“That one is too small. We bought the best this time. Also, Fengzi scouted out a location where there are more goods. We'll go there next time.”
“We bought everything that can’t be done without a large detector,” Yin Xing explained.
"My God, that detector costs over six thousand! That's too expensive! What is that thing that costs over six thousand? Is it made of gold?"
"Old Han's family sells the big ones for only four thousand, did you guys get ripped off?" Yin Xing's wife said with a pained expression.
"His equipment is garbage; it costs over four thousand for just half a meter of depth. Ours can probe one and a half meters, and it only costs seven thousand two."
"It's all thanks to Fengzi. He managed to fool that salesperson and get almost a thousand yuan off." Yin Xing couldn't help but laugh as he recalled Huang Fei's account of the bargaining process.
"Oh, that's too expensive! We need to get our money back quickly, don't let me waste all this money," Yin Xing's wife said, patting Yin Xing on the head.
"Don't worry, I'll definitely break even in two tries. With my luck in finding big gold, I might find another big piece next time, and then I'll have everything." Yin Xing chuckled.
Two hours after finishing his meal, Yin Xing washed up briefly and glanced into the room.
Is the child asleep?
"Let's go early." Yin Xing's wife glanced at the time, then hesitated.
"It's getting late, it's getting late, Zhou, come inside with me." Yin Xing hurriedly pulled his wife back into the house, and his wife seemed to be both reluctant and welcoming.
The next morning, Chen Feng took his mother to the city and arrived at Wang Shun's house.
His son bought a new house in the city for his wedding, with a 30-year mortgage.
Upon entering the house, Chen Feng saw that there were quite a few people inside, some of whom he recognized and others he did not.
"Xiaofeng, I've been waiting for you for ages. Come in and sit down."
"Hey, come quick, have you had breakfast yet?"
The first sentence was spoken by Wang Shun, and the second sentence was spoken by his wife.
The two women came to the door to greet Chen Feng and his mother.
Wang Shun was very thin, with many wrinkles on his face, and his skin was tanned dark from working on construction sites for many years.
He was wearing a new outfit, a white-brown collared short-sleeved shirt.
Everyone described Wang Shun as honest, capable, and very kind, with a perpetually honest smile on his face.
"Uncle, Aunt," Chen Feng greeted them with a smile.
"Where's my brother?" Chen Feng asked as he took off his shoes and entered the house.
"He went to the restaurant to make arrangements. It seems there are quite a few people coming today, so they didn't have enough tables," Wang Shun said with a smile, patting Chen Feng on the shoulder. It had been several years since the two of them had last seen each other.
"Fengzi, what are you doing now? I heard from your aunt that you're panning for gold?" asked a relative Chen Feng didn't see often.
"Yeah, there's not much to do these days, just trying to make a living," Chen Feng said, nodding and smiling as he sat down.
"Okay, this is pretty good, the returns are decent, right?" the relative chatted casually.
"It's not very stable, but on average it adds up to a little more than the salary." Chen Feng smiled and didn't say much more.
That's how it is in China. Even if others know you're very rich, you still have to say you're alright, otherwise you'll seem too arrogant and not humble.
"As long as it's more than the salary, what else is there to ask for?" someone chuckled.
"Hmm, not bad." Chen Feng casually picked up a few sunflower seeds from the table and cracked them open.
There were several kinds of fruit on the table, with bananas in large bunches, and the cigarettes were all opened and placed on a red plate.
Chen Feng glanced at it and saw it was Double Happiness, which was quite normal, firstly because the name was auspicious.
Secondly, this cigarette is neither particularly good nor bad; it's not great, but it's acceptable no matter where you go.
To put it simply, I'm reluctant to spend money on anything too good, and I'm embarrassed to show off anything too cheap. The Double Happiness brand at seven yuan is just right.
"Uncle Shun, are you still at the construction site?" Chen Feng asked, turning around.
"Yes, otherwise what else can someone like me do?" Uncle Shun picked up two cigarettes, handed one to Chen Feng, and chuckled.
"Oh my, your Uncle Shun is really hardworking. He was still at the construction site yesterday and only came back last night. He doesn't come unless it's a special occasion," someone joked.
Wang Shun lit a cigarette, smiled to himself, and said nothing else.
This is exactly the same as Chen Feng remembered him: a typical Chinese parent who would rather not rest than take a break, just to save more money for his child and pay off another month's mortgage.
"I haven't been to this new house before. It looks quite big. Let me take a look." Chen Feng stood up and looked around the house.
“This apartment is 78 square meters, just the right size for the young couple,” Wang Shun said, chatting with Chen Feng as they walked alongside him.
Chen Feng glanced at the master bedroom from the doorway but didn't go in. Wang Shun, seeing this, quickly spoke up.
"It's alright, it's alright, we don't have so many rules in our house. Come in, come in and let me see." Wang Shun pushed him directly into the house.
"It's great, the city is so much more comfortable. No mosquitoes biting my butt when I go to the toilet," Chen Feng laughed.
"Hey, I think the countryside is better. The city is like being in prison. When I get old, I'll go back to the countryside, like your mother, and grow some crops in a small yard. I can stroll around all day. How wonderful that would be!" Wang Shun shook his head and smiled, looking longingly at the countryside.
"When are you going back? I'll save you a spot near my house," Chen Feng said with a grin, jokingly.
“Hey, let’s talk about it when we can’t work anymore. We should keep working as long as we can. Your brother’s mortgage still has 25 years left.”
“The expenses are huge now, when do you expect them to be able to get the new ones?”
Wang Shun stubbed out his cigarette and sighed.
Upon hearing this, Chen Feng pursed his lips, unsure of what to say. It was indeed the case; perhaps his life would only be over when he could no longer work.
Wang Shun looked up and glanced outside. Finding that no one was paying attention to him, he pulled Chen Feng into the house.
"Huh?" Chen Feng was a little confused and didn't know what he meant.
After they reached a corner of the room, Wang Shun took out two packs of cigarettes from his pocket and handed them to Chen Feng.
"Here, have a smoke of this. This cigarette is good," Wang Shun said with a smile in a low voice.
Chen Feng looked down and saw that it was two boxes of Yuxi cigarettes, priced at twenty yuan per box.
The outer plastic packaging of the cigarettes was a bit wrinkled, and it was obvious at a glance that these two packs of cigarettes had been stored for a long time.
Chen Feng knew without a doubt that the two packs of cigarettes were not bought by Uncle Shun himself, but given to him by someone at the construction site.
Perhaps he had done some favor for a leader, and the leader casually gave him a box.
He couldn't bear to smoke it and kept it for himself.
Chen Feng held the cigarette, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
Now, he can afford to smoke not only Yuxi cigarettes, but also Zhonghua cigarettes every day.
But the two packs of cigarettes had no monetary value; it was the sentiment and affection conveyed on them that moved Chen Feng.
He was still the same as before; every time he saw me, he would always pull out a pack or two of good cigarettes for me.
"Keep it for yourself. You're getting on in years, you should smoke some good cigarettes sometimes," Chen Feng said with a smile, holding up a cigarette to Uncle Shun.
"Sigh, at my age, smoking ginseng is no use anymore. I'm lucky if I can even smoke a lot of Ganoderma lucidum."
"Keep it and smoke it, but don't let them see." Wang Shun pressed Chen Feng's hand and stuffed the cigarette into his pocket.
"Mm." Chen Feng put the cigarette in his pocket and nodded with a smile.
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