Chapter 9

“Thank you.” After looking up to say thank you, Tang Huan began to look towards the rear carriage. There would surely be more passengers getting on the bus soon, and she would be in the way standing at the door.

Seeing many people standing in the aisle behind, she silently grasped the grab bar in her hand.

Forget it, this place is pretty good. She’ll move after someone else gets on the bus.

This was the last bus of the day, and more people were getting on at the next stop. Before the bus stopped, Tang Huan saw more than a dozen people waiting at the bus stop.

As soon as the car stopped, she quickly moved back. Some people got off the car, but not as many as before.

Meng Zeyan also moved back and stood beside her.

Tang Huan raised his hand to grab the grab bar above his head, but the bar was too high and he couldn’t reach it.

I stood on tiptoe and tried hard, but could barely touch a little bit of it with my fingers, but I couldn’t grab it at all.

The bus seats of this era are all made of seat-style iron pipes with wooden boards fixed on top. The backrest is also a wooden board with a space for an oval iron pipe on the wooden board.

Normally, the exposed iron pipe on the seat back can be used to support people, but the person sitting next to Tang Huan was an old lady, who was sleeping soundly with her head resting on the iron pipe, her head shaking from side to side.

Tang Huan wanted to grab the iron pipe, either to wake the old lady up or to grab the iron pipe and the old lady’s hair.

The dozen or so people who got on the bus in front of them squeezed into the carriage together. It was difficult for Tang Huan to move to another seat unless she was willing to squeeze through the crowd.

Just when she was hesitating whether to change places or call Auntie, Meng Zeyan raised his hand and patted Auntie on the shoulder, “Auntie, are you okay? Are you feeling unwell?”

The old lady who was sleeping soundly and almost snoring was woken up by someone. For a moment she didn’t understand what was going on.

“Auntie, I see you haven’t moved for a long time. Are you okay?” Meng Zeyan looked at the auntie with concern.

“I’m fine, I’m sleeping!” The old lady glanced at Meng Zeyan unhappily. Was she trying to argue with him? People just care about her out of kindness.

But what kind of good person can’t tell whether someone is sleeping or fainted?

Meng Zeyan looked at the little hand that was leaning on the back of the chair, and said to the old lady with a smile: “As long as you are okay.”

The man was so angry that he drove away all his sleepiness. The old lady was so angry that she gave him a sidelong glance.

As long as the old lady didn’t shake her head from side to side, Tang Huan could hold on to the backrest. She raised her head and smiled at Meng Zeyan. She knew that he woke up the old lady to help her.

Saying thank you too much always feels too cheap, and she doesn’t know how to thank him.

The old lady got off the bus earlier than them. Before she got off the bus, she glanced at Meng Zeyan in anger, stood up, turned to Tang Huan and said, “Girl, come and sit here!”

She would never give up her seat to this damn boy!

If someone else had woken her up, she would have argued with that person, but she happened to meet this damn boy, and she couldn’t even argue with him after he woke her up!

After the old lady left, the seat became Tang Huan’s, and she couldn’t help laughing.

If the old lady knew that she was the culprit who woke Meng Zeyan up, would she be so angry that she would curse in the streets?

Meng Zeyan happened to lower his eyes, and Tang Huan’s smiling face came into his sight. She was much more lively when she smiled than when she wasn’t.

After hearing Comrade Xing Cui talk about Tang Huan’s family situation, it is said that if there is a stepmother, there must be a stepfather. Looking at her personality, one can imagine how difficult her life is in her family.

She didn’t have a good life at home and after finally getting married she became a widow.

Not to mention that Comrade Xing Cui felt sorry for her, Meng Zeyan sometimes couldn’t help but feel soft-hearted. She really had a miserable life.

The train arrived at the station and the two went home together, and Tang Huan walked slower and slower.

On the one hand, it was because of the pain in my feet, and on the other hand, it was to avoid suspicion.

Already near home, Meng Zeyan went home without even looking back.

