The Fish I Catch Can Level Up-Chapter 178: The Raw Materials for the Gift
Chu Mingcheng changed his clothes in the car, and then the group set off, heading first to Wei Jianguo's house.
He had two reasons: to return the bass boat, and because he felt Wei Jianguo was knowledgeable enough to evaluate the stones he'd found.
"Agong, I'm here to return the bass boat. But I've got something interesting to show you—want to take a look?"
When Wei Jianguo emerged from his house, Chu Mingcheng couldn't help but tease him a little.
"Another big catch?" Wei Jianguo's eyes sparked with interest as he stepped forward to inspect what they'd brought.
When he saw the twenty-seven-jin mandarin fish, even he looked surprised.
"Such a large wild mandarin fish! Sell it to me—I'll transfer the money right away."
He'd seen a wild mandarin fish of twenty-something jin before, three years ago, when a friend had been showing off. Now, seeing this even larger specimen, he absolutely had to have it. Perfect for treating that old friend who'd hosted the mandarin fish feast back then.
"If you want the fish, Agong, just take it! But the good stuff I mentioned today isn't the fish." Chu Mingcheng pulled out the three stones he'd picked up from the lake bottom.
The moment Wei Jianguo saw the red stones, he forgot all about the fish.
He hurried inside for a flashlight and glasses, then examined them carefully. He started with the football-sized stone, but quickly shook his head and moved to the one with more impurities.
Again, he shook his head. "This one's a shame. It's Chicken Blood Stone, but poor quality—not worth much. Still, take it back and cut it open. Maybe there'll be a surprise inside."
Finally, he picked up the red and white Chicken Blood Stone, examining it closely while clicking his tongue in appreciation. "You're one lucky kid. This piece of Chicken Blood Stone is top quality—should be quite valuable."
Wei Jianguo had some experience with jade and knew enough about Chicken Blood Stone, one of the four great national stones, to distinguish real from fake.
From his reaction, Chu Mingcheng realized the large stone wasn't Chicken Blood Stone—probably granite, just as Chen Yang had suspected.
He felt a twinge of regret. Even poor quality, such a large piece should've been worth something decent.
But he wasn't greedy by nature and quickly adjusted his expectations.
"Agong, do you know any master carvers? I want this Chicken Blood Stone made into two jade pendants—one carved with a snow lotus, the other with a mountain peak."
"If there's enough material, I'd like a hairpin made too. I found some gold before, so I can make a gold hairpin to go with it."
Zhang Wei and the others were speechless hearing he'd found gold before. What kind of luck was it to discover both Chicken Blood Stone and gold?
When Wei Jianguo heard Chu Mingcheng wanted pendants made from the Chicken Blood Stone, he felt a little disappointed—he'd hoped to acquire the stone himself.
But the mention of pendants and a hairpin made everything clear. This was for Jiang Luoluo.
He considered both young people as family, and seeing their relationship flourish made him happy.
"Alright, leave the Chicken Blood Stone with me. I'll contact you when it's finished."
"Thanks, Agong. I'll send over the gold this afternoon. If it's not enough, have the craftsman add some of his own—we'll settle the material and labor costs later."
With only one high-quality Chicken Blood Stone, Chu Mingcheng had no intention of selling it.
He'd been thinking about getting Jiang Luoluo a gift, and finding this stone seemed like fate. A matching pair of pendants, and the hairpin idea came from remembering the gold he'd dug up—might as well put it to good use.
He probably didn't have enough for a complete hairpin, but gold was easy to buy. A little extra expense wouldn't hurt.
They left the large mandarin fish and departed with the dozen smaller ones caught that morning, plus the granite and poor-quality Chicken Blood Stone.
Since he was asking Wei Jianguo for a favor, Chu Mingcheng refused payment for the mandarin fish. For once, he held firm against the temptation of easy money.
At the market, they sold the mandarin fish and kept one for lunch.
The three didn't fuss over who'd caught what that morning—they simply split the proceeds evenly.
Chen Yang was fine with the arrangement, but Zhang Wei was thrilled with his share. Six or seven hundred yuan—when had fishing ever been this profitable for him?
Back home after lunch, none of them mentioned the Chicken Blood Stone in front of Jiang Luoluo.
That afternoon, Chu Mingcheng had planned to take them to a more distant sea area to find a reef with better water conditions for spearfishing.
But then a female student from Xiamen University contacted him—the alligator gar specimens were ready.
She offered to arrange delivery, but since it was the weekend and Xiamen University allowed visitors, Chu Mingcheng decided to pick them up himself.
"Remember those alligator gar I caught? Some students from Xiamen University made specimens from them. They're ready now, so let's pick them up this afternoon and tour the campus while we're at it."
"University students?" Zhang Wei started to grin, but noticed Jiang Luoluo staring at him. His expression instantly froze.
He remembered the beer-induced terror from the night before, and whatever he'd been about to say died in his throat.
"Uh, I've heard Xiamen University has a beautiful campus. Been wanting to see it since I got here."
Chen Yang nodded—he had no objections and was curious about the alligator gar specimens.
