I like it.
When the calico cat rushed up, everyone's attention was on the jump rope, and no one expected that a fat cat would actually charge straight at people without caring about anything else.
Jin Xilu tore off her rubber band, ran forward, knelt on one knee, picked up the girl, and let her sit on her lap, leaning against her. The girl opened her eyes, turned her wrist, and found that it didn't hurt. She immediately stood up, spun around in front of everyone, and said with surprise, "I'm fine, it didn't hurt at all when I fell."
Seeing that her friend was unharmed, the short-haired girl next to her asked worriedly, "By the way, how's the cat? Is she hurt?"
When Sanhua heard its name called, it came out from behind Jin Xilu. It was not injured. It slowly shook off the loose fur on its body and looked at the girls around it with watery eyes. It did not run away or cry out, but just pushed a cracked wooden gourd with its head.
The only thing that was truly injured at the scene was the gourd.
"Oh dear! This gourd has cracked open."
Once the girls' attention was drawn to the gourd on the ground, Kim Hee-ro finally had a chance to pull San-hwa aside and whisper, "Are you really not trying to scam me?"
"Meow." Sanhua flicked her hand with her tail and broke free.
At that moment, one of the girls in the crowd said, "Don't you guys think this cat looks familiar?"
"You're right! I feel like I've seen it around someone before."
The short-haired girl was the first to remember, touching the cat's belly and whispering, "It seems, it seems like this is the chief's cat, I've seen it before."
Another girl chimed in, "Ah! I remember now, this is the chief's cat. The chief loves it very much, and it accompanies him to events."
When Sanhua heard that the clan leader liked it the most, she arrogantly wagged her tail at the orange cat lying on the wall, only to be met with the orange cat opening its mouth and scolding her, "Don't forget the important matter."
Yu Yi looked down at the cracked gourd on the ground and said dejectedly, "Oh no, I'm doomed. If my parents find out that I cracked the gourd on the clan chief's gate, I won't be able to go out and play this winter vacation."
Upon hearing this, everyone lost the will to continue playing jump rope.
As the only adult present, Kim Hee-ro knew very well that the girl couldn't be blamed at all; it was all the two cats' deliberate act, but she didn't know why they did it.
Kim Hee-ro couldn't explain it, but she could vaguely sense that they were guiding her and helping her to find something.
There's no point in assigning blame right now. All they can do is try to fix the gourd. Kim Hee-ro squatted down, took out a pink handkerchief she'd found while cleaning yesterday, picked up the cracked gourd and put it inside, then looked up to comfort the girls: "It's okay, let's try to fix it."
Do you know where there's a carpenter's shop in town?
"Oh, right! Xixi, I remember your grandpa was a carpenter. He could make anything. He even made a cabinet for my family last time, and my mom loved it." Yu Yi remembered and happily tugged at the short-haired girl's sleeve.
It turns out the short-haired girl's name is Xixi. When her friend pulled her in front of everyone, her face instantly turned red. She clenched her little fists nervously to encourage herself, until she talked about her grandfather, her eyes were full of pride and happiness: "Yes! My grandfather is very powerful. Let's go to him for help. He will definitely be able to fix it."
"Great! Let's go find your grandfather right away."
Jin Xilu didn't rush the girl to take her there. Instead, she gently asked her, "Xixi, can you take me to find your grandfather?"
It was this sentence that dispelled Xixi's concerns. She looked at everyone who was full of fighting spirit, and finally leaned close to Jin Xilu's ear and whispered, "Sister, my grandfather doesn't like the people in the clan chief's family, no, he doesn't like anything related to the clan chief's family, so you absolutely can't bring the cat along."
This surprised Jin Xilu. In their backward and ignorant town, generations of people relied on the mines for survival. Every household was nourished by the sacred mountain, and the townspeople revered and loved each generation's clan leader. This concept still exists in the hearts of every townperson today.
Perhaps sensing Jin Xilu's surprise, Xixi quickly leaned closer to her ear and added, her voice rising with excitement: "But, but I really like the current clan leader, really! He's very good to us."
After learning about Xixi's concerns, Jin Xilu didn't think it was a big deal; where there's liking, there's also disliking.
Dislike and like are the same. Liking someone means you can ignore their other flaws and continue the relationship for a long time just based on that feeling of liking.
Dislike can negate a person entirely because of any one thing about them, thus turning their presence into a stinking, maggot-infested garbage dump where one feels nauseous just by being near them.
Dislike is more direct than liking, but liking is slightly stronger than dislike.
Kim Hee-ro is the middleman in this contradiction. She utterly despises the existence of the Jiang family, yet she deeply loves Jiang Yi-lin, liking his scent and the person he is, even though getting close to him means getting close to a garbage dump.
She accepted it willingly, swallowing her nausea.
Jiang Xilu quickly came up with a solution. She said to the remaining girls, "I'm afraid the calico cat will run away again. Would you be willing to help me escort the kitten home?"
Before the little girl could answer, the calico cat was the first to stand up and protest: "Meow! Are you kidding me? I am the smartest cat in the cat world, and I need a little girl to take me home."
But the resistance was futile. The calico cat eventually succumbed to the temptation of the dried fish and cleverly latched onto the girls, acting cute, licking them, and pinching their hands. No girl could resist the cunning kitten.
"Okay, it's also our responsibility that you broke the gourd, so you can go with Xixi without worry. We'll take care of the kitten."
Before parting ways, Kim Hee-ro winked at the orange cat dozing on the wall and whispered, "Thank you, you wanted to help me, right?"
