Chapter 301: Chapter 303: Not a Bad Kid
In the end, An Ning kept the ten-yuan bill clutched in her palm instead of putting it into the cash box.
"Doudou, I can’t make change for ten yuan right now. Why don’t you take your things first, okay?"
Doudou looked at An Ning hesitantly, a hint of fear in her eyes. She nodded with a soft "mhm" and walked out of the convenience store with the cookies.
Just then, her sister-in-law returned.
She wiped her damp hands and said wearily to An Ning, "My legs have gone completely numb."
An Ning stepped forward to help her sister-in-law sit down, then told her what she had sold.
"Soy sauce, matches... I also bought two ’Little Rascal’ candies and ten cents’ worth of small cookies."
"What are you paying for? Take it back, take it back."
Her sister-in-law, whose legs had just been numb, insisted on standing up to give An Ning money, but An Ning held her down with a single finger.
"Sister-in-law, if I go to your house, I’ll take whatever you give me. But the store is different. We can’t make an exception. Everyone who comes has to pay, so it’s easier to keep the accounts."
An Ning’s words stopped her sister-in-law.
"You’re such a sensible child."
Her sister-in-law said it from the heart. Uncle An had emphasized An Ning’s status in the An family more than once.
Uncle An had taught his three sons and daughters-in-law, his exact words being: "Don’t be greedy, don’t cause trouble, and don’t compare yourselves to others. Just take care of what’s yours."
Fortunately, the three sons had good values and heeded Uncle An’s words. Even if the three daughters-in-law had their own little schemes, they weren’t bad people at heart and couldn’t stir up much trouble.
In the convenience store, An Ning mentioned the dinner that evening, and only then did her sister-in-law realize she had come to buy soda.
"Help yourself."
An Ning took a case of soda and a few bottles of Erguotou, paying for everything. Her sister-in-law didn’t object.
’She’ll just have An Guoyang bring something extra when they go over for dinner tonight,’ she thought.
An Ning walked out with ease, carrying the case.
She exchanged greetings and chatted with people along the way. Thankfully, she was strong; an ordinary person probably wouldn’t have been able to carry it all that way.
And after just a few steps, An Ning ran into An Guoping and Li Chengze.
"What are you two doing here?"
"He insisted on taking a walk."
An Guoping pointed at Li Chengze beside him as he stepped forward to take the items from An Ning. He handed a few bottles of the liquor to Li Chengze, and the two of them walked on ahead.
Li Chengze, holding the liquor, greeted An Ning and then fell silent.
Silence is golden.
More importantly, he was afraid he’d blurt out the truth.
He had been forced out by Jiang Xia. At first, he didn’t understand why Jiang Xia wanted him to go to the convenience store to buy a ten-cent "Little Rascal" candy, and why he insisted he bring An Guoping along.
It wasn’t until the moment he saw An Ning that Li Chengze understood.
But in that instant, Li Chengze wished he hadn’t.
One was the demon king he had feared since childhood; the other was his future master.
Li Chengze didn’t have any ill intentions. What he feared more was that the two of them wouldn’t be able to get together.
As far as he knew, the demon king Jiang Xia always got what he wanted.
But An Ning wasn’t some object. On the contrary, she was a person so powerful that perhaps not even Jiang Xia could compare.
He was afraid Jiang Xia would fail, and he was afraid Jiang Xia would do something terrible as a result.
"Li Chengze, Li Chengze?"
An Ning shouted his name twice, very loudly, and yanked Li Chengze back with one hand just as he was about to fall into a ditch.
"Huh?"
Li Chengze grunted as if his soul had just returned to his body. Seeing the road ahead, he shuddered awake.
"Sorry, Master, I was spacing out."
"Pay more attention. I don’t want my eldest disciple to die an untimely death."
Li Chengze gave an awkward laugh. "I’ll try my best to stay alive."
Li Chengze meant it. He decided that after his apprenticeship ceremony, he would stick close to Jiang Xia. He’d keep an eye on him, just in case Jiang Xia went crazy and hurt his master.
An Ning looked at the joking Li Chengze and said with a hint of appreciation, "Your sense of humor has improved."
Li Chengze smiled on the outside, but was bitter on the inside.
’He was telling the truth!’
"Lurking" around Jiang Xia really was a struggle to stay alive.
The three of them walked down the main road through the village, heading toward the An family home.
As they walked, they saw two people up ahead looking around frantically, rummaging through the grass and turning over stones. They looked like they wanted to grab a shovel and start digging up the ground.
Seeing this, An Ning said to An Guoping and Li Chengze, "You two go on ahead."
"Why, Sis?"
After asking, An Guoping saw An Ning give him a "don’t ask" look. He immediately freed up a hand and pulled Li Chengze away.
"Hurry up, don’t keep my sister from her work."
Li Chengze was dragged away willingly enough, but he grumbled, "I’m the one who listens to Master the most."
"Nonsense, I’m the one who listens to my sister the most."
"I didn’t even ask any questions. As soon as Master spoke, I left."
"That was me being concerned for my sister. You don’t understand the tacit understanding between twins."
The two grown men ran off, bickering all the way.
An Ning listened to them and shook her head, then walked toward the couple who were searching for something.
"Third Auntie, Third Uncle, what are you two doing?"
The stooped Third Auntie immediately looked up and said in a panic, "Don’t ask. I think I lost some money. I can’t find it anywhere, so I thought maybe I dropped it on the road."
Third Auntie sighed and pulled the man beside her up. "Alright, stop looking. We’ve already been over this area several times."
"Honestly, how could you have lost it?"
"It was ten yuan."
Third Auntie was truly heartbroken. That ten yuan was the wages she had received from An Ning.
The honest and simple Third Uncle said, feeling the loss, "I’ll look around a bit more."
Third Uncle soon wandered off. Third Auntie grumbled a few more words, but feeling suffocated with worry, she also had to leave. She still needed to go home and cook.
An Ning didn’t leave. Instead, she followed Third Auntie.
"Third Auntie, there’s something I want to tell you, but don’t get anxious, and don’t shout. Let’s figure out a good solution together, okay?"
"What? What’s wrong? Did something happen?"
As soon as Third Auntie heard An Ning’s words, her stifled frustration turned into fear.
"Don’t be scared."
An Ning pulled Third Auntie to a deserted spot and told her about Doudou going to buy things.
"Only I know about this. I didn’t take the money; it’s still in Doudou’s hands."
"When you get back, don’t get angry with Doudou, and don’t shout so the whole village hears. Even though she’s little, she’s old enough to care about saving face."
An Ning was about to say more, but Third Auntie suddenly started crying.
"An Ning... how could this happen? Her father and I work ourselves to the bone, all for her! We’re not usually like this... How did our child go bad?!"
Third Auntie was genuinely heartbroken. They worked themselves to death just to save money for their child’s tuition so she could get a good education and have a bright future.
Third Auntie didn’t doubt An Ning’s words. In the entire village, people would sooner doubt themselves than doubt An Ning. That was the kind of trust she commanded.
An Ning waited a moment before continuing, "It’s not that she’s a bad kid. It’s a child’s natural instinct to want to try things. Even we adults can’t help ourselves when we see something tasty, let alone a child."
"Third Auntie, I’m telling you, girls in particular should be raised without feeling like they’re lacking. Give her a little pocket money—it doesn’t have to be a lot, just a tiny bit is fine."
"Doudou is just shy and doesn’t know how to ask. She’s not a bad kid."
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