For the little food bucket
Spring came and autumn went, and Hu Tong still couldn't get used to the new peer in her family, but she gradually got rid of her little habit of tattletales.
The reason is simple, yet also complex.
Hu Tong noticed that every time she filed a complaint and Cheng Zhou was punished, the relationship between her mother, Ms. Hu Jiale, and Cheng Zhou became closer.
Hu Tong cut her losses in time and instead spoke ill of Cheng Zhou to her father—as a result, her father and Cheng Zhou's relationship got better and better!
Once, as soon as Hu Tong climbed down from his father's shoulders, Cheng Zhou, who was standing by, immediately raised his hand and said that he wanted to ride in the high-tops too.
How dare you! You dare to seduce her father right in front of her!
But then again, what does seduction mean?
Alas, Hu Tong was completely baffled.
But soon, her attention shifted.
Recently, a fragrant aroma mixed with the smells of oil, meat, and pepper has been wafting through Heqing Elementary School.
Maishengji's newly launched fried snack bucket has surpassed rubber bands, shuttlecocks, and SpongeBob SquarePants to become the most popular item among elementary school students.
As the self-proclaimed leader of Class 1, Grade 3 at Heqing Elementary School, Hu Tong was naturally unwilling to fall behind, and would buy small snack buckets to eat whenever she had pocket money.
She eats fried food frequently, and she's particular about where she eats: in the classroom when there are no teachers supervising her during morning reading, on the tree-lined path that students always pass by after PE class, or in the queue for lunch...
Hu Tong's bright red three-stripe armband made the golden fried chicken wings look even more delicious and tempting, leaving a deep impression on the elementary school students. She seemed to be everywhere, as if she always had a snack bucket to eat from.
Hu Tong became the most envied person among the primary school students, and for a time, he was the most popular person around.
Not to mention she would share the delicious food with the first classmate who greeted her!
My God, how can there be such a good person in the world?
No wonder he's the captain of the Young Pioneers!
The students of Heqing Elementary School were swept up in a wave called "Hu Tong," while Hu Tong himself became lost amidst the endless praise.
She spends all her pocket money as soon as she gets it, and the little piggy bank she uses to save money for red envelopes is getting thinner and thinner.
Hu Tong didn't care about her pitiful, increasingly light piggy bank. She was the Young Pioneers captain who brought joy to her classmates and a pioneer in practicing the "Five Loves"!
There was only one person who never joined Hu Tong when he was eating snacks: Cheng Zhou.
Hu Tong chewed on the crispy-skinned, tender-on-the-inside fried chicken pieces, recalling Cheng Zhou's stunned expression as he stood outside the crowd, and the sighs he couldn't help but let out when they walked home from school together.
Got it, Cheng Zhou was so envious of her, he couldn't even speak properly. Hu Tong thought to herself with a smug smile, deciding to occasionally share some snacks with Cheng Zhou.
After all, Cheng Zhou is also one of the "Five Loves" (love for the motherland, the people, labor, science, and socialism)!
Hu Tong was deeply moved by his own actions.
However, these days of floating in the clouds did not last long.
Hu Tong is angry.
Hu Tong knew she was a child prone to getting angry in every sense of the word, but she never expected to become so angry that even her urine smelled like a snack bucket.
There is still room to salvage the situation at this point.
When his parents questioned him about the strange smell in the toilet, Hu Tong grinned and said, "I ate it while hiding in the toilet—"
Unfortunately, before he could finish speaking, a gushing nosebleed shattered Hu Tong's facade of composure.
She had to confess, watching with a heavy heart as her mother took away her glittering piggy bank.
One of the people she briefly loved, Cheng Zhou, hid behind Hu's father, and the corners of his mouth curled up very quickly and slightly.
This was the first time Hu Tong had experienced betrayal by someone he "loved," and he felt he would never love again.
But the loud calls from her classmates, the bright red scarves and three-stripe armbands rescued her from her despair, and Hu Tong decided to find her own way to make a living.
She still wants to eat from the little food bucket.
"I must get what I want!" Hu Tong declared to his friend Miao Wei.
On a sunny Saturday, Hu Tong secretly slipped out of the house and dragged Miao Wei into the bustling vegetable market.
Miao Wei looked at Mai Shengji, a restaurant with a bright red signboard and colorful balloons floating at the entrance, at the end of the long street, and felt a desire to leave.
“Let’s go back…” Miao Wei said. “Grandma took away my allowance too. She won’t let me go with you to buy snack buckets, saying that eating too much will make my bottom hurt when I pee. Does your bottom hurt when you pee, Hu Tong?”
