"Aunt Yang, it's really you. Wuwuwu~"
Yang Yufen was startled by the sudden voice. When the person came close with tears in their eyes, Yang Yufen recognized it was Little Zhang.
"You're a young man. What's wrong? Why are you crying like this?"
Yang Yufen looked at Little Zhang, who had lost weight and looked very disheveled. The last time she saw him, she had given him some advice. Could it be that he really believed in that pie - in - the - sky thing? It was really tragic, but he wasn't really worth pitying.
"Auntie, my parents are gone, and my home is no more. I listened to your words back then, but my dad was persuaded by others. He took all the money in our family behind my back and even borrowed money from relatives. When the truth couldn't be hidden anymore, they... they couldn't think it through and took poison."
Little Zhang really couldn't hold it in anymore. At that time, he was even glad and gave some money to his cousin, thinking not to offend him.
However, misfortune never comes singly. His father was in poor health and usually was taken care of by his mother. He could still earn money, and the family was living okay.
It was just that because he couldn't get married for a long time, he suppressed the idea of making big money. But his parents believed others' words and invested all the little savings they had managed to save over the years without telling him.
When the old couple knew the money couldn't be recovered, they went crazy. Relatives also came to their door one after another. Most importantly, the family of the girl he had just started dating broke off the engagement.
The old couple, who were scolded for being a burden and causing harm, couldn't think it through. While Little Zhang was out, they took poison and died in the field. When Little Zhang got home and couldn't find them, by the time he found them, they were already cold.
"Wuwuwu, my home is gone. The house has been used to pay off debts. Now I sleep under the overpass and look for odd jobs. But everyone around here knows about my family's situation, and I can't find any work at all."
Little Zhang really felt that life was meaningless. If it weren't for the pile of debts to pay, now he only had an urban household registration, and his family didn't even have any land. He was even worse off than his cousin's family.
This year, there was a hailstorm, and he couldn't do the roasted sweet potato business. Even the cart he bought for selling roasted sweet potatoes and other things were all taken away by others.
Little Zhang was crying sadly, and his stomach growled. Xianglian felt a bit sorry for him and cooked a bowl of noodles and brought it over.
"Have something to eat first."
Xianglian's voice was gentle.
"Yes, fill your stomach first. No matter how big the problems are, you're still young. You have to look forward in life."
Yang Yufen comforted him.
Little Zhang wanted to refuse, but his stomach growled again, and the aroma of the noodles lingered at the tip of his nose.
"Thank you, Auntie. Thank you all."
Little Zhang picked up the chopsticks, picked up the noodles. After the noodles entered his mouth, his body instinctively ate faster. Before he knew it, he had finished the whole bowl of noodles, including the soup.
"Auntie, when I find a job, I'll pay you back for the noodles."
Little Zhang felt that he had more strength in his body. There were still many good people in this world.
"You're looking for a job? I have a job here. It's hard work, but the daily wage is paid on the spot, and there's a meal included. As for accommodation, if you don't mind, we can set up a shed. There's space."
Yang Yufen said.
"I'll do it. I'm not afraid of hard work."
Little Zhang immediately got excited.
"Well, you're currently sleeping under the overpass. It's okay when it doesn't rain, but when it rains and later when it gets cold, you'll easily get sick. I'll find you a place to stay for a few days."
"No, no, Auntie. If there's a job, I can stay at my cousin's place for a few days. Just tell me when I can start work, and I'll come early."
Little Zhang didn't want to trouble Yang Yufen anymore.
"Five days later, there'll definitely be work. It pays ten yuan a day. It's mainly that I'm not free these days; otherwise, I could take you there directly. This job will last quite a while. It's about clearing the land and then planting fruit trees. There'll be work for at least half a year."
"Ten yuan a day! I'll do it. I'll remember the time."
When Little Zhang heard that there would be work for half a year and he could earn ten yuan a day, he thought that as long as he didn't take a break, he could earn three hundred yuan a month. Although it was less than what he used to earn from selling sweet potatoes, he had nothing now, so this was already very good.
Little Zhang wanted to help with the work, but Xianglian had already taken away and washed the bowl he had eaten from.
"I'll advance you ten yuan. After all, it's physical work. You have to eat well these days."
Yang Yufen took out ten yuan and stuffed it into Little Zhang's hand. They were old acquaintances.
Little Zhang's tears almost welled up again. A friend in need is a friend indeed. If he wasn't so down and out now, he really would have recognized Aunt Yang as his god - mother.
Little Zhang was reluctant to leave. If he wasn't afraid that his current appearance would affect the business of the shop, he really would have stayed to help.
"Do you want to have an ice - cream?"
Professor Wen took several children out after an event and happened to hear someone shouting to sell ice - creams.
"Grandma, I don't want to eat. Can you give me the money for the ice - cream? I want to buy something."
Li Wen rubbed his hands, looking a bit embarrassed. But his father hadn't been home recently, and his mother was very busy. He didn't want his grandma to know, so he didn't ask his grandma for money.
"Grandma, I don't want one either."
Even Li Wu, a glutton, resisted the temptation and didn't look at the ice - creams, secretly swallowing his saliva.
"You kids have been acting all mysterious recently. Are you up to some secret business?"
Professor Wen looked at the kids' expressions and thought about their little actions during this period.
Li Wu widened his eyes. How did grandma find out? He looked at Li Wen.
"Grandma's birthday is coming. We want to give her a surprise."
Li Wen thought for a while and then said. There was no other way. Their abilities as kids were limited, or rather, their pocket money was limited.
They had also thought about making money, but they had to go to school, study, and do training. The time they could squeeze out was too little.
The only way they thought they could make money was to do others' homework for them. However, Li Wen and Li Wu were just in primary school, and the kids in their class could do their own homework. So the only one who made money was Wang Xing.
As for Hu Zhenghao, he had just entered junior high school and was still getting used to a bunch of new subjects. It was already very good for him to finish his own homework.
However, this money - making project was discovered by the teacher in less than two days. Because the correct rate was too high. Even though Wang Xing imitated the kids' handwriting, he still wrote the answers according to his own habits.
They also thought about selling waste, but any item that still had a little use or that the adults thought they might need in the future was all put away. They had nowhere to find waste to pick up.
"So what kind of surprise do you want to prepare?"
Professor Wen was very curious.
"Grandma likes gold!"
Li Wu blurted out.
"Well, how much money do you have in hand? The price of gold is not cheap these days."
"We're not going to buy gold. We want to make a silver comb for grandma. We've been researching it for a long time."
Li Wen said.
"Good. You know how to adjust your plans according to your abilities. You still have to have the ice - cream. But I can't give you the money directly. After all, it's you who want to prepare a gift for your grandma. I can help you find a job to make money. It just depends on whether you're afraid of hard work."
