Chapter 21 Little White Poplar, Xiaoming, and Lele
"What?! You're going too?" Jiang Yueming's previously dejected heart suddenly brightened. It wasn't the gloating kind of gloating, though his summer vacation plans were mostly ruined. But as long as he was with Li Leshan, it wasn't too badly ruined.
After receiving an affirmative answer, Jiang Yueming found the words "Jin Xing Education" much more agreeable and felt a special warmth towards them. "Then can we be deskmates, like sitting at the same table...? Hey, don't worry, I definitely won't bother you. I won't say a word to you during class, really! I promise."
Jiang Yueming had never looked forward to sitting next to someone so much. At that moment, Cao Fan, far away, suddenly sneezed. If he knew what Jiang Yueming was really thinking, he would definitely wail and say, "I let you copy so much homework for nothing! All those years of friendship and time were ultimately wasted."
He and Li Leshan agreed to go to the Zhonghua Market in the next few days, and then go to the tutoring class together. Jiang Yueming skipped home, feeling that the bag on her shoulder was no longer heavy, and she felt relieved.
Ms. Lin Cuiqin prepared a large table of dishes, including stir-fried bamboo shoots with pork, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, braised pork ribs, sweet and sour fish, and more. She had been busy at home for half a day, worried that Jiang Yueming would be sullen when he came back. After all, she had signed him up for a tutoring class without saying a word, so it was no wonder he was angry! But Lin Cuiqin really meant well. That No. 1 Middle School was the best in the city, with the highest teaching standards and the most famous junior high school. No parent would not want their child to attend it.
As a result, Jiang Yueming didn't say anything, put down his schoolbag, washed his hands happily, and went out to eat.
"Auntie, is it a holiday today? What holiday? Did you win the lottery?" Jiang Yueming asked, he had never seen Lin Cuiqin make such a big fuss.
"Didn't Teacher Yin mention the tutoring class to you?" Lin Cuiqin couldn't help but ask. She thought she would see Jiang Yueming crying, making a scene, and threatening suicide when she came back, but she didn't see a trace of him at all. This calmness made her feel uneasy.
"I already said," Jiang Yueming said, eating without looking up. "What's wrong?"
"No, it's nothing, eat more vegetables." Seeing this, Lin Cuiqin didn't say anything more. Had this child taken the wrong medicine today? Or was he holding back a trick? But for now, peace and quiet was a hundred times better than chaos, so she didn't dare to bring it up again to provoke him.
“But I’m going to tutoring class, what will happen to Tian Tian at home? Don’t you have to work three shifts at the factory?” Jiang Yueming pinched Tian Tian’s chubby, soft cheeks.
“It’s alright, let your aunt take care of her. I’ve been missing her anyway. This way the house will be quieter, and she won’t be running around bothering you to do your homework every day,” Lin Cuiqin said.
Zhonghua Market is located on the west side of the county town, some distance from the bustling center, in a semi-rural area. Everything there is sold at wholesale prices—pots and pans, clothes, shoes—very cheap and not likely to rip you off. Of course, you'll need to become a familiar face first. However, in this small corner of the county town, you rarely see outsiders.
It takes half an hour to walk there, and an hour to go back and forth. In the sweltering summer heat, even Jiang Yueming, who could walk a lot, couldn't stand the weather. Luckily, the owner of the clothing store at the alley entrance was going there to buy stock and was driving her little tricycle, which could give Jiang Yueming and Li Leshan a ride.
Jiang Yueming, with her sweet tongue, said "Thank you, sister" several times in a row.
Everyone called the proprietress "Sister Yiyi." She was almost forty, and there were already some fine wrinkles around her eyes. She liked to wear heavy makeup; her eyebrows were drawn thick and dark. Every time Jiang Yueming saw her, she was wearing bright red lipstick, a color very similar to a red top Lin Cuiqin had bought in Guangdong when she was in her early twenties. Back then, such novel and flamboyant clothes were fashionable, but Lin Cuiqin had now relegated them to the bottom of her trunk, replaced by various floral dresses—blue-white, pure white, emerald green—but Jiang Yueming thought she looked good in everything.
Sister Yi's eyes crinkled into a smile. She skillfully kicked the start lever twice, starting the tricycle with a muffled thud.
"Oh my, Xiao Jiang, you have such a sweet tongue. I'm old enough to call you 'Auntie' now." She helped the two of them sit down and then prepared to leave.
Jiang Yueming winked at Li Leshan from the back seat. The sun was blazing, and there was no way to hide from it. The two of them huddled under Li Leshan's coat, which still smelled of the familiar laundry detergent. Li Leshan had stretched the coat up high, his arms taut, and the sunlight danced and scorched their bare arms.
