Chapter 22: Next Time I’ll Listen to You

After setting up their stall for several days in a row, they finally obtained the necessary health permit and business license. This time, they finally had a fixed spot to set up their stall. Even if someone tried to take their spot, they could fight back with confidence.

Xu An stared at the large pot on the stove, its steam swirling upwards. She leaned on the stove, looking at Zhou Yu. “Aren’t you going to continue setting up the stall with me tomorrow?”

Zhou Yu lazily responded, “Hmm.”

Xu An sighed softly, “Okay, but now that we have bought the cart, Yaowu and Xiaoyang are both very familiar with it. If you have other things to do, just go ahead.”

Her tone was calm, Zhou Yu glanced at her, unable to understand if she was angry or not. He said in a deep voice, “Tell me if you have anything.”

“Hmm.”

Xu An coughed lightly, “Have you decided what you want to do?”

She hadn’t asked before, but now she felt that they could at least talk to each other, that they were a little familiar. Asking wouldn’t hurt.

Zhou Yu didn’t say much, he said calmly, “I’m planning to buy a batch of goods.”

Xu An nodded, it was good that he had some plans. Thinking about this man wanting to buy goods, she hesitated for a moment and looked at Zhou Yu.

“Buying goods requires capital, I’ll give you the money later.”

“Xiaoyang and Yaowu both have salaries, you haven’t paid yourself any salary.”

All the money was in her hands. Zhou Yu was going to buy goods now, he needed some capital.

Zhou Yu stared at the woman’s porcelain-white face, his throat rolled, “You’re not afraid that I’ll lose your money.”

“Not afraid.”

Xu An smiled, “Business is good now, even if you lose everything, you have no money, the supply and marketing cooperative and the market vendors will still be willing to sell me goods on credit. I won’t be out of work.”

She had been doing this for a while now, the cost of buying goods had decreased, and she had become familiar with the stall owners. They knew how her small stall was doing, and they wouldn’t be stingy when she needed to make a turnover.

Zhou Yu stared at the woman’s confident and bright face, as if she didn’t mind if he lost everything. He clicked his tongue.

“You’re an idiot.”

Being evaluated like this, Xu An’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, “If you make money, you have to return it to me with interest.”

Besides, all the money at home was in her hands. Although he looked unhappy when she wanted to spend it, and even said she was a spendthrift, she could still buy whatever she wanted.

It was much better than those who pretended to be generous but were stingy and wouldn’t spend a penny.

Make money? Zhou Yu rested his hand on the back of his head, and said in a carefree manner, “Okay, I’ll return it to you with interest when I make money.”

Then he stared at Xu An, a smile spread across his lips, and he said lazily, “If I lose, you won’t get anything from me.”

“So, are you going to give it to me or not?”

The man looked indifferent, squinting at Xu An.

Xu An stared at his expression, wrinkled her nose, said nothing, and turned to go into the inner room.

Zhou Yu rested his head on his hand, his gaze fell on the woman’s back as she entered the room. He stared at the figure disappearing into the room, and let out a sneer, his black eyes deep.

After a while, Xu An came out of the room, a small wooden box in her hand. She walked over and pulled her chair, dragging it next to Zhou Yu, and sat down beside him.

She placed the wooden box on the stove and opened it generously in front of Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu stared intently at the woman’s series of actions, his gaze shifting from her fair face to the wooden box that was opened without hesitation.

Inside was a small account book, and the rest were various money slips, neatly organized by the woman and placed inside.

Xu An took out the account book, which she had been recording every day since she started setting up the stall. It was kept with the money.

She placed the account book aside, then closed the wooden box, and pushed it directly in front of Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu slowly lowered his hand that had been resting on the back of his head, and sat up straight. He stared at the slender white hands, and the box pushed in front of him by those hands. His chest surged, his throat kept rolling, the usually dissolute man rarely opened his thin lips, unable to utter a joke.

Xu An’s round fingers lightly tapped on the wooden box, her other hand took out the account book, stared at the recorded numbers, and her voice was clear and soft.

“There are one thousand three hundred and fifty six cents in it. I don’t know what goods you plan to buy. If it’s not enough, this pot can also sell for two hundred yuan tomorrow. In a few days, the other pot I ordered will be delivered, and we can cook two pots every day, which can earn another two hundred yuan. In a few more days, we can…”

Zhou Yu clicked his tongue, this girl not only didn’t treat money as money when spending it, but also didn’t treat money as money when giving it to others.

