As soon as Wu Shanshan saw Wu Jianguo, she immediately lowered her head and said, "Dad, our security booth is all thanks to them, why can't I ask them for compensation?"
Wu Jianguo said angrily, "I'll just say one thing: a close neighbor is worse than a distant relative!"
Wu Shanshan tried to argue her point, saying, "But the security booth at my kindergarten was indeed damaged because of them!"
"But after all, it wasn't the dealer who smashed it for you. There's a reason for the wrong, and you should find the person who smashed your window. If you keep acting up, I, Wu Jianguo, will no longer acknowledge you!"
"dad!"
"Don't call me Dad! Ever since we became neighbors with the farmers, they've helped us so much. You're just not grateful, are you?"
"I didn't, I won't make them pay!"
"It's only right that you don't make them pay; at least you have a conscience. If you go back to your Aunt Huang's place, don't call me Dad again!"
After Wu Jianguo finished speaking, he pushed his way out of the crowd; he wanted to go to work and earn money.
Zhang Amei, who was standing next to Wu Jianguo, looked at him affectionately and said, "Jianguo, you look so manly today! You're a true man, and I love you just the way you are!"
When Wu Jianguo received praise from his wife, he almost got carried away and said, "A married daughter is like water spilled from a bowl. If you don't teach her a lesson, she won't know who her father is!"
"Yes! She should be taught a lesson!"
As they were talking, Wu Jianguo and his wife left the alleyway.
After watching her parents leave, Wu Shanshan angrily returned to the kindergarten. Entering the office, she picked up the phone and dialed a number. As soon as the other end answered, she said, "Hey, honey, where have you been? You're neglecting your own kindergarten! Have you been bewitched by some vixen again?"
Liu Jian's frightened voice came through the phone, saying, "Darling, why are you thinking of me like that? I will never have another woman but you, don't worry!"
"Bullshit! Our security booth was smashed, and our security guard was injured!"
"Who dares to mess with my territory? They're asking for trouble! Who is it? Tell me, and I'll make sure they pay!"
"Nobody else, just our neighbors, the farmers!"
"The bookmaker?"
Liu Jian said with some disbelief, "How could it be the Zhuang family? Zhuang Chaoying is such an honest person, and a teacher at that. It's impossible! You mean his son, Tu Nan? Even more impossible. He's a high-ranking engineer. How could he smash windows like a scoundrel!"
"I said it's his house, so it's his house!"
"Fine, fine, it's your decision. Tell me what you want to do!"
"I want to open a Xinhua Bookstore next to our kindergarten!"
"Hey! Shanshan, we can't be impulsive, can we? We've already spent all our savings on opening the kindergarten, and we've borrowed a lot of money from outside. You can't just do whatever you want!"
"No, honey, you don't know, the Zhuang family opened a newsstand. The workers going to and from get off work, people dropping off their kids, and the elderly jogging and taking walks all frequent their place. I saw them make several tens of yuan in just a short time. They must make several thousand yuan a month!"
"Really? Why didn't you say so sooner? Otherwise, we could have opened a bookstore. It would have been a safe and profitable business. These kindergarten kids are not only noisy, but we also have to take good care of them. We can't afford to have any mishaps in a year. If even one child gets sick, we'll be in deep trouble!"
"What do you mean by that? Are you blaming me for giving bad advice? I've never been a teacher, so I thought I had an advantage, but who knew it would take so much effort! I wish I hadn't started this business; I'm so worried!"
"We've already taken the money and the kids are here, so how can we regret it? We just have to grit our teeth and bear it!"
"Why are you forcing yourself? We opened a bookstore, and the money we earn can subsidize the kindergarten! Don't you think so, honey?"
"But the Zhuang family has already opened a newsstand. It seems a bit excessive for us to open a Xinhua Bookstore as well."
“Here’s the thing, honey, there’s been a group of people causing trouble for the bookstore owners these past few days. You could send someone over to cause some trouble at their stall, and they won’t be able to run the newsstand anymore. Once they’re done, we can open the bookstore again, right?”
"Hmm, that's a good idea. Okay, I'll think of a way to find a few people to try it out, and then we'll see!"
"Stop dawdling and hurry up!"
