Chapter 11: Unexpected Work
"I'm not really a Raggedy Ann doll, do you have to do this?" Luo Qianqian muttered at a volume just low enough for He Wenyu to hear her in front of her.
"Hurry up, if you change now I'll let you have more pig's trotters later, my mom's pig's trotters are top-notch, way better than any you can buy outside, it's just that she takes a while to make them. If you don't change, I won't play with you anymore, and I'll lock you in this room to live with these piles of clothes, then we'll see if you change or not." He Wenyu sniffed her nose but there still wasn't any smell of pig's trotters yet.
Luo Qianqian's mouth twitched as she silently took the clothes from He Wenyu's hands and turned around to change. He Wenyu, with her fair skin, looked good in blue and white clothes, but on her, it was like a century egg, with nice looking skin but black on the inside.
"Doesn't it look good? You look like a princess," He Wenyu said, nodding satisfactorily at Luo Qianqian who obediently changed her clothes. Finally, she could give these damn dresses away.
So a poofy skirt makes me a princess, huh? Then if I find a crown, does that make me a queen, ruling over the whole country?
"Pfft~ Qianqian, now you look like a lump of coal wrapped up in candy paper." The door to the room opened inadvertently, and Luo's Mom and Luo Shufan stood at the doorway.
Listening to her son's comment about her daughter, Luo's Mom also pursed her lips, trying to suppress a laugh: "Cough... Qianqian might not be as white as Xiao Yu, but add a red belt or a headband and it will look better. Qianqian has been very careful and is slowly getting whiter. As her brother, you can't call your sister a lump of coal every day, you're hurting her feelings, look, Qianqian is not happy."
"Red... Yeah, that's a good point, Xiao Yu, get the red ribbon from the drawer for me," Mother He, having made the preparations to put the pig's trotters and spareribs into the pressure cooker, also quietly gathered at the door and started to join the conversation.
Luo Qianqian displayed a look as if she was about to cry, obediently letting Mother He fuss over her, just like a docile doll, Mother He was very satisfied.
"Big sister, why don't you send Qianqian to my place to be a girl, she's so well-behaved and friendly, much better than my little monkey," Mother He turned to Luo's Mom and joked, "I made these clothes, but my little monkey didn't like them, never wore them."
"Sure, sure, then I'll have a little sister!" He Wenyu cheered, holding a roll of ribbon above his head.
"Mom! Qianqian is my sister, no one can have her! I don't want to give up Qianqian, I do! Come on, Qianqian, let's go home with brother!" Before He Wenyu could finish speaking, Luo Shufan, eyes reddened, roared and yanked a bemused Luo Qianqian toward the exit, giving He Wenyu a fierce glare, scaring the tears out of him.
"Hey! Auntie was just kidding! Xiao Yu, don't cry, your brother yelled at you to protect his sister, and he will protect you too, you know." Mother He, seeing the three kids with changed expressions, was at first stunned, then quickly spoke up. There was angry Luo Shufan, frightened He Wenyu, and Luo Qianqian, with a face of helplessness and touch.
"Luo Shufan, what are you thinking? Auntie just likes Qianqian, it was just a joke. How could Mom ever send you guys away? Quickly apologize to auntie and your little sister, Xiao Yu." Luo's Mom, moved by her son's protective instincts towards his sister, knew the importance of proper upbringing, as her daughter said, without a father, they were no less than other children.
"Really not going to sell Qianqian?" The redness around Luo Shufan's eyes and the tear streaks on his face signaled that he had truly been scared earlier.
"Bro, your black lump of coal is worthless, see, Xiao Yu is so white, she's the one worth something." Luo Qianqian hugged Luo Shufan's waist from behind, her soft cheeks rubbing against his back, wiping away the few drops of tears that fell because of the emotion: "A kid who is only good at making others angry, nobody would buy that, just to take home and beat for fun, and besides, I'm so smart Qianqian, who could sell me, huh?"
