Chapter 18
On the day of the charity sale, the sun was scorching, and a row of blue sunshades were lined up on the playground.
The school gates opened, welcoming parents and local residents to participate in the shopping. Promotional flyers had been distributed beforehand, and adults with children, or students in small groups, gradually entered the campus.
Liang Yue stood in front of her stall, pulling a cart loaded with several large boxes of goods, which she arranged one by one on the table and sorted them carefully.
Yu Wei borrowed a megaphone from the fruit shop near her house, pre-recorded a message, and placed it on the corner of the table: "Come and see—come and see—good stuff—good stuff—"
The loudspeaker played the same song on a loop, drawing frequent glances from the crowd.
The stall of Class 1 was right across from their class.
Ji Shuyi was also there, wearing a white T-shirt that revealed his lean arms, and he was bending over to organize the old books on his stall. The stall of Class One was almost entirely filled with various literary classics and teaching materials.
Perhaps it was because of Ji Shuyi's reputation that many parents stopped to look through the materials and asked the class leader for his opinion, "Is this material useful?"
"It's easy to use, has all the formulas, and the explanations are concise and clear."
Liang Yue glanced at the little boy following behind the parent; he looked to be about seven or eight years old. She remarked to the person beside her, "Are parents these days in such a rush?"
“What do you know?” a classmate said. “My uncle’s child is the same age as him, and he’s learning programming now.”
Wow!
Liang Yue clapped his hands in admiration, gave a thumbs up, and exclaimed sincerely, "Awesome!"
"Hello, how much are these comic books?"
Business has started.
"Fifty for a set, ten for a single book," Liang Yue greeted with a smile.
Across the table stood a little boy, about fourth or fifth grade. His hair was shaved very short, revealing a clean forehead, and there was a dark bruise on his arm as he flipped through the comics.
Liang Yue guessed that he had probably tripped and fallen not long ago.
The little boy flipped through the book very carefully, his eyes sparkling as he looked at it.
Are all of these ten yuan?
“Yes,” Liang Yue said, seeing that he liked it, “I can give you a discount if you buy a lot.”
The little boy looked up, his other hand on the table, holding a few crumpled banknotes. He spread the money out one by one: a ten-yuan note, a five-yuan note, three one-yuan notes, and a fifty-cent note.
These banknotes were all very old, with curled edges, and one even had a tear.
You can smell the unique 'money smell' of this kind of banknote from afar, a mixture of various smells.
He counted very slowly, unfolding and smoothing each sheet one by one.
"Sister, I only have eighteen yuan and fifty cents, can I take two books?"
Two books don't count as a large purchase, so logically, no discount should be offered.
Moreover, the two books he had his eye on were in very good condition, with no creases on the covers. They had been well preserved by Liang Yue and would have sold for forty or fifty yuan each in a secondhand bookstore.
The little boy spoke very softly, seemingly aware that his request was unreasonable; he was already hesitating between the two books, considering giving up on one of them.
Liang Yue glanced at the banknotes, which were soft from being soaked in his sweaty hands, and said softly, "You can choose two."
"Really?!"
The little boy's eyes lit up instantly, and he asked to confirm, "Really? Is it true?"
"Can."
"Thank you, sister, you're such a kind person."
What a kind and simple compliment!
The little boy handed the money to Liang Yue, took the book, and skipped away.
The back view looked extremely cheerful.
Lunch was a boxed meal ordered by the school, consisting of three dishes, one meat and two vegetable dishes, plus a carton of milk.
Liang Yue and Yu Wei found an advertising flyer, sat down on the ground, and ate their slightly cold boxed lunches. After a busy morning, they were really exhausted.
Yu Wei bit her chopsticks and said, "There's still an afternoon left."
Liang Yue lifted the cardboard box, which was already half empty. "We've sold quite a few already. Remember to settle the accounts."
"knew."
After the meal, a message popped up on Liang Yue's phone.
Ji Shuyi: [Arriving at the school gate.]
"Weiwei, I'm going to the restroom," Liang Yue replied as he walked towards the school gate.
