Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation-Chapter 630 - 394: Apology_2

She wasn’t a city resident, only had her daughter with her, and definitely couldn’t fight against the old city slickers. It’s better not to start trouble than to try to stop it. Hua Fengmei didn’t want to cause any hassle, so she had no choice but to endure.

When the old man heard this, he looked displeased and was quite rude:

"Yes, just go ahead and move."

If the truck could drive into the alley, they’d have a hundred meters less to carry. If not, he’d make it difficult for them.

The old man really showed them a mean face, muttering under his breath, looking like he wanted to curse someone out.

Aunt Gu was equally angry, but there was no point in arguing with this kind of person. He was a local and might have connections.

Just as they were about to give in, Jiang Ning next to them couldn’t stand the injustice and took the initiative to step forward.

Aunt Gu spotted him and called out his name.

Jiang Ning, without saying a word, stepped forward and stretched his hand towards the small metal cart.

Seeing this, the old man was furious, "You dare touch my cart!"

He shouted, ready to curse at Jiang Ning. But he could only watch as Jiang Ning casually lifted the small metal cart with a single hand and tossed it nonchalantly out of the alley.

As effortless as throwing a small pebble.

The words stuck in the old man’s throat, unable to be spoken. He knew exactly how heavy his pancake-making cart was. Even in his youth, he wouldn’t have dreamed of lifting it.

He stared blankly at Jiang Ning, facing the young man’s calm gaze, and felt a jolt in his heart.

Even an old rascal is afraid of a strong young man, especially one who’s about sixteen or seventeen and just showed off some strength. If it came to a fight, they’d have him on the ground without a second thought, and these types of people don’t hold back when striking.

The old man, just over sixty, still had a good twenty years ahead of him. A serious beating now would put an end to his good times.

He kept his mouth shut, accepting the situation at hand.

"Aunt Hua, let the truck come in," Jiang Ning instructed with his usual expression, as if it was nothing out of the ordinary.

Behind him, Xue Yuantong admired him, thinking proud of her Jiang Ning. He was so reliable!

Hua Fengmei’s expression was complicated. What she had been unable to handle had been resolved so easily by a man.

She hurriedly shouted to the driver, "Yes, it’s fine now, you can drive in."

The driver, who had been quietly smoking beforehand, opened the door and drove the truck into the alley.

"Lucky you were here," sighed Aunt Gu.

If it had been one of the uneducated countryside women from their village, they could have torn the old man’s mouth apart.

But it wasn’t in the nature of either her or Fengmei. They had finished junior high, knew what moral standards were, but lacked any real power.

The truck drove into the wider part of the alley, but there was a narrower offshoot that was impassable by vehicle. The rest they would have to carry by themselves.

Xue Chuchu was moving luggage down the stairs from upstairs, her delicate arms struggling with a large canvas sack as she descended the steps.

Her usual neat and clean look was gone, her T-shirt smeared with dust, forehead damp, her pretty bangs now messy and sticking together.

Xue Yuantong cried out, "Chuchu, I’m here to help!"

She ran down to help Chuchu carry her things.

"We’ve troubled you," Hua Fengmei apologized, "Once I’ve moved in, I’ll treat you all to a good meal."

"It’s no trouble," Aunt Gu said, pitching in to help.

As for Jiang Ning, he took charge of transferring the luggage downstairs to the truck.

Chuchu’s house had been home for a year and there was a lot of miscellaneous stuff—pots, pans, basins, nothing was overlooked.

Jiang Ning often carried an item in each hand, easily loading them onto the truck. He moved so quickly that the downstairs luggage wasn’t enough to keep him busy.

Seeing there was still space in the truck, Hua Fengmei loaded up Aunt Gu’s electric scooter as well. She sat in the open bed of the truck, watching the luggage, while Aunt Gu took the passenger seat.

The truck started, reversing out of the alley.

Only the three young people remained.

Xue Yuantong fanned herself with her little hand; she was exhausted from the effort and even breathing was hard.

After resting for a couple of minutes, she started gabbing to Chuchu about Jiang Ning’s impressive feat at the entrance to the alley—how he single-handedly lifted the metal cart and intimidated the old man, who was so scared he cried out that this lad was not to be trifred with.

In essence, she was showing off Jiang Ning’s prowess, and ended by proudly patting her chest, saying, "He grew up eating my cooking."

Xue Chuchu looked down at Tongtong’s slender frame, holding back a friend-alienating comment.

Xue Yuantong also complained, "Chuchu, there are so many bad people. Last time I visited you, I witnessed a fight, and now that old man wanted to swindle someone. It’s good Jiang Ning was here."

