Chapter 357: Sword

The deaf old lady's ears were working quite well at this moment; she didn't find it strenuous at all to talk with Li Xuewu.

After praising Li Shu, she turned to Li Xuewu and said, "Your Li family has virtue; no wonder your family is blessed!"

There were only a few families in this back courtyard, and everyone was busy with their own affairs; who would bother to gossip with this old lady?

Seeing Li Xuewu holding his daughter and willing to talk to her, she was delighted.

"Back when your grandfather was around, your Li family was already accumulating virtue. Not to mention the neighbors, even the poor who came to your grandfather for help were never turned away."

Perhaps recalling events from years ago, the old lady tapped her cane with deep emotion, sighed, and said, "Sigh, good lad, raise your daughter well; you'll have your share of blessings."

"Hahaha."

Li Xuewu laughed and said, "I'm just counting on enjoying the blessings of my eldest daughter."

Seeing that Li Xuewu was still wearing his uniform, the old lady said, "Your mother said you went for training. You just got back, right? Hurry inside; don't let the child catch a cold."

Li Xuewu waved Li Shu's little hand and said, "Say goodbye to the old lady."

Li Shu looked at the old lady, then at Li Xuewu, and finally waved at the old lady, making her reveal three of her seven teeth in a smile.

"Old lady, if you need anything, just say the word!"

"Hey, it's nothing. What could an old lady like me need? Go get some rest."

Li Xuewu nodded and took Li Shu back to the room.

Perhaps because no one had lived in this room for the past few days, even though the stove was burning, it still felt somewhat cold.

He unwrapped the small quilt covering Li Shu, and once freed, Li Shu began to crawl and roll around on the heated brick bed with her little legs kicking excitedly.

She often came to this back courtyard, and perhaps because the room was brighter, Li Shu liked to run around and play here.

Li Xuewu smiled as he watched his daughter, opened the bag he had brought back, and began to tidy things up.

It wasn't convenient at the dormitory, so taking advantage of the fact that there was no one else around, Li Xuewu divided the seafood he brought back into several piles, preparing to visit the families he was close with over the next few days.

"Ya!"

"Oh, my precious, you can't eat this raw."

Li Xuewu snatched the sea cucumber from Li Shu's hand and tore off a small piece of dried fish from the bag to feed her.

"Ya!"

Although her father had snatched her snack away, what she had in her mouth still tasted quite savory.

Li Shu pointed her little hand at Li Xuewu's large hand, wanting more.

"One piece is enough; Grandma will scold us if you have too much."

"Ya!"

Seeing that the piece of dried fish Li Xuewu tore off was a bit small, Li Shu called out anxiously.

"What are you eating?"

The old lady walked in with a smile, and seeing Li Xuewu feeding Li Shu, she asked.

Li Xuewu held up the small piece of dried fish and said, "Feeding a little glutton."

"Oh, this is dried fish."

The old lady clearly recognized it; she picked up a piece to taste, nodded, and said, "It's dried quite well."

Seeing Li Shu eating like Zhu Bajie devouring the ginseng fruit—swallowing it as soon as it hit her mouth—she took the dried fish from Li Xuewu's hand and said, "Don't feed her like that, she might choke. Give her the whole piece to grind her teeth on."

The old lady sat on the heated brick bed, held Li Shu in her arms, and held the dried fish for Li Shu to bite on herself.

Li Shu held the old lady's hand with both little hands, her eyes squinting like a kitten, her little mouth smacking away.

"There's a fishing village right next to the training school, so I picked up some dried goods."

Li Xuewu explained the origin of the pile of things on the bed to the old lady and continued, "I'll take some home in a while, and the rest I'll give to my godmother and my teacher."

"Just distribute them as you see fit. Does it really matter if the family eats this or not?"

The old lady recognized these items; seeing things that were precious in the early years now laid out right before her eyes, she was deeply moved.

"Tsk tsk, it's because times are good now. Things we hadn't even heard of before can now end up on the tables of us common folk."

Li Xuewu smiled without explaining too much; it would still be some time before these things could reach the tables of the common people.

"There's enough; I've already set aside what's for the family."

As he spoke, he pointed to the small bags and said, "This one is for Old San to take to his in-laws, this one is for our family, this one is for my godmother, this one is for my teacher, this one is for a friend, this one is for a friend, this one is for a friend..."

The old lady sat on the bed and laughed, "You have quite a lot of friends."