She was a real spendthrift.

Although he thought this way, the man’s lips curled upwards, his black eyes filled with uncontrollable joy.

His rough palm covered the wooden box, but he still couldn’t help but be sarcastic.

“Think it over, if you give this money to me, the most likely outcome is that it’s gone forever.”

Xu An retracted her hand, nodded lightly, “I know, just like throwing a meat bun to a dog.”

Zhou Yu raised his eyebrows, his tone relaxed, “You’re calling me a dog.”

Although he said that, the man’s tone was light, without any anger.

Xu An smiled and shook her head, “No, I’m just using an analogy.”

After she finished speaking, she took the account book and stood up, putting it back in the inner room.

Zhou Yu stared at the box in his hand, and the woman’s voice came from the inner room.

“The box is yours too, when you make money, fill it with money and bring it back to me.”

Zhou Yu patted the box and responded softly.

Xu An put away the account book, and took her pajamas to go take a bath.

When she came back, she saw Zhou Yu sitting on the chair. The wooden box that had been on the stove was gone, she didn’t care, yawned lightly and walked towards the room.

“Add some coal later, cover the lid, I’m going to sleep.”

After she finished speaking, she walked into the room.

Zhou Yu added coal to the fire, covered the lid of the stove, moved the large iron pot back to the stove, limped to wash up, and then returned to the inner room.

As soon as he entered the room, his gaze fell on the woman curled up on the side of the bed. He paused for a moment, walked over lightly, and climbed onto the bed.

He lay on the outer side of the bed, the coldness from his body made Xu An shrink back in her half-awake state. The man pressed down on the blanket, a tall man almost hanging on the outer side of the bed, not getting close to the sleeping Xu An.

The next morning, when Xu An woke up, she curled up in the blanket, first covering herself with clothes, changed in bed, and then quickly got up. Outside, Su Xiaoyang and Wen Yaowu were already efficiently packing up and preparing to set up the stall.

Xu An yawned, her eyes filled with moisture, her gaze swept around, but she didn’t see Zhou Yu.

“Yaowu, where’s Zhou Yu?”

Wen Yaowu scratched his head, “Sister-in-law, Brother Yu left after opening the door for us this morning. He’s not coming today, he asked Xiaoyang and me to take care of you.”

That guy probably went to do his own thing, Xu An nodded. There was hot water on the stove that Zhou Yu had boiled before leaving. She took it down and poured it into a basin, first washed her face, then squatted at the door to brush her teeth.

Wen Yaowu and Su Xiaoyang efficiently packed up their things, Su Xiaoyang secured the cart, Wen Yaowu lifted the pot onto the cart, and put all the necessary things on the cart.

Just as Xu An finished washing up, she locked the door and the three of them left the courtyard together.

Pushing the cart to the early market, Xu An didn’t need to do anything now, her two assistants were already doing a good job. They set up the stall and started opening for business.

Xu An stood aside, responsible for collecting money. When she saw Fang Shu, she smiled and greeted her.

Fang Shu smiled brightly and generously, “Why isn’t your husband here with you today? Did he slack off?”

Xu An shook her head, “No, he has his own things to do.”

“He must have some things to do when his wife is making money here.”

Xu An chuckled, “Now that I have helpers, it doesn’t make much difference whether he’s here or not.”

Xu An said as she handed Fang Shu her things, Fang Shu raised her eyebrows, took the box Xu An handed her, and turned to leave.

At ten in the morning, a large pot of braised meat was sold out. Wen Yaowu and Su Xiaoyang efficiently cleaned up the stall, packed everything into the cart, and the three of them pushed the cart back. It was much easier than coming here.

Wen Yaowu looked at his sister-in-law and said softly, “Sister-in-law, do you have a good relationship with the customer just now?”

Xu An reacted for a while, then realized he was talking about Fang Shu. Every time Fang Shu came over, they would chat for a while. Xu An nodded lightly.

“Fang Shu is my first customer, and she comes every day to buy something since I set up my stall. I like her a lot.”

Wen Yaowu touched his crew cut awkwardly, lowered his head and said, “Sister-in-law, I heard some bad things about her.”

Xu An looked up at him, frowning, “What do you mean?”

Wen Yaowu pushed the cart forward, his usually loud voice was lowered.

