Chapter Ninety-Seven: That's My Little Mute
"Holy crap! No way? Secretary Song has already prepared the bride price?"
"When others receive a bicycle as part of their 'three turns and one sound' (a traditional Chinese gift), Secretary Song is getting a tricycle instead, which has an extra wheel compared to the average person!"
"No way? Could it be that Zhang Chunxue asked Clerk Song to buy it?"
"Who knows..."
For a time, the villagers were even less enthusiastic about going to work and kept discussing this matter.
Zhang Chunxue was tidying up the yard at home when she saw Song Xingzhi riding in on a tricycle, and her eyes immediately lit up.
"A tricycle? This is the tricycle you bought for me?"
Song Xingzhi looked at her with a smile: "Yes, although I couldn't find a second-hand one, I think a new one should be fine."
He got off the tricycle and patted the handlebars: "I rode it from the county, and it felt alright. It wasn't tiring to ride."
Zhang Chunxue walked around the tricycle twice, touching it here and there, clearly enamored with it: "Thank you, Xingzhi! This is wonderful!"
"By the way, how much?"
Song Xingzhi initially wanted to say no, but then he thought that given Zhang Chunxue's personality, she definitely wouldn't accept it so easily.
He thought for a moment: "Uh... one hundred... fifty?"
“It is indeed a bit expensive, but Sister Chunxue can pay me back slowly... Five yuan a month is fine too, I'm not in a hurry anyway.”
Zhang Chunxue tilted her head and looked at him: "Do I look like someone who's easy to fool? How could you possibly buy this brand-new tricycle for only 150?"
"A decent bicycle would cost more than that."
Song Xingzhi was immediately a little embarrassed, and said in a low voice, "Actually... uh, bicycles are about the same price..."
Seeing Zhang Chunxue squinting at him, he could only touch his nose: "Anyway, it's not much different... I got it through an acquaintance, it's cheaper than what's sold in the market..."
Seeing that he had no intention of telling her the truth, Zhang Chunxue felt even more helpless: "What about the receipt for the tricycle?"
Song Xingzhi's mind raced: "Uh, secondhand! No receipt needed!"
Zhang Chunxue was so angry she laughed: "Who was it that just said it was a new tricycle because they couldn't buy a used one?"
Song Xingzhi was speechless for a moment, and couldn't help but sigh: "Sister Chunxue, please let me go!"
"I just... I just don't want to calculate things so clearly with you."
His voice lowered a few decibels: "Besides, I think... we'll be family sooner or later. If I wasn't afraid of upsetting you, Sister Chunxue, I would have said we didn't need to pay."
But they haven't become a real family yet!
Zhang Chunxue pursed her lips and remained silent.
Their relationship is indeed a bit delicate right now.
Finally, Zhang Chunxue coughed lightly and said, "I'll take the tricycle then, and I'll give you five yuan every month from now on?"
Song Xingzhi immediately smiled and said, "Okay!"
Before they got together, the five yuan they earned each month was for their tricycle fare.
If the two of them really got together, Song Xingzhi felt that the five yuan should be pocket money given to him by his sister Chunxue.
Song Xingzhi was still worried about the little mute girl, so he said goodbye to Zhang Chunxue and left.
Looking at the brand-new tricycle, Zhang Chunxue thought about her upcoming business journey and was filled with anticipation for the future.
Zhou Mingli returned home from get off work near evening.
She fed Zhong Yuanyuan, let Zhong Xiaoxiao hold the baby and play with her, while she went to help Zhang Chunxue and chatted about some interesting things that happened at the hospital.
Before she knew it, she started talking about the little mute boy who had come to the hospital.
"Today, while I was cleaning the inpatient ward, a little boy who looked about seven or eight years old was admitted to the hospital."
"He was covered in injuries, his legs were bitten raw by wild dogs, and it felt like there wasn't a single good piece of flesh on his body."
She sighed with emotion, "I don't know what that child went through in the past. He was just skin and bones, so pitiful."
As if remembering something, she added, "And that child can't speak; he's a little mute."
Zhang Chunxue's pupils contracted upon hearing this.
"What did you say? A seven or eight-year-old boy, who is also mute?"
She grabbed Zhou Mingli's arm: "His leg was bitten, right?"
Zhou Mingli hadn't expected Zhang Chunxue to react so strongly. She paused for a moment before nodding hesitantly, "Yes, yes, that's how it is..."
Before she could finish speaking, Zhang Chunxue suddenly stood up and immediately tried to rush out.
Zhou Mingli was so frightened that she quickly grabbed her: "Mom! It's already late, where are you going?"
Zhang Chunxue felt a chill, glanced at the sky outside, and then looked at Zhou Mingli and Zhong Xiaoxiao, who were completely bewildered by her actions. Her previously high spirits gradually subsided.
He took a deep breath and forced a smile: "It's nothing, let's start cooking!"
But she was determined that after dinner, even if it was overnight, she would rush to the hospital to see the little mute boy.
That's her little mute!
But in my previous life, didn't the little mute boy only appear in the village a year later?
Zhang Chunxue still remembers that at that time, Zhong Xiaoxiao was beaten to death by Wang Laowu. Zhang Chunxue was also distracted by this incident. Song Xingzhi was also completely disappointed in him because of this and left the village to return to the capital.
At that time, she found the little mute boy. Seeing his injuries all over his body, and remembering that Zhong Xiaoxiao had died in a similar way, she felt a pang of pity and took him in.
She still remembered the day she saw the little mute boy; there was a large, hideous scar on his thigh beneath his tattered trousers.
He is so pitiful.
This adoption lasted for more than ten years. Later, the little mute boy went out to work. It's easy to imagine what he would encounter outside, as someone who couldn't speak or read and write.
He could barely support himself, but he would send a portion of his salary back to Zhang Chunxue every month.
In the end, the little mute even agreed to donate his kidney to Zhang Chunxue...
But in reality, Zhang Chunxue had only treated him so-so before, not nearly as well as her three sons. She had only given him food and a bed to sleep in!
Zhang Chunxue never expected that the little mute would appear ahead of schedule in her life.
So, could she make him suffer a year less?
Distracted, Zhang Chunxue finished cooking and ate in a few bites. She then immediately filled a lunchbox with some food and prepared to ride her new tricycle to town.
Zhong Xiaoxiao was even more surprised to see her going out at this hour: "Mom, what's wrong with you? You're acting so strange today... Where are you going at this hour?"
Zhang Chunxue patted her head: "Mom has something important to do and needs to go out. You and your sister shouldn't wander around at home, okay?"
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