Saying this, she looked at Li Xuewu and asked, "Who do you take after?"

Without waiting for Li Xuewu to answer, she continued, "Your grandfather was a reclusive sort, spending his days soaking in the medicine cabinet. Your father was the same, and so were Xuewen and Xuecai. You're the only one who's different."

"Hahaha."

Li Xuewu laughed and asked, "Could it be that I was picked up from a trash heap by my parents?"

"Don't talk nonsense!"

The old lady waved her hand with a smile and said, "Who would go to a trash heap to pick up a child? You could pick one up anywhere at the foot of the city wall outside Dongzhimen."

Looking at Li Xuewu's sturdy build, she said, "Your great-uncle had a build just like yours, though he was thinner. He was also a martial artist; once he left with his master, he never came back."

"In these chaotic times, why dwell on that?"

Li Xuewu arranged the sorted seafood on the cabinet. Don't look at it as dried; if it touched the heated brick bed, it would become brittle and crunchy, and then it wouldn't be edible.

After tidying up, Li Xuewu remembered the scroll his homeroom teacher had given him earlier.

He searched around and saw it leaning against the desk.

Li Xuewu walked to the desk, picked up the paper tube, took a look, and slowly pulled the rice paper out from inside.

On the pale yellow rice paper, faint ink marks could be seen. Just as Li Xuewu had guessed, this might be someone's calligraphy or painting for him.

"I didn't expect the teacher to be so refined..."

Before he could finish muttering, his hand had already opened the scroll on the desk.

He saw several large characters written on the four-foot square rice paper: "Sword's Courage and Zither's Heart."

It was written in a calm, solemn, majestic, and vigorous running script; the dots and strokes were steady, the brushwork powerful, with light turns and heavy presses, all done in one breath.

Looking at these four characters, Li Xuewu couldn't help but want to reach out and touch them.

Chinese characters are the most beautiful in the world, and among pictographic scripts, they are the most complete and continuously used to this day.

Every hook and fold carries a beauty rich in philosophy.

After lightly touching the paper and ink, Li Xuewu withdrew his hand and looked toward the lower left corner.

"Presented to the People's Guardian, Li Xuewu."

Seeing his own name, Li Xuewu had expected it, but the signature left him startled.

The first character's horizontal-hook was upright through oddity, taking a dangerous and expansive stance; the second character was slightly smaller, restrained and echoing; the third character's vertical stroke was elongated, with three twists and turns, rising and falling.

The energy and flow within were exceptionally firm, clear, definite, and connected, standing tall and upright, with a spirit that pierced the rainbow.

Just like the belief pursued throughout one's life—though the road is winding, there is not a hint of hesitation or discouragement.

Li Xuewu carefully examined the calligraphy, unable to look away for a long time.

It was too precious.

Thinking about it now, this must have been because Yu Huaiyou put in a good word for him when reporting the case, and thus, through a twist of fate, he obtained this masterpiece.

Otherwise, why would someone of such status have a different level of refinement? They could have just given it to him directly to settle the previous favor.

But now, it had to go through Liu Zheng's hands. What did this mean?

Since Liu Zheng handled it, Liu Zheng knew, and those at Liu Zheng's level who were close to him would also know.

In this mysterious way, it helped Li Xuewu once again.

"What are you looking at?"

Yu Li pushed the door open and walked in, seeing Li Xuewu staring at the desk, not noticing her entry.

"Nothing."

Li Xuewu turned his head, saw Yu Li, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Yu Li glanced at Li Xuewu and said, "Nothing, I came to call you for dinner, but seeing you so engrossed, what is it?"

"A treasure."

Li Xuewu smiled, carefully rolled up the scroll on the table, and cautiously put it back into the paper tube.

"Look at how careful you are; it really must be something precious!"

Yu Li smiled and greeted the old lady on the bed, "Old lady, there's meat sauce fried in the inverted room, hot frozen radish, and winter cabbage. I'll bring you some to taste in a while."

"Good, good."

The old lady smiled, nodded, and got off the bed. While wrapping Li Shu in her small quilt, she said, "When I came out, Xuewu's mother was cooking. Going back now is just right."

Li Xuewu carried the things for his family and followed the old lady to the front courtyard.

After half a month of fermentation, everyone in the courtyard knew about the appointment at the steel mill, so the steel mill workers who were on shift and at home greeted Li Xuewu politely when they saw him.

Li Xuewu also returned the greetings with a smile; he was the same as before, not a bit more, not a bit less.

