Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Li first realized that the person she had caught was a child. Looking carefully, she found that the child was slightly older than Yucheng. She felt pity for the child and when she heard what Shen Yu said, she wanted to nod and let the child go. However, she heard the child start yelling and cursing first.

Li was immediately furious and cursed: "Whose little bastard is this? He is a thief and he thinks he is right. Sir, don't let him go. Take him to the government office and beat him with a stick. Let's see if he will steal again."

The two yamen runners were a bit embarrassed when they saw that the person they caught was a child. If they arrested him, he just stole two buns, and he was not worthy of being beaten with a stick. If they let him go, the child's dirty mouth was really annoying.

Several people froze there for a moment, and all they could hear was the child still calling "Young Master, Young Master" and struggling.

The onlookers had different opinions. Some wanted to catch the child and give him a lesson, while others said that the child was pitiful and let him go.

As the noise was going on, a woman in tattered and dirty clothes came running towards the sound.

She squeezed into the crowd and saw the man being twisted by the yamen runners. She panicked and knelt on the ground, begging, "My lords, this child is ignorant and is just starving. Please be magnanimous and let him go."

Having said this, he kowtowed to the yamen runner in a hurry.

When the child saw the woman coming over and kneeling, he became anxious and shouted loudly: "Mother, please go away. You don't have to worry about me."

The woman was already in tears, and she kept saying, "Dun Dun, be obedient and beg the official."

The two yamen runners looked at the thin woman on the ground, then at the child with thin arms and legs in their hands, and said with a soft heart: "You and your child are pitiful. How about this? The owner is here too. If the owner is willing to let us go, we brothers will have nothing to say."

The woman, following the instructions of the yamen runner, knelt down, moved her body, and kowtowed to Li and Shen Yu again, begging, "Madam, young lady, please be kind and spare my son and me."

Li was originally angry at the child for his foul language, but when she saw the woman crying pitifully and kneeling down to beg for mercy, her anger subsided, though she was still a little reluctant for the time being.

Shen Yu pulled Li's sleeve and whispered, "Mom, forget it. The child looks really hungry. It's just two buns. Just let them go."

Li coughed dryly, then frightened the child with a stern face, saying, "Little bastard, I'll spare you this time today because your mother has worked so hard. But if you come to steal from my stall again next time, I will not spare you and will send you to the government office to be beaten with a stick."

The woman kneeling on the ground heard this and knew that the owner was willing to let the child go. She quickly pulled the child's clothes and said, "Dun Dun, kneel down and kowtow to thank the lady and the girl."

When the yamen runner saw that the owner had spoken, he loosened his grip. However, the boy was very stubborn. He let the woman pull him and shake him, but he refused to kneel down. He held his head high, snorted coldly, and looked indignant.

The woman wanted to pull him, Shen Yu couldn't bear it, so he advised: "Forget it, if he doesn't want to, don't embarrass him, but don't steal in the future. If we meet him again, we won't forgive him."

The woman thanked him repeatedly. After hearing what Shen Yu said, the boy couldn't help but look at Shen Yu, and the expression on his face eased a little.

Shen Yu didn't mind the woman's dirty clothes, he reached out and helped her up, and said gently: "My lady, you can go now, the child still needs to be disciplined from a young age, don't go astray in the future."

Then, he called Li, "Mom, let's go back too. Yutao and Yucheng are waiting for us to close the stall together."

Li looked at the sky and said anxiously, "Just keep messing around with this brat. It's time to close the stall. Go back quickly. The stove is heavy and there's no way they can move it."

Shen Yu knelt down and bowed to the two yamen runners, and said with a smile: "Thank you very much, both of you yamen runners. I am sorry to have troubled you today."

The yamen runner who had met Shen Yu on the riverbank waved his hands and said with a smile: "It's no trouble, no trouble. The young lady is a kind person, and it's what we should do."

Then he frowned and scolded the mother and son, saying, "You are lucky today. This girl is willing to let you go. As a mother, you must discipline her. Don't steal again. If you are caught by us again, we will take you to the government and beat you. Hurry up and leave."

The woman was scolded by the yamen runner and was so scared that she trembled all over and nodded repeatedly. However, the boy, whom the woman called "Dundun", snorted in dissatisfaction. Just as he was about to speak, the woman pulled his sleeve hard, and he shut up.

Seeing that there was nothing exciting to watch, the onlookers dispersed. Li also hurriedly pulled Shen Yu towards the bun stall.

When they arrived at the stall, they found that all the other stalls had closed. Yutao and Yucheng had loaded everything that could be moved into the car, leaving only a stove. It was very heavy and usually it was carried up and down by Li and Shen Yu together. Now it was still standing there alone.

Yutao and Yucheng saw Li and the other two coming back, and hurriedly went to greet them happily. Yutao asked with concern: "Mom, the man who stole our buns has been caught. You ran so fast that I couldn't catch up with you."

Li's face turned red, and she coughed dryly to cover it up, saying, "Well, I was just mad. You dared to steal our buns in broad daylight. Is there any law?"

Shen Yu laughed and said, "Mom ran so fast that I couldn't even breathe."

Li waved the bamboo clip in her hand and said, "Stop standing here and talking. It's time to close the stall. The yamen runners will come over to chase us away soon."

Just as the two men moved the stove into the car, Shen Yu turned around and saw the mother and son who had stolen their own buns, also supporting each other and walking towards this direction.

She lifted the basket covered with a cloth, and sure enough, there were still a few buns left inside. Perhaps because she and Li had gone to chase someone, there were only two half-grown children at the bun stall, and no one came to buy.

Shen Yu looked at Li, who was pulling the rope to secure the equipment on the cart. After a moment's hesitation, she took out a lotus leaf, put all the buns in the winnowing basket on the lotus leaf, tied them up with reeds, and called out, "Dun Dun."

When the mother and son heard someone calling, the woman shuddered and stopped. A look of fear and pleading appeared on her face, and the boy looked at Shen Yu with a wary look.

Shen Yu took a few quick steps and came close to the two of them. He smiled kindly and whispered, "My dear, the child must be very hungry. I have a few buns left from my stall. They are a little cold. Don't be disgusted. Take them and eat them."

After hearing what Shen Yu said, the woman realized that she had misunderstood. The girl had changed her mind and wanted to capture them. She was immediately grateful and took the lotus leaf bag with both hands, muttering, "Thank you, girl. You are so kind. God will bless you."

Then he turned to the boy and said, "Dun Dun, why don't you thank this girl quickly? If she hadn't been so kind as to let you go, you would have been arrested and taken to the government office now."