Proofread by Claire.KK
Despite the trouble of the old man at the bridgehead, the cold jelly was sold well that day. Just after noon, one bucket was gone empty.
At the beginning, the old man at the bridgehead was arrogant, but Li Hongmei’s fighting power was both aggressive and long-lasting. The old man could not take any advantage at all; not only could he not take advantage of it, but also was pointed out by passers-by that he was not kind and bullied a widow by touting his name as the first cold jelly seller.
Just at noon, the old man headed back dejectedly to his old site at the bridge head.
In the afternoon, the sun was so fierce that there were fewer pedestrians in the street. All the living things were wilting and languid.
Other peddlers or sellers on the street usually went to eat lunch at this time. Ye Xiaoxian also said to Li Hongmei, “Ma, what do you want for lunch? I’ll buy it for you.” Li Hongmei thought for a moment, and then she suddenly got a sparkle and said, “I heard from Baoshan’s uncles before that there is a pancake seller near the government office. The pancakes are very delicious. They have bought them secretly several times. They thought I didn’t find out, humph, little Ye, why don’t you go to buy two of them and we can have a taste?”
Ye Xiaoxian smiled. “Sure. I’m going to buy some right now.”
After walking for a while, Ye Xiaoxian suddenly realized that what Li Hongmei wanted was not the pancakes at all but to create opportunities for her and Baoshan.
…
Ye Xiaoxian had been in town for all these days so she knew where the government office was.
Qinghe County was not a big town. There were four or five streets in total. The weather was scorching hot now while streets were cold and deserted. Ye Xiaoxian started sweating after walking for a short while.
She made her way to the government office arduously and found it was quite lively in front of its gate, as if all the pedestrians had been flooded here.
There are many trees planted around the government office. The thick branches and leaves blocked the sunshine away completely. The cool wind under the shade kept all the heat away.
Ye Xiaoxian was almost reaching the shades and she then subconsciously started to look for the tall figure in the crowd.
People were staying in groups. Some were chatting together, some were throwing dice and some were sleeping under the shades.
Ye Xiaoxian looked for a while and finally spotted that familiar figure under a big banyan tree.
He sat under the tree lazily and his handyman’s uniform, a mandarin jacket was taken off and put aside. There were some other his co-workers sitting under the tree and leaning on the trunk in a lazy way as well.
Although they were sitting there in a similar posture, Ye Xiaoxian found Xiao Baoshan’s disposition outstanding; no matter what posture he adopted, one could take a picture of him as a charming-man poster to save for appreciating later.
Ye Xiaoxian was hesitant, wondering if she should go over and say hello; however, a young girl somehow popped up, with a lunchbox in her hand, and she walked towards Xiao Baoshan and his mates.
The girl was sixteen or seventeen, wearing a light-blue dress with a silk cloth bound in her head and her hair was braided and draped down. She had a graceful figure and her face was really red by being exposed to the sunshine too long.
Once she came, those sluggish handymen became lively and energetic at once. They sat straight and some started teasing her.
“Ya’er, what did you prepare for us today?”
“I thought Ya’er wouldn’t come today. I almost went to buy some big filled buns just now!”
“How could Ya’er not come? Unless there’s a storm ’caues we got Baoshan here. Ha ha ha…”
“…”
The young girl named Ya’er didn’t answer but only smiled shyly; meanwhile, she opened the lid of the lunchbox where steamed buns and shortbread were placed.
She took out the steamed buns and shortbread, giving them out to everyone and then closed the lid.
When she was going to leave, she paused and glanced at Baoshan and her gaze happened to meet Baoshan’s gaze.Suddenly, she became even more blushed, carrying the lunchbox and walked away hurriedly.