Passing through the front courtyard, he sent the things in his hand into his own home.

"Mom, I brought back some seafood from Jinmen. I'm thinking of soaking it to eat; don't keep it. It won't last once spring starts."

"Why buy these things!"

Seeing what Li Xuewu brought back, Liu Yin said with dissatisfaction, "This stuff is dead expensive and doesn't last! You're wasting money again!"

"Eat it, a friend gave it to me."

Li Xuewu waved his hand and was about to go out, but Liu Yin still muttered, "Who would give this stuff away? You're just lying to your mother."

Seeing that Li Xuewu had already left, Liu Yin had no choice but to put the seafood away with a pained heart.

The old lady was more open-minded; children and grandchildren have their own blessings. When Li Xuewu was fiddling with those things on the bed, she didn't say anything.

At this moment, she poured a small bag of dried fish and shrimp into a biscuit tin the family had saved.

These biscuits were given by others when Li Xuewen and Zhao Yating got married. Li Xuewu had even eaten some when he was hungry during the pig slaughter when he returned.

Now that they were eaten, the empty tin box remained, and it was just right for holding these things.

Li Shu was held by the old lady, pointing at the tin box and babbling.

The old lady laughed, "Yes, yes, it's all yours; no one else will eat it."

She took the tin box and placed it on the cabinet between the two beds in the north room so the little one could see it, and only then did she place Li Shu on the bed.

Currently, only Li Xuewen and his wife lived in the south room, Li Shun and Liu Yin lived on the west bed in the north room, and the old lady lived on the east bed with Li Xue and Li Shu.

Once Li Xuewu and Li Xuecai moved out, the room felt much more spacious.

Sometimes when Li Xuewen and his wife didn't come back, the house felt even emptier.

"Old Aunt, here's some fried meat sauce and frozen cabbage and radish; Xuewu asked me to bring some over."

Liu Yin had finished tidying up the seafood and was turning to take the steamed buns out of the pot when she saw Yu Li enter the room.

"Have you eaten yet?"

The front and back courtyards would send food to each other whenever there was something good. The inverted room sent more vegetables, while the Li family sent more steamed buns.

Not standing on ceremony with Yu Li, Liu Yin took the sauce bowl and the vegetable plate and asked casually.

Yu Li nodded and said, "We're eating now. There aren't many people today; the old lady and the second master went to the countryside, so only Biaozi came back at noon."

Liu Yin turned to pick up some steamed buns for Yu Li, "Just take a few buns back so they can eat more."

"No need, Old Aunt, I steamed buns at noon too."

Yu Li smiled, pushed the door open, and said, "You guys hurry and eat; I still have to swap shifts with Xiaoyan, so I have to go back to eat."

Watching Yu Li leave, Liu Yin wiped her hands on the towel hanging from her apron and said as if chatting, "What a sensible person."

The old lady stood by the bed watching Li Shu play with her toys, glanced at the departing Yu Li, and then looked at her daughter-in-law.

"What did the one across the street say to you?"

Liu Yin moved the bed table onto the bed and said, "I just met her when I went to buy vegetables, and the third aunt insisted on coming back together."

The old lady gently held Li Shu, who was about to stand up by holding onto the table, and said, "Don't bother with her; she's someone who looks down on everyone."

Liu Yin knew what the old lady meant; everyone in the courtyard was talking about Li Xuewu's promotion.

This morning, when Liu Yin went out to buy vegetables, she happened to run into the third aunt, who insisted on coming back with her, so they chatted a bit on the way.

"Their eldest son drives for Xuewu, so how can I not bother with her? If I really didn't, who knows what she'd say."

Liu Yin finished setting the table and began to pick up the bowls; today, only she and the old lady were eating at home with Li Shu.

"Even so, she was still hinting about things from when Xuewu and their eldest were little."

Saying this, she looked at the old lady and said, "She's asking for a favor, thinking we're all neighbors."

Seeing Li Shu about to grab the bowl on the table, the old lady tapped Li Shu's hand with her chopsticks.

Seeing her great-grandmother hit her, Li Shu pouted her little mouth, about to cry.

But the old lady wasn't going to indulge her; she squinted and said, "You're not allowed to cry. If you mess with the bowls, Grandma has to hit your hand. Will you remember for next time?"

Seeing the old lady speak, Li Shu withdrew her hand, looked at the old lady, and said, "Yi ya ya!"

