Soon, the little boy emerged in a different outfit. He wore a slightly oversized, dirty black hoodie with two patches on it. His pants were modified from blue work overalls, a bit loose and lacking a belt, which could fall down at any moment.
Observing this, Old Bray rummaged in the trash heap and pulled out a pair of women’s sneakers, removed the laces, and used them as a makeshift belt for William. He even tied a knot at the end.
William, who had been born into a wealthy family where he had only eaten fine delicacies and worn high-quality custom-made clothing, couldn’t understand how he ended up looking so unkempt.
Frowning uncomfortably, he asked, “Grandpa, why do you have women’s sneakers here?” Old Bray, perhaps wanting the young beggar image to be more authentic, reached out and tousled the boy’s hair, making it a mess. “Well, of course, I didn’t buy these shoes. I make money by collecting garbage, so don’t expect me to spend a dime. I picked them up actually,” explained Old Bray.
Innocently, William replied, “But you don’t have a wife, so even if you picked up women’s shoes, you can’t wear it, right?”
This sincere question pricked at the deepest part of Old Bray’s heart.
Irritated, he playfully pinched William’s cheek. “It’s not like I will never have one. I’ll keep it just in case my wife falls from the sky one day without warning,” he joked.
To his surprise, the boy continued seriously, “Only birds and planes fly in the sky. If it’s a bird, the potential energy from the fall might even knock you out. If it’s a plane, this small yard of yours would turn to ashes.” The ultimate conclusion was – a wife won’t fall from the sky, only disaster!
This remark left the elderly man so speechless that he staggered back a few steps, leaning on a chair to steady himself. “You little rascal, I can’t understand all this potential energy talk.” “Potential energy is…”
“I don’t want to hear it. Count your blessings.”
Completing his instructions, he comfortably sat back in his chair, picked up a plastic fan, and lazily fanned himself.
Before leaving, William glanced towards the direction of the house. “Please watch over my little sister. I’ll go collect bottles now.”
“Don’t worry, your sister is adorable. I can’t bear to be tough on her.”
Finally reassured, the boy tightly grasped the rusty tongs and headed out.
When Cierra woke up, she didn’t see her familiar figures of Great-grandpa, dad, mom, or brother. “Mom…” she cried, feeling the need for their presence.
Old Bray decided to let her cry until she tire herself out.
However, what followed was beyond Old Bray’s expectations.
“I want my mom… my mom is the most beautiful woman in the world.”
“Dad… come save me, my dad is the most handsome.”
“And I inherited all their good traits. Great-grandpa says Cierra is the most beautiful girl in the world. I can’t cry, or I’ll become ugly.”
“No, I still want to cry. Ugly is fine… I’m hungry, brother… where are you?”
“I really want to go back to my home, that over 800-square-meter large villa, rolling on the 2-meter-wide memory foam bed… wearing the little dress my godfather gave me, all diamond-studded.”
She continued boasting and crying for almost an hour, shedding rhythmically tearfully.
Old Bray was amused and bewildered by the girl’s actions. He set aside the fan and comforted her with a bowl of congee. Not able to bear her bragging, he handed her a dictionary and offered to buy her food.
Not that he couldn’t stand the sound of the little girl crying, but he couldn’t tolerate her showing off anymore.
The girl wasn’t even as old as him, but she was quite good at bragging.
“Are you done crying now? Can you please stop crying for a while and give me some peace?”
Tears the size of beans still hung on the girl’s long and thick eyelashes, and the dew-like moisture made her lashes look even more beautiful.
She looked at the old man standing at the door with a pair of curious eyes, blinking her slightly sore eyes after a while.
“Who are you, old man?”
The old man walked to the bed with a bowl of congee in his hands, placing it on the table. Then he pointed at the room and the garbage at the door with his cane and said:
“I am the owner of this courtyard. My courtyard is over 380 square meters, and according to Akloit’s land prices, I can be considered a multimillionaire.”
“See those two piles of garbage?”
Cierra wiped her tears and, after crying for so long, her eyes were somewhat sore. “Yes, I see them.”
Oh, her voice was soft and cute. In that instant, the old man decided to treat the little girl better. After all, she was a girl.
“Here, let’s do the math. The price of cardboard is around 1. 2 dollars per kilogram, so with about a ton of cardboard, that’s 1, 200 dollars. And there’s scrap metal, plastic bottles at dollars yuan per kilogram…”
“In total, it’s over 6, 800 dollars. Buying a 2-meter memory foam bed is not a problem.”
“In our line of business, I can also be considered the richest. Tell me, as long as you don’t brag, what do you want to eat? I’ll buy it for you, okay?”
Cierra lowered her head, poking her own fingers. She really wasn’t bragging just now.
Anyway, what mattered now was to fill her stomach; she was very hungry.
“Then I want to eat hamburgers and fried chicken.”
“What? Hamburgers and fried chicken… That’s a bit expensive!”
The old man regretted why he had to show off a moment ago.
Looking at the little girl, who was gazing at him with her watery eyes, full of expectation and pitifulness.
Somehow, Old Bray, who never spent money, softened all of a sudden.
“Okay, hamburgers and fried chicken, right? Get up, I’ll take you out to eat.”
“Wow, that’s great! Grandpa, you’re the best person in the world!”
Old Bray was happy to hear that, but his mouth expressed extreme disdain:
“This little uneducated brat, always using the same compliment over and over again.”
“I have a dictionary here. Even though you’re still young, it’s never wrong to learn about culture.”
“Can’t we use more advanced words like ‘elegant’ or ‘charming’ when complimenting someone sincerely?”
Cierra shook her little head, indicating that she didn’t quite understand.
Old Bray thought, “Forget it, it’s just a little kid.”
“Don’t you want to eat fried chicken and hamburgers anymore?”
“I do.”
“Then just close your little mouth.”
Whose child is this anyway? She talks too much.
Cierra immediately covered her mouth with her hand, only revealing a pair of curious eyes looking left and right.
This place seemed like a different world from where she used to live.
She used to see tall buildings, but here it was a low and dilapidated courtyard, with narrow roads and swirling dust.
There were a few small shops on the street, all lined up together:
They walked and walked, and finally, after passing an intersection, they could see tall buildings.