Coming out of the Another Village Lobster Restaurant, Jiang Xiaobai felt elated. Since he could remember, his family had always been troubled by the lack of money. If his family had been a little more affluent, his grandfather wouldn't have lost his life trying to save money for medical treatment.
Adding yesterday's earnings, Jiang Xiaobai now had more than thirty thousand yuan in his bag, a fortune he'd never possessed in his life.
"Xiaobai, I want a snow cone."
Just as Jiang Xiaobai was getting excited about his newfound wealth, Moron's voice came from beside him. Moron was sweating profusely, and his clothes were soaked.
"Let's have some! We'll all have some!"
Finding a small shop, Jiang Xiaobai bought a box of snow cones, which delighted Moron.
"Xiaobai, are we going home? I want to bring the snow cones back for Mom," Moron said.
Jiang Xiaobai replied, "We still have some things to do. We'll go back after that. You sit in the car, and I'll take you there."
In the northeast corner of Yong'an County, there was a Jade Market. Jiang Xiaobai pedaled his tricycle there. Now that he had some money, he wanted to buy some jade to see if the memories from the dragon-shaped copper ornament were true.
The memories from the dragon-shaped copper ornament contained a complete cultivation method. Jiang Xiaobai first needed to achieve Foundation Establishment. If he couldn't succeed, he would always remain an ordinary person.
The Jade Market wasn't very big, as Yong'an County only had five to six hundred thousand people. The jade items in the shops on both sides of the street were too expensive for Jiang Xiaobai to afford, so he could only look for cheap goods at roadside stalls.
On a hot day, an old man with a straw hat sat at the roadside, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan. Jiang Xiaobai walked over, squatted down, and asked, "How much for this?"
The old man grinned and said, "It depends on the piece. Which one do you like?"
Jiang Xiaobai touched a few stones randomly, as he didn't know how to tell the good ones from the bad ones. Some stones had jade inside, and even emerald, but most of them were just stones.
When he touched a stone about the size of a soccer ball, he distinctly felt the dragon-shaped copper ornament around his neck tremble suddenly. He thought he felt wrong, immediately withdrew his hand, and touched other stones without feeling the same sensation. When he touched that stone again, the dragon-shaped copper ornament trembled once more.
"Is this trying to tell me something?" Jiang Xiaobai thought, pointing to the stone and asking, "How much for this one?"
"Three thousand." The old man held up three fingers.
"What the heck? You dare ask for three thousand!" Jiang Xiaobai stood up abruptly. Although he couldn't understand the stones, he was good at bargaining.
The old man had just quoted a price casually. He judged people by their appearances and could tell Jiang Xiaobai was an outsider, so he gave an arbitrary price.
"Then how much do you offer?" the old man asked.
"At most, two hundred," Jiang Xiaobai said.
The old man shook his fan and sighed, "Young man, you can't do business like this. You're slashing from the soles of your feet."
Jiang Xiaobai smiled, pulling Moron to leave. The old man couldn't sit still when he saw Jiang Xiaobai about to leave. He hastily chased after them with a look of heartache.
"Young man, just a little more."
"I said, at most two hundred, not a penny more."
"Deal!"
The old man grabbed Jiang Xiaobai's hand, afraid he would run away. These stones he collected from the mountains were actually worthless and seemed like waste to him.
Jiang Xiaobai paid, letting Moron carry the stone. After strolling around the Jade Market, Jiang Xiaobai bought a total of seven stones. Each time he touched one, the dragon-shaped copper ornament trembled.
The two pedaled the tricycle homeward, passing a second-hand electronics store. Jiang Xiaobai stopped the vehicle.
"Moron, watch the stuff. I'll go inside to buy some things."
Jiang Xiaobai went inside and spent less than a thousand yuan on a second-hand DVD player and a twenty-one-inch color TV.
The shop owner helped him load the TV and DVD player onto the tricycle. Jiang Xiaobai pedaled in the front while Moron pushed from behind. Passing a marketplace, a woman in her forties or fifties blocked their way.
"Young man, want to buy some DVDs?"
"What kind of DVDs do you have?" Jiang Xiaobai wanted to buy some DVDs, as he no longer wanted Li Guangming to rip him off.
"I have everything. Domestic and foreign movies. The latest TV series and films. If you want something spicy, I have that too."
With that, the woman took out some DVDs from her bag like she was selling stolen goods. Indeed, they had everything one could want.
"How much?" Jiang Xiaobai asked.
"Three yuan each," the woman said.
"I'll take all you got in your bag. How much for the lot?" Jiang Xiaobai glanced around.
"There are a hundred DVDs in my bag, so give me two hundred and seventy. I'll include the bag."
The two quickly completed the transaction. Jiang Xiaobai pedaled the tricycle swiftly on the way back. He couldn't wait to get home and watch the movies.
"Xiaobai, I'm hungry," Moron said, rubbing his belly as it growled.
Jiang Xiaobai realized they'd yet to have lunch. He found a restaurant nearby.
"Moron, we're eating out today."
Entering a small roadside restaurant, Jiang Xiaobai looked at the menu on the wall and ordered four dishes. When they arrived, there was already a table eating, occupied by two men with their heads down, hiding their faces.
The dishes were served quickly. Moron devoured a bowl of rice in a few bites. As they were devouring their food, a fragrant breeze blew in from outside. Jiang Xiaobai looked up and saw a scantily clad girl with a petite waist and shapely hips walk in. Her exposed legs were so long and dazzlingly white.
The woman wore sunglasses, flipped her hair, and took off her sunglasses, revealing a dazzlingly beautiful face.
With such a perfect figure and beautiful face, even celebrities couldn't draw as much attention as she did. The two men at the neighboring table who had been eating with their heads down also looked up, their once cold eyes now gleaming.
The restaurant was small with only two tables. The woman walked directly to the table behind Jiang Xiaobai and sat down opposite the two men.
"Hey there, can I sit here?" she asked.
"Sure, sure," one man replied with a lecherous smile. His wrinkled skin and twisted scar on his face made him look like a snake, remarkably frightening.