Chapter 129 Taking an Inch and a Mile

After dinner, Chen Fangli took her away from the Chen family home on her bicycle.

Shen Xuewei sat in the back seat, shining a flashlight to light the way for Chen Fangli.

"Second Aunt, can you see?"

"As you can see, just take the picture like this."

"good!"

The two strolled leisurely toward the Chu family home. On the way, Chen Fangli asked Shen Xuewei some questions about school, and Shen Xuewei told her the good side of it.

As for some bad things, they were kept quiet.

After Chen Fangqiu agreed to meet the teacher at the school, Shen Xuewei felt much more relaxed.

Even when Chu De'an spilled ink on her notebook while she was doing her homework the next day, she wasn't angry.

Chu De'an looked at the ink stain on his notebook and prepared to retreat.

To his surprise, Shen Xuewei simply smiled and capped the ink bottle that had spilled some ink, even comforting him:

"It's okay, I know it was an accident. I'll just do another copy of the homework later."

Chu De'an looked up and sized her up. Seeing her calm expression, which even carried a strange sense of pleasure, he seized the opportunity to press his advantage and said:

"Sister, can I not do my homework? Just this once. When I go to school, I'll tell the teacher that it was torn to pieces by my grandma's dog, Dahuang."

Shen Xuewei's smile grew even brighter. "What do you think?"

Chu De'an noticed her hand near his ear and shook his head ingratiatingly, saying:

"Sis, I was just joking with you."

"Write! I'll take out my homework and start writing right now!"

Shen Xuewei put her hand down and her face hardened.

"Okay, then hurry up and get your homework. I'll watch you write it. Don't even think about getting Little Fatty to write it for you; I can recognize both of your handwriting."

"If I find out later, you'll be in big trouble!"

Chu De'an, with a bitter face, went back to his room and dug out his homework.

Under Shen Xuewei's watchful eye, he obediently did his homework.

After confirming that he had finished all his homework, Shen Xuewei mercifully said, "Alright. Since you worked so hard this time, how about I treat you to something to eat at the convenience store later?"

Chu De'an, no longer looking dejected, asked, "Really? Then can I buy a snack for five yuan this time?"

Shen Xuewei smiled and replied, "Sure. I'll buy whatever you want to eat. Come on, let's go now, I have to go back to school soon."

Chu De'an then pulled her along and ran towards the village store. "Sister, let's go to the store first. I have so many things I want to eat..."

It was past lunchtime, and the convenience store was nearly empty except for the elderly man tending it, who was dozing off behind the counter.

Upon arriving at the convenience store, Chu De'an dashed inside.

The old man slowly opened his eyes when he heard footsteps.

"Oh, it's De'an. What do you want to buy? Just pick it yourself. Call me when you're done."

"Yes, Aunt Jin, I understand."

Shen Xuewei slowly walked in from the door and saw Chu De'an clutching several bags of snacks with a conflicted expression.

"Do you want this one, or this one...?"

Seeing this, Shen Xuewei said, "Take them all. But just take one pack of spicy strips, otherwise you'll get a stomachache if you eat too much and then you'll be crying out in pain."

Chu De'an was initially delighted, but after thinking about it, he decided to put two of the items down.

"Okay, sis, that's enough. I can't spend too much of your money. If I buy too much, you won't have enough for your allowance and you'll go hungry at school."

Shen Xuewei raised her hand and patted his head. "Don't worry, I have money, I won't go hungry."

She has 110,000 to 120,000 yuan in her bank account now, so she wouldn't be so stingy about buying some snacks.

Given her age, it's best not to let others know that she has so much savings.

I don't buy many other things on a regular basis, and I've been very discreet...

No one else knew she had so much money except her.

She had a good relationship with Chu De'an and often stayed at the Chu family's house.

Buying small snacks and toys occasionally in private is nothing.

She took the bags of snacks that Chu De'an had just bought, and then picked up a bottle of bubble solution.

"Didn't you say you wanted to blow bubbles yesterday? I'll buy you a bottle of bubble solution, why don't you go find your friends and play together?"

Chu De'an nodded emphatically, "Sister, you are so good to me. I will definitely take care of you when I grow up."

Shen Xuewei's face darkened. "Do I need you to be filial to me? Just be filial to your parents and study hard."

Chu De'an scratched his head and chuckled, "I know, sis."

Snacks cost two or five cents a pack, and bubble solution was only one dollar a bottle.

The total cost of everything Shen Xuewei bought was less than five yuan.

The old man at the convenience store packed it in a small bag for her, knowing it was for Chu De'an, and handed it directly to Chu De'an.

Chu De'an received a bag of things and couldn't wait to open a pack of rice crackers to eat. He also took out the bottle of bubble solution to play with.

They ate while blowing bubbles.

The two retraced their steps along the village road. When they were almost back at the Chu family home, Chu De'an hid the things behind his back.

He furtively looked around, and when he realized that Grandpa Chu wasn't in the living room and that Chu Fu and Chen Fangli weren't home either, he quickly ran inside and slammed the door shut.

Shen Xuewei slowly walked back to the Chu family home, packed her things, took everything she needed, and then zipped up her schoolbag.

She came out of the room with her schoolbag on her back and said to Grandpa Chu and Chu De'an who were at home:

"Grandpa Chu, De'an, I'm going back to school. You two stay home and take good care of yourselves. When my second aunt and uncle come back later, please tell them for me."

Grandpa Chu came out of the craftsman's room and dusted off the wood shavings.

"Hey, did Ali give you your allowance for this week? If not, I have some here..."

Shen Xuewei put her hands behind her back, stepped out the door and said, "I gave it to her. My second aunt gave me my living expenses this morning."

Grandpa Chu put the money back into his pocket and took off his apron.

“Okay, if Ali gave it, I won’t. I’ll take you to the side of the road to wait for the bus. There are minibuses passing by on this road recently. They’re more spacious than vans. Take this one, instead of squeezing into a van.”

Shen Xuewei walked with him toward the roadside. "Okay, then let's take the minibus from now on. Last time the van was packed with people, I almost couldn't squeeze on."

Grandpa Chu glanced at her and smiled, "Last Sunday was market day, so there were a lot of people going to town. This time it's not, so it shouldn't be as rushed."

After hiding the snacks, Chu De'an chased after the two of them.

"Grandpa, sister, wait for me! I want to go wait for the bus with you. I don't want to be alone in the house."

The two people in front of him slowed down slightly to wait for him. "Hurry up. There's only one minibus at 2 o'clock. If you're late, you'll have to wait for the next one, which will take at least an hour or two."

Chu De'an ran quickly to their side. "Coming, coming."

When the three of them reached the roadside, there were five minutes left until two o'clock.

A mother and child were already waiting for the bus by the roadside. Everyone knew them, so Grandpa Chu started chatting with the woman.

We had only been chatting for a couple of minutes when a minibus drove up from a distance.

Chu De'an pointed to the minibus lane: "The bus is here!"