“I heard from others that she’s twenty-nine this year, and she’s been married to her husband for five or six years, but they still don’t have any children.”

When he got to this point, Wen Yaowu felt a little awkward to continue, and he stammered, “The people in the alley say that she ruined her own body when she was young, so she can’t have children.”

They all hinted at how she ruined her body when she was young, as if it were self-explanatory.

Xu An recalled Fang Shu’s bright face, her expression turned cold, “Do those people have any evidence?”

Wen Yaowu rubbed his nose, “I haven’t heard of any, but I’ve heard those people spread rumors about it.”

This was just spreading unfounded rumors about someone.

Twenty-nine years old was not a young age, and she was unfairly subjected to such rumors.

Fang Shu was just a little beautiful, and she hadn’t given birth, so people started spreading rumors about her.

Xu An sighed softly, staring at Wen Yaowu, “Don’t listen to or spread such rumors in the future. Don’t spread things around without evidence.”

Wen Yaowu immediately nodded, “Sister-in-law, I just thought you had a good relationship with her, and I wanted to know if she knew those people were saying these things about her.”

“If she needs help, Sister-in-law, you have a good relationship with her, I’ll help you fight back.”

Xu An shook her head, they just chatted occasionally, how could Fang Shu tell her about this, especially such unfounded malice and rumors.

The three of them returned home, tidied up for a while, and Xu An clapped her hands, she said to Wen Yaowu, “Let’s go pick up the new pot I ordered later. We’ll increase the amount in two days, and sell two pots a day.”

She smiled at Wen Yaowu and Su Xiaoyang, “There will be more work then, I’ll give you both a raise.”

Wen Yaowu and Su Xiaoyang looked at each other, both seeing excitement in each other’s eyes.

Su Xiaoyang was both excited and hesitant, “Sister Xu An, you don’t have to give me a raise.”

One yuan a day was already more than many adults earned.

Xu An patted his head, “Don’t you want to buy a soft and thick quilt for your house early? Don’t you want to buy new clothes for your sister?”

Su Xiaoyang shook his head, nodding honestly, “I do.”

“Then you deserve it.”

This half-grown boy was not afraid of hardship or fatigue, he was very enthusiastic about everything he did, he deserved it.

Wen Yaowu also patted Su Xiaoyang’s head, grinned at Xu An, “Sister-in-law, thank you.”

Su Xiaoyang also looked at Xu An with bright eyes, quickly nodding his head, “Sister Xu An, thank you.”

They had only been working for Sister Xu An for a few days, and they were already getting a raise. They had never been treated so well anywhere else.

“If you want to thank me, just work hard, it will definitely be harder in the future.”

The big and small boy nodded in unison, “Not hard.”

The scene was heartwarming and funny.

Xu An shook her head with a smile.

In the afternoon, she went with Wen Yaowu to pick up the new big pot. The three of them worked until very late, it was almost dark when they left.

Zhou Yu didn’t come back. Xu An had just finished eating by herself, she stared at the pot on the stove, her gaze occasionally falling on the door. Zhou Yu still hadn’t come back.

Xu An was a little sleepy, she yawned lightly, and still went to wash up first, closed the door and went back to the room, lay on the bed, curled up to keep warm, and slowly closed her eyes.

She didn’t know how long it had been, she was half-awake and half-asleep, her consciousness was hazy when she heard footsteps coming from near and far. Xu An was dazed and didn’t react.

Until someone walked into the inner room, she heard rustling sounds from the wardrobe. Xu An opened her eyes in the darkness, turned over and called out softly to the tall black shadow by the wardrobe.

“Zhou Yu?”

She noticed that the figure froze for a moment. After a while, she heard the man’s slightly hoarse voice.

“Hmm.”

Xu An yawned heavily, her voice thick with nasal tones.

“You’re back.”

Zhou Yu took out his pajamas from the wardrobe, they were bought for him by Xu An. Hearing the woman’s sleepy voice behind him, Zhou Yu responded hoarsely, his tone very light.

“I’m back.”

His voice in the darkness was surprisingly gentle, “Did I wake you up?”

Xu An mumbled a response.

“No, I wasn’t asleep.”

It was already past the woman’s usual bedtime, and she wasn’t asleep yet.

Zhou Yu felt a strange warmth in his chest.

He quickly changed into his pajamas, strode over to the bed, and climbed in.