The old lady ignored Li Shu and turned to Liu Yin, who had brought the steamed buns, saying, "Their eldest was arranged by Xuewu to get in; what are they thinking, wanting to arrange for the second one too? Isn't he still in school?"

"Sigh~"

Liu Yin brought the meat sauce and vegetables Yu Li had brought over, sat on the bed, held Li Shu, and said, "Come, Grandma will feed you."

Coaxing Li Shu, she used a spoon to scoop some millet porridge from the bowl to Li Shu's mouth while saying to the old lady, "With their Teacher Yan at school, that kid is still messing around, living one day at a time."

Seeing the old lady get on the bed and sit opposite her to start eating, she continued, "The third aunt's meaning is that their second son might not be able to continue studying after this half-year."

"Don't take her bait; don't cause trouble for Xuewu. Their family doesn't have bad people, but they don't do things properly; all their thoughts are focused on money."

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

Liu Yin also knew what the old lady meant, nodded, and said, "She mentioned Yan Jiefang's matter several times, but I didn't take the bait, so it passed. It was only when I saw Yu Li just now that I remembered this."

The old lady glanced at Liu Yin and said, "Talk less about this kind of thing, and interfere less. Their family's affairs are a mess; I don't think their eldest looks like he's living a proper life."

"Isn't that what you're saying?"

Liu Yin nodded and said, "This couple is strange; Yan Jiecheng doesn't come home day after day, not showing up for ten or more days, and Yu Li acts like nothing's wrong."

"What could be wrong?"

The old lady tasted the meat sauce and said, "Either they're not of one heart, or they're not of one virtue."

Liu Yin finished feeding Li Shu and placed her on the side of the bed to play, then took a steamed bun and dipped it in the meat sauce with vegetables.

"Your judgment of people is still accurate; I didn't expect their eldest to have that kind of ability."

The old lady said disdainfully, "Just like his father, shaking his head and wagging his tail at the slightest thing."

After saying this, she looked at Li Shu, who was staring at them from the bed, and said, "Enough, let's eat. Don't talk about these things anymore; the child can understand."

"Mm."

Liu Yin agreed, bit into her steamed bun, and stopped talking.

Over in the inverted room, Li Xuewu picked up a steamed bun and looked at Old Biaozi, who was stealing glances at him.

"What are you doing? Why are you staring at me instead of eating properly?"

Old Biaozi had been observing Li Xuewu's expression for a while. Seeing that Li Xuewu didn't look angry, he smiled and said, "Nothing, just seeing if you've changed after half a month of training."

"Hehehe."

Li Xuewu chuckled, used his chopsticks to put some vegetables into the steamed bun, and spread some meat sauce inside.

"What changes?"

Watching Li Xuewu eat with gusto, Yu Li, sitting by the bed, pushed the soup bowl in front of Li Xuewu and said, "Drink some soup; that sauce is very salty."

This soup was shredded radish soup, the most suitable for drinking in this season; it could be used as ginseng soup.

This was what the common folk said, though Li Shun didn't quite agree.

Old Biaozi said with a grin, "You've become more handsome, even more handsome."

Li Xuewu took a bite of the steamed bun, looked at this brother he grew up with, and said, "You've changed too."

Old Biaozi asked with a smile, "Have I become more handsome too?"

"Hehe."

Li Xuewu took a sip of soup and said, "You've learned to flatter."

"Hahahaha."

Old Biaozi didn't feel that Li Xuewu was mocking him; he laughed and said, "Thanks for the compliment, I still need to learn more and work harder."

Seeing the two of them talking interestingly, Yu Li also laughed along.

Watching Yu Li laugh, Li Xuewu also smiled, pointed at the meat sauce, and said, "If there's not enough meat in the future, just go and peel Biaozi's face; it's very thick."

"Hahaha, I think that works."

Yu Li, holding a steamed bun and drinking soup, also laughed and followed up with a joke.

Seeing the good atmosphere, Old Biaozi licked his face and asked, "Brother Wu, about those kids from before..."

Li Xuewu glanced at Old Biaozi, then looked at the quilt on the bed, and asked, "What are you thinking? Have you lost your mind? Learning from Old Du to play at 'sheltering millions of mansions to provide joy to all the poor scholars under heaven'?"

Looking at the fawning Old Biaozi, Li Xuewu chuckled, "Old Du was just talking; he himself starved to death. How much money do you have now? You want to do it for real?"