The area around Zhonghua Market was lined with vendors, but it was the hottest part of the afternoon, so not many were out and about. Most were dozing in the shade or chatting while fanning themselves with palm-leaf fans. Jiang Yueming's favorite stall, selling roasted chestnuts, always had its owner, Old Zhang, pushing a small cart with a glass cover. The sweet aroma of roasted chestnuts wafted far and wide—unfortunately, the glass cover was empty today, and the stove was cold. He glanced at the stall with disappointment, but his gaze was immediately drawn to the little hamster by the door.
"Hurry, hurry, come quickly!" Jiang Yueming waved to Li Leshan.
The hamsters cost 30 yuan each. Right now, they're rolling around in their cages, all fluffy and adorable. Jiang Yueming likes these little animals, but he just looks at them. For a kid like him who's never home, keeping hamsters isn't a good thing, neither for him nor for the hamsters.
He hadn't forgotten why he came here. After wandering around several stalls selling goldfish and rabbits on the outskirts of the market, he finally found a stall selling small turtles in a corner, which were even smaller than his palm.
"Which one do you think I should choose?" Jiang Yueming asked Li Leshan.
Li Leshan said either way is fine.
“I think either is fine.” Jiang Yueming pointed to the little turtle lying motionless in the lower left corner, looking lazy, and said, “Boss, I want this one.”
Hmm, this one's just lying there pretending to be deep in thought.
The owner was a thin old man who deftly scooped up the little turtle and put it into a small cage. The two exchanged money and the turtle.
“We need to come up with a name for it,” Jiang Yueming said.
Jiang Yueming is passionate about naming many small animals. He tirelessly gave each of the stray dogs and cats at the alley entrance a different name. They weren't just names like "Little White," "Little Black," or "Little Yellow." Instead, he came up with names like "Steamed Bun," "Fried Dough Stick," "Sesame Ball," and "Pot Knee," all of which were carefully chosen by him. He never gave a perfunctory name.
Li Leshan waved his hand, a helpless smile on his face, and said that the name he had chosen was not good.
“What’s wrong with that?” Jiang Yueming said. “Now it’s up to the two of us to take care of it.”
Li Leshan was silent for a moment, then said, "Let's call him Xiaoming."
Jiang Yueming thought for a moment and then realized, "What kind of son calls his father by his name?"
Suddenly an idea popped into his head. He handed the small cage to Li Leshan and hurriedly said, "Wait for me a moment!"
Li Leshan saw him dart back into the crowd in a flash, rushing around as if he might disappear without warning, or that he might one day be so far away that he might never catch up again.
Jiang Yueming returned quickly, bringing with him another small cage containing a small turtle peeking out of its shell.
“One for each of us!” Jiang Yueming’s eyes sparkled as he said, “I’ve already thought of a name for this one.”
Li Leshan had a bad feeling.
“Xiaoyue?” he asked.
“Let’s call her Lele.” Jiang Yueming smiled brightly.
Before Li Leshan could refute or agree, although Jiang Yueming thought he would most likely refute, he said to himself, "This lively one is called 'Lele,' and this quiet one is called 'Xiaoming,' how about that? A perfect match, right!"
Seeing Jiang Yueming's happy expression, Li Leshan didn't want to be a spoilsport, even though he had been one for many years. But he thought, at least he couldn't let Jiang Yueming feel disappointed.
He nodded; he simply couldn't refuse.
The Zhonghua Market was like a giant maze, its concrete ceiling blocking out the sun. Only a few dusty vents opened high up, making the interior surprisingly cool and somewhat dark, as sunlight rarely penetrated. The vast space was bustling with noise: shouts of bargaining, the jingling of tricycle bells, and the deafening strains of Cantonese songs blaring from tape recorders: "Waves surge, waves flow, the mighty river never ceases its flow..."
"Han Jiang asked me to bring him some slippers. They're cheap here, only five yuan a pair." Jiang Yueming hadn't forgotten about this.
"Han Jiang was chased by a dog when he was walking home from the back street the day before yesterday, and his slippers flew off," Jiang Yueming said.
He spoke with utmost seriousness, but Li Leshan almost laughed. Actually, Han Jiang had repeatedly warned him not to tell anyone about this, as it was too embarrassing. Jiang Yueming, however, didn't think it was a big deal. Hadn't he embarrassed himself countless times? His embarrassing moments could fill a book, far outweighing this shoe-dropping incident. Besides, the "other person" Han Jiang mentioned was actually only referring to one person.
Xu Qing, huh? He's most afraid of losing face in front of Xu Qing. Even though he's lost face quite a bit since he was a child, enough to cover the path from the classroom to the playground.
He remembered there was a shoe shop in the corner, which Sister Yiyi had told him about, saying that the shoes were of good quality and cheap.
Jiang Yueming stood at the door picking out shoes. The slippers were placed in a large basket, and a piece of paper next to them read "Five yuan a pair" in big letters. Li Leshan stood quietly half a step away from him, carrying two cages containing turtles, like a silent shadow, shielding him from the crowd of people jostling around them.
"Hey buddy, what do you want to pick?" a clear voice rang out from the side.
The girl leaned on the counter, her sparkling diamond hair clip particularly bright, twinkling, and her two big eyes stared intently at Jiang Yueming.
