Chapter 20: The Robber Couple

Su Xiaoyang stared at Zhou Yu and Xu An standing in front of him, his eyes red-rimmed, his voice trembling with nervousness.

“You mean, I can help you, and you’ll pay me?”

He had thought they were here to ask him to repay his debt. He hadn’t expected such a huge surprise. Su Xiaoyang didn’t know what expression to make. This was like a dream that was almost too good to be true.

Xu An smiled and nodded, “Yes.”

“But, this job isn’t free. There’s a trial period of a few days. If you can’t handle it, we’ll replace you at any time.”

Su Xiaoyang’s eyes flashed with determination. He knelt down with a thud. At such a young age, his voice was firm, “I will do my best.”

Seeing his brother kneel down, Su Xiaotong obediently knelt down too, following her brother and bowing to the older brother and sister.

Xu An turned her head away, refusing to look. Zhou Yu said nonchalantly.

“I didn’t intend to take you in, and I don’t have any sympathy. If you can do it, do it. If you can’t, get lost.”

Su Xiaoyang was young, but he was quick-witted. As soon as Zhou Yu said this, he knew that the person who wanted to help him was Sister Xu An.

His hands almost dug into the soil as he bowed several times. His sister’s life was almost gone, what couldn’t he do?

Zhou Yu clicked his tongue, staring at the two children kneeling in front of him, his face full of impatience.

“What are you bowing for? Get up. Just do your job.”

Su Xiaoyang climbed up from the ground and quickly turned around to help his sister up.

Xu An looked around the small wooden house. It was almost the same as the last time she came. The old bed still had that hard, black quilt on it.

She bent down slightly and discussed with the young man in front of her.

“You get up early tomorrow morning, go to the early market and find me. Help me. Can you do that?”

Su Xiaoyang wiped his face with his dark hands and nodded vigorously, “Boss, don’t worry, I’ll definitely get up early tomorrow.”

Xu An chuckled, “No need to call me Boss. You can call me Sister or Sister An An.”

As she said this, she looked at the siblings and said softly, “What are your names?”

Su Xiaoyang answered seriously, “Su Xiaoyang.”

Then he turned around, pulled his sister’s shoulder, and pushed her in front of Xu An. He said loudly, “This is my sister, Su Xiaotong.”

Xu An reached out and touched the little girl’s head, then straightened up.

Zhou Yu stood beside her, looking like a fierce demon.

“The trial period is 50 cents a day. After you pass, it’s 1 yuan a day. Do you accept?”

Su Xiaoyang’s jet-black eyes lit up. 50 cents a day! He usually scavenged for garbage in the alley. He often only made a few cents a day, and most of the time, people would take advantage of him because he was small, and they would lower the price of the things he collected or even refuse to buy them.

50 cents a day was already a huge sum for Su Xiaoyang. What’s more, if he passed the trial period, he could earn 1 yuan a day, which was more than washing dishes at a small restaurant.

Su Xiaoyang stared at the older brother and sister in front of him and wanted to kneel down again.

Xu An said softly, “Alright, since you accept, come over tomorrow to help. Take good care of your sister. We have to go now.”

Xu An tilted her head and looked at Zhou Yu beside her, discussing softly, “Let’s go buy the ingredients for tomorrow first, then pick up the big pot we ordered and bring it home.”

Zhou Yu lazily raised his chin, didn’t say anything, and turned to leave.

Su Xiaoyang immediately ran to Xu An, looking up at her, “I can help right now.”

Xu An looked down at him, staring at the boy’s dark eyes, and tilted her head to look at Zhou Yu beside her.

Zhou Yu squinted at the half-grown child in front of him and said coldly, “Go if you want to. Don’t cause trouble.”

Su Xiaoyang’s eyes lit up. He immediately turned back and told his sister to be good, “Brother will buy you meat buns when he comes back. Be good and wait for Brother to come back. Don’t open the door for bad people.”

Su Xiaotong nodded obediently with a red face. Everyone except her brother was a bad person. She wouldn’t open the door for them.

After carefully telling his sister, Su Xiaoyang turned around and went out with Xu An. The young boy turned back and locked the door of his house, jogging to catch up with Zhou Yu and Xu An.

