Chapter 137: Chapter 137: Coming to the Rescue

As she spoke, she pointed over there.

"So, you planning on tattling?"

Ling Anxun side-eyed his dopey nephew.

And then at his own sweet, adorable little darling.

He crossed his arms and leaned against a nearby tree trunk.

"I’m not gonna tattle," Shanshan said, shaking her head. "Fourth Brother is already miserable enough. If I snitch, he’ll probably get his lunch taken away. I wouldn’t have the heart."

She even sighed after she finished, putting on a grown-up air.

The words were barely out of her mouth when she scampered over to Ling Zhiwei.

"What do you want? You little brat, did you come all this way just to gloat?"

Ling Zhiwei’s mouth was full of potato chips, which he chewed with a loud CRUNCH.

He shot Shanshan an annoyed glare.

But the hand bringing the chips to his mouth slowed unconsciously, as if he were waiting for her to speak.

"Of course not! It’s just so busy over at my stall I can’t keep up. Fourth Brother, could you be a hero and help me handle the cash?"

Shanshan tilted her head back to look at him, her eyes sparkling, her voice full of pleading.

"Hmph. You’re the one who came begging me for help, remember."

Ling Zhiwei deliberately drew out his words.

He slowly popped the last chip into his mouth, and only after swallowing did he leisurely get to his feet.

He was clearly needed, yet he still put on airs.

If Shanshan hadn’t held him back, Ling Anxun would have stormed over and knocked him on the head a couple of times.

But Shanshan didn’t mind this little bit of awkwardness at all.

She adored her fourth brother, so humbling herself a little was nothing.

She knew that if she just acted a little helpless, he was sure to secretly help her out.

The moment Ling Zhiwei heard he could be useful, he immediately straightened his back.

He grabbed the cash box from his stall, casually stuffed it into his pocket, and picked up the folding stool with his other hand.

"Sigh, what can I do? I’m your big brother. Let’s go, let’s go."

He grumbled to himself as he walked, but his pace didn’t slacken one bit. He crossed the distance to his sister’s stall in just a few long strides.

In a flash, he had packed up his own stall and deftly moved it next to his sister’s.

First, he sorted the sachets and arranged them nicely. Then he smoothed out the corners of his white cloth, placed the cash box where it was easiest to reach, and even made a point of hanging up his own sign—though it was just a handwritten slip of paper.

At last, he’d escaped the "hell mode" of having zero customers.

That earlier feeling of being completely ignored vanished without a trace.

In its place was a constant stream of customers’ questions and laughter.

He stood beside Shanshan and began to call out to the crowd, his voice booming louder than anyone else’s.

And just like that, the crowd surged toward them.

There were so many people now. Ling Zhiwei completely forgot about his uncle’s frightening expression and happily helped Shanshan, taking money and selling sachets.

Shanshan occasionally glanced over at Ling Zhiwei’s side of the stall. The white cloth was spread out, but his wares were arranged a little haphazardly.

"Hey there, miss! How about some snacks? Buy a two-yuan snack and get a free sachet!"

Shanshan’s voice was crisp and clear. Standing in front of the stall, she tilted her head slightly and broke into a sweet smile.

She noticed a girl of about fourteen or fifteen staring at the candy on Ling Zhiwei’s side of the stall.

Shanshan immediately went over to her, grabbing the bag of White Rabbit candies the girl had been eyeing the longest.

"This little bag has over a dozen pieces, and it’s just two. How about it, miss?"

She held the bag of candy out toward the young girl.

The girl blinked, still seemingly hesitant.

"Um... can I pick the color of the sachet myself?"

She glanced back at her friend, her voice dropping a little.

Shanshan grinned and nodded, grabbing a handful of small sachets from a nearby cloth bag.

"Of course! Take your pick!"

She thrust her hand forward, and the tassels on the sachets swayed with the movement.

The girl’s eyes lit up as she reached out and chose a pale pink one.

Her friend couldn’t resist leaning in for a closer look as well.

And just like that, Shanshan secured her first sale.

Selling one of Ling Zhiwei’s snacks in the process.

