Chapter 19: Chapter 19: A Dispute Caused by a Sponge Cake
After leaving the alley, Yun Linhe and Yun Chenxi struggled to suppress their excitement.
Yun Linhe thought for a moment, then took out a large ten-yuan bill and handed it to Yun Jiao.
"Jiaojiao, this ten yuan is for you. Buy whatever you want. The rest of the money is more than enough to build the house."
Yun Jiao was the one who found the pearl, so no one would feel bad about giving her ten yuan.
Yun Jiao didn’t stand on ceremony. She hugged the money with her two small, soft, pale hands, a sweet smile spreading across her face.
"Canned food, canned food."
She had been craving canned food for a while.
"Hahaha, alright. Let’s go buy some canned food right now."
Yun Linhe carefully placed the rest of the money in the innermost pocket of his clothes, right against his skin. This couldn’t be lost; the thieves these days were skilled.
Then, the two of them took Yun Jiao to the biggest department store in the city.
Private businesses were quietly emerging, but people still preferred to shop at the department store because it had the most complete selection of goods.
Inside the department store, a dazzling array of goods was on display. There were several kinds of the canned food Yun Jiao wanted.
There were canned meats and canned fruits. Since they were near the sea, most of the canned meats were various types of canned fish, as well as things like shrimp paste, but of course, there was also canned pork.
"Comrade, which of these canned foods tastes the best?"
The salesperson in the canned food section greeted them enthusiastically. "Hello, Comrade. What kind of canned food are you looking for?"
"Meat, I think. And some canned fruit as well."
"Our best-selling canned meats are this canned braised pork, this shrimp paste, and this ’Yuganzhu’ brand douchi fish. As for canned fruit, the most popular is this yellow peach in syrup, and this pineapple in syrup is also good..."
Yun Linhe didn’t really consider the fish or shrimp paste. They lived by the sea and were tired of eating fish.
"Could we have the canned braised pork and the canned yellow peaches, please, Comrade?"
The canned braised pork was two yuan and fifty fen, and the canned yellow peaches were one yuan and eighty fen.
Just those two cans cost more than four yuan.
Yun Linhe’s heart ached just looking at the price.
’How could our family ever afford this?’
Both cans were given to the little glutton, Yun Jiao, to hold.
The little one opened her mouth and took a bite out of the lid.
Yun Linhe & Yun Chenxi: ...
’We’re used to it, we’re used to it.’
They smiled awkwardly, picked up Yun Jiao, and left.
"Jiaojiao, you have to open the can to eat what’s inside. Let’s buy our other things first, then we can eat it after we leave."
Yun Jiao let go of the can. "Oh."
Held by her Second Brother, her big eyes darted around. "That, sponge cake."
"I want White Rabbit creamy candy."
"Haw flakes, and soda. I want two—no, three bottles. And cookies."
Finally, they stopped in the toy section. Yun Jiao squatted on the floor, looking at toy guns and slingshots.
"Toys. Buy for my brothers."
Yun Linhe gave a wry smile. "Jiaojiao, we don’t have enough money. We can’t just buy one toy gun and one slingshot. Your brothers would fight over them."
Yun Jiao furrowed her little brow. Her gaze swept around and landed on a tin box filled with a dazzling array of beautiful glass marbles.
They were round and smooth like pearls, and came in all sorts of colors.
She remembered that Yun Zhuangzhuang, Cai Jinhua’s precious son, had a few marbles. He would show them off in the village, making all the other children, including her brothers, green with envy.
But her brothers would only watch; they wouldn’t play with Yun Zhuangzhuang because that fatty, just like his sister, had once stolen her candy.
Although Yun Jiao had slapped and bitten him at the time, Cai Jinhua had later brought her wailing, precious son to their house to cause a scene.
Of course, they had been driven out by her formidable Little Aunt and the protective Ama Yun and Granny Yun.
The little girl was suddenly filled with heroic spirit. ’Whatever others have, my brothers must have too! They don’t need to envy anyone else!’
"This."
She pointed at the marbles.
Marbles weren’t expensive; you could get five for ten fen.
"Eldest Brother, Second Brother, do you want some?"
Yun Chenxi’s heart warmed. Most children Yun Jiao’s age only thought about eating or playing by themselves.
Although their Jiaojiao also loved to eat, she always thought of her family.
"Your Eldest Brother and I don’t play with these things, and neither do your Third and Fourth Brothers. You should buy them for Xiao Wu and the younger ones."
They used to envy the toys other kids had, but now they were past the age for such things.
Yun Chenxi couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy toward Yun Xiaowu and the others.
’Having a sister like this is really wonderful.’
Yun Jiao bought twenty fen worth of marbles for each of her brothers: Five, Six, Seven, Eight, and Brother Nine. She carefully selected the glass marbles she thought were the prettiest and had the best colors.
With that, her ten yuan was almost completely used up.
The three of them left the department store, their arms full of their haul.
They took the public bus back as well. This time, Yun Linhe sat by the window while Yun Chenxi took the aisle seat, mainly to protect the money.
Yun Jiao sat in one of her brother’s laps, nibbling bit by bit at the soft, fragrant sponge cake in her hands.
She was afraid that if she ate too fast, it would be gone in an instant.
The sponge cake in her hands made a little boy in the opposite row of seats wild with craving.
"Grandma, I want sponge cake too."
The little boy started pestering his grandma, whining loudly.
The old woman holding the boy turned her head and saw Yun Jiao eating the sponge cake.
Yun Jiao wrinkled her nose and turned her back to them.
The little boy started wailing, flailing his arms and legs. "Grandma, I want sponge cake! I don’t care, I want sponge cake!"
The noise was so loud it made the ears of everyone on the bus hurt.
"You two young men, look at my grandson making a fuss. He’s still little, and that sponge cake..."
"No."
Yun Jiao immediately hugged all the sponge cakes to her chest.
The old woman’s expression immediately soured. "The adults haven’t even spoken. What right does a child have to interrupt?"
Yun Linhe smiled protectively. "Ma’am, the sponge cakes belong to our little girl. There isn’t even enough for her to eat more than a few times."
The old woman retorted, "Don’t be so stingy, you big man. Isn’t there still so much left?"
What an ugly thing to say. ’So if we give it to you, then we’re not stingy?’ Yun Chenxi rolled his eyes.
Yun Linhe said, "It’s not a lot. We have a big family. This won’t even be enough to share when we get back."
Hearing this, the old woman’s face fell, and she spoke directly to her grandson.
"Grandma doesn’t have any sponge cake. Go cry and make a fuss in front of the people who do."
Upon hearing that, the little boy actually ran over to Yun Linhe and Yun Chenxi and started throwing a tantrum.
"Sponge cake, I want sponge cake, I want sponge cake..."
Yun Linhe and Yun Chenxi’s expressions turned ugly. ’This is just shameless!’
Someone else on the bus couldn’t stand it anymore. "Old woman, how can you be like this? Control your grandson!"
In this day and age, who would willingly share their food with others? That sponge cake wasn’t cheap.
The old woman glared back. "What business is it of yours? He wants sponge cake. If one of you had just given him one, he would’ve quieted down."
"What kind of person are you, teaching your child to act like that? A single sponge cake costs two fen. Why don’t you go buy one yourself?"
On one side, the old woman was arguing with several people. On the other, the two adults, Yun Linhe and Yun Chenxi, were helpless against one child.
Yun Jiao roared with childish ferocity, "Shut up! If you keep making noise, I’ll eat you!"
Her eyes were fixed on the boy, carrying the ruthlessness of killing prey from her past life.
Comments