Tang Huan walked behind and moved back home step by step. As soon as he entered the yard, he went back to the house to change into a pair of slippers. The slippers were also made of plastic, but slightly better than sandals.

Xing Cui was picking vegetables in the yard. Seeing the way Tang Huan walked, she guessed that her feet hurt. “Xiao Huan, don’t wear sandals in the future. Mom will go to the state-owned mall to see if there are any leather shoes and buy you a pair tomorrow.”

Tang Huan, who was putting on slippers, heard her mother-in-law’s words and quickly shouted outside: “Mom, no need, I’ll buy them myself on Sunday.”

Leather shoes are so expensive!

When Tang Huan bought clothes, he also wanted to buy some small leather shoes to match them, but in the end he couldn’t bear to do so, so he bought sandals.

“There are still a few days until Sunday! Don’t worry about it, I’ll buy it for you.” After saying that, she was afraid that Tang Huan didn’t believe her taste, so she added: “Don’t worry, it will definitely look good!”

Tang Huan wasn’t worried about whether it looked good or not, she was worried about it being too expensive!

Seeing that persuasion was not working, Tang Huan had to make another request: “Mom, just buy me a pair of white sneakers, no need to buy leather shoes.”

At least sneakers are cheaper than leather shoes.

The old couple were so kind to her that she was overwhelmed and didn’t know how to repay them.

“I’ll see tomorrow.” Xing Cui did not agree outright, but said something ambiguous.

The tomatoes in the vegetable garden have been growing well these days, so Xing Cui picked quite a few. She went to the kitchen to wash two and called Tang Huan out to eat.

Their family is used to eating after everyone is home, and Lao Meng hasn’t returned from get off work yet. Xing Cui was worried that Tang Huan was hungry. Going to school and learning knowledge requires a lot of brainpower, and when people use their brains, they get hungry quickly.

Tang Huan never refused food. He took a tomato and sat under the grape trellis with his mother-in-law to talk about what happened at school.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law sat under the grape trellis, eating and chatting. Meng Zeyan came out of the house, looked at the two of them, ran to the kitchen to wash a tomato, and then sat under the grape trellis.

Tang Huan was sharing with her mother-in-law the classmate she met at the same table. She was so happy that she didn’t even bother to eat the tomatoes.

As soon as Meng Zeyan sat down, Tang Huan seemed to have been turned off. She immediately became less talkative and started eating tomatoes one bite after another, listening to her mother-in-law talking to her.

Meng Zeyan took out the meal ticket and tuition receipt from his pocket and put them on the table. “The school has a cafeteria at noon and meals in the morning. The cafeteria only accepts meal tickets.”

Xing Cuixian reached out and took a stack of meal tickets, and also unfolded the tuition receipts to take a look.

After reading it, I sighed: “Back then, you only paid three dollars a semester to go to school, but now it’s seven dollars!”

Now was a good time to pay back the money. Tang Huan stood up and trotted back to the room. He took out two dollars from the box, which, together with the ten dollars he had on him, made exactly twelve dollars.

Tang Huan took the money and ran back to the grape trellis. He put the money in front of Meng Zeyan and sat down opposite him. “Brother, this is the tuition money and meal ticket money. Thank you for sending me to school.”

Meng Zeyan and Xing Cui were both curious about where Tang Huan was going?

As soon as she saw her take out the money, Xing Cui immediately got upset and said, “Xiao Huan, why do you always calculate so much? Our family doesn’t need that little bit of money from you, so just put it away and save it for yourself!”

If you do this again next time, I will be angry~”

Meng Zeyan put the money in front of him next to Tang Huan and explained to her: “Keep this money for yourself! Your mother-in-law paid for the tuition and meal tickets.”

He knew that Tang Huan felt it was inappropriate to spend his money, and his original intention was just to help his parents, so he should consider this money as a gift to the old couple.

Xing Cui glanced at Meng Zeyan and nodded affirmatively.

Tang Huan still wanted to give the money to his mother-in-law, but when he remembered what she had just said, he didn’t say anything, for fear of making Xing Cui unhappy.