Don't underestimate the poor and elderly; I was thrilled to refuse the class beauty's adva

"Oh, right," Liu Guilan said, taking off her apron and draping it over the back of the chair, "After dinner, your dad and I will go out to take care of some work. You can eat lunch at school, and we'll cook something for you when we get back tonight."

"it is good."

Zhang Yifan finished the last sip of soy milk, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and went out the door.

The school gate was as lively as ever.

Boarding students came out of the school gate in twos and threes to buy breakfast, while day students walked in with their schoolbags on their backs.

Outside the school gate, the old lady selling tea eggs is still in the same spot, the aluminum pot lid on her tricycle is open, and the aroma of braised eggs wafts out halfway down the street.

There were even more people queuing up today than yesterday. The line stretched from in front of the tricycles all the way to the iron fence at the school gate, and most of them were boarding students in school uniforms.

Some carried lunchboxes, some carried insulated containers, and some even took hot tea eggs in plastic bags directly from the old lady's hands and stuffed them into their mouths, scalding themselves but refusing to spit them out.

"Yifan!"

Zongwen ran up from behind, half a meat bun still in his mouth, his cheeks bulging, and said indistinctly,

"Look at that line for the old lady, it's even longer than yesterday. After that commotion in the cafeteria, now all the boarding students are coming out to buy her tea eggs."

"I saw it."

Zhang Yifan stood at the school gate waiting for Zongwen to swallow the steamed bun.

"Should we buy some for lunch? To be honest, I feel nauseous just looking at the cafeteria food now."

"You have to try this! It's only 1.5 yuan each, cheaper than the cafeteria ones, and most importantly, it's really delicious. The braising sauce is made by the old lady herself—"

Before he could finish speaking, a series of noisy footsteps suddenly came from inside the school gate.

It wasn't the scattered sound of students walking, but the sound of a group of people marching in unison, with a certain aggressive momentum.

The students turned around and automatically made way for each other.

Zhou Degui walked at the front. He was still wearing that dark blue polo shirt, with one collar turned up and the other hunched over, his belly sticking out high, and the fat on his face taut.

Behind him were four or five helpers wearing white canteen uniforms. Some were carrying brooms, some were carrying mops, and one was holding an iron rod used for unclogging drains.

A group of people stormed out of the school gate and headed straight for the old lady's tricycle stall.

The students in line were so frightened by the scene that they took several steps back. Several girls in front quickly moved to the side of the road, and some almost dropped their lunchboxes.

The crowd parted automatically to make way, and someone whispered, "What's going on?" before being pulled on the arm by the person next to them.

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"

Zhou Degui strode forward, raised his foot, and kicked over the old lady's aluminum pot.

A loud bang!

The aluminum pot tipped off the tricycle, and the lid flew a long way, rolled a few times, and came to rest under the curb.

The scalding hot braising liquid spilled all over the ground, and the dark brown broth mixed with dozens of tea eggs splattered everywhere.

Some rolled under the tires of bicycles parked on the roadside, some rolled directly into the sewer, and some rolled to the feet of the students watching, their shells cracking to reveal the egg whites that had been thoroughly marinated.

The aroma of tea eggs mingled instantly with the dust on the ground, while the aluminum pot continued to spin in place, emitting a buzzing sound that was particularly jarring in the morning air.

The old lady was completely stunned by this sudden turn of events.

Her hunched body trembled violently, and her calloused hands instinctively recoiled before she realized she needed to reach for the pot.

But as soon as he bent down, Zhou Degui stepped on the edge of the pot again, deforming the aluminum pot.

Her small, thin figure shrank into a ball in front of Zhou Degui, tears welling up in her aged eyes, but she couldn't utter a single word.

"I warned you yesterday! Setting up a stall at the school gate? Stealing business from our cafeteria? You've gone too far!"

Zhou Degui stood with one hand on his hip and the other pointing at the students watching, his voice so loud it could be heard throughout the entire street.

"Let me tell you, the school has repeatedly forbidden street vendors from setting up stalls at the school gate, for your food safety! Don't you know these stalls use gutter oil? Who will be responsible if you get sick from eating there? I'm shutting down these unscrupulous stalls for you, and you're complaining that I'm meddling?"

Several helpers behind him also shouted, and someone used a broom to sweep the rolled tea eggs into the sewer, splashing sewage, and the surrounding students all backed away.

Someone used a mop to wipe the braising liquid all over the floor.

The helper, gripping the iron rod, stood in front of the tricycle, legs spread wide, glaring at the boarding students who hadn't yet dispersed, causing them to take several steps back.

The old lady finally came to her senses and shakily picked up the tea eggs from the ground.

She crouched down, surrounded by the still-spreading grease and grime of braised dishes, and picked up the tea eggs that hadn't been swept away, one by one, and put them back into the plastic bag, her movements stiff and slow.

Zhou Degui didn't even glance at her, and turned around to lead his men back to school.

He stopped again, pointed to the overturned tricycle, and shouted in a condescending tone, "Get out of here! Today it's just a minor incident, but next time you set up a stall, I'll confiscate this broken tricycle too!"

The students watching were angry but dared not speak out. Some secretly took out their phones to record videos, while others bit their lips and clenched their fists, but no one dared to step forward.

Zhou Degui is the principal's brother-in-law, a status that makes him more feared than any school rule.

The old lady wiped away her tears.

He hunched over, trying to carry the deformed aluminum pot back onto the tricycle.

But the pot was too heavy, and she couldn't lift it after two attempts. In the end, she could only squat down next to the tricycle and silently pick up the last dusty tea egg and put it into a plastic bag.

Zhang Yifan's expression changed the instant the aluminum pot hit the ground.

It wasn't the kind of color change that comes from being frightened, but rather a deep, cold gleam like a blade after being rubbed on a whetstone.

Zong Wen stood next to him, closest to him, and had the clearest view.

Just moments ago, Zhang Yifan was discussing with him whether to buy tea eggs for lunch, a smile still playing on his lips. Now, all the expressions on his face have been replaced by an extremely cold anger.

Zong Wen had been his deskmate for so long, and he had seen him look dejected after being stood up by Lin Wanqing, and he had seen him lower his head and remain silent when the whole class mocked him for being a simp, but he had never seen him with this expression before.

"Yifan," Zongwen called out to him softly, as if afraid of startling something.

Zhang Yifan did not respond.

He looked at Zhou Degui's foot on the aluminum pot, at the old woman squatting on the ground, her back hunched over as she picked up tea eggs one by one, and at the hundreds of students watching, their faces filled with anger but unable to speak out.

Then he remembered many things.

I remembered the worm that Zongwen found in the vegetable leaves in the cafeteria yesterday at noon.

I recall when Zongwen questioned Zhou Degui while holding up a steel wool ball, Zhou said, "The presence of insects means it's organic food."

I recall the fawning smile on Zhou Degui's face when Principal Meng walked down from the second-floor teachers' canteen.

He recalled Principal Meng lightly patting Zhou Degui on the shoulder and saying, "Don't cause any trouble."

I remember yesterday evening when the old lady was packing up her stall, patting the empty pots, her face beaming with undisguised joy.