Time flies, seasons pass, and a week goes by in a hurry.
Sunday, June 15th, was the day of Yuzhou’s high school entrance exam. Since No. 4 Middle School was reserved as the exam venue, there was a three-day holiday.
Although it is Sunday, I don’t have to go to evening self-study today because school will not start until next Monday night.
Xue Yuantong did not stay in bed. He was woken up early by his mother. It was only 6:30 and breakfast was already ready.
Eating at home is not like living in the city. Jiang Ning moved the old folding dining table to the yard and ate outdoors.
At this time, the sun has not had time to bake the earth, and it is slightly cool outside.
Jiang Ning picked up the bowl and drank the soy milk. The soy milk was a little hot, so he quietly used magic to cool it down, and it tasted very good.
Xue Yuantong had been staring at his bowl. When he wasn't paying attention, she stole her hand over to touch his bowl and immediately felt something cold.
"Mom, it's not fair, why is his soy milk cold!" Xue Yuantong fought against fate.
She also wanted Jiang Ning's iced soy milk.
Jiang Ning said calmly: "I brought my own bowl. I froze it before coming here."
"Is it possible?" Xue Yuantong was skeptical.
"Of course."
"Then I'll switch with you." As she said that, she took the cold soy milk and drank it happily. Because she drank it too quickly, there was some liquid on the corners of her mouth.
Jiang Ning didn't bother with her.
He was thinking about today's schedule. He had nothing to do personally, but Aunt Gu went to help Chuchu move.
The reason why we got up early today was also because of this. After Xue Chuchu's family decided on the house, they did not hesitate, agreed on the price, and bought the house quickly. Now they have the key.
Aunt Pan next door handed the keys to Chu Chu's mother, took her children, and went to a coastal city. From then on, she settled there and never came back.
Aunt Hua decided to move while she was taking a break recently. Aunt Gu had a very good relationship with her, so of course she lent a hand.
Thinking about these things, Jiang Ning picked up two pieces of shredded potatoes. This dish was very homely and was cooked deliciously by Aunt Gu. Even though he had eaten it many times, Jiang Ning still didn't get tired of it.
He enjoys his current leisure time without any work worries. He wakes up from bed every morning feeling refreshed and carefree, with plenty of time to waste.
Even if I just move a small stool every day and sit at the door looking at the wheat fields, I don't feel bored at all.
He used to think wasting time was shameful, but now he just wants to waste time.
After dinner, Jiang Ning moved the folding table back to the kitchen and watched Xue Yuantong wash the pots and dishes.
Aunt Gu pushed out the electric bike: "Tongtong, let's go."
Xue Yuantong said: "Mom, Jiang Ning is here too."
Aunt Gu: "You don't need his help, come and take the bus."
Xue Yuantong responded and wiped his hands, "Jiang Ning, please help me watch the door at home."
As she spoke, she stretched out her calves and ran for two steps but stopped because she was held back by Jiang Ning.
"Let's go together." Jiang Ning said.
Hearing this, Xue Yuantong didn't care about his rudeness and said happily: "Great, great!"
She pulled Jiang Ning outside and said, "Mom, you go first. I'll take Jiang Ning's bike."
Aunt Gu felt helpless after hearing this, "You guys ride slower, I'll go help Fengmei pack her things first."
After his mother left, Xue Yuantong locked the door and got on his mountain bike.
Looking at the receding scenery on both sides of the river dam and feeling the cool morning breeze, Xue Yuantong thought about the roads he had traveled in Jiang Ning's car over the past year.
She calculated and realized that she had traveled more than 2,000 kilometers without realizing it.
Xue Yuantong thought about her future sophomore and junior years of high school. She nudged Jiang Ning and said, "Ride faster."
Jiang Ning stepped on the pedal and the car shot out instantly, shocking the pedestrians who were walking on the dam.
At this speed, we arrived in the city very quickly.
When Jiang Ning turned into the old neighborhood where Xue Chuchu lived, he met Aunt Gu.
In front of the wide alley, a silver pickup truck's engine was humming. It wanted to drive into the alley, but there was a rectangular iron cart carrying sesame cakes at the entrance of the alley.
An old man in his sixties or seventies wearing a white vest was standing in front of the small iron cart.
Aunt Gu and Hua Fengmei were discussing with the old man: "Uncle, please move the pancake stand away, we will drive in and leave after we move."
There are a lot of things to move at home. If the truck is driven forward for a distance, moving will be a little easier. Otherwise, we will have to walk a long way.
And even if a truck drives into the wide alley, it will not affect others.
The old man yelled, "Why should I let you drive in? Aren't you affecting my business?"
Aunt Gu looked at his iron cart for making pancakes and said, "Aren't you still not doing business?"
The old man raised his voice and shouted, "What do you care whether I do business or not?"
Hua Fengmei was in a hurry to move. Seeing that the other party was being unreasonable, she said in a gentle voice:
"It's not like we haven't bought sesame cakes from you before, uncle, can you lend them to us?"
