Chen Shouyi crumpled the newspaper into a ball and tossed it into the trash can.
He glanced at the fiery red morning clouds on the horizon, climbed onto his bicycle, and pushed off lightly, heading toward the shopping mall in the distance.
There were few shops inside the mall, mostly clothing stores. After searching for a long time, he finally managed to find an accessories shop.
Business was slow inside; there wasn't a single customer.
Of course, it was only seven o'clock. Few people went shopping at this hour.
"Do you have any crystal balls here?" Chen Shouyi asked.
"Crystal balls? Of course." The shop owner was a greasy, portly middle-aged man, five months pregnant with a belly of his own. Supporting it with one hand, he pointed to the three crystal balls on the shelf with the other. "They're all the same price: thirty-five yuan each, no bargaining. They're old stock. I'm selling them at a loss now."
"Only three?" Chen Shouyi asked, disappointed. It was probably been a long time since anyone had made crystal balls, and there would be fewer and fewer of them in the future. Three crystal balls wouldn't last a month against Shell Girl's ever-growing appetite.
"How many do you want?" the shop owner asked with a broad smile, rubbing his round belly.
"How many do you have?"
"Uh!" The shop owner froze for a moment, then caught on and slapped his belly, making the fat jiggle. "I'll go check!"
He went into the back room and came out carrying a box. After opening it and counting, he straightened up. "There are fifteen left. With the three here, that makes eighteen. You want them all?"
"I'll take them all," Chen Shouyi said.
Eighteen ought to last about a year. Probably!
"Wait a moment. Let