Zhang Lexuan pointed to the back of the street and said, "My car is over there so I can just head over."
Xiao Yun took a look and sure enough, a black car was parked where Zhang Lexuan pointed. "Alright, then. You should go home early."
"Where do you live? I'll send you home," said Zhang Lexuan.
Xiao Yun shook his head and refused. "My home is not far. Next time, you can come over to my place to play."
Zhang Lexuan agreed enthusiastically. After all, he had never done something like going to a friend's home to play. It was quite a novel idea to him.
The two kids said goodbye to each other and agreed to see each other again at the kindergarten the next morning.
Xiao Yun returned home, took out the remaining chili noodles, and placed them in the kitchen. Then, he immediately went to wash his hands. He couldn't help it because he had just touched the chili noodles and he didn't dare touch his eyes before making sure his hands were free of chili.
Once he was done washing his hands, Xiao Yun happened to look around and found the leftovers Xiao He had made previously. It was just enough for the two of them to eat tonight.
Therefore, he heated up the food and waited for Xiao He to come back from work so that they could eat together.
Today, Xiao He came back later than usual. By the time he stepped foot in the house, he saw Xiao Yun sitting on the sofa. He thought his child had been waiting for him in hunger, so he quickly asked, "Are you hungry, Son? Dad will cook something up for you right now."
"Don't worry, Dad. I found the leftovers and heated them. Let's eat."
Xiao He was a little surprised, but he wasted no time taking the dishes out and serving them on the table. Soon, the father and son took their seats at the table and ate in brief silence.
"I saw some more chili noodles in the kitchen. Did you bring them back?" asked Xiao He suddenly.
Xiao Yun nodded. "Yes. I had gone to sell the recyclables earlier and the old grandpa who bought them from me gave me some chili noodles."
Xiao Yun didn't tell him about the incident with the chili noodles, otherwise, Xiao He probably wouldn't stop nagging at him. The less he said, the less trouble he'd save himself.
"By the way, Dad, I want to sell more recyclables tomorrow," said Xiao Yun.
"What? Are you sure we have enough left?" asked Xiao He.
Xiao Yun nodded. "Yes, I think it's enough."
"Okay, I'll come back early tomorrow, and then we'll sell them together."
"I want to sell the recyclables to the same grandpa I met today." Xiao Yun would rather sell them to the old man than to anyone else.
Xiao He also nodded, agreeing with his idea.
The reason Xiao Yun was so anxious was that the time to buy lottery tickets was approaching. Plus, he needed to find out more information in advance. But since he had not enough money in hand, he couldn't even step foot in the lottery station.
Xiao He went straight home after work the next day and Xiao Yun was already sitting on the sofa waiting for him.
The two of them borrowed a small cart to bring the recyclables directly to the grandpa. That way, the old man could also buy it from them without too much hassle since the recyclables were already gathered together. After all, their bodies were much more abled than the grandpa's.
"Hey, Kid, you're here again." The grandpa noticed Xiao Yun as soon as the latter entered the yard.
"Yes, Grandpa." Xiao Yun waved his hand at the old man.
At this moment, Xiao He also stopped the cart. He wiped his sweat with the towel hanging around his neck and greeted the old man, calling him 'Uncle'.
"Alright, let me see how much you can sell these for today." As he spoke, he walked around the heavy collection of recyclables before walking back toward Xiao Yun.
Then, he sorted out the recyclables and weighed each category. Every time he did, the old man would take out his little notebook to record the weight in it.
When all the recyclables had finally been weighed and the selling price of each had weighed category had been calculated accordingly, the old man revealed that the pile of recyclables Xiao Yun brought could be sold for 21.5 yuan. The old man decided to generously give them twenty-two yuan.
The old man wanted to pass the money to Xiao He, but Xiao He shook his head and refused. He indicated with his chin that the money should be passed to Xiao Yun who was standing next to him.
The grandfather smiled and bent over to give the twenty-two yuan to Xiao Yun.
Xiao Yun took the twenty-two yuan and smiled in return. "Thank you, Grandpa."
"Hey, you're welcome." The old man lightly touched Xiao Yun's head.
Xiao Yun and Xiao He stayed at the old man's place for a while before finally leaving left.
Xiao Yun held the twenty-two yuan in his hand and thought, 'I'm rich this time.'
"What do you plan to do with this money?" asked Xiao He when he saw how happy Xiao Yun was with his money.
Xiao Yun looked at Xiao He with an expression that said, "Do I look stupid?"
Xiao He shook his head helplessly. "Alright, let's cut to the chase. I told you to split it up so that you can save some. You've collected and sold quite a lot of recyclables."
"Of course, I have my own use for this money. Don't worry. You'll find out when the time comes," said Xiao Yun mysteriously.
Xiao Yun had not expected the recyclables to be sold for so much. He was surprised that he was able to so easily obtain the money to buy the lottery tickets. But Xiao Yun felt that it wasn't enough. If he had more money, he could raise the stakes.
Xiao Yun calculated in his mind: the day after tomorrow was Saturday, so he decided to go over to the lottery shop to have a first look.
Previously, he and Zhang Lexuan had agreed to meet at the kindergarten. Because of that, Zhang Lexuan looked forward to the end of class every day just so that he could play with Xiao Yun.
Not only that, since Chubs was familiar and played well with everyone, Zhang Lexuan was able to blend in quickly and befriend Chubs too.
On Friday, Zhang Lexuan went to look for Xiao Yun and the others immediately after class as usual.
"Brother Xiao, Little Xuan, and Little Xi, if you have nothing to do this Saturday, come over to play at my place," said Chubs when he saw that Zhang Lexuan had arrived.
Xiao Yun sat on the steps and looked at Chubs, shaking his head. "I can't this week. I'm going to town. You guys go ahead without me."
"What are you going to the town for?" asked Chubs.
"I have something to do." Xiao Yun didn't intend to explain so much. After all, they might not understand even if he did.
Like a deflated rubber ball, Chubs said, "Ah, alright then."
Then, he said to Zhang Lexuan and Lin Xi in high spirits again, "Since Brother Xiao can't go with us, then let's just play together."
Zhang Lexuan didn't answer. Instead, he sat next to Xiao Yun and said, "I'm going to town on Saturday. Do you want to come with me?"
Xiao Yun thought for a moment and asked, "What are you going to do in the town?"
"I'm going home to check out the supermarket," said Zhang Lexuan in response.
Chubs' eyes lit up when he heard this. He quickly ran to Zhang Lexuan's side and said, "Little Xuan, does your family run a supermarket? Isn't there a lot of delicious food there?"