Da Bao took out the shattered fragments that had been smashed into pieces from his pocket.
Yun Xiaoxiao looked at these things, broken and impossible to piece together again.
"Mom, it was Xiao Shu..."
Yun Xiaoxiao crouched down and picked up Xiao Bao, soothing him softly, "It’s alright, don’t cry, don’t cry, let Mom see if she can fix it?"
"They’re all broken," sobbed Xiao Bao, choking up.
"Then let’s play with something else."
Xiao Bao was unwilling, "We should make Xiao Shu compensate."
The other children agreed, believing that damage done should be compensated for.
"Then let’s go and ask Xiao Shu why he broke your toy."
Yun Xiaoxiao locked the front door and took a group of children to Zhao Tianhai’s house.
Honestly, she had never visited since Second Brother Zhao’s family split off and built a new house; even during the house-warming, it had been held at the old property.
"Mom..." Xiao Bao, holding Yun Xiaoxiao’s hand, suddenly remembered that their dad wasn’t home and that Uncle and his wife were; would Second Sister-in-law bully Mom?
"Don’t be afraid, Mom’s here."
Meanwhile, Xiao Shu, after having broken Xiao Bao’s toy, had run back home and slammed the door shut with force.
"Xiao Shu, what are you doing?" Da Shu went to school, and there were still two years before his little brother would be able to go.
In the midst of winter, Da Shu’s mother stayed home sewing clothes and making cotton shoes, noticing that her young son had returned and shut his door hard.
Ever since the family split, nothing had gone smoothly.
Wanting to eat meat, she called on her eldest son to go hunting in the mountains, but instead of finding any meat, they ended up owing money. Now Xiao Hai had to go to his elder sister-in-law’s every day to help his brother carry water.
"Mom, don’t tell anyone that I’m not home."
Da Shu’s mother was on the verge of cursing. Every day was filled with such nonsense.
Both her older and younger sons were the same.
But before she could wait any longer, she saw Laosan’s Wife leading a group of children to her place.
"What are you doing here?" Da Shu’s mother looked unkindly at Laosan’s Wife. She hadn’t visited since the new house had been built, so why had she suddenly brought a crowd today?
Yun Xiaoxiao faced Da Shu’s mother, "Second Sister-in-law, would I bother to come to your house if it weren’t for something important?"
Da Shu’s mother, who had not gone to school for many years, didn’t understand what Laosan’s Wife was saying.
"Call Xiao Shu out. He broke something and just ran off; is that it?"
"Xiao Shu grabbed my toy and broke it," Da Bao said, taking out the broken Rubik’s Cube fragments from his pocket and facing Da Shu’s mother fearlessly.
Da Shu’s mother remembered her younger son rushing back earlier and slamming the door shut with force.
"It must be because you wouldn’t let Xiao Shu play with it." Da Shu’s mother saw that the object was expensive and certainly didn’t fancy paying compensation.
Laosan’s Wife had money; if it was broken, she could simply buy another for Da Bao, it wasn’t a big deal.
"So, if you don’t let him play, he has the right to snatch it? There’s money in the post office in town, why don’t you let him go rob that place? Or is it that you judge people by their cover? Do you think that Da Bao and Xiao Bao’s belongings are his? Because you see me as a soft touch, does that mean I can beat you up?"
Da Shu’s mother instinctively stepped back; how had the situation become so aggressive so quickly?
"Call Xiao Shu out and have him apologize to my kids, Da Bao and Xiao Bao; otherwise, pay up. This toy came from the north, you can’t even buy it at the county Cooperative, and it wasn’t cheap."
How much could that thing be worth?
"Half a Union banknote, you decide how to handle it."
A toy worth five yuan?