Chapter 30 Little Pear Puts on a Show
"Let me show you if I put chili sauce in this lunchbox..."
Xu Zhili slowly opened the lunchbox, and there lay plump, white dumplings inside. The dumplings were fried to a perfect golden color, as if they were wrapped in an enticing golden coat. Paired with bright red, oily chili sauce, the red, white, and gold colors complemented each other, making the whole lunchbox look very tempting and whetting one's appetite.
The aroma wafting from the lunchboxes made everyone secretly swallow their saliva.
"Who made these pan-fried dumplings? They smell so good, they look so appetizing."
Hmph, Grandma Xu's cooking is just designed to make you all drool!
"When you were feeding your little brother just now, there was no chili sauce in those dumplings. Did you put it in secretly because you didn't want me to eat them?"
The old woman glared at him, accusing him with an air of righteous indignation, her face showing a mixture of grievance and anger, as if she were the one who had truly suffered a great injustice.
"Auntie, if you had said you wanted to eat earlier, I would have made sure to give you a few bites, even if it meant not letting my brother have lunch."
"But look, you're sick right now. These dumplings have chili sauce in them. The doctor must have told you to avoid spicy food."
Xu Zhili explained with a helpless yet sincere expression, but her eyes were fixed on the old woman, wanting to see how she would deal with it.
After all, she's sick and needs to avoid spicy food, so let's see how she continues to grab food in front of everyone now.
"Auntie, it's not that I don't want to help you, I'm just thinking about your health. This comrade keeps blaming me for not having any compassion."
Sigh, it's true that I didn't think things through carefully enough. I didn't notice that you were sick, Auntie. If I had known it would turn out like this, sigh..."
As Xu Zhili spoke, she shook her head slightly, a look of annoyance on her face. She seemed to be blaming herself, but in reality, her words revealed her dissatisfaction with the old woman and the person who had criticized her.
The old woman was speechless after hearing Xu Zhili's words and couldn't say a word in rebuttal.
They could only swallow back the words they wanted to say in argument.
Seeing this, Xu Zhili quickly pressed on, putting on a look of deep remorse, gently helping the old woman up from the ground, and sincerely addressing her.
"Auntie, it's all my fault. I'm so sorry that you didn't get to eat. It's all my fault. Oh, by the way, this comrade brought several eggs. You're sick right now, and eggs are the most nourishing food for you."
This comrade has always been very concerned about you; otherwise, why would he keep urging me? I'm so sorry, ma'am..."
As she spoke, Xu Zhili even squeezed out a few tears and pretended to cry.
Acting is exhausting; these tears just come so easily. The original owner of this body was a crybaby.
Upon hearing this, the old woman's mind raced, and her gaze swept back and forth between Xu Zhili and the educated youth opposite her.
She probably understood that the pretty girl in front of her was not someone to be trifled with, and looking at the girl opposite her, she could be seen as kind and easy to bully. So she immediately changed her target and decided to freeload off this girl.
"Good child, Auntie knows you mean well. Auntie is happy to eat eggs, how could I possibly complain?"
As the old woman spoke, she unceremoniously reached out her hands, which had just been rolling around on the ground and were now covered in black soot, towards the lunchbox of the educated youth opposite her.
The old lady opened the lunchbox and slammed it on the table. Her eyes lit up immediately. Inside were four hard-boiled eggs, neatly arranged.
She nimbly reached out and grabbed three eggs in one go. Unfortunately, one hand couldn't hold four eggs, otherwise, she probably would have taken them all.
"Hehe, ma'am, please eat slowly, don't choke."
The girl opposite was furious that her eggs had been snatched away, but she couldn't retaliate. She could only grit her teeth and squeeze out a few words.
With so many people watching in the carriage, she knew very well that if she didn't give the old woman the eggs now, given the old woman's tantrum-throwing tendencies, she would definitely start making a scene again.
At that time, all the goodwill you've painstakingly built up over the course of half a day will be destroyed like a bubble in an instant.
She was filled with remorse, wishing she could slap herself a few times, cursing herself in her heart: "Serves you right for being so talkative! You had to say that you'd give the old lady any good food, now look what happened!"
In the following days, the old woman felt as if she had found a long-term meal ticket and accepted the educated youth's responsibility for her food without any qualms.
Even though the educated youth was extremely unwilling, he dared not utter a word, much less cause any more trouble for Xu Zhili.
After all, she thought to herself that since she only had a few days left before getting off the train, no matter how frustrated she felt, she could just bear it and it would pass.
So, for the rest of the journey, the old woman would casually take food from the educated youth every day, while the educated youth could only grit their teeth and silently endure it all, hoping that time would pass quickly so that this awkward and stifling journey could end soon.
Bai Linlin was so embarrassed that she wished she could disappear into the ground. She could only shrink herself down and try to make herself as inconspicuous as possible.
She was incredibly annoyed. Those words had just slipped out without thinking, and now, thinking back on them, she was so embarrassed she could dig her toes out of a three-bedroom apartment. She simply couldn't face Xu Zhili.
Oh wait, that's not right! I just spoke up for Xu Zhili out of a sense of chivalry, so Xu Zhili definitely can't blame me now.
Thinking of this, Bai Linlin subconsciously straightened her back, raised her chin slightly, and showed a proud expression on her face, as if she had done something incredibly remarkable.
Xu Zhili was slowly peeling an orange when she inadvertently caught sight of Bai Linlin's timid and hesitant appearance, and couldn't help but find it amusing.
This person is so naive that she's almost silly, and also timid and cowardly. Just now she dared to speak so righteously and "stand up for what's right," showing some courage when facing injustice. But now she doesn't dare to confront herself. The contrast is really interesting.
Fortunately, the train journey from Hunan Province to Beidahuang went smoothly for the next few days.
They encountered neither sneaky thieves nor terrifying human traffickers, and thus drove safely to their destination.
During this journey, the green train stopped and started frequently.
At each stop, some people board this train full of unknowns, while others leave in haste with their own stories, just like passersby in life, briefly intersecting before heading off in different directions.
Finally, the train slowly pulled into the Great Northern Wilderness and arrived at its destination.
Xu Zhili, still traveling light, led An'an and the others in the group, each carrying their own luggage, and walked out of the carriage in an orderly fashion.
Of the four people, Bai Linlin had the most luggage, with three large bags that she couldn't carry by herself.
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