Yi Bao went into the house and came back out with two yuan in hand.

He discussed with Er Bao and San Bao about writing an IOU. “Er Bao, San Bao, we’re lending two yuan to Xu Duomei and we’ll ask her to write an IOU.”

San Bao had no objections.

Though he was precocious, being only five years old, there was still a difference in how he thought about things compared to Yi Bao and Er Bao, who were eight years old.

Er Bao, however, was skeptical and asked, “Brother, will Xu Duomei know how to write an IOU? How do you write an IOU?”

Yi Bao thought for a moment. “Let’s go ask Mom.”

To Ning Shu, explaining how to write an IOU was simple, and indeed, it was straightforward.

When the children asked her, Ning Shu explained as simply as possible: “An IOU is written like this—include the date, reason for borrowing, amount borrowed, repayment date, names of the borrower, lender, and witnesses. Just write down these details.”

The three brothers had been writing observations about sugarcane for a month, so they already understood the factors their mother mentioned.

Besides, now they wrote diaries every day, not because the teacher required it, but because Ning Shu did.

She asked the three of them to take turns writing a diary every day—Yi Bao today, Er Bao tomorrow, San Bao the day after tomorrow, with Saturdays off and Sundays rest, which was also easy.

After listening to their mother, the three brothers pondered for a moment and knew how to write it.

“Mom, can we write it like this?” Yi Bao dictated the content of the IOU he had in mind. “On the night of December 16th, Xu Duomei’s mother fell ill. In order to get her mother treated, Xu Duomei borrowed two yuan from Lin Haizhi, Lin Hairui, and Lin Haiyang, to be repaid when her father returns from his mission. Borrower: Xu Duomei. Lenders: Lin Haizhi, Lin Hairui, Lin Haiyang. Witnesses… I can ask Yang Wenjie and others.”

Of course, a child’s written IOU didn’t need to be so meticulous.

Ning Shu listened and felt there was no problem, but she pointed out an ambiguity, “Here, it’s ambiguous whether Xu Duomei borrowed two yuan from each of Lin Haizhi, Lin Hairui, and Lin Haiyang individually, or if it’s a total of two yuan from all three. Another way to write it is to list only one person’s name—since it’s two yuan borrowed, whether it’s from you three or one person doesn’t make a difference to others.”

Yi Bao said, “Since it’s our three’s money, it’s better to write all three names.”

Children sometimes think differently from adults; their thoughts are not always straightforward.

Yi Bao stubbornly insisted on including all three names. “Then I’ll write ‘Xu Duomei borrowed a total of two yuan from Lin Haizhi, Lin Hairui, and Lin Haiyang.’ Mom, is this okay?”

Ning Shu replied, “That’s fine.”

Yi Bao felt relieved. “Okay Mom, we’ll go find Xu Duomei now.”

Ning Shu said, “Okay, come back early for dinner. Your dad will be back soon from digging bamboo shoots.”

“Got it.” With that, the three brothers ran off to the small park.

In the small park, Xu Duomei had been waiting for quite some time.

She was gradually losing hope.

Two yuan was a lot of money, and Lin Haizhi and his brothers’ mother would surely not agree to lend it to her.

So they probably wouldn’t come.

Xu Duomei’s eyes began to redden.

She couldn’t wait any longer; she still needed to go gather firewood.

Thanks to her grandmother’s lack of concern about when she returned home and the requirement to gather firewood every day after school, she had managed to delay finding Lin Haizhi for a loan.

But if she waited any longer, she wouldn’t have time to gather firewood.

With a disappointed and helpless feeling, Xu Duomei got up from the ground, brushed off the dirt from her buttocks, and prepared to go gather firewood in the back hills.

Just at that moment, a voice called out, “Xu Duomei…”

Yi Bao’s still childish voice sounded almost like a savior’s call.

Xu Duomei turned abruptly and saw Yi Bao and his brothers approaching.

Despite her red eyes, she smiled. “Lin… Lin Haizhi.”

The three brothers walked up to her.

It was evident that her eyes were swollen from crying, but being young, they didn’t think much about it.

Yi Bao said, “Xu Duomei, we can lend you money, but you need to write us an IOU. Is that okay?”

Xu Duomei, like Yi Bao and the others, was in first grade, but she was already ten years old this year.

She had been living in the countryside before this, where her grandmother didn’t allow her and her sister to go to school.

Now that she was with the army, seeing everyone else studying, Grandma Du allowed her to go to school to save face.

However, she was the only one who came with the army; her sister didn’t come.

Grandma said, “If both of them come with the army, who will take care of Grandpa at home? What about the family’s land?”

So, her sister stayed at home.

The reason she could come was also because she wasn’t as good as her sister at work, and the army needed someone to do housework, so Grandma agreed to let her come.

If only her sister could come to study too.

Xu Duomei knew about IOUs.

Borrowing money and writing an IOU seemed reasonable to her.

