"Mimi, come here!" In the convenience store, Xu Qingfan squatted down and clapped his hands to call over Da Mi, the white cat, who walked towards him with its elegant feline gait upon hearing his voice.
"Good kitty." Xu Qingfan reached out to pet the big cat and then lifted it onto his lap.
"Brother Fan, Brother Fan, these are freshly braised by my mom, take them home and put them in the fridge." Wu Lingyu ran into the convenience store panting, carrying a large white plastic bag in her hand.
Xu Qingfan patted the cat on its behind, and Da Mi, understanding the hint, jumped down and scampered to the checkout counter for a little rest.
"Thank you for your hard work. Why run so fast? Be careful not to fall." He reached out to take the plastic bag from Wu Lingyu’s hand.
"It’s okay, I’m used to it." Wu Lingyu raised her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead and gave him a sweet smile.
"Go to the fridge and grab two Green Tongues, it’s on me." Xu Qingfan patted her head and said.
"Okay!" Wu Lingyu, having spent a lot of time with Xu Qingfan, knew his straightforward nature and promptly went to get them.
The two sat on the rocking horse at the entrance, leaning back against the seat, leisurely licking their ice creams.
Green Tongue was an ice pop with a jelly base that was hard when frozen, offering a crunchy sensation, but after some time licking, the whole ice pop would turn into a soft tongue-shaped jelly, sour and sweet, delicious and fun to eat.
Xu Qingfan in his past life especially loved these, and at the affordable price of fifty cents, they were not expensive. However, as he grew up, these ice creams completely disappeared from the convenience store freezers, just like Snow Lotus.
"Brother Fan, is Sister Qing coming tomorrow?" Wu Lingyu asked, not wanting to just throw away the popsicle stick after finishing her ice cream, so she kept it in her mouth, savoring the mild sweetness inside.
"Yeah, she’s arriving at Baiyun Airport tomorrow at noon. Teacher Guan will go to pick her up; she should be able to reach Li City by three or four in the afternoon." Xu Qingfan also kept his finished popsicle stick in his mouth while talking to her.
Because people from Yanjing have the tradition of celebrating Lantern Festival and since train and plane tickets are hard to come by after the New Year, Zhong Wenqing’s trip to Li City had been delayed until now.
"Mhm." Wu Lingyu, upon thinking that Guan Biyue and Zhong Wenqing might come to the shop tomorrow, suddenly felt a bit inferior.
Even though her mother was a proud member of the working class, and she knew that nobody would mock her, Wu Lingyu still felt an indescribable sense of inferiority knowing that Li Mei Juan was a street vendor selling kebabs.
This feeling might also be related to the school she attended, where the parents of her classmates were either business owners, teachers, doctors, civil servants, or other such respectable professions, which made Wu Lingyu mistakenly believe that these were the norms of society.
"What’s wrong?" Xu Qingfan noticed the little girl withdrawing into herself for no apparent reason and tilted his head to ask.
Wu Lingyu shook her head, feeling ashamed of having such thoughts.
"It’s nothing, Brother Fan." She gave Xu Qingfan a faint smile. [Brother Fan has said that hardships are only temporary, as long as Yu studies hard in school, she can also become a teacher, doctor, civil servant...]
"Give me your popsicle stick. I need to scoop up some cat poop." He caught a glimpse of several dark pieces of feces in the stainless steel bowl by the door and spoke to Wu Lingyu.
"I can do it!" Wu Lingyu stood up, picked up an empty red envelope from the corner, rolled it into an arch shape, and carefully shoveled the cat’s droppings inside.
Since stainless steel naturally eliminates odors, and the big cat ate only rice, pork, and the occasional fish caught by Xu Aiguo, there wasn’t much smell to it.
Knowing well the "intelligence tax" involved with cat care, an ordinary cat litter box cost 128 yuan, while a large stainless steel bowl cost 88 yuan. The former was just a few pieces of flimsy plastic assembled into a simple bowl, while the latter was solid material, almost two kilograms in weight, with an added effect of odor removal—clearly the better choice.
"All done!" Wu Lingyu said, smiling at him after washing her hands at the outdoor faucet.
"Why so diligent? If you keep this up, you’ll be taken advantage of by me, and then you’ll be doing all the dirty and tiring jobs." Xu Qingfan joked with her.
"It’s okay, let me handle anything you don’t want to do, Brother Fan, I don’t mind!" Wu Lingyu looked at him earnestly, her gaze unwavering.
"Don’t be like that. I was just kidding. You must have been taken advantage of in your dorm, with chores like mopping and taking out the trash most likely falling to you." Xu Qingfan felt a bit awkward under her gaze and changed the subject.
"It’s fine. The trash has to be taken out when it’s full anyway, otherwise it would stink. They’ve been more mindful of the chore chart ever since they knew about you and me being friends." Wu Lingyu remembered the unspoken help Xu Qingfan had given her at school, and her heart warmed.
Influenced by Hong Kong movies and TV series, having a "big brother" or "big sister" at school was a common occurrence in many Chinese middle and primary schools. Undoubtedly, Xu Qingfan was the biggest figure in the second grade of Experimental Primary School, even though he didn’t collect followers or protection money.
However, mentioning in a disagreement at school, "I have Xu Qingfan’s QQ," held considerable deterrence.
"That’s good, but if anyone bullies you, remember to tell me." Xu Qingfan smiled and patted her shoulder.
Wu Lingyu thought to herself: [It’s only Brother Fan who bullies me, making me do his homework!]
"Okay!" But the girl’s face involuntarily lit up with a happy smile, clearly revealing the fact that she also enjoyed it.
"Your mother is really amazing, being able to make so many delicious things!" Xu Qingfan nodded to Li Mei Juan, who had come out for some air, and after she went back, he said to Wu Lingyu.