Chapter 108
If audio player doesn't work, press Stop then Play button again
Daylight, somewhere within the west side of Zhong Hai's city, the climate for the area was burning hotly. Many people went out from their houses with a thin cloth as you could even see a man walked only with his sleeveless trousers. In the front of a small house within a rather slum district, a person with blonde hair, wearing a black shirt with a red whirlpool on its front and a pair of short white jeans that reached inches above his knee was currently faced a middle aged man. His expression was troubled, with a crumple of cash in his hand, he forced up a smile while spoke in a pleading tone.
"Can you lower the price again?" said the blonde.
"Again? hah... seriously, how much do you have?" the middle aged man sighed, his tanned skin glistened with sweats.
"I uh... only twenty..." he said with an embarrassed tone.
"Twenty?! Look kid, it's already a hard bargain for me to drop its initial worth to fifty percent and now you expect me to sell the cart for twenty yuan... you are killing me here..." his plain white shirt had dampened, the dark color between his armpits depicted how torturous the current's heat in the environment.
"Then... I guess you won't sell it?" the blonde man dropped his shoulder, and his expression fell.
"Hmm..." the middle aged man rubbed his chin, he observed the blonde with crafty eyes.
"How about... you give me that twenty yuan, and you pay the rest next month, in change, I give you the cart now," he put on the 'I am not a cold heart person' face.
"Really?! You are awesome, mister!" the blonde's face lit up and his eyes fiercely shone.
"Yes, yes, I couldn't stand any poor life that try to ramp up his fortune, especially by try to sell as a small stall person, yeah... it's a harsh and hard journey to brave, but honest one, thus I won't barred up your path," the middle aged man waved his hand as if the act he just did was not worth to mention.
"Thanks, here is the money!" the blonde brought forward the scruple of thin papers within his hand.
As the middle aged man about to proceed to grab them, suddenly a slender hand blocked his range, in the midst of his surprise, a delicate looking girl, with small yet oval face and long ponytail black hair appeared on the side between the blonde person and him, she put on a smile yet there is a dangerous sign all over her lips.
"Fifty yuan for such a small and shady looking cart, eh?" the girl said while holding her expression so lovely.
Not far from where their stood, a rectangle piece of block made of woods, with two wheels glued on its both side remained idle. It size was not even twice higher than the blonde. And it also filled with dust and spider's web.
"J-Jingjing! Um, uh, you know how precious those are to me! It's not about the physical worth but the sentiment's price, thus... it's... it's..." the middle aged man suddenly spoke in stutter.
"Hoo, sentiment... do tell me if I remember correctly, I saw a similar cart over the dumpster few days ago? Is it just a coincident?" Lee Jingjing curled her lips, she squinted her eyes.
"That is no the same!" the middle aged man threw his sight away from hers.
"But I sure remember a dog walked up to it and... you know... marked its dominion..." she said while glancing her eyes upward, "and I did smell the stench even until now."
"What?! That's impossible, I have dragged it from the dumpster and I... smelt... nothing..." the middle aged man realized what words he just said and his face suddenly became pale, it became whiter as he caught a smirk manifested on the girl's lips.
Soon the blonde and the girl traversed the side road while he hummed a tune of delight, his hands grabbed a handle of the cart as he pushed it along the path.
"Thankfully Jingjing arrive in time, and I could buy this thing for only 10!" the man said with relaxed tone.
"Elder brother Naruto, you're such a bummer!" Lee Jingjing huffed while she followed him from behind. The young lad wore a yellow shirt with the design of a blue cat with white wing on its back. She put a grey colored skirt with patterned flowers on its surface.
"Yes, yes, don't fuss over a trivial thing~" Naruto ignored her tantrum while he closed his eyes and smiling without control.
"Elder brother, there is still so much thing to do, you gotta remodel the cart to suit your ramen's shop," she put her finger over her lips.
"I know, I got all plan overlay inside my head," Naruto shook his hand in carefree manner.
"Did you?" Lee Jingjing squinted her eyes in suspicion.
