After Chen Yuanshan left, Hua Li took out a small bag of marbles, which Luo Yan recognized as the very same glass marbles that had caused Qu Yingqiu to fall.
"Yanyan, tell Mommy, where did these marbles come from?"
Of course I take a short break in the morning.
Luo Yan, "Brother, egg..."
Yes, Xiao Xiu is the perfect scapegoat since he can't speak properly, especially since the marbles were originally his, so it's not entirely unfair to accuse him.
It was Xiaoxiu who gave it to Luo Yan to play with. What a coincidence!
Hua Li put on a stern face, "You're not allowed to play marbles anymore, understand?"
A three-year-old child doesn't understand anything, and it's very dangerous if he accidentally swallows a marble or puts it in his nostril.
I'm just carrying the marbles in case of emergency, not to play with them. Whatever you say, that's fine, Luo Yan nodded obediently.
"Yanyan is such a good girl..."
Hua Li took out the newly bought literacy cards and placed them in Luo Yan's hand.
"How about we learn to read together with Mom?"
Not again? Luo Yan rolled her eyes. Oh no.
Throughout the morning, Hua Li's colleagues at the supply and marketing cooperative were all very polite to her, and even Fang Aihua's attitude towards Hua Li became much more amiable.
Hua Li never intended to bully anyone. As long as no one bullied her, she was fine with it. She was even more polite to others, and it seemed that she got along quite well with her colleagues.
Luo Yan acted as a mediator, coaxing each of Hua Li's colleagues at the nearby counters by handing out her own candy, and no one was allowed to refuse.
The little baby is so enthusiastic, calling everyone "Auntie" or "Grandma." He's lively, loves to laugh, and is incredibly cute. He generously offers candy to adults, and if they don't want it, he'll force it into their mouths. He's just too adorable!
Hua Li didn't mind; whenever Luo Yan's pockets were empty, he would immediately stuff them full of snacks.
Hua Li was good at interpersonal relationships, her daughter was good at coaxing people, and Liu Fengling and Qu Yingqiu deserved their punishment. As a result, no one had any complaints about Hua Li. On the contrary, their impression of Hua Li improved.
Luo Yan was so busy that she was exhausted by lunchtime, but she managed to make everyone happy and minimize the negative impact of Liu Fengling and her daughter on her mother. It was all worth it.
However, she can't come to visit her mother every day; from now on, her mother will have to rely on herself for everything.
At lunchtime, Aunt Shi brought Xiaoxiu over again.
Hua Li quickly took Luo Yan to eat. They had a corn and winter melon soup and a braised pork rib dish, which the mother and daughter enjoyed immensely.
After dinner, Luo Yan played with Xiao Xiu, and Aunt Shi handed the net bag she was carrying to Hua Li.
Hua Li recognized it as the basin she had used to serve braised pork that morning, but it was surprisingly heavy when she took it.
Aunt Shi said, "When the leader came back for lunch, he tasted your braised pork and it was so delicious... He specially asked me to pack some of my beef sauce, which is especially fragrant when mixed with noodles or rice and doesn't spoil easily."
The meat and eggs were gifts from Chen Yuanshan, and she only needed to process them. As a result, he returned such a generous gift, and Hua Li didn't know what to do.
Aunt Shi smiled and advised, "Don't think about how to return the favor. These past few days, Xiaoxiu has been playing chess with the leader and making him very happy. Consider this a thank you gift for playing chess with Grandpa."
Hua Li thanked him and accepted the gift, but in his heart he was wondering what gift to give in return.
After playing with Luo Yan for a while, they both started yawning. Aunt Shi suggested taking Luo Yan back to the Sun family's house for a nap.
Hua Li brought Luo Yan a small blanket and pillow, but the supply and marketing cooperative was noisy, so Hua Li wouldn't object if Luo Yan wanted to go.
Luo Yan held Xiao Xiu's hand and followed closely behind, so Hua Li let Luo Yan go with Aunt Shi.
After leaving the supply and marketing cooperative, Aunt Shi was worried that Luo Yan was too young to walk, so she went directly to the nearby tortoise car taxi station, filled out a form, paid the fare, took the car to the compound, registered, and was taken directly to her doorstep.