A tree named Liang: 【Here it comes.】
Various vehicles were parked at the school gate. Ji Shuyi stood under the sycamore tree at the gate, holding a transparent plastic bag in his hand. The bag had the sign of the cake shop across the street printed on it.
Seeing Liang Yue approach, he reached out and handed her four egg tarts, saying, "You can share them with your friends."
Liang Yue asked happily, "How did you know I didn't eat enough for lunch?"
Ji Shuyi explained, "I guessed because I saw you were eating cookies while you were moving the boxes."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome, go back now."
The number of customers in the afternoon was higher than in the morning.
Liang Yue's comic books sell very well. Her books are well-preserved, many of them are practically brand new, and they are inexpensive, making them extremely popular.
In no time, the items were snapped up by the students.
Liang Yue counted the money, neatly stacked the banknotes according to their denominations, and finally tied them together with a rubber band before handing them to Yu Wei for safekeeping.
Afterwards, she found a chair and sat down casually, with an empty cardboard box at her feet, the setting sun shining on it.
Just as she was drifting off to sleep, she heard a noisy commotion.
A gruff, adult male voice echoed throughout the awning, "Who gave you permission to sell this kind of substandard stuff to children?!"
As the main person in charge of the charity sale for Class 4, Liang Yue perked up and stood up from her chair, looking in the direction of the sound.
The middle-aged man was shirtless, exposing his chest and breasts. His dark, loose skin was visible, and a ferocious tiger was tattooed on his chest. He had a large beer belly, with flabby flesh hanging down to his waistband. His voice was deep and hoarse, reeking of alcohol.
He clutched two comic books, torn in half, the pages seemingly stained with cigarette ash and alcohol. He continued to crumple the poor papers, spitting as he shouted, "Who sold these filthy books to my child? They'll corrupt him! I demand compensation!"
Liang Yue lowered his eyes and saw the little boy who had come to buy books early in the morning. He had a bright red handprint on his face, and he was bowing his head, not daring to speak. Tears welled up in his eyes and streamed down his face.
She quickly stepped forward and said, "Hello, these comic books have all been selected by the school. They can help relieve stress outside of studying, and the content is wholesome with no harmful guidance."
"Besides, this is a second-hand sales stall, and our sign says that once sold, there are no returns or exchanges."
The middle-aged man snorted coldly and threw the shattered comic book in front of Liang Yue. Ji Shuyi was standing beside her at some point, shielding her from the attack.
"You have the nerve to sell these few tattered books to a child for twenty?"
Liang Yue looked at the torn comics scattered at her feet, the pictures on the paper torn to pieces, and felt very upset.
These books were very interesting; she had read them many times, each time turning the pages carefully, afraid of getting them stained with oil or wrinkled. She was selling them because she wanted to give those who hadn't read them a chance to see them, and she herself had indeed read them countless times; for her, the books no longer held any practical significance or novelty.
“Why should I be embarrassed?” Liang Yue said angrily. “Have you even read the contents of the book? You probably just assume it’s vulgar and useless because it’s a comic book. Besides, these books are all genuine, with no artificial markings on them, and they’re practically brand new. Why can’t they be sold at this price? Go to a secondhand bookstore and see for yourself. These books can sell for forty or fifty yuan a copy there.”
The middle-aged man, unwilling to listen to Liang Yue's rambling explanation, simply said, "Pay up."
The little boy stood awkwardly outside, and timidly spoke up, "Sister, you're a good person, please give me back my money."
Liang Yue was furious. "If you wanted me to refund your money, why did you tear up the book? Tell me, why should I refund you now?"
The little boy twisted the hem of his clothes and buried his head even lower.
Yu Wei retorted, "Little kid, you can't just bully me because I'm a good person. Besides, is your family so poor that you can't even afford to eat? Is eighteen yuan and fifty cents worth all this fuss about? Why don't you and your dad sincerely apologize to us, say 'I was wrong,' 'We'll never talk nonsense or lose our temper again,' 'Please forgive me,' and I'll give you not just eighteen yuan and fifty cents, but one hundred and eighty-five yuan."
