Damn it, I'm surrounded by childhood sweethearts

"Come and see, come and see!" The voices of Xu Aiguo and the other two fishing blokes already echoed from downstairs. Xu Qingfan and Lin Wanning exchanged a glance, then simultaneously dropped their gaming controllers and scurried out the door. Looking down from the third floor, seven or eight neighbors were gathered around their fish bucket pointing and commenting—it must have been a big catch! Xu Qingfan ran downstairs, holding Lin Wanning's hand, "Dad, what did you catch?" "Hahaha, come take a look!" Xu Aiguo excitedly lifted a large turtle from the bucket, estimating it to weigh about seven or eight jin. "Impressive, huh? Such a big turtle is rarely seen even in farms!" Lin Qiaoshan also commented on the side. "Dad is so amazing!" Lin Wanning looked over the turtle with curiosity. Xu Qingfan looked into the fish bucket and saw that it was completely empty. "Didn't you go fishing? How come there's only one turtle? Where are the fish?" Xu Qingfan asked, puzzled. "I caught the turtle!" Xia Xiaoxiao said proudly, puffing out her little chest. "What?" The onlooking neighbors were taken aback, "Old Xu, Old Xia, you two grown men have been boasting for half a day, but it turns out the little one caught the turtle! Where are your fish?" "Hahaha, do you even have to ask? Just empty-handed!" Xu Aiguo's eyes widened, "How can you accuse someone of nothing out of the blue!" "What innocence? I saw with my own eyes the day before yesterday you carrying fishing gear to the market to buy fish!" Feeling his face turn red, Xu Aiguo argued, "How can buying fish from the market count as coming back empty-handed? Does that make any sense in a fisherman's business?" Then followed a series of incomprehensible excuses, about the atmospheric pressure being too low, about fish not biting, eliciting laughter from everyone around, filling the courtyard with a cheerful atmosphere. The three men returned to the third floor with downcast faces, secretly giving Xu Qingfan a rap on the head, "You little brat, always undermining us!" Rubbing his head in feigned grievance, Xu Qingfan saw Xia Xiaoxiao giggling by his side, but then she could giggle no more... "It doesn't hurt, Wanning will blow on it for you!" Lin Wanning stood on tiptoe, barely able to reach the top of Xu Qingfan's head, blowing energetically on the spot where he was hit. "Hmph!" Xia Xiaoxiao quickened her pace with a sullen face. "Let's go, it doesn't hurt anymore, thanks Wanning. Let's go upstairs and see what we'll have for lunch!" Xu Qingfan said, taking Lin Wanning's hand as they walked. Back home, Xia Xiaoxiao was vividly telling the story of how she caught the big fish in the water to several people, who were all listening intently. "I just hung my own QQ candy on the hook, and as soon as I dropped it in, a fish bit the hook! Dad and Uncle Xu, Uncle Lin, they saw the movement and came with a net, pulling and tugging until they caught the fish!" Xia Xiaoxiao recounted, mimicking the motion of casting the rod as she spoke. All three mothers clapped their hands, "Xiao Xiao is terrific! Not like some people, who left saying there would be a fish feast at noon, and after all that fuss, not even a fingerling was caught." With downcast faces, Xu Aiguo, Xia Guofu, and Lin Qiaoshan were reluctant to explain that they indeed caught a few fingerlings but released them because they were too small; in the end, they thought better of it. "Isn't wild fish very expensive? I've never had turtle before, do any of you know how to cook it?" Wen Wanqing spoke up to ease the awkwardness among the men. "Normal-sized wild turtles cost two to three hundred yuan per jin, this big one here, I bet won't go for less than five hundred!" "I once had it in Guangxi, turtle stewed with chicken, I nearly got a nosebleed afterward, it's particularly nourishing!" Xia Guofu interjected, laughing meaningfully as he finished. "So, the turtle Xiao Xiao caught must be worth over three thousand yuan?" Yao Jiping was stunned, mouth agape in surprise. "Exactly, someone even asked if it was for sale when it was caught, offering up to two thousand five hundred yuan!" Xu Aiguo said with pride. "Then we better go to a familiar restaurant outside to have it prepared, we shouldn't waste such a good thing." "That's what I was thinking too." The adults chatted back and forth, quickly agreeing to go out for lunch. "Great job, my hero!" Xu Qingfan ruffled Xia Xiaoxiao's hair, then turned to pack up the Little Overlord Learning