Luo Yan found the taxis of this era fascinating. They were motorized tricycles with light green metal shells, canvas roofs, and a tortoise-like shape. The driver had a single seat in the front, and two seats in the back, just the right size for one adult and two children.
The price isn't cheap; the starting price is 15 cents, and it's 3 cents per kilometer thereafter.
Riding in this kind of car once is fine, but the safety level is too low. Even if Luo Yan has money, she doesn't want to ride in it again.
After getting off the bus, Aunt Shi led one child into the house, holding their hands.
There was a row of two-story buildings with courtyards. The Sun family's house was the second one on the left. The courtyard was paved with blue bricks, and two large flower beds were full of flowers, attracting bees and butterflies to dance around.
Upon entering the building, there is a one-meter-wide corridor at the entrance. To the left is the kitchen and boiler room, and to the right is a living room that is open and airy from north to south.
Aunt Shi noticed that both children were sleepy, so she walked through the corridor, turned left, and went into the room next to the toilet on the left. She took a clean cloth and wiped the straw mat on the bed, then laid a thin mattress on top to prevent the skin from getting pinched, and let the two children go to bed.
Luo Yan and Xiao Xiu lay down and fell asleep instantly. When they opened their eyes again, it was already past one o'clock in the afternoon.
Finding herself alone in the room, Luo Yan turned her back, stretched out her short legs, and slowly climbed off the bed, put on her shoes, and opened the door to go out.
Luo Yan found Aunt Shi cutting fruit in the kitchen and walked over to her, gently tugging at her clothes.
"Oh, Yan Yan is awake! Here, have some watermelon."
Aunt Shi picked up a slice of watermelon and handed it to Luo Yan.
Luo Yan was a little thirsty, so she took the watermelon, ate it, and threw the rind into the trash can.
Aunt Shi's eyes were full of approval when she saw it.
“Brother, brother…” Luo Yan pointed to the door.
Aunt Shi said, "Your little brother is playing chess outside. Grandma will take you there in a bit."
After saying that, Aunt Shi carried the plate of cut fruit to the living room.
Seeing that guests had arrived, Luo Yan did not go with them. Instead, she waited in the kitchen for Aunt Shi to return. Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice coming from the living room.
“Brother Sun, do you think this is my fault? When he hit me, he didn’t think about the consequences. Now he’s asking you to plead for him. How can he be so shameless?”
Luo Yan tried to recall the owner of the voice in her mind: Chu Jianguo?
Who hit Chu Jianguo? Why are they asking the Sun family for help? Luo Yan ran to the living room door to listen carefully.
Sun Qingsheng chuckled and said, "There's nothing I can do. Xiao Chen asked me to talk to you, so I can't just ignore it. I'm just letting you know. Whether you agree or not is beyond my control."
Chu Jianguo snorted, "You're such a big shot, just a driver, daring to boss you around. I think it's because your old man spoils these subordinates too much."
Sun Qingsheng picked up a watermelon, took a bite, and called to Chu Jianguo, "Try it, they specially brought it back from XJ, it's especially sweet."
Chu Jianguo also picked up a piece and ate it, giving it a thumbs up repeatedly, "So sweet."
Upon hearing this, Sun Qingsheng asked Aunt Shi to give Chu Jianguo two watermelons to take away. Chu Jianguo politely declined a few times but accepted them with a smile.
Who was it that Chen Yuanshan asked the Sun family to intercede with Chu Jianguo on his behalf? Luo Yan had a bad feeling.
Aunt Shi put two watermelons in a net bag by the living room door and then took Luo Yan out.
Under the ginkgo tree, several old men sat in a circle. A chessboard was placed on a stone table in the middle. One old man sat on a stone bench, while a young man stood on the stone bench, supporting himself on the table with his right hand and placing a chess piece with his left.
"Oh dear, Lao Xu lost again. You're no good either."
Several old men egged him on, while the old man playing chess with Xiao Xiu smiled kindly.
"That won't work. How about you two come instead?"
Nobody wants to be tortured, especially by a little brat. The old men chuckled dryly and scattered like birds and beasts.
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