That day, if Shen Bingqian had been just one minute late, Liu Changhe might have cut off Jiang Xiaobai's family jewels. Thinking about it now, Jiang Xiaobai still felt a chill down his spine. Luckily, Shen Bingqian arrived in time; otherwise, his Jiang Family would have certainly ended their lineage.
"Miss Shen, on behalf of my future descendants, I thank you. If not for your brave intervention today, they wouldn't exist," Jiang Xiaobai said.
Shen Bingqian laughed, "You're really funny. Clearly, you want to thank me yourself, so why go roundabout?"
Shen Bingqian was incredibly perceptive, and Jiang Xiaobai, realizing she had seen through his little intentions, laughed heartily to disguise his embarrassment.
"So, do you still want the car or not?"
Shen Bingqian shook the car keys in her hand, "If you don't want it, I'll just drive away."
Jiang Xiaobai grinned and quickly took the keys, saying, "You are a wealthy lady. I'm guessing you have more than one car, so let me have this one. Consider it helping the poor."
"Do you even know how to drive?" Shen Bingqian asked, looking at the country bumpkin before her with some doubt.
Jiang Xiaobai replied, "I didn't even know how to walk when I was born, and now I run faster than a rabbit. It's the same with driving, how hard can it be?"
"I'm telling you, my car is very powerful, so you better step on the gas gently. Also, if I might suggest, you should get a driver's license first. Driving without one, you risk getting caught by the traffic police!" Shen Bingqian kindly reminded him.
After saying this, Shen Bingqian turned and walked out. Whatever else she said, Jiang Xiaobai didn't hear, as he was too busy playing with the BMW key bearing the blue-and-white sky logo in his hand.
The mayor Wan Honglei drove a shabby Santana, but Jiang Xiaobai now owned a BMW that many dreamed of. He felt happiness had come too suddenly and wanted to jump into the car and drive around immediately.
After Shen Bingqian's group left, the dilapidated Jiang Family courtyard returned to its quiet state, but soon, it became lively again. Somehow, the village children found out he had a car and all ran over. A dozen kids surrounded his BMW M3, touching it with their grimy hands.
"Shoo, shoo, go back and touch your mama's tits."
Jiang Xiaobai came out, shouting to scare the children away. Holding the car keys, Jiang Xiaobai felt blind. Even though he had the key, he didn't know how to open the car door.
"How does this thing work?"
Jiang Xiaobai felt lost, like a fly trapped in a glass box, seeing the light ahead but unable to find the way out.
After fiddling around for a while, Jiang Xiaobai still couldn't open the car door. At this moment, Moron arrived.
"Xiaobai, heading to town?"
Moron had ridden over on the family's tricycle. Before they parted yesterday, Jiang Xiaobai told him to come early with the tricycle.
"Yes, let's go quickly; it's getting late."
There was important business to attend to, so Jiang Xiaobai didn't bother with the car.
"Then hop on, I'll give you a ride," Moron said.
Jiang Xiaobai went back into the yard, grabbed a plastic bucket, and got on the tricycle. The bucket was half filled with water, which he had soaked a copper dragon ornament in the night before.
They soon arrived in town, where Zhao Sanlin had been eagerly waiting for Jiang Xiaobai's arrival. Seeing him, Zhao Sanlin immediately ran over.
"Xiaobai, still want some shrimp today?"
Jiang Xiaobai asked, "Yes, what's the price?"
Zhao Sanlin replied, "Thirty-one per pound, you know the rate here."
"I'll wait a bit," Jiang Xiaobai smiled. It wasn't the best time to buy shrimp—early in the day, they were still fresh and lively, making it unlikely to get a bargain.
"Aren't you here to buy shrimp?" Zhao Sanlin asked with wide eyes, looking puzzled.
"No, today is market day, I'm just here to browse." Saying this, Jiang Xiaobai had Moron pedal the tricycle away, leaving the bewildered Zhao Sanlin behind.
"Xiaobai, didn't you say you were coming to town to buy shrimp? Why not now?" Moron asked.
Jiang Xiaobai laughed, "Moron, this isn't something you'd understand. Now is not the right time."
"So where are we going now?" Moron wiped the sweat off his forehead, "It's too hot on the street."
Jiang Xiaobai replied, "To the Bright Light Video Parlor."
Moron pedaled the tricycle to the entrance of the Bright Light Video Parlor. Jiang Xiaobai jumped off and walked in with his hands behind his back. Moron, visiting for the first time, looked around curiously at everything.
A bald fat guy was sitting behind the counter, playing solitaire on a computer. Hearing footsteps, he looked up.
"Hey, kid, here to watch a movie?"
"Brother Li, got any new flicks?" Jiang Xiaobai asked with a smile.
The owner of the Bright Light Video Parlor, Li Guangming, was an old acquaintance of Jiang Xiaobai.
"A new batch just came in yesterday. I'll pick a few for you."
Li Guangming stood up from behind the computer, took out some disks from a locked drawer, and handed them to Jiang Xiaobai.
Moron stood behind Jiang Xiaobai, scratching his head at the sexy pictures on the disk covers, "Xiaobai, why are these women all naked? Aren't they cold?"
"Go ask your mom," Jiang Xiaobai stashed the disks and asked Li Guangming, "Brother Li, do you have any cartoons like 'Calabash Brothers'?"
Li Guangming laughed, "Switching tastes?"
Jiang Xiaobai said, "No, it's for Moron."
"How about 'Ikkyu-san'?"
"That's fine."
Jiang Xiaobai took the 'Ikkyu-san' disk from Li Guangming and asked, "How much for everything?"
"Xiaobai, you've got the hot picks, but I'll just charge you eighty," Li Guangming said.
Jiang Xiaobai thought to himself that Li Guangming was really merciless but paid anyway.
"Rooms 3 and 4 upstairs are vacant, you can go up," Li Guangming said.
The upstairs ceiling was low, not even five feet high, so one had to duck to walk. Jiang Xiaobai entered room 3, put the cartoon disk into the DVD player, and said, "Moron, your favorite cartoons are here, just sit and watch."
After settling Moron, Jiang Xiaobai went to room 4 to enjoy the carefully selected Japanese romantic action movies from Li Guangming.
Jiang Xiaobai watched until almost noon before turning off the TV and going next door to call out Moron. After returning the disks, Jiang Xiaobai went to the nearby convenience store and bought a bottle of cold water. He poured it over himself from head to toe to quell the heat inside him.