Chapter 157: 157 buying seafood for the wife_1 Chapter 157: 157 buying seafood for the wife_1 Having left the hospital gate, Gu Chen carried Xiao Tangtang into the van he had rented.

He placed Xiao Tangtang in the back seat and secured her with the seatbelt before pressing the accelerator and driving off down the street.

When they arrived at the street, Gu Chen found a decent-looking print shop and entered.

The owner was a young man, wearing glasses and looking a bit like an IT guy.

Gu Chen communicated with the shop owner about the content he had prepared and had him produce a sample contract.

After triple-checking that there were no issues with the sample contract, he had eighty copies of the contract printed.

Although he didn’t know for sure how many people would be willing to buy land.

But eighty copies should be more than enough, he thought.

After all, the countryside was underdeveloped, and currently, more than half of the villagers still relied on farming to earn money.

Holding a thick stack of contracts, father and daughter stood in the sun.

An hour had passed, and by now, Xiao Tangtang was visibly exhausted.

The little one looked listless and sullen.

Gu Chen tenderly stretched out his hand, stroking her little head, and said gently, “Is Tangtang tired?”

After all, she was a child. Because they sent Ji Pianran to the hospital today, she didn’t get to take her afternoon nap.

The little one was worn out.

She nodded obediently, “Tangtang sleepy.”

She truly was sleepy.

Gu Chen, feeling sorry for her, carried the little one to the car and placed her on the rear seat. Thinking it over, he still wasn’t at ease and secured her with the seatbelt once again, glancing at her with a heart full of pity,

before finally closing the door and carrying the stack of contracts to the front.

Then he opened the driver’s seat, sat down, tossed the contracts aside, and drove towards the direction of the vegetable market.

If he were to bring food to his wife, he must buy groceries.

Xiao Tangtang sat in the car, and with the car swaying back and forth, she fell sound asleep within minutes, head tilted.

Gu Chen had planned to carry her to buy groceries, but seeing the child sleeping so soundly, he truly couldn’t bear to wake her.

So, he silently got out of the car and went on his own.

At the market, there was a large variety of vegetables on sale.

Gu Chen was pleasantly surprised to find that there was even seafood for sale, including crabs, shrimp, and turbot.

This was not often seen in the market since seafood was expensive!

Only a small portion of people would buy it.

Gu Chen’s eyes lit up upon seeing the large red basin in front of the seller.

“How much for these crabs and the turbot?” he asked.

Ji Pianran loved fish, something Gu Chen knew better than anyone.

But he had never given her turbot to eat, not in his memory.

Even in his past life, they never bought seafood.

After all, it was truly expensive, costing so much for just a few bites, and it was hardly filling.

With that kind of money, it was better to buy a few more pounds of ribs and feast on them with the family. How satisfying!

The seller had been sitting there all afternoon, and although many people had come by, most walked away after hearing the prices. Very few actually decided to buy.

Seeing Gu Chen’s attire, it was obvious that he looked like he couldn’t afford it. As he stood in front of the stall, the seller became somewhat irritable without reason.

“Crabs are twenty per pound, turbot fifteen. Are you buying?”

Without hesitation, Gu Chen said plainly, “Give me ten crabs, pick the big ones, and turbot as well, the largest one you have.”

Hearing this, the seller was taken aback and started to reassess the young man before him.

Had he not made the price clear or had the young man not heard him?

An item that even city folks couldn’t afford—this country lad just asked for the largest one without flinching?

It was all too contrary to common sense.

He couldn’t help but find it a little unbelievable.

Gu Chen read doubt, disdain, and a hint of shock in the boss’s squinted eyes.

But he wasn’t angry.

Society now was not what it used to be.

Looking down on people like dogs, and judging by appearance was all too normal.

He immediately pulled out two hundred yuan from his pocket and waved it in front of the boss.

This was a real two hundred yuan bill!

Whether he would earn it or not, that was up to him.

Seeing the crisp two hundred yuan bill, the boss’s pupils shocked.

Well, he actually was a rich man!

He appeared to be one of those nouveau riches who had just lost their land.

He truly was blind, and it was only because the man had a good temper, otherwise, he would have just made one hundred yuan less!

Out of respect for the money, he quickly smiled warmly at Gu Chen.

“Brother, look at you, I never said you couldn’t afford it, you’re making me feel quite embarrassed.”

Having said that, fearful that Gu Chen would no longer want the purchase, he immediately grabbed a bag from the side and started catching crabs for Gu Chen from the water basin in front of him.

Whether out of guilt or shame, the crabs he caught for Gu Chen were all quite large and all female.

Big and fresh, their large pincers waving about, they looked full of fighting spirit.

After catching ten, he drained the water from the bag, and then put it on the scale; the total was four jin (pounds) and one liang (ounce).

Next, he picked the biggest turbot from another basin.

He did the same, drained the water, and weighed it.

Then he looked up at Gu Chen with a smile, “Two jin five liang, what do you think?”

Gu Chen nodded, “Sure.”

Two jin five liang, just enough for a family of three to eat.

The boss calculated the cost; he wouldn’t charge for the one liang, so four jin was eighty for the crabs, the turbot was exactly thirty.

He smiled at Gu Chen, his tone involuntarily more respectful, “That will be one hundred and ten yuan in total.”

Gu Chen immediately handed over the two hundred yuan bill he had.

“Change,” he said.

He was in a hurry to get back to the car to check on Xiao Tangtang.

If Xiao Tangtang woke up and found herself alone and unable to move because of the seat belt, she would definitely be scared.

The boss took the money, then took eight ten-yuan bills and two crumpled five-yuan bills out of his apron pocket and handed them over.

Bending over with a smile, he said to Gu Chen, “Here is your change, come back after you’ve had a good meal.”

Gu Chen didn’t say anything, took the change from the boss, and carried the bag toward his van.

Fortunately, Xiao Tangtang had not woken up; the little one was just too sleepy.

Lying her head sideways on the seat, she was sleeping soundly with drool on her face, her mouth area moist.

Seeing Xiao Tangtang still fast asleep, Gu Chen felt both heartache and relief.

He had indeed wronged the child, but thankfully nothing was amiss.

He took a small pack of tissue from his pocket, pulled out a piece, and wiped his daughter’s drool before placing the newly purchased items in the car and getting in himself to drive towards the village.

…

When they got home, it was already five in the afternoon, and Xiao Tangtang had woken up.

She opened her sleepy eyes and looked at Gu Chen with listlessness.

“Daddy, what are we going to do now?” she asked.

Gu Chen thought for a moment, then looked at Xiao Tangtang with some guilt, “Xiao Tangtang, Daddy has to cook now and can’t play with you. How about you go over to Granny Zhang’s for a while?”