Chapter 33 Reencounter with Wang Tianci

The next morning, in the eastern suburbs, beside the railway tracks!

Thump! Thump!

The boy ruthlessly dumped the broken coal from the bamboo basket onto the roadside.

"Hey, you stinky Jiang Chao, I painstakingly collected these coals, and you... you've gone too far!"

The coal in the kitchen ran out last night, and before dawn, the boy woke me up. Still half asleep, I was led to the railway tracks.

After spending so much effort collecting half a basket of coal, he dumped it all away. How could Yunxia not be angry!

Upon hearing this, the boy slightly raised his eyes, staring at the girl who looked like a pufferfish with an inscrutable expression. "Yunxia, ​​you used to be a good coal collector. How come you've regressed after not collecting coal for a month?"

"What...what do you mean?"

Yun Xia's eyes flickered slightly as she frantically searched for the original owner's memories. Finally, she frowned and stared at the broken coal pieces lying on the ground with a puzzled look, thinking to herself, "There's no difference!"

The gloomy young man snorted coldly, stomped on the broken coal on the ground, took out another piece from his basket, stomped on it, and said coldly, "Did you find it?"

"One shattered into pieces, the other... shriveled into a lump?"

"Heh, not too stupid. The coal in the basket is damp and hardened, it won't burn at all. Yunxia, ​​did your fever damage your brain? How could you not understand common sense?"

He had heard that the girl had a fever of 39.3°C on the day she left the Wang family, and there was indeed a possibility that the fever could damage her brain.

Yun Xia, her heart pounding, chuckled sheepishly. "Hey, practice makes perfect. On the other hand, if you don't practice for a long time, you'll become rusty. Plus, I haven't had enough sleep, so my mind isn't very clear. Wait here, I'll pick up another basket of coal."

He bent down to pick up the bamboo basket, and without looking back, ran away as if there were wolves and tigers behind him.

"hehe!"

The boy, with a stern face, slung his basket over his shoulder and strode after him.

As the sun rose, the two had just finished collecting coal. The little girl's stomach was growling with hunger, so Jiang Chao took her home.

"Wow, so much coal to collect! It's free, I'll go collect some tomorrow too!"

"Ha, with your temper, if your shoes get dirty, you'll just throw them in the trash. This little bit of coal isn't even worth your shoelaces, and... can you even get up?"

"Hey, don't underestimate me, little butterfly, let's go pick some tomorrow!"

Yun Xia, her fingers red and her face contorted in pain, shook her head frantically upon hearing this, "Big brother, have you forgotten? We have to go to school tomorrow!"

The boy slapped his forehead, suddenly realizing, "Oh my memory! How could I forget that? Little Butterfly, how about... we meet next weekend?"

The little girl pursed her lips, didn't answer, turned around and went into the kitchen, her refusal quite obvious.

Feng Jingling had no choice but to shift her invitation target to Xiao Jiang'an, who was engrossed in painting at his desk.

"Teacher, I'm not going out. If you speak, I'll go back inside and hide in a box, and I won't talk to you all day!"

Upon hearing this, the young man fell silent. He dared not go alone, so he sighed and sat down forlornly on the steps.

...

After staying overnight that day, Feng Jingling stayed at the Jiang family's house, insisting on giving her godmother 50 yuan for living expenses, claiming that she couldn't 'eat for free'!

Their personal belongings were brought over in a car. Wu Lifang took charge and hired a carpenter to widen the bed, turning it from a vertical to a horizontal position, creating enough space for five people to sleep.

The fact that he was driven to and from school attracted the attention of the neighbors. Jiang Chao, who was already filled with anger, gave him a good scolding before he reluctantly walked to and from school.

On Friday afternoon, at Grandma's Dumpling Restaurant, Yunxia had just stuffed the little note into her schoolbag when Jiang Chao, with a stern face, lifted the curtain and came in.

"Hey, where's big brother?"

"Hmph, got a craving and went to the convenience store to buy some snacks!"

"He's quite persistent. Here, large pork and chive dumplings, want to try some?"

"I'm not hungry, I won't eat!"

Even though she paid for it herself, she still felt a little guilty that only she got to eat dumplings out of the three of them.

He asked Aunt Pang for an empty bowl and chopsticks, poured half a dumpling into the empty bowl, and shoved the wooden chopsticks into his palm.

"My aunt made these especially for me. They have thin skins and lots of filling. I don't eat much, so I can't finish them all by myself. Can you help me share? Let's finish them together, and not leave a single one for Fengjingling, okay?"

"Heh, three bowls of rice in one meal, and you call that small?"

Although the boy was sharp-tongued, he still sat down, wiped his chopsticks on the hem of his clothes, and buried his head in eating the soup dumplings with gusto.

Seeing him give in, the little girl, who was taking small bites of the dumpling wrapper, couldn't help but laugh.

After finishing the dumplings, he insisted on giving Aunt Pang 2 mao (0.2 yuan). The two sat for a while, but no one came over.

"You're so slow, taking forever to choose a snack. You might as well stay in the convenience store."

"Jiang Chao, waiting here won't do any good. Let's go out and look for him!"

After saying that, he slung his schoolbag over his shoulder, greeted Aunt Pang, and pulled her arm to walk outside.

"Hey, stop right there, you brat! You've gotten so much fatter these past few days!"

Well, before we even got to the convenience store, we ran into Wang Tianci, a fat man with a mouth full of spicy snacks and chili oil. He looked absolutely disgusting!

"A good dog doesn't block the way, get out of the way, we have important business to attend to!"

"Pah! Did you pave this road? I'm not going to let you pass."

As he spoke, his chubby hands, smeared with red oil, made a gesture as if to grab the little girl's pigtails. Jiang Chao narrowed his eyes and pulled Yun Xia behind him.

"Wang Tianci, haven't you learned your lesson from last time?"

The chubby boy, who had been pampered by his cronies, suddenly realized that there was a menacing figure standing next to the brat. He staggered back in fright, but then remembered that his underlings were nearby, and immediately regained his confidence.

"Hmph, afraid of you?! Be smart and get lost. You brat, go tell Director Liu that you want to go back to the Wang family and get your foster care fees back, otherwise... hehe!"

Yunxia: ...

I haven't seen him for a month, what has he been eating? He's become so bold!

"Pah, keep dreaming, Jiang Chao, let's go. Talking to him makes me sick!"

Feeling humiliated, the chubby boy got really angry, yelling and calling for a bunch of his underlings.

"This guy's got no guts, go and beat him up!"

The boy, his fists clenched and his expression one of restraint, pierced the rough-looking 'enemy' with sharp eyes that were like knives!

"Go on, what are you standing there for? You've probably forgotten who paid for the stuff in your pocket, haven't you?"

Upon hearing this, Yun Xia raised an eyebrow and looked at their bulging pockets.

Sour plum powder, throat lozenges, sweet apricots, spicy strips...

Well, a few snacks were enough to win over a bunch of followers. No wonder it was an era of scarcity.

"Stop dawdling, let's all attack together!"

The boy took off his bag, rolled up his sleeves, picked up a brick from the ground, his eyes fierce, and hurled it forward!

Snap!

The bluish-gray bricks split into five pieces, causing the henchmen to gasp in fright.

"Wow, which is harder, asphalt or a head? I'd love to know!"

After saying that, he gave a sinister smile, then bent down and began picking through the bricks.

"This piece is of decent weight, but unfortunately it's irregularly shaped!"

"This piece is well-formed, but unfortunately it wasn't fired properly; there are too many air holes, making it difficult to work with."

"Hey, this one's good. It's evenly fired and the weight is just right. I'll take it!"