But she hesitated, “I don’t know how to write an IOU.” ( IOU means ‘I Owe You’ )

Yi Bao recited the revised version of the IOU that Ning Shu had previously dictated: ‘… It’s like this. Is it okay? I can get Yang Wenjie, He Jiaxing, and Cheng Yingyong as witnesses.’

After listening to Yi Bao’s recitation, Xu Duomei agreed, since it matched the facts: “Okay, thank you, Lin Haizhi.”

“No need to thank me. You write the IOU then. I’ll get my younger brother to call the witnesses. Which of the three do you want as a witness?”

Xu Duomei didn’t know Yang Wenjie, He Jiaxing, and Cheng Yingyong personally, but she knew they were good friends of Lin Haizhi and the others.

Although she didn’t interact much with her classmates, she observed them carefully.

She felt a bit shy about He Jiaxing.

In her mind, He Jiaxing was like those favored boys back in her hometown—difficult to approach.

Yang Wenjie was lively and always smiling.

One day, she met Yang Wenjie on the road, and he greeted her with a smile.

And Cheng Yingyong was a man of few words, but his silence was different from Lin Haizhi’s; though he didn’t talk much, he didn’t give off the same intimidating vibe as Lin Haizhi.

Can we ask Yang Wenjie?

Xu Duomei thought for a moment and decided to mention Yang Wenjie’s name.

She didn’t know where she found the courage to approach Lin Haizhi earlier.

Maybe it was because she was too worried about her mother, and after hearing that they received red envelopes from Lin Hairui, she summoned up the courage to give it a try.

“Okay,” Yi Bao said to Er Bao, ” Er Bao, go quietly and fetch Yang Wenjie. Let’s not make a scene.”

Borrowing money wasn’t something to be proud of, but Yi Bao didn’t feel ashamed about it either.

If his mother fell ill and needed money, or if his father was on a mission, he would borrow money just like Xu Duomei.

He believed it was the right thing to do for family.

But even though he was young, he knew that many people didn’t want others to know they were borrowing money; they felt it was humiliating.

“Got it,” Er Bao dashed off to Yang Wenjie’s house.

Yang Wenjie had returned early; his father had already come home from work, and they were having dinner.

Suddenly, Yang Wenjie heard Er Bao calling him.

“Yang Wenjie… Yang Wenjie… Could you come out for a moment? I need to talk to you,” Er Bao’s loud voice could be heard by every household on the street.

Hearing his good friend calling, Yang Wenjie set down his chopsticks and went out, indeed finding Er Bao there. “Lin Hairui, what do you need?”

Although Lin Haizhi and Lin Hairui looked the same and sounded alike, Lin Hairui was easy to recognize, unlike Lin Haizhi, who never called out so loudly.

Remembering what his brother had said about not discussing Xu Duomei’s matter loudly with Yang Wenjie, as it wouldn’t be good if others heard, Er Bao approached and whispered in Yang Wenjie’s ear, “Yang Wenjie… Can you come to the small park now to be our witness?'”

“Wow… of course I can!” Yang Wenjie’s eyes widened.

He had never experienced anything like this before.

Being invited to be a witness made him feel valued by the Three Brothers, their best friend.

At the same time, he felt a great responsibility.

Children at this age are very innocent and love the feeling of being trusted with an important task, so without hesitation, he agreed, “Okay, wait for me, I’ll go tell my parents.”

“Mom, I’m going to the small park. The twins need me for something, I’ll be right back,” Yang Wenjie shouted, regardless of whether his mother agreed or not, and then ran out.

Together with Er Bao, they ran to the small park.

Yang Wenjie’s mother wasn’t angry about her son’s behavior.

Among his friends, the twins were the smartest and most well-behaved, so she trusted them.

If they were looking for her son, there must be a reason, and occasionally, she wouldn’t interfere.

By the time Er Bao brought Yang Wenjie to the small park, Xu Duomei had already written the IOU as Yi Bao had instructed.

Although Xu Duomei was a quiet student in Class 2 of Grade 1, she wasn’t invisible because she excelled academically and was very attentive in class.

Her teachers often praised her.

Although Xu Duomei’s academic achievements couldn’t compare to Yi Bao’s, who had intellectual parents to guide him, Xu Duomei relied solely on her own diligence in studying.

She cherished this hard-earned opportunity to study and wanted to excel academically so she could teach her sister if they returned to their hometown.

Yi Bao was willing to lend money to Xu Duomei not only because of her mother’s illness, but also for this reason.

In the minds of children at this age, they generally believe that those who perform well academically must also be good people.

“Lin Haizhi, I’ve written the IOU. Could you please take a look and see if it’s correct?” Xu Duomei handed the written IOU to Yi Bao.

Just as Yi Bao took the IOU, Er Bao and Yang Wenjie arrived.

So, the children gathered together to examine the IOU!”