NABC Chapter 177 - 177 - 178: Reed Marsh
Chapter 177 - 177 - 178: Reed Marsh
Chapter 177 – 178: Reed Marsh
“Of course, it’s true!” Yang Lu nodded and said, “I’ll give you three days off. Have some fun and relax.”
“Great, thank you, Director Yang!” Liu Xiaolei nodded eagerly. She was really in dire need of some relaxation.
Liu Xiaolei scurried away happily.
Having finally gotten a three-day holiday, it was natural for Liu Xiaolei to take some time to unwind. Excitedly, she ran to find Xiao Han.
Xiao Han smiled and then asked, “You’re panting and running over here, what’s going on?”
“I... I finally got some time off,” Liu Xiaolei said excitedly.
“Got time off?” Xiao Han feigned surprise, “Did Director Yang give you a holiday?”
“Exactly,” Liu Xiaolei said with a beaming smile, “Director Yang gave me time off, and it’s for three days. My God, I can finally have a proper rest. Where do you think I should go to have some fun in these three days?”
“You should go anywhere you’d like to have fun,” Xiao Han said with a smile, “You really have worked hard recently.”@@@@
“Hehe,” Liu Xiaolei giggled and then said, “It’s hard work indeed, but the overtime pay from the company is good. My monthly salary is five thousand, and excluding weekends, the average daily wage is over two hundred. But for weekend overtime, it’s calculated as triple pay, and that’s quite a lot. I’ve calculated that in half a month, I can earn about four thousand.
And if I do overtime for the next half a month too, I can make over eight thousand in a month. Geez, just thinking about it feels great. Earning such a high salary in Shenzhen is considered high income.”
“Hehe...” Xiao Han chuckled, “But that’s income you’ve earned by giving up your rest time. It’s something you deserve.”
“Hehe...” Liu Xiaolei giggled again.
“Where are you planning to go for fun?” Xiao Han asked.
“I want to go, but I have no one to go with,” Liu Xiaolei bit her red lips and glanced at Xiao Han. Her long hair hid the swollen cheek on her left side, making her look pitiful. The swelling wasn’t very obvious, but the pain was still there.
“How about... I go with you?” Xiao Han offered.
“Really?” Liu Xiaolei immediately brightened, “If you go with me, then I can truly relax and enjoy the three days.”
“Where to?” Xiao Han asked.
“Let’s go... to Reed Marsh,” Liu Xiaolei said excitedly.
“Sure!” Xiao Han nodded, then said, “How about we set off early tomorrow morning?”
“Yes, great!” Liu Xiaolei nodded eagerly.
Reed Marsh was located in the suburbs of Shenzhen, about thirty kilometers from the city. Even though it was quite a distance, and it would probably take around thirty-four minutes by car. Xiao Han didn’t have a driver’s license. A while back, he had asked Li Dapang to teach him. Li Dapang used the company’s van, which was used for grocery shopping, to teach Xiao Han.
“All set? Let’s go,” Xiao Han reminded her.
“Mhm!” Liu Xiaolei nodded and quickly buckled her seat belt.
Although Xiao Han had only learned to drive recently, his driving skills were actually quite solid. Clutching, braking, igniting, shifting, starting... all done in one smooth motion.
The Golden Van was quite long and a bit difficult to handle, but Xiao Han drove off at a brisk pace, quickly leaving Fuxing Community behind and then entering the city roads, speeding all the way through the traffic lights.
Soon, they left the city roads behind and entered the rural-urban fringe. The style of the fringe was quite fragmented, with five-story residential buildings on both sides of the road and small stores along the curb. Groups of farmers meandered on the streets, and a few yellow dogs chased each other.
It took a full forty minutes to cover the thirty-odd kilometers, as the roads in the rural-urban fringe were not easy to navigate. Xiao Han deliberately slowed down for safety’s sake. With the reduced speed, the travel time naturally increased.
Upon arriving at Reed Marsh, the two jumped out of the van. Plenty of cars were already parked nearby on a flat lawn. Many people had set up grills there. Not far away was a lake as clear as a mirror, stunningly beautiful. The blue sky reflected on the water made the lake look like a crystal embedded in the land.
Liu Xiaolei got out of the van and, with eyes sparkling, looked toward the lake and said, “Look, there are people rowing out there!”
“Do you want to go?” asked Xiao Han.
“Yes!” Liu Xiaolei nodded. “I want to lie on a boat and quietly watch the sky. When I was a child, I often had dreams of that scene. Me alone on a wooden boat, peacefully gazing at the blue sky, basking in the sunshine.”
“Today it can come true,” Xiao Han said with a smile.
The two quickly headed straight for the dock.
The dock here was just a wooden platform set up by two local farmers who ran the business. A variety of boats, large and small, were moored on both sides, waiting for customers. The two farmers welcomed Xiao Han and Liu Xiaolei warmly.
“Do you want to row a boat?” asked a farmer wearing a straw hat with a smile.
“How much is it?” Liu Xiaolei asked with a smile.
“Fifty for a small boat for an hour, eighty for a large one,” replied the straw hat farmer hastily. “What kind do you need?”
“We want the big one!” Liu Xiaolei pointed at the largest boat, which was not actually very big but simply had an extra lower cabin and a relatively large deck at the very back, with a boatman who had a towel hung around his neck, wearing a smock, and a friendly, simple smile.
“That will be one hundred and twenty!” the straw hat farmer laughed. “It can hold seven or eight people. That kind of boat suits you two!”
As he spoke, the straw hat farmer pointed to a much smaller boat not too far away.
“That’s too small, we want the big one!” Liu Xiaolei snorted.
“One hundred and twenty, can you afford it? It’s a two-hour minimum rental!” the straw hat farmer retorted. Read latest chapters at
“Isn’t it just two hundred and forty? I’ll give you two hundred and fifty!” Liu Xiaolei huffed, tossing over two hundred and fifty dollars, and then commanded, “No need for change. Hurry up and get the boat over here, we’re getting on!”