Xu Mengyao carefully examined the four men. Aside from Guizi, who looked a bit serious, the other three looked very friendly. Especially Badan, who was white and plump and looked particularly harmless.

But she also knew that appearance could not fully represent a person's character and ability. After all, she was not Sun Wukong, and she did not have the Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils.

So she suggested, "I don't know you guys very well yet, and setting up a stall isn't for everyone. How about this? Starting tomorrow, you two will form a team and take turns helping out every day, each responsible for half a day. How about we give it a try?"

The four of them readily agreed, made an appointment, and then everyone went their separate ways.

On the way home after closing the stall, Xu Mengyao curiously asked Huang Wenbin: "Does Brother Jie have any leaders in his family?"

Huang Wenbin looked at Xu Mengyao in surprise and replied, "How do you know? His father is the head of the coal mining area."

Xu Mengyao smiled and said, "You can pretty much guess what he's talking about just by looking at his clothes. Look how generous he is when buying things for his girlfriend, spending dozens of dollars at a time. How could an average family do that? But then again, you guys are only in your second year of high school, and you're already dating?"

Huang Wenbin curled his lips in disdain and said, "Don't bring us together. I'm not dating anyone. But there are indeed many people in school who are dating. To be honest, I don't know what they have to talk about.

I have to spend time with my partner, and when I have money I have to spend it on her first. How can I be as happy as I am? I spend the money I earn on myself, and play games when I have free time. What's the point of that? I'm not even old enough to get married yet, and if I date, I'll have to support her for years. If it doesn't work out, I'll be supporting someone else's wife. I won't do that!

Xu Mengyao and Huang Wenrong were both speechless. It seemed Huang Wenbin hadn't gotten the hang of it yet! But on the other hand, his elder brother wasn't wrong. Who cares? It wasn't her business to worry about it, after all. She was still a child under 13.

After a few days of setting up shop, Xu Mengyao found the four friends her eldest brother Huang Wenbin had brought along quite suitable, so she decided to stay with them. Shaozi and Niaowu were eloquent, always cleverly catching the attention of women and making their stalls incredibly popular. Badan, like a smiling Maitreya Buddha, attracted children who loved to gather around him and listen to his jokes. And Guizi, though quiet and rarely smiling, always had a keen eye, alert to every moment when help was needed. He moved goods with impeccable agility, always able to quickly find the style and size a customer desired.

That day, Huang's mother took Wenxia back to her grandmother's house for a short stay. After Xu Mengyao saw that the four of them had become proficient in the craft, she decided to give herself, her eldest brother, and her eldest sister a break. As the three of them ate ice cream and walked home, Xu Mengyao curiously asked Huang Wenbin:

"Brother, are their names nicknames? Brother Whistle and Brother Parrot are fine, but my sister and I can't just call them Brother Devil and Brother Bastard."

Huang Wenbin laughed heartily and explained, "Whistle got that nickname because he whistles the loudest. Parrot's real name is Yin Wu, which isn't much different. Guizi, because his last name is Gui, everyone started calling him Guizi. As for Badan, that's because his last name is Wang and he's the eighth child in the family, so that's how he got called."

"Bastard? Isn't that just an insult?" Huang Wenrong asked in confusion.

Huang Wenbin waved his hands and said nonchalantly, "Oh, who are you scolding? It's so friendly! We don't call him by his last name, so it's okay if you call him that."

Xu Mengyao thought about it and said to her elder sister, "Okay, from now on, we'll call that ghost Brother Gui, and we'll listen to you for everything else."

When they got home, they saw Grandma Huang sweating profusely while frying popcorn in the main room. The three of them felt distressed. The eldest brother quickly poured a glass of water for Grandma Huang, while the eldest sister took a wet towel to wipe her sweat. Xu Mengyao picked up a fan and gently fanned Grandma, saying:

"Grandma, why don't you just find a shady spot in the yard to do it this summer? It's so hot in this room, and there's no ventilation."

But Huang Nai shook her head stubbornly and said, "No, that girl across the street is staring at our house every day. If I go out today, she will learn 70% or 80% of it tomorrow. I can't go out because I'm not hot."

Seeing Grandma Huang's stubbornness, Xu Mengyao decided to take direct action. She took her older brother and sister to buy a fan from a big store and placed it in the main room.

This made Huang Nai very distressed: "This must cost a lot of money, right? Your fingers are so loose, why did you buy it? That palm-leaf fan is so good, it's too expensive to burn it!"

While blaming Xu Mengyao, Huang Nai wiped the clean fan back and forth with a handkerchief.

Xu Mengyao said cheerfully, "Grandma, I earn money to give our family a good life. Just wait and see, I will buy more big things for our family in the future, so that the old ladies in our mine will envy you."

When Grandma Huang heard this, she didn't say anything, but tears welled up in her eyes. Xu Mengyao, on the other hand, was thinking, "Now that the national policy has been relaxed, I'm going to go to the mall next time I go to Pengcheng to see if I can buy a color TV. I'm going to try to get my family a chance to watch the Spring Festival Gala this year."

The next day, Xu Mengyao went shopping in the city with her older brother Huang Wenbin and older sister Huang Wenrong. They wanted to see where the most traffic was, suitable for setting up a stall, and also hoped to find a suitable place to rent. At noon, Xu Mengyao specially chose the Haishi Restaurant in the city to treat them to lunch.

When Xu Mengyao asked to order six baskets of xiaolongbao, Huang Wenrong was surprised and tried to dissuade her: "How can we finish so many?"

However, when the small and exquisite dumplings were placed in front of her, she was surprised to find that they were much smaller than she expected.

"Why is it so small?" she couldn't help but sigh.

Huang Wenbin picked up a small pig's trotter and said humorously, "Why do people in Hai City have stomachs that are different from ours? Why are all the food so small?"

As soon as these words were spoken, several diners around who were speaking the Haishi dialect looked sideways and cast curious glances.

Xu Mengyao quickly explained: "It's not that the stomachs are different, it's that the living habits are different. Huanshi is in the north, while Haishi is in the south, so the eating habits are naturally more refined."

An old man at the next table took over the conversation with a smile: "You are quite nice to talk to, little girl. We all came to Huanshi from Haishi to build the city. Huanshi is our second home. You should also try our Haishi food, it is also very delicious."

The three responded politely and praised the food after tasting it. After leaving the restaurant, Huang Wenbin pulled Xu Mengyao aside and whispered, "The food in Hai City is not tasty and expensive. Let's not come here again."

Xu Mengyao nodded in agreement, and the three of them walked towards the residential area near the train station, chatting and laughing.