"Little brother?" Jiang Yueming looked her up and down, estimating that she was about thirteen or fourteen years old, and smiled, "Little sister, how old are you?"
The girl smiled and said, "I'm thirteen years old, and I'm supposed to start junior high this year."
Jiang Yueming laughed heartily, "Then you should call me little brother, I'm only twelve years old by the Chinese age reckoning, little sister."
Her face immediately flushed slightly, and she stepped out from behind the counter with a look of surprise. As she got closer to Jiang Yueming and Li Leshan, her face turned even redder. From a distance of a few meters, it wasn't so clear, but now that she was up close, the two of them looked like models...ten times more handsome than the models hired to take photos in clothing stores.
"You two...you two are both this big?" She tilted her head back, her voice involuntarily softening, tinged with shyness.
“He’s two months younger than me.” Jiang Yueming patted Li Leshan on the shoulder, the gesture familiar and natural.
The girl was surprised, thinking to herself, "Wow, he's so tall! He must be almost 1.7 meters tall. No elementary school student is that tall. Qiangzi, the guy in the next building who plays basketball all day and is in his final year of junior high, is only a little over 1.7 meters tall, and he's always bragging about it."
Thankfully, Brother Qiangzi wasn't there, otherwise, seeing this scene would probably have made him depressed for a while, maybe even a long time.
"Damn," Jiang Yueming suddenly whispered, "I was so busy having fun that I didn't even know what size shoes Han Jiang wears."
His gaze toward Li Leshan carried a hint of pleading.
"Ask me for help?" Li Leshan thought to himself, he knew even less. He didn't even know Jiang Yueming's shoe size, so how could he know Han Jiang's? Besides, he really had no interest in knowing Han Jiang's shoe size.
"Never mind, they should be about the same size as mine. A little smaller is just right, so they won't fall off easily. What if he gets chased by a dog again?" Jiang Yueming picked out a pair of black shoes and paid the bill.
While getting her change, the girl glanced at the two boys out of the corner of her eye. The boy next to her, who seemed unapproachable at first, hadn't said a word, prompting her to look at him a few more times. He was undeniably handsome, with a high nose and thin lips, but… he was just too aloof. From beginning to end, he hadn't spoken to her, nor had he even given her a second glance.
"Where do you go to school?" the girl asked a few more times, looking at Li Leshan with a mix of anticipation and trepidation, but she still answered Jiang Yueming.
“The Iron Tower,” Jiang Yueming said, “is in the east of the city, quite far from here… you have to cross half the city to get there.”
"Oh, a little," the girl said, her tone turning somber. She glanced at Li Leshan again, wondering to herself, "This guy is pretty handsome, but why is he ignoring me? He's so aloof. Does he have a problem with me? Why... is he still ignoring me?"
She packed the shoes neatly, even providing a special shoebox. Normally, slippers don't get this treatment; they're given plastic bags, but she made an exception a few times.
Before leaving, Li Leshan temporarily set aside the two turtles and gave Jiang Yueming a series of sign words. The girl saw this and was completely confused, not knowing what it meant. Was he giving a secret signal? Or... was he annoyed that she was taking too long to give change?
Jiang Yueming turned around and met the girl's confused expression and a hint of hurt. He instantly understood, grinned at the puzzled girl, and said, "Little sister, he doesn't have a problem with you."
He pointed to his mouth, his voice softening, "Don't mind him, he can't speak."
The girl was momentarily stunned, and it took her several seconds to realize what it meant to not be able to speak. Before she could even say "I'm sorry," the two of them left the store, not noticing her flushed face and hesitant expression.
She hurriedly chased after them out of the low shop door, standing on tiptoe and craning her neck to look. She saw Jiang Yueming and Li Leshan walking away side by side. Against the backdrop of the bustling and chaotic market, their figures stood out remarkably upright and clean, like two robust young poplars.
The girl stood blankly at the shop entrance, still clutching the few sweat-soaked bills in her hand. The bustling market noise enveloped her, but her heart felt empty. In her heart, she silently apologized: "Sir, I'm sorry. I didn't know you couldn't speak. I wasn't angry, I just thought...you're really handsome, and I couldn't help but look at you a few more times."
A note from the author:
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My darlings, great news: 4,000 words updated today! Hmph (My darlings: Actually, 4,000 words isn't that much, what are you hmphing about?)
Bad news: I want to reduce the word count to make it easier to climb the rankings (this term feels too complicated; simply put, my collection count is too low to make it onto the rankings TT), so I've changed the update schedule to Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays (I'll polish the updated chapters carefully!).
I've been diligently saving up drafts even on days when I haven't updated; I haven't been slacking off at all (reporting to the organization, begging for forgiveness, lol).
I hope you won't leave me (crying)
P.S.: Thank you so much for the Moonstones you all donated! If you have any Moonstones you don't need, feel free to donate them to me :D It will make uploading the cover much easier for me!
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