"Exactly, she doesn't know anything and gets on people's nerves. Would you want it if it was sold to you?" Luo's Mom said with a laugh upon hearing her daughter's words.
"Hmph, I do want it, to bring home to do homework." Luo Shufan murmured softly, then pulled Luo Qianqian over and bowed his head in apology, "Auntie, Xiao Yu, I apologize for getting agitated just now. But no one is allowed to joke about selling or giving my sister away, using her to poke fun at me." His tone left no room for doubt. Luo's Mom was taken aback, but a look of relief soon spread across her face as the corners of her eyes moistened.
"It's alright, it's alright. I was the one who was abrupt. I should be the one apologizing. I will make something delicious to make amends later," Mother He said, feeling somewhat embarrassed. A mere joke had brought tears to three children's eyes; it really was true that one shouldn't joke in front of them.
"Mom, I want a brother too, one who will stand up and protect me when you want to sell me." He Wenyu watched the Luo siblings holding hands and felt a bit envious for a moment.
"Shufan is Qianqian's brother, and he's your brother too," Luo's Mom said, comforting He Wenyu with a proud smile as she looked at her two children.
"I only have one sister, Qianqian!... Ouch," Luo Shufan's sentence was cut short when the only sister he spoke of fiercely stepped on his foot. He looked at his sister, puzzled: I was defending you, so why are you stepping on me?
"Brother, it's true that I'm your sister, and it's true that Xiao Yu is my good friend, right?" Luo Qianqian continued after seeing Luo Shufan nod. "So, if my friend gets bullied, shouldn't you, as her good friend's brother, protect her too? If a friend gets bullied, I definitely won't ignore it. If you don't step in, that means you wouldn't care if I got bullied either. In other words, you're also bullying me. So, shouldn't you protect Xiao Yu too? Aren't you older than Xiao Yu? Doesn't that make you her brother as well?"
"My dear, your kid is quite impressive," Mother He said, taken aback, as she watched Luo's Mom with He Wenyu.
"She's quite something..." Mrs. Luo was also a bit stunned.
"And you say you don't cause trouble at home. Look at you..." Luo Shufan saw the obstinate expression on his sister's face and felt helpless, but the sight of her reddened eyes made him relent. "Yes, yes, you're right. I should protect your friend, as I am older than you, and that's my responsibility as your brother. But as for sisters, one headache like you is enough for me."
"Big sister, I really admire the way you've raised your kids. Such a young child speaks so clearly, thinks so logically, expresses so eloquently, and remains calm in the face of trouble. No wonder your son can rank first in his class," Mr. He said, having just changed and washed up, only to overhear Luo Qianqian's remarks, and he was quite pleased with the siblings.
"When do I have time to teach them? I head out before dawn and don't get home until seven or eight at night. Shufan goes to school while Qianqian is alone at home all day, nibbling on some bread and refusing to go to kindergarten. Most of what she knows, she learns from Shufan, and maybe the rest is just something she picked up by herself," Luo's Mom said with a pained expression, looking at Luo Qianqian who had become sensible far too early, a child who should be happily playing, but already understood life's complexities.
"What kind of job do you do? I heard from the HR department that our factory is also hiring. The salary and benefits are quite good; it's just that there may sometimes be overtime. When it's not busy, the hours are from eight to five, and they provide insurance," Mother He said, truly fond of her daughter's little friend and thus offering her advice. "How about, Old He, you go inquire about it tomorrow?"
"Would I be suitable? I only finished high school, I didn't go to college. I've heard that getting a factory job nowadays requires both money and gifts," Mrs. Luo said, her interest piqued. Having a job that was less strenuous and paid well would allow her to spend more time with her children. She hadn't noticed how extraordinary her children had become in just a few days.
"You finished high school, did you? Hey, after we eat, Old He, take me with you to see big sister. With such qualifications, how can she keep working from dawn till dusk? Finding an easier job shouldn't be that hard, should it?"