Chapter 53 What's Wrong with Your Face?
Gu Xixi glared at Mu Nanzhao fiercely and left angrily, "None of your business! Not a penny!"
Mu Nanzhao looked at the woman's rapidly receding back, his face gradually darkening.
A penny? Is that her new nickname for him?
Gu Xixi walked to Zhang's nursery alone. She originally wanted to buy some delicious food for Shitou, but now she only had one penny left. What else could she buy?
Gu Xixi looked at the street vendors.
A peddler carrying a load passed by, shouting in a high-pitched voice: "Needle and thread, rattle, spatula, salt shaker, stinky bean paste, buy a pair of flower girl dolls to make you smile, buy a bamboo hat to keep you dry in the rain!"
"Crystal crispy rock candy, peanut candy, rice candy, freshly made pine nut candy, if it's not sweet, it's free!"
Gu Xixi, who had already walked over, stopped and went back to call the peddler.
"I want to buy some candy, and I only have one penny."
At Zhang's nursery, Gu Xixi knocked on the door for a long time before it opened.
Shitou opened the door only a crack and looked out cautiously, "Who?"
Gu Xixi was surprised to see that Shitou's face was covered in bruises and his right eye was swollen. He had to squint with difficulty when looking at people.
"Shitou, what's wrong with you?"
Shi Tou also recognized Gu Xixi. He happily opened the door and said, "Sister Xixi, it's you. You just knocked on the door without saying anything. I thought it was..."
He suddenly stopped talking and said with a smile, "Sister Xixi, please come in and sit down."
Shitou led Gu Xixi inside, chirping happily like a little bird, "Brother Chen is amazing. It really rained the next day, saving me a lot of trouble."
"This time the rain has soaked through. I won't have to water the plants for at least half a month."
Gu Xixi suddenly stopped, put her hands on Shi Tou's shoulders, and turned him to face her.
"What happened to your face? Who hit you?"
Gu Xixi looked serious.
Shitou was originally looking at Gu Xixi with a smile on his face.
After a moment, he turned his eyes away and whispered to cover up, "No one else, I was just careless..."
Gu Xixi interrupted him, "Do you think I can believe this?"
"How could you have wounds all over your face if you weren't careful?"
Shitou was silent for a while and said, "Sister Xixi, just don't worry about it."
"Anyway, I usually stay away from them and never run into them. This time I was just unlucky."
Gu Xixi stared at the stone, speechless for a long time.
She remembered what Madam Meng said, that for Shi Tou, being disliked or even violently bullied might be a common occurrence.
In the center of the nursery is the Zhang family’s house, with a stone table and stone benches placed in the open air in front of the house.
Gu Xixi pulled Shitou to the table and sat down.
She checked Shitou's injuries and found bruises of varying sizes on his body and back.
The most serious injuries were on his face. In addition to the bruises and redness on the surface, his mouth was broken by his teeth and the soft flesh was covered with blood scabs.
The only thing to be thankful for was that although Shi Tou’s right eye was swollen, at least he was not injured.
Gu Xixi took out a small bottle of medicine from her bag and applied it to the stone while saying:
"This is the first time I made a medicine for my injuries by myself, learning from my master."
"It's just right that you are the first one to help me try out the effect."
Shitou had been staring at Gu Xixi since he sat down, and only after hearing these words did he start laughing again.
"Okay, next time you prepare other medicines, I will be the first one to try them for you."
Gu Xixi looked up at him with a smile, "Silly, medication must be used according to the symptoms, how can I let you try everything?"
After applying the medicine, Gu Xixi took out a small paper bag from her bag and handed it to Shi Tou.
"Eat something sweet, and maybe your heart won't be so bitter."
Stone unfolded the paper package, and the inside was as crystal clear as crushed ice.
"Rock candy?!" He grinned in surprise.
Gu Xixi said, "I have spent all the money I brought with me today. The last penny I have is only enough to buy a piece of rock candy."
The piece of rock sugar was the size of an apricot, and the peddler helped break it into small pieces so that it was easier to eat.
Shitou pinched a piece of rock candy and put it into his mouth, squinting his eyes and smiling happily, "So sweet!"
He held the paper in both hands and pushed it in front of Gu Xixi, "Sister Xixi, you eat too!"
Gu Xixi knew she couldn't get away with it, so she picked up the smallest piece of sugar residue and said, "Mm, sweet!"
Two people, one big and one small, sat under the shade of a tree, sharing the taste of a piece of candy.
No one spoke, but everyone had a relaxed smile on their face.
After an unknown amount of time, Shitou spoke up, "Sister Xixi, I beat them this time too, because they cursed my dad."
The boy looked up at the sky and said, "My father is not a useless short-lived person!"
Gu Xixi suppressed her tears and said with a smile, "Because you fought back this time, they beat you even harder?"
Stone grinned and nodded proudly.
"I kicked them a few times. Their butts must be hurting."
Gu Xixi suddenly thought of a question, "When did you fight?"
"This morning." Shi Tou answered as a matter of course.
Just as the words fell, there was a bang on the door and curses, "There's a dead kid who was born without anyone to discipline him!"
"Look! What has my Dabao been beaten into!"
"My son Shuanzi's butt was swollen and he was lying on the bed crying. He even went to see a doctor and got medicine. You have to pay for the medical expenses!"
"That's right. The orphan named Zhang has no parents and can't pay the debt, so he used his family's tree to pay off the debt!"
Judging from the sounds, there are more than one or two people.
Gu Xixi and Shitou looked at each other.
Shitou's face turned pale instantly, and his little hand tightly grasped Gu Xixi's sleeve, "Don't open the door."
"Let's pretend we're not home, and they'll go back when they've had enough of the scolding."
Gu Xixi looked at Shitou's frightened expression and sighed in her heart. After all, he was only a six-year-old child.
She smiled easily and said, "They were the ones who started the trouble. You did nothing wrong."
"Now that I'm here, you don't have to hide from them,"
Shitou raised his head and looked at Gu Xixi. She smiled and nodded at him, and his frightened heart gradually calmed down.
Gu Xixi held Shitou's hand and stood up, "I'll go with you, don't be afraid."
The people outside couldn't knock the door open, so they kicked it instead.
Gu Xixi yanked the door hard from inside, and the man who kicked the door was caught off guard and staggered and almost fell.
"You little bastard, you fucking bastard..."
Before he finished cursing, he looked up and saw Gu Xixi, a stranger face he had never seen before.
"Who are you? Isn't there an adult in this family?"
Gu Xixi said calmly, "I am Zhang Minglei's friend."
"You are kicking and scolding a little kid at his doorstep. This is so rude and disrespectful. Do you have no adults at home?"
There were three men and two women outside the door, all of whom were residents nearby.
They didn't know Gu Xixi, so they didn't dare to act rashly at first.
But when a tall woman heard Gu Xixi's mockery of them, she immediately took a few steps forward angrily.
"You are not his family's master, what qualifications do you have to stand here and talk to us?"
"Hand that kid over quickly."
"What did he do to my son's butt? I want to ask him, if he killed his own parents, why did he go out? Is he deliberately trying to bring bad luck to others?"
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