Xinyan naturally noticed the commotion from the group of children behind her. Thinking that she would soon leave here, she decided to help the two little ones make some friends. Smiling, she waved to the children, "You are all Sili and Siyan’s friends, and I rarely catch this many fish. It’s almost lunchtime now, so I’ll make something tasty tonight and share some with you all to try."
The children cheered excitedly at the prospect of food, "Oh, great! Thank you, sister."
Xinyan smiled at them, "When you play, include Sili and Siyan. But remember, don’t play in dangerous places, and if you go outside the community, be sure to get an adult’s permission. Got it?"
The children, lured by the promise of food, agreed without hesitation. While they heard what Xinyan said, only Ye Silai seemed to really take it to heart.
Back home, Xinyan picked out three fish and gave one each to the Cheng Family, the Zhao Family, and the Xie Family next door, as a thank you for speaking on her behalf. The two children returned, each carrying something in their hands.
For lunch, Xinyan made fish with pickled vegetables and boiled some noodles in the broth.
The smooth noodles paired with the fresh and fragrant sour fish soup were absolutely delicious, leaving everyone feeling satisfied and content.
Afterward, Xinyan did the dishes while He Jinxuan, per her request, worked on the remaining fish.
He Jinxuan was quick with his tasks; by the time Xinyan finished the dishes, the fish were ready.
After helping to dispose of the trash, and seeing that time was about right, he said, "I’m heading to work now."
Xinyan nodded at him, thinking about making a delicious dish that afternoon, she smiled and said, "Alright, come back early after work. The other day, Mr. Lu brought a lot of vegetable oil, so I’ll fry fish balls for them this afternoon."
It was a casual statement. She just thought that once the fish balls were fried, the two little ones would definitely want to eat early, and if He Jinxuan came back late, the two kids might not be able to wait.
But He Jinxuan felt a warm surge of affection, smiling as he nodded, "Okay."
However, just after he turned the corner of the alley, a bucket of water poured down on him, instantly drenching him. Wiping the water from his face, he looked up.
On the wall above, the children who realized they’d caused trouble shrank back in fear.
As they pulled their heads back, He Jinxuan recognized the children, "Cheng Changlin, what are you doing up there? Come down quickly!"
Cheng Changlin was Sister Cheng’s second son, a mischievous child, but not a bad one at heart. Hearing He Jinxuan, he poked his head out and apologized, "Uncle He, I’m sorry, we didn’t do it on purpose. We really didn’t see you coming."
The family’s elder son was getting married, and since there wasn’t enough room to live, they planned to build a narrow room against this wall. There were a few buckets of water up there, intended for construction and watering the bricks in the afternoon, but these kids got their hands on them and caused chaos.
Seeing there wasn’t much time, He Jinxuan spoke up, "Uncle Miao still needs that water this afternoon. You can’t just waste it like this. Are you itching for trouble again?"
Fearing that they might damage anything else up there, or worse, fall, he shouted, "Hurry and get down from there! Don’t you know it’s dangerous?"
Terrified of He Jinxuan, the mischievous kids quickly slid down from the wall, standing in a row like quails. Cheng Changlin took the lead and said, "Uncle He, we were wrong. We promise not to climb up and play again."