Machine on the ground. Xia Xiaoxiao didn't show it on her face but, as soon as Xu Qingfan turned around, a sneaky smile appeared, [Glad you know!] When it was time to depart, the adults took Xu Aiguo's car, while the three little ones climbed into Lin Qiaoshan's compact car. Wen Wanqing, his economical sister, really didn't treat Xu Qingfan as an outsider at all! Right before leaving the house, he secretly counted the money in the two red envelopes she had given him, two thousand in each for a total of four thousand yuan! Children in the north might think that's normal, but remember, this is Hong Kong, a pragmatic city! During the Spring Festival in Hong Kong, getting ten yuan in a red envelope is already considered a big one! Xu Qingfan remembered back in his previous life, following his parents around to pay New Year's visits, spouting nice words for free nonstop from the thirtieth day to the eighth day of the new year. Excluding what his own parents and Aunt Lin and Uncle Xia gave him, he ended up with less than three hundred yuan in total! Seventy to eighty red envelopes added together didn't even reach three hundred yuan, which goes to show how many people were giving just one yuan! Even in his previous life, Xia Guofu and Lin Jing only gave him a one hundred yuan red envelope. This year, because of the little crayfish incident, they gave him ten thousand, but that money was meant for offerings, and couldn't really count as a red envelope. Lin Jing didn't go back on her word, and later sneaked him a big red envelope of one thousand yuan, which brought Xu Qingfan's total red envelope tally to over five thousand yuan. When he piled them all together and saw the red bills covering the inside of the cabinet in his room, Xu Qingfan broke down in tears! Not knowing how much Wen Wanqing had given Xia Xiaoxiao, he didn't thank her in the car. "Sis, SARS is really serious now, isn't it? Is it affecting your factory?" "Why are you concerned about that? The impact isn't that big, as we usually shut down during Spring Festival anyway. As long as the virus is under control by early March, it won't be much of a loss," Wen Wanqing explained patiently. "I have a feeling it's a bit dicey. The news says that the virus can be transmitted through the air, and now it's during the holidays. It might drag on until May." "Haha, got it, Uncle Lin. I'll be careful when I go back, thanks for the warning," Lin Qiaoshan replied with a laugh. Knowing when to stop, Xu Qingfan changed the topic, "Do you guys know that you can shop online now?" "Online shopping? Is that like TV shopping?" Wen Wanqing thought of the Beibei Jia commercial she had seen on TV recently. "It's different. For example, sis, you can upload photos of your factory's jeans and set a price. Then people all over the country can see it and buy if they think it's suitable," Xu Qingfan explained patiently. "But how do you get paid? Cash on delivery?" Wen Wanqing was somewhat interested and asked curiously. "It's cash on delivery for now, but I think banks might support online payments in the future. Then it would be so convenient to buy stuff directly online. I think your factory's jeans could be sold online too. Even after covering shipping costs without the middleman's markup, you could still make money!" Lin Qiaoshan chimed in from time to time, "Hahaha, who taught you all that, knowing about middlemen making a markup!" "Learned it from watching TV, from that show 'The Greed of Man' on TVB. They're rerunning it, and I've been following it closely!" The year 2003 wasn't a good time to get into e-commerce, but it didn't prevent Xu Qingfan from planting the idea in their minds. Maybe when that Mr. Ma guy steps into the "C2C" scene, riding that east wind might help Lin Wanning's family factory through the financial crisis of 2008. "Brother Qing Fan, what are you talking about? Have you watched 'Chibi Maruko-chan' on Star TV? The second season is out!" "Xiao Xiao is watching it; you can discuss the plot with her," Xu Qingfan said, giving Xia Xiaoxiao, who was sitting next to him, a nudge. "I just watch it occasionally," Xia Xiaoxiao pinched his arm stealthily. "Little Miss Xia Xiaoxiao must be busy studying during the vacation, unlike you who watches TV all day," Wen Wanqing said with a smile, looking at her daughter. "I... Ningning studies too....." Under her mother's gaze, Lin Wanning's voice became softer. "How far did you get with your homework?" "I got to... Dad, how long until we get there? Ningning's hungry!" "Hahahahaha..."