Chapter 165 - 162: The Little Flower Girl and Po

Chapter 165: Chapter 162: The Little Flower Girl and Po

A timid little girl, no older than eleven or twelve, stood on the street corner holding a bouquet of roses. The dim yellow streetlights cast a warm hue over her faded, overworn clothes. Though a hint of exhaustion lingered on her small face, her eyes were bright and clear as she gazed eagerly at the couple.

Su Yunzhou furrowed his brows slightly and looked past her. Not far away, a hunched figure stood in the shadows, their features obscured. Liu Yiyi noticed the figure as well, her mind instantly flashing to the villains in TV dramas who forced children to sell things on the streets.

"Mister, please buy a flower for the pretty lady!" the little girl asked again.

Su Yunzhou looked at her nervous little face and asked a completely unrelated question. "Can you tell me if that person behind you treats you well?"

The little girl froze for a moment before answering, "Yes! My grandmother is so good to me!"

Grandmother?

Liu Yiyi studied the figure hiding in the darkness and followed up, "Is that person your real grandmother?"

"She is!" The expression on the little girl’s face didn’t seem faked.

Su Yunzhou said, "I see your grandmother seems to have flowers with her, too. Tell her to come over, and I’ll buy them all!"

"Really?" The little girl instantly lit up with pleasant surprise.

"Of course it’s true!"

Getting a positive answer, the little girl’s eyes sparkled. She immediately turned and ran toward the figure in the dark. "Grandma! That mister says he wants to buy all our flowers! Come quick!"

"Oh." The figure in the darkness replied, then slowly emerged while pulling a small cart.

As she drew near, Su Yunzhou finally got a clear look at Po. She was around sixty years old with greying hair, dressed in old but impeccably clean clothes. Her facial wrinkles were deep, and a large scar marred her right cheek, looking much like a burn mark. When she spoke, her voice was a bit hoarse, perhaps a consequence of the scar on her face.

"Sir, do you really want all the flowers?"

Su Yunzhou swept his gaze over them. Between the grandmother and granddaughter, they had about thirty or forty roses of varying quality left.

"I do." Su Yunzhou stared into her eyes. "But... are you truly her grandmother?"

It was a presumptuous question. Yet, strangely enough, it made Po believe that the young man was genuinely going to buy them. She reached out a hand covered in thick calluses, and the little girl naturally took hold of it. Po leaned heavily against her small cart, finding it easier to stand that way.

She saw through the young couple’s concerns. "Sir, I am Niuniu’s grandmother. Our family is going through some hard times... because of my face... She’s a sensible child... so Niuniu comes to help me sell flowers after school."

Po’s words were a little disjointed, but Su Yunzhou chose to believe her. The truth was obvious; the little girl’s demeanor was impossible to fake.

He didn’t press the matter further. There was no need to keep peeling back the layers of their suffering. Even if they had grown numb to it, every wound still hurt when prodded.

Liu Yiyi’s eyes filled with pity as she watched the grandmother and granddaughter still out selling flowers so late at night.

Su Yunzhou squeezed her hand and asked, "How much for all these flowers?"

Po smiled, the movement pulling at the scar on her face and making it look even more unsightly. She let go of the little girl’s hand, shakily bent down, and pulled out all the bouquets from the cart. Since Po’s eyesight was poor, the sensible little girl began to count them herself.

"One, two... thirty-three.

"Mister, it’s five yuan a flower, but I’ll only charge you for thirty.

"That makes one hundred and fifty yuan in total. Is that okay?"

After saying this, the little girl eagerly studied the expressions of the mister and the pretty lady. She thought that if he disagreed, she would lower the price a bit more.

Su Yunzhou nodded. "Sounds good!"

He patted his pockets, only to find he didn’t have any cash. Just as he was about to turn to Liu Yiyi, the observant little girl whipped out a QR code.

"Mister, you can use this."

"Sure." Su Yunzhou scanned the code.

"WeChat Pay received: three hundred yuan," a mechanized voice announced.

The audio broadcast came from Po’s side. She hurriedly dug a cracked smartphone out of her pocket. "Sir, you transferred too much. This money... we..."

Su Yunzhou just smiled without a word. He took the flowers from the stunned little girl’s hands, turned around, and walked away with Liu Yiyi.

But before they had taken more than a few steps, the little girl came chasing after them with her cheeks puffed out in anger, blocking their path.

"Mister, pretty lady, here is your change." As she spoke, she held out several crumpled banknotes.

Su Yunzhou shook his head. "Keep it!"

"No! Grandma said we only take what the flowers are worth!" The little girl glared at him with wide eyes, refusing to back down.

Liu Yiyi smiled and coaxed, "It’s so late! You two should go home and rest!"

The little girl shifted her gaze, looking at the money in her hand, then at the roses in Su Yunzhou’s hand, and finally at her grandmother, who was slowly walking over with the cart. Her grandmother nodded at her.

The little girl’s eyes filled with determination. "Then... I won’t sell the flowers to you anymore!

"We will refund your money, and you give the flowers back to us."

"Hm?" Su Yunzhou and Liu Yiyi were both caught off guard.

Po had reached the little girl’s side and pulled some cash from her pocket. The little girl carefully folded the bills and said earnestly, "Mister, miss, here is your money. Please give me the flowers back."

Seeing the pair’s actions, Su Yunzhou finally realized he had done something foolish. His expression shifted, and his gaze landed on Po, who stood silently supporting her granddaughter’s decision.

"I only meant well, but if I offended you, I truly apologize."

Liu Yiyi, standing beside him, was slightly taken aback. She had thought... she hadn’t expected Su Yunzhou to be so gentle.

Po hurriedly replied, "We are the ones who should apologize. Thank you for your kindness, but we have our own hands and feet. We cannot accept this money.

"Besides, by buying all these flowers at once, you’ve already done us a huge favor!"

Su Yunzhou nodded. With a warm smile, he crouched down and held his hand out to the little girl. "Then just refund me one hundred and fifty yuan."

The little girl looked at her grandmother. Then, she took half of the folded cash and handed it to him.

After this was settled, Po thanked them a few more times. Then, pulling her cart and holding the little girl’s hand, she headed toward the nearby bus stop.

"Wait," Su Yunzhou said, stepping forward quickly to stop them. He pointed at the beautifully lit sign of the Boshe Hotel not far away.

He looked at the pair and said, "I just remembered that I’ll need flowers tomorrow, too. Another thirty roses.

"I’m staying at the Boshe Hotel. Could I trouble you to deliver them tomorrow?"

Seeing his serious expression, Po hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Sir, around what time will you need them tomorrow? We’re only free in the evening..."

Su Yunzhou understood her concern. He thought for a second and said, "Nine o’clock at night. I’ll wait for you at the hotel entrance."

"Alright! Thank you so much!" Po thanked him once again and led her granddaughter away, step by step.

Their figures gradually faded into the darkness. But in the eyes of Liu Yiyi and Su Yunzhou, Po’s silhouette stood incredibly tall.

Liu Yiyi’s eyes were slightly red, and her voice grew soft. "Po is truly wonderful."

Su Yunzhou nodded firmly. "Yeah! She’s a wonderful grandmother."

The two walked hand-in-hand toward the hotel. Their conversation naturally lingered on what had just happened. With a grandmother like that, the little girl’s life might be materially poor, but she would grow up with an immense wealth of spirit.

As they walked, Liu Yiyi suddenly came to a halt.

"When you buy those flowers tomorrow, book an order of sixty-six roses for me for the day after."

"Hm?"

"I want to give flowers to someone."

"..."