Xiao Cheng turned around and called out, "Bai Lu."
A deep, resonant voice drifted into the backyard.
Bai Lu ran out, clutching a goosegrass in her left hand and a small shovel in her right: "What's wrong?"
Xiao Wei also peeked half his head out from behind the door.
Upon seeing the lady of the house, the guest immediately snapped out of her daze and quickly stepped aside, saying, "Excuse me, I was blocking your way. I'm a new neighbor who just moved in next door. I came to pay my respects. I hope I haven't disturbed you?"
"No, no, we'd love to welcome you!" Bai Lu put the goose intestines and small shovel into the broken water vat for the time being, and quickly washed her hands to greet them.
"Acheng is quiet and doesn't like to talk much, I hope you don't mind."
"No, no, no, it's my fault for not informing you beforehand." The guest was relieved of his embarrassment by Bai Lu's few words, and he waved his hand repeatedly, his smile becoming much more relaxed.
She has a kind and gentle face, and although she is middle-aged, she still has a rosy complexion. Even the fine lines on her face have been softened and faded. She looks like an easy person to get along with.
Xiao Wei went back to his room to continue doing his homework.
Xiao Cheng was stunned for a moment by Bai Lu's natural and gentle way of calling him "A-Cheng".
They stood there motionless for a long time.
When she looked back, Bailu had already led the guests into the house, poured tea and water, and exchanged pleasantries.
His generous and proper manner of dealing with people was completely different from his previous timid and cowardly self who would bow his head to everyone he met.
"Brother Cheng."
Xiao Dazhuang rushed over: "Haozi got into a fight with the sand and gravel pit owner and is in jail."
Xiao Cheng frowned and walked out: "What happened?"
As Xiao Dazhuang walked, he said, "The gravel pit owner came back at noon. Haozi ran into him when he went to buy cigarettes. I don't know what they said, but they started arguing. Haozi hit the gravel pit owner, and now the owner is going to sue him. Sixteen has already gone to the police station to negotiate with the people inside, but they refuse to budge no matter what they say and want Haozi to stay in there."
Wang Hao is impatient, but he won't get into conflicts with people without reason. He's probably been tricked this time.
The other party refused to budge, and it was at a critical juncture for repayment. They probably had a business deal fall through in another city and wanted to postpone the repayment period. If they were really cunning, they might be trying to extort money from the other party.
This wasn't the first time Xiao Cheng had encountered a deadbeat; after a quick thought, he could roughly deduce the cause and effect.
Wang Hao's wife, Chen Chunli, is pregnant, about a month ahead of the White Dew solar term, and her belly is already showing.
Upon hearing the news that Wang Hao had been arrested, she hurried over to find Xiao Cheng, clutching her pregnant belly.
"You have to help! What will happen to me and the kids if Haozi goes to jail? I've told him so many times not to act so impulsively and recklessly, but he just won't listen. Does he even have a brain?"
Chen Chunli grumbled as she pulled out a small stack of money: "We don't have much money left at home. His father had a stroke and is bedridden, taking medication every day. His mother stays home to take care of him and doesn't work. I'm heavily pregnant, so it's inconvenient for me to go out and earn money."
Xiao Dazhuang was honest and simple, and didn't know how to say nice things. He took the money and comforted her in a deep voice, "Don't worry, we're all brothers. Brother Cheng won't abandon her."
Chen Chunli gave him only a hundred or so yuan. Xiao Cheng glanced at it casually and said nothing.
The people in the bureau were all quite familiar with Xiao Cheng, so when they saw him, they didn't waste any words and went straight to explaining the cause and the course of events.
The conclusion was the same as he had expected.
Finally, the matter was settled by postponing the repayment period of the sand and gravel pit owner, Li Chengbin, by five days, paying him 500 yuan in compensation, and releasing him.
The money wasn't enough, so the brothers chipped in together.
Xiao Cheng distributed cigarettes to several people in the bureau, chatted with them over tea for a while, and left only after greeting the top leader when he returned.
The guest here in Bailu is named Wen Xiuyun. She just moved here from the countryside at noon today.
I was living in Liu Guanggun's house when he sold the house and land last night and moved out.
Wen Xiuyun's husband sells fruit in the city, and she buys it in the town. They have two children in high school.
Liu Guanggun's house was even worse than Xiao Cheng's. It was made of mud bricks and black tiles, leaked everywhere when it rained, and was full of potholes, dilapidated and shabby.
“We want to demolish the old house and rebuild it into a small red brick building, but we don’t know who in town works on construction sites. Your son Xiao Cheng knows a lot of people, so could you please ask him to keep an eye out for us?” Wen Xiuyun said, handing a bamboo basket full of fruit to Bai Lu.
"We don't have anything fancy at home, just lots of fruit, and they're all pretty sweet. You should try some."
The bottom of the bamboo basket was covered with a layer of sugarcane, and on top were piled large, deep red tangerines, bright yellow starfruit, and a bunch of large, round, orange-yellow loquats.
This basket of fruit weighs several kilograms, and it's all carefully selected high-quality fruit, so it's not cheap.
Bai Lu took three large tangerines as a token gesture, then smiled and gently declined, saying, "We're all neighbors, it's only right that we help each other out. You don't need to be so polite. It's not difficult to find a construction team to build a house. I'll talk to Xiao Cheng about it later."
Before Wen Xiuyun arrived, the Bai Lu she knew was not the sensible person she was in front of her.
Seeing is believing, hearing is deceiving.
She stood up, placed the fruit basket on the table, and her tone became much more friendly: "If you don't mind, you can call me Fifth Aunt from now on. I'll just take advantage of your seniority."
After saying that, he strode out.
She was afraid that Bailu would return the fruit basket to her again.
Bai Lu hurried back to her room, grabbed a stack of bags of longevity cakes and a stack of chicken biscuits, and chased after them to return the gifts.
"Fifth Aunt, I bought some pancakes yesterday. They taste pretty good. Take them home and try them."
Wen Xiuyun had already reached the courtyard gate when she was given two handfuls of pancakes. Bai Lu smiled broadly, and Wen Xiuyun couldn't refuse, so she smiled and replied "Yes" before taking them home.
A moment later, Xiao Wei came out with his schoolbag on his back; it was time to go to school.
Bai Lu shoved a large tangerine into his hand, patted his head, and said, "What else do you like to eat? Go get it from the basket. School is so hard, you can't go hungry!"
Xiao Wei frowned, wanting to swat the hand above his head, but the heavy fruit in his hand made him change his mind.
He took out the money he had left in his pocket last night and gave it to her, saying, "It's for the pancakes."
Last night, Xiao Wei opened his schoolbag and found a lot of pancakes inside, which were packed separately in bags.
He had seen many of his classmates eat those pancakes, saying that they were bought by their parents and that they could eat as many as they wanted.
He has no parents, so he has no pancakes.
But last night, he couldn't resist eating one. It was delicious, just like he had imagined.
Bai Lu said the new schoolbag was bought with her brother's money, but Bingzi didn't say that.
Bai Lu knew exactly what the little kid was thinking without even thinking, and chuckled, "Keep it for yourself to buy whatever you like. If you need anything in the future, just tell me. Your brother's money is with me."
Xiao Cheng paid for Xiao Wei's school fees, and he also bought the rice, flour, and cooking oil for the family.
The notebooks, paper, pens, and other school supplies were the New Year's money his mother used to give him.
He had a total of ten yuan, which he spent in three years before he started collecting plastic bottles to sell and buy a schoolbag.
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