When the sky is arrogant, rain is sure to follow; when people are arrogant, disaster is sure to follow.
Before Xiao Weiguo could even gloat for long, a dark cloud drifted in from the sky, and a torrential downpour began without warning.
With no other option, since there was nowhere to take shelter from the rain on either side, Xiao Weiguo had no choice but to pour the rice into the large plastic bag containing flour, and then stuff everything that was susceptible to moisture into the rice bag.
That way you won't have to worry about your newly bought items getting wet.
As for rice and flour, you can easily separate them by sifting them through a sieve at home; it's no big deal.
After a long and arduous ride, we finally arrived at Xiaotun. It was already getting dark, and smoke was rising from the rooftops of every house. The heavy rain had also stopped.
Arriving at his own doorstep, Xiao Weiguo hoisted all his belongings onto his shoulders and returned the bicycle to Liu Ye.
Thank you again...
Liu Ye turned around, got on her bicycle, and rode home.
"Hey, don't forget to ask your dad about the socks!"
Xiao Weiguo shouted something at her retreating figure.
"knew!"
From afar came the clear, crisp reply of Liu Ye.
"hey-hey!"
Xiao Weiguo turned around and smacked his lips.
"Wow! So beautiful!"
Pulling himself out of his thoughts, he carried his things and headed home.
In the kitchen, Xiao Shanshan was starting a fire to cook.
There was only half a bowl of rice left in the house, so she picked a few wild vegetable leaves from the ground and threw them into the pot.
This was the dinner for the three siblings.
As for that guy, he said he was going out to make money in the morning, and he was gone all day. Nobody believes he could make any money. I wonder where he went to freeload again.
If they had relied on him to take care of the family, they and their siblings would have starved to death long ago.
If it weren't for his despicable nature, my second brother wouldn't have run away from home and hasn't been heard from since.
"well!"
Xiao Shanshan sighed.
No matter how hard life is, we have to keep going, not for ourselves, but for our two younger siblings who are only eight years old.
The red flames in the stove cast flickering light and shadow on her rough skin. At such a young age, the marks of time had already etched themselves onto her forehead.
The gate creaked open, and someone entered the courtyard.
Xiao Shanshan knew that her older brother must have returned, and it seemed that the little rice in the pot would be even less than enough for dinner.
"Shanshan, Xiaojiang, Xiaoyue, your brother is back! Look what I brought you!"
Xiao Shanshan remained unmoved in the kitchen, not even lifting her eyelids. She was long accustomed to her older brother's deception and beatings; bringing them things? Ha! A pipe dream.
The two twins who were playing in the main room were startled by the noise and scrambled up from the ground, hiding in the corner of the kang (a heated brick bed) and shrinking into themselves.
Whenever their older brother ran out of money, he would beat them. Hearing his voice, they would instinctively try to find a safe place.
Xiao Weiguo stood in the yard for a long time, but seeing that no one paid any attention to him, he could only awkwardly peek into the kitchen.
"Shanshan, don't cook. I bought some delicious food. You can just heat it up."
Xiao Shanshan raised her head, as if she had misheard, her clear eyes fixed on Xiao Weiguo.
Xiao Weiguo put down what he was carrying and took out four pig trotters and a roast chicken from the plastic bag.
"Shanshan, look, I wasn't lying."
The fragrant aroma of braised pig's trotters and roast chicken immediately filled the small kitchen. Xiao Shanshan almost couldn't help but swallow.
"Where did you get the money to buy it? Did you steal it? Or did you gamble it away again?"
She couldn't believe her eyes. It had been so many years since she had eaten such food, it seemed like she hadn't tasted anything like it since her parents passed away.
Xiao Weiguo hurriedly waved his hands in explanation.
"Shanshan, it's not what you think. I really bought this with my own money. It's not fake at all."
"Your money? Where did you get the money? Didn't you gamble away all two hundred yuan yesterday? Did you sell me again?"
As she spoke, tears streamed down Xiao Shanshan's face.
She wasn't afraid of hardship or fatigue, but she was afraid of being deceived by her own brother time and time again. If her brother were alright, even if he did nothing but stay at home every day taking care of the two younger children, she wouldn't be in such a difficult situation.
Seeing his sister's heartbroken state, Xiao Weiguo felt a pang of pain in his heart. What sins had he committed in the past? How could such a sensible sister have caused him such distress?
"Shanshan, I've really learned my lesson this time. I won't cheat you again. This time, I'm doing business with Liuye. If you don't trust me, you should trust Liuye, right?"
As he spoke, he placed the things he was holding on the stove.
"Come on, I'll take you to Liu Ye's house right now and prove it to you."
Seeing how sincere he was, even bringing up Liu Ye, the village's famous talented woman, Xiao Shanshan couldn't help but believe him.
Liu Ye comes from a wealthy family and has been well-mannered since childhood. She would never stoop to her brother's level. Since he dares to say that, it must be true.
"But, but... if you spend all the money, what about the two hundred yuan dowry?"
Xiao Shanshan finally stood up and put the pig's trotters and roast chicken into the bamboo basket of the large iron pot.
Although she was heartbroken about the money, she figured since she'd already bought it, it would be a waste not to eat it. She figured this was a good opportunity to treat her two little ones. She couldn't bear to waste it.
Xiao Weiguo then pulled out a stack of ten-yuan notes from his pocket, a total of thirty or forty notes.
"Look, this is all I earned today."
As he spoke, he counted out twenty bills and put them in his pocket, handing the rest to his sister.
"After we finish eating, I'll go and return the two hundred yuan to them. You can keep the rest. From now on, you can decide what to buy for the family."
Whether Xiao Shanshan believed it or not, with colorful bills in front of her, it was impossible for her not to be tempted.
"You're not kidding me, are you? Selling socks is that profitable?"
This is the first time the eldest brother has brought money home; in the past, it was always the family taking money from outside.
"No, it won't happen again."
Seeing his younger sister gradually come to believe him, Xiao Weiguo was filled with excitement.
He took his sister's hand and picked up the plastic bag from the ground.
"Come with me, I've bought you all new clothes and food."
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