"Yeah, relax, I got it covered!"
3 hours later.
"Tadaaa!" Naruto presented the cart which he had cost more than hours time to rebuild, the previous only woods and wheels now had an orange colored paint all over its surface, mixed with big black words 'Best ramen in the world' coated in a line of white tone. The top of the cart had two hole in it and flashy neon strap a miniature size canopy that stuck by a pole at the corner of the cart.
Lee Jingjing stared at the cart with a poker face expression.
"So what do you think? You know, I always thought myself as an artist..." Naruto smirked with confident eyes teased the girl before him.
"..." she looked at him then looked back at the cart, not once her eyebrows even curled.
"I know, I know, you must have been caught captive by the sight of my master piece, I don't mind getting praise but please keep it simple," he began to laugh toward the sky while crossing his arms.
"It's awful," she said simply, staggering the blonde while sweat drop greeted his temple.
"Jingjing, what are you saying... this is clearly a good design..." Naruto scratched his cheek while forcing a smile.
"You don't believe me? Fine, let's go around asking people..." then both the young man and the girl strolled the neighborhood to ask for their opinion.
A person shook his head.
Another person shook her head.
The third person stared for quite sometime, then he shook his head.
The forth person had his face amused, but he still shook his head.
After asking perhaps more than twenty people, only three of them that actually gave a thumbs up, one was a hobo, who are strangely winked winked at him (asking for some reward), a madman who afterwards went berserk and chased them around the neighborhood (Naruto could beat him but he just a sick person), and the last one was a blind color person (which they don't know about it until much later).
The day was getting brighter which consequently made the weather was getting hotter.
Naruto crouched beside a convenient store with dejected expression all over his face, his apparently 'awful' design stall laid rest on his right.
"Seriously... no people in this city know the meaning of art," he shook his head and snorting, but his shoulder slumped anyway.
"Still unwilling to accept it?" he felt a cold touch on his cheek, Lee Jingjing just came out from the store and treated him a canned energy drink.
"It's not that..." Naruto accepted it and flicked open the can, he gulped it down. A cool fluid invaded his dryer throat.
"Elder brother'd spent the rest of your money, hadn't you?" she crouched beside him, her both knees touched her chest.
"Yeah... there is no left for rebuilding," Naruto drew a circle on the ground.
"Hmm..." Lee Jingjing tilted her head to the side, then a bulb lit atop her head, "hey, elder brother, I think dad used to have an old cart stash in home, though I don't know if it was still there..."
"It's fine Jingjing, I just use this one to make a sell... the rice had been cooked, might as well ate it anyway!" he stood up and began pushing his cart.
"Alright, if you change your mind, just call me..."
A week later...
"Jingjing, please borrow me your dad's old stall!" Naruto bent low his head in front of Lee Jingjing who just came back from university.
"Your sell wasn't good?" She was about to enter her home went she heard Naruto's call.
Naruto told her with dispirited tone how people didn't visit his spot at all, most only stopped to look but then carried onto the other.
"Hmm, alright... wait here," Lee Jingjing ceased her intention going inside her house. She closed the front door and strode toward the small alley beside her house. A couples minutes later, she came out with a much bigger size cart than he currently had. It still needed to be remodeled to match his ramen's stall.
"It required several patch here and there, and its wheels a little lack of air, but it isn't broken though," she pointed her finger in certain spots that had a hole on the surface. Probably because of vermin's bite.
"Ooh! This should be suffice!" Naruto's eyes glittered as she pushed it toward him.
"Take a good care of it..." she curled her lips.
"Don't worry, it goes missing only in a great disasters!" Naruto patted his chest with his thumbs, which made her laughed then he tagged along.
(***)
"I see, great disaster..." Naruto chuckled while shaking his head, of course he wouldn't remember that, he practically was joking.
Lee Jingjing giggled but every spit of laugh created the insufferable pain inside her nose.
"Elder brother..." her voice grew small, so small that anyone would thought she wasn't talk at all.
"The people in the market... they need help..." she said slowly.
