Chapter 90: Compensation and Consequences

The eldest uncle kept a stern face as he returned to his seat. Watching Zhai Baowa sobbing so hard he could hardly catch his breath, the rebuke on his lips would not come out.

Truly, if a child is not taught, the fault lies with the mother.

The third aunt lowered her voice and spoke privately with the eldest uncle and the second aunt for a while.

Then she turned to everyone in the courtyard and said, "At this point, the matter is basically clear, so I'll state the final decision.

"First, anyone in the courtyard who lost something should come to us and tell us exactly what was lost. Then the Xu family must apologize to each of them and compensate them accordingly.

"Second, the Xu family will be responsible for cleaning the courtyard for one month as punishment.

"Lastly, ask Baowa which courtyard he took the eggs from outside, remember it clearly, and return them one by one later.

"Lanmei, do you have any objections?"

Xu Lanmei kept her head down and said quietly, "No."

The eldest uncle then said, "From now on, you must educate your child properly and be a good mother. Look at the mess you've made. If it weren't a child stealing, sending this straight to the police station would not be too much."

A middle-aged man who had lost some garlic immediately said, "Ah, forget it, forget it. There's no need to make me pay for my garlic."

The old woman who had lost a brick said nothing at all and simply turned and went back home.

Xiao Weiguo suddenly felt as though he were the villain in the story. And yet, after this incident, if he could turn one child's misguided upbringing back onto the right path, then being the villain was a price he was willing to pay.

At that moment, the eldest uncle also told everyone, "Meeting adjourned!"

The residents of the whole courtyard drifted back to their rooms in twos and threes.

The back courtyard at once fell quiet.

Xu Lanmei also pulled Zhai Baowa back into the room.

Then Xiao Weiguo suddenly felt two malicious gazes shooting straight at him from Xu Lanmei's house.

He turned and looked, only to see two elderly people staring at him. They must have been Xu Lanmei's parents-in-law, and they clearly had a very poor opinion of him.

Why did they not show up just now, letting a woman stand in front of it all?

Ignoring them, Xiao Weiguo said goodbye to the eldest uncle and Liu Erli, then returned to his own room.

He soaked his feet in hot water, washed up, and lay down on the bed, falling into a deep sleep.

Come to think of it, this was his first night sleeping in this room. Before this, for one reason or another, he had never spent a complete night here.

He slept for a while, then woke in the middle of the night. The sky was still pitch-black, and he could not fall back asleep. So he went into the inner world to play with little dog Wangcai for a while.

As soon as he came in, Wangcai barked nonstop at him. As usual, Xiao Weiguo gave the puppy some milk, adding a little well water to it.

While adding the well water, Xiao Weiguo noticed that the water level had dropped somewhat since the last time he checked; there was less of it than before.

He frowned in confusion. What was going on? Could the well water actually decrease on its own?

He would need to keep watch. Starting now, he would temporarily stop using the well water, and from then on he would check the water level every day to see whether it was falling on its own.

Later, when it came time to produce more well water, Xiao Weiguo guessed that jade would probably need to be fed into the well again before new water appeared.

That could be settled later.

He kept playing with Wangcai for a while longer. Perhaps because it lived in that space, the puppy now looked as if it were three or four months old, and it also liked to eat the black soil. Of course, what it loved most was still the well water.

He would have to move it out of the inner world eventually, or it would grow too quickly in there. At that rate, the little dog's lifespan would not be able to keep up.

Xiao Weiguo left the inner world, lay back on the bed, and fell asleep once more.

When he opened his eyes again, the sky was just beginning to lighten. Remembering today's appointment, Xiao Weiguo hurried up, washed his face and brushed his teeth, then headed out.

He really needed to buy a watch as soon as possible. Going day after day without knowing the exact time was troublesome and often wasted time.

At a nearby breakfast stall, he bought two fried dough sticks and a bowl of tofu pudding.

After asking the breakfast vendor what time it was, he learned that it was not yet seven. So Xiao Weiguo ate at a leisurely pace.

When he finished and felt the time should be about right, he headed straight for the home of Quan Linglan.

When he arrived, he saw that Quan Linglan was already neatly dressed and waiting by her own front door.

Today she wore a sporty outfit, blue and white in color, strangely reminiscent of a Shenzhen school uniform. Her hair was tied into a high ponytail behind her head, and her face was bare of makeup, making her look especially fresh and youthful.

Xiao Weiguo hurried forward and said, "Sorry, I'm late."

Quan Linglan looked rather shy today and did not dare lift her head to look at him.

Hearing his apology, she no longer had time to be shy and quickly replied, "You're not late. It's not even eight yet. I came out early."

"In that case, let's go. If we leave earlier, there should be fewer people there," Xiao Weiguo said with a smile, thinking that he had not actually been late.

"Are we just going like this with empty hands? My classmates said we need to bring food and drinks, and that we'll have to eat our own lunch inside," Quan Linglan said.

"Really?" Xiao Weiguo had not even considered that. In his mind, every scenic spot should have restaurants, at worst just more expensive ones.

"Then let's stop by the supply and marketing cooperative and buy some food and drinks first, and then go to the zoo," he said.

Just then, they happened to pass a trust shop that specialized in used goods. Xiao Weiguo realized he did not even have a watch now, and besides, he still had quite a bit of cash on him.

So he said to Quan Linglan, "Linglan, wait outside for me a moment. I'll go in and buy something, then we'll head to the supply cooperative."

Quan Linglan nodded. "All right."

But curiosity got the better of her, and she followed Xiao Weiguo into the trust shop.

She saw him go straight to the watch counter as soon as he entered. From a distance, she watched him for a short while, and before long he came out with a watch after paying for it.

So he was buying a watch. He had not even told her. Her family had plenty of watches anyway—brands like International, Cartier, Longines, Vacheron Constantin, and the like. Her father had bought them on a whim for fun and had not taken them away when he went to Hong Kong.

Still, seeing how much Xiao Weiguo liked watches, she thought that if she ever gave him a present in the future, a watch would be a good choice.

Xiao Weiguo met Quan Linglan at the entrance of the trust shop and wondered why this girl had followed him in.

After taking a quick look around, he had bought an eighty-percent-new Shanghai steel watch with no obvious scratches, for sixty-eight yuan. A new one would cost over a hundred and would also require a watch coupon, so this was still quite a bargain.

It was only for everyday use, just to check the time. He would certainly buy a better watch later.

Once outside, seeing that Quan Linglan did not ask anything, Xiao Weiguo could only explain on his own, "I went in to buy a watch. Lately I've been terrible at judging the time, and I was going to buy one sooner or later, so I might as well get one first and wear it."

Quan Linglan glanced at it. It was a Shanghai brand. If she were to give him a watch later, then she would not choose this brand, but another one.

She said, "It's true that one should have a watch. You need to look at the time every day."

Then they went to the supply and marketing cooperative nearby. Xiao Weiguo paid for everything himself and bought some food and drinks.

After that, the two of them chatted as they walked.

Before long, they arrived at the Beijing Zoo.