Chapter 146 The Old Man

Zhou Nuan looked at him in surprise, and that expression made Gu Xiyue laugh.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Your expression and tone were not quite right when you talked about Brother Luo before. What's wrong this time..."

Well, ever since he knew that she felt that having anything to do with Luo Chenxing would be a disaster, he started to like Luo Chenxing a lot more.

Gu Xiyue's dark eyes were tinged with a hint of smile, which he concealed with a low cough.

"He Tao can't come back yet, right?"

"..It shouldn't be that fast. Fanxing can't leave him for even a moment now."

"This kid has earned it."

"What?" Zhou Nuan didn't hear clearly.

Gu Xiyue said seriously, "It's nothing. Just tell him to take care of his 'friend'. He doesn't need to worry about the factory. Oh, by the way, you shouldn't go out tomorrow, right?"

Zhou Nuan thought for a moment and said, "I have to go to the store tomorrow."

The Chinese New Year is coming soon, and business is very busy during this period, especially for Liu Miao and Li Baijie, who are very busy. Although they have always said that it is not necessary for her to go over, she still feels bad about it. She plans to go over tomorrow to take a look. If the goods are almost sold out, she will give them a day off early so that they can have a good Chinese New Year.

You can never make enough money, but you never know when you can be reunited with your family, just like her.

"Then you should come back early tomorrow. Wang Youzhi will bring his lover here."

Thinking of Zhi's anxious face, Zhou Nuan couldn't help but nodded.

The next day Zhou Nuan went to the department store. Just as she had imagined, the store was full of people who came to buy new clothes for the New Year. Li Baijie and Liu Miao were so busy that they didn't even have a chance to say a few words to her. They thought she was in the way and kept sending her back. Zhou Nuan had no choice but to say that she would come back another day and left in shame.

When I walked downstairs, I happened to meet Xie Xiuzhen, who was also coming out of the store.

Xie Xiuzhen was very happy to see Zhou Nuan. "Zhou Nuan, you are here too? Your store is doing really well. Almost everyone with some money comes to buy clothes from you. Your store is now the most famous clothing store in Haicheng."

Her tone was exaggerated, and Zhou Nuan couldn't help but laugh, "Sister Xie, I don't dare to accept this. If I accept it, I'm afraid I will offend all the clothing sellers in this department store."

Xie Xiuzhen muttered, "Why should I be afraid of them? They bully the strong and fear the weak. When Ji Huayan is around, they dare not even fart."

The two walked out together, chatting as they walked.

When passing by an alley, Xie Xiuzhen suddenly stopped and said, "Zhou Nuan, wait a minute."

After saying that, she walked towards a shabby stall selling shoe repair tools at the side of the alley. Zhou Nuan followed her out of curiosity.

I saw a white-haired old man sitting at the shoe repair stall. His clothes were very old and patched. In this Haicheng city where people can already afford food and clothing and start to pursue quality of life, there are almost no people who still wear patched clothes.

The old man sat there numbly, and when he saw someone coming he only moved his right eyeball, while his left eyeball was cloudy, as if it was broken.

Xie Xiuzhen called out with a smile, "Old man."

The old man then looked at them, without a trace of emotion on his aged face.

"Uncle, I'm here to mend my shoes."

The old man was silent for a moment, then he stretched out his trembling left hand to wipe the non-existent dust on the stool and motioned for her to sit down.

Zhou Nuan then realized that not only was the old man's right eye damaged, but he also seemed to have lost his right hand. His empty sleeves were fluttering, which made people feel sad.

Xie Xiuzhen didn't mind the dirt, she sat down on the broken stool, took off her leather shoes, pointed at the barely noticeable scratch and said with a smile, "Here, please help me fix it."

The old man stared at it for a while, then took it with trembling hands, put the shoes between his legs, bent his waist, and began to repair it seriously.

Xie Xiuzhen looked at them and spoke incoherently, "Uncle, how is your business lately? Is anyone giving you any trouble?"

"Why didn't I see you come out recently? Are you sick? If you are sick, don't bear it. You have to go see a doctor."

"The New Year is coming soon, are you still not going home this year?"

No matter what Xie Xiuzhen said, the old man remained silent and didn't even raise his head, as if he didn't hear her.

Zhou Nuan couldn't help but frown, "Is he..."

She pointed to her ears, wondering if the old man couldn't hear, otherwise why would he ignore her.

Xie Xiuzhen said, "Oh, no, the old man can hear it."

She didn't go into detail. She turned around and saw the half-eaten whole grain nest that was put aside. She couldn't help but persuade him, "Uncle, do you still only like to eat this? This is not nutritious. Eat some meat. I see that you have lost a lot of weight recently."

The old man turned a deaf ear and just focused on mending the shoes in his hands.

There was nothing wrong with Xie Xiuzhen's shoes and they were fixed in no time. The old man put them on the ground and motioned for Xie Xiuzhen to put them on.

Zhou Nuan took a look and couldn't help but admire him. This old man was really skilled. He had repaired the shoes so well that there was no sign of wear and tear at all.

Xie Xiuzhen was very satisfied. After putting it on, she stretched it out in front of Zhou Nuan and said, "How is it? Isn't the old man awesome?"

"It's quite impressive." Zhou Nuan said sincerely.

"Then remember to come and see this old man if you have broken shoes at home in the future."

Zhou Nuan nodded in agreement: I'm afraid there won't be many opportunities. Her family throws broken shoes away and doesn't have the habit of repairing them. But to her surprise, Xie Xiuzhen didn't look like a frugal person. From the gold jewelry on her body, it can be seen that she would actually come to repair shoes.

Xie Xiuzhen took out ten yuan from her pocket and handed it over, "For shoe repairs."

Zhou Nuan originally thought that the old man would be eager to take it. After all, it was a lot of money to repair a pair of shoes.

Unexpectedly, the old man just glanced at it, without even changing his expression. He just waved his hand and lowered his head to fiddle with his tattered tools.

This clearly means we won’t accept it.

Xie Xiuzhen didn't seem surprised. She just smiled and said, "Thank you, old man."

But while the old man wasn't paying attention, he skillfully pressed the ten yuan under the broken bowl of Cu Shi Wo Wo, and then quickly pulled Zhou Nuan away.

Zhou Nuan was a little confused by her actions and looked back in a hurry.

The old man bent over and fumbled with the tools tremblingly, his empty sleeve swaying in the wind.

Only after making sure that the old man could not catch up did Xie Xiuzhen start talking about the old man.

".. He is also a pitiful person. I heard that he was a soldier and fought hard on the battlefield. He was seriously injured. The right side of his body, including his eyes and hands, was lost at that time. Although he can still hear with his ears, he refuses to speak again."

Zhou Nuan's heart was moved, "How did Sister Xie know that he could speak?"

It's not surprising that he can't speak after being injured so badly.

"I overheard him mumbling something like 'I'm sorry' once, and then I realized he could actually talk."