"..." Naruto didn't have the change on his face.
"Day by day, there is nothing but pain, and trouble comes akin to a blazing storm.
From the government, the thugs around, the incorporate people.
Powerless they are, only accept how fate determines their future.
Shout for help maybe heard but is there a hand would come to it?
Dad knows, they knows, to solve this, one must struggle and break free from the oppression, yet they choose to remain passive, letting them to toy with their life.
Too many things they incapable to do, but pray for miracle they never stop," she stared at the ceiling, eyes thick with impenetrable conviction.
"Then they should wait for it..." Naruto stood up from the limited space of her bed.
"Until when?" she smiled, but sadness sat on the corner of her lips.
"Tomorrow, 2 days later, a month, a year, two years... no matter how long it takes..."
"By the time it comes, perhaps a lot of people would no longer be there, many will lost their source of income, many will leave the city, many will become a beggar, and many will resort to crime, is that what you hope, elder brother?"
"..." Naruto's half-lid eyes grew solemn, he clenched his right fist.
"Elder brother... I am tired..." Lee Jingjing threw her face to the side as if she didn't want to face him right now.
"Yeah, get some rest..." he walked out from her booth, his ears picked the sound of sobs with familiar tone.
He pushed open the door that led to the short hall before the emergency room, the Lee's couple stood there, looking pensive.
"Don't worry, I would loan some of our stuff to get us enough money for Jingjing's operations," Old Lee said.
"But... would it be enough? this... this price just..." Madam Lee's countenance could be compare to a dirty laundry, chaotic and unseemly.
"I would borrow some if it is not..." the old man patted his wife's shoulder, tried to give her the false senses of comfort.
"Why our family must suffer like this?"
"Sssh... don't say it like that..."
The grim conversation made Naruto felt uncomfortable, of course they spoke in a whisper but Naruto heightened senses would easily picked it up.
He approached them with a forced smile, greeting their ears with a light cough.
"Jingjing is back to rest..."
The old couple was startled, their face hinted with a naked worry if their talk was exposed, but Naruto careless expression made them relieve a little.
Since Naruto had walked out, Madam Lee swaggered back in, her steps was heavy.
"Going home, Naruto?" Old Lee put on a sincere smiling face.
"..." Naruto went silent for a while, then he curled his lips, "no."
"Hmm? Ah, I see..." Old Lee nodded his head after he sensed something amiss with Naruto's tone.
"Do be careful, sometimes dogs' bite is dangerous."
Naruto shrugged, he turned around.
"Who says anything about dogs, I am taking out trash," he began to walk.
"The KTV in Cheng Hai District had some serious problem about trash," Old Lee sighed.
"Got it, I'll be back," Naruto waved his hand.
His figure slowly out reached the Old Lee's sight, seconds per seconds, Naruto no longer visible to him.
Old Lee stood still before he entered the emergency room.
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
Daylight, somewhere within the west side of Zhong Hai's city, the climate for the area was burning hotly. Many people went out from their houses with a thin cloth as you could even see a man walked only with his sleeveless trousers. In the front of a small house within a rather slum district, a person with blonde hair, wearing a black shirt with a red whirlpool on its front and a pair of short white jeans that reached inches above his knee was currently faced a middle aged man. His expression was troubled, with a crumple of cash in his hand, he forced up a smile while spoke in a pleading tone.
"Can you lower the price again?" said the blonde.
"Again? hah... seriously, how much do you have?" the middle aged man sighed, his tanned skin glistened with sweats.
"I uh... only twenty..." he said with an embarrassed tone.
"Twenty?! Look kid, it's already a hard bargain for me to drop its initial worth to fifty percent and now you expect me to sell the cart for twenty yuan... you are killing me here..." his plain white shirt had dampened, the dark color between his armpits depicted how torturous the current's heat in the environment.
"Then... I guess you won't sell it?" the blonde man dropped his shoulder, and his expression fell.
"Hmm..." the middle aged man rubbed his chin, he observed the blonde with crafty eyes.
