The Growth Story of Chenxi Boy

As Xu Yi searched, she asked, "Ah Dong, how much money did you just throw away?"

"Probably eleven or twelve pieces, I didn't count them carefully."

"Wow, you're so rich! What a waste! Why don't you just give it to us? Why are you throwing it away?"

Ah Dong just smiled, his tone carrying a youthful, feigned nonchalance: "Oh, don't worry about so many details."

He didn't understand then that what he casually tossed away wasn't just spare change, but the hard-earned money that an old man had painstakingly saved up little by little under the wind and sun.

Friday arrived quickly, and the three of them gathered together to discuss playing games at home this week and getting their ranks to Diamond.

"Ah Dong, do you have any money this weekend?" Xu Yi asked. "Let's go to a bubble tea shop and have some fun."

"Sure, but I don't have enough money. I'll ask my grandma for some when I get back."

"Okay, then I'll go with you."

Soon, the two walked over to Grandma Chen Xichuan's place.

Grandma Chen Xichuan is a fruit vendor who sells fruit on the street every day by pushing her tricycle.

"Grandma, I'm home. Where did you go the other day? Why didn't you come home to sleep at night?"

"Oh, I slept at a classmate's house the other day." Chen Xichuan said, while popping two grapes into his mouth with a contented look on his face.

"Grandma, I'd like to go out for dinner later, could you give me another 50 yuan?"

"Why do you need another 50 yuan? Didn't I just give you 100 yuan a couple of days ago? You spend money so fast, where did it all go?" Grandma Chen Xichuan said angrily. "You, you're always wasting money and running around everywhere, and you don't even study. Your teacher told me that you never do your homework."

As Grandma Chen Xichuan spoke, she reached out to tap Chen Xichuan's head.

Chen Xichuan reacted quickly and dodged immediately: "Hey, don't worry about the details, just give me the money, I need 50, I'm starving."

Seeing this, Xu Yi thought to herself: Wasn't Chen Xichuan's family supposed to be quite wealthy? They don't seem that way at all. And wasn't it a bit disrespectful of him to speak to his grandmother like that?

What Ah Dong had said earlier suddenly seemed as fragile as a thin sheet of paper, easily torn by the wind. Before him stood only a hardworking old man and a naive child who only knew how to ask for money.

Xu Yi walked over to Chen Xichuan, pulled him aside, and said, "Isn't this a bit too unfilial? She's still your grandmother, and you're asking her for money like this. It's not easy for your grandmother to sell fruit."

Chen Xichuan said nonchalantly, "Who cares, old woman. Just give me the money and that's it. Anyway, I'll treat you to something to eat later, so don't worry about it. Wait for me a bit."

"As expected of my brother Dong, awesome! What else can I say? Yida Xiao is powerful." Xu Yi said helplessly but also with a smile, thinking that she couldn't interfere in other people's business. Oh well.

After saying that, Chen Xichuan ignored Xu Yi and continued to ask his grandmother for money: "Oh, Grandma, please give it to me. If you don't, I'll keep eating your fruit and won't let you sell it. I'll just sit here forever."

Grandma looked at Chen Xichuan with a face full of helplessness and heartache, her eyes filled with unspeakable helplessness and sorrow.

His lips twitched, as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't speak. In the end, he just let out a deep sigh: "Sigh, I'll give you another 50 yuan. Just don't steal or rob, and stay safe and sound."

The moment Xu Yi saw this scene, she felt as if something had stabbed her in the heart.

This is not generosity, nor is it magnanimity; it is using an old person's grievances and hard-earned money to save face.

He suddenly hesitated:

How can I afford to eat with money obtained this way?

Ah Dong said he wanted to treat me, but the money is too much.

Xu Yi thought for a moment and said to Grandma Chen Xichuan, "Grandma, hello, I'm Chen Xichuan's friend. I'm two years older than him. Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him. He won't do anything bad. The main problem is that he's not very good at talking. Don't be angry. Save more of the money you make from selling fruit. Don't keep giving it to him; he'll squander it."

"Sigh, yes, he's been like this since he was little. His parents weren't around, no one taught him, and he didn't study hard. I don't have many demands, as long as he doesn't do anything bad or get caught. You seem like a good person, you look like you like studying. You can keep an eye on Chen Xichuan for me in the future. Here, I have some fruit here, which ones do you like? Take some, it's fine."

Grandma Chen Xichuan smiled as she handed a bunch of grapes to Xu Yi.

Xu Yi quickly accepted it, saying, "Oh, thank you, Grandma. You're too kind. We're all friends; helping each other is only right."

As if that wasn't enough, Grandma Chen Xichuan stuffed three more bananas into Xu Yi's hand. While doing so, she praised Xu Yi, saying, "You're a good child, you have a sweet tongue, you must be doing very well in your studies." Xu Yi was a little embarrassed by her words.

In fact, Xu Yi's grades were among the worst in the class. He showed almost no interest in the lessons, except for Chinese, where he often slept. His Chinese teacher frequently made him stand and listen. But something strange was that despite sleeping all day and not doing his homework, his grades were consistently above 60, almost never falling below that. Of course, he didn't do well in other subjects. His Chinese teacher also found it quite odd—how could he consistently score above 60 while sleeping?

Sometimes, when discussing texts by Lu Xun, he would casually say a few words when the whole class was silent.

Xu Yi had excellent grades until the third grade. However, when he entered the fourth grade, his parents went back to their hometown to do business, and he lived alone with his grandparents in Zhangcheng. With no one to take care of him and he had a mobile phone to play with, his grades naturally dropped.

Chen Xichuan, who was happily receiving the money, became a little angry when he heard Xu Yi say this: "Wait, who are you helping? I'm going to treat you to something to eat."

Xu Yi replied, "Hey, it's not that I don't want to help you. It's just that you went a bit too far this time. If you keep asking for money like this, your grandma will be upset. Try to think about how she feels; it's not a good feeling for her either, is it?"

A-Dong paused for a moment, as if he was really thinking, but that moment of inspiration vanished in an instant, overshadowed by his playfulness and perfunctory attitude.

He was too young then to understand sighs, see sorrow, or comprehend how spending money could erase childhood forever.

"Oh, don't worry about so many details." This phrase seems to have become Ah Dong's signature line, which he often says.

Who cares about all that, as long as we get the money. Let's go, let's go get something to eat.