She had guessed correctly, Shen Mianmian was a bit puzzled, "Old Grandpa, shouldn’t you have a pension now? How come..."
She didn’t finish her sentence, but the meaning was already quite clear.
The old man sighed heavily, "It’s a long story, all because of my good-for-nothing grandson."
Upon hearing this, Shen Mianmian pretty much understood the gist of it, that the grandson must not have turned out well and had spent all his pension—this kind of thing wasn’t rare in any era.
Her suspicions about the old man were also dispelled.
"Old Grandpa, we’ll be at home tomorrow too. You can come over for lunch with us, it’s just me and Xiaoxi here, one more person won’t make a difference. If you’re willing, you can come over for meals every Saturday and Sunday; we have school from Monday to Friday, but we’re always home on the weekends."
"Alright, thank you, young lady!" After expressing his gratitude, the old man couldn’t help but caution, "Young lady, you have kind hearts, I can see that, but you also need to be more cautious. Two pretty young girls living together might attract some people with bad intentions; you can’t be too trusting of strangers."
Shen Mianmian nodded.
It was then that the old man picked up his belongings and left.
"Mianmian, has the old man gone?" Yang Xiaoxi came out just after the old man had disappeared; she shook the water from her hands, "That old man is so pitiful!"
"Listening to his accent, he seems to be a local from Beijing. If his grandson were a bit more promising, he could be enjoying his old age. It’s such a pity." Shen Mianmian shook her head helplessly; indeed, there were people living off their elders in every era.
Yang Xiaoxi, however, was worried about another issue, "Mianmian, it was the old man’s first time begging, and he just happened to run into us so he had something to eat. But what about Monday to Friday? If he’s too embarrassed to beg, wouldn’t he go hungry?"
"The old man used to be in the People’s Liberation Army. Even though his grandson is a letdown, we can’t stand by and let him starve." After thinking it over, Shen Mianmian suggested, "Let’s go out for a walk! We can buy some noodles and eggs and let the old man take them with him tomorrow."
The two of them went straight to the nearby market.
Considering the old man’s age, Shen Mianmian prepared dry noodles, eggs, and other daily necessities like bananas and seasoning for him.
After roaming for over an hour, they returned to their residence, opened the door, and saw He Nan sitting by the stone table, drinking the chrysanthemum tea Shen Mianmian had prepared before leaving. The source of this content ɪs 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩⁂𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾⁂𝔫𝔢𝔱
Shen Mianmian looked surprised, "Big Brother He, how did you get in?"
The lock was fine when she opened the door earlier.
"I made like a gentleman on the wall," He Nan said lightly.
Yang Xiaoxi was astonished, "Big Brother He, you can leap over rooftops and vault over walls?"
"I’ll leave a key for you, then? Xiaoxi and I come and go together every day; just one key between the two of us is enough," Shen Mianmian proposed, intending to give her own key to He Nan.
"No need," He Nan shook his head.
Yang Xiaoxi put the things she was carrying onto the stone table, and then, while complaining about being tired, headed into the house. Shen Mianmian knew she was trying to give the two of them some privacy and didn’t expose her.
He Nan stood up and took the things from Shen Mianmian’s hands, placing them in the kitchen. Seeing the large quantity of noodles, he raised an eyebrow, "Buying so many noodles?"
"They’re for someone."
Both of them sat down at the stone table, He Nan poured her a cup of chrysanthemum tea, and after she drank it, she continued, "Today, we met an old beggar, quite a pitiful figure, so Xiaoxi and I bought some things for him to take and eat tomorrow."