"How about... you give me that twenty yuan, and you pay the rest next month, in change, I give you the cart now," he put on the 'I am not a cold heart person' face.
"Really?! You are awesome, mister!" the blonde's face lit up and his eyes fiercely shone.
"Yes, yes, I couldn't stand any poor life that try to ramp up his fortune, especially by try to sell as a small stall person, yeah... it's a harsh and hard journey to brave, but honest one, thus I won't barred up your path," the middle aged man waved his hand as if the act he just did was not worth to mention.
"Thanks, here is the money!" the blonde brought forward the scruple of thin papers within his hand.
As the middle aged man about to proceed to grab them, suddenly a slender hand blocked his range, in the midst of his surprise, a delicate looking girl, with small yet oval face and long ponytail black hair appeared on the side between the blonde person and him, she put on a smile yet there is a dangerous sign all over her lips.
"Fifty yuan for such a small and shady looking cart, eh?" the girl said while holding her expression so lovely.
Not far from where their stood, a rectangle piece of block made of woods, with two wheels glued on its both side remained idle. It size was not even twice higher than the blonde. And it also filled with dust and spider's web.
"J-Jingjing! Um, uh, you know how precious those are to me! It's not about the physical worth but the sentiment's price, thus... it's... it's..." the middle aged man suddenly spoke in stutter.
"Hoo, sentiment... do tell me if I remember correctly, I saw a similar cart over the dumpster few days ago? Is it just a coincident?" Lee Jingjing curled her lips, she squinted her eyes.
"That is no the same!" the middle aged man threw his sight away from hers.
"But I sure remember a dog walked up to it and... you know... marked its dominion..." she said while glancing her eyes upward, "and I did smell the stench even until now."
"What?! That's impossible, I have dragged it from the dumpster and I... smelt... nothing..." the middle aged man realized what words he just said and his face suddenly became pale, it became whiter as he caught a smirk manifested on the girl's lips.
Soon the blonde and the girl traversed the side road while he hummed a tune of delight, his hands grabbed a handle of the cart as he pushed it along the path.
"Thankfully Jingjing arrive in time, and I could buy this thing for only 10!" the man said with relaxed tone.
"Elder brother Naruto, you're such a bummer!" Lee Jingjing huffed while she followed him from behind. The young lad wore a yellow shirt with the design of a blue cat with white wing on its back. She put a grey colored skirt with patterned flowers on its surface.
"Yes, yes, don't fuss over a trivial thing~" Naruto ignored her tantrum while he closed his eyes and smiling without control.
"Elder brother, there is still so much thing to do, you gotta remodel the cart to suit your ramen's shop," she put her finger over her lips.
"I know, I got all plan overlay inside my head," Naruto shook his hand in carefree manner.
"Did you?" Lee Jingjing squinted her eyes in suspicion.
"Yeah, relax, I got it covered!"
3 hours later.
"Tadaaa!" Naruto presented the cart which he had cost more than hours time to rebuild, the previous only woods and wheels now had an orange colored paint all over its surface, mixed with big black words 'Best ramen in the world' coated in a line of white tone. The top of the cart had two hole in it and flashy neon strap a miniature size canopy that stuck by a pole at the corner of the cart.
Lee Jingjing stared at the cart with a poker face expression.
"So what do you think? You know, I always thought myself as an artist..." Naruto smirked with confident eyes teased the girl before him.
"..." she looked at him then looked back at the cart, not once her eyebrows even curled.
"I know, I know, you must have been caught captive by the sight of my master piece, I don't mind getting praise but please keep it simple," he began to laugh toward the sky while crossing his arms.
"It's awful," she said simply, staggering the blonde while sweat drop greeted his temple.
"Jingjing, what are you saying... this is clearly a good design..." Naruto scratched his cheek while forcing a smile.
"You don't believe me? Fine, let's go around asking people..." then both the young man and the girl strolled the neighborhood to ask for their opinion.
A person shook his head.
Another person shook her head.
The third person stared for quite sometime, then he shook his head.
The forth person had his face amused, but he still shook his head.
