Chapter 002 The Second Melon
Although he didn't buy the bowl cake, Gu Xicao still bought some pork at the pork stall.
The pork cost one dollar, and the butcher was willing to sell it to them because he saw that the two of them were just children and didn't mind.
Gu Xicao carried the pork and went back with Lin Yuan.
They live in a public housing estate called Ziwei Building in Mong Kok or Hung Hom. The elevator is narrow and there are dozens of households on each floor. Many of these households are subdivided flats, which means one household is divided into three or four households. The average living area per person is less than 48 feet, or about 4 square meters.
Gu Xicao and Lin Yuan came out of the elevator and ran into a few uncles and aunts playing mahjong there.
"Hello, Uncle Liu."
"Hello, Mrs. Lin."
…
Both of them greeted their neighbors.
Mrs. Lin had her hair pinned up with a hairpin, making it fluffy. She was holding a cigarette between her fingers. When she saw Gu Xicao and her brother coming back, she said casually, "Okay, okay, you're back. The landlord was just asking about you."
Lin Yuan cried out, a look of panic on his face.
Gu Xicao squeezed his hand and smiled at Mrs. Lin, "Thank you for the reminder, Mrs. Lin. I wish you good luck in playing cards today."
"Okay, okay." Mrs. Lin smiled from ear to ear: "The fortune teller said that I will make a fortune today."
Gu Xicao smiled disapprovingly. Nine out of ten fortune tellers are liars. It would be weird if you believed them. She pulled Lin Yuan back home. The house was narrow and cramped. The kitchen was at the door and the toilet was next to it. Inside was both the living room and the bedroom, with a bunk bed.
This is where Gu Xicao and Lin Yuan live now.
And this residence is in a precarious situation and may be kicked out at any minute.
Lin Yuan was a little anxious. He skillfully started cooking and asked, "Sister, what should we do? The landlord will definitely come to pay the rent, and we don't have enough money."
Gu Xicao was also uneasy.
But she couldn't show it. She was so much older than Lin Yuan and was an adult after all. If she got nervous too, she would be doomed.
"It's okay, sister has a solution. Just cook and I'll count how much money we have."
"Oh, okay."
Lin Yuan was well-behaved and obedient, and didn't ask any further questions.
Gu Xicao crawled under the double bed, lifted the bricks, dug out the biscuit box inside, poured out all the money inside and counted it. Adding the money they earned today, they now only had four hundred and thirty-five yuan.
This amount of money is not enough to satisfy the landlord.
To be honest, the landlord is not a bad person. He has already let them default on rent for one month and has not asked them to pay this month's rent yet.
But if the two of them were kicked out, they would have to sleep on the streets.
Even if you want to find a hotel to stay in, you can't stay there for a few days. Hong Kong's tourism industry has been booming in recent years, so the prices of hotels have skyrocketed. A night's sleep in a large bunk bed costs more than 30 yuan per person.
Just when Gu Xicao was worried, a buzzing sound came into her mind:
[There’s gossip. Your landlord Mrs. Liang’s grandson went out to show off an hour ago, but ended up in a car accident. He’s currently in St. Mary’s Hospital for emergency treatment! ]
Gu Xicao was stunned for a moment, and said speechlessly: "System, don't you have any other melons? For example, melons that can make me rich instantly?"
System: "No, I would also like this kind of good thing."
Gu Xicao: “…”
Damn it, how come the words are so blunt but the truth is so true.
"Boom boom boom."
There was a knock on the door, and Mrs. Liang's voice was loud, "Xiao Gu, I know you and your brother are back, open the door, open the door!"
Chen Yuan's movements of flipping the pan slowed down, cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and he looked at Gu Xicao with fear.
Gu Xicao waved at him soothingly, put the money away, went over to open the door, and the iron door rattled. Mrs. Liang was not young, but she always had a stern face. When she saw Gu Xicao, she said directly, "Little Gu, there is no need for me to say more. I have already let you default for a month. If you don't pay, you will move out tomorrow."
The neighbors around heard the noise and leaned over to see what was going on.
Gu Xicao smiled at the landlord and said, "Mrs. Liang, we know it's not easy for you. How about we pay you back 420 first, and we'll pay you the rest later."
Mrs. Liang frowned and hesitated for a moment.
She glanced at Gu Xicao and Chen Yuan, and gradually became firm, "No, if you can't hand it over, you have to move out."
"Landlady, please give us a few more days."
Chen Yuan was extremely anxious, so he quickly turned off the fire and came over to plead with Mrs. Liang.
Mrs. Liang looked at Chen Yuan's skinny body and the rotten vegetable leaves and minced meat in the pot, and hesitated a little. But when she thought about how they could make money when one of them was young and the other was weak, she shook her head and said, "No, I have given you a long time to pay the money. If you can pay, everything will be fine. If you can't pay, I won't ask for your rent. You can just leave."
"Mrs. Liang!"
Gu Xicao was extremely anxious. The two of them had no relatives or friends in Hong Kong, so where would they live if they moved out? They had to find a way to convince Mrs. Liang.
Suddenly, a light flashed through her mind, "If I tell you a fortune, how about you give us a few days?"
"Fortune telling. I didn't expect that Miss Gu could tell fortunes. Why didn't we know this before?"
The neighbors next door laughed out loud, and the whole family of five laughed so hard that they fell over.
Mrs. Lin and others were also amused.
"Xiao Gu, stop joking. How can you tell fortunes at such a young age? If you can't come up with the money, don't joke with Mrs. Liang."
"That's right, fortune telling, this joke is funnier than the one above by Zeng Daoren."
Mrs. Liang also looked at Gu Xicao speechlessly.
Chen Yuan also looked at Gu Xicao in surprise: "Sister, when did you learn fortune-telling?"