Meeting Miao Wei's curious gaze, Hu Tong subconsciously tugged at the hem of his clothes, trying to cover her throbbing pain...
"It doesn't hurt at all!" Hu Tong suddenly puffed out his chest and roared, "The snack bucket is the best thing in the world! Adults just know how to scare us. Even if they don't give me money, I'm still going to buy a snack bucket to eat!"
How do I buy it?
The desire for the small food bucket overcame her timidity, and Miao Wei followed Hu Tong inside.
The sounds of vendors hawking their wares and haggling filled the market, along with the fresh scents of fruits and vegetables, the fishy smell of shrimp, and the incandescent lights hanging from the stalls. It was like a piece of toilet paper soaked in warm water, soft yet firmly pressed against the skin of the two young girls, making them feel suffocated.
She will also break the oppression that Hu Tong imagined.
She led Miao Wei to a stop in front of a light blue plastic stool.
A red electric scooter stood next to the bench, and an elderly woman was half-leaning, half-sitting on it. She wore a plain-colored floral short-sleeved shirt, with a black cloth bag slung around her waist, and her sharp eyes constantly swept over the passing crowd.
Just as the old woman was about to call out to a girl with long hair reaching her waist, she suddenly felt someone poke her side.
She looked down, and the fiery light in her eyes shattered instantly.
The old woman blinked in confusion.
The two girls, the one in the lead had fine, soft, slightly yellow hair, while the one behind had thick, black hair.
The young man with the yellow hair chattered away at the old woman, his tone fierce and his speech rapid. By the time the old woman realized what was happening, he had already climbed onto the stool, and she herself had picked up a comb and scissors.
“Grandma, we agreed that you would only cut up to my chin.” Hu Tong turned to look at the old woman, grinned, and said, “Then you will give me 80 yuan.”
80 yuan is enough for her and Miaomiao to each eat a small food bucket, and there's still 2 yuan left to take the bus home.
The old woman could only see a dazzling white light flash through the patch of slightly yellow hair.
"This girl's teeth seem to be made of iron," the old woman muttered, her gaze drifting to Miao Wei, who looked slightly nervous to the side.
"No!" Hu Tong shouted, startling the old woman.
"I'm here to sell my hair, but my friend isn't. Please get your hair cut quickly."
Hu Tong, whose hair was in poor condition, became impatient first. She turned her head, sat up straight, and used body language to urge the old lady to hurry up, while also instructing her friend, "Miaomiao, keep an eye on things for me. Only cut up to the chin, don't cut too much."
"Yes!" Miao Wei answered readily and loudly.
The old woman moved slowly, thinking about how to finish cutting her hair before going back to visit relatives in her hometown, while silently pushing the fine-toothed comb towards the roots of her hair.
It wasn't that she had any ill intentions towards the girl; cutting more and cutting more heavily was just her professional practice, a completely subconscious act.
Across the aisle is a seafood shop, where a chef is cleaning a fish.
A dark brown rolling pin struck the pale gray fish's head, while a gleaming silver scraper flew from tail to tail and upwards, scattering scales everywhere. The pale white belly was sliced open, revealing bright red entrails, which were then deftly swept away by a pair of large, skillful hands.
This scene was both cruel and novel to Hu Tong and Miao Wei. They stared wide-eyed, their expressions a mixture of fear and excitement.
Hu Tong briefly forgot about the snack bucket, and Miao Wei also forgot about her mission.
Strands of hair silently bid farewell to Hu Tong, falling lightly and quickly into the old woman's hands, waiting to be sent to her new home.
"Ouch!" the old woman suddenly exclaimed, putting away her tools. "Where did this child come from!"
Hu Tong felt a tightness in his scalp and struggled to turn his head, only to see Cheng Zhou with a serious expression.
He grabbed Hu Tong's hair and said in standard Mandarin, "You cut too much."
"Where did you cut too much? Don't talk nonsense!" the old woman clapped her hands and stamped her feet in rebuttal. "I meant well. If this haircut isn't done properly, this little girl will have to spend money to go to the hair salon to get it cut again, which is such a hassle!"
Cheng Zhou calmly released Hu Tong's hair and raised his index finger. There was a short, thin cut there, with slightly reddish edges.
"You even cut my hand."
Upon hearing this, the old woman slowly lowered her foot, smiling ingratiatingly, "Oh, it doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt, there's no bleeding... How about Grandma buys you some candy?"
Cheng Zhou shook his head and said, "I don't eat candy. You can just compensate her with the extra hair you cut."