The girl walked away delighted, chewing on her milk candy and clutching the sachet in her hand.

Ling Zhiwei stood frozen, watching their retreating figures. A sudden sting pricked his nose, and the rims of his eyes turned red.

He looked down and rubbed his hands together. His throat bobbed, but he said nothing, though a smile kept playing at the corners of his lips.

Making that first sale broke the ice. After that, he let his voice loose, his sales pitch growing more and more enthusiastic.

Ling Zhiwei began to imitate Shanshan, describing the products. His speech quickened, and his voice transformed from hesitant to smooth.

He tidied up the remaining snacks as he spoke.

Soon, a crowd had formed a circle around their stall, and the atmosphere was incredibly lively.

The ground in front of the stall had been trampled loose.

Dust swirled up gently. People were packed shoulder to shoulder, no one paying any mind to the disarray beneath their feet.

Liu Yingzi slowly walked over, holding her daughter’s hand.

Cao Jiajia whined, shaking her mother’s hand. Her voice, soft and pleading, said she wanted a snack.

Liu Yingzi wasn’t inclined to agree; money was tight.

But then she thought about how her daughter had been having a tough time lately, so she nodded.

"Fine, but just one thing. Too many sweets are bad for your teeth."

She added this last part with special emphasis, afraid her daughter wouldn’t know when to stop.

Cao Jiajia immediately clapped her hands and jumped for joy, her eyes curving into happy crescents.

"I know, I know! They’re selling some right over there! Let’s hurry!"

She dragged her mother into the crowd. The two of them jostled and squeezed their way through, not even noticing when they bumped into someone.

Seeing that there weren’t many snacks left on the stall...

Cao Jiajia’s eyes were sharp and her hands were quick; she snatched up the one bag she wanted most.

It was the last bag of fruit-filled candies.

"Mom, I want this one!"

She raised her hand, dangling the candy in front of her mother’s face.

Liu Yingzi nodded, pulled out a few small bills, counted out two yuan, and looked up at Ling Zhiwei.

"Alright, how much for this bag?"

A grin was just starting to spread across Ling Zhiwei’s face...

...when in the next second, he abruptly reached out and snatched the snack back.

"I’m not selling to you!"

His voice suddenly shot up, and he pulled his arm back so quickly it created a small gust of wind.

"Hey, what do you think you’re doing?!"

Cao Jiajia’s hand was still in midair. The candy, not yet even unwrapped, was snatched away. She flinched in shock, and her eyes instantly grew red.

Liu Yingzi immediately pulled her daughter behind her, placing a protective hand on her shoulder as she glared at Ling Zhiwei.

"Why won’t you sell? We have money!"

People nearby began to whisper amongst themselves, and a low murmur of discussion started to rise.

"That’s right, what’s his problem? Who’s ever heard of a business owner being so picky about customers?"

They weren’t exactly quiet, and everyone around them turned to see what was happening.

Ling Zhiwei stood up straight and methodically tore open the package.

He popped a candy into his own mouth and chewed it with a loud CRUNCH.

"I won’t sell if I don’t want to. What, you gonna force me? My family’s things aren’t for bullies!"

He said it plainly, without mincing words.

After all, most of the kids around were from the family housing area; they understood immediately.

The children around all stopped in their tracks.

The story of how Cao Jiajia had bullied Yang Changle had already made the rounds among the kids.

The little chubby boy who often ran errands for Shanshan had somehow squeezed his way to the front.

He stood next to Ling Zhiwei and yelled at Cao Jiajia.

"That’s her! She called me names and said bad things about my parents! She’s the reason nobody will play with me!"

Another girl added in a low voice,

"She also drew an ugly caricature of the chubby kid on the blackboard and wrote a nasty nickname next to it."

Little Yang Changle’s eyes turned red, and his lower lip trembled as he looked like he was about to burst into tears.

Ling Zhiwei panicked and quickly shoved the bag of snacks into his hands.

"Hey, hey, don’t cry. Be good. Big brother will give them all to you. We just won’t sell to those nasty people, how about that?"

He soothed, patting Yang Changle’s back gently.

The air around them grew quiet.

A few slightly older kids exchanged glances.