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Before long, Wang Lijuan caught up with Gaoming's vehicle, but she couldn't find him. Panic began to set in, and she felt tears welling up. What if Gaoming had been in an accident? What if something happened to him? The thought was too much for her to bear.
Wang Lijuan cried out, "Gaoming! Gaoming!" She scanned the area, convinced that if there had been an accident, he should be nearby. It had only been a few minutes; even if he had been taken to the hospital, it wouldn't have happened so quickly! She looked around frantically, but there was no sign of Gaoming. Sweat dripped down her forehead as she stopped the car and got out, circling his vehicle in hopes of finding some clue.
Just then, she heard someone calling from the roadside ditch, "Hey! Wang Lijuan! Come help me out!" The ditch was dry, dug out during road repairs and filled with dirt.
Wang Lijuan hurried over to the edge of the ditch and peered in. There lay Gaoming on the ground! She shouted in relief and frustration, "Gaoming, you idiot! You're not dead!" She rushed down to help him up. As she pulled him out of the ditch, concern etched on her face, she asked, "Gaoming, are you okay? Don't scare me like that!"
Gaoming twisted his face into a mischievous grin and replied, "I'm fine! Good thing I practiced martial arts! Look at how graceful my fall was! If you hadn't come to help me, I might have just stayed down there to show off my style. Ha ha! Ouch!" It seemed he had indeed taken quite a tumble; if Wang Lijuan hadn't come along, he might have struggled to get up on his own. "Help me find a place to sit," he said, limping slightly.
Wang Lijuan helped him over to a stone stump by the roadside. Gaoming took a moment to catch his breath and said, "Are you mad at me? Why won't you just drive? You're as stubborn as an old mule—no, even worse! If it weren't for my brother Wen Sheng, I'd give him a piece of my mind!"
Wang Lijuan frowned in agreement. "You're right! Wen Hao is such a pain! Who does he think he is?"
Gaoming lit a cigarette and sat there sulking while sighing heavily. By now it was completely dark; the stars twinkled overhead in a light breeze that barely stirred the air. There weren't many people on the road.
After resting for a while and stretching his arms and legs to ensure nothing was seriously injured, Gaoming stood up straight and told Wang Lijuan, "Let's go! Stop standing around like an idiot!"
Wang Lijuan moved to help Gaoming lift his motorcycle back up and scolded him, "You need to stop driving so fast! Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
Gaoming chuckled as he took hold of the bike. "I won't drive that fast again; I was just angry earlier. Sorry about that—I still want to live! I've got girls to impress!"
Wang Lijuan laughed sarcastically. "Who do you think you're impressing? You look like you've rolled in coal!"
Gaoming grinned mischievously at her. "I'm trying to impress you! Didn't you see how hard I was working?"
"Impress me? Dream on! I've got someone else in my heart; you're not even in the running!" Wang Lijuan teased playfully.
"Who? Wen Sheng?" Gaoming laughed. "He doesn't want you anymore—ha ha!" He burst into laughter.
"That's not true!" Wang Lijuan retorted quickly. "If I chased after him, he wouldn't dare turn me down! Hmph! I don't believe it!" Her confidence shone through as she spoke.
"That night, Wen Sheng and I... You are so shameless! He doesn't want you anymore! He handed you over to me, so I can deal with you!" Gao Ming laughed uncontrollably.
"He really did! I won't tear his mouth apart!" Wang Lijuan retorted fiercely. Noticing Gao Ming sneaking glances at her, she realized she had let something slip and shouted at him, "Are you leaving or not?"
"Of course I'm leaving! Besides, Wen Sheng and I are brothers; it’s all the same. Hehe!" Gao Ming replied as he got into the car. With a press of the accelerator, the car sped off again.
"You bastard, Gao Ming!" Wang Lijuan shouted angrily from behind!
Not far down the road, Gao Ming stopped to wait for her. He knew Wang Lijuan was a little afraid of the dark. They walked side by side, exchanging playful insults until they were almost at the town. They spotted a girl squatting by the roadside, fixing her bicycle.
"Look, there's a girl over there!" Gao Ming said to Wang Lijuan with a mischievous grin. "Should I go see if she's pretty?"
"You jerk!" Wang Lijuan laughed as she scolded him.
Soon they reached the girl. Gao Ming stopped the car and smiled at her, "Need any help, miss?" Seeing his cheeky demeanor made Wang Lijuan want to smack him.
When the girl looked up, Gao Ming nearly cried out in surprise. It was none other than Wen Ling, someone they both knew. As soon as Wen Ling saw Gao Ming's silly expression, she burst into laughter and covered her mouth with her hand. "Gao Ming! What are you doing here? What a coincidence! My bicycle just broke down; can you help me take a look?"
Wang Lijuan didn't hold back and teased him, "Gao Ming must be out of his mind! Look at that silly face of yours; if it weren't for Reiko, you'd be in trouble with any other girl!"
Wen Ling laughed too, saying, "Gao Ming! You don't really have feelings for me, do you? I've always thought of you as an older brother; anything else is off-limits!"
The two girls exchanged banter that left Gao Ming blushing furiously. He waved his hand dismissively, "Let me take a look at your bike first." He crouched down beside Wen Ling's bicycle and saw that the chain had come off and was stuck inside. Standing up, he said, "This is easy to fix! I don’t have my tools right now; give me five minutes!" With that, Gao Ming hopped on his motorcycle and sped away like a flash.
Wang Lijuan turned to Wen Ling and asked, "What are you doing out here so late?"
Wen Ling sighed and replied, "My mom seems to be getting worse; she's coughing really badly. I came to town to buy her some medicine."
"Why hasn't your mom gotten better yet?" Wang Lijuan asked with concern.
