Ye Qingshui was so surprised that the book in his hand fell to the ground, not even bothering to pick it up. At that moment, his eyes were fixed on her, as if he could see through her thick disguise.
Ye Qingshui didn't think he could hide his speculation from Xie Tingyu.
After all, the two of them lived under the same roof, and everything was clear to them. As long as Xie Tingyu was not blind, he would find out sooner or later.
It's okay if he finds out, but...making money is not something that can be considered "glorious" after all.
In this era, speculation is a bad thing. It is impossible to ask people of this era to understand speculation. If my mother and grandmother knew that she made money from speculation, they would be scared to death. I just don't know what Xie Tingyu thinks?
She took off her heavy straw hat.
"You...why are you here?"
Xie Tingyu pursed his lips into a straight line and said nothing.
The salesperson in the bookstore was a young girl. She said enthusiastically and generously: "This book needs a stamp of approval. It is the best-selling one!"
The so-called ticket of the salesperson was actually a book ticket. Ye Qingshui had not expected that buying books also required a ticket. She searched for a long time but could not find any book ticket. She had no choice but to reluctantly give up the book and put it back in shame.
At this time, Xie Tingyu spoke up, "I have it here."
He took out his leather wallet, found a book ticket from it, picked up the math book and threw it into Ye Qingshui's basket. The leather wallet looked very textured when rubbed.
"I have something to tell you."
Ye Qingshui was pulled out of the bookstore by him.
Ye Qingshui followed behind Xie Tingyu, looking at his tall back, and couldn't help asking him: "Why are you here?"
Xie Tingyu pushed her into an alley and looked down at her. "I lost my sight in the middle of the night. I thought she fell into the river again, so I came out to look for her."
His eyes fell on Ye Qingshui's basket, and he seemed to understand something, as if his whereabouts in the past few days were explained.
"Speculation... Do you know how dangerous this is? How dare you get involved?"
Xie Tingyu looked at the strands of hair on her forehead that were soaked with sweat. The girl's slender back was wet with sweat, her clothes were dirty, and the only exposed eyelid on her face contained a faint blue shadow. Her whole face revealed the fatigue after labor.
Ye Qingshui felt something was wrong when he heard his tone.
Xie Tingyu saw Ye Qingshui frowning and not realizing the danger at all, and he just felt a sharp pain in his temples.
After all, Xie Tingyu is a young man who has received a good education since childhood and has upright values and decent thoughts.
Besides, he is now living and eating at the Ye family. In order to maintain the good three meals a day, the little girl is forced to earn money. How much is his contribution in this? Thinking of this, Xie Tingyu, who has always been a nosy person, can't just sit back and watch.
He saw Ye Qingshui lower his head and said lightly:
"Not enough money, huh? If you don't have money, I can give it to you. After all, I'm staying at your house now, but you have to promise me that you won't do this kind of thing again. Give me the basket and cloth--"
Xie Tingyu said as he took out a big unity note. Ye Qingshui held the money in doubt, and suddenly found it ridiculous. She pushed him away and said viciously:
"What position do you have to control me and give me money?"
Listening to this tone, it sounds like saving a lost girl... If the silly Qingshui in the previous life heard Xie Tingyu caring about her like this, she would probably be moved to tears. Now Ye Qingshui only felt angry and funny when she heard Xie Tingyu's condescending and pitying tone.
"You're just worried that I'll drag you down, right? You don't really care about me that much, right? What a hypocrite!"
Ye Qingshui pushed him away, picked up his basket, and got on the bike.
Xie Tingyu looked at the hand that was slapped away in astonishment, and ran after it in two or three steps. He was tall and had long legs, and he caught up with the front of Ye Qingshui's car in a few steps.
"Why did you suddenly get angry? You really have the temper of a little girl."
Xie Tingyu rubbed his throbbing temple helplessly.
"Don't talk to me in that tone, I hate it!"
"Beat you to death, you descendant of the stinking ninth reactionary group..."
A group of children ran and shouted: "Hand over the buns quickly! Where did you steal this kind of snack? You are so poor and shabby, you definitely can't afford it!"
The bicycle was hit by a group of children, and Ye Qingshui almost fell off the bicycle. Fortunately, Xie Tingyu supported her shoulders in time.
He steadied her and spoke again.
"Wait..." Ye Qingshui didn't have the time to argue with Xie Tingyu.
She saw Zhou Ke, who helped her sell buns in the early morning, being severely bullied. The child was hunched over and carefully protected the buns in his arms, with snot and tears running down his face. He shed tears, "I didn't, I didn't!"
Ye Qingshui hurried over, pulled the child off Zhou Ke's body, and asked sternly, "What are you doing?"
The troublemakers scattered.
Ye Qingshui helped him up and couldn't help but comfort him: "It's okay, don't cry, I still have more."
But Zhou Ke trembled, picked up the dusty and sandy bun on the ground, and swallowed it bite by bite. The sand crunched under his teeth.
Ye Qingshui was very distressed when she saw this. She still remembered the surprised look in his eyes when he got two hot soup dumplings.
