Hearing Wu Shanshan's angry words, Liu Jian mumbled somewhat indistinctly, "Burning down the pavilion is illegal!"
Wu Shanshan glared at her and said, "If you mutter another word, do you believe I'll cut your tongue out?"
Liu Jian naturally knew that Wu Shanshan could cause a huge uproar if she got angry. She was someone who wasn't afraid of anyone, not even the Heavenly King himself. Naturally, he was timid and hurriedly covered his mouth with both hands, afraid that he couldn't cover it with just one hand.
Wu Shanshan sat on the office sofa, getting angrier and angrier, on the verge of tears. Liu Jian, standing beside her, covered his mouth, not daring to utter a sound.
Wu Shanshan looked up and stared at Zhuang Tunan outside the window, her eyes seemingly spitting fire.
Zhuang Tunan was greeting customers, while Xiaomin cleared away the dishes and then walked into the alley to wash them.
As soon as Zhang Min entered the alley, Yi Ming's mother came out of the convenience store and asked Zhuang Tu Nan, "Tu Nan, how is your mother?"
Tu Nan looked at Yi Ming's mother and said, "Auntie, I don't know either. Uncle Wu told me that my mother had surgery in the emergency room, but I don't know the reason or anything!"
"Oh!" Yiming's mother sighed and said, "Sigh, our family and your family have been neighbors for almost twenty years. Your father helped Yiming a lot in the early years, and we remember all those kindnesses. We can't help him now because Yiming bought a new house in a bustling part of the city, with a shop. It's currently under renovation, so Yiming is very busy. But Yiming called and asked me to ask you if you would be willing to rent my small shop. I'll give you a symbolic fifty yuan a month, or thirty is fine too. You can renovate the shop and sell things there, whether it's general merchandise or newspapers and magazines, it's all fine. We won't interfere, okay?"
Zhuang Tunan blushed and said, "That's great! Buying newspapers and magazines indoors is nice, as it keeps us dry and protected from the wind. It's just that I can't make the decision myself; I have to wait for my parents to come back!"
"No rush, our new house isn't finished yet. I'm just letting you know first, but don't tell anyone else! Your brother Yiming only told me to tell you!"
Zhuang Tunan nodded and said, "Okay, Auntie. I'll tell my parents when they get back, so they can think about it!"
"I'll go back and get busy then!"
"Okay, goodbye, ma'am!"
Zhuang Tunan watched as Yiming's mother returned to the convenience store before turning back to continue his business.
"Brother, have you eaten?"
Zhuang Tunan looked up and saw Zhuang Xiaoting. He smiled and said, "I've already eaten. Xiaomin made the meal for me!"
"Right! That's great!"
Have you eaten?
"Me? I'm not even as good as you! It's okay, I'll go make something to eat myself. You go ahead and do your work, I'll come help you in a bit!"
As Zhuang Xiaoting spoke, she walked towards the alley entrance. As soon as she entered the alley, she saw Zhang Min and quickly said, "Thank you, Xiaomin. If it weren't for your help, my brother would have been in a real predicament!"
Zhang Min laughed and said, "What's the big deal? We've been neighbors for so many years, and we grew up together. Who hasn't helped someone else? It's only right!"
"I'll treat you to dinner another day!"
Zhang Min quickly said, "It's alright, we're all family."
As they were talking, the two passed each other by, and Zhuang Xiaoting went to cook for herself.
Zhang Min then went to the newsstand and, seeing that it wasn't too busy, said to Zhuang Tunan, "Brother Tunan, let me treat you to a movie tonight! I heard that Chen Peisi's new movie is showing!"
"Really? I also quite like Chen Peisi's movies, and Stephen Chow's too, but it's inconvenient for me in a wheelchair! Let's talk about it another day!"
"No, no! It's okay, I'll push you, isn't that fine?"
"But it's not safe at night lately, I think we should forget about it!"
"What's the matter?"
Zhang Min said with a displeased look, "Don't you want to watch a movie with me?"
Zhuang Tunan was caught in a dilemma. If he didn't want to, he was afraid of offending Zhang Min, who was not only helping him watch the stall but also cooking for him. It was really too much for her. If he accepted, he was afraid Zhang Min would overthink things. After all, Zhuang Tunan still couldn't let go of Li Jia. Although he knew that Li Jia had cheated on him and had wronged him, how could he just cut off so many years of feelings?
Just then, Zhuang Xiaoting came out with a bowl. It turned out that she had bought a pack of instant noodles from the convenience store, soaked it in hot water, and then came out.
Upon seeing Zhuang Xiaoting, Zhuang Tunan grasped at her like a lifeline and hurriedly asked, "Xiaoting, how is Mom doing in the hospital?"
Zhuang Xiaoting picked up her bowl, found a place to sit down, and then said, "The surgery is over. The doctor said I can be discharged after a few days of rest!"
"Thank goodness, Mom's alright, I'm so relieved!"
"Yes! But even in her condition, Mom still talks about you, she can't let you go, and she wants me to come home and help you!"
"Really? It's all because of my legs, they make it hard for me to move around. Otherwise, I would definitely go see my mother!"
Zhang Min said, "Is that why you can't go to the hospital? It's because your mother is worried about the neighbors and afraid they'll have to go all the way to buy newspapers. That's just how Aunt Huang is; she always thinks of others but never of herself!"
Zhuang Xiaoting was holding a bowl, feeling a little hungry but unable to eat. She stared blankly to the side without saying a word.
Zhuang Tunan asked her, "Xiaoting, did you come back alone? Where's Dongzhe?"
"Dong Zhe works for a large company, so they start work early. We employees of public institutions don't have to work for the time being, so we can only start work after the Lantern Festival!"
"Oh, then you should keep in touch with him often; that will strengthen your relationship!"
Zhuang Xiaoting coldly replied, "I don't care about him! These past few days since he came home, he's been hanging out with his colleagues, either partying and drinking or discussing business. He's completely ignoring me!"
Zhuang Tunan frowned and said, "You're pregnant now, he should be even more attentive to you. Why is he being so cold to you? Could it be that you're too harsh on him, and he doesn't get the tenderness he deserves from you?"
Zhuang Xiaoting said somewhat angrily, "Am I not good enough to him? I cook for him, wash his clothes, wash his feet, and I listen to everything he says. I never do anything against his wishes. What more do you want from me? To be his slave?"
Zhang Min said from the side, "Sister Xiaoting, you can't spoil him like this. Maybe you're too good to him, so he thinks you can't live without him and can easily control you, so he doesn't cherish your kindness as much!"
Zhuang Xiaoting looked at the road ahead, her mind wandering, but she said aloud, "Maybe! We don't cherish what we get easily, and by the time we learn to cherish it, we've probably already lost it!"
"While that statement makes a lot of sense, it doesn't apply to you and Dongzhe at all. After all, you two have lived together for so long, know how to respect and cherish each other, and you're sure to grow old together!"
Zhuang Xiaoting smiled and nodded, saying, "Yes, I appreciate your kind words. I hope Dongzhe and I can grow old together!"
Just as Zhuang Xiaoting finished speaking, a young man walked over and asked her, "Are you Zhuang Xiaoting?"
Zhuang Xiaoting nodded and said, "Yes! What's wrong?"
Someone asked me to deliver a letter to you!
As he spoke, the young man took an envelope out of his pocket, handed it to Zhuang Xiaoting, and then turned and left.
Zhuang Xiaoting watched the person leave, curious about who would give her a letter. So she opened the envelope, and inside was a photo. The image in the photo stunned Zhuang Xiaoting, and tears streamed down her face.
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