The quacking of the duck made Qiao Man giggle.
He let go of Qiao Le’s leg and reached out to hold the duck in his hands.
“Brother, let me help you hold it, let me help you!”
The little boy seemed to have gained a bit of weight during his two months in the countryside.
His face was chubby, and his eyes sparkled when he smiled.
Qiao Le could tell that his younger brother had been well taken care of by his aunt and uncle.
The duck was already tied up and couldn’t fly away, so Qiao Le placed it in his brother’s arms and patted his little head.
“Hold it steady.”
He wasn’t worried that his brother might drop it.
In the videos his aunt usually sent, the little guy often chased ducks around the yard to help her herd them.
“Okay!” Qiao Man tightly wrapped his small arms around the duck, making it quack loudly.
Chen Li, the aunt who was busy inside, heard the noise and came out.
She saw Qiao Man holding a duck that looked bigger than him, wobbling as he ran towards her.
“Auntie, brother bought a duck!”
“Oh, my little darling,” Chen Li quickly wiped her wet hands on her apron and took the duck from his arms.
“Be careful not to fall.”
She then looked at Qiao Le, her face full of joy.
“Lele, you’re back just in time for dinner—”
Before she could finish, she noticed the things Qiao Le was carrying, and her expression immediately darkened.
“Why did you buy so much stuff again? I told you we have everything at home. Don’t waste your money.”
Every time Qiao Le brought things over, Chen Li would go through a range of emotions.
He was used to it by now and replied smoothly, “It didn’t cost much. The fruits in our town are cheap, ten yuan for three pounds.”
The cost of living in the small town was low, so Qiao Le had bought two large bags without spending much.
“Even if it’s cheap, you can’t keep buying like this every day,” Chen Li scolded a bit before telling him to take Qiao Man inside while she went to put the duck in the cage in the yard.
Qiao Le and his brother went into the house.
He placed the fruits on the table, took off his backpack, and started unpacking the things he had brought.
Besides some nutritional supplements, he had also brought a waist support belt and a small cervical massager.
His uncle was a construction worker who took on jobs around the town, and his aunt was a primary school teacher.
These were things they could definitely use.
When Chen Li returned after putting the duck away and saw the items he had taken out, she couldn’t help but scold him again for spending money recklessly.
Qiao Le just smiled and helped her put the things away.
Being lectured by her didn’t upset him; instead, he felt happy that there was still someone who cared enough to nag at him.
Last year, his father had jumped to his death, and his mother had disappeared without a trace.
In an instant, his world had collapsed.
It was only then that he learned that his father had borrowed large sums of money from relatives and friends under various pretexts to invest in stocks, even mortgaging their family home.
When the incident happened, Qiao Le had just started university less than two months ago.
With only a few thousand yuan in his account, he was in no position to repay the debts.
Although “the son repaying the father’s debts” was not recognized by law, repaying debts was a matter of moral obligation, especially since some of these people had helped their family a lot.
Most of them were not wealthy, and some had worked hard for most of their lives to save the money they had lent out, including his uncle Gao Jiancheng and aunt Chen Li.
Whether out of conscience or a sense of duty, Qiao Le couldn’t just ignore the situation.
Moreover, after his father’s accident, his uncle and aunt had helped him handle his father’s funeral arrangements and took care of Qiao Man for him.
One must not forget their roots and should always be grateful.
Qiao Le helped his aunt bring out the dishes, while Qiao Man, being young and short, had to tiptoe to place the bowls and chopsticks.
He did it very meticulously, arranging the chopsticks neatly and even setting out spoons for everyone.
When he finished arranging the tableware, Chen Li praised him, “You did a great job, sweetie.”
Qiao Man’s eyes lit up as he looked at Qiao Le, who gently tapped his head and said, “Well done.”
Qiao Man beamed with satisfaction, “Mhm!”
When Uncle Gao Jiancheng returned from work, they all sat down to eat together.
After dinner, Qiao Le helped clear the table, had some tea with his uncle, bathed his younger brother, and then took him to bed.
The next morning, after breakfast, his uncle took him and Qiao Man to the town to catch a bus.
Before they left, his aunt packed him a lot of homemade goods-sausages, pickles, salted duck eggs, and more.
She repeatedly reminded him not to overwork himself and to eat on time.
Listening to her caring words, Qiao Le felt a lump in his throat.
He suppressed the bittersweet emotions and nodded, “I know. You and Uncle should take care of yourselves too. Thank you for looking after Xiao Man during this time.”
“Why talk like that? We’re family,” Chen Li said, her eyes also reddening.
She patted his shoulder, “Your cousin rarely comes home, so having Xiao Man around makes us happy.”
Chen Li’s two children-one had settled in the north after getting married, and the other was studying in another city.
It was just her and Gao Jiancheng at home.
Originally, she had wanted Qiao Man to stay in town for kindergarten, so she could take care of him and ease Qiao Le’s burden.
But the little boy, having just lost his parents, couldn’t bear to be separated from his brother, so they had to let it go.
It took over seven hours to travel from Liuhe Town back to Yunjing City.
Qiao Man, being a child with limited stamina, had fallen asleep on the bus.
When they arrived at the station, Qiao Le woke him up.
Qiao Man’s bangs were tousled from sleep, and he blinked a few times, still disoriented, “Brother?”