After asking perhaps more than twenty people, only three of them that actually gave a thumbs up, one was a hobo, who are strangely winked winked at him (asking for some reward), a madman who afterwards went berserk and chased them around the neighborhood (Naruto could beat him but he just a sick person), and the last one was a blind color person (which they don't know about it until much later).
The day was getting brighter which consequently made the weather was getting hotter.
Naruto crouched beside a convenient store with dejected expression all over his face, his apparently 'awful' design stall laid rest on his right.
"Seriously... no people in this city know the meaning of art," he shook his head and snorting, but his shoulder slumped anyway.
"Still unwilling to accept it?" he felt a cold touch on his cheek, Lee Jingjing just came out from the store and treated him a canned energy drink.
"It's not that..." Naruto accepted it and flicked open the can, he gulped it down. A cool fluid invaded his dryer throat.
"Elder brother'd spent the rest of your money, hadn't you?" she crouched beside him, her both knees touched her chest.
"Yeah... there is no left for rebuilding," Naruto drew a circle on the ground.
"Hmm..." Lee Jingjing tilted her head to the side, then a bulb lit atop her head, "hey, elder brother, I think dad used to have an old cart stash in home, though I don't know if it was still there..."
"It's fine Jingjing, I just use this one to make a sell... the rice had been cooked, might as well ate it anyway!" he stood up and began pushing his cart.
"Alright, if you change your mind, just call me..."
A week later...
"Jingjing, please borrow me your dad's old stall!" Naruto bent low his head in front of Lee Jingjing who just came back from university.
"Your sell wasn't good?" She was about to enter her home went she heard Naruto's call.
Naruto told her with dispirited tone how people didn't visit his spot at all, most only stopped to look but then carried onto the other.
"Hmm, alright... wait here," Lee Jingjing ceased her intention going inside her house. She closed the front door and strode toward the small alley beside her house. A couples minutes later, she came out with a much bigger size cart than he currently had. It still needed to be remodeled to match his ramen's stall.
"It required several patch here and there, and its wheels a little lack of air, but it isn't broken though," she pointed her finger in certain spots that had a hole on the surface. Probably because of vermin's bite.
"Ooh! This should be suffice!" Naruto's eyes glittered as she pushed it toward him.
"Take a good care of it..." she curled her lips.
"Don't worry, it goes missing only in a great disasters!" Naruto patted his chest with his thumbs, which made her laughed then he tagged along.
(***)
"I see, great disaster..." Naruto chuckled while shaking his head, of course he wouldn't remember that, he practically was joking.
Lee Jingjing giggled but every spit of laugh created the insufferable pain inside her nose.
"Elder brother..." her voice grew small, so small that anyone would thought she wasn't talk at all.
"The people in the market... they need help..." she said slowly.
"..." Naruto didn't have the change on his face.
"Day by day, there is nothing but pain, and trouble comes akin to a blazing storm.
From the government, the thugs around, the incorporate people.
Powerless they are, only accept how fate determines their future.
Shout for help maybe heard but is there a hand would come to it?
Dad knows, they knows, to solve this, one must struggle and break free from the oppression, yet they choose to remain passive, letting them to toy with their life.
Too many things they incapable to do, but pray for miracle they never stop," she stared at the ceiling, eyes thick with impenetrable conviction.
"Then they should wait for it..." Naruto stood up from the limited space of her bed.
"Until when?" she smiled, but sadness sat on the corner of her lips.
"Tomorrow, 2 days later, a month, a year, two years... no matter how long it takes..."
"By the time it comes, perhaps a lot of people would no longer be there, many will lost their source of income, many will leave the city, many will become a beggar, and many will resort to crime, is that what you hope, elder brother?"
"..." Naruto's half-lid eyes grew solemn, he clenched his right fist.
"Elder brother... I am tired..." Lee Jingjing threw her face to the side as if she didn't want to face him right now.
"Yeah, get some rest..." he walked out from her booth, his ears picked the sound of sobs with familiar tone.
