Siheyuan: Why does your brother beat you up every day, Shazhu?

"Thank you so much, Director Liu!" He Weiguo thanked him sincerely. "I'll definitely treat you to dinner someday!"

Liu Wenhua laughed heartily and patted He Weiguo's arm again:

"Alright, forget about that nonsense! Remember, we're family from now on! If you have anything to say, just talk!"

He winked meaningfully, turned around and walked away in a hurry.

As soon as Liu Wenhua left, He Weiguo started moving things.

Fortunately, the bed was made of disassembled iron frame and wooden boards.

He was tall and strong, and in no time he tied up the heavy bed frame and bed board and carried them on his shoulders. He also slung the large bundle of new bedding over his other arm and looked at the rain:

"Yushui, hold on to your new clothes and follow me closely."

"Ok!"

Yu Shui nodded vigorously, hugged the bag of new clothes tightly in her arms, and trotted to keep up with He Weiguo's steady pace.

When he arrived at the entrance of the shopping mall, He Weiguo carefully put down the heavy object on his shoulders.

When the cold wind blew, Yu Shui subconsciously shrank his neck.

He Weiguo looked at his sister's red face from the cold and remembered that the most important thing had not been done.

"Rainwater," he pointed to something on the ground.

"You watch here and don't let anyone move. I'll go in, buy the bike, and come back out."

He didn't forget the promise he made to his sister.

"it is good!"

Yu Shui immediately straightened his little body and stood beside the pile of belongings like a little sentry, scanning the passers-by with vigilant eyes.

He Weiguo turned around and walked quickly into the mall.

……

The cold wind was blowing at the door. Yu Shui, holding the bag of new clothes, leaned towards the thick new bedding, hoping to get some warmth.

At this moment, a voice with a hint of surprise and superiority sounded:

"He Yushui? Why are you standing here? Are you waiting for someone?"

Yu Shui looked in the direction of the sound and saw his classmate Li Xiaoyun. Standing next to her was a middle-aged woman wearing a decent blue cotton jacket and a thick scarf. It was Li Xiaoyun's mother.

Li Xiaoyun lives in the compound next door, No. 97. Her father is a level fitter at a steel rolling mill, and her family is considered well-off among her classmates.

The rain bowed politely:

"Hello, Auntie. Xiaoyun, I'm waiting for my brother."

She subconsciously hid her hand holding the bag of new clothes behind her back, not wanting anyone to see the brand new clothes inside.

Li Xiaoyun looked up and down at Yu Shui, her eyes sweeping over her still worn cotton-padded jacket, the sense of superiority of "my family background is better than yours" almost overflowing on her face.

She raised her chin, her tone light and a little boastful:

"Oh~ Rain! My mom brought me here to buy new clothes!"

"It's getting cold, so my mom said she'd buy me a ready-made Lenin suit. And she also said she'd buy me a new pair of rubber shoes!"

Li Xiaoyun's mother also smiled reservedly, her gaze lingering for a moment on Yu Shui's patched-up old cotton-padded jacket. She said nothing, but the scrutiny and slight sense of distance in her eyes were evident!

"..."

Chapter 28 Dual-Earner Families

Faced with Li Xiaoyun's almost overflowing sense of superiority, He Yushui felt extremely calm.

Having grown up in poverty, she has long been accustomed to all kinds of looks.

It is very normal for others to show off their wealthy family in front of her.

What's more, now the big brother is back!

The things that Li Xiaoyun showed off - new clothes and rubber shoes - were no longer lacking in Rainwater!

So she just smiled faintly, her tone calm, even a little sincere:

"Xiaoyun, your mother is so good to you."

This sentence was like a soft thorn, gently pricking Li Xiaoyun.

The envious and jealous look she had expected from He Yushui did not appear at all. Instead, his calm smile made her feel a little suffocated.

Her eyes swept over the conspicuous pile of brand new bedding and the tied bed frame and bed boards at Yu Shui's feet, and she didn't think about Yu Shui at all - how could these things belong to a poor girl like He Yu Shui?

Someone must have put it here temporarily!

Li Xiaoyun was unwilling to give in, so he raised his chin even higher and raised his voice a little higher:

"Yushui, let me tell you! Not only are we buying clothes today, my dad is going to buy me a bicycle next month!"

"He's already got a bicycle ticket from someone!"

When she mentioned the word "bicycle", her eyes lit up and she looked very excited, as if she had already sat on the back seat of the bicycle that had not yet appeared, looking down at the rain with disdainful eyes.

"From now on, my dad can ride his bike to take me to and from school every day!"

The tone was as if the bicycle was the key to heaven.

