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Gao Ming rode his motorcycle much faster than Wang Lijuan. He and Wen Sheng arrived at the intersection leading to the town's market, where two roads diverged: one headed east towards the market and the other west. Wen Sheng grabbed Gao Ming's arm, saying, "Let's wait for them here! Don't let Wang Lijuan lose my sister! Haha!"
Gao Ming stopped the motorcycle and got off, a bit proudly declaring, "Girls drive so slowly! What's there to be afraid of? Just let it rip!" Indeed, young people loved to show off when driving, and Gao Ming was no exception; he drove as if he were courting danger.
Before long, Wang Lijuan and Wen Xin caught up with them. Wang Lijuan approached with a smile and teased Gao Ming, "Hey Gao Ming, why are you driving so fast? Are you trying to get yourself killed? If you're tired of living, don't drag Wen Sheng down with you! He’s not like you—he hasn't had enough of life yet! Haha!" She continued, "I usually drive faster than this, but Wen Xin always complains about being scared. I worry she might fall off. If she gets hurt, Wen Sheng will definitely blame me!"
Wen Xin playfully brushed her hair from her forehead and smiled at Wang Lijuan, saying, "Sister Lijuan drives really well!" After a moment's thought, she added, "Much faster than Mom on her bicycle!"
Wang Lijuan laughed and turned back to hold Wen Xin's face affectionately. "Are you complimenting me? I didn’t quite catch that!" She took Wen Xin's hand and asked, "Are you hungry? Let’s go eat!"
Wen Xin grinned mischievously and nodded. "Yes! I haven't eaten breakfast yet!" She then tugged at Wen Sheng's arm. "Brother, let’s go eat!"
Wang Lijuan looked down at Wen Xin and asked, "What do you want to eat? Sister will buy it for you!"
Wen Xin thought for a moment before smiling brightly. "How about some buns?" After pausing again, she added, "I haven't had buns in ages! It would be great to have some soup too! Haha!" With that, she playfully tugged on Wang Lijuan's hand.
Wang Lijuan's expression shifted slightly to disappointment as she leaned closer to Wen Xin and sighed. "Oh dear! Is that all you want? Nothing else? If anyone saw me treating you to buns at a stall in my territory, I’d lose face!"
Wen Xin looked at Wang Lijuan in confusion. She often heard her father talk about 'face'—she understood it meant reputation or dignity. But what did eating buns at a stall have to do with that? Her brother had taken her to eat buns at stalls before, and so had her mother. Why didn’t they think it was embarrassing? Her father always talked about 'face,' just like her older brother did; they often ended up arguing over it, sometimes even getting into fights over such trivial matters. To her, 'face' seemed quite troublesome. She stared at Wang Lijuan with furrowed brows and wide eyes, unsure of what was wrong.
Seeing Wen Xin silent, Wang Lijuan asked in concern, “Wen Xin, what’s wrong? Are you starving? Alright then, let’s go get those buns first! Just don’t fill up too much; later I’ll treat you to something delicious.”
Upon hearing that they could eat something, a smile lit up Wen Xin’s face. She playfully grabbed Wang Lijuan’s hand and said excitedly, “Sister is the best! I want to eat a lot!”
They walked together down the eastern road towards the market. Upon arriving at the market, they parked the motorcycle beside a familiar shop. The three of them then settled down at one of the stalls selling buns at the market entrance. There were many stalls selling fried buns—delicious ones—and their homemade spicy soup was also very tasty. Best of all, it was cheap: each bun cost just ten cents and a bowl of soup only thirty cents. As soon as they sat down, Wen Xin shouted loudly, “Boss! Give me ten buns and a bowl of soup!” She spoke as if she were an adult.
Wang Lijuan playfully poked her head and laughed, “So you’re the only one eating, huh? Hehe!” Then she called out, “Boss, give us five yuan worth of buns and a bowl of soup for each person!”
Wen Xin smirked but then thought about it: five yuan for buns and a bowl of soup for each person meant that Er Ge had less than fourteen yuan left. They still needed to buy clothes and get something for Grandma. Would that be enough? She glanced at Er Ge, who was smiling back at her. In that moment, she realized that Sister Lijuan had just treated her, and she had completely forgotten about it! With that thought, she smiled again.
