Siheyuan: Starting from Building a Village

Sanmao and Xiu never thought that they could earn fifty cents just by hanging out in front of the office, which was enough to buy a few candies.

"Sanmao, where can we get water?"

"Let's go home, find a bowl and bring back a bowl of water."

"Then let's go now."

After the two children had discussed it, they turned around and were about to leave, but were stopped by Cui Dake.

"Kids, you two can't leave. If you leave and can't come back, wouldn't I have wasted my five cents?"

"If we don't leave, where can we get you water?"

"That's your problem. Anyway, you two can't leave my sight, or you return the money to me."

Sanmao was stunned and looked at the five cents in his hand. He really couldn't bear to part with it.

The little girl named Xiu said angrily: "Sanmao, we don't want this money, give it to him."

"Xiu, your birthday is coming up in a few days. Didn't you say you wanted to have four dishes? With this five cents and some scraps, we can have enough for one dish."

“But, but…”

"Don't say but, wait, I'm going to the office to ask for saliva."

"Sanmao, we don't know them, can they give us water?"

"It should be possible. Before we moved here, we had no problem going to our neighbors' houses to drink water."

"Sanmao, you also said that it's a neighbor's house and we are all familiar with it, but we just moved here not long ago, is it okay?"

"Just give it a try."

"I don't dare. Then you go."

"Xiu, stay here and watch me."

Although Sanmao was young, he was very brave. He walked to the gate and knocked on it. After teaching Yan Jiecheng and Cui Dake a lesson for the second time, Jiang Ping went back to the gatehouse.

"Kid, do you want to buy something?"

Liu Guozheng, Li Dabao and Xu Damao were drinking in the backyard. Lou Xiao'e wanted to go out for some fresh air as she couldn't stand the smell of white wine. As soon as she arrived at the outer yard, she heard a knock on the door.

"Auntie, I want to use the excuse of drinking water."

Sanmao was not shy and directly stated her purpose.

"Whose child is this? How interesting! He even uses the excuse of drinking water as an excuse."

As she spoke, Lou Xiao'e looked outside. In addition to the two people kneeling, there was also a pretty young girl standing outside.

"Kid, where are your parents?"

"Auntie, my mom is at work. My sister and I are playing here. The person kneeling down said he was thirsty and wanted to spend money to buy some water. So, I was thinking, I was wondering if I could ask you for some water."

"You are such a smart kid. Come in, little girl. Are you thirsty? Come and have a drink of water."

Adults like smart children, and Lou Xiao'e is no exception. Especially these two children, they are dressed so neatly and look very pleasing.

"Thank you auntie."

"Xiu, do you want some water?"

Sanmao first thanked Lou Xiaoe, then turned around and asked the little girl.

"Drink, I'm a little thirsty too."

Seeing that Lou Xiao'e was beautiful and easy to talk to, Xiu felt relieved. She was indeed a little thirsty.

"Auntie, is that soda?"

When she entered the outer courtyard, Xiu saw the cardboard boxes piled up in the corridor with the word "soda" written on them.

"Yes, you see, the yellow bottle on the box is orange-flavored soda, and the green bottle is apple-flavored."

"Auntie, I've eaten apples before. Aren't they red?"

“This is a green apple.”

"Auntie, is this delicious?"

Xiu looked at the boxes with longing eyes. Sanmao next to her even ran over and wanted to open the cartons to see what the soda looked like and whether it was the same as what others drank.

"Well, if you like it, it tastes good, and if you don't like it, it doesn't taste good."

"Auntie, you're lying. Everyone says soda tastes good."

"That means that person likes to drink."

"Oh, I understand."

"Girl, wait for me. I'll go get you some water."

"Auntie, wait a minute, I have something to discuss with Sanmao."

Hearing this, Lou Xiao'e stopped walking. She also wanted to hear what the two little kids had to discuss.

"Sanmao, shall we buy some soda?"

Lou Xiao'e smiled and understood that this girl wanted to drink soda.

"Xiu, we don't have any money."

What child doesn’t like to drink soda? Sanmao naturally wanted to, but he knew that he couldn’t drink soda without money.

"Sanmao, I remember you had five cents on you. Add the five cents you just gave me, that should be enough, right?"

"Xiu, shouldn't we save this money so that we can give you a dish on your birthday?"

"Well, why don't we just not order more food and just have a bottle of soda."

"If we want to drink soda, we have to wait for Da Mao and Er Mao. We can't eat alone."

"But I want to drink it now."

"This is not good."

"Yeah, what's wrong with that? Next time we make some money, we can buy a bottle just for Da Mao and Er Mao."

"Let's first ask how much a bottle of soda costs."

Sanmao held the two coins tightly in his hand, reluctant to part with them. However, he also really wanted to try the soda to see if it tasted good. When he returned home in the future, he would have something to brag about.

"Auntie, how much is a bottle of your soda?"

Xiu tilted her head, her big eyes blinking, and stared at Lou Xiao'e and asked.

"this..."

Lou Xiao'e felt reluctant to hit them. The soda in the office was 20 cents a bottle. From the conversation between the two children, Lou Xiao'e could clearly hear that the money was not enough.

But they couldn't just drink for free. Lou Xiao'e knew that this was not the right thing to do. If she let them drink a bottle of soda for free today, the place might be surrounded by children tomorrow.

Looking at the little girl's expectant eyes, Lou Xiao'e couldn't bear to refuse.

"Xiao'e, take a look at how the stall is cleaned."

When Lou Xiao'e was in a dilemma, Liu Guozheng's voice came, and Lou Xiao'e immediately understood what Liu Guozheng meant.

"Come on, both of you follow me."

Lou Xiao'e took the two children out of the outer courtyard.

"Brother Zheng, my sister-in-law is really kind-hearted."

Since the restaurant was close to the outer courtyard, people inside the house could hear what Lou Xiao'e and the others were saying outside, which is why Li Dabao said this.

"Yes, Brother Zheng, you are so lucky."

Xu Damao naturally also offered flattery.

"What a blessing? It is indeed a blessing. Do you know that I have set up a Hope Fund for your sister-in-law's kindness? Do you know how much money I will invest in it?"

It is good to be kind, but Lou Xiaoe is different. When she sees others in trouble, she subconsciously wants to help them. But now it is much better. Liu Guozheng will advise her from time to time not to be kind, especially when the situation is unclear. Even if she wants to help others, she must investigate and find out whether this person or this family member is motivated and worth helping. If she can, she can still help.

However, we should try to let those who are helped get help through their own labor and efforts. It is not advisable to get help without working for it or just talk about your suffering.