Shen Qingzhou's expression became serious, and he asked him, "Are you sure you didn't see it wrong?"
"There's no mistake! The colors are exactly the same!"
Meng Xiaoxi recalled carefully, "I have ten glass beads, two large glass balls, and one of the beads, a green one, got slightly chipped by me. Just now, I placed four of them in the pit, and one of them is that green one!"
Shen Qingzhou tapped his fingers and analyzed, "If that person with the surname Zhao really stole it and now it's in Meng Xiaobao's hands, it means he still has contact with your cousin, and their relationship is quite close."
"But would he be that stupid? When he was stealing, he went to great lengths to hide it, but now he lets this kid play with it, and he's not afraid of being caught? Or is it that he got rid of everything else and only these few beads are left, and even if they are recognized, he would stubbornly refuse to admit it, like a dead pig not afraid of boiling water?”
"I don't know! I'm a bit confused right now.”
Meng Xiaoxi's mind was in a tangle, and he couldn't calm down for a while.
Although a long time has passed, deep down he still very much wants to get those things back, not just the pile of toys his father collected for him, but also the jewelry his mother brought as her dowry.
When his mother was young, her family was quite well-off, and she brought a lot of dowry and silver with her. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to become prosperous so easily back then and acquire so much land. Now, all that is left is the land.
Shen Qingzhou stepped forward and gently embraced him, softly comforting, "Stay at home and don't go out. I'll go check it out."
"Testing?" Meng Xiaoxi looked up.
"Mm! Don't worry! It's okay if I fail; I can stay with them for a while. Also, I'm going to cut the watermelon now, so you can go eat a couple of pieces in the yard first.”
Meng Xiaoxi was completely baffled.
Shen Qingzhou washed his hands and cut the melon. The melon had red inside and black seeds, a sandy-sweet texture, and was perfectly ripe.
He grabbed a piece with one hand and walked out the door, then sat on the big rock by the pond and started munching on it.
A group of half-grown ducklings and two goslings swam over here, quacking and honking, asking for food.
Shen Qingzhou finished gnawing a piece, threw the skin on the ground, and the ducks and geese climbed ashore with their claws to start pecking and fighting over it.
After showing off his new toy to the other kids for a long time, Meng Xiaobao was just about to head home when he heard some noise and turned to look. Seeing that it was the big guy from his cousin's house, he quietly rolled her eyes, didn't dare to spit at him, and just cursed him a couple of times in his heart.
Shen Qingzhou ignored him and continued to gnaw on the watermelon, but the sound of slurping the juice became even louder. He found the sound disgusting even to himself, but the taste was really good.
Meng Xiaobao licked his lips, and his steps, which were about to leave, came to a halt.
He bragged with his buddies for the whole afternoon, and his mouth was already parched. After the last trouble he caused, his parents gave him a severe scolding. Now they were only focused on the work in the fields and hadn't bought him any fruits or snacks for a long time. They would only call out to him when it was time to eat.
Shen Qingzhou noticed his hesitation and took the initiative, saying, "Hey! Kid! Do you want to eat watermelon?”
Meng Xiaobao didn't say a word. In his heart, this big guy was really bad. Last time, he beat up his whole family one by one. How could he be so kind as to give him something to eat?
Shen Qingzhou asked again, "I saw that your bead looks really nice. Can you tell me where I can buy one? I also want to buy two to play with.”
Meng Xiaobao glanced at him warily, gathered the beads with a clatter, and stuffed them into his pocket, as if afraid he would come over and snatch them.
Shen Qingzhou smiled, tossing the melon rind to the little duck "It's fine if you don't tell me, I can always find out, but if you kindly tell me, I'll give you one, two, three—"
He held up three fingers, "I’ll give you three pieces of watermelon! More than what I just ate, this melon is perfectly ripe, especially, especially sweet!”
Saying this, he smacked his lips, still savoring the taste, stood up, and said, "What a pity!" "There's only a few pieces left, let's finish them all in one go, it'll be satisfying!"
"Hey!" Meng Xiaobao called out to him, his face full of suspicion, "Are you serious?"
"Of course!" Shen Qingzhou said with a serious face, "I am a gentleman! Once a word is spoken, it's as hard to retract as a galloping horse.”
A gentleman who kicks someone several steps away? Meng Xiaobao snorted twice in his heart and ignored his bragging. Whether he was a donkey or a horse, it was fine as long as he was given something to eat.
Shen Qingzhou went back to the courtyard, winked at them, then cut out three more juicy slices of watermelon, which were indeed bigger than the two he had just eaten, and placed them on the big rock.
Meng Xiaobao's eyes lit up, and he immediately wanted to pounce.
"Wait a minute!" Shen Qingzhou blocked him for a moment, "You have to keep your word. You can't just eat and run. Otherwise, you know how fast I can run!"
"Got it!" Meng Xiaobao impatiently said, his eyes only on those few enticingly red and juicy watermelons.
He grabbed a piece and started gnawing on it. Just as he imagined, it was juicy and sweet, really delicious.
"Slow down, don't get it on your clothes, or your family will ask about it when you get back."
This reminded him that if his parents found out he had eaten the enemy's food, they would scold him again. Meng Xiaobao slowed down and carefully avoided the clothes.
After finishing the three pieces, he smacked his lips, still wanting more.
Shen Qingzhou saw through his intentions, smiled, and said, "Go ahead! As long as you tell the truth, I'll give you another piece later, even if I can't afford it.”
"Then you might really not be able to buy it!" Meng Xiaobao bragged, "This is something from my relative's house, you can't find it anywhere else in the whole town!"
He glanced sideways at the person, seemingly smug for having played a trick on him.
"Really?" Shen Qingzhou looked skeptical, "I don't think it's that unusual. Your relative might be just trying to fool you. Is he from our village?"
"Why would I lie to you?" Meng Xiaobao was not very happy, "They don't live in the village, they live at the end of West Street in the town, and they even said they plan to buy a big house soon—"
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