After leaving the shop, he drove back to Chen Jingxian’s home.
After picking up the home purchase documents and the loan contract, he drove to the bank.
Because it was an early repayment, they were received by a dedicated specialist, so the process was much faster.
The moment the card payment went through, Lin Jiang received a cash rebate of 261,141 on his phone.
His current balance was now nearly a million. It was more than enough to rent a decent place, maybe even enough to cover renovations.
By the time they finished everything, it was already past four in the afternoon.
The moment the mortgage was paid off, Chen Jingxian looked completely relaxed.
Lin Jiang could even see the [Dopamine] in Chen Jingxian’s body being secreted at an accelerated rate.
"Thank you. If you hadn’t helped me, I have no idea when I would’ve been able to pay it all back."
"It’s no big deal. Don’t keep saying ’thank you.’ Why are you being so formal?"
Chen Jingxian knew Lin Jiang wasn’t a melodramatic person and didn’t like it when others were, so she changed the subject.
"Come on, let me treat you to dinner. Is there anything you’d like to eat? If you don’t like eating out, we can go to my place and I’ll cook something for you."
"That works."
Lin Jiang drove, and he and Chen Jingxian headed back to her home.
"Drive a little further. Let’s go to the supermarket and buy some things."
"Okay."
He drove another hundred meters or so and arrived at a nearby supermarket.
The supermarket was medium-sized, a bit like a smaller version of Berkeley Mall. It was surrounded by storefronts with the supermarket inside, but it only had one floor.
After parking the car, the two of them entered the supermarket. Lin Jiang grabbed a shopping cart, and they walked side-by-side.
Chen Jingxian came here often and knew her way around the supermarket like the back of her hand.
She knew exactly what was sold in every section.
First, she bought some beer and drinks for Lin Jiang, then they went to the fresh produce section.
"This pork belly doesn’t look very fresh. Maybe we shouldn’t make braised pork today. But the beef looks good. I’ll buy some chuck roll and make you some beef and tomato stew."
"Anything is fine."
"Life needs to have a little sense of occasion. You can’t just make do."
As she spoke, Chen Jingxian picked out a piece of chuck roll, planning to stew it when they got back.
After buying the meat, she went to get some tomatoes, not forgetting to complain while picking them out that today’s tomatoes were forty cents more expensive than a few days ago.
When Chen Jingxian shopped, she was all about cost-effectiveness.
She had a clear mental inventory of fruit and vegetable prices. If something was cheap, she’d buy some; if it was expensive, she’d wait for the price to drop before buying.
When it came to domestic matters, Chen Jingxian was the undisputed best, absolutely top-tier.
"Is that all the eggs you’re getting? Let’s buy some more to take back," Lin Jiang asked, looking at the small bag of eggs in the cart.
"No need. It’s almost the end of the month. On the last day, I can use my points to redeem eggs. I can get about ten each month, which is enough."
"Isn’t that something old people do? You don’t have a mortgage anymore, you don’t have to be this frugal."
"It’s mainly because they’re free. You just go to the counter and redeem them with points. It’s no trouble at all. It’d be a waste not to take them."
"I guess you have a point."
That was just Chen Jingxian’s personality. It probably wouldn’t change anytime soon.
After they finished shopping, the two of them queued up to check out.
Chen Jingxian took out her membership card, but just as she was about to scan it, Lin Jiang paid for everything first.
"Hey, why did you go and pay for it?"
Chen Jingxian looked at the cashier. "Could you refund the money? I’ll pay for this."
The cashier chuckled. "You’re a couple, so what’s the difference who pays?"
"Uh..."
Chen Jingxian grew flustered at the cashier’s comment.
Lin Jiang could even see her heart beating faster.
"See? We’re a couple. Why draw such clear lines?" Lin Jiang teased.
Chen Jingxian’s face turned red. She secretly pinched Lin Jiang, then lowered her head and silently packed their things to leave.
"You’re so bad. There are so many people around, and you say things like that," Chen Jingxian chided.
"It just means we look like a married couple."
"Don’t talk nonsense. I’m your older sister-in-law."
"What’s going on over there? Why is there such a big crowd?"
"A raffle. It’s 500 points for one draw," Chen Jingxian said casually, not thinking much of it.
Lin Jiang looked up and saw a large box at the raffle area. It was filled with many slips of paper. You just had to reach in to draw a prize.
"How many points are on your membership card?"
"Hmm?"
Chen Jingxian looked at Lin Jiang. "You want to try the raffle?"
"We’ve got nothing better to do. Might as well draw a prize. I see the first prize is a robot vacuum. It’s free stuff, might as well take it."
Chen Jingxian burst out laughing. "Where do you get all this confidence? That first prize has been an old prop for ages."
"That just means they have bad luck. If I go, I’ll definitely win on the first try."
"And what if you don’t win?"
’Woman, you’re playing with fire.’
"Let’s not talk about not winning. First, tell me, what happens if I do win?"
"Hmph. Whatever you say."
"You’re the one who said it. Don’t try to back out later."
"A lady’s word is her bond." Chen Jingxian held out her pinky. "Let’s make a pinky promise."
"A pinky promise it is."
They hooked their pinkies, and the deal was sealed.
"Let’s go, time to win a prize!"
Lin Jiang led Chen Jingxian to the raffle area, where an employee was shouting loudly.
"A 70% chance to win! If you draw, you’re almost guaranteed to win something! Plus, grand prizes like a robot vacuum and gift cards are waiting for you!"
"A year ago, when I came to this supermarket after buying my house, that robot vacuum was already here. I bet no one will win it even when this supermarket goes out of business."
"After all, it’s a raffle using points. They’re obviously not going to let you walk away with the grand prize so easily, or they’d go broke."
"True. Just think of it as a bit of fun."
Most of the people at the raffle were young. It seemed they didn’t really expect to win; it was mainly a way to use up their points.
If they could win a bottle of mineral water, they’d consider it a gain.
After all, there weren’t many young people like Chen Jingxian who would wait until the last day of the month to redeem eggs.
Lin Jiang looked at the raffle instructions on the side.
Red, blue, and orange slips of paper represented the first, second, and third prizes, respectively.
Black and white slips represented the consolation prize and "Thank you for playing."
The so-called consolation prize was a bottle of cheap mineral water, the kind that costs twenty or thirty cents a bottle.
After reading the instructions, Lin Jiang glanced at the raffle box.
’Hmm?’
’Why are there only black and white slips of paper?’
’Where did the first, second, and third prize slips go?’
Lin Jiang activated his X-ray Vision but didn’t see any other colors among the black and white slips.
’Don’t tell me there aren’t any first, second, or third prizes at all?’
’This is a total scam.’
He looked again, more carefully this time, and discovered the trick.
The red, blue, and orange slips were stuck to the three upper corners of the box.
Normally, when drawing, people reach their hands downward and would never touch the upper corners.
That way, no one would ever be able to draw the first, second, or third prizes.
’Now that’s just a dirty trick.’

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