They were at a crossroads bustling with people. Of course, there were villagers from Wen Xin's village who had come to the market as well. Wen Xin kept her head down, eating quietly. Just then, someone tapped her on the head; she looked up to see Hua Shan. Hua Shan was with her two sons, Xue Min and Xue Qiang, who had come to the market as well. Hua Shan smiled and said, “Wen Xin is eating! Look at that face full of food.”
Wen Xin looked up at Hua Shan and smiled, “Yes, Auntie, why don’t you sit down and eat something too? You don’t have to spend any money; I won’t either, hehe!” Wen Xin grinned mischievously at Hua Shan.
Wang Lijuan and Wen Sheng couldn’t help but laugh at this.
“Oh, this Wen Xin!” Hua Shan chuckled while shaking Wen Xin’s head gently. “Auntie has already eaten at home; I won’t have any more. I’ll find you something to eat later. Just take your time!” Seeing Wen Xin stuffing another bun into her mouth, Hua Shan reminded her.
Afterward, Hua Shan left with her two children. Today was the big market day in town, so there were many people around. Many from nearby villages had come as well, making the market quite chaotic. There were all sorts of things being sold and all kinds of people present. Quite a few from Wen Xin’s village had also come.
Wen Xin devoured more than ten buns and finished her bowl of soup. Wiping her mouth with a piece of paper, she called out, “Boss, give me another bowl of soup!”
Wang Lijuan shot her a playful glare and laughed, “Haven’t you had enough? I told you to save some room; there will be more delicious food later! If you fill up now and there’s more good food later, what will you do? Stick it on your belly?”
At the mention of "belly," Wen Sheng and Gao Ming burst into mischievous laughter! Wang Lijuan’s face turned red because she felt quite full herself after competing with Wen Xin in eating earlier. Turning back to scold Gao Ming and Wen Sheng with a wry smile, she said, “You two are just troublemakers!”
Wen Xin didn’t understand what was going on and laughed at Wang Lijuan, “Sure! You stick it on my belly; I’ll stick it on yours! Hehe!”
Wang Lijuan’s face turned even redder as she hugged Wen Xin tightly. “Don’t say that; they’re just being naughty!”
Wen Xin argued innocently, “Er Ge isn’t naughty; Gao Ming isn’t naughty either!”
Wang Lijuan frowned and hugged Wen Xin, saying, "You don't understand. Just go buy something!"
Wang Lijuan kept holding Wen Xin's hand, pushing her further inside. There was a stall selling many accessories hanging from straw. A beautiful green pendant caught Wen Xin's eye, and she called out to Wen Sheng, "Er Ge, I want this one!" She pointed at the pendant.
Wang Lijuan playfully hit her and pretended to be stern. "Why are you calling him? Your sister will buy it for you."
They bought it for one dollar and fifty cents, threading it onto a red string before hanging it around Wen Xin's neck. Wen Xin looked quite lovely and proudly ran over to show Wen Sheng. He was at a clothing stall, spending eight dollars on a pair of black pants for her and four dollars on a white short sleeve shirt. He even bought her a pair of sandals. For some reason, Wen Xin preferred wearing long pants even in summer.
Wang Lijuan also bought several bags of clothes. The hundred dollars she brought was almost spent. After finishing their clothing shopping, she bought some snacks for Wen Xin, and they started wandering around for fun. Wang Lijuan loved browsing accessory shops and playing electronic games.
They arrived at a famous accessory store in town where everything was quite expensive, ranging from ten to two hundred yuan. Wen Xin shook her head as she looked around; everything was beautiful but exorbitantly priced. Wang Lijuan spotted a necklace that was stunning, sparkling like crystal jade, but it cost one hundred and ten yuan. The store was known for its genuine products and excellent reputation. Wang Lijuan pointed at the necklace, saying, "Let me see that!"
The shopkeeper took it out from behind the counter and gently handed it to Wang Lijuan. She put it around her neck and ran to the mirror to check herself out. Returning with a bounce in her step, she exclaimed, "This is the one! I love it!"