Xu An turned sideways, facing the back in front of her, her upturned nose sniffed lightly, she frowned,

“Zhou Yu, you smoked again, and you drank too.”

Xu An’s voice was sleepy, and her words had a hint of recklessness and unthinking complaints.

Zhou Yu rarely didn’t retort, he just responded softly.

Xu An turned over, facing away from him, buried her head in the blanket, and mumbled, “The house is still too small, when we have money, we’ll buy a house with a guest room, if you smoke and drink again, you can sleep in the guest room.”

Her voice grew quieter and quieter, until it was almost inaudible. Her hazy mind went blank.

The steady breathing told Zhou Yu that the woman beside him was asleep.

The corner of his lips curled up slightly, he let out a sigh, and closed his eyes.

For the next few days, Zhou Yu continued to leave early and return late, Xu An didn’t see him at all. She just kept smelling the faint scent of smoke and the occasional smell of alcohol in her hazy dreams.

Xu An also started increasing the amount of braised meat she made. She made one pot every morning, and when she came back, she made a second pot, and then had Wen Yaowu pull the cart back to load it up for sale.

The stall was also getting bigger, with folding tables, chairs, and benches, and they also cooked rice, a bowl of rice cost seven cents.

This small stall was starting to look like a small street food stall.

Gradually, they went from closing at ten in the morning to closing after lunch, busy until lunch was over.

Xu An also gave Wen Yaowu and Su Xiaoyang a raise.

When they got home after closing up, they found Zhou Yu at home, which was rare.

Xu An unconsciously smiled, and walked up to Zhou Yu.

“Why did you come back so early today?”

These days, the man always came back late at night, she was almost asleep when he came back.

Zhou Yu stared at the smile on the woman’s face, his expression relaxed a little, he said softly, “I didn’t have anything to do today.”

Su Xiaoyang and Wen Yaowu greeted Zhou Yu.

Xu An smiled and asked them to sit down.

She tilted her head and looked at Zhou Yu, “Are things going smoothly?”

Zhou Yu nodded softly.

Xu An felt a little relieved, and began to deal with the braised dishes for tomorrow.

Zhou Yu sat down to help. In the evening, Xu An let Wen Yaowu and Su Xiaoyang eat dinner together, and then let them leave.

Xu An washed up and went back to the room, her hair was still dripping. She sat by the stove and dried her hair, she thought of something, tilted her head and glanced at Zhou Yu beside her, she said loudly, “I gave Yaowu and Xiaoyang a raise.”

“They’ve been working harder these days since we’re selling more.”

Zhou Yu responded softly, without denying it.

After Xu An’s hair stopped dripping, she sat on the chair, looked up at Zhou Yu, “You’ve made a lot of money these past few days while you weren’t here.”

“I’ll give it to you later.”

Zhou Yu stared at the woman with a normal expression, he refused in a hoarse voice.

“Keep it.”

“Doing business must be expensive, and you have to entertain people, right?” She stared at Zhou Yu, “You’ve been smelling of smoke and alcohol these past few days.”

“You still have less money.”

Xu An made a conclusion, if she had enough money, she wouldn’t need to entertain people to maintain relationships.

“The goods have already been ordered, I don’t need it.”

Zhou Yu looked at the little girl in front of him, the words that he had been keeping to himself slipped out.

“I ordered a batch of radios, they will arrive in two days.”

Radios? They were very popular in the early 1980s, if Zhou Yu really ordered a batch, he wouldn’t have to worry about sales.

Xu An became interested.

“Radios will definitely sell. Did you spend these past two days entertaining people just to order this?”

“I’ll give you the money I have, you can order another batch.”

Without any questioning, Zhou Yu looked down at the woman in front of him, shaking his head gently.

“No need, I’ve already decided.”

Xu An propped her chin, looking at him, “Yeah, I’ll give you the money next time you need it.”

Zhou Yu was a little speechless, he nodded slightly in a lazy manner.

After Xu An’s hair dried, she stood up and walked towards the inner room. Zhou Yu washed up and also went into the room.

Xu An sniffed lightly, Zhou Yu finally didn’t have those unpleasant smells on him. She sighed softly and closed her eyes.

The next morning, Wen Yaowu and Su Xiaoyang took the braised meat to the street early to sell.

Xu An stayed at home to cook the second pot of braised meat. Zhou Yu didn’t go out today, he stayed at home to help her.

