Electronic Nezha

Chapter 36 Idlers
"Where's your mother?" These were the first words I said to this customer as I pushed open the door. But I knew he wouldn't answer me. I recognized this young man; his name was Dong Linhao, and people in the market called him "Haohao."

Hao Hao, around twenty-four or twenty-five years old, had a neatly shaved buzz cut, which looked very cool and handsome with his oval head shape. Half of his woolen hat was sticking out of his down jacket pocket, and a thick hemp rope, more than a meter long, was tied around his waist.

When Hao Hao saw me talking to him, he just chuckled twice.

Old Wang took a tangerine from the shop and handed it to Hao Hao. Li Ping shouted from the shop next door, "Peel it!"

Before he finished speaking, Hao Hao had already stuffed the tangerine, peel and all, into his mouth. As the taste shifted from bitter to sweet, his expression changed from anger to joy.

Yes, Hao Hao is an idiot. Only an idiot could have such clear eyes at his age.

"Oh dear, I forgot about that." Old Wang slapped his forehead, then asked Hao Hao, "Where's your mom?"

“Here it is.” It was an old woman’s voice, gentle and smiling, as she walked out from behind a row of shops. She was actually not very old, around fifty years old, but her hair had turned completely silver. She pushed a dilapidated bicycle over. The bicycle had no chain and was used as a small cart. A pile of cardboard boxes was neatly tied to the back seat.

Hao Hao finished a tangerine with the peel on, and his eyes seemed to be hesitating about whether he wanted more.

"Haohao, you should say thank you when you eat someone's food," the old lady instructed her son.

Hao Hao didn't react at all, and we were used to it.

The old lady's surname was Xu, and we all called her Aunt Xu. She had a hard life. When Hao Hao was less than 3 years old, he contracted meningitis, and his intelligence was permanently stuck at that stage. When Aunt Xu's husband saw that things were not going well, he ran away immediately, leaving the widow and her child to fend for themselves. Aunt Xu only received a minimum living allowance and worked a job in a restaurant. In her spare time, she would collect cardboard boxes to sell for money.

"Aunt Xu, wait a moment, I've got it ready for you." Li Ping went back to the shop to get some cardboard. Many people in the market saw how pitiful the mother and son were and saved up their cardboard for Aunt Xu. The old lady was a strong-willed person, and in return, she would clean up the trash and fruit peels in front of everyone's shop.

"Thank you, girl."

Just then, a short, stocky man in a security guard uniform strolled over to us. Li Ping frowned as soon as she saw him.

The man's name was Zhang Biao. He looked older than me, bald with thinning eyebrows and a face full of menacing features. He was an inspector at the "Good Luck" fruit market. It sounded impressive, but he was just an outsourced worker. In his own words, he was Li Ping's "loyal suitor," but everyone knew it was just lust at first sight. Ever since Li Ping entered the market, he had been sticking to her like a ghost, always loitering around the area, looking for any opportunity to strike up a conversation with her.

Don't let his behavior in front of women fool you; to outsiders, this guy is incredibly arrogant. He always speaks to everyone with a condescending tone. I heard that he has a distant relative who is a leader in the Market Supervision Bureau, which is why he was brought here. The vendors value harmony and make money, so they usually call him either "Manager Zhang" or "Brother Zhang." This has spoiled him, making him extremely arrogant. The reason he wears a security guard uniform is because Zhang Biao believes that those who manage people should wear uniforms, and he extorted a set from the gatekeeper.

Zhang Biao considered himself Li Ping's "protector," and his actions included frequently wandering over to Li Ping's stall, kicking rotten fruit off the ground to other people's doorsteps, and then ordering them to clean it up. Lao Wang and I suffered a lot from this.

Zhang Biao had a smug look on his face from a distance, but when he saw Aunt Xu and her son first, he started barking like a hunting dog seeing a rabbit.

"Go away, go pick up trash somewhere else."

