When Huang Ling returned with the newspapers, it was almost five o'clock. She opened the newsstand, set up the wire bed, and began busily arranging newspapers and magazines. As she worked, she saw more and more people going to and from get off work, and the streets were bustling with activity, so she got busy.
Then the kindergarten across the street also opened. Some children arrived very early because their parents were in a hurry to go to work and wanted to leave their children with the teachers as soon as possible so they could work with peace of mind.
Huang Ling had almost finished setting up her stall and was thinking of going to the yard to move the books she had taken back yesterday, but looking at the people coming and going, she was worried and afraid that it would delay her business.
Time passed slowly, but Zhuang Chaoying still couldn't be seen coming out of the alley.
Just then, Wu Jianguo walked over from the opposite side and said to Huang Ling, "Sister-in-law, I see your business is doing quite well. You've sold dozens of portions in such a short time, haven't you?"
Huang Ling smiled knowingly and said, "Well, whether business is good or bad, it's all thanks to the support of the neighbors!"
"That's right, we can't do anything without the help of our neighbors. By the way, is there anything you need help with, sister-in-law? Just let me know if you need anything, I won't refuse!"
Huang Ling said, "Everyone here is a busy person who can't sit still, so we should rely on ourselves! By the way, Jianguo, could you wake Chaoying up for me? It's already past six o'clock, he should be up too!"
"Okay, okay, I'll call them for you right away!"
"Thank you, Jianguo!"
"No need to thank me! It's all my pleasure!"
Huang Ling watched Wu Jianguo enter the alleyway and felt much relieved. After all, she didn't have to run inside and worry about the business anymore!
Sure enough, not long after, Zhuang Chaoying came out carrying two bundles of books. As soon as he came out, he asked, "How is it? Has yesterday's newspaper bill been settled?"
Huang Ling hurriedly said, "It's gone, it's gone. The remaining newspapers have also been returned. We made at least fifty yuan from yesterday's newspapers and magazines!"
"Really? That's great! Fifty a day, fifteen hundred a month, that's much higher than Tu Nan's salary!"
"It's much higher, but it's not easy working out in the wind and sun. In the past, the wages were low, but at least you weren't exposed to the sun or rain!"
"Sigh. There's nothing we can do about it. Who made Tu Nan suffer like this? We can only endure hardship to rise above others!"
As they talked, Huang Ling continued to manage her business, while Zhuang Chaoying pushed her tricycle into the alley to sell books.
At this moment, Wu Shanshan came out of the kindergarten. She saw that Huang Ling's business was booming. Not only were workers coming to and from get off work buying, but also parents dropping off their children.
Seeing Huang Ling's business, Wu Shanshan started to have doubts. She thought to herself, "I've worked so hard to open a kindergarten, only to have it become someone else's success. This won't do. I have to find a way to take their business away. Since they're running a newsstand, I have to open a bookstore. That way, I can take all their business!"
Wu Shanshan was overjoyed at the thought and praised herself for being clever.
But despite her thoughts, she didn't stop walking. She went straight to Huang Ling's stall and said with a smile, "Aunt Huang, your business is doing quite well!"
While busy attending to customers, Huang Ling said, "It's all thanks to the neighbors that I'm making a little money!"
"Small change?"
Wu Shanshan said somewhat exaggeratedly, "This is no small amount of money. You make two cents per newspaper, right? Dozens or even hundreds of newspapers would be twenty or thirty yuan, plus the magazines, well, that's at least fifty yuan a day!"
Upon hearing Wu Shanshan's words, Huang Ling couldn't help but admire her. Wu Shanshan was indeed very clever, but she just didn't use her intelligence in the right way.
Just then, a policeman walked over and went straight up to Wu Shanshan, saying, "Are you Principal Wu Shanshan?"
Wu Shanshan hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, what's the matter, officer?"
"After our interrogation, we learned that the people who smashed your security booth last night weren't targeting you. They originally intended to smash the newsstand, but it was probably too dark and they didn't recognize the way, so they smashed your security booth instead. But don't worry, we will make them pay for it at the original price, and we will definitely not let you suffer any losses!"
Wu Shanshan maintained her smile and said, "It's just a few pieces of glass. As long as we find out the cause, that's fine. As for compensation for the glass, forget about it. Just reimburse the security guard's medical expenses!"
The policeman said, "Okay, thank you, Director Wu!"
After the police officer finished speaking, he left. Wu Shanshan watched the officer's retreating figure and said to Huang Ling, "Aunt Huang, did you hear what the police officer said?"
Huang Ling naturally understood what the police were saying, but she didn't want to be too blunt, so she pretended to be naive and said, "I heard it, I heard it. How could this thug have gone to the wrong place? He must not have read enough books and newspapers. People like this should be arrested. There's no need to pity them!"
Wu Shanshan could tell that Huang Ling was deliberately diverting attention from the main issue and unwilling to take responsibility, so she said, "Aunt Huang, didn't you hear what the police said? They said they were going to smash your newsstand, not our security booth!"
Upon hearing this, Huang Ling knew there was no way to avoid it, so she could only say, "We didn't instigate these hooligans to smash the security booth, so it has nothing to do with us, right?"
Wu Shanshan said impatiently, "Aunt Huang, how can you talk like that? Those thugs came for your newsstand and accidentally smashed our security booth. Don't you bear any responsibility at all?"
Huang Ling then realized that Wu Shanshan had come to cause trouble, so she said, "The police just said they would compensate you, what more do you want?"
"Since the thugs were vandalizing your newsstand and accidentally damaged our security booth, then you should pay part of the compensation. I don't need much, just pay for the glass in our security booth! It's not much, twenty yuan should be fine!"
"you,,!"
Just as Huang Ling was about to explain, Zhuang Chaoying came out pushing a tricycle. Seeing that Huang Ling was about to get angry, she quickly put down the tricycle, walked up to Huang Ling and said, "What's wrong, Huang Ling?"
"The police came just now and said that the vandalism of the security booth was accidental. They meant to vandalize the newsstand but ended up vandalizing the security booth instead. The police said they would compensate them and cover the security guard's medical expenses, but Shanshan told the police not to. Now that the police have left, she wants us to compensate her. We didn't vandalize the security booth, so why should we pay for it?"
Wu Shanshan suddenly put her hands on her hips, glared at them with her big eyes, and said, "That group of people wanted to smash your newsstand. We're neighbors, and our house was damaged. Shouldn't you compensate us? We were implicated!"
Zhuang Chaoying was always timid, and he was afraid that Wu Shanshan's commotion would affect the business. Besides, his family was indeed at a disadvantage in this matter, so he said, "Okay, we'll compensate you. Just tell us how much!"
"twenty!"
"Okay, I'll give you twenty!"
Huang Ling immediately stopped Zhuang Chaoying, who was about to take out money, and said, "What are you trying to do? The police have already said that you should compensate her, but she insisted on not doing so. Now she's asking us for money. This is clearly extortion. Why should you compensate her? You're a man, can't you have some self-respect?"
Zhuang Chaoying looked troubled, unsure whether to pay or not. Just then, Wu Jianguo emerged from the alley and saw a crowd gathered around the newsstand. He assumed the newsstand was doing well and wanted to see what books were attracting so many people. But when he squeezed in and saw his daughter, Wu Shanshan, confronting the Zhuang family, he immediately became angry and shouted, "Wu Shanshan, what did I say to you last night?"
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