Around ten o’clock, Wen Yaowu pushed the cart back. He and Zhou Yu carried the pot onto the cart, and the three of them walked to the street together.

Before they reached their stall, they saw a crowd gathered in front of the stall from afar. Xu An frowned, exchanged glances with Zhou Yu beside her, and immediately ran over.

“Yaowu, you watch the things.” Xu An instructed as she ran. Wen Yaowu could only stay where he was, anxiously watching the situation at the stall.

Xu An and Zhou Yu rushed over, and saw a few people looking at their stall with hostility. A half-grown boy was holding a dagger in his hand, his eyes closed, he was waving it around randomly, not allowing them to get close.

Standing next to him was Fang Shu, who had always been a customer of Xu An’s.

Zhou Yu grabbed Xu An’s wrist, preventing her from rushing forward. He walked in front, reached the stall, and reached out to hold Su Xiaoyang’s hand.

Su Xiaoyang saw that it was Brother Zhou Yu and Sister Xu An who had come, so he stopped his actions.

Xu An smiled gratefully at Fang Shu.

Zhou Yu’s face was full of coldness, he stared at the few people who were making trouble in front of the stall.

Those few hooligan-looking people originally thought that Su Xiaoyang was easy to deal with. They wanted to take advantage of the fact that Wen Yaowu and Xu An, the two adults, weren’t there, to make a scene and overturn the stall. But they didn’t expect that the half-grown boy was also a tough one, he even had a knife tucked in his pocket, and he wouldn’t let them get close.

There was also a woman who looked like she wasn’t easy to mess with, helping out, so they didn’t dare to act rashly.

They waited until everyone else came back, and now they were in an awkward position, not knowing whether to make trouble or not.

Until they heard a man’s voice.

“This is the stall, they’re engaging in profiteering and monopolizing the market, and they’re also causing a disturbance. The stall owner’s husband was in prison before, he was put in for profiteering. Now he’s out, and he’s still engaging in monopoly, you have to judge this.”

Xu An heard the voice, she looked towards the source of the sound, and saw a man with several people in uniform coming over.

As soon as he arrived, the man looked at the clean stall in front of Xu An, his face darkened. Those few good-for-nothings.

The city management officers walked to Xu An’s stall, Xu An smiled and greeted them.

“Our stall is legally operating, we have our health permit and business license.”

After she finished speaking, she waved her hand at Su Xiaoyang, Su Xiaoyang immediately went to get their business license.

The city management officer looked at Xu An, “He said you’re monopolizing the market, buying everything up and selling it at a high price, is that true?”

Before Xu An could speak, the man hurriedly said, “It’s definitely true. Look at these two big pots of things, we people have nowhere to buy them, they bought everything up, and then sold them at a high price.”

Xu An pointed to the pot of things that Wen Yaowu was guarding not far away.

“You can check it out. In our big pot, there’s more pig offal than pork belly, which people usually don’t buy, and there are also a lot of vegetables. There’s definitely no buying everything up and selling it at a high price.”

“As for my husband…”

Xu An tilted her head and glanced at the man beside her, whose face was as dark as ink, she said with a smile, “The country’s policies have changed now, his previous crime of profiteering was a misjudgment. Now he’s just doing a little business.”

The two city management officers looked at each other and asked Xu An to take them to check.

Xu An calmly led them over.

Zhou Yu lagged behind, staring at the man, the frost in his eyes made the man shiver involuntarily.

“Boss Zhou, you can’t blame me. You said your wife’s stall is doing well in the morning market, and now she’s open until noon, affecting the market, I’m not doing well either.”

This man was the owner of the roadside restaurant where Xu An and Zhou Yu had eaten before. His business wasn’t very good, and these past two days, Xu An’s braised meat had been selling until noon, all his customers were snatched away. He had been resentful for a long time, and now he found an excuse, he called the city management officers, claiming that Xu An was engaging in profiteering.

Xu An led the city management officers to the braised meat. A crowd had already gathered around, and when they heard the accuser say that this was profiteering, their eyes changed when they looked at Xu An.

The city management officers carefully checked the contents of the pot, it was indeed as Xu An said, they were all pig offal that few people usually bought directly from a stall, and there were also vegetables.

Xu An smiled and said, “You can go ask the stall owners where I order my ingredients, these things are usually left over, I bought them all, and they sold them to me at a lower price.”

