By the time they came down, it was almost noon.
Lu Xi'an gave Hu Xiaodong another cigarette as payment for guiding them, and then said to Hu Xiaodong, "Bring your four buckets over, we'll load up more stuff.
"If you help us deliver it again, I'll give you three cigarettes. No problem, right?"
"No problem, no problem."
Hu Xiaodong grinned widely and said, "Even if we deliver for free, we won't lose out. We can fetch some more water on the way back. Anyway, it's still early."
Lu Xi'an said, "In that case, I won't give the cigarettes."
The smile on Hu Xiaodong's face froze immediately.
Lu Xi'an laughed, "Just kidding."
Hu Xiaodong's frozen smile softened, though now it was a bit awkward.
After that, Hu Xiaodong went back home to get the buckets.
Meanwhile, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei returned to the boat first to tidy things up a bit.
They took stock of the items, many of which were packed in two military-grade waterproof supply boxes, ready to be loaded onto the boat later.
