay three to five yuan for a pearl of this size. Since your pearl has fewer flaws, I’ll give you six yuan.”
Jiang Xia said, “Six yuan?”
The saleswoman glanced at her, her tone a bit condescending. “Yes, six yuan. That’s a good price. Are you selling?”
(End of Chapter)
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