“We’ve arrived, Xiao Man. Time to get off,” Qiao Le said, patting him as he carried a bag in one hand and held Qiao Man’s hand with the other.
Fang Jiaxu knew Qiao Le was bringing his brother back today and had come to the station to pick them up.
Seeing them emerge, he honked the car horn and stepped out, “Over here!”
Qiao Man spotted him and waved excitedly, “Brother Jiaxu!”
“Hey!” Fang Jiaxu walked over, bent down, and picked him up, “Welcome back, little guy! Have you gained weight? You’re a bit heavier now.”
Qiao Man smiled shyly and held up three fingers, “Three pounds.”
Fang Jiaxu chuckled, “Wow, impressive.”
Children’s emotions are easily satisfied-even a small compliment can make them happy for a long time.
Qiao Man, feeling a bit bashful from the praise, rummaged through his little backpack and pulled out a box to hand to Fang Jiaxu, “Brother Jiaxu, this is for you.”
The box had a picture of Ultraman on it.
Qiao Le walked over, “The owner of the village store gave it to him. There were only two-one for me, and he said he wanted to bring the other back for you.”
The box was still in its original packaging, unopened.
The significance of Ultraman to a child is immeasurable.
Fang Jiaxu was deeply moved and kissed Qiao Man on the cheek twice, “I’m so touched.”
Qiao Man giggled and shrank his neck as he was tickled by the kiss.
Qiao Le placed the items in the trunk, and the three of them got into the car together.
After dinner, Fang Jiaxu drove Qiao Le and Qiao Man back home.
Qiao Le shared a good portion of the things he had brought back with Fang Jiaxu.
Once home, Qiao Le sorted the specialty goods his aunt had given him before preparing a bath for Qiao Man.
Before bedtime, he also got Qiao Man’s schoolbag and uniform ready for the next day.
The kindergarten Qiao Man attended was right at the entrance of their residential complex, making drop-offs and pickups very convenient.
Due to its remote location and small size, the tuition was relatively affordable, and it even offered after-school care until 8p.m.
Qiao Le dropped Qiao Man off at school, promising to pick him up in the afternoon, and then opened the “Delivered Yet” platform to start accepting orders.
The number of orders today was still high, especially since school had started, and there were many deliveries to schools.
From morning till afternoon, Qiao Le barely had any time to rest.
After finishing his current batch of deliveries, Qiao Le parked his bike under the shade of a roadside tree and took a sip of water.
He had only eaten a bowl of noodles in the morning, and with the excessive physical exertion, he was now genuinely hungry.
After finishing the water in the bottle, Qiao Le put it back and opened the “Delivered Yet” platform, planning to find a place to eat a bowl of beef noodles before continuing his deliveries and then heading back to pick up Qiao Man from school.
Just as he entered the platform, before he could switch to his rider account, a new delivery order popped up.
He initially wanted to decline the order, but he hesitated after seeing the tip from the customer.
The delivery address was Riverside Villa, which was a bit far, but he was very close to the restaurant where the order was placed less than a kilometer away.
Although the address was distant, the customer had left a tip 2?s!
He couldn’t let this money slip away-it would weigh on his conscience!
Besides, he had been hungry all day; a little more time wouldn’t hurt.
Qiao Le decisively accepted the order, turned around, and headed to the pizza shop listed on the platform.
As soon as he entered the shop, the aroma of food made his hunger even more intense.
He had initially thought of grabbing a quick snack, but the shop processed orders so quickly that he had the customer’s pizza in hand within five minutes.
If it weren’t for the shop’s bustling business, he might have suspected the pizza was pre-made.
Exiting the restaurant, Qiao Le immediately headed for Riverside Villa.
Riverside Villa was a well-known high-end residential complex in Liwan New District, featuring spacious apartments all over 300 square meters.
Qiao Le had delivered here once before.
Entering the complex required registration and verification, and the elevators needed a special QR code to operate.
The customer lived on the 28th floor.
As the elevator ascended, Qiao Le felt a bit dizzy and experienced some ringing in his ears.
Ah, he was really too hungry.
Coupled with the rapid ascent of the elevator, he felt nauseous and reached out to steady himself by holding onto the elevator handrail.
After finishing this delivery, he absolutely had to use the customer’s tip to get something to eat.
Next time, he should also carry some chocolate with him.
Finally, the elevator stopped on the 28th floor.
He marked the order as delivered on the platform and stepped out of the elevator with the pizza in hand.
Luxury homes were indeed different even the hallway outside the elevator was larger than the apartment he rented.
The polished floor tiles were so reflective they almost mirrored his image.
Qiao Le walked up to the customer’s door and rang the doorbell.
The customer didn’t answer immediately, so he leaned against the wall nearby to ease his discomfort.
After a while, the door finally opened from the inside.
He quickly straightened up and handed over the pizza, saying, “Hello, here’s your order “
He stopped mid-sentence, his eyes widening in surprise as he blurted out two words without thinking: “Husband?”
Shen Hechuan had one hand on the door handle and the other holding his phone.
When he heard those two words, his eyelid twitched involuntarily.
Before he could even process the situation, he heard his mother’s voice coming through the phone:
“…Who’s calling you ‘husband’?”
Shen Hechuan: “…”
Who’s calling me ‘husband’?
That beautiful young man who dropped out of school for me and was even kicked out of his parents’ home.
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Mc…u did it again ðŸ¤