"Come on, let's go home."
Su Jianguo extended his hand.
Wu Er, though disgusted, shrank back a little.
"No, no... your family... they'll think I'm dirty..."
"nonsense!"
Su Jianguo grabbed his wrist without saying a word.
"My wife and daughter are both reasonable people."
Pulling the reluctant Wu Er back to the old house, Su Jianguo found his family members already tidied up and waiting in the yard.
When Wang Xiulan saw Wu Er's disheveled appearance, a hint of surprise flashed across her face, but she quickly put on a gentle smile.
"This must be Brother Wu the Second, right?"
Wang Xiulan stepped forward.
"Jianguo was talking about you yesterday, saying you two always played together when you were little."
Wu Ermaitai did not know Wang Xiulan.
Su Jianguo explained.
"Just call her sister-in-law."
Wu Er kept his head down, his toes tracing circles on the ground, his voice barely audible.
"Hello, brother and sister-in-law..."
Su Yufen stood to the side with her two children, Da Mao and Er Mao, who curiously looked at this strange "grandfather".
Wu Ermaitai suddenly raised his head, his gaze falling on the two children, and a bright smile bloomed on his dirty face.
"Little baby!"
He exclaimed excitedly, took two crumpled fruit candies out of his pocket, and carefully handed them over.
"Here, have some!"
Da Mao and Er Mao were so frightened that they hid behind their mother.
Wu Er's hand froze in mid-air, and the light in his eyes dimmed instantly.
Su Jianguo quickly accepted the candy.
"Thank you, Second Brother. The children are shy, but they'll be fine once they get used to things."
He stuffed the candy into Da Mao's hand.
"Quickly thank Grandpa Wu."
Da Mao timidly peeked out from behind his mother's legs.
"Thank you, Grandpa Wu."
Wu Ermai became happy again and wanted to reach out and touch Da Mao's head, but when he saw his own dirty hands, he withdrew them and wiped them on his clothes embarrassedly.
"Let's go, it's time to get to the station."
Su Jianguo picked up his bag and called everyone to set off.
On the way to the station, Wu Er looked around like a child, full of curiosity about everything.
He would sometimes squat down to observe the ants by the roadside, and sometimes look up to chase the butterflies flying by, attracting the attention of passersby.
"Look at that idiot..."
Someone muttered to themselves.
"Shh, keep your voice down, can't you see there's a family following us?"
Wu Er seemed used to this kind of gaze and didn't care.
But Su Jianguo was furious when he heard this and glared fiercely at the gossipers.
When we arrived at the station, there weren't many people waiting for the train.
Suddenly, Wu Ermaitai ran to the bus stop sign, stood on tiptoe, and pointed to each character on the sign with his finger, muttering something under his breath.
"Su, Jia, Tun... to... Si, Jiu, Cheng..."
"Second brother, you can read?"
Su Jianguo asked in surprise.
Wu Er scratched his head sheepishly.
"No, I don't recognize many... When I was little, Brother Jianguo, you taught me..."
Su Jianguo then vaguely remembered that when he was a child, he had indeed once taught Wu Er a few simple words on a whim.
I never expected that he would still remember after all these years.
The bus finally arrived; it was an old "Jiefang" brand bus with peeling paint.
Passengers began to line up to board the bus. Su Jianguo's family walked in front, while Wu Ermai followed timidly at the back.
Just as Wu Er was about to step into the car, the driver suddenly frowned.
"Hey, you there, you can't go up!"
Wu Er was so frightened that he almost fell down the steps.
Su Jianguo quickly helped him up and turned to ask the driver.
"What's wrong?"
The driver pinched his nose, looking disgusted.
"This person is too dirty. What if they get the car dirty? Besides, even if I give way, the other passengers will complain!"
Indeed, although Wu Ermai had made a special effort to clean up today, the body odor and grime accumulated over the years could not be washed away in a short time.
The surrounding passengers also showed expressions of disgust, and some even covered their noses with handkerchiefs.
Su Jianguo's face darkened.
"This is my brother, he bought a ticket, why can't he get on?"
"brother?"
The driver looked Wu Er, who was dressed in rags, up and down, then at Su Jianguo, who was dressed neatly, and clearly did not believe him.
Wu Er tugged at Su Jianguo's sleeve and whispered.
"Brother Jianguo... I... I can walk there... I'll go to the city..."
"no!"
Su Jianguo said firmly, then took out his wallet from his pocket, pulled out two banknotes, and slapped them on the dashboard in front of the driver.
"This is double the fare, is that enough?"
The driver glanced at the money, then at Su Jianguo's resolute expression, and finally waved his hand reluctantly.
"Go up, go up, let him sit in the very back."
There weren't many people on the bus, and Su Jianguo's family sat down separately.
Wu Er huddled in the last row by the window, trying to curl himself up as much as possible, afraid of bumping into others.
Seeing this, Su Jianguo went over and sat down next to him.
"Brother Jianguo...you don't need to stay with me..."
Wu Er said uneasily.
"Stop talking nonsense."
Su Jianguo deliberately kept a straight face.
"I want to sit here."
As soon as the car started, Wu Er's eyes lit up.
He pressed himself tightly against the car window, his nose almost touching the glass, his eyes fixed on the scenery rushing past outside.
This was his first time riding in a car, and he was filled with amazement as he watched the scenery rushing past outside.
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