The old man smiled sarcastically. He said that they had lived together for nearly a year and they had seen each other every day, rain or shine. As far as he could remember, the mother and daughter had bought cakes from each other two or three times at most.
He was guarding the entrance to the alley, and even a dog would get slapped if it passed by, let alone these two women
This is the kind of people the old man bullies!
He glanced at the truck driver who was smoking quietly beside him, and smiled hypocritically:
"We won't make it difficult for you. It's hard for anyone these days. Sister, go to the store over there and buy a pack of cigarettes. I'll move this car out of the way right away."
He added: "I prefer a mouthful of Yuxi."
Hua Fengmei was so angry that the old man was so shameless that he even smoked Yunnan Yunnan cigarettes. She was from the countryside and when she had banquets in the village, only rich families used Yunnan Yunnan cigarettes, which cost 20 yuan a pack.
How much does it cost for her to hire a car for moving
But she came here and got stabbed for no reason. With Hua Fengmei's simple personality, how could she be willing to do that
Hua Fengmei frowned and said, "No, we're not going in. Let's move our things over here."
She is not from the city, and there is only her and her mother, so she is definitely no match for the old guys in the city. It is better to have less trouble than more. Hua Fengmei does not want to cause trouble, so she can only endure it herself.
When the old man heard this, his face turned ugly and he said bluntly:
"Okay, you move it."
If the truck can be driven into the alley, the distance to move can be shortened by a hundred meters. If it is not driven into the alley, then they will have to carry the goods with much effort.
The old man was really nice to them. He was mumbling something and looked like he wanted to curse at them.
Aunt Gu was also annoyed, but there was no need to bother with such a person. The other party was a local and might have some connection.
Just when they were about to compromise, Jiang Ning, who was standing next to them, saw that the situation could not be resolved and took the initiative to step forward.
When Aunt Gu saw him, she called out his name.
Jiang Ning said nothing, stepped forward and reached out to the small iron cart.
The old man was furious when he saw this, "How dare you touch my car!"
He shouted loudly and was about to curse when he saw Jiang Ning casually pick up the small iron cart with one hand and throw it out of the alley.
He threw a small stone with ease.
The old man's words were stuck in his throat and he couldn't utter them out loud. He knew how heavy his small iron cart for making sesame cakes was. Let alone now, even when he was young, he couldn't even think of lifting it.
He stared at Jiang Ning blankly, and when he met the young man's calm eyes, his heart shuddered.
The old rascal is also afraid of young and strong guys, especially if the other party is sixteen or seventeen years old and he just showed off his skills. If a real fight breaks out, if he is not pinned to the ground and beaten, these people will not show any mercy when they attack.
The old man is in his early sixties and has another 10 to 20 years of good life ahead of him. If he gets hit, he won’t have any chance of living happily ever after.
He said nothing, recognizing the situation.
"Aunt Hua, please let the car in." Jiang Ning gave the instructions calmly, looking as if he was doing it casually.
Xue Yuantong behind him looked at him with admiration. Jiang Ning was indeed the one she raised, so reliable!
Hua Fengmei had a complicated expression, but she felt relieved. What she couldn't do was solved by another man.
She repeatedly shouted to the driver: "Okay, okay, we can drive in."
The driver, who had been smoking silently before, opened the door and drove the truck into the alley.
"It's a pity that you came." Aunt Gu sighed.
If it were an uneducated rural woman in their village, she would tear the old man's mouth apart.
But she and Fengmei are not that kind of people. They have finished junior high school, understand moral standards, but don't have many skills.
The truck drove into the wide alley, but there was a narrow alley on the left, which could not be entered, so we had to carry our luggage by ourselves.
Xue Chuchu was carrying luggage down from upstairs. The little girl's fair arms were dragging a large sack as she walked down the stairs with difficulty.
The usual cleanliness was gone, his T-shirt was covered in dust, his forehead was wet, and his beautiful bangs were messy and sticky.
Xue Yuantong shouted: "Chu Chu, I'm here to help you!"
She spread her legs and helped Chuchu move things.
"I'm sorry to bother your family." Hua Fengmei said apologetically, "I'll treat you to a good meal after I move."
"No trouble." Aunt Gu helped.
As for Jiang Ning, he was responsible for transporting the luggage downstairs to the truck.
After all, they had lived there for a year, and Chuchu's house had a lot of miscellaneous things, including pots, pans, and utensils.
Jiang Ning often carried one luggage in each hand and easily put them into the car. He moved very quickly and the luggage downstairs was not enough for him to carry.
Seeing that there was still space on the truck, Hua Fengmei sent Aunt Gu's electric bike on board. She sat in the open truck bed to watch over the luggage, while Aunt Gu sat in the passenger seat.
The truck started and backed out of the alley.
There were only three young boys and girls left.
Xue Yuantong waved her little hands to fan herself. She was so tired that she had difficulty breathing.
After a two-minute break, she began to talk to Chuchu incessantly about Jiang Ning's heroic deeds at the entrance of the alley, such as how he lifted up the small iron cart with one hand and shocked the old man, scaring him so much that he shouted that this boy must not be kept.
