CHAPTER 56: CHAPTER 56: SELLING THE BICYCLE

Lin Qin looked at Chen Wenjun.

Chen Wenjun agreed without a second thought, "Let’s fix it in a couple of days."

The gap isn’t big, but really sealing it will take a few days of work. It’s not too late to start after a major worker comes to give his opinion.

After everyone boarded the boat, Chen Wenjun used a bamboo pole to guide them to the town on the opposite side of Nanxi.

The boat docked right at the pier.

Lin Qingxiang and his son had never been here before and were completely unfamiliar with the place.

Luckily, Chen Wenjun had been here to sell fish before and personally showed them the way.

The three of them weaved through the alleys on both sides of the main street of the town and quickly found a bicycle repair shop.

The repair shop was inside an alley. Although the alley was deep, there were many people coming and going. Lin Qingxiang guessed that it was probably the street leading to the village.

Chen Wenjun introduced, "The owner of this repair shop buys these kinds of bikes. He knows the ropes, but don’t shout out, let me do the talking."

The father and son nodded, eagerly watching the repair shop owner.

Chen Wenjun stepped forward, handed the owner a cigarette, and just pointed at the bicycle without saying a word.

The owner stood up from the ground, his hands rough with calluses and stained with black grease. He quickly washed his hands in a nearby basin of water, whose original color was indistinguishable, took the cigarette from Chen Wenjun, tucked it behind his ear, and walked over to the bicycle with wide strides. He checked the handlebars, tested the brakes, spun the pedals, and examined the chain.

After thoroughly inspecting the bicycle inside and out, he found that except for a broken lock, everything else was in good condition.

The owner turned back and said thoughtfully, "Eighty bucks. If you want it, I’ll pay now."

"Only eighty bucks?" Lin Shaojun began to frown, but Lin Qingxiang immediately covered his mouth and smiled apologetically, "Eighty is fine, after all, it’s what they owe us. We’ll take what we can get."

Chen Wenjun nodded.

The owner immediately took action, carrying the bicycle inside. In no time, he returned with eight large-denomination bills in his hands.

Lin Qingxiang counted them and said with a smile, "It’s right. We’ll be off then!"

Chen Wenjun followed them out of the alley.

Lin Shaojun grumbled discontentedly, "Dad! Why did you stop me? That bike is worth at least a hundred and thirty, but he only gave us eighty. That’s so unfair!"

Lin Qingxiang angrily glared, "Are you stupid? We’re selling a stolen bike. No matter the price, it’s pure profit. Are you addicted to taking advantage? Besides, don’t others need to earn as well?"

Lin Shaojun was speechless after being scolded.

Once the three of them got on the boat, Chen Wenjun immediately started rowing away.

Lin Yi anxiously asked, "Did you sell it?"

"Sold it! Got eighty bucks!" Lin Qingxiang was evidently very happy. This money was a windfall to them, and a significant amount at that.

With today’s wages, they could take home over a hundred.

Their wives would surely be pleased!

Lin Yi was a bit surprised, but mostly relieved, "Not bad, not bad! Now that it’s sold, everyone can feel at ease, and we don’t have to mention this again!"

Lin Shaojun had also come to understand, nodding with a smile.

When the boat docked, Lin Qin reminded them to take their things.

Watching them leave, Chen Wenjun grabbed the fishing net and bucket to prepare to head out again, "The weather seems off. I think it might rain tonight. While it’s still early, I can catch two more nets. Ah Qin, do you want to come to the rock pile with me? Maybe there are duck eggs."

Lin Qin thought it unlikely. She had picked some at around nine in the morning, so even if there were, there wouldn’t be many. But the weather did seem off, so it was worth another trip.

Liu Yaya and Chen Ping’an perked up at the mention of duck egg gathering.

"Mom, I can help you pick them."

"Auntie, can I come and have a look?" Chen Ping’an asked cautiously. He knew he wasn’t very nimble and might not be able to help much, possibly even burdening Lin Qin.

Lin Qin initially wanted to refuse, but seeing the children’s anticipation, she reluctantly agreed.

The four of them headed ashore with their buckets and tools.

Leaving Lin Yi on the boat to cook.

On the way, Lin Qin frequently reminded, "The rock pile is quite high. I’ll hold onto Ping’an. Yaya, you need to be extra careful. Don’t climb anywhere dangerous, okay? If we can’t find any duck eggs, it’s fine. You can pick some snails by the stream and call it a day."

"Okay!" The two children shouted in unison.

Each carefully carried their small bucket, looking quite endearing and amusing from behind.

Lin Qin couldn’t help but smile, thinking there probably weren’t many duck eggs, and she could just take it as playing with the kids.

With that in mind, the three of them climbed onto the rock pile.

Chen Ping’an insisted on climbing by himself, not wanting to be a burden on Lin Qin.

So Lin Qin patiently followed behind, watching closely.

The little guy used both hands and feet and had barely ascended one step when he shouted, "Auntie, look inside, isn’t that a duck egg!"

Lin Qin’s face changed. She hurried over, squatting down to look and discovered there indeed was a nest of duck eggs. Because of its hidden location, it was not easy to find. You had to go around the other side to get to it.

"Wait a moment, Auntie will get it."

Lin Qin eagerly ran over.

Before she could fetch the duck eggs, Liu Yaya had already made a discovery on her side.

The impatient child couldn’t wait for Lin Qin and started extracting the duck eggs one by one.

By the time Lin Qin finished fetching her own duck eggs and looked back, the two little ones had already run far away. She hurriedly caught up, only to find that each child’s bucket contained seven or eight duck eggs.

"So many! Where did you find them?"

Liu Yaya pointed to two places.

Lin Qin couldn’t remember if she had checked there earlier in the morning and suspected she might have overlooked them.

She hurriedly moved the eggs from the children’s buckets into her larger bucket.

In the meantime, Chen Ping’an had made another discovery.

The two little ones were in a friendly competition. One moment finding duck eggs here, another moment discovering more there.

Lin Qin was too busy cleaning up after them, and didn’t have any time to search for herself.

Like that, the three of them walked the length of the fifteen-meter rock pile.

Lin Qin’s bucket was now two-thirds full.

Seeing the skies darkening with clouds, she hurried the two children back the way they came.

At this time on Nanxi, the fishing boats had already lit up with spots of orange-yellow light. Some households lit candles, others used kerosene lamps. The boat traffic was lively.

Lin Qin stated, "Looks like a storm is really coming. The fishing boats are heading to the harbor."

Whenever the weather changes, Dang people instinctively row their boats to the harbor, nesting boats tightly together, making them unafraid of strong winds or heavy rain.

Chen Ping’an urgently shouted towards where Chen Wenjun was, "Dad, it’s going to rain! Let’s go home!"

Chen Wenjun waved at them, signaling them to board the boat first.

By the time he returned, Lin Qin had already bathed the two children and dressed them in clean clothes.

The kids sat on the deck playing with turtles.

Perhaps it was the approaching storm; the turtles repeatedly surfaced, opening and closing their mouths and were more energetic than usual.