Old Biaozi was stunned by Li Xuewu's words and asked, "Who is Old Du? Is he also someone on the streets? Not from our area, right? Did he take people in too? And he starved to death?"

Facing Old Biaozi's questions, the steamed bun in Li Xuewu's mouth almost sprayed out.

Looking at his earnest brother, Li Xuewu really wanted to send him back to elementary school for further study.

"Forget about Old Du, let's talk about those kids."

Li Xuewu had already been defeated by Old Biaozi's innocence.

Old Biaozi hadn't figured out who this Old Du was, but he probably wasn't someone capable. In this city, if anyone had ability, he should know them, and it was impossible to starve to death just by taking people in.

"Well, it's just those that Ye Ye Erye knew before; there are only thirteen of them in total."

"Only?"

Li Xuewu stared at Old Biaozi and asked, "What? You want to make a comeback? Gather the Thirteen Guardians to conquer the world?"

"No."

Old Biaozi felt a bit embarrassed and explained with a dry laugh, "It really was a coincidence. That day when I went out with Ye Ye Erye, we ran into kids we knew before; several of them were carrying someone to the hospital, saying their companion had a stomachache."

Seeing that Li Xuewu was listening, Old Biaozi vividly told Li Xuewu about what happened that day.

"Brother, guess what happened when we got to the hospital? Appendicitis. The doctor said if we hadn't come, he would have been done for."

Li Xuewu took a sip of soup without correcting the medical terminology in Old Biaozi's mouth and handed the bowl to Yu Li, who was about to serve him soup.

"So you got involved?"

"Not exactly."

Old Biaozi said with some difficulty, "It was Ye Ye Erye. Ye Ye Erye saw that the kids were dressed in rags, their hands were frostbitten, and their faces were in bad shape, so he said he'd give them money for medical treatment."

"Then just give it. Why bring them all home?"

"It was me who said I'd take them in."

Old Biaozi explained, "Ye Ye Erye gave the money but didn't say to bring them home. It was me who saw Ye Ye Erye feeling sorry for them, his eyes full of reluctance. You didn't see that scene; if you had, you would have... sigh~"

Saying this, Old Biaozi reacted. Given Li Xuewu's current temper and personality, even if he had seen it, he wouldn't have done what he did.

Li Xuewu ate another steamed bun with meat sauce, his face showing no emotional change.

"So? What do you plan to do with these Thirteen Guardians?"

"I wanted to discuss it with you."

Old Biaozi said with a dry laugh, "Look, they're all half-grown boys; the oldest is sixteen this year, the youngest is fourteen. They can all work now. Our recycling station..."

"Don't you know the nature of the recycling station?"

Li Xuewu didn't look at Old Biaozi, who was pleading with him, but pointed out the most fundamental problem.

Don't look at Old Biaozi as someone who fights fiercely, has dark hands, and can be bad when he needs to be.

But there was one thing: he couldn't stand seeing poor people.

But couldn't you learn from Old Master Yu in the front courtyard?

Old Biaozi was poor himself, yet he dared to raise poor children.

When he was little, as long as he had a bite to eat, those who followed behind him calling him 'brother' could all get a full meal.

Why else would his news be so well-informed? When he went out for a turn, they were all people who used to follow him to stave off hunger.

Li Xuewu wasn't a heartless person either; although he took life and death lightly, human hearts were made of flesh.

But this recycling station was run in the form of a cooperative group; a tall tree couldn't withstand the wind.

There were five cooperative group members; Yu Li was a casual worker and was from the courtyard, so no one could say anything.

Xiaoyan was his sister and also came to help out, so no one would be picky.

The only one left was the old bachelor, Ye Ye Erye Ye. This side could provide for his old age, and the neighborhood office even wanted to send a banner to praise them, so no one cared about this old man.

But if you brought in a bunch of half-grown boys who would be young men in two years, what would they do?

Did you really want to set up the 'Thirteen Guardians of the Nanluoguxiang Waste Recycling Station'?

Old Biaozi said with a bitter face, "I thought about it and knew this side couldn't hold them, but they've already been recruited, so we can't just drive them out. I was thinking if you could come up with a solution."

"I don't care."

Li Xuewu placed his finished rice bowl on the table, didn't even look at Old Biaozi, and moved back to lean against the fire wall.

"If you can recruit them, you can raise them."

"Oh, my brother!"

