Despite his family’s difficult financial situation, Du Xiaohui really wants to lend a hand. But she knows well that boys his age often have strong pride, especially someone like Du Xiaohui. His family used to be quite well-off, and the sudden change has been hard on him; she doesn’t want to wound his pride.
"Are you hiring?" Du Xiaohui eagerly asks, "I have time. My homework is almost done; there are only a few problems I can’t solve. If you explain them to me, I’ll be done."
"It pays two yuan a day, and you’ll have to help carry and organize stock. It might be a bit tiring," Shen Mianmian deliberately makes the job sound more demanding, so he won’t feel like she is giving him charity.
As expected, Du Xiaohui doesn’t mind the sound of hard work at all. On the contrary, he’s excited, "I’m not afraid of hard work. Working hard is good. If it weren’t challenging, I wouldn’t feel right taking the money."
"Then start working next week!" Shen Mianmian decisively finalizes the arrangement, "After school starts, you can also come to help on Saturdays and Sundays."
Du Xiaohui is thrilled. After he finishes unloading a truck of vegetables with Dajun, Dajun pulls out a pair of shoes from the truck that were squashed under the vegetables and hands them to Du Xiaohui, "I bought these shoes too small, and the stall owner won’t take them back. Try them on, and if they fit, they’re yours."
Du Xiaohui is taken aback. The shoes look nice and would cost quite a few yuan.
"What are you dawdling for? Give them a try," Dajun urges.
Du Xiaohui hesitates and takes off his own worn shoes to try on the new pair. They fit perfectly—not too big, not too small. Seeing this, Dajun says, "They fit you well; consider them a gift!"
"How much for the shoes? I’ll pay you," says Du Xiaohui feeling a little uneasy. The shoes are comfortable and his own shoes are worn out. A new pair would be good, but he worries they may be too expensive.
"No need to pay," Dajun says nonchalantly. "I bought these shoes before the New Year. They’ve just been lying around because they didn’t fit, and I don’t have relatives to give them to. If you hadn’t taken them, they’d just be thrown away someday."
"Dajun, thank you," says Du Xiaohui, his eyes reddening, avoiding direct eye contact with Dajun.
Who buys shoes without trying them?
Dajun must have bought these shoes a size small on purpose, for him to wear. He probably noticed the state of Du Xiaohui’s old shoes and, fearing he wouldn’t accept a direct gift, made up that story. Despite his tough, reticent exterior, Dajun has a kind heart. Du Xiaohui will remember this act of kindness.
Shen Mianmian certainly notices what’s going on, but she doesn’t say anything either. Thıs content belongs to 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹✶𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲✶𝗻𝗲𝘁
Every Saturday and Sunday, Du Xiaohui would arrive and leave with Dajun in his truck, helping him with the merchandise. Dajun must’ve bought the shoes for him after noticing his worn-out footwear.
Dajun is a good person with a kind heart. Xiaocui won’t go wrong with him if she doesn’t mind that he’s not in perfect shape.
Both in appearance and character, Dajun is definitely considered good.
With his homework finished and no other obligations, Du Xiaohui isn’t in a hurry to head back to school. He stays at the shop until after four in the afternoon, keeping busy by helping Zhang Qian with her work.
At five o’clock, Shen Mianmian decides to close the shop early. She wants to treat everyone to a meal, "During the New Year, everyone was so busy we didn’t have a chance to eat out together. Since we’re all here today, let’s go have a meal before heading back."
Dajun and Du Xiaohui don’t refuse either.
After tidying up the shop, they prepare to close up when a car pulls over at the curb.