The couple had a little tail following them as they went out to the market to buy the vegetables they needed for braising tomorrow. Su Xiaoyang wouldn’t let Xu An carry them. He took the things from Xu An’s hands.

Xu An saw that his hands were already red from being squeezed. The boy stubbornly refused to let his “boss” help.

Xu An tilted her head and glanced at Zhou Yu, who was nonchalantly beside her. She let out a breath. She couldn’t help him all day. This young boy had to play his role. Suppressing the urge to help, Xu An and Zhou Yu walked ahead and bought the ingredients.

Then they went to pick up the big pot they had ordered and went home.

It was already afternoon when they got home. Xu An quickly asked Su Xiaoyang to put the things on the wooden table. She stared at the red marks on her palm from being squeezed, and asked him to go warm himself by the stove.

Su Xiaoyang shook his head, “Do we need to wash the vegetables now? I can help.”

He was trying to show Xu An and Zhou Yu his worth.

Xu An stared at those hands, took a deep breath, and said, “Alright, wash your hands first, then come over and help process the ingredients.”

Zhou Yu filled a basin with water and put it on the stove. He stared at Xu An and said softly.

“I’m going out for a bit.”

Xu An didn’t expect him to tell her. She nodded in a daze.

She watched Zhou Yu limp away.

After the water boiled, she scooped some water and asked Su Xiaoyang to wash his hands first. Then she adjusted the temperature of the water and started to clean the ingredients she had bought.

Su Xiaoyang was young, but he didn’t slack off at all. He worked diligently, puffing and panting. At first, he was a little clumsy, but after Xu An instructed him, he gradually corrected himself, and his movements became more and more skillful.

Except for his age, he was indeed a good helper.

Su Xiaoyang wished he had more hands. After washing the vegetables, he saw Xu An preparing the braising sauce. He sat beside her, looking up at her.

“Sister An An, I know you’re the one who asked me to help.”

“I won’t let you down.”

He stared at Xu An and assured her seriously.

Xu An smiled at him, “I talked to your brother Zhou Yu, and asked him to give you a try.”

“Whether you make it or not depends on whether you can satisfy him. If you don’t meet his requirements, I can’t help you.”

“I know, I can do anything!” The half-grown boy assured her loudly.

Xu An lowered her eyes slightly and hummed softly.

Zhou Yu came back near dusk, bringing Wen Yaowu with him.

As soon as they entered the door, Xu An saw Wen Yaowu behind Zhou Yu, his face full of excitement and eagerness.

She lightly raised her eyebrows at Zhou Yu. He must have explained things to Wen Yaowu.

Zhou Yu pulled up a stool and sat down. Wen Yaowu touched his buzz cut and grinned at Xu An, “Sister-in-law, Brother Yu told me everything. I’ll come over to help you first thing tomorrow morning.”

Xu An nodded and smiled at Su Xiaoyang beside her, “You two can help each other and supervise each other.”

Wen Yaowu looked at the half-grown child in front of him. He knew that the boy had no parents and had to support his sister. He didn’t feel uncomfortable working with a half-grown child at all. He patted Su Xiaoyang’s head casually.

“Sister-in-law, I’m not much better than him. I just got out, and no one dares to hire me now. You and Brother Yu are giving me this job. I’ll definitely do it well.”

Xu An nodded and looked at Zhou Yu beside her, “Did you eat?”

Zhou Yu shook his head lightly.

Xu An stared at the pot on the stove, then looked at the big pot they had bought but hadn’t used yet. She frowned slightly.

“Didn’t Mom say she would buy us a stove?”

It was only after they brought the big pot home today that Xu An remembered that they still had a stove outside that they hadn’t brought back.

Zhou Yu clicked his tongue, “Eat first, we’ll talk about it later.”

He stood up and put the rice that had finished bubbling on the stove to keep it warm. Xu An picked up the iron pot and put it on the stove. She started cooking oil and stir-frying a few small dishes.

The aroma instantly filled their nostrils. Su Xiaoyang couldn’t help but swallow, his stomach rumbling.

Xu An generously stir-fried four dishes and cooked an egg soup. Several people came over to help. Soon, they brought the food to the table and served the bowls and chopsticks.