Everyone burst into laughter.
Some said that Gu Xicao was stupid, while others said that Gu Xicao and her brother had a hard life as they had no relatives or friends to rely on.
"Okay, stop messing around with me and just move out tomorrow."
Mrs. Liang obviously didn't want to get entangled with Gu Xicao and the others, so she just said this and turned to leave.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Gu Xicao hurriedly asked, "Mrs. Liang, your grandson hasn't come back yet, aren't you worried?"
Mrs. Liang was startled. When she realized what Gu Xicao meant, her face darkened. She turned her head and said angrily, "How dare you curse my grandson?!"
"It's not a curse. I figured it out."
Gu Xicao pretended to count on her fingers, "He left an hour ago, right?"
Mrs. Liang was stunned.
An hour ago, her grandson Liang Jiabao said he was going out to buy a laptop, so Mrs. Liang took out five dollars and gave it to him, knowing full well that his grandson was going out to play video games.
But Gu Xicao couldn't possibly know about this, as Gu Xicao and the others had just returned.
"Hey, it seems like Jiabao went out an hour ago?"
Mrs. Lin suddenly said in surprise.
They were playing cards at the elevator entrance, so how could the neighbors coming in and out not see them?
An hour ago, Liang Jiabao excitedly took the elevator downstairs with the money. Mrs. Lin happened to see it and complained to her card-playing friends that Liang Jiabao was not serious in studying but was fast at playing video games.
"Yes, so what if you guessed it?"
Mrs. Liang was angry, her face flushed, and she put her hands on her waist and said, "My dear grandson is blessed with a good life, what can happen to him?"
"He was hit by a car and is now in St. Mary's Hospital!"
After saying this, Gu Xicao stepped back. The people living in this public housing estate are all very martial and they fight every other day. Mrs. Liang is no pushover either.
Gu Xicao didn't want to be beaten.
"You, you were hit by a car, I'm going to beat you to death!"
Mrs. Liang was so angry that she rushed over to hit Gu Xicao.
The neighbor was joking just now, but when he saw Mrs. Liang was about to hit Gu Xicao, he rushed out to stop her, "Landlord, landlord, why are you arguing with Xilounan (little girl)? She had a fever and became stupid!"
"Don't stop me, I'm going to beat this bastard to death!"
Mrs. Liang struggled desperately.
Mrs. Lin and others hurried over to mediate the fight. One advised Mrs. Liang not to be angry, and the other advised Gu Xicao to apologize quickly.
Gu Xicao looked helpless: "I'm not wrong, I'm serious."
"You unlucky kid, apologize now. You've offended the landlord. Do you want to sleep on the street tonight?!"
Mrs. Lin desperately winked at Gu Xicao.
Gu Xicao: "..."
"Mrs. Liang, Mrs. Liang, there's a call for you!" Uncle He suddenly poked his head out of the house and shouted loudly, "It's from the hospital!"
Everyone was stunned by He Bo's roar.
Even the furious Mrs. Liang seemed to have been poured with a bucket of cold water. She was stunned for a moment and looked at Gu Xicao in panic.
Gu Xicao hurriedly said, "Hurry up and pick it up, Mrs. Liang."
"Yes, yes, the hospital wouldn't call for no reason, right?"
Mrs. Lin was also startled. She looked at Gu Xicao in surprise, then at Mrs. Liang.
Everyone gathered around Mrs. Liang to answer the phone.
Telephone bills are expensive these days, and the cost of installing a phone is even more expensive, so most people are reluctant to install one. Only Uncle He's family on this floor has one installed.
"Hello?"
Mrs. Liang's hands were shaking.
The person on the other end of the phone asked, "Excuse me, are you Liang Jiabao's grandmother Liang Yuxiang?"
"Yes, I am." Mrs. Liang nodded hurriedly: "Did something happen to my grandson?"
"Yes, he was hit by a car on Hongfu Street at 5pm. He was sent to our St. Mary's Hospital. The doctor is performing surgery on him now. You should hurry up and bring the money."
The nurse emphasized money.
Mrs. Liang was at a loss as to what to do and said yes in a panic.
After the call ended, Mrs. Lin and the others asked with concern, "What's going on? Did Jiabao really get into trouble?"
Mrs. Liang nodded blankly: "You need to bring money, bring money."
"Yes, hurry up and bring the money, we will accompany you there."
Uncle He urged.
Mrs. Lin accompanied Mrs. Liang to get the money. Some of the people went downstairs to help call a taxi, while others helped Mrs. Liang pack some of Jiabao's clothes.
After everything was packed up, Mrs. Liang and the others walked to the elevator entrance, only to see Gu Xicao waiting there.
Different from the look of ridicule just now, everyone now looked at Gu Xicao with some awe.
"You..." Mrs. Liang saw Gu Xicao and her lips moved, not knowing what to say.
"Mrs. Liang, I'm going with you. We can help each other if anything happens."
Gu Xicao said.
"Okay, okay." Somehow, knowing that she was going to go, Mrs. Liang felt a lot more at ease.
Maybe it was because he had just witnessed how accurate Gu Xicao's calculations were.
After Gu Xicao and others left, the neighbors on the 17th floor were talking about it.
"I didn't expect that this delicate girl Gu Xicao could calculate so accurately that she even figured out the hospital's situation."
"That's right. She doesn't look special on weekdays, but I didn't expect her to be able to calculate. We've finally seen it today."
Hong Kong people are very superstitious, and many of them are keen on fortune-telling and feng shui.
During every temple fair or New Year festival, eight or ten people will calculate their fortune for the year.
But I have heard of fortune tellers who can predict accurately, but it is rare to see one so accurately with my own eyes.
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