Old Biaozi didn't even eat his meal, put down his bowl, moved to Li Xuewu's side, and pleaded, "I know you have a heart of gold, so stop teasing me. I've been anxious and angry these days, just waiting for you to come back."

Li Xuewu shook his hand, shaking off Old Biaozi's tugging.

"Tell me, when will you grow up? Can you not make decisions when your head gets hot? You're almost twenty, and you're still living so recklessly?"

Listening to Li Xuewu's reprimand, Old Biaozi nodded, "Yes, yes, Brother, it's my lack of consideration, it's my fault."

Yu Li had been with Li Xuewu for a long time and knew what kind of person he was, so seeing Li Xuewu get angry didn't bother her.

Because if Li Xuewu was really unhappy, he wouldn't just say it, and he wouldn't deliberately put on an angry expression.

So after serving Li Xuewu his meal, Yu Li listened to the commotion while gnawing on a steamed bun.

"Even Ye Ye Erye Ye knows not to speak up; are you showing off?"

Li Xuewu pointed at Old Biaozi's palm and said, "He's sad, he's heartbroken; he did that deliberately for you to see."

"Ah?"

Hearing Li Xuewu's words, Old Biaozi looked up and said, "No... that..."

"That what?"

Li Xuewu said coldly, "Are you Song Jiang, the timely rain? How is it such a coincidence that you ran into people who were sick?"

Old Biaozi was also an old hand on the streets; hearing Li Xuewu's words, he frowned.

Li Xuewu continued, "Even if you ran into them by coincidence, how did you know Ye Ye Erye Ye wanted to take them in? Even if Ye Ye Erye Ye wanted to take them in, shouldn't he have been the one to speak up? Who do you think you are? Are those kids your old acquaintances?"

"No, Brother Wu, Ye Ye Erye Ye he..."

Li Xuewu glanced sideways at Old Biaozi and said, "He's only been here a few days. You dare to give your heart to him? How many heads do you have that are worth being shot?"

"Brother Wu, I... I was wrong."

Old Biaozi was full of regret, lowering his head and admitting his mistake to Li Xuewu.

This admission was the real one, knowing he was wrong; the previous one was just fear of Li Xuewu, not daring not to admit it.

"Brother Wu, then Ye Ye Erye Ye... what do you say we do? Drive them out?"

"How do you drive them out? Do you drive them out, or do I?"

Li Xuewu said with hatred for his lack of improvement, "I just finished telling you to grow a brain, and now you've forgotten."

Looking at his submissive brother, Li Xuewu explained, "He just wanted to take those kids in but was afraid we wouldn't want them, so he came up with this scheme."

"Once they're in the courtyard, it shows you're benevolent, but try driving them out? Not to mention Ye Ye Erye Ye wouldn't be happy, you wouldn't even be able to explain it to the neighborhood office."

"Then... then what do we do? This has become a hot potato!"

"What did you think? It's easy to invite a god but hard to send one away! And you didn't take it seriously!"

Li Xuewu took a breath and said, "Now you know it's hard to be a good person, right? Remember this lesson in the future; a gentleman should act according to his ability."

"Brother Wu, you're the gentleman, you think of a solution, I'll listen to you."

Looking at Old Biaozi, who had taken it to heart, Li Xuewu glared at him and said, "Just this once. If you dare not use your brain again, get out and play with your eggs; do whatever you want."

"Yes, yes, yes."

Old Biaozi nodded, "I'll definitely remember it in the future; I won't dare to do this again."

Li Xuewu turned to Yu Li and said, "Go to the vegetable market in a while and buy some vegetables. When Zhuzi comes back, ask him to prepare a few more dishes, but don't say anything."

As he spoke, he said to Old Biaozi, "And you, put away your expression; don't throw a tantrum."

"Brother Wu, he..."

"He what?"

Li Xuewu said, "Ye Ye Erye Ye doesn't have any bad intentions. If he had the ability, he definitely wouldn't have used this trick to find you; he would have gone to find Third Uncle long ago."

"He also has a soft heart; he's been helping us honestly these days, not taking a penny, coming and going, so just give him this bit of face."

Speaking of Wen San'er, Li Xuewu looked at Old Biaozi and asked, "Think about it yourself, what would happen if Third Uncle encountered this?"

Old Biaozi thought for a moment and laughed, "Hehe, I guess Third Uncle would have sold those kids and made Ye Ye Erye Ye take the blame."

"Hehe."