He pushed open the door that led to the short hall before the emergency room, the Lee's couple stood there, looking pensive.
"Don't worry, I would loan some of our stuff to get us enough money for Jingjing's operations," Old Lee said.
"But... would it be enough? this... this price just..." Madam Lee's countenance could be compare to a dirty laundry, chaotic and unseemly.
"I would borrow some if it is not..." the old man patted his wife's shoulder, tried to give her the false senses of comfort.
"Why our family must suffer like this?"
"Sssh... don't say it like that..."
The grim conversation made Naruto felt uncomfortable, of course they spoke in a whisper but Naruto heightened senses would easily picked it up.
He approached them with a forced smile, greeting their ears with a light cough.
"Jingjing is back to rest..."
The old couple was startled, their face hinted with a naked worry if their talk was exposed, but Naruto careless expression made them relieve a little.
Since Naruto had walked out, Madam Lee swaggered back in, her steps was heavy.
"Going home, Naruto?" Old Lee put on a sincere smiling face.
"..." Naruto went silent for a while, then he curled his lips, "no."
"Hmm? Ah, I see..." Old Lee nodded his head after he sensed something amiss with Naruto's tone.
"Do be careful, sometimes dogs' bite is dangerous."
Naruto shrugged, he turned around.
"Who says anything about dogs, I am taking out trash," he began to walk.
"The KTV in Cheng Hai District had some serious problem about trash," Old Lee sighed.
"Got it, I'll be back," Naruto waved his hand.
His figure slowly out reached the Old Lee's sight, seconds per seconds, Naruto no longer visible to him.
Old Lee stood still before he entered the emergency room.
Daylight, somewhere within the west side of Zhong Hai's city, the climate for the area was burning hotly. Many people went out from their houses with a thin cloth as you could even see a man walked only with his sleeveless trousers. In the front of a small house within a rather slum district, a person with blonde hair, wearing a black shirt with a red whirlpool on its front and a pair of short white jeans that reached inches above his knee was currently faced a middle aged man. His expression was troubled, with a crumple of cash in his hand, he forced up a smile while spoke in a pleading tone."Can you lower the price again?" said the blonde."Again? hah... seriously, how much do you have?" the middle aged man sighed, his tanned skin glistened with sweats."I uh... only twenty..." he said with an embarrassed tone."Twenty?! Look kid, it's already a hard bargain for me to drop its initial worth to fifty percent and now you expect me to sell the cart for twenty yuan... you are killing me here..." his plain white shirt had dampened, the dark color between his armpits depicted how torturous the current's heat in the environment."Then... I guess you won't sell it?" the blonde man dropped his shoulder, and his expression fell."Hmm..." the middle aged man rubbed his chin, he observed the blonde with crafty eyes."How about... you give me that twenty yuan, and you pay the rest next month, in change, I give you the cart now," he put on the 'I am not a cold heart person' face."Really?! You are awesome, mister!" the blonde's face lit up and his eyes fiercely shone."Yes, yes, I couldn't stand any poor life that try to ramp up his fortune, especially by try to sell as a small stall person, yeah... it's a harsh and hard journey to brave, but honest one, thus I won't barred up your path," the middle aged man waved his hand as if the act he just did was not worth to mention."Thanks, here is the money!" the blonde brought forward the scruple of thin papers within his hand.As the middle aged man about to proceed to grab them, suddenly a slender hand blocked his range, in the midst of his surprise, a delicate looking girl, with small yet oval face and long ponytail black hair appeared on the side between the blonde person and him, she put on a smile yet there is a dangerous sign all over her lips."Fifty yuan for such a small and shady looking cart, eh?" the girl said while holding her expression so lovely.Not far from where their stood, a rectangle piece of block made of woods, with two wheels glued on its both side remained idle. It size was not even twice higher than the blonde. And it also filled with dust and spider's web."J-Jingjing! Um, uh, you know how precious those are to me! It's not about the physical worth but the sentiment's price, thus... it's... it's..." the middle aged man suddenly spoke in stutter."Hoo, sentiment... do tell me if I remember correctly, I saw a similar cart over the dumpster