Aunt Xu naturally recognized Zhang Biao, and said with a smile, "I'll be leaving right away."

Li Ping was already packing up the cardboard boxes for her. Although Aunt Xu said that, she naturally didn't want to leave right away. She bent down and picked up a few rotten oranges from under the steps of the stall and threw them into the trash can.

Seeing that she had taken over his job, Zhang Biao shouted, "Get out of here! This morning, the vice mayor took a group of out-of-town businessmen to inspect the cold storage. If you're affecting the city's appearance, what if they stop investing in us?"

Aunt Xu said calmly, "Even if someone is conducting an inspection, the poor still need to be fed."

At this moment, Li Ping came out carrying a bundle of cardboard. Her face was full of disgust, but she had no choice but to endure it and said reluctantly, "Brother Zhang, can you just turn a blind eye?"

Zhang Biao was choked by Aunt Xu, his face turned red and his neck thickened. He didn't even give Li Ping any face and cursed fiercely, "Didn't you hear me tell you to get out? You're so old and you still have no shame!"

Old Wang scoffed, "What does the leaders going to inspect the other side have to do with our fruit market?" Zhang Biao replied matter-of-factly, "What if they come?"

"They won't come." Someone tossed out three words as if making a conclusion, their voice crisp and pleasant, as if directed at Zhang Biao. Only then did I realize that someone had been standing in front of my stall at some point. She was wearing a long pink down jacket with a hoodie underneath. The hoodie's hood covered her face, and she was also wearing a pair of very neutral aviator sunglasses, which made it impossible for me to see what she looked like.

It's a girl.

The girl lingered in front of my stall, casually flipping through some of the fruit displayed outside.

Zhang Biao glanced at the girl, but she didn't even look at him. She picked up a huge tangerine and kneaded it like a baby's face.

I could only greet her first: "What would you like to order?"

"I'll just browse around for now, and call me if I need anything."

Zhang Biao ignored the girl and turned to look at Aunt Xu, only to find the old lady busy tidying up the box Li Ping had given her and the things on her bicycle.

Zhang Biao stepped forward and kicked the bicycle over.

Old Wang gritted his teeth and said, "They're really something that's been manipulated but not taught!"

Zhang Biao glared at Lao Wang and said, "Who are you cursing?"

"You!" Old Wang sealed his answer and spoke his mind.

Logically speaking, Zhang Biao's lust for Li Ping is none of our business. I am Li Ping's landlord, and Lao Wang is her neighbor. Zhang Biao has no reason to target us. However, when the school bully likes your female classmate, you have to be prepared to be an innocent victim. Lao Wang and I suffered such an undeserved disaster. It's fine if we don't provoke him, but what he did today was truly disgusting. Even I wanted to curse.

Seeing that Old Wang had shown his power, Zhang Biao was at a loss. At this moment, Aunt Xu silently picked up her bicycle, and Hao Hao followed behind with a smile. The mother and son were preparing to leave.

Zhang Biao, seething with rage, suddenly kicked Hao Hao in the waist and cursed, "Don't let me see you guys again."

"Holy shit!" Old Wang and I exclaimed in unison.

Then Lao Wang rushed up and started fighting with Zhang Biao.

Just as my eyes darted left and right, searching for a suitable tool—

"You can try them, right?" The girl in the pink down jacket asked, pointing to some peeled tangerines on my stall. It turned out she hadn't left yet; in fact, she was filming Lao Wang and Zhang Biao fighting with her phone.

"Uh, yes..." That was originally meant to attract customers.

The girl picked up a peeled tangerine segment and popped it into her mouth, hissing from the cold. With her other hand, she steadily held her phone up to Lao Wang and Zhang Biao. Seeing me looking at her, she calmly said, "Don't worry about me, you go about your business."

I've never seen anyone so idle!

　Thanks to "Yu Xian Qi Tian" for becoming the patron of this book.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)