Hearing this, Xue Chuchu brushed her moist fringe, her clean face revealing a sweet, moist smile:

"There’re just too many residents around here, and after many got rich, they moved to new residential areas, leaving behind a lot of older folks. Plus, the rent is cheap here, so it attracts all sorts of tenants."

"Before, people used to jump rope at home at night, and there were those who kept dogs and chickens that would bark and cluck all the time. The neighbors said that a few years back, an air conditioner unit even fell from a window."

Xue Chuchu recounted this, though she hadn’t been having a good time recently. She often woke up from the noise at night and couldn’t rest well.

But she still spoke softly and gently, without any harshness or complaint.

Xue Yuantong said, "It’s so chaotic!"

She looked up from the narrow alley, overhead the tangled wires, the dense and old windows, external air conditioning units on the building walls, and the thick white water pipes stained with dirt running up and down.

She heard the sound of flushing water coming from the pipes from time to time.

Used to living in the countryside, accustomed to nature, Xue Yuantong suddenly felt like she was in a cage, oppressively so.

Xue Chuchu patted the dust off her clothes and realized it wouldn’t come out. She would have to change her clothes.

"You must be tired. Let me treat you to some ice pops." She took Tongtong’s little hand and walked toward the alley exit. "I know a place that sells old-fashioned ice pops. Follow me."

Two little girls, grimy from moving, huddled together.

Passing by the entrance of the alley, Xue Chuchu cast a glance at the old man selling sesame pancakes and then turned to look at Jiang Ning, surprisingly finding him completely clean as usual.

Jiang Ning got an old-style ice pop and bit off a chunk with a crunch, enjoying the perfect sweetness and the ice-cold sensation.

At only 50 cents a stick, it was quite a bargain.

Xue Yuantong wanted to bite into her ice pop fiercely like he did but was afraid of breaking her teeth. She didn’t have baby teeth anymore, and if she lost her adult teeth, they wouldn’t grow back.

She secretly pondered how nice it would be if Jiang Ning could bite it for her.

No, that was too shy. Just the thought made her face burn with embarrassment.

Xue Chuchu stood by the roadside, watching the vehicles coming and going, "We’ll go home after finishing the ice pops."

"Back to the river dam home!" Xue Yuantong corrected her.

"Mm-hmm," Xue Chuchu’s eyes showed an indescribable joy. She now had a home in Yuzhou.

After finishing the ice pops, she said, "I’ll go back by bike."

They had left empty-handed to buy ice pops; Chuchu’s electric scooter was still parked downstairs.

The walk back for Xue Chuchu was especially comfortable. After all, she might never have to come to this place again in her life.

She had found it tough to adjust to the urban area when she moved from the countryside to attend high school last year, but it was her mother’s wish, for a better education, a better future, and she couldn’t refuse.

Thinking of the new home at the river dam, equipped with air conditioning, made the young girl’s mood even more uplifted.

Heaven knows how hot it was to live on the top floor, the seventh floor, during summer.

From afar, a clamor emerged from the alley, shouting, a woman’s scream.

Xue Chuchu’s expression shifted.

Xue Yuantong asked curiously, "Chuchu, what’s happening over there?"

"If I’m not mistaken, someone is fighting," Xue Chuchu quickened her pace slightly.

As soon as they reached the mouth of the alley, sure enough, a man in his thirties kicked a woman to the ground, then stepped forward to grab her hair and hit her.

The woman on the ground, beaten to a bruised and swollen face, was utterly powerless to fight back.

With kicks and hair-pulling, he dragged the woman next to a stinking garbage bin. The scene was incredibly tragic.

Xue Yuantong was stunned, motionless, murmuring, "Jiang Ning, Jiang Ning."

Xue Chuchu looked at the man with utter disdain in her eyes. He was a rotten person, smoking, heavy drinking, gambling, a madman who beat his wife when he returned home, worse than the worst person she had ever known in her village.

Xue Chuchu did not attempt to intervene, for her mother had tried that before, to no avail.

At that moment, from the balconies and windows, many residents popped out their heads, watching the commotion.

Unaware of the full story, Xue Yuantong stuck close to Jiang Ning. Hearing the woman’s screams and unable to bear seeing her beaten, she mustered up the courage and yelled,

"You’re going to kill her if you keep hitting her like that!"

As soon as the words were out, Xue Chuchu inwardly felt it was bad.

The next second, the assailant man suddenly turned around and glared coldly, shouting fiercely, "Get lost!"

His face was extremely brutal, demoniacal.

Xue Yuantong was startled and involuntarily stepped back half a step.

Xue Chuchu held Tongtong’s hand tightly.

Jiang Ning gently touched Xue Yuantong’s soft hair and took a step forward, standing tall, he smiled and said,

"Why not just apologize?"