The man's face was ashen as he pointed at Yu Wei and said, "What do you mean by that? Huh?! It's clearly you who sold inappropriate books, so what's wrong with us demanding compensation?"
Security guards and teachers from the grade level came over after hearing the commotion and learned what had happened.
The man then accused Yu Wei and Liang Yue, claiming that they had maliciously insulted him.
The students present couldn't stand it and repeatedly said that it was not true and that he was just maliciously making trouble.
The teacher frowned and tried to mediate, but the man remained unconvinced.
Ji Shuyi silently bent down and picked up the piece of paper from the ground, brushing away the dust with his fingertips. "Sell me that book, I'll take it back and glue it back together, it'll still be readable."
Liang Yue was taken aback, and his nose felt a little sore.
"This book is all damaged, why would I sell it to you?"
“Sell it to me,” Ji Shuyi said softly, bending slightly. He took a small piece of candy from his pocket and put it into Liang Yue’s palm. “I’ll take it back and take a look.”
Yu Wei found a bundle of banknotes, and Liang Yue rummaged through it and pulled out the oldest, smelly ones, throwing them in front of the man. "Go on, I'm returning your money."
The man grabbed the money and pressed his advantage, saying, "No, your book has corrupted my child's mind. You have to pay compensation."
compensation?
The teacher in charge kindly advised, "Take the money and leave quickly. This demand for compensation is really unreasonable."
Yu Wei: "Do you really think we're a charity? Are you out of your mind?"
"I don't care. If they don't pay, let's just wait and see. Or should I call the police?"
“Go ahead and report it if you want,” Liang Yue said, at his wits’ end with this scoundrel. “Go ahead and report it. I want to see if the police support your extortion scheme.”
The man held onto the money tightly, refusing to let go, when the child suddenly yelled and ran away.
He glanced at the group of people and walked away.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Ji Shuyi took out two ten-yuan bills and handed them to Yu Wei, saying, "I'll buy these two books."
“Oh, oh,” Yu Wei’s gaze shifted between him and Liang Yue, somewhat understanding. “I’ll pack it up for you in a bag.”
"OK, thanks."
Liang Yue lowered his head, still clutching the warm milk candy in his palm.
Fortunately, the charity sale has ended.
The boys were in charge of the final cleanup. Liang Yue said goodbye to Yu Wei and left first.
Ji Shuyi cleaned up the area he was in charge of and then left the school gate.
The setting sun cast long shadows of the two of them, and he followed about three or four meters away from Liang Yue.
Liang Yue suddenly stopped, and Ji Shuyi stopped as well.
She turned around, her head bowed. "Do you have any paper?"
Ji Shuyi quickly pulled out a few sheets of toilet paper from his bag and handed them over.
"Thanks."
Liang Yue took the tissue, wiped away her tears, and blew her nose. "I just thought the book was really good, and I even sold it to that kid cheaply. Who knew it would turn out like this? If I had known, I wouldn't have been so soft-hearted as to sell him two copies. Maybe I could have saved one of them. If I had known, I shouldn't have sold him either one," Liang Yue changed her tune. "I often see difficult parents demanding refunds online, and I encountered one today too."
Ji Shuyi listened quietly until she finished speaking. "I know that man. He used to be my mom's mahjong partner. He can't stand losing, so no one wants to play with him. He's got a ton of debt. When his wife divorced him, she wanted to take the child with her, but he said that boys are the foundation of their family and they can't let them go. That kind of scum isn't worth getting angry over."
This was the first time Liang Yue had heard Ji Shuyi curse.
"Besides, you can think of it in a positive light. Even if he hadn't come to you today, that child wouldn't have been able to read the book. It might have been used as a table leg and sold as scrap for three cents a pound. But now that the book is with me, I'll glue it back together and keep it safe after I finish reading it."
Liang Yue looked up at him, her eyes slightly red from being wiped with a piece of paper.
As if bewitched, Ji Shuyi reached out and gently brushed the corner of her eye. "Don't cry. How about I take you to eat 'Diving Rabbit'?"
"Then you should tell Grandma."
“Okay,” Ji Shuyi replied gently, “I’ll call Grandma right away.”
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