After saying that, Cheng Zhou turned his head, then turned back to him with an air of seriousness. Hu Tong followed his gaze and could only see layers upon layers of figures and many red and green vegetables.
"Oh!" Miao Wei, who had been standing to the side, came to her senses and pointed at Hu Tong's head, saying with a mixture of guilt and surprise, "Your hair!"
Hu Tong touched his head. The hair below his chin had disappeared, and there was a small patch of stubble on the back of his head. Because it was so short, it felt a little prickly to the touch.
She froze for a moment, then burst into a wail. Her wail drew a crowd from half the street.
Hu Tong cried as she clutched the old woman's clothes, refusing to let go. The old woman was dizzy from her crying and embarrassed by the stares of so many people, so she quickly pulled out three blue and green banknotes from her bag, totaling 80 yuan.
"160 yuan," Cheng Zhou said softly, then quickly changed his answer to "120 yuan" before the old woman collapsed to the ground clutching her chest.
Seeing the banknotes in front of him turn into a red one and a brown one, Hu Tong stopped crying, withdrew his hand, and smiled broadly.
"Thank you, Grandma! I'll come back to sell my hair next time!" Hu Tong stuffed the money into her pocket, jumped off the plastic stool, and pulled Miao Wei and Cheng Zhou along with her to Mai Shengji.
Pushing open the glass door, the rush of cool air, the aroma of fries, and upbeat music instantly pulled the three away from the bustling market and into another equally lively but more relaxing world.
"Auntie, I want three small food buckets!"
Hu Tong paid the bill with great enthusiasm, and the three little ones, each carrying their own little food buckets, found their seats. Their six chubby little white legs dangled under the table.
Cheng Zhou skillfully took out the small toy that came with the bucket and handed it to Hu Tong. Hu Tong happily put away the toy, swallowed the food in his mouth, and praised, "Cheng Zhou, you are the second smartest and second bravest person in the world!"
Cheng Zhou glanced outside, hesitated, bit his straw, and said modestly, "I'm not smart at all. My grandma is smart. She used to teach me that if you want to buy something, you should cut the price in half first. I guess it should be the same when selling things."
Hu Tong and Miao Wei both exclaimed "Wow!" at the same time, but their attention was completely focused on the golden fried food, and they didn't listen to what Cheng Zhou was saying at all.
They were simply encouraging him to talk more so that they could take two more fries covered in ketchup from Cheng Zhou's paper bucket under the guise of "helping."
Hearing the two exclaim "Wow!", Cheng Zhou smiled shyly and continued, "I'm not brave either, I'm just... cough, could you help me eat some fried chicken nuggets? I can't finish them."
“Okay!” Hu Tong and Miao Wei nodded hurriedly, completely unaware of the abrupt change in Cheng Zhou’s tone.
"Can we be friends from now on?"
Miao Wei didn't reply, but looked at Hu Tong. The latter, receiving his friend's signal, reluctantly put down the half-eaten fried chicken nugget and said in a pretentious tone, "I've discovered you're not so bad after all, Cheng Zhou."
"So, we can be friends."
“But you must remember that Hu Tong and I are the best of friends, and you can only be ranked after me,” Miao Wei added.
"I will remember that." Cheng Zhou nodded solemnly.
This day was exceptionally wonderful for elementary school student Hu Tong. She wasn't curious at all about why Cheng Zhou had suddenly appeared. When she saw her mother at Mai Shengji, she naturally got into the car and soon fell into a deep sleep.
She became interested in playing "Cheng Zhou's new friend" and for a long time displayed a false enthusiasm that was almost polite.
Cheng Zhou was flattered.
However, Hu Tong knew that she had only reluctantly accepted Cheng Zhou. Praising Cheng Zhou's intelligence was just a casual remark; she believed herself to be the truly, uniquely intelligent person, and as for admiring him…
That's even more impossible! The person whose hair was cut was Hu Tong, not Cheng Zhou. Without her heroic act of selling her hair, how would Cheng Zhou have had the chance to bargain?
Hu Tong was still the same competitive, self-centered, and ever-vigilant person, but she had completely let go of her obsession with the snack bucket. This wasn't because of her newfound opinion of Cheng Zhou, nor because she was no longer vain, but rather…
Her hair grows too slowly; she won't be able to sell it for a good price of 120 yuan anytime soon!
Once her hair grew back, the atmosphere at Heqing Elementary School changed again. Gradually, Hu Tong couldn't find the person she used to be who loved snack buckets anymore. Now, the smell of fried food makes her feel... nauseous!
Sigh, perhaps this is the price of growing up.
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