Chapter 897: Whale Watching
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The shop was all cleaned up, and it was still quite early in the morning, so there were no customers at the moment.
Pedestrians outside were coming and going; they were either heading to work or to school to start their daily activities.
The young courier riders had their waterproof jackets on and drove electric tricycles marked with their courier company logo as they went around delivering parcels to the recipient’s hands.
Zhang Zian just had some free time when a courier parked at the door of the store.
“Is… Mr. Hottie here? We have a parcel for you,” the young courier stuck his head in the shop and asked.
“Yes, that’s me.” Zhang Zian walked towards him.
The young courier took out a big square box from the trunk. From how he handled it, the box did not seem as though it was light.
“Here’s your parcel. Please acknowledge the receipt of your item.” The young courier took out two more parcels from the trunk and placed them together, then handed the receipt to Zhang Zian.
Zhang Zian took the receipt and pen from him, but he didn’t rush to sign his name. Instead, he communicated with the young courier. “I’ll have to check the goods before I sign.”
The young courier was eager to deliver his other parcels. After all, every delivery was an income, but since Zhang Zian insisted on checking, he had no choice but to agree.
Zhang Zian first checked the box for any damages, then pulled out the Swiss army knife on his key chain, ready to cut the tape that sealed the box.
“Master, I understand that you’re eager to try on your new women’s wear, but we’re in public, and it’s not going to be a good influence…” w.a.n.g Qian came over and whispered, indicating that there were many pedestrians watching.
“Rubbis.h.!.+ I’ve never worn women’s clothes!” Zhang Zian scolded.
“You don’t have to deny it. The package clearly states, ‘Items of clothing.’ What else could it be other than women’s clothing?” w.a.n.g Qian asked as he pointed to one of the parcels.
Zhang Zian was too lazy to explain––especially in front of the young courier. He opened up the three boxes one by one.
“Yi? What’s this? A life jacket?” w.a.n.g Qian was left in a blur when he saw a bright red life jacket in the box that had been labeled “items of clothing.”
In another small box, there was an uninflated lifebuoy.
As for the largest and heaviest box, it was loaded with an deflated a.s.sault boat, electric motors, paddles, and other gadgets from the seller. Whether it was useful or useless, everything he needed was inside the box.
Zhang Zian was not very confident about the quality of the a.s.sault boat. After all, it was produced by a small workshop. In the case of any leakage, not only was it troublesome to return, but he might also have to pay for the postage. That was why Zian was so insistent on checking the goods in person. If there really was a problem with the quality, he would just refuse to accept it.
Zhang Zian had w.a.n.g Qian bring out a power strip from the store. He plugged the air pump in and started to inflate the a.s.sault boat. The air pump started to run, and the a.s.sault boat slowly expanded and began to take shape. As it inflated, it could finally be recognized as a boat.
The young courier who was eager to deliver his other parcels was surprised. He had been a courier for quite some time. There were people who bought all sorts of items, but that day was the first time he saw someone buy a boat.
“Stop staring foolishly. Help me check if there’s any leakage.” Zhang Zian pushed w.a.n.g Qian, who was still in a blur.
Because it was still early, there were no customers for the time being, so even Lu Yiyun, Jiang Feifei, and Li Kun were called over by Zhang Zian. Everyone’s eyes were almost glued to the s.h.i.+p while they did a thorough check.
According to the instruction manual, for the first inflation, it was only required to be 80% inflated. Zhang Zian secured the inflation point and joined the others in looking for any defects.
After spending a great deal of time checking, none of them found any leakage problems, so Zhang Zian signed the acknowledgment receipt under the young courier’s impatient urging.
The young courier left with a surly expression, counting to himself how many more deliveries it was going to take to recover the time he lost there.
Zhang Zian then let out the air in the a.s.sault boat, folded it up, and stuffed it back into the box.
w.a.n.g Qian wanted to carry the box into the store but was stopped by Zhang Zian.
“No need to carry it into the shop. Just put it directly in the trunk of my car, along with the other two boxes that have the life jacket and lifebuoy,” he instructed.
“Erm… Master, what are you going to do?” Li Kun asked in a confused manner. “Could it be that… you’re planning on becoming a drifter?”
“Wouldn’t normal people think that I’m going out to sea or fis.h.i.+ng?” Zhang Zian asked.
“Going out to sea? What are you going to do out in the sea?” they all asked in unison.
Some of them were locals, some were foreigners, but they had all lived in Binhai City for some time. Although there were some tourist attractions in Binhai City, what did he have in mind by going out to sea alone? Zhang Zian was not a guy who liked to fish––not to mention that the inflatable boat did not look very reliable.
“Actually, I’m not heading out to the sea. I’m just going to float around in the shallow water near the sh.o.r.e. It’s going to be a form of relaxation,” Zhang Zian explained with reservation. “A lot of whales have recently appeared in the nearby sea, right? So I want to go by boat and admire the whales. Since there’s no such tourist excursion in our city, I bought a boat myself to go whale watching.”
The others were left speechless. That wasn’t Zhang Zian’s usual style. He bought a boat just to go whale watching?
Whale watching was a very popular tourist excursion. There were a few regions in the world that were blessed with unique geographical conditions, and they were known for whale watching and sightseeing. Binhai City was not included on the list, however, because there had been no whale sightings in Binhai City for many years.
The others couldn’t understand, but Jiang Feifei was very excited; her eyes were even glimmering.
She volunteered and said, “Shop manager, I want to go whale watching, too. Can you take me along?”
Although Jiang Feifei was from the inland areas, she was really fond of aquatic creatures, so of course, she liked whales, too. She had never seen whales up close; she had not even seen dolphins up close, either. After all, Binhai City did not have any aquariums, so there was no place to see them even if she wanted to.
Jiang Feifei was aware of the news––that many whales had been spotted in the sea just outside of Binhai City, but that was all. She had never thought that there would be a chance to take a boat out to the sea to watch the whales.
After listening to Zhang Zian, she almost couldn’t hold in her excitement, and immediately proposed that she would tag along.
Zhang Zian had not expected her to be so enthusiastic, but he couldn’t take her with him. At least not that time because the first trip was experimental, and he’d be getting close to a giant whale with unknown circ.u.mstances. The risks involved were self-evident.
Taking the risk himself was all right, but he couldn’t take Jiang Feifei along and put her at risk. If anything were to happen, he wouldn’t be able to take up the responsibility.
“Is that a no?” Jiang Feifei noticed the hesitation on his face. She was a little discouraged, and at the same time, she also scolded herself for being too abrupt.
Zhang Zian couldn’t bear to let down her enthusiasm. He glanced over at the life jacket and said, “It’s not impossible, but you can’t come this time. I didn’t expect you to like whale watching as well, so I only bought my own life jacket… it’s dangerous to go out to sea in this kind of boat, so you must wear a life jacket. You can come with me next time.”