few days ago? Is it just a coincident?" Lee Jingjing curled her lips, she squinted her eyes."That is no the same!" the middle aged man threw his sight away from hers."But I sure remember a dog walked up to it and... you know... marked its dominion..." she said while glancing her eyes upward, "and I did smell the stench even until now.""What?! That's impossible, I have dragged it from the dumpster and I... smelt... nothing..." the middle aged man realized what words he just said and his face suddenly became pale, it became whiter as he caught a smirk manifested on the girl's lips.Soon the blonde and the girl traversed the side road while he hummed a tune of delight, his hands grabbed a handle of the cart as he pushed it along the path."Thankfully Jingjing arrive in time, and I could buy this thing for only 10!" the man said with relaxed tone."Elder brother Naruto, you're such a bummer!" Lee Jingjing huffed while she followed him from behind. The young lad wore a yellow shirt with the design of a blue cat with white wing on its back. She put a grey colored skirt with patterned flowers on its surface."Yes, yes, don't fuss over a trivial thing~" Naruto ignored her tantrum while he closed his eyes and smiling without control."Elder brother, there is still so much thing to do, you gotta remodel the cart to suit your ramen's shop," she put her finger over her lips."I know, I got all plan overlay inside my head," Naruto shook his hand in carefree manner."Did you?" Lee Jingjing squinted her eyes in suspicion."Yeah, relax, I got it covered!"3 hours later."Tadaaa!" Naruto presented the cart which he had cost more than hours time to rebuild, the previous only woods and wheels now had an orange colored paint all over its surface, mixed with big black words 'Best ramen in the world' coated in a line of white tone. The top of the cart had two hole in it and flashy neon strap a miniature size canopy that stuck by a pole at the corner of the cart.Lee Jingjing stared at the cart with a poker face expression."So what do you think? You know, I always thought myself as an artist..." Naruto smirked with confident eyes teased the girl before him."..." she looked at him then looked back at the cart, not once her eyebrows even curled."I know, I know, you must have been caught captive by the sight of my master piece, I don't mind getting praise but please keep it simple," he began to laugh toward the sky while crossing his arms."It's awful," she said simply, staggering the blonde while sweat drop greeted his temple."Jingjing, what are you saying... this is clearly a good design..." Naruto scratched his cheek while forcing a smile."You don't believe me? Fine, let's go around asking people..." then both the young man and the girl strolled the neighborhood to ask for their opinion.A person shook his head.Another person shook her head.The third person stared for quite sometime, then he shook his head.The forth person had his face amused, but he still shook his head. After asking perhaps more than twenty people, only three of them that actually gave a thumbs up, one was a hobo, who are strangely winked winked at him asking for some reward, a madman who afterwards went berserk and chased them around the neighborhood Naruto could beat him but he just a sick person, and the last one was a blind color person which they don't know about it until much later. The day was getting brighter which consequently made the weather was getting hotter. Naruto crouched beside a convenient store with dejected expression all over his face, his apparently 'awful' design stall laid rest on his right. "Seriously... no people in this city know the meaning of art," he shook his head and snorting, but his shoulder slumped anyway. "Still unwilling to accept it?" he felt a cold touch on his cheek, Lee Jingjing just came out from the store and treated him a canned energy drink. "It's not that..." Naruto accepted it and flicked open the can, he gulped it down. A cool fluid invaded his dryer throat. "Elder brother'd spent the rest of your money, hadn't you?" she crouched beside him, her both knees touched her chest. "Yeah... there is no left for rebuilding," Naruto drew a circle on the ground. "Hmm..." Lee Jingjing tilted her head to the side, then a bulb lit atop her head, "hey, elder brother, I think dad used to have an old cart stash in home, though I don't know if it was still there..." "It's fine Jingjing, I just use this one to make a sell... the rice had been cooked, might as well ate it anyway!" he stood up and began pushing his cart. "Alright, if you change your mind, just call me..." A week later... "Jingjing, please borrow me your dad's