Su Xiaoyang held the warm white rice. He was thinking about his sister. He didn’t want to eat the delicious food by himself. His sister hadn’t eaten anything.

But he couldn’t be so heartless as to take Sister An An’s things and keep them for his sister.

Seeing his conflicted and reluctant expression, Xu An knew what he was thinking. She said softly, “Leave some for your sister first. You can go back after you finish eating.”

Su Xiaoyang’s eyes turned red. He immediately shook his head, “No.”

Xu An chuckled lightly, “We don’t need your sister’s small portion. Just remember to work hard.”

The little girl couldn’t eat much anyway. Xu An didn’t mind.

She took an aluminum lunchbox and packed a portion for the little girl, putting it on the stove to keep it warm.

Su Xiaoyang ate even faster.

Seeing him like this, Wen Yaowu remembered the time he brought food for his grandmother. He felt a little sorry. He could just make more and share it later.

After finishing his meal, the young boy wanted to stay and wash the dishes. Wen Yaowu urged him to leave.

He pursed his lips, picked up the lunchbox, bowed deeply to Xu An, and ran out, afraid that his sister would be hungry.

Wen Yaowu took over the dishwashing.

Xu An looked at Zhou Yu, “We’ve got the pot back. We definitely need to get a bigger stove, one with a chimney.”

Zhou Yu lazily stood up, looking like he was going to cause trouble.

Xu An couldn’t help but smile. She coughed lightly.

She silently followed behind him. The couple walked towards the main room next door, and they ran into Zhou Hongguang and his wife, who had just returned from the factory, in the courtyard.

Zhou Yu and Xu An didn’t plan to greet them. Feng Yirou moved her lips, wanting to be polite, but she felt like she was always a step behind this second brother and his wife. She looked at her husband with a hint of reproach in her eyes.

“Second brother, what’s the matter?”

Seeing Zhou Yu and Xu An going to the main room, Zhou Hongguang said in a low voice.

Zhou Yu lazily glanced at him, and said nonchalantly, “It has something to do with Big brother. I’m afraid you won’t like it.”

Seeing him act as if he was doing them a favor by answering their question, Xu An silently lowered her smiling eyes.

Zhou Hongguang’s eyes darkened for a moment. The second son kept bringing up the past. He was like a time bomb that could explode at any time.

The secret of taking the blame would eventually come out. Zhou Hongguang’s gaze fell on Xu An, who was hanging her head beside Zhou Yu. Now there was this second brother’s wife. This couple was messing around with their business. If this continued, he was afraid that he would be overshadowed by this second brother’s family.

Zhou Hongguang’s expression was unclear, but his face was calm.

Feng Yirou stared at the couple who were like robbers trying to steal something. She then turned to look at her husband. What could it be about her husband?

“Second brother, anything can be discussed. It’s family business. We can always come to an agreement. Don’t make a scene.”

If this matter couldn’t be settled, it would be a handle for this couple to hold over them forever. This sword would always hang over their heads. If her family knew that she had chosen a criminal after all her careful selection, they would be furious.

“Your sister-in-law is right. If you have any difficulties, I’m your big brother. I won’t refuse to help you.”

“You and your wife are now busy with your own business. It seems like business is good. You’ll probably make more money than Big brother, who has a proper job. While Big brother can still help you, if you have any difficulties, we’ll do our best to help.”

Zhou Yu mocked Zhou Hongguang, leisurely folding his arms, “Tsk, tsk, tsk.” He shook his head, “I thought Big brother could pretend for a while longer. You can’t help but be curious about how much money my wife and I have made.”

He looked Zhou Hongguang up and down and said nonchalantly, “Don’t worry, Big brother. Speculation and profiteering definitely pay more than your little salary.”

Zhou Hongguang’s hand, which was hanging at his side, clenched. He couldn’t reason with this unreasonable and sarcastic second brother.

Staring at Zhou Hongguang, who was speechless, Zhou Yu sneered sarcastically. He turned his head and glanced at the woman beside him, who was stealing a smile.

Xu An curved her eyes at the aggressive Zhou Yu. The couple ignored the silent Zhou Hongguang and his wife. They went into the main room together. Now, getting the stove was the priority.