Li Xuewu heard Old Biaozi's words, glanced at him, and said, "Don't always think Third Uncle is stingy, and don't always think Third Uncle is timid. He's the one who does business; you're only suited for small trades."

This was a mockery.

Because opening a shop or managing something is called 'business' in the south, and 'trade' in the north.

In the north, 'business' is not a good word, meaning a scheme to deceive people.

Old Biaozi nodded with a smile, "I know, in the future when you're not here, I'll listen to Third Uncle."

"Don't you have a brain of your own?"

Li Xuewu glared at him and immediately said, "Tonight, learn a bit; I'm teaching you for the last time."

"Got it, Brother Wu."

Li Xuewu tapped the table and said, "Finish eating and hurry to work; seeing you makes me angry."

Old Biaozi also knew Li Xuewu wasn't really angry, laughed, finished the remaining steamed bun in his bowl, drank the hot soup, got off the bed, put on his shoes, and went out.

Yu Li tidied up the table and said to Li Xuewu, "I'm going to swap with Xiaoyan."

"Mm."

Li Xuewu leaned against the quilt, nodded, and said, "I got some sea fish and seafood; I'll put them in the west courtyard warehouse later. You can pick some for your family."

"Don't do that."

Yu Li shook her head and said, "The last time I took that cigarette, my dad showed it off to the whole village; he almost wore it on his head while smoking. If I take seafood again, who knows what kind of trouble it will cause."

Li Xuewu smiled and said, "Do as you see fit; pick some that aren't conspicuous. There's plenty."

Yu Li smiled and said, "Just thinking of me is enough. You take a rest; Xiaoyan must be hungry, I have to go swap with her quickly."

Saying this, she left the room.

It could be seen that Yu Li hadn't been having a good time these days either; her little face had thinned by half a circle.

Just as he leaned his body against the quilt, Xiaoyan came into the room carrying her sleeve covers.

"Brother Wu."

"Hey."

This sister of Dazhuang was always smiling, a natural optimist.

She even stood at the recycling shop counter with great interest; fortunately, it was their own, so no one scolded her.

Xiaoyan sat at the table, picked up a steamed bun, and began to eat, asking while eating, "Don't you have to go to work this afternoon?"

"No, the training ended this morning; today counts as a rest."

Li Xuewu looked at Xiaoyan and asked, "Is receiving goods tiring?"

"Not tiring."

Xiaoyan smiled and said, "It's much better than staying at home. My classmates know I'm working and all envy me."

Li Xuewu took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and asked, "Are there many of your classmates staying at home?"

"Why wouldn't there be? They stay idle all day, wandering the streets."

Xiaoyan curled her lips and said, "They used to say they'd be assigned, but now they just tell them to wait. They've been waiting for a year, and they're still waiting."

"Hehe."

Li Xuewu asked with a smile, "How much money does your Brother Biaozi give you a month?"

"It's given by Third Uncle."

Xiaoyan corrected, "Third Uncle gives fifteen yuan every month."

"Is it enough?"

"Enough. Brother Biaozi even gives my mom ten yuan every month."

Xiaoyan nodded and said, "I eat here every day, so I even have money left over for meals. My mom also eats at the factory, so we don't really cook at home; we just boil some porridge in the morning."

Li Xuewu nodded; this Wen San'er was really considerate of human feelings.

Although Dazhuang was a brother to them, they didn't indulge this sister.

They took care of her, but they wouldn't bring out a young lady; that would really be letting Dazhuang down.

Xiaoyan looked at Li Xuewu's expression and asked, "Brother Wu, did you scold Brother Biaozi?"

"Mm?"

Li Xuewu smiled and asked, "Did you hear it?"

"No."

Xiaoyan looked at Li Xuewu with some worry and said, "Brother Biaozi told me when he went out that I should remind him if there's anything in the future."

Li Xuewu laughed, "I didn't scold him, just talked a bit. Your Brother Biaozi is too impulsive."

"Mm, I think so too."

Xiaoyan nodded. Hearing that Li Xuewu wasn't angry, she felt relieved; she was still very afraid of Li Xuewu being angry.

Li Xuewu looked at this sister and asked, "How are things with Guodong?"

Hearing Li Xuewu ask this, Xiaoyan blushed and said, "No, nothing's going on."

"Hehe."

Li Xuewu laughed, "It's good that nothing's going on. If you have any difficulties, tell your brother."

"Got it."

Xiaoyan finished her meal with a red face, tidied up the table, and went out to work her shift.

