Chapter 78: Different Values, How Can We Be Friends ③
Li Kai’s words made Nie Qiu and Huang Yan fall silent.
Huang Yan’s pocket money was only one yuan a day, and Nie Qiu had no pocket money. She used all the money Nie Aiwen gave her to rent books, and she had run out long ago. The money she had on her now was earned by herself. She didn’t know if it was easy for others to earn money, but she knew it was not easy for her mom to earn money, so she tried to be as frugal as possible. Because she knew earning money was not easy, one day, when she went to sell vegetables, pushing the cart, it was so heavy, and she was stopped by the market administrator, almost fined. It wasn’t easy; earning money wasn’t easy for anyone, not even for big bosses.
She remembered the blister on her left palm from the pan-fried dumplings she made at the night market last night. She clenched her fist. She knew, she understood, but this group of people in front of her didn’t. She lowered her head. Drinking beverages was fine. Opening a shop at the school gate should have a business license and have passed the catering hygiene inspection. Compared to their family’s barbecue, this milk tea shop was much better, yet Li Kai said it was cheap and unhygienic.
They didn’t understand anything!
Nie Qiu suppressed the dissatisfaction and impatience in her heart and said with a smile, “We like the milk tea from this shop, thank you.”
Peng Yu Yang stood by Nie Qiu’s side. Seeing Nie Qiu’s tightly clenched jaw, he knew Nie Qiu’s heart was definitely not calm. He also somewhat understood what Nie Qiu was thinking. His family ran a restaurant and had seen all sorts of people. He had also heard the teachings given to waiters in the restaurant many times: the customer is God, and no one should be underestimated. That day, when Nie Qiu came to his family’s restaurant to eat, he personally stirred the shark fin for Nie Qiu. In his opinion, Nie Qiu and Nie Aifang were people who had never eaten shark fin. He naturally took care of those he could. Whether rich or poor, he had known to treat everyone equally since he was young.
Moreover, his grandparents were from the countryside, and he went to the countryside every summer and winter holiday. He knew the hardships of farmers and the self-esteem of some people.
Huang Yan felt very uncomfortable and unhappy, feeling as if Li Kai had insulted her. She lowered her head and bit her lower lip.
Li Kai was a little disappointed but smiled and said, “Then I’ll treat you to this milk tea.” As he spoke, he reached for his wallet.
Peng Yu Yang took the milk tea handed over by the milk tea shop owner and gave the three yuan to the milk tea shop owner before Li Kai. He smiled and handed the milk tea to Nie Qiu and the others, “Huang Yan, yours is strawberry flavor, Nie Qiu, yours is coffee and cocoa.”
Nie Qiu and Huang Yan took them with smiles, got straws from the counter of the milk tea shop, and inserted them into the sealed cups. They drank them with some eagerness. Drinking cold drinks in summer was the most comfortable.
Being preempted by Peng Yu Yang, Li Kai was a little unhappy but didn’t lash out. Seeing Nie Qiu and Huang Yan’s expressions, he couldn’t help but be curious. Was it really that delicious?
Nie Qiu took a sip of the milk tea, quenching her thirst, and said with a smile, “Then I’ll head back first. You should go home early too! You have evening self-study sessions tonight! See you tomorrow.”
Huang Yan smiled and said, “Then I’ll go home too, bye-bye.”
After saying goodbye to Li Kai and his group, Nie Qiu left. She didn’t go straight home. She remembered that Grandpa had told her to buy some animals to bring in. She understood what it felt like to be alone, so she couldn’t bear for Grandpa to be lonely by himself. Nie Qiu went directly to the flower and bird market. Having lived in City A for sixteen years, she could still find some major places. She didn’t take a taxi but took the bus directly to the bus terminal, then followed the signs to take another bus to the flower and bird market. The so-called flower and bird market was a place where live animals were bought and sold.
On a hot summer afternoon, there were very few people in the flower and bird market. Nie Qiu walked through it, seeing all sorts of animals and birds, those that flew in the sky, ran on the ground, and swam in the water! There were also many insects, and all sorts of venomous snakes. This must be a paradise for pet lovers!
She didn’t dislike animals. To be honest, she had always liked dogs since she was a child. When she was young, because she was lonely, she secretly saved money to raise a dog. She named her Mi Mi. Mi Mi was soft, listened to her troubles, and would jump on her every day when she came home from school. Mi Mi was killed by the fifth nanny, and without her knowledge, they even made dog meat soup for her to eat.
From then on, she never dared to raise pets again, because of fear and nightmares, and because she… felt she was not a competent owner.
Nie Qiu only had three hundred yuan left in her hand, not enough to buy much. After buying a few hamsters that cost a few yuan or a dozen yuan, she bought three small rabbits and a few kittens of no particular breed. Every time she bought something, she would go to the toilet and put the purchased items into her space. After buying these things, the money was almost spent, leaving only thirty yuan. It would cost two yuan to take the bus back to school, and then she would have to walk home. She felt relieved; the remaining money was enough.
Passing by a shop selling puppies, Nie Qiu stopped. A small Akita puppy was tied at the doorway, meticulously licking its fur. It looked both naive and cute, extremely adorable.
Zhang Qidi, holding a bouquet of flowers, placed them on a cart and looked at Nie Qiu, who was standing in front of the pet dog shop, in surprise. “Nie Qiu?”
Nie Qiu snapped back to reality and looked at Zhang Qidi. “It’s you?” A classmate from Class 1?
“I heard from our classmates that you’re not coming to our class anymore? What’s going on? Isn’t our class good?” Zhang Qidi put down the tall potted plant he was holding and walked closer to Nie Qiu. “You don’t know, many people in our class are wondering what we’ll do when you come. Our class monitor even prepared a program.”
Nie Qiu said apologetically, “I’m sorry, I think there are only two semesters left, and it doesn’t really matter which class I’m in.”
“You don’t need to apologize to me.” Zhang Qidi smiled. “Although we all really like you to join our class, it still depends on your own wishes. Come and visit our class when you have time.”
“Okay.” Nie Qiu nodded with a smile. “By the way, why are you here?” It takes thirty to forty minutes to get to the flower and bird market by bus. Driving might be a shortcut, but why was Zhang Qidi here?
“My sister-in-law wants to buy and sell indoor potted plants, so she asked me and my brother to come and see how profitable it is, to see if we can make money.” Zhang Qidi smiled. “Are you here to buy a dog?”
Nie Qiu shook her head. She had put everything she bought into her space. Besides her schoolbag, she had nothing else. She was still standing outside the dog shop. No wonder Zhang Qidi thought she was going to buy a dog.
“Qidi, let’s go!” a man’s voice called out.
Nie Qiu froze, turned around, and looked at Zhang Qitian, who was standing by the minivan outside the market holding a pot of indoor evergreen tree. She exclaimed in surprise, “Brother Zhang?”
Zhang Qitian put the evergreen tree in his hand into the minivan, turned, and walked towards Nie Qiu. “Long time no see. I thought you would come to my stall to sell vegetables. Several customers asked me if I still had your vegetables after eating them. What, did you sell out of vegetables at home?”
Hearing a hint of resentment in Zhang Qitian’s words, Nie Qiu said, “I… I didn’t have time to go to the vegetable market to sell vegetables!”
“I thought you sold them to other vendors!” Zhang Qitian laughed heartily. “Don’t be nervous. Come and browse my stall when you have time. Of course, it would be best if you could bring vegetables to sell to me.”