old stall!" Naruto bent low his head in front of Lee Jingjing who just came back from university. "Your sell wasn't good?" She was about to enter her home went she heard Naruto's call. Naruto told her with dispirited tone how people didn't visit his spot at all, most only stopped to look but then carried onto the other. "Hmm, alright... wait here," Lee Jingjing ceased her intention going inside her house. She closed the front door and strode toward the small alley beside her house. A couples minutes later, she came out with a much bigger size cart than he currently had. It still needed to be remodeled to match his ramen's stall. "It required several patch here and there, and its wheels a little lack of air, but it isn't broken though," she pointed her finger in certain spots that had a hole on the surface. Probably because of vermin's bite. "Ooh! This should be suffice!" Naruto's eyes glittered as she pushed it toward him. "Take a good care of it..." she curled her lips. "Don't worry, it goes missing only in a great disasters!" Naruto patted his chest with his thumbs, which made her laughed then he tagged along. *** "I see, great disaster..." Naruto chuckled while shaking his head, of course he wouldn't remember that, he practically was joking. Lee Jingjing giggled but every spit of laugh created the insufferable pain inside her nose. "Elder brother..." her voice grew small, so small that anyone would thought she wasn't talk at all. "The people in the market... they need help..." she said slowly. "..." Naruto didn't have the change on his face. "Day by day, there is nothing but pain, and trouble comes akin to a blazing storm. From the government, the thugs around, the incorporate people. Powerless they are, only accept how fate determines their future. Shout for help maybe heard but is there a hand would come to it? Dad knows, they knows, to solve this, one must struggle and break free from the oppression, yet they choose to remain passive, letting them to toy with their life. Too many things they incapable to do, but pray for miracle they never stop," she stared at the ceiling, eyes thick with impenetrable conviction. "Then they should wait for it..." Naruto stood up from the limited space of her bed. "Until when?" she smiled, but sadness sat on the corner of her lips. "Tomorrow, 2 days later, a month, a year, two years... no matter how long it takes..." "By the time it comes, perhaps a lot of people would no longer be there, many will lost their source of income, many will leave the city, many will become a beggar, and many will resort to crime, is that what you hope, elder brother?" "..." Naruto's half-lid eyes grew solemn, he clenched his right fist. "Elder brother... I am tired..." Lee Jingjing threw her face to the side as if she didn't want to face him right now. "Yeah, get some rest..." he walked out from her booth, his ears picked the sound of sobs with familiar tone. He pushed open the door that led to the short hall before the emergency room, the Lee's couple stood there, looking pensive. "Don't worry, I would loan some of our stuff to get us enough money for Jingjing's operations," Old Lee said. "But... would it be enough? this... this price just..." Madam Lee's countenance could be compare to a dirty laundry, chaotic and unseemly. "I would borrow some if it is not..." the old man patted his wife's shoulder, tried to give her the false senses of comfort. "Why our family must suffer like this?" "Sssh... don't say it like that..." The grim conversation made Naruto felt uncomfortable, of course they spoke in a whisper but Naruto heightened senses would easily picked it up. He approached them with a forced smile, greeting their ears with a light cough. "Jingjing is back to rest..." The old couple was startled, their face hinted with a naked worry if their talk was exposed, but Naruto careless expression made them relieve a little. Since Naruto had walked out, Madam Lee swaggered back in, her steps was heavy. "Going home, Naruto?" Old Lee put on a sincere smiling face. "..." Naruto went silent for a while, then he curled his lips, "no." "Hmm? Ah, I see..." Old Lee nodded his head after he sensed something amiss with Naruto's tone. "Do be careful, sometimes dogs' bite is dangerous." Naruto shrugged, he turned around. "Who says anything about dogs, I am taking out trash," he began to walk. "The KTV in Cheng Hai District had some serious problem about trash," Old Lee sighed. "Got it, I'll be back," Naruto waved his hand. His figure slowly out reached the Old Lee's sight, seconds per seconds, Naruto no longer visible to him. Old Lee stood still before he entered the emergency room.