However, realizing she didn't have enough money in her pocket, she turned to Gao Ming and instructed, "Gao Ming, buy this for me first. I'll pay you back later!"
Gao Ming pretended to be angry, saying, "Oh really? I can't indulge your bad habits!" He flatly refused.
Wang Lijuan's face flushed red with anger as she lowered her head in silence.
Seeing that Wang Lijuan was genuinely upset, Gao Ming quickly apologized, "No, that's not what I meant! I only have thirty yuan on me; you can check if you don't believe me!"
Seeing his serious expression made Wang Lijuan soften a bit and smile. "Let's come back to buy it later," she said as she took off the necklace and returned it to the shopkeeper.
Wang Lijuan didn't hold a grudge against Gao Ming but still felt embarrassed and didn't greet the shopkeeper as they left. Looking up at the sky with determination, she said, "I have to buy that necklace! I really love it!" She shook Wen Xin's arm while glancing down at her blushing face.
Wang Lijuan felt a bit melancholic. "I'm feeling a little down today. I want to play some video games. How about you guys? Let's go!"
Gao Ming smiled as he pulled Wen Sheng along. "You go ahead and play video games. I want to play some billiards!"
Wen Sheng also enjoyed billiards, and since his arm wasn't up to playing, he thought it would be nice to watch and enjoy the game.
Wang Lijuan turned to Wen Xin with a smile and said to Wen Sheng, "Let Wen Xin come with me and keep me company! Come find us when it's one o'clock!"
It was only eleven-thirty, so going home felt too early.
Wen Sheng and Gao Ming headed off to play billiards.
Wang Lijuan took Wen Xin to play electronic games, specifically those where you complete levels. She taught Wen Xin how to play, and they each bought ten game tokens, each costing two dimes. The two of them played together, but since Wen Xin had never played before and didn't particularly enjoy it, they quickly ran out of tokens in less than ten minutes. They used up Wang Lijuan's two tokens as well.
Wang Lijuan was really good at the game and found it quite addictive. The sound of her hitting the table echoed loudly, and she didn’t even notice her hands hurting. It was surprising how her delicate hands could make such a loud noise. Wen Xin stood beside her, enthusiastically praising her, "Sister Lijuan, you're amazing!"
Wang Lijuan looked beautiful as she got more into the game, becoming so focused that she stopped talking to Wen Xin. After a while, Wen Xin pleaded with her, "Shall we go find Er Ge?"
Wang Lijuan was so engrossed in the game that she didn't catch what Wen Xin said; she simply nodded without responding. After a bit more time passed, feeling a little bored, Wen Xin decided to leave the arcade without telling Wang Lijuan.
She didn’t know where to find Er Ge; she just wandered aimlessly.
Wang Lijuan was completely absorbed in her game and didn’t notice that Wen Xin had left. It wasn't until one o'clock that Gao Ming and Wen Sheng came looking for her. She was still deeply engaged in the game when Gao Ming playfully patted her on the back and said with a smile, "Let's go!"
Without turning around, Wang Lijuan replied, "Wait a moment! I need to defeat this level!"
Wen Sheng looked around and noticed that Wen Xin was not by Wang Lijuan's side. The arcade was crowded and chaotic. He gently tapped Wang Lijuan and asked anxiously, "Wang Lijuan, where did Wen Xin go?"
"Wen Xin? She's not here!" Wang Lijuan quickly turned around and was stunned—Wen Xin was gone!
Wang Lijuan's face turned red, and she started to sweat. "She... this..." Wang Lijuan began to panic.
Gao Ming hurriedly said, "Wen Sheng, don't panic. There are many people from our town here; Wen Xin can't be lost!"
Wen Sheng complained anxiously to Wang Lijuan, "How can I not panic? Wang Lijuan, you..." He stopped himself when he saw that Wang Lijuan was on the verge of tears.
Gao Ming remained calm and said to Wang Lijuan, "Wang Lijuan, stop standing there. Let's split up and look for her. You should call your family and ask your cousins to help search! I'll get my friends to help too! Hurry! Wen Sheng, you go wait for news at my family's store."
Gao Ming's family owned a building materials shop.
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