"Huh, what did you just say, sister? I didn't hear you clearly." Xixi thought she was talking to her and was so nervous that she almost walked on tiptoe. She didn't forget to remind her again, "Also, when you meet my grandfather, you absolutely, absolutely cannot say that you work for the Jiang family, otherwise my grandfather will be unhappy."
"I never worked for the Jiang family." Although she had no connection with the Jiang family before today, the future was uncertain. Saying this would make the girl feel better, so Kim Hee-ro said it anyway.
Xixi visibly relaxed, and a smile appeared in her eyes. She smiled and said that her little dimple on the left side was very cute. She confessed, "That's great. I don't have to lie. If I lied to Grandpa, he would be very sad. I don't want to lie to him."
So that's how it is, Jin Xilu thought to herself. The girl always talked about her grandfather and never mentioned her own parents. It must be her grandfather who takes care of her.
"You said Grandpa is a carpenter, that's amazing. It reminds me of my grandma. She'll always be the most amazing grandma in my heart. She makes the best frozen rice candy and sesame brittle in the world." Jin Xilu wanted to chat with her more to ease her tension.
Sure enough, Xixi seemed less nervous when the girl's grandfather was mentioned. As she walked, she stroked the thick moss growing on the old wall of the alley. The fuzzy moss stems and leaves flowed smoothly through her palm, allowing her to feel the breath of plant growth.
Xixi said softly, "Yes! My grandpa is really amazing. He can't carve wood to make furniture, but he can save flowers and trees. The flowers and plants in our yard are so beautiful. They were all planted by my grandpa. He waters them and prunes them every day."
"I'm so lucky to have run into you guys while chasing cats today, and to have seen such a beautiful yard." When I'm with kids, I unconsciously follow their train of thought, and my tone becomes softer and my voice rises.
Xixi's home was quite far from the town. She had to walk through these winding alleys until she reached the edge of town and could see the stone bridge. Xixi ran two steps forward and then turned back to wave to Jin Xilu: "Sister, we're almost there. We're right under the stone bridge."
Sure enough, there was a two-story building with a yard in front of the stone bridge. The brown wooden fence was covered with honeysuckle vines, and you could vaguely see a fence gate painted blue in the middle.
Xixi walked ahead and pushed the door, but it wouldn't open. She then squatted down and half-crouched, using her fingers to pry open the door from the bottom for a while until she found an old, bronze-colored key. She inserted it into the keyhole and turned it once. With a ding, the door popped open.
"Alright, sister, you can come in now." Xixi pushed open the door, looking somewhat dejected. She avoided Jin Xilu's eyes and confessed, "I'm sorry, sister, my grandfather must have gone out this morning and locked the door."
After saying that, Xixi seemed to suddenly remember something important. Wearing her clean black leather shoes, she jumped onto the stone steps in front of the house. Her chestnut-colored short hair shook with the rhythm of her running, like a cluster of healthy and precious yellow pine mushrooms.
After Xixi left, Jin Xilu was left standing alone in the yard. The yard was indeed as vibrant as Xixi had described. The yard was roughly divided into three parts by a bamboo flower bed fence. One side was planted with all kinds of flowers that Jin Xilu couldn't name, and the other side had a simple tile shed with many uniquely shaped pieces of wood inside. The smallest piece was probably a newly sown vegetable seed that hadn't sprouted yet, so it was covered with plastic film.
The yard was full of flowers and plants, but since it was winter, most of them had only grown leaves. She couldn't recognize many of the flowers, but there was one that she recognized. Was it a wild gardenia?
Jin Xilu noticed with her sharp eyes that a few wild gardenias were planted at the very edge of the corner. She recognized this flower because Jiang Yilin's grandmother liked it. In the past, their family had a whole yard full of gardenias. Every year, as summer vacation approached, Jin Xilu would lie on the cool mat in her room by the window and the fragrance of the flowers would waft in.
She walked to the flower bed, and just as her fingers touched the smooth leaves, she heard Xixi's footsteps inside the house. She quickly ran out and said excitedly, "I checked the house and there was no note left by Grandpa, nor any instant noodles. My grandpa will be back at noon."
"That's great! Can I sit in the yard and wait for your grandfather to come back?" Jin Xilu noticed two bamboo chairs of different heights in the yard, which must be where the grandfather and granddaughter usually sit.
"Of course, just wait a moment." As soon as she finished speaking, Xixi went back into the house.
Xixi returned shortly with a small winnowing basket containing dried sweet potato strips and freshly washed water chestnuts. After handing it to Jin Xilu, Xixi sat back on a low chair, rested her chin on her hand, and asked curiously, "Sister, are you from outside? Otherwise, how come I've never seen you before?"
“No, I was born and raised here, and then I left for a while.” Kim Hee-ro shook her head, took a bite of the crisp water chestnut and the sweet juice burst in her mouth. Her tone was calm yet a little stubborn, “But no matter what, I will still come back here.”
Later, Jin Xilu played Go with the girl in the yard while waiting for the girl's grandfather to come home. As noon approached, people in the front started cooking, and the aroma of rice wafted from the chimneys.
"When will Grandpa come back?" After collecting the five black stones, Xixi leaned back in the bamboo chair and looked straight at the blue sky.
Suddenly she heard the sound of a car approaching. Looking through the fence, she saw a black sedan. The car stopped as it passed through the yard, then the door opened and slammed shut again. Someone got out, his shoes making a soft, rustling sound on the fine sand.
One step, two steps, three steps, gradually approaching and walking up.
Instead of seeing Xixi's grandfather return home, Jin Xilu was greeted by the person she least wanted to see.
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