"you..."
That's two yuan and fifty cents!
I should have known better than to be so stubborn. Would it have been easier to just bow my head and admit my mistake?
Qiu Chunfang was filled with remorse, but there was nothing she could do.
Her palms were covered in cold sweat, and she trembled as she searched her pockets before finally pulling out the few banknotes that were still warm from her body, her fingertips shaking.
Zhou Qiqi took the money from her hand, without looking at Qiu Chunfang's liver-colored face, and threw it in front of Lin Yao.
"Alright, let's go."
Her voice still carried a hint of firmness. After speaking, she and Deng Cuixiang helped Zhu Yingying move out, one on each side.
Zhu Yingying's knees were still throbbing, and she frowned with every step she took. The three of them had just moved to the doorway and were about to help her onto the tricycle parked by the roadside.
Suddenly, I saw three furry little heads lying side by side by the door of the clinic, their dark eyes staring in my direction.
Zhou Qiqi recognized them at a glance: these were Er Meng, San Meng, and Si Meng from Qiu Chunfang's family. She guessed that these little girls had secretly followed them here.
"you..."
Zhou Qiqi was stunned for a moment, and stopped in her tracks.
The little girls all shrank back, burying their heads even lower.
Finally, it was Er Meng, the tallest of the group, who walked to the car, her face full of guilt.
"Aunt Zhu, I'm sorry. It was my fault for not watching my brother properly, which is why he ran in front of your car."
As she spoke, she rummaged through her coarse cloth bag for a while and pulled out a few crumpled bills, some one cent and some two cents, with curled edges.
"I have two cents here, which my sister and I pooled together..."
Zhou Qiqi, Deng Cuixiang, and Zhu Yingying exchanged a glance, and their initial stubbornness instantly softened.
Er Meng is only twelve years old this year, so taking care of children shouldn't be her job in the first place.
Zhu Yingying endured the pain, took half a step forward, raised her hand to rub Er Meng's hair, and then pinched her dirty little face.
"Take these and buy some candy yourselves, Aunt Zhu doesn't want them."
"Let's go."
Seeing that Zhu Yingying's forehead was covered in fine sweat again, Zhou Qiqi quickly reached out to help her lean towards the car.
Er Meng stood there, staring blankly at the three people's backs, still clutching the few small bills in her hand.
Suddenly, she heard her mother's sharp scolding voice coming from the clinic.
"Er Meng! How dare you stand here like that! You three couldn't even keep an eye on your little brother, and he ended up in the clinic. You think you're so great now!"
Er Meng shuddered, hurriedly stuffed the money into her sock, gave her two younger sisters a wink, signaling them to go first, and faced the furious Qiu Chunfang alone.
Zhou Qiqi and Deng Cuixiang helped Zhu Yingying home and laid her on the bed.
Zhu Yingying's knee wound had just been treated and was wrapped in thick gauze, but the seeping bloodstains still made people's hearts clench.
Zhou Qiqi sat on the edge of the bed, her heart aching as she looked at the gauze, her voice choked with sobs.
"It's all my fault. You've only just started learning to ride a bike, and I shouldn't have let go. If I had held on the whole time, you wouldn't have fallen."
Zhu Yingying lay there, catching her breath, then raised her hand to pat Zhou Qiqi's arm, a slight smile appearing on her face.
"What kind of talk is that? It was purely an accident, it has nothing to do with you, don't look so down."
Deng Cuixiang glanced at the wall clock; the hour hand was almost pointing to six o'clock. She quickly interjected.
"Alright, alright, let's not talk about these depressing things anymore. It's almost lunchtime, the kids must be starving. I'll go make some hot dry noodles. We still have noodles and pickled mustard greens at home, it's ready."
Zhou Qiqi nodded, and was about to get up when she suddenly seemed to remember something.
"Oh dear, our bicycle is still on the playground! I'll go get it and bring it back."
This is a military dependents' area, after all. There was no one on the parade ground at the moment, but the two bicycles were still standing there perfectly fine.
Zhou Qiqi first rode her own bike back to the yard, then turned around to push Zhu Yingying's bike.
Just as she was about to raise the roof beam, she spotted Sister Wang and Grandma Wang coming from the opposite direction. She quickly squeezed the brakes, stopped the car, and greeted them.
Sister-in-law Wang walked quickly and reached them in just a few steps.
"Qiqi, have you seen Chunfang? I just heard that she came back from selling flowers, but I've been looking for her for ages and haven't seen her anywhere."
Zhou Qiqi briefly recounted what had happened at the clinic.
"I was at the clinic just now, I should be back by now."
Sister-in-law Wang was very worried and asked, "Is Yingying alright?"
Zhou Qiqi smiled slightly, "It's okay, the doctor treated it and gave me a tetanus shot."
As the two were talking, Granny Wang circled the bicycle twice, her eyes fixed on the phoenix logo on the front of the bike, touching it repeatedly, her tone tinged with sarcasm.
"Wow, you've bought a bicycle now? And it's a Phoenix brand, looks really cool!"
She paused, then pouted and said.
"But I have to say, you guys, if you bought a car, fine, but why did you have to ride it around the playground to show it off? You deserved to fall!"
The anger that Zhou Qiqi had just suppressed flared up again.
That's just how Granny Wang is. She's used to a hard life, so she doesn't think much of anything and can find fault with everything.
Her face darkened, and her voice turned cold. "Secondhand, not worth showing off. I'll head back now if there's nothing else."
After saying that, she pushed off with her foot, and the bicycle shot off with a creak, kicking up a cloud of dust that made Granny Wang cough.
"Why……"
Sister-in-law Wang tried to call her back, but it was too late. She turned around and tugged at Grandma Wang's sleeve, her face showing a hint of disapproval.
"Mom, what are you doing? We're all military dependents from the same compound. It's not nice of you to say that."
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