Xiao Lin hurriedly shook his head when he heard that. “I don’t want money. If it weren’t for you, our family wouldn’t have been able to earn this money. It’s only right for me to help!”
It was said that children from poor families matured earlier. Their sensibility and ability were forced out by the harsh realities of life.
Yu Bing smirked slightly as she rubbed Xiao Lin’s buzz-cut hair. “That’s different. Without your brother, Jiang Chun and I wouldn’t have been able to earn this money.”
Jiang Chun nodded in agreement. “Little Bing is right. You should be rewarded for your hard work.”
When Yu Bing heard Jiang Chun’s agreement, she took out two yuan and placed it on Xiao Lin’s table. “For convenience’s sake, I’ll pay two yuan this time, and each of you will pay one and a half yuan. Next time, we’ll get our shares after deducting the labor costs.”
Xiao Sheng glanced at the 2 yuan and took out 0.5 yuan to return to Yu Bing. Then, he took out 2 yuan and handed it to Xiao Lin. “Since we’ve decided to give it to him, I should be the one giving it to him.”
Yu Bing raised her eyebrows and smiled without saying anything. Jiang Chun also took out 1.5 yuan and gave it to Xiao Lin.
Seeing the five yuan in front of him, Xiao Lin was overjoyed. He placed the money in Xiao Li’s hand. “I made money too!”
Xiao Li smiled and said, “Second Brother, you’re so impressive!”
Yu Bing was very envious of the Xiao family’s siblings’ relationship. Although they were poor, they would think of each other no matter what. This was something that she could only dream of in her two lifetimes.
Under the dim yellow light, Xiao Sheng’s usually stern expression softened.
Yu Bing suddenly thought of the new trap the two of them had dug, so she asked, “Xiao Sheng, have you found any prey on the mountain recently?”
When Xiao Sheng heard the question, he frowned imperceptibly. “In order to kill them in one large batch, we can only catch them alive, so it’s a little difficult. So far, we’ve only caught three pheasants and two hares.”
“Previously, a large animal probably entered a trap. Unfortunately, the pit wasn’t deep enough, so it escaped. I’ll dig a few larger traps tomorrow.”
Yu Bing thought for a moment and looked up. “If you can’t hunt any poultry, it’s fine if you can get fish. In any case, they can both be smoked. The most important thing about smoked meat is that it can be preserved for an entire year. It’s also convenient to eat, so as long as it’s meat, it’s fine.”
Xiao Sheng nodded thoughtfully.
Seeing that the night was getting darker, Yu Bing bade farewell to the Xiao family with Jiang Chun and left.
Xiao Sheng watched the two of them return to the small courtyard next door before turning around and entering.
Yu Bing returned home and lit the kerosene lamp.
Jiang Chun took out the money from her pocket and looked at it again. She ran to Yu Bing’s side and widened her eyes as she whispered, “Little Bing, pinch me! Why do I still feel that it’s unreal?”
Yu Bing smiled and pinched Jiang Chun’s arm. “Does it feel real now?”
After feeling the pain, Jiang Chun revealed a silly smile and nodded vigorously. “It feels real!”
As she looked at Yu Bing, Jiang Chun’s smile faded slightly, and her eyes teared up. She said seriously, “With this money, my father can recuperate. My mother doesn’t have to try to borrow money from everyone all the time. Thank you, Little Bing!”
Yu Bing thought of how Jiang Chun had left before she could report back in her previous life, and her expression became a little ambivalent. She held Jiang Chun’s hand and slowly said, “Chun Chun, no matter where, in school, in the courtyard, or anywhere else, you’ve always been the one protecting me. Now, I’m very happy that I can finally help you!”
When Jiang Chun heard this, she only thought that Yu Bing was grateful for their friendship since they grew up together. She didn’t think much of it and held Yu Bing’s hand tightly as she said, “You always secretly hide things for me to eat. I treat you well because you treat me well too!”
Yu Bing smiled and stopped thinking about the past. After all, this life was already different.
Yu Bing took out the money from her pocket and slapped it on her hand. Then, she raised her eyebrows at Jiang Chun. “In the future, I’ll help you earn a lot of money! We can go to the county to buy some meat during our break tomorrow. The Mid-Autumn Festival will be the day after tomorrow. We should celebrate too!”
Jiang Chun looked at the money in her hand and was in a good mood as she smiled at Yu Bing and said, “Alright! Let’s celebrate this time.”