The three of them, dusty and weary from their journey, arrived at the Hutongli residential compound well past eight o'clock.
"Teacher Xue, why didn't you buy an electric tricycle? It would be more convenient for collecting junk, and you wouldn't have to exert yourself so much to get here!" Liu Sandao asked. He couldn't understand why she didn't get one; electric tricycles were quite common during this era and especially practical for someone of her age. They had walked at least twenty to thirty li since morning. If their cart was full, the return trip would be exhausting.
"Heh, buying one would be useless! I only come here once a week, sometimes only once every half month. It would just be a waste to buy one!" Xue Guilan said with a smile.
Bai Suxiang joined the conversation, learning that Xue Guilan had her own perspective. She explained that while they collected waste, the amount wasn't much. Even if people saved some scrap paper and empty bottles, the quantity was small; if it were more, they would sell it to scrap collectors directly because it was more profitable. Xue Guilan never fussed about the amount, seeing it all as a gesture of goodwill.
She recalled an article called "The Foolish Old Man Who Removed Mountains." Many people knew that the Foolish Old Man's descendants kept digging and moving mountains, eventually moving the heavens and thus removing two mountains. People only admired the Foolish Old Man after seeing the result.
"But what if the Foolish Old Man died before the mountains were moved? Would his descendants continue digging?" Liu Sandao suddenly posed a question.
Xue Guilan paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "I don't know. If it were you, would you keep digging?"
"I can guarantee he wouldn't, absolutely not!" Bai Suxiang teased before Liu Sandao could answer.
"If the direction is wrong, no matter how much Foolish Old Man spirit you exert, it's still wrong!"
"Hehehe, yes, that's correct! But you're overlooking the most crucial point. The core of that story is the Foolish Old Man's spirit, not the outcome." Xue Guilan smiled, having been a teacher for so many years, she knew that grasping the central idea was paramount.
"We're here! No matter how far the road, we will conquer it with the Foolish Old Man's spirit!" Bai Suxiang shouted, pointing towards the entrance of a residential compound ahead. Liu Sandao followed her gaze and saw five large characters: "Hutongli Residential Compound." The characters were red, painted on sheet metal, and looked quite vibrant.
"Yes, we're here. Let's go into the compound and head to Liu Mazi's place first," Xue Guilan said, leading the way. Liu Mazi's house was about forty to fifty meters from the compound entrance. They rented a dilapidated single-story house, with scattered scraps of paper piled up in front of the door.
"Liu Mazi! Liu Mazi!" Xue Guilan called out before they even reached the door. Hearing the call, an old woman came out of the house.
"Teacher Xue, you're here. Good, good, you must stay and chat for a while this time! Don't rush off!" she said, grabbing Xue Guilan's hand as she emerged.
"Alright, alright, I'll chat with you for a bit longer this time!" Xue Guilan replied, patting her hand. Bai Suxiang thought, is this old woman named Liu Mazi? Usually, such nicknames were for men. She thought about it but didn't dare to ask. If it were an old man, she might have asked, but it would be rude to call a woman "Mazi."
"Where is Liu Mazi? He's not home, why are you alone?" Xue Guilan asked. So, Liu Mazi was the old woman's husband. Bai Suxiang breathed a sigh of relief.
"He went out early this morning! Said he'd calculated you'd be coming today and went out specifically to show off!"
"Oh! He's such a good calculator, and he calculated correctly today!" Xue Guilan exclaimed with feigned surprise, creating a warm atmosphere. The old woman was pleased to hear this but then said self-deprecatingly, "That's like a blind cat finding a dead mouse. You come on this day every month! Does he need to be a fortune teller?"
"Hahaha, hahaha!" Xue Guilan chuckled, not saying much, as if acknowledging and answering the old woman's words.
"Hey, hey, hey, who the hell put these scraps of paper here?" a gruff voice demanded. The speaker was a burly man, not tall, with a small braid in his hair. This single-story house was built behind an apartment building, and people exiting the building's entrance would often pass this way. When the man emerged, Liu Sandao didn't pay much attention. After all, it was a public path, with people coming and going, which was normal. He hadn't expected him to pick a fight over the pile of scraps by the road, which was about to be taken away.
"Hey, what are you talking about, kid? The road is wide enough, can't you walk on the side?" the old woman asked, her tone becoming stern.
"I don't want to walk on the side. Your cardboard is in my way, what are you going to do about it?" the man retorted rudely and unreasonably.
"You, are you Huang Chunfa?" Xue Guilan asked, looking up at the newcomer.
"Huang Chunfa? Which Huang Chunfa?" the old woman asked in alarm.
"Is there anyone else named Huang Chunfa around here? If you don't even recognize your elder uncle, you might as well die early!" Huang Chunfa said fiercely, as if everyone on earth should know him.
"You! How dare you speak like that?" Bai Suxiang said indignantly.
"Huang Chunfa, don't you recognize me?" Xue Guilan said, taking two steps forward. Huang Chunfa looked at her; she seemed familiar, but he couldn't recall.
"I don't remember. Are you trying to trick me? Do we know each other?" he said, deliberately raising his voice on the word "know."
"Four years ago, you were hiding under the Dongbianmen Bridge in Wu Kuai Park. When I passed by, I saw you lying by the roadside, starving, so I gave you two steamed buns! Do you remember?" Xue Guilan said confidently. Generally, people's memories are strongest during their most difficult times. He was so destitute then; he must have remembered the incident with the two buns.
"Did I? I think you might be mistaken. I've never fainted from hunger at any Dongbian Bridge. Why don't you ask around? With my reputation, Huang Chunfa, am I not well-known in this Wu Kuai City?" Looking at Huang Chunfa's arrogant expression, Bai Suxiang wished she could slap him twice.
Liu Sandao remained silent, uninterested in verbal arguments. Perhaps he hadn't remembered, or perhaps he didn't want people to bring up his past. After speaking, he deliberately kicked at the already scattered scraps of paper. With a "bang," the papers scattered all over the ground. What was originally occupying a third of the road was now completely blocked by his kick.
"What are you doing!" Bai Suxiang shouted angrily, taking a step forward. "I've never seen such an unreasonable person!"
"Oh? What am I doing? Can't you see?" Huang Chunfa said, and then kicked again. Su Dan Novel Network. Xue Guilan stopped Bai Suxiang, preventing her from going forward.