Seeing that he was beaten so hard that his head was bleeding and he was crying all the way, Ye Qingshui followed him out of concern. Seeing this, Xie Tingyu also followed him pushing the cart.
Ye Qingshui came to a shabby old tube building. Zhou Ke, who was dirty and bleeding, pushed open the shabby house, and the old and damp air rushed towards him. A gray and withered scene came into view, and Ye Qingshui was silent for a moment.
Zhou Ke took out another dirty bun from his arms, put it on the bed, tears streaming down his face.
"Grandpa, here are your favorite buns, eat them quickly."
After a long time, the old man who was barely breathing in the bed finally woke up. He was very ill, but his dim and cloudy old eyes showed a sharp light. He first saw the blood gushing from his grandson's head, and then saw the two uninvited guests in the room.
Ye Qingshui noticed the yin-yang pattern on the old man's head.
The buns that Zhou Ke carefully protected were already too dirty to look at. He tried to wipe the dust off the surface of the buns and blew on them. Ye Qingshui couldn't bear to see it, so she reached into the basket and took out the buns that she was reluctant to sell and handed them to Zhou Ke. They were still warm and still had a trace of heat.
"Hey, wait, go wash your hands first."
Zhou Ke washed his hands, gratefully took the clean bun and gave it to his grandfather. He tore off a piece of skin, and the rich juice in the bun unexpectedly flowed from his palm all the way down to his elbow. He licked it all the way, smiling and saying with blood on his head:
"It's delicious! Grandpa, you should finish eating it before you die. You have never eaten anything delicious."
The old man rolled his eyes as his grandson forced a mouthful of buns into his mouth. The familiar taste lingered on his tongue, spreading the most incredible sweetness in his mouth. The sick old man who was about to die only felt the sweetness he wanted to feel.
Zhou Ke added: "It's delicious, isn't it? Master, just hold on for a while. Trust me, I can earn you some buns every day."
As he spoke, tears welled up in his eyes again, "It doesn't matter if you can't stay alive. When you are in the underworld, remember to say hello to your parents and tell them that I miss them very much."
The old man rolled his eyes weakly.
"I can eat buns and still have the energy to roll my eyes. There's no one more awesome than me." Zhou Ke said with a smile through his tears.
Ye Qingshui's original anger subsided. She looked at the child and the old man looking at each other, feeling inexplicably sad, but was also amused by Zhou Ke's words.
The old man probably felt ashamed to be too sick to get up in the eyes of outsiders. He struggled hard to sit up, but failed. He said with a crooked mouth: "Ke'er, you...you take the bun down."
The bun stuck in the old man's mouth was taken out, and the old man snorted arrogantly: "No... didn't I teach you that you can't... take other people's things casually? Go, take out my things and return them to the person."
Zhou Ke wiped his tears and nodded. He disappeared for a long time before running back.
He stuffed a heavy object wrapped in hay into Ye Qingshui's arms. Ye Qingshui opened it and saw that it was a thumb-sized bead, shining brightly. She was shocked and quickly took it and stuffed it into her arms.
The old man said calmly: "Ke'er, please see me off."
He turned his head and glanced at the book in Ye Qingshui's basket, then continued calmly, "You don't need to read this book."
Ye Qingshui could actually tell the difference between these two light tones. For example, the light tone in the second half of the sentence was mixed with a hint of contempt.
Ye Qingshui listened attentively to the tone and easily felt the pride revealed by the old man.
Before she finished eating a bun, she and Xie Tingyu were finally driven out by the old man. She pinched the beads in her arms, frowned and said to Zhou Ke: "I can't take such a valuable thing."
Ye Qingshui recognized such a valuable item at a glance. Ye Qingshui was not able to take advantage of someone so much as to exchange a bun for a bead.
Zhou Ke just shed tears after hearing this. He wiped his red nose and said, "It's not expensive, not expensive at all. It can't even be exchanged for a pound of rice. Sister, you are kind-hearted. You gave me two meals of buns. I should give it to you. I'm going to see my grandfather off. He is tired of living and doesn't want to live anymore..."
Ye Qingshui couldn't help but sneer when she heard this. She looked at the beads and thought for a while, then said:
"Your grandfather is a very smart man. You go and talk to him, well, just say..."
"It's a pity to die in the darkness before dawn."
Ye Qingshui thought about what else she wanted to say. She actually had a lot to say. For example, the Gang of Four would be crushed this year, and reform and opening up would be ushered in next year. The year after that, the five black categories would be rehabilitated and their labels would be removed. By then, there would be hope everywhere. It was just a matter of waiting, holding on for a while, and holding on for a while longer. God would not disappoint those who waited hard for dawn.
But Ye Qingshui swallowed the understanding of someone who had experienced it. After thinking for a while, she took out the two dollars and thirty cents that she had worked hard to earn this morning and handed it to Zhou Ke.
"Use it to treat your grandfather's illness, and apply some medicine on your head as well."
"Alas..." Ye Qingshui couldn't bear to see this kind of thing.
The author has something to say:
The old man looked at me with contempt: These two young people are so annoying. They even fed me buns before they died.
Am I someone who would give in for a bun?
Shui Ya: Is it delicious?
Old man: emmmmm...it’s not sweet enough.
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