CHAPTER 19: CHAPTER 19 FOLLOWING BROTHER YANGYANG FOR BENEFITS (PART 2)

Zhao Meimei had filled her stomach with roast lamb at her Brother Yangyang’s house, and when she returned home, she was still carrying half a lamb leg that Shi Yang’s mother had packed for her.

Liu Xiue saw Zhao Meimei eating and taking things, and she scolded her with a stern face, "How many times have I told you not to take things from others?"

Zhao Meimei retorted, "Brother Yangyang is not just anybody."

Liu Xiue glared at Zhao Meimei, "You’re always so talkative every day."

Zhao Meimei shifted her gaze, bit her lip, and looked at the sunlight partly covered by the tin shed on the ground.

She had a clear line in her heart; those who treated her well and were close to her were her own people, and those who didn’t were outsiders. She sorted everyone she knew into two categories, one left and one right, with clear calculations in her mind.

Brother Yangyang was so good to her; how could he be an outsider?

He must be considered her own.

Zhao Meimei officially entered a homework-free summer vacation. She was practically wild with play; as soon as she opened her eyes in the morning, she changed into the clean clothes her mother had prepared, finished breakfast, and followed her mother to open the shop.

Just as Zhao Meimei was helping her mother restock the shelves, Da Bao and others were already at the grocery store window, shouting for her, "Zhao Meimei! Come out and play!"

Zhao Meimei immediately threw down what she was doing, grinned at her mother, showing her white teeth, and dashed outside.

Zhao Meimei led everyone to a spacious little square next to the greenbelt of the community to play war games.

Zhao Meimei pointed at Da Bao, "There are ten of us; you take five people, and I’ll take five. We’ll split into two teams and fight!"

Da Bao wasn’t happy, his little face fell, "I don’t want to, I want to be on your team!"

The others immediately chimed in, "I want to be on your team too!"

Zhao Meimei frowned, "How’s that going to work? If you’re all on my team, who are we going to fight?"

Da Bao stiffened his little neck, "Doesn’t matter, I want to be on your team no matter what! I won’t betray!"

Zhao Meimei reluctantly accepted him, "Alright then, we won’t play war games anymore."

Zhao Meimei’s black eyes darted around in their sockets, brightening up, "How about I take you to dig for snails?"

Next to Zhao Dazhuang’s factory was a power plant, and there was a small path in the plant’s yard that led straight to the Songhua River.

Zhao Meimei went there several times last year with her dad. They strolled to the river, carrying two plastic buckets, one large and one small. Once there, they entered the water in sandals to dig for snails along the muddy shore.

The thought of finding snails made Da Bao and the others’ eyes light up, and they were especially supportive of Zhao Meimei.

Zhao Meimei assigned a few people, "Can any of you bring some strong plastic bags from home? If I go home to get them, my mom will ask what I’m doing with them. If she finds out I’m leading you to dig for snails, she probably won’t let us go."

Immediately, some kids responded and raised their hands to volunteer.

"Me!"

"I can!!"

"I have them at my house!!"

Once everything was prepared, Zhao Meimei raised her little arm and waved, "Let’s go! Set off!"

Even though Zhao Meimei wasn’t very old, she had a remarkable memory. She had walked the path twice last year with her dad, and she still remembered it clearly, leading her group for quite a long way until she did find the place.

The group joyfully followed Zhao Meimei into the water.

Zhao Meimei was still teaching them, "You need to stay close to the water’s edge, dig into the mud, and when you find something round and hard, that’s it!"

The kids weren’t good at much, but when it came to playing, they were quite capable. After finding the first one, they quickly found the second.

Getting more and more excited, they didn’t notice the sun moving gradually from overhead to behind them. With laughter and chatter, they forgot about hunger and tiredness.

While Zhao Meimei was having a great time, Liu Xiue and the parents of the other kids were getting increasingly worried at home.

The kids from several families had gone out to play since the morning, and now it was past three in the afternoon and not a shadow of them could be seen. They hadn’t even shown up for lunch, not even once.

Liu Xiue was extremely anxious. Zhao Meimei usually lost track of time while playing, but when she got tired or hungry, she would run back home, never later than one in the afternoon.

The parents searched all the possible spots around the residential building, even making two trips to the dam.

Everyone gathered in front of Liu Xiue’s grocery store to discuss solutions, all sweating from worry.

Shi Yang didn’t have much to do today, so he visited Qu Chaozong’s house. They chatted for a while, had lunch at his place, and then went to a nearby arcade in the afternoon to play some games.

Shi Yang had his fill of fun and was leaving with Qu Chaozong, their arms around each other’s shoulders, heading back to Qu Chaozong’s house to get his bike.

Riding his bike not far away, Qu Chaozong shouted from behind, "Hey! Don’t forget to take the shortcut by the river! Or you’ll have to go the longer way!"

Shi Yang, balancing his bike with one hand, waved the other in the air, "Got it!"

Riding leisurely along the riverbank path, Shi Yang was almost past the power plant when he noticed some people playing in the water in the distance. He craned his neck for a look, but it was too far to see clearly.

He pedaled a couple of times faster, planning to turn onto the path leading into the power plant yard.

Just as he was about to turn the handlebars, he suddenly heard a loud shout, "Zhao Meimei! Look how big this one is!"

Shi Yang suddenly squeezed the brake, turned his head incredulously toward the riverbank where the figures were, and he immediately recognized Zhao Meimei’s bent-over silhouette among the kids.

Shi Yang planted his foot on the ground to stop the bike and shouted at the top of his voice, "Zhao Meimei!"

Zhao Meimei, happily busy picking snails, suddenly heard a familiar voice calling her name.

She quickly straightened up and looked toward the bank, seeing her Brother Yangyang standing there with his bike.

Zhao Meimei beamed, waved, and shouted, "Brother Yangyang!"

Shi Yang parked his bike directly at the roadside and quickly ran down to the riverbank.

Jogging her way over from the water, Zhao Meimei bounded towards her Brother Yangyang, not realizing her mistake and still basking in happiness.

"Brother Yangyang!" Zhao Meimei held up her bag of snails to show Shi Yang, "Look, I’ve collected so many snails!"

Wearing a light yellow short-sleeve top and a pair of white dungaree shorts, Zhao Meimei was soaked through, with mud stains all over her clothes.

Beaming, Zhao Meimei proudly showed her haul to Brother Yangyang, "What do you think? There’s a lot, right?"

Among them, Zhao Meimei had collected the most and largest ones. She squinted her eyes, a little rascal’s smile on her face, expectantly waiting for praise.

Shi Yang frowned at Zhao Meimei’s dirty appearance, "Who came here with you?"

"With them!" Zhao Meimei pointed at Da Bao and the others.

Shi Yang’s face gradually darkened, "Does your mom know you’re here playing?"

Zhao Meimei: "......"

Shi Yang: "What time did you come here to play?"

Zhao Meimei: "In the morning."

Shi Yang: "Do you know what time it is now? It’s almost four in the afternoon!"

"Huh?" Zhao Meimei was dumbfounded; she hadn’t realized time had flown by so quickly, "What, what should we do now?"

Seeing her crumpled little face and eyes filled with fear, Shi Yang knew Liu Xiue must be frantic with worry. He quickly called the other kids over, "Come on, stop playing now; I’ll take you all home!"