He Yushui still had no expression on her face. She just stood there quietly, looking into the depths of the mall entrance, as if waiting for something.

Just when Li Xiaoyun's desire to show off was a bit overwhelming and he felt uncomfortable, the door of the mall was pushed open and He Weiguo came out pushing two brand new Fei Ge bicycles!

The shiny handlebars, thick frame and glossy paint are particularly eye-catching against the gray background of winter.

Bicycles of that era were made of solid materials and were very heavy. Even a big guy like He Weiguo had a hard time pushing two down the stairs.

He walked straight to Yu Shui and handed the handle of one of the bikes to her:

"Rainwater, here you go! Two cars, one for you and one for me, one for each of us!"

"Thank you, brother! You are so nice!" He Yushui instantly smiled like a flower, the smile was so bright that it was dazzling, and her little face was full of joy and satisfaction from the heart.

She carefully took over her brand new bicycle, and her small hands stroked the cool and smooth handlebars as if she were touching some rare treasure.

Li Xiaoyun, who was standing next to him, was dumbfounded!

The exuberant look on his face froze in an instant, then shattered to the ground.

She was just bragging that her father might buy a car next month, but in the blink of an eye, He Yushui's elder brother brought out two cars!

Moreover, one of them actually belonged to He Yushui on the spot!

Even if her family buys the one, it will still be her father's treasure!

This gap... Li Xiaoyun felt his face burning, as if he had been slapped silently in the face.

Before Li Xiaoyun could recover from her shock and shame, an even more astonishing scene appeared.

A small truck with a temporary license plate from a food factory squeaked to a stop at the entrance of the mall.

A driver in his thirties, wearing a blue overalls and looking quite energetic, jumped out of the car swiftly. He glanced around and landed directly on He Weiguo with a warm smile on his face.

"Comrade, you are He Weiguo, right? Director Liu asked me to come here!"

"Yes, it's me! Thank you for your help!" He Weiguo nodded with a smile.

The driver quickly handed He Weiguo a cigarette:

"My name is Liu Jun, from the transport team! From now on, we'll be brothers, stirring the pot together! That's all the stuff, right?"

He pointed to the bed frame, bedding and the two brand new bicycles on the floor.

"Yes, that's all. Thank you for your hard work, Brother Liu!"

He Weiguo took the cigarette, but didn't light it. He put it behind his ear naturally, and his address was also intimate.

He was well aware of the ways of the world. The other person was older than him and was a colleague. He had made a special trip, so it was natural for him to call him Brother Liu, and it also made him appear to be a good person.

Seeing how understanding he was, Liu Jun smiled even more enthusiastically and patted He Weiguo's sturdy shoulders vigorously:

"Brother Weiguo, you're too polite! We're all family from now on, so we should take care of each other! Come on, give me a hand and load the things into the truck first!"

He opened the trunk door swiftly.

He Weiguo and Liu Jun worked together and quickly stuffed the heavy bed frame, bed board, large bag and two bicycles into the back of the truck.

After closing the carriage door, Liu Jun said:

"Weiguo, get in the car! Let's go now!"

He Weiguo took Yu Shui's little hand and said, "Let's go home, Yu Shui!"

"Ok!"

Yu Shui happily responded, holding her new clothes bag. She glanced at Li Xiaoyun, who was standing there in a state of shock, and her mother, whose expression was also changing, and nodded politely.

"Xiaoyun, Auntie, we're going back first. See you at school next week!"

After saying that, he followed He Weiguo and, at Liu Jun's instruction, climbed into the cab of the pickup truck.

The truck engine roared, puffing out a puff of white smoke, and drove away steadily.

Li Xiaoyun and her daughter were left standing at the entrance of the mall, blown by the cold wind, and they were unable to come back to their senses for a long time.

Li Xiaoyun's mother's face turned pale and blue for a while. After a while, she lowered her voice and asked her daughter with disbelief and deep sourness: "Xiaoyun, didn't you say that Yushui's family only has one brother who works as a cook in the steel mill, and his name is Shazhu?"

"Where... where did this guy show up? And he's driving a car? Whe... what's going on?"

Li Xiaoyun pouted in grievance, angry and annoyed, her face flushed red:

"I...I don't know either! I've never heard her mention such a big brother!"

She felt very upset, and all the pride she had shown off just now turned into embarrassment.

She stamped her feet suddenly and cried:

"Mom! I'm not buying clothes anymore! I'm not in the mood! Let's go home!"

After saying that, she turned around and walked back angrily without caring about her mother.

Her mother looked at her daughter's back, then looked at the direction where the truck disappeared. She felt mixed emotions and finally could only sigh helplessly and chase after it.