Sometimes when he catches a cold and gets a headache, Chen Feng will take a painkiller; one of those pills is enough to work.
The old man had already taken four pills at a time, which was clearly too much, and his body had developed a tolerance to the medication.
After taking the medicine, the old man sat on a small stool with his brows furrowed. The medicine hadn't taken effect yet, and he was still in a lot of pain.
The old man is so tired after a long day that he doesn't want to do anything, not even eat.
But I'm still hungry if I don't eat, and no matter how much pancakes I eat, they don't fill me up.
After resting for a few minutes, the old man got up and took out a slightly dented aluminum lunchbox. The lunchbox looked quite old. He took out some rice from the back of the truck, rinsed it, and prepared to cook some rice.
Seeing that the old man was moving slowly and was so tired that he was shuffling along step by step, Chen Feng went up to help him pick up some stones and build a small stove for him.
The old man forced a smile at Chen Feng as a way of thanking him.
The old man sat his lunchbox on a rock. The lid of the aluminum lunchbox wouldn't close properly, and he tried several times but couldn't get it shut.
Finally, I pried it open with my hands, and it was barely able to be put on.
The old man lit the fire to cook the rice, and Chen Feng's eyelids twitched when he saw the amount of rice the old man was cooking.
That was twice the amount Chen Feng had given him; Chen Feng could tell the old man was hungry.
After the old man sat down to eat, he turned around and found some bottles and jars in the car, preparing to eat them later.
Chen Feng looked around for a long time but couldn't find anything good. It was mostly homemade pickled vegetables and mustard greens.
Chen Feng's food was cooked faster than the old man's, but Chen Feng didn't eat it yet, intending to wait for the old man.
He turned around, took the lunchbox down, and opened the lid to let it air out.
The two sat on small stools and chatted about trivial things.
But Chen Feng suddenly remembered the detector and couldn't help but ask the old man.
"Grandpa, how much did you pay for that detector? Can it detect a meter?" Chen Feng asked.
"My detector..."
The old man thought back for a moment and realized that it had indeed been a long time.
"It can detect a meter, but I bought it seven or eight years ago. It cost more than six thousand back then. You probably can't find this model now."
"The detectors that come out now are better than mine. They are said to have anti-interference capabilities and so on, but I'm too old for them. No matter how many functions they have, it's useless to me. I don't understand them anyway."
The old man rolled a cigarette and smiled as he spoke.
"What, you want to buy a detector?"
Chen Feng nodded upon hearing this and said, "I do want to change to one, but I wonder how much a one-meter deep one would cost."
"You bought it for over six thousand seven or eight years ago, so it must be even more expensive now, right?"
The old man pulled out the cigarette butt, lit it, and took a deep drag.
"Well, prices are already higher than before, and now there are new features. I think I heard someone in the store mention that he bought a detector, about this size, and it cost him over eight thousand."
"If you want to buy some, just ask around next time you're selling something. Not only does this store have them, but the hardware store next to the gold shop also has them."
"Compare prices at different stores, and try to get a discount if you can." The old man exhaled a puff of smoke, thinking of Chen Feng's situation.
"Hmm, I'll ask around next time I go. Mine can only probe half a meter, not deep enough." Chen Feng glanced back.
"If you want to stay in this line of work, this kind of small detector is really not good enough. Don't be fooled by the high price of the big detectors. Sharpening your axe before chopping wood is essential. If you find more good stuff, you'll have everything you need. Don't try to save money in places like this," the old man advised Chen Feng.
"I understand, I get it." Chen Feng nodded, reassuring the old man.
Chen Feng estimated that it was over eight thousand yuan. Zheng Ping and the others might not be willing to part with that amount of money; it was indeed not a small sum.
But if you're looking to strike it rich here, the small detectors are really useless, and theirs are even worse than Chen Feng's, which are only 30 centimeters long.
If you really come here to pan for gold, you won't even be able to pull out two pieces of goods in a day; they'll all be lost.
The two chatted for a while, and then the old man's meal was ready. They sat down next to the car, put the dishes together, and prepared to eat.
But as soon as the old man picked up some pickled vegetables and ate a mouthful of rice, Chen Feng felt something was off.
"Grandpa, why do I see mold growing on your pickled vegetables? Were they like that when you were pickling them, or did you cover them up because of the heat?" Chen Feng said, looking at the old man's jar.
"It seems a bit moldy, but it's fine, it's still edible like pickled vegetables." The old man picked out the white mold with his chopsticks and continued eating.
Chen Feng tentatively picked up a little with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth. After chewing, he immediately spat it out and pointed at the canned food jar, saying, "No, grandpa, don't eat this. It's all sour. Are you kidding me? How can you eat this? You'll get sick!"
"It's alright, the pickled vegetables aren't bad." The old man shook his head, as if to prove something to Chen Feng, picked up a big mouthful of pickled vegetables, added some chili sauce, and then ate a big mouthful of rice.
Chen Feng frowned, utterly speechless.
Aren't you just ruining your own life?
I understand you want to save money, but there's no need to go this far. You're eating food that's already sour; aren't you just playing with your life?
What, you think you can take this money with you when you die?
"I'm not a big shot. Putting aside whether it's sour or not, you only eat some pickled vegetables and dry rice for dinner. You work so hard all day, how can you handle it?"
“If you keep going like this, your body will break down sooner or later. We’re not talking about eating the best food, but you still need to eat something decent. Why are you doing this?” Chen Feng simply couldn’t understand the old man’s behavior.
"It's alright, I'm used to it. It's fine with just some scallions." The old man dipped a scallion in the chili sauce and chuckled.
Chen Feng frowned as he looked at the old man, feeling both pity for his misfortune and anger at his lack of ambition.
"Stop eating, eat this instead. I can't finish it all by myself," Chen Feng said, pushing the can of food toward him.
Chen Feng felt both pity and hatred for this kind of person.
You said he's so old, and after a day of physical labor, he's so tired that he has to take painkillers when he gets home, and then he just eats some pickled vegetables with his rice bowl. You feel so sorry for him.
Actually, he didn't know if his pickled vegetables had gone bad. He would frown every time he swallowed them, but he pretended not to care when he talked to Chen Feng about it.
He won't eat this. What will he eat? There's nothing else in the car except chili sauce.
You say he's pitiful, but this kind of person is also quite hateful.
The older generation are the kind of people who endure hardship even when they can't afford it. They could easily spend a few dozen yuan a month on groceries, but they insist on saving every penny.
Even if the food is sour, they won't throw it away; they'll force themselves to eat it, and then end up in the hospital. That's what they consider thrift.
Chen Feng hates this kind of person the most. In Chen Feng's opinion, they deserve to suffer, they brought it on themselves.
But then again, if it were anyone else, Chen Feng definitely wouldn't care. Who cares if you eat yourself to death? Chen Feng would be happy to see you make a fool of yourself and vent his anger.
But old man, he really couldn't just stand by and watch him get sick from eating it.
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