In short, he praised Jiang Ning in various ways, and finally patted his chest and said proudly: "He grew up eating the food I cooked."
Xue Chuchu looked down at Tongtong's small body and wanted to say something that would affect their friendship, but she didn't say it.
Xue Yuantong also complained: "Chu Chu, there are so many bad guys. Last time I came to your place, I encountered a fight. Now that old man wants to blackmail people again. Fortunately, Jiang Ning is here."
Hearing this, Xue Chuchu lifted the wet hair on her forehead, and a sweet smile appeared on her plain face:
"There are too many residents nearby. Many people moved to the new community after they became wealthy, leaving behind many elderly people. In addition, the rent here is cheap, so there are all kinds of tenants."
"Before, there were people who jumped rope at home at night, and there were people who kept dogs and chickens, which barked every day. A neighbor said that a few years ago, a family's air conditioner outdoor unit fell off."
Xue Chuchu recounted that she had not had a good time here in the past year, as she was often woken up at night and did not get enough rest.
But she still spoke softly, without any anger or complaints.
Xue Yuantong: "What a mess!"
She looked up from the narrow alley. Above her head were tangled wires, densely packed old windows, air conditioner units on the wall, and thick, dirty, white water pipes running through the alley.
She heard the sound of flushing water coming from the pipe from time to time.
Xue Yuantong, who was used to living in the countryside and being accustomed to nature, suddenly felt that this place was like a cage, extremely depressing.
Xue Chuchu patted the dust off her clothes, but found that she couldn't get it off, so she had to change her clothes.
"You must be tired, I'll treat you to some popsicles." She took Tongtong's hand and walked out of the alley, "I know a shop that sells old popsicles, come with me."
Two little girls who were dirty after moving got together.
Passing by the entrance of the alley, Xue Chuchu looked at the old man selling sesame cakes, then turned around to look at Jiang Ning. She was surprised to find that Jiang Ning was spotless, as clean as ever.
Jiang Ning was given an old popsicle. He took a bite of it and enjoyed the perfect sweetness and coolness.
It's only 50 cents per stick, very affordable.
Xue Yuantong wanted to learn from him how to bite the popsicle hard, but she was afraid of breaking her teeth. She had no baby teeth, and if her teeth were gone, they would never grow back.
She secretly thought, how nice it would be if Jiang Ning could help her bite
No, it's too embarrassing. She couldn't help blushing just thinking about it.
Xue Chuchu stood on the side of the road, looking at the vehicles passing by: "Let's go home after eating the popsicles."
"Go back to Heba's home!" Xue Yuantong said for her.
"Yeah." There was an indescribable joy between Xue Chuchu's brows. She had a home in Yuzhou.
After eating the popsicle, she said, "I'm going back to ride my bike."
Just now they came out empty-handed to buy popsicles, and Chuchu's electric bike was still parked under the building.
Xue Chuchu felt particularly comfortable walking back home. She might not have to come to this place again in her lifetime.
Last year, she came to the city from the countryside to attend high school. In fact, she was not used to it, but it was her mother's request, and for the sake of better education and a better future, she could not refuse.
Thinking of her new home in Heba, which was equipped with air conditioning, the girl felt even better.
God knows how hot it is in the summer living on the seventh floor, the top floor.
In the distance, there was a noise coming from the alley, roaring, and women's screams.
Xue Chuchu's expression changed.
Xue Yuantong asked curiously: "Chu Chu, what happened over there?"
"If I'm not mistaken, there was a fight." Xue Chuchu quickened her pace a little.
As soon as they saw the entrance to the alley, as expected, a man in his thirties kicked the woman to the ground, then stepped forward, grabbed her hair, pulled her, and kicked her.
The woman fell to the ground, her face bruised and swollen from the beating, unable to fight back.
He kicked and pulled the woman and forced her to the side of a large, smelly trash can. The scene looked extremely miserable.
Xue Yuantong was stunned, his feet didn't move, and he kept repeating: "Jiang Ning Jiang Ning."
Xue Chuchu looked at the man with disgust in her eyes. He was a rotten person who smoked, drank, gambled, was a lunatic, and beat his wife whenever he got home. He was worse than the worst person Chuchu had met in the village before.
But Xue Chuchu did not dissuade her because her mother had tried to dissuade her before and it was completely useless.
At this time, many residents popped their heads out from the balconies and windows to watch the fun.
Xue Yuantong didn't know what was going on. She stuck close to Jiang Ning and heard the woman screaming. She couldn't bear to see her being beaten, so she mustered up her courage and shouted:
"You'll beat her to death!"
After he finished speaking, Xue Chuchu secretly felt that something was wrong.
The next second, the murderer suddenly turned around, stared at me coldly, and suddenly shouted: "Get away!"
He had an extremely fierce and ferocious look.
Xue Yuantong was startled and couldn't help but take a half step back.
Xue Chuchu held Tongtong's hand tightly.
Jiang Ning touched Xue Yuantong's soft hair, took a step forward, stood tall, and said with a smile:
"Why don't you apologize?"