Chapter 22 Taking him out to collect scraps

Xie Zhizhi, however, was in a very good mood.

After the two found a table and sat down, Zhou Xie still whispered his defense, "Auntie, I really didn't take your money."

Zhou Xie's face was full of a wronged expression.

Xie Zhizhi: She knows!

Only those who have wronged others know how wronged the wronged person truly is.

But so what? She was just giving him a taste of his own medicine.

The difference might be that she succeeded, while Zhou Xie's skills were insufficient, and he failed.

But is that her fault?

Zhou Xie blames himself for being less skilled than others!

Xie Zhizhi lowered her head and ate her steamed bun. "Xiao Xie, what do you want? Just tell your aunt. I'm your aunt, how could I not buy it for you?"

Xie Zhizhi did not answer his question, but instead used words to corroborate the fact that he had stolen money.

The gazes from all around, drawn by the sound, made Zhou Xie tremble with rage, his eyes glaring even more hatefully at Xie Zhizhi sitting opposite him.

Xie Zhizhi didn't care at all and happily ate her vegetable buns and savory tofu pudding.

Oh dear, last night's dishes were all heavy meat dishes, and it was quite greasy.

This early morning, eating tofu pudding and vegetable buns is just the right amount to cleanse the stomach and intestines.

Xie Zhizhi wronged someone, and she had a very good appetite.

Zhou Xie's appetite has not been very good.

Xie Zhizhi had almost finished her breakfast, but he hadn't even touched his.

Xie Zhizhi immediately said, "You child, you can't just be greedy for snacks. You still need to eat your meals."

"How can you gain weight and grow taller if you only crave cookies and malted milk powder?"

Zhou Xie: Did he buy him malted milk powder?

I've bought cookies before, but when have I ever bought malted milk powder?

This woman's husband gives all his monthly allowance to his parents, so where does she get the money to buy malted milk powder?

She's lying!

Zhou Xie finally realized that Xie Zhizhi had told a lot of lies from last night until now.

Just as Zhou Xie was about to loudly expose her, Xie Zhizhi reached out and pulled the steamed buns and tofu pudding in front of him towards her. "You child, you... never mind, you've finished the malted milk powder, I'll buy you some more!"

Looking at the steamed buns and tofu pudding far away from him, Zhou Xie had a feeling that if he didn't eat them, he wouldn't be able to eat anything until noon.

And lunch will probably be just vegetables and rice again...

So before he could even utter the words "You're lying," Zhou Xie quickly reached out and pressed down on the lunchbox, shouting, "I'll eat!"

Xie Zhizhi immediately smiled gently and said, "That's a good girl!"

"Eat quickly, I'll take you out later!"

Xie Zhizhi's inner thoughts: That brat, he reacts so quickly, it's not easy to let him go hungry.

After Zhou Xie finished eating, Xie Zhizhi really took him out.

I took him out to collect scraps.

Walking down the street, Zhou Xie refused to accept the snakeskin bag and pliers that Xie Zhizhi offered him.

Xie Zhizhi, dressed in patched clothes, narrowed her beautiful eyes, revealing a sorrowful expression. "Xiao Xie, your aunt knows you're still young. Your aunt should take care of your food and drink."

"But my aunt also has her own difficulties!"

"My aunt is married and has her own family now!"

"It was already difficult enough for your uncle to agree to raise you, and now he also has to support your schooling. Your aunt doesn't have a job, and the whole family depends on him. He's just an ordinary person, and even if he works all night shifts, the allowance he receives isn't enough to cover the expenses of this whole family!"

"Xiao Xie, please be understanding of your aunt!"

"You can collect this junk with your aunt, and when you sell it, your aunt will send you to school!"

"You're so old, how can you not go to school!" Xie Zhizhi cried even harder as she said this, her shoulders shaking.

She was so thin, it looked like a gust of wind could blow her away.

His clothes were also extremely tattered.

The fabric had turned white, and patches were sewn onto the shoulders and edges of the garment.

So immediately a kind old lady came forward to comfort Xie Zhizhi, who was "crying sadly," and asked, "Is this child your nephew?"

Xie Zhizhi nodded sadly.

The kind-hearted old lady then cautiously asked, "Where are his parents?"

When asked this, Xie Zhizhi became even more heartbroken.

A kind-hearted old lady: Oh no, it seems my parents are really dead.

As a result, after Xie Zhizhi finished being heartbroken, she began to complain, "My brother and sister-in-law live in the countryside. They think that the countryside is not as good as the city, so they just dumped me here and don't care about me anymore."

A kind-hearted old lady: It's almost the same as being dead.

Immediately, the kind-hearted old woman started cursing, "You heartless bastard who only gives birth but doesn't raise your child, you'll be struck by lightning sooner or later. You have hands and feet, yet you let someone else raise your child. You're utterly despicable."

After cursing her heartless parents, the kind-hearted old lady looked at Zhou Xie and said, "You're not a child anymore. You need to be sensible. It's not your fault that you have parents like that."

"But since your parents treat you this way, you need to be able to tell who is right and who is wrong."

“Your aunt is not your mother, and she has no obligation to raise you. You should be understanding of her difficulties.”

The kind-hearted old lady looked Zhou Xie up and down. He was dressed cleanly, his clothes were almost new, and his skin was smooth and tender. "Look at how hard your aunt has worked to raise you so well. It's enough to prove how much your aunt loves you. Don't be ungrateful."

Just as the kind old lady finished her lecture, another kind aunt appeared beside her, pointing at Zhou Xie and starting to lecture, "That's right, look how thin your aunt is, she could be blown away by a gust of wind."

"Life is already so hard, and now I have to drag you down with me."

"She doesn't have a job, so what's wrong with her thinking of taking you to collect recyclables to supplement the family income?"

"The working people are the most glorious!"

The onlookers immediately exclaimed in unison, "The working people are the most glorious!"

Zhou Xie was constantly being criticized by you and others, to the point that he wished he could die on the spot, unable to utter a single word in rebuttal.

After all, he was only eight years old.

So when the kind old lady finally asked him, "Will you help your aunt with chores in the future?"

Zhou Xie chose to bury himself in the garbage dump.

The kind-hearted grandmother and aunt were very pleased to see this, saying, "That's right, we should help your aunt with the work; your aunt has it tough."

"That's right, that's right, they're not little kids anymore, they need to be sensible," onlookers also said.

Zhou Xie: A group of lunatics.

Because Xie Zhizhi would throw mud at him regardless of the time or place, Zhou Xie dutifully spent the whole morning rummaging through the trash.

I sold it for 38 cents at the recycling station at noon.

Xie Zhizhi treated him to a five-cent sesame seed cake.

Zhou Xie: He's not going to make it; he's going to run away.

"I need to go to the toilet!"

"Okay, let's go!"

Zhou Xie looked at Xie Zhizhi, who was following closely behind him, and said, "I can go by myself!"

Xie Zhizhi immediately shook her head, "How can that be?"

"We're outside, not at home. What if a bad guy kidnaps you?"

"No, I won't go with him," Zhou Xie assured him.

He doesn't follow others, but he runs on his own.

Xie Zhizhi shook her head again, "You're just a kid. They knock you out and carry you away. Do you expect them to talk to you nicely?"

Zhou Xie “…”

He's going crazy.

After another afternoon of picking, Xie Zhizhi treated Zhou Xie to vegetables and rice for dinner, and she also got an extra chicken leg for herself.

She munched on a chicken leg and said to Zhou Xie, "You only found 86 cents today. After deducting breakfast and lunch, you only have enough to buy one chicken leg for dinner, so I ate it."