I have few friends, but many childhood sweethearts.

Chapter 52. The Eighth Day of the Lunar New Year
"Come and see, come and see!" The voices of Xu Aiguo and his two fishing friends could be heard from downstairs.

Xu Qingfan and Lin Wanning exchanged a glance, then simultaneously dropped the game controllers in their hands, got up, and ran out the door.

Looking down from the third floor, seven or eight neighbors were pointing and talking around their bucket of fish, probably because they had caught a big one!
Xu Qingfan grabbed Lin Wanning's hand and ran downstairs: "Dad, what did you catch!"

"Haha, come and see!" Xu Aiguo excitedly lifted a large turtle from the bucket, which looked to weigh seven or eight pounds.

"Impressive, isn't it? Such a big turtle is rare even in artificial breeding!" Lin Qiaoshan commented from the side.

"Dad is amazing!" Lin Wanning looked the turtle up and down with great curiosity.

Xu Qingfan looked down at the bucket containing the fish; it was completely empty!
"Didn't you go fishing? How come you only caught one turtle? Where are the other fish?" Xu Qingfan asked in confusion.

"I caught the turtle!" Xia Xiaoxiao proudly puffed out her little chest.

"Huh?" The onlookers were astonished. "Old Xu, Old Xia, you two grown men have been showing off for so long, and it turns out the turtle was caught by Xiao Xiao! Where are your fish?"

"Haha, no need to ask, it's the Air Force!"

Xu Aiguo opened his eyes wide and said, "How can you slander someone's innocence like this!"

"What innocence? I saw you carrying fishing gear to the market to buy fish the day before yesterday!"

Xu Aiguo's face turned red as he argued, "How can buying things at the market be considered 'short selling'? And what about fishing? Can that be considered 'short selling'?"

Then came some incomprehensible remarks, such as the air pressure being too low and the fish not biting, which made everyone burst into laughter, filling the courtyard with a joyful atmosphere.

The three of them returned to the third floor looking dejected, and secretly punched Xu Qingfan on the head, saying, "You brat, that'll teach you to ruin things!"

Xu Qingfan rubbed his head, looking aggrieved. Xia Xiaoxiao, watching from the side, couldn't help but laugh, but then she stopped laughing.
"It doesn't hurt, Wanning will blow on it for you!" Lin Wanning stood on tiptoe so that her mouth could just reach the top of Xu Qingfan's head, and blew on the spot where she was hit with great effort.

"Hmph!" Xia Xiaoxiao put on a stern face and quickened her pace.

"Let's go, it doesn't hurt anymore. Thank you, Ningning. Let's go upstairs and see what we're having for lunch!" Xu Qingfan said as he took Lin Wanning's hand and walked away.

Back home, Xia Xiaoxiao was vividly recounting her experience of catching a big fish to the adults, who listened with great interest.

"I just put my QQ candy on the fishing hook, and as soon as I cast it in, a fish bit! My dad, Uncle Xu, and Uncle Lin saw the commotion and came with a landing net to catch it. With a pull and a tug, they caught the fish!" Xia Xiaoxiao said, imitating the action of swinging the fishing rod.

The three mothers clapped their hands and said, "Xiaoxiao is great! Unlike some people who say they'll have a whole fish feast at noon, but after all that time, they haven't caught a single fish fry."

Xu Aiguo, Xia Guofu, and Lin Qiaoshan had long faces. They wanted to explain that they had caught a few fish fry, but they thought they were too small and released them back into the wild. In the end, they decided to let it go.

"Are wild soft-shelled turtles very expensive? I've never eaten soft-shelled turtles before. Do you know how to cook them?" Wen Wanqing asked, trying to ease the awkwardness of the group of men standing there.

"A normal-sized wild soft-shelled turtle costs two or three hundred yuan per catty, and this one is so big, I don't think it will cost less than five hundred!"

"I had this once in Guangxi, turtle stewed with chicken. I almost got a nosebleed after eating it, it's so nourishing!" Xia Guofu interjected, and then smiled meaningfully at the end.

"Then this little one that Xiaoxiao caught must be worth more than three thousand yuan?" Yao Jinping was so surprised that she couldn't close her mouth.

"That's right, when I caught it, someone asked if I was selling it, and that person offered 2,500 yuan!" Xu Aiguo said proudly.

"Then let's find a familiar restaurant to cook it. We shouldn't waste such good food."

"I think so too."

The adults chatted amongst themselves and quickly decided to go out for lunch.