"It seems to have gotten worse than before. Brother, we should take Mom to a bigger hospital soon," Reiko said thoughtfully but then paused as if remembering something important without elaborating further. She simply stood there watching.
After a while, Gao Ming returned, and he was quite professional. He bought a new bicycle chain and quickly replaced it. Proudly, he said, “All done! Look at our skills, heh heh!”
Wang Lijuan suggested, “How about we walk you home? It’s so dark!”
“No need, I’m not afraid!” Reiko pretended to be brave. In truth, she was afraid of the dark, but she didn’t want to trouble Wang Lijuan and the others.
“Alright then! Just call if you need anything!” Wang Lijuan replied enthusiastically.
Just as she was about to leave, Reiko called out to Wang Lijuan, “Sister Lijuan!”
“What’s up?” Wang Lijuan turned back to look at Reiko. Reiko initially thought about borrowing some money from Wang Lijuan for her mother’s medical expenses, but then reconsidered; after all, the children couldn’t make such decisions. The words almost slipped out but were swallowed back. Instead, she asked, “Sister Lijuan, what are you doing out this late?”
Wang Lijuan sighed, “It’s just that mess with Wen Sheng’s family. Gao Ming is busying himself with it for no reason!”
Mentioning Wen Sheng reminded Reiko of her brother. She thought about buying some alcohol to take to Wen Sheng’s house later and see if the old man could lend her some money. “Sigh!” Reiko sighed and shook her head. “It’s nothing, Sister Lijuan. See you later!” She forced a smile at Wang Lijuan.
When Reiko got home, her brother Wen Cheng and the rest of the family were waiting for her to eat. Seeing Reiko arrive, Wen Cheng anxiously asked, “Wen Ling, why did you take so long? I was almost worried sick! Is everything alright?”
Reiko sighed again, “The bike broke down. Luckily I ran into Gao Ming on the way back; he helped me fix it. I came back late because of that. How is Mom doing?”
Wen Cheng’s father impatiently said, “Let’s eat first. Your mother is sick; she’s just like that. If it were up to me, I wouldn’t waste money on a big hospital. All these years spent on your mother’s treatment have left us in debt to relatives and neighbors!”
Reiko argued back with Wen Cheng, “Money! We can earn more later; Mom is our only one. We have to take care of her.”
Wen Ling's mother lay inside the house and listened intently; tears streamed down her face. She thought about how her illness had burdened the family over the years and affected her children. Reflecting on how understanding they were made her feel quite moved.
After dinner, Wen Cheng bought two bottles of alcohol and headed to Wen Sheng’s house. Just then, Wen Sheng and Wen Xin were reading while Wen Hao was out playing. Wen Sheng's father was discussing with Xiang Shu about Wen Hao wanting a motorcycle. Upon seeing Wen Cheng arrive with alcohol, he knew something was up. “Wen Cheng is here! Come in and sit down; you must have something to discuss with the old man,” he said while calling for Wen Sheng.
Wen Sheng's father instructed Wen Sheng's mother to prepare two dishes for them to enjoy together with Wen Cheng and Xiang Shu while they drank. Wen Xin stood beside Wen Sheng; she always wanted a bite of food whenever they were together. Since Wen Sheng indulged her, it had become a habit for her. No matter who visited their home, as long as Wen Sheng was there, she would stand next to him because he always made sure to serve her food.
Several times Wen Cheng wanted to borrow money but hesitated when he saw Wen Sheng and Wen Xin together. He didn’t want to add trouble to their family but felt embarrassed thinking about his own mother: “Old man, I came here this time…”
Xiang Shu had already noticed that there was no way out. He smiled and said, "Wen Cheng! You still treat us like outsiders. We're not the ones borrowing money. We all know about your mother's medical situation. It's really inconvenient for your uncle right now, but I'll give you a few hundred in a bit. My family isn't well-off either, as you know; your Two Brothers are still in school!"
Wen Cheng was extremely grateful. "Uncle! Thank you! No matter how much it is, it's the thought that counts. Both Wen Ling and I will always be thankful to you!" He then turned to Wen Sheng's Father and said, "Uncle, I'm sorry for bothering you. I know how things are with Wen Hao; it's really hard to bring this up with you!"
Wen Sheng's Father was a warm-hearted person and felt touched. "Child, I can't let you come here for nothing. I still have some wages owed to me from earlier. I'll go collect it now; just wait a moment!" With that, he went out. Xiang Shu also returned home, which was very close—just next door to Wen Sheng's house. He came back in just a few minutes and said, "Earlier, your aunt took some money back to her family. I'll give you five hundred yuan for now! Don't think it's too little!"
Wen Cheng was deeply moved. "Uncle! How could I? You are truly a benefactor to our family!"
Just then, Wen Sheng's Father returned with six hundred yuan he had collected from his owed wages and four hundred he borrowed from his boss. Of course, the boss was a friend from the same village, so their relationship was good. He gathered a total of one thousand yuan for Wen Cheng and said, "Child, this is all I can manage for you. Don’t feel like it’s too little!"
Wen Cheng was overwhelmed with emotion and fell to the ground, insisting on bowing to Wen Sheng's Father. It was not unusual for juniors to bow to their elders. No one could stop him; he bowed three times to Wen Sheng's Father and then turned around to bow three times to Xiang Shu as well. Xiang Shu helped him up.
Wen Cheng stood up with tears in his eyes and said, "I will never forget the kindness of Uncle and Grandpa! I thank you on behalf of my sisters!"
They chatted for a while longer before Wen Cheng decided to head back home, where his sisters and mother were waiting for him. He knew he had to keep this matter from Wen Hao because Wen Hao was too immature to understand.
Just as Wen Cheng left, it wasn't long before Wen Hao returned home, having lost all his money outside! A single remark from Grandma led Wen Hao to find out about everything that had happened.
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