The two city management officers looked at each other and nodded.

They also checked the documents that Xu An took out, her health permit and business license were indeed complete, so they returned the documents to Xu An.

They looked at Xu An and said seriously, “It’s definitely not profiteering.”

The man who came with them was not convinced.

“City management officers, how can this not be profiteering? They’ve bought up all the things around here and sold them, they’re also disrupting the market, affecting my business! And they’re causing a disturbance.”

The city management officer looked at the man who was making trouble, then looked around at the people watching the commotion, and directly shouted to everyone.

“Our country started allowing farmers to sell their own agricultural products in the market at the beginning of this year. In this year, we’ve also gradually relaxed restrictions on small businesses, allowing individual businesses to open small shops and stalls on city streets. This is all legal and compliant.”

The people watching the commotion heard his increasingly serious voice, and they all fell silent.

The city management officer continued,

“The crime of profiteering, as the name suggests, refers to obtaining profits through means such as buying everything up and selling it at a high price, hoarding goods, and buying and reselling. It monopolizes the market and disrupts market order.”

“In the past, many people who did small businesses were convicted of profiteering when the system wasn’t perfect, but this year, the country has gradually revoked their convictions and provided corresponding compensation.”

“The country knows about everyone’s anger and resentment towards market monopoly, but you can’t use this as an excuse to do selfish things that benefit yourself and harm others.”

He looked at the accuser and said in a deep voice, “Based on our judgment, Comrade Xu An’s actions do not constitute profiteering. Don’t waste state resources for your own selfish gain next time.”

The man was so red in the face that he didn’t dare to speak anymore.

The two officers were about to leave when Xu An quickly shouted.

“I also have something to report.”

The city management officer looked at Xu An and sighed, he reasoned with her, “Comrade Xu An, it’s forbidden to be quarrelsome and engage in malicious competition.”

Xu An nodded, “I know.”

She smiled at the man and said loudly, “City management officer, we’re just a small stall on the street, but since we’re selling to the people, we have to guarantee that the food everyone eats is absolutely clean and hygienic.”

She pointed to her pot of things, “You know, pig offal is not easy to handle, but my braised meat is guaranteed to be clean and delicious. I got my health permit and business license from the health department when I officially opened, it’s all completely legal.”

“But there are many stalls on the street that don’t have licenses, and they sell things that aren’t even clean. This is what’s really disrupting the market.”

As soon as Xu An said this, the man who had been so arrogant just now was completely panicked, he looked at the city management officer with a blank expression.

The city management officer looked at Xu An and nodded, “We will punish and rectify stalls that don’t have complete documents. This is a good chance to correct the market.”

Usually, they would turn a blind eye, after all, this was the early days of reform, the policies were relatively relaxed, and many unregulated stalls existed, trying to improve their lives. They didn’t want to suppress the people’s enthusiasm, so they relaxed restrictions a little.

But since someone had reported someone else for profiteering and engaging in malicious competition, they really should step in and manage things.

Xu An smiled and nodded, her gaze fell on the man not far away, looking at the man’s resentful face, she smiled provocatively at him.

“Heh.”

You can report, but I can’t?

With that man’s hygiene conditions, he should be shut down for a month at least.

Zhou Yu stared at the woman’s slightly smug face, a smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

The city management officers were about to leave when the man quickly glared at Xu An and followed them, his voice could still be heard.

“City management officers, it’s not easy for farmers to do a little business these days, you should be lenient.”

“Don’t be so strict, give everyone some time, they’ll definitely be able to prepare the things they need.”

This servile attitude, where was the arrogance he had when he brought the city management officers over? He almost knelt down to the city management officers.

Xu An clapped her hands lightly, turned around and met Zhou Yu’s gaze, she smiled and raised her eyebrows at him.

Zhou Yu’s expression was indifferent, he went up and pushed the pot of braised meat to the stall with Wen Yaowu.

As for the few hooligans who came to make trouble, they had already run away when the city management officers arrived.

They were hired by the owner, and they ran faster than anyone else when things didn’t go their way.

Back at the stall, Xu An thanked Fang Shu.

“Fang Shu, thank you for your help just now.”

Fang Shu shook her head, “I didn’t help.”

She raised her chin towards the half-grown boy, “This little guy is the one who’s amazing.”

He was so small, yet he dared to pull a knife on several adults.

Xu An looked down at Su Xiaoyang.