"Okay, honey, that's all, relax!"
Wu Shanshan hung up the phone and looked through the glass of the window at Huang Ling, who was busy in the distance, her eyes filled with resentment and jealousy.
Huang Ling was greeting customers, while Zhuang Chaoying was still using her tricycle to move the books she had brought home the night before.
At this moment, Zhuang Xiaoting pushed Zhuang Tunan out and said to Huang Ling, "Mom, go eat! My brother can watch over things here!"
Seeing that Zhuang Xiaoting was carrying a bag and looked like she was about to leave, Huang Ling asked, "What? Are you leaving with Lin Dongzhe?"
Zhuang Xiaoting hurriedly said, "Didn't my dad tell me yesterday that Dongzhe and I should go back? Besides, it's been several days since the New Year, I should go back too!"
Huang Ling nodded and said, "That's true. It's almost the New Year, so it's time to go back to Shanghai. Go ahead! Come back in a few months when your belly is bigger and it's more inconvenient, and Mom will take care of you!"
"mom!"
Zhuang Xiaoting was a little reluctant to leave, but she also knew that she was married and had her own family to take care of. She couldn't always stay at her parents' home, or the neighbors would laugh at her. So she made up her mind to go back to Shanghai with Lin Dongzhe.
Seeing Zhuang Xiaoting hesitate, Huang Ling, fearing she might still be reluctant to leave, said, "Come on! Go with Dongzhe! From now on, it's just the two of you, have a good time!"
Zhuang Chaoying finished her work and said to Zhuang Xiaoting, "The sooner we go to Shanghai and start working, the sooner we can earn money for baby formula for our future baby!"
"Dad, this baby isn't even a month old yet! It'll be another ten months before he's born! There's no need to rush!"
Seeing that Zhuang Xiaoting wasn't in a hurry, Zhuang Chaoying said impatiently, "Alright! Alright! Let's go! Your mother hasn't eaten yet! You're just wasting time here!"
As soon as Zhuang Xiaoting pouted, a feeling of grievance welled up in her heart, and she almost burst into tears.
Lin Dongzhe, standing to the side, seemed to be gloating. He smiled and said to Zhuang Xiaoting, "Let's go! The sooner we get to Shanghai, the sooner we can have some alone time!"
As he spoke, he took the lead and walked ahead.
Zhuang Xiaoting grew angrier the more she looked at Lin Dongzhe, and suddenly kicked him in the butt.
As soon as Lin Dongzhe was kicked, he ran forward for a while. Luckily, a passerby stopped him, otherwise he would have fallen face-first into the dirt.
As soon as Lin Dongzhe steadied himself, he turned sharply to Huang Ling and said, "Mom, look at her!"
As her daughter was leaving, Huang Ling didn't want to scold her, so she said with a smile, "Alright, alright, it's a sign of affection between husband and wife. Now go on your way!"
Lin Dongzhe then pursed his lips and continued walking forward, with Zhuang Xiaoting following him out of the alleyway.
As Huang Ling and Zhuang Chaoying watched Zhuang Xiaoting and Lin Dongzhe leave, Huang Ling felt a strange sadness, and tears almost welled up in her eyes.
Zhuang Chaoying turned her head and saw that Huang Ling was about to cry, so she quickly said to Huang Ling, "Okay, let's go! Let's go eat!"
Huang Ling turned to Zhuang Tunan and said, "Tunan, you can keep an eye on things for now if you're not too busy. I'll be right there after I finish eating!"
Zhuang Tunan smiled and said, "Don't worry, Mom! It's fine, I can keep an eye on things by myself!"
Huang Ling and her husband then turned around and went home for dinner.
As soon as Huang Ling and her husband left, an older man said to Zhuang Tunan, "Hey buddy, do you have any of Jin Yong's 'The Return of the Condor Heroes'?"
Zhuang Tunan glanced at the martial arts novel on the wire bed and said, "I'm not familiar with it either, you can take a look yourself!"
The young man started flipping through the books on the wire bed, glancing at Zhuang Tunan every now and then. While Zhuang Tunan was attending to other customers, he quietly took a book from under his arm and slipped it into the martial arts novel section, then said, "I don't think you have any here. I'm leaving!"
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