At the small train station near the campus, a group of students from the student union saw off the alumni who were returning home, and the students dispersed in groups of three or five.
Zhang Guoqing waved to them, took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the sweat off his face. Looking at the small baskets carried by the children passing by outside, he felt something in his heart.
"Dayi, help me push the cart. I'll be back soon."
"Okay, hurry up and pack up and go home early." Yi Jiefang took the handlebars and saw that he had already run far away. He slowly pushed the bike and followed behind him.
Zhang Guoqing ran to the child, looked at her with a smile, and pointed at her small basket.
"Big brother, come here."
Zhang Guoqing followed the little girl to the corner without saying a word. "What's available? Do you know where I can buy some meat?"
"No one is going to get married in this hot weather. We have to wait until it cools down. These are eggs I laid this morning. I don't want you to charge too much, just one cent each."
Zhang Guoqing took one look at the basket she had opened and nearly laughed out loud. This little girl really knew how to run a business. She actually dared to claim that the dozen or so eggs inside were laid this morning.
He rummaged through the items and, seeing the child looking around anxiously, he consoled him, "It's okay. I want them all. Sell me the basket too. Name your price."
The little girl nodded excitedly after hearing this, and did not forget to make the next business, "Big brother, do you want an old hen? I have one at home, but it's a bit expensive."
Seeing that Zhang Guoqing was a little moved, she quickly added, "My home is not far from here. Can you see the village across the road? Just come with me and say we're relatives."
It's no wonder Zhang Guoqing really wanted to buy it. He asked tentatively, "How much do you want to sell it for?"
The little girl took the money for the fourteen eggs and returned the money for the broken basket. "My grandpa knows how to weave these, so I won't charge you. Last year, when the canteen closed, my grandma started raising chickens. They're still fat and weigh at least five or six pounds. My grandma said someone told her they could sell them for fifteen yuan."
Zhang Guoqing fainted. His monthly salary could only buy two chickens. He should wait for his wife to come back. He really couldn't afford to spend fifteen yuan on a chicken. This little girl was so skinny, she looked only eight or nine years old at most. How could she be so smart?
"I'd better eat the eggs first." After saying that, Zhang Guoqing picked up the basket and left. His resistance to the cute big eyes had decreased a lot, so it was better to leave early. Otherwise, like last time, he would be led into a ditch by a little child with tears in his eyes.
"Oh, if I had known I would have said less..."
After Zhang Guoqing left, he could still hear the little girl's sigh of regret, and she was so happy that she couldn't stop laughing. When he reached the intersection and saw Yi Jiefang waiting for him with a bicycle, he even described it to him.
Yi Jiefang shook his head. The adults in this area, seeing that professors earned high salaries, would push their children to earn money for the family.
The two men were worried about dropping the eggs in the basket, so they didn't ride their bikes away. Yi Jiefang still pushed the bike and they walked slowly while chatting along the way.
When they were almost at the school, an old man rushed out from the front and fell down in front of the 28-bar with a thud. Zhang Guoqing was so frightened that he raised the basket high and looked at the old man who was lying on the ground shouting "ouch, ouch".
Yi Jiefang was so angry that he pushed the car back and shouted, "Hey, can you pretend to be more real?"
"Oh... the world is so fickle. Young people don't know how to respect the elderly and love the young..."
Zhang Guoqing laughed when he saw this, and pulled Yi Jiefang, saying with a smile: "Old man, please get up. We have something to talk about. Someone will come over later..."
The old man raised his head blankly and said, "My legs hurt and I can't walk. I'm hungry and I can't walk..."
Zhang Guoqing sighed, put the basket down, walked over to him, helped him up, and said softly, "Where is your home? I'll take you back."
The old man leaned on Zhang Guoqing and immediately burst into tears and snot after hearing what he said. He rubbed himself against him hard, which made Zhang Guoqing so disgusted that he almost flew away.
"It's gone. I have no home. Da Huang is dead too. What's the point of leaving me, an old and lonely widower, alive? It's better for me to just die..."
Zhang Guoqing's eyebrows twitched when he heard this. He found the old man strange no matter how he looked at him. Normally, a slovenly old man with messy hair and patched clothes would have a strange smell, but this man had a pleasant medicinal fragrance on him.
He signaled Yi Jiefang, who was about to go berserk, to wait, and the two of them waited quietly until the old man on his body had almost finished crying, without saying a word.
Fortunately, he also knew when to stop. The old man tightly grasped the hem of Zhang Guoqing's clothes and looked up at him pitifully, "I'm hungry."
Yi Jiefang could tell that this guy was either a psychopath or a scammer. He rolled his eyes helplessly. Needless to say, this guy was going to be kind again.
"Dayi, let's go to the front and have a bowl of noodles." Zhang Guoqing didn't want to explain. After that, he supported the old man and said as they walked, "Old man, I don't ask who you are or what your purpose is. I'll treat you to a bowl of noodles, and then we'll go our separate ways, okay?"
The old man snorted and said nothing. He followed the two of them for a long way and finally arrived at a restaurant.
Zhang Guoqing paid six taels of grain coupons worth seventy-five cents and ordered three bowls of noodles. While they were waiting, the old man acted up again, staring at the two of them pitifully without saying a word.
Yi Jiefang was so annoyed by him that he could only ask, "Old man, what's wrong with you? We have to hurry back to school. If you have something to say, say it. If not, eat and go home quickly."
"I want to eat eggs." The old man glanced at the bamboo basket. "I'm old and useless. I can't even eat eggs. It seems that I don't have many days left to live..."
Zhang Guoqing helplessly called for a halt, "Alright, take as many as you want later. I'll consider it my debt, okay?"
"I……"
Seeing that he was about to hesitate again, Zhang Guoqing quickly shouted, "Stop! Old man, please, please? Let's talk straight. Don't use that expression. It scares me."
The old man nodded happily, "I want more meat!"
Yi Jiefang looked at Zhang Guoqing, his mouth hanging open in shock, and laughed heartily. Serves you right! You're too kind.
Zhang Guoqing was defeated. He stood up and said helplessly, "Okay, I'll just do a good deed to accumulate merit for myself."
"Xiao Wu, please be more kind and give me one too."
"Okay, you are all ancestors!"
The old man rolled his eyes at Yi Jiefang and watched Zhang Guoqing leave before asking, "Where is that stupid boy from?"
Yi Jiefang glared at him, then laughed after thinking about it. He was not a silly boy.
"You're a fool too!"
"Old man, you are so mean. We kindly invited you to eat noodles, but you actually laughed at us."
The old man snorted and turned his head away, "You are not going to provide for my retirement."
Yi Jiefang shook his head speechlessly, "Come on, just sit there, I'll go get the noodles."
The old man looked at his back as he left, then looked at Zhang Guoqing who was paying with a smile, grinned, and thought to himself that it was a good decision for him to come to Beijing.
After eating the noodles and the added meat, the old man finally touched his stomach with satisfaction, took out two eggs with a smile, put them in his hands, and left without saying a word.
What Zhang Guoqing noticed was also noticed by Yi Jiefang. They thought it was just some bored old man having fun and just thought it was funny. They didn't take it seriously and immediately rushed to the school to pack their bags and go home.
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