Li Xuewu took a nap on the bed in the inverted room.

Waiting until after two in the afternoon, Li Xuewu got up, boiled hot water, and started the battle-damaged GAZ-69 in the west courtyard.

"I'm going out for a trip to pull some things; the gate doesn't need to be locked. I'll be back in a while."

"Got it."

Li Xuewu told Xiaoyan, who had come out to watch, and drove out the gate.

Once he reached the main street along the alley, Li Xuewu found a quiet dead-end alley and parked the car.

He didn't dare to run too far; if he were intercepted, he really wouldn't be able to explain.

He opened the rear compartment, folded all the seats into the compartment, and then began to stack bags of rice into the compartment.

He had brought back five tons of rice, ten tons of corn, and twenty barrels of white liquor from the Northeast.

Li Xuewu planned to transport them all back today; looking at it in tons made it seem like a lot.

In reality, there weren't that many customers on Wen San'er's side.

One bag of rice was one hundred jin, so five tons was only one hundred bags.

The GAZ-69's load capacity was one ton. Now that there were people in the west courtyard, Li Xuewu couldn't be as casual as he was when he moved the wood last time.

After smoking a cigarette in the car and lingering for a while, he drove back to the alley.

He didn't need Xiaoyan to come out; Li Xuewu opened the gate himself and drove the car into the north warehouse.

Once he turned off the engine and wanted to come out to close the gate, he saw that Xiaoyan had already come out and closed the gate.

Seeing Li Xuewu standing at the north warehouse door, Xiaoyan didn't come over but waved and went back to the storefront.

Li Xuewu watched for a while and left the warehouse gate ajar.

He had originally thought Xiaoyan would come over to look, but this girl had her own priorities.

After observing for a while and seeing that no one was really coming over, Li Xuewu then bolted the warehouse gate from the inside.

Then he began to unload the rice from the car.

When the north warehouse was being built, they had already prepared a place to store these things, digging a very large basement underneath.

The reason Li Xuewu spent so much money building those few broken houses in the west courtyard, besides the storefront, was the basement.

Stacking the rice, corn, and liquor barrels into the basement, Li Xuewu specifically left a truckload of corn.

Then he opened the warehouse door and drove out.

For the whole afternoon, Li Xuewu just went back and forth like this, until Old Biaozi and the others were finishing their shift, and he loaded the last truckload and drove back.

Seeing Li Xuewu's car drive into the alley, Old Biaozi and the others quickly moved their cart to make way for Li Xuewu's car.

Li Xuewu signaled to Wen San'er in the car, and Wen San'er immediately ran to the gate and closed it.

What is called 'having an eye for things', what is called 'being quick-witted'—Li Xuewu didn't need to speak; with just one gesture, Wen San'er could coordinate with Li Xuewu.

Once the car was driven into the north warehouse, Wen San'er signaled to Erhai, and took Shen Guodong and Old Biaozi to follow Li Xuewu's car into the warehouse.

And Ye Ye Erye and the Old Master, who had just entered the courtyard, went to the inverted room after putting away the horse cart.

"Is this Northeast goods?"

Wen San'er looked at the corn bags in the compartment and asked.

Li Xuewu glanced at the gate and opened the basement door.

Old Biaozi had also become sharp; seeing Li Xuewu's expression, he shouldered a bag of corn and sent it to the basement.

Shen Guodong also borrowed Wen San'er's strength, shouldered a corn bag, and went down to the basement.

When Li Xuewu was about to shoulder one, Wen San'er stopped him and said, "Xiaoyan said you've been going back and forth all afternoon; let those two shoulder them."

Li Xuewu smiled and said, "It's fine, finish early and rest early."

As he spoke, he had already grabbed the corner of the bag and shouldered it.

Watching Li Xuewu's back as he walked to the basement, Wen San'er also grabbed the corner of a bag and pulled hard, wanting to learn Li Xuewu's way of shouldering a bag.

But this corn was different from rice; it was packed in a large gunny sack, and one bag weighed nearly two hundred jin. This sudden weight almost crushed him underneath.

"Third Uncle, let me do it. If you strain your waist carrying a bag of corn, Third Aunt won't let me off!"

Old Biaozi grinned and took the bag from Wen San'er's hand, letting Wen San'er help him shoulder it.

Added one chapter today, asking for monthly tickets.

Don't rush me; twenty thousand words today (December 1st), wait for me. ===== CHAPTER 358 =====