Su Xiaoyang pursed his lips and bowed to Zhou Yu and Xu An, “I’m sorry!”

Xu An looked at him and said softly, “What are you apologizing for?”

Su Xiaoyang lowered his head and handed the dagger in his hand, “I was just afraid that someone would come to make trouble, so I secretly brought it with me.”

No one likes a child who carries a knife around all the time.

Zhou Yu reached out and took the knife from Su Xiaoyang’s hand, his voice was calm, “You’ve been carrying it all the time?”

Su Xiaoyang wiped his face hard, looked up at Zhou Yu, and nodded, “Hmm.”

Zhou Yu’s voice was casual, “Not afraid?”

Su Xiaoyang bit his lower lip tightly, and nodded fiercely, “Not afraid.”

The half-grown boy looked at Zhou Yu firmly, “I can protect Sister Xu An, I’m useful.”

Xu An’s eyes softened, life was too hard, this little guy was really going to fight hard.

Zhou Yu stared at the dagger in his hand, he put it back in Su Xiaoyang’s hand, then slowly made him grip it tightly, then reached out and rubbed the boy’s head.

He said in a deep voice, “Hmm.”

“The assessment is passed.”

His tone was flat, but it made Su Xiaoyang’s eyes light up, he looked up at Brother Zhou Yu.

Before, when Sister Xu An gave him a passing grade, Brother Zhou Yu didn’t say anything, and he was still worried.

Now, he could finally rest assured. Su Xiaoyang excitedly wiped his face, “I’ll work hard.”

Xu An stared at the dagger in Su Xiaoyang’s palm, she sighed, “Just use it for self-defense, protect yourself, don’t hurt anyone.”

“I know.” Su Xiaoyang’s voice was loud.

His eyes were red, but Xu An could see that he was very happy now.

“Alright, put it away, we still have to do business, we can’t scare the customers.”

Su Xiaoyang immediately listened and hid the things, he continued to set up the stall with Wen Yaowu.

Xu An tilted her head and looked at Fang Shu, she smiled and said.

“What do you want to eat today? I’ll treat you.”

Fang Shu didn’t stand on ceremony with her, “Okay, the same as usual.”

Xu An personally ladled a bowl for Fang Shu, handed it to her, and sent her away.

Then she tilted her head and looked at Zhou Yu beside her, she said softly, “Xiaoyang is alright, right?”

Zhou Yu’s gaze fell on the woman, he looked into her eyes, there was a hidden smile in them, he responded lazily.

With this little incident, the second pot of braised meat wasn’t sold until the afternoon. The four of them closed up and went home.

The eyes in the alley were particularly lively today, they pointed at Xu An and Zhou Yu, they probably heard about the commotion today.

Xu An didn’t pay any attention to them. Today, even the city management officers had proven to them that they weren’t engaging in profiteering. No matter how much these people talked, they could only smell the sour smell.

Xu An looked at Zhou Yu, her face full of smiles, “That man even brought the city management officers to prove us right today, he’s really a good person.”

Zhou Yu held his arms, walking beside her, he heard the woman say this, he raised his eyebrows, “A good person? Xu An, repaying kindness with vengeance?”

The two looked at each other, Xu An’s eyes were full of smiles, “It’s just a tit for tat. I’ll help him too, let him improve his hygiene, his business will definitely be good in the future.”

The woman’s eyes held a mischievous gleam, Zhou Yu’s gaze fell on them for a moment, then quickly moved away, “Then he still has to thank you.”

Xu An waved her hand at him, “Isn’t he supposed to be shut down for at least a month, letting me take over his business?”

“I’ll be busy for a month, if you have nothing to do, you have to help me.”

As Xu An spoke, she walked quickly towards the alley. Zhou Yu stared at the clear and slender back in front of him, the corner of his lips twitched, he strolled after her.

“Why should I help you, I don’t even get paid.”

“Didn’t I give you a lot of money?”

“Not returning it?”

“Returning it!”

Zhou Yu’s expression was rarely light, he walked a few steps to Xu An’s side, looked down at her, “Didn’t you say you’d listen to me?”

“When did I listen? You’re getting used to ordering me around.”

Xu An rubbed her nose, she smiled sweetly at Zhou Yu, trying to please him, “I’ll definitely listen to you next time.”

Zhou Yu clicked his tongue in a feigned impatient manner, there’s no such thing as next time.