As soon as he stepped out of the room, he bumped into his younger brother and sister who were eavesdropping under the window. When Xu An discovered them, the two screamed and ran frantically through the yard, shouting as they ran, "Brother is here! Brother is so scary!"

Xu An laughed and scolded the two men a few times before returning to his room to find clean clothes.

In high school, everyone wore the same school uniform: two sets of short-sleeved shirts for summer and two sets of long-sleeved shirts for winter. Shoes were the same: Warrior, a well-established domestic brand, available in either white with blue trim or white with red trim.

After rummaging through the heavy wooden box by the bedside, I found only four sets of school uniforms: two summer sets and two winter sets, a black cotton-padded coat for winter, two sweaters, two sets of thermal underwear, and three pieces of undergarments. There were no other clothes.

No wonder I remember wearing this outfit the whole summer vacation; it turns out I didn't have any other everyday clothes besides this one.

The school uniforms are of very good quality. After three years of washing and changing them, they are only a little old. They are not deformed or faded. They look like they can last another three or four years.

After changing his clothes, Xu An took out 21.5 yuan from the 51.5 yuan and put it in his pocket, leaving the remaining 30 yuan under the wooden box.

I glanced at the alarm clock; it was almost eleven o'clock. The market usually closes around nine o'clock, so I definitely wouldn't be able to buy anything if I went there now. I'd better go to the butcher's house at the west end of the village and see if he has any leftover meat that I can buy.

After locking the gate and instructing the two not to open it until he returned, Xu An walked toward the west end of the village with peace of mind.

The butcher's name was Xu Guosheng. Every day, he would slaughter a pig from the pig farm in town and sell it at the market. He would bring the leftover meat home and sell it to the villagers at a lower price.

After walking for more than five minutes, Xu An finally arrived at Xu Guosheng's yard. From a distance, he could hear Xu Guosheng's wife gossiping loudly.

"We came back late from the market this morning and didn't see it. I heard that Xu An jumped into the river early this morning. When they pulled him out, he was covered in blood. It was terrifying."

"That's all baseless, don't talk nonsense. Why would someone jump into the river for no reason? I guess they were trying to catch fish and accidentally drowned."

"Then how did it get all bloody?"

"How would I know? I didn't see it either."

Xu An touched his nose somewhat awkwardly; it seemed that he was the subject of their gossip.

This will probably be a topic of conversation among villagers for some time to come; we'll get used to it.

Xu An took a few more steps, making a noise, and pushed open the gate of Xu Guosheng's courtyard. He greeted the two of them as if he had just arrived: "Uncle Guosheng, Auntie, is there any leftover meat for sale at the market today?"

As they were gossiping about Xu An, he suddenly appeared in the courtyard, startling the two of them. Their bodies visibly twitched when they saw him.

Xu Guosheng's wife reacted quickly, turning around and walking into the room, saying as she went, "There's some lean meat and bones left, how much do you want?"

Meat prices were relatively cheap in 2012, with pork costing ten yuan per jin and large bones costing seven yuan per jin.

I need to make some bone broth for Grandma and stir-fry two meat dishes. But we don't have a refrigerator, so I'll only get a small amount of meat, just enough for two meals.

"I'll just need one pound of bones and half a pound of meat, thank you for your trouble, Auntie."

"No trouble at all. There's not much left, so I'll give it all to you. Just give me fifteen yuan in total."

As she spoke, Xu Guosheng's wife handed a bulging red plastic bag to Xu An, took fifteen yuan from his hand, pushed him out of the yard, and closed the gate.

Xu An weighed the bag in his hand; it was at least three and a half pounds. His aunt had closed the gate because she was worried he wouldn't take it.

Although he was touched, Xu An wasn't one to take advantage of others. He counted out another five yuan and slipped it through the crack in the gate, saying loudly, "Auntie, I've put the rest of the money in the crack. Remember to take it so the wind doesn't blow it away."

The door was pushed open with a bang, and Xu Guosheng's wife only saw Xu An's retreating figure.

He picked up five one-yuan bills from the ground, closed the gate, and muttered to himself, "Why did he give me five extra yuan? I'll put it on his tab and charge him five yuan less next time."

Xu Guosheng walked into the kitchen and let out a wail: "Wife, I was saving the big bones for soup, did you sell them all?"

Xu Guosheng's wife glared at him and said irritably, "You think skipping a meal is a way to lose weight? Look at all that fat on you, you wobble every time you walk, and you still have the nerve to eat?"

"If you don't want to eat, then don't eat. Why are you being so fierce?" Xu Guosheng turned around and muttered to himself, "We all have the same figure, why are you only talking about me?"

There was no one on the road when I came here, but I ran into quite a few familiar people on the way back.

Everyone greeted Xu An first, then turned around and began to whisper among themselves.

Xu An responded, "If you want to gossip about me, wait until I'm a little further away. I can hear you all!"

As soon as they reached the gate, they saw two little heads peeking through the crack, staring longingly at the outside. After confirming that it was their older brother, the two of them worked together to open the gate and ran to Xu An's side, cheering and chattering away.

"Brother, we've been watching from behind the door the whole time, and it hasn't been opened!"

"Brother, what are you holding?"

"Brother, is this meat? Is this pig meat?"

"elder brother,......"

"......"

Xu An, whose head was buzzing from the noise, squatted down and picked up the two of them, one in each arm.

After a gasp, the two hugged Xu An's head tightly, covering his eyes completely.

"Xiao Kang and Xiao Le, you're holding me too tight! I can't see where I'm going to fall!"

"Don't fall, don't fall, it hurts when you fall."

The two girls moved their small hands that were covering their heads down a little, one covering Xu An's mouth and the other choking him.

Okay, at least I can see the road now.

"Malaysia, hurry up!"

"Hold on tight, Dama's about to start walking!"

Xu An deliberately swayed his body, causing the two of them to squeal and scream.

He carried the two of them around the yard before putting them down and opening the plastic bag to show them the pork inside.

"This is pork meat, which will be turned into super delicious meat patties and super super super delicious stir-fried meat in a while."

These are big pig bones; we're going to make soup for Grandma. After Grandma drinks the soup, she'll be able to get out of bed and play with Xiaokang and Xiaole.

In Xu An's description, the two little figures looked at the meat, and a drop of crystal-clear saliva spilled from the corner of their mouths.

"Oh my, these two little gluttons are drooling."

Enraged by Xu An's mockery, the two wiped the drool from their mouths and pointed at Xu An, shouting, "Brother is a big glutton! A big glutton!"

Grandma Xu, who had been lying on her side, suddenly turned over and smiled as she listened to the noises of the three siblings playing outside.

No matter how tough life gets, things will gradually get better as long as we work together.