Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Those who were interested in gossip also started talking about it.

A trace of regret flashed through Shen Yu's heart, but when he turned around and saw the mother and son who were crying in a ball with their heads in their arms, he felt relieved. What was there to be afraid of? He had not done anything wrong. He had saved a life. Why did he care what these people said?

Thinking of this, he looked for Li and the others in the distance. Suddenly, Li jumped over with a fierce face, pulled Shen Yu away. Seeing that Li was angry, Yutao and Yucheng were too scared to say anything and followed silently.

Li walked fast and hurriedly. Shen Yu was probably too nervous to save people just now and exerted too much effort. However, after walking a short distance, he couldn't keep up with her and had to shout, "Mom, mom, slow down, I can't keep up."

Li stopped walking angrily, looked around, and saw that they were far away from the embankment. Then she stopped walking and looked at Shen Yu hatefully. She opened her mouth, sighed deeply, poked Shen Yu's forehead with a finger, and said, "You."

Shen Yu felt pain in the forehead from being poked, knowing that Li was angry, so he touched his forehead with one hand and pulled Li's sleeve with the other, smiling and saying playfully, "Mom, don't be angry, I won't dare to do it again next time."

Li ignored her, flicked her sleeves, and continued walking forward angrily, but her pace was much slower, as if she was intentionally waiting for Shen Yu to catch up.

Shen Yu hurriedly waved to Yutao and Yucheng. The three siblings looked at each other and followed Li home in silence.

When they got home, they closed the gate and sat at the table. Yutao obediently poured a cup of tea for Li, and the others looked at Li in silence.

Li walked all the way in a huff, but when she got home, her anger had mostly subsided. She looked at Shen Yu, wanting to say something but stopping herself.

Shen Yu knew that Li had heard the discussion of the crowd, so she had to explain: "Mom, don't listen to those people's nonsense. That was the only way to save the child. If you don't do that, the child will die."

Li said helplessly: "Yuzhi, I know you have good intentions. Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. I understand this, but listen to how rude those people are saying it. How are you going to set up a food stall from now on?"

Shen Yu said disapprovingly: "I didn't do anything. I have nothing to fear. People who come to the market to buy food are all busy making money and doing business every day. They don't have the time to talk about others. They will forget about it in a few days."

Li was worried, with a look of concern on her face.

Yu Tao comforted her, "Mom, don't worry. I think my sister did the right thing. If she hadn't gone to save the child, the child would have drowned. How could we just watch the child die?"

As she said this, she pursed her lips and said with determination: "If anyone talks about my sister, I will ask her about this."

Yu Cheng didn't think too much about it, and said with admiration: "That's right, big sister is really amazing, big sister can do everything, even saving people."

Li waved her hands irritably: "Go away, go away, you kids, what do you know? Why are you meddling in this?"

Seeing that Li couldn't get round to it, Shen Yu had no choice but to say, "Mom, just this once. I won't step forward to save people again in the future."

When Li heard this, her eyes widened: "There will be a next time. I don't know how this will end."

Shen Yu continued to try to promise: "Don't be afraid, mother, this is the county town, not our village. Only those gossipy women in the village who have nothing to do will talk about other people's affairs all day long. Don't worry, you will forget about it in two days."

Li's expression looked better then. She nodded helplessly and urged the three of them to go to bed quickly.

But things went against his wishes, and Shen Yu still overestimated the people in the county town.

The time spent setting up the stall in the morning always goes by quickly. When the bun stall started selling, business was normal. Shen Yu listened to the customers' suggestions yesterday and specially prepared the dough for honey cake and candied date cake.

Today, we steamed one basket each when we set up the stall. They sold very well. In a short while, we sold out the two baskets of cakes. Several customers said, "Your sweet cakes are delicious. They are soft, sticky, sweet and fragrant. I will buy them again tomorrow."

Shen Yu agreed with a smile.

When it was almost time to close the stall, Shen Yu felt something was wrong. When she was selling buns in front of the winnowing basket, she found that there were always groups of people who came to the market to buy breakfast and did not leave, but stood in the distance pointing at the bun stall.

Shen Yu looked over, and when those people saw Shen Yu looking at them, they pretended nothing had happened and dispersed.

Li also saw it. She was still thinking about what happened yesterday. She whispered to Shen Yu with a guilty conscience: "Yuzhi, look at those people under the tree in front. Are they talking about what happened yesterday? They are always pointing fingers at us. When I looked at them, they stopped talking."

Shen Yu guessed in his mind that judging from the situation, those people were probably really discussing what happened yesterday. But there was no good way to deal with it. He couldn't just run up to them and ask them what ugly things they were saying.

Shen Yu smiled and said to Li: "Mom, let them talk about their own things and we do our business. If I really did something wrong, why don't they come to us and say it openly? They have the right to speak, so let them do what they want."

Although Li was angry, there was nothing she could do. At this time, another customer came to buy buns, and she got busy and forgot about the matter.

When the food was delivered at noon, even the shop assistants took the food with stern faces and strange looks when they saw her, unlike the previous few days when they greeted her with smiles as soon as they saw Shen Yu.

Shen Yu felt uncomfortable. He had done nothing wrong, but these people looked at him with contempt and inquiry.

When they delivered the meal to the last restaurant, the shopkeeper was a bit old. Seeing that Shen Yu was in a low mood, the smile on his face seemed a bit forced. He had been doing business for many years and had seen all kinds of people. He could tell at a glance how Shen Yu was treated when he delivered the meal.

Although he did not see the rescue incident yesterday with his own eyes, he heard the customers talking about it in the shop all morning today. Rumors always spread quickly, and when they reached his ears, the words were already unbearable.

Although the shopkeeper had only dealt with Shen Yu twice, he knew that this girl was not the frivolous person that people said. He knew what was going on and scolded his staff, asking them not to spread gossip. When he saw Shen Yu walking out the door with her head down, he chased after her and shouted, "Miss Shen."

Shen Yu stopped when he heard the voice, and seeing that it was the shop owner, he thought there was something else, so he forced a smile and curled the corners of his mouth.

The shopkeeper walked up to Shen Yu and said gently, "Miss Shen, these guys are illiterate and young. They don't know anything. They just follow what others say. You are a good girl and you did the right thing to save people. If it were me, I might not have the ability to save them. Gossip comes and goes quickly. It will be gone in a few days. Don't take it to heart."

Shen Yu was treated coldly along the way when delivering food, and he was really sad. After listening to the shopkeeper's kind words of consolation, his heart ached and he almost cried.