"I'll come with you this afternoon. I'm tired from dance practice anyway, so it'll be a nice break," Jiang Luoluo suddenly announced.
Chu Mingcheng hadn't mentioned the female student making the specimens. She decided to see what was going on for herself.
"Sounds good—let's all go then!"
After resting, they drove to Xiamen University at one o'clock.
The university opened to visitors on weekends during the day, though with limited numbers. Since it wasn't peak tourist season, crowds were manageable.
The group registered their IDs, found parking, and walked toward the meeting point.
Jiang Luoluo took position on his left, naturally taking his hand.
Chu Mingcheng thought nothing of it, simply enjoying the campus scenery while holding his girlfriend's hand.
After twenty minutes of walking, they reached the meeting spot.
Chu Mingcheng spotted the female student. The male students from before were gone, replaced by two other girls.
All three had dressed up—skirts, stockings, carefully applied makeup.
The female students had noticed Chu Mingcheng's group long before. Seeing Jiang Luoluo left them somewhat stunned.
"Wow, Keke, three handsome guys today. Which one were you talking about?" asked a girl in white stockings with a youthful style, speaking quietly as they approached.
"Please don't tell me it's the one with the girlfriend—he's the best-looking!" said another in black stockings, dressed more maturely, with surprise in her voice.
She'd noticed her friend seemed deflated.
Bai Yueke wasn't exactly upset, just regretful. Not only was the handsome guy taken, but he clearly had good prospects to land such a beautiful girlfriend.
She'd proactively asked for the alligator gar and Chu Mingcheng's contact information before—half for the specimen, half to get to know this attractive guy.
Still in college with her family's solid finances, she didn't need to worry about the future yet. She'd just wanted to meet someone handsome, maybe even have a sweet campus romance.
She'd thought that since she'd made the first move by adding his contact info, he'd reach out to her.
She wasn't bad-looking—even without makeup, she was pretty. She had admirers.
But he seemed to forget she existed, never contacting her once.
Young, beautiful, and with her own pride, she naturally wouldn't make the first move.
Only when the specimen was completely finished did she use it as an excuse to ask him out.
The result? He had a girlfriend who looked like a goddess.
Her looks, figure, presence—Bai Yueke didn't even have the courage to compete. Her heart filled with defeat.
She'd seen the girls considered campus beauties at Xiamen University, and compared to Chu Mingcheng's girlfriend, they seemed ordinary.
Having such a beautiful girlfriend meant Chu Mingcheng's own qualities were exceptional—another source of regret.
She'd encountered a high-quality man, but he wasn't available.
Still, Bai Yueke quickly adjusted her mindset. When Chu Mingcheng's group arrived, she wore the same smile from their first meeting.
"Hey there, long time no see! Are these your friends?"
"Yeah, my two brothers and my girlfriend..."
Chu Mingcheng briefly introduced everyone, then looked around but didn't see the alligator gar specimens. "Are the specimens not here?"
"Right, they're still in the lab. Come with me to get them."
"Wei, you guys go get them first. I want to walk around Xiamen University with Luoluo for a bit," Chu Mingcheng said, turning to Zhang Wei and Chen Yang.
Zhang Wei had no objections. A female university student! He'd never been to university and had always heard how great campus life was. Now seemed like a perfect chance to chat about it.
Chu Mingcheng said goodbye to Bai Yueke and strolled through Xiamen University hand in hand with Jiang Luoluo.
They occasionally encountered tourists with cameras, looking around and snapping photos.
Jiang Luoluo had now seen the female university student Chu Mingcheng mentioned. From her outfit, she knew exactly what was going on—the girl definitely had thoughts about her man.
But she didn't take it to heart. Her man's attitude said everything.
She put those minor concerns aside and focused on enjoying the campus stroll with Chu Mingcheng.
She came here occasionally for location scouting but had never taken a proper walk like this.
Two hours later, Chu Mingcheng got a call from Chen Yang asking where they were and when they'd return. He was probably getting impatient. Feeling a bit guilty about lingering on a campus lawn, he and Jiang Luoluo headed back.
At the parking lot, they found only Chen Yang. Zhang Wei was nowhere to be seen.
"Where's Wei?"
Chen Yang glanced at Jiang Luoluo and said with a laugh, "He had something to do and went out. Let's head back first!"
Chu Mingcheng felt helpless. That guy couldn't stay settled. Had he already forgotten last night's misery?
Didn't he realize his girlfriend had zero tolerance for nonsense?
He had Chen Yang drive while he sat in back, speaking quietly to reassure: "Luoluo, about the drinking—it's fine occasionally. Drinking every day isn't good for anyone's health."
"As long as you don't follow his example, I'll let it slide. But if you dare copy him, I won't just make you suffer—I'll make sure he learns that life isn't all fun and games!"
Jiang Luoluo didn't particularly care about Zhang Wei's behavior. She worried about her man picking up bad habits.
Though logic told her that after knowing Zhang Wei for years, Chu Mingcheng hadn't developed any problems, she believed in preventing trouble before it started.
Chapter 178: The Raw Materials for the Gift
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