The next morning, after washing up and eating breakfast, Chen Feng strolled over to Huang Fei's house.
"Uncle Huang, are you eating? Where's Huang Fei?" As soon as I entered the door, I saw the Huang family eating, but Huang Fei was nowhere to be seen.
"Oh, Xiaofeng's here. Huang Fei is sleeping inside," Huang Fei's father said, pointing into the room with his chopsticks.
"Do you need to see him for something?" Huang Fei's mother asked curiously.
"Yeah, I need to talk to him," Chen Feng replied.
"Then go inside and pull his blankets out," Huang Fei's father said casually.
Chen Feng nodded upon hearing this and went into Huang Fei's room. Huang Fei was lying sprawled on the bed, half-covered by the blanket, fast asleep.
Chen Feng sat down on the kang (a heated brick bed), looked at Huang Fei and couldn't help but smile. He stretched out two fingers and gently stroked Huang Fei's thigh.
Huang Fei nudged Chen Feng in his sleep, then turned over and continued sleeping.
Chen Feng ran two fingers up his thigh, and when he reached the groin, Huang Fei was so startled that he sat up abruptly.
"Holy shit, what the hell is this?!"
Huang Fei sat up in alarm and hurriedly brushed the stuff off his thighs.
He thought a mouse had gotten into his bed, and he was instantly wide awake.
When Huang Fei saw Chen Feng looking at him with an uncontrollable smile, he breathed a sigh of relief and lay back down in annoyance.
"Holy crap, Fengzi, you scared me to death! I thought the rat was going to crawl up my ass."
"What are you sleeping for so early in the morning? Help me get a ride," Chen Feng said, slapping his thigh.
"Get out of the car, where are you going?" Huang Fei asked with his eyes closed.
“I want to go to the abandoned mine to pan for gold,” Chen Feng replied.
"Go to an abandoned mine?" Huang Fei asked, puzzled.
"Didn't Brother Zheng say yesterday that he wasn't going today? Why did your plans change again?"
"He didn't even notify me."
Huang Fei sat up, scratched his head, and asked in confusion.
"If they don't go, I'll go by myself. I can't stay here any longer. I was thinking this morning that I might as well try my luck at the abandoned mine," Chen Feng explained.
"You're going by yourself?" Huang Fei looked at him, completely puzzled.
"Yes," Chen Feng said with a smile.
Huang Fei was somewhat surprised to hear this. He hesitated for a moment and said, "Fengzi, as you know, I charge per person."
"I can only make a small profit if there are ten people, otherwise it won't even cover the gas money."
"If you go alone, how can I charge you?"
"It's too expensive to charter a car for one person, it's not worth it. Why don't you wait until tomorrow? I reckon Brother Zheng will contact us to set off tomorrow."
Upon hearing this, Chen Feng generously replied, "It's alright, Dafei. Just name a number, anything is fine. Besides, I'm going to the county town today. I was thinking, since I'm already going to the county town, I might as well go directly to the abandoned mine and give it a try."
"It's too late tomorrow."
Seeing his determination, Huang Fei pursed his lips and thought for a moment before saying, "A round trip by yourself would cost at least a hundred yuan."
"If you really want to go, how about I find a few more?"
"That way you can pay less."
"No need, just one hundred. I'll go myself. Let's go now," Chen Feng nodded in agreement.
"Alright, I'll get dressed and grab a bite to eat. Wait for me for twenty minutes," Huang Fei said, looking up.
Since it was a spur-of-the-moment decision and Chen Feng wasn't in a hurry, he needed to eat something before leaving.
"Okay, then hurry up, I'm going to Lu Dahai's house to buy some things," Chen Feng said, standing up.
"Okay, go ahead." Huang Fei took out his pants and put them on.
Chen Feng arrived at Lu Dahai's house and, as usual, bought some bread and sausages, as well as a few bottles of mineral water.
"What are you doing? Preparing for tomorrow?" Lu Dahai asked upon seeing this.
"No, I'm going to the abandoned mine later. I'm bored early in the morning, so I might as well take a stroll around the mine," Chen Feng said.
"Ah, you're going to pan for gold by yourself? How much will that cost for travel expenses? Will you be able to make a living?" Lu Dahai asked worriedly upon hearing this.
“Dafei didn’t ask for much, just a hundred yuan. I happen to have to go to the county town today, and I thought I might as well go directly to the mine. If I’m lucky, I can even earn back the travel expenses,” Chen Feng said with a smile.
Lu Dahai clicked his tongue in astonishment after a moment's thought.
"One hundred yuan... that's not much, but it's not worth it. A carpool is only fifteen."
"Only someone like you would be willing to spend this much money. If it were any other gold prospector, they wouldn't have bothered with it."
"Don't even mention a hundred, they wouldn't do it even for twenty. They only earn a few dozen a day, and it all goes to travel expenses."
Chen Feng laughed when he heard this, "Isn't it because I'm going to the county town anyway, and it's on the way? Staying at home is no fun."
How much is it in total?
Lu Dahai did the math for a moment and said, "There are twelve in total."
Chen Feng took out twelve yuan from his pocket, but paused after handing it to him.
"Didn't I owe you money for bread and milk yesterday?" Chen Feng asked.
He got hungry after the fight yesterday, and he asked Lu Dahai to get him some food, as if he hadn't paid him.
"It's not much money, I don't need it," Lu Dahai said with a smile.
"Forget it, just tell me how much it costs. I can't eat for free," Chen Feng urged.
Lu Dahai thought for a moment and said, "Let's give you another eight yuan to make it a round number."
Chen Feng took out twenty yuan and handed it to Lu Dahai. Lu Dahai must have shortchanged him by one or two yuan, Chen Feng calculated in his mind.
But since he had said that, Chen Feng didn't insist. He knew what was going on and figured he could make up for it later.
"Let's go," Chen Feng said, picking up the bag.
"Yeah, I'll buy canned food when you get back," Lu Dahai joked.
Lu Dahai meant to wish Chen Feng to find gold, since Chen Feng would only buy canned food to celebrate if he found gold.
"Okay." Chen Feng waved and left the store without turning around.
After hearing that Chen Feng had left, Lu Dahai's wife, He Lan, came out of the kitchen. It was too early, and there was no one else in the shop except for the two of them.
"Did you pay for Fengzi's bread yesterday?" He Lan asked.
"Oh dear, I gave it to him. He just forgot for a moment. Otherwise, would he owe you money for bread?" Lu Dahai said helplessly.
"Yes, I know he's not a good person, but I'm just afraid he'll forget. You know, it's only a few dollars, and I can't even remind him. It's like I'm chasing him for it," He Lan said, wiping her hands with a somewhat troubled expression.
“One thing at a time. If he forgets to pay when he buys something, I can ask him for it. But in a situation like yesterday, you can’t just ask him for it.”
“Even if we don’t run a grocery store, if Fengzi asked you for some food in that situation, would you ask for money?”
"I wasn't even planning to take it, but I didn't expect him to remember it," Lu Dahai said, putting the money into the money box as he looked down.
Lu Dahai is more generous than He Lan and doesn't usually fuss over small things, which is why his shop is the most popular among the three shops in the village.
"That's how it is, but the key is that it's several yuan. How much do I earn in a day?" He Lan muttered, then went back to the kitchen to continue cooking.
Lu Dahai rolled his eyes upon hearing this and ignored her.
If she were to open her own grocery store, it would definitely fail.
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