"Thanks for your hard work, you're a hero!" Xu Qingfan ruffled Xia Xiaoxiao's hair, then turned to clean up the Little Tyrant learning machine on the floor. Xia Xiaoxiao didn't show it on her face, but a smile secretly appeared after Xu Qingfan turned away, [Good to know!]
When they set off, the adults rode in Xu Aiguo's car, while the three children got into Lin Qiaoshan's car.

He really didn't regret acknowledging Wen Wanqing as his adopted sister; she treated Xu Qingfan like family at all!
Before leaving, he secretly counted the two red envelopes the other party had given him in his room. Each one contained two thousand yuan, for a total of four thousand yuan!

Children from the north might find this normal, but you have to understand, this is a port city, a pragmatic city!

In the port city, receiving a red envelope containing ten yuan is considered a big red envelope!
Xu Qingfan remembered that during the Spring Festival in his previous life, he followed his parents to visit relatives and friends. They showered him with all sorts of kind words. They were busy from New Year's Eve to the eighth day of the new year. Not counting the money given by his parents, Aunt Lin, and Uncle Xia, they didn't even have 300 yuan in total!
Seventy or eighty red envelopes, totaling less than three hundred yuan, which shows how many people gave only one yuan!

Even in my previous life, Xia Guofu and Lin Jing only gave me a hundred yuan in red envelopes. This year, because of the crayfish incident, they gave me ten thousand yuan, but this money was to be offered as tribute, so it couldn't really be considered a red envelope.

Lin Jing kept her word and secretly gave him another 1,000 yuan red envelope, bringing Xu Qingfan's total red envelopes to over 5,000 yuan.

When all the bills were piled up together, Xu Qingfan burst into tears upon seeing the red banknotes filling the drawer in his room!
Since he didn't know how much money Wen Wanqing had given Xia Xiaoxiao in the red envelope, he didn't thank her in the carriage. "Sister, SARS is really serious now. Has it affected your factory?"

"Why are you so concerned about this? It won't have a big impact. Work is supposed to stop during the Spring Festival anyway. As long as the virus can be brought under control by early March, there won't be any losses," Wen Wanqing explained patiently.

"I feel it's a bit risky. The news says the virus can be transmitted through the air, and it's the holiday season now, so it might drag on until May."

"Haha, I understand. I'll be careful when I get back. Thanks for the reminder," Lin Qiaoshan replied with a smile.

Having touched on the topic briefly, Xu Qingfan changed the subject again: "Did you know that you can also shop online now?"

"Online shopping? Is it the same as TV shopping?" Wen Wanqing recalled the BackJoy advertisement that was shown on TV last time.

“It’s different. For example, you can upload photos of jeans from your factory and set prices. Netizens all over the country can see them and buy them if they think they’re suitable,” Xu Qingfan explained patiently.

"How do you collect payment? Is it cash on delivery?" Wen Wanqing asked curiously, showing interest.

"Right now it's cash on delivery, but I think banks might support online payments in the future. It would be so convenient to buy things online then! I think your factory's jeans could also be sold online. Without middlemen taking a cut, you could make money even if you subsidize the shipping costs!"

Lin Qiaoshan chimed in from time to time: "Hahaha, who taught you all this? You even know that middlemen make a profit!"

"I learned it from watching TV, it's TVB's 'The Greed of Man,' they're airing a rerun right now, and I've been watching it!"

03 was not a good time to enter the e-commerce industry, but that did not stop Xu Qingfan from leaving an impression on the two of them first. After that big shot surnamed Ma entered the "C2C" market, he might be able to help Lin Wanning's factory survive the financial crisis of 08 by riding on this wave of opportunity.

"Brother Qingfan, what are you talking about? Have you watched Chibi Maruko-chan on Starry Sky Channel? Season 2 is out!"

“Xiaoxiao is watching, you can talk to her about the plot.” Xu Qingfan nudged Xia Xiaoxiao, who was sitting next to him.

"I only look at it occasionally." Xia Xiaoxiao secretly pinched his arm.

“Other children are probably busy studying during the holidays, unlike you who watch TV all day.” Wen Wanqing looked at her daughter with a smile.

"I, Ningning, also study." Lin Wanning's voice became softer as her mother watched her.

Where are you in your homework?

"Written: Daddy, when will we arrive? Ningning is hungry!"

"Hahahahahaha."

Seeking investment, reading further, monthly votes, and recommendation votes.

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(End of this chapter)