"Uncle."
"Uncle."
"Oh, it's Xiao Chun. What's up?"
"I came to pick up Candy's baby carriage. I also wanted to ask for the phone number of that Xiao Ping Electric Appliances shop on the street. It's getting cold, and I'm worried my little sister will freeze, so I'd like to have an air conditioner installed."
Mo Changyou didn't immediately look for the phone number of the appliance shop. Instead, he pulled a pack of cheap cigarettes that cost seven yuan from his padded jacket pocket and was about to take one out and light it.
He already had a cigarette between his lips and a lighter in his hand when he suddenly remembered that Xiao Chun was holding a little one. He took the cigarette from his mouth and tucked it behind his ear.
"Xiao Chun, don't take this the wrong way, but an air conditioner isn't cheap. I thought your family had an electric heater? You can make do with that. Children aren't as delicate as you think. Look at all the families around here—everyone gets by just fine, don't they?"
In the cold wind, Candy stayed tucked inside Mo Jingchun's down jacket, not wanting to move at all. Her little head pressed tightly against his chest as she quietly listened to the steady thump-thump of his heartbeat.
Mo Jingchun wasn't surprised by his uncle's reaction. He was worried Mo Jingchun would spend recklessly. He had a little money to spend now, but what would happen when he ran out?
Would he stop looking after Candy? Give up on college?
Everyone had gone off to work. Seeing that no one else was around, Mo Jingchun quietly told his uncle, "Uncle, I can earn money now. I made thirty or forty thousand yuan during my first semester at school, and