Zhiyi, You Are Just Too Considerate

The heavy snow outside had stopped.

The heavy cotton door curtain swayed slightly in the wind, letting in a few wisps of cold air that were instantly swallowed up by the heat inside the shop.

The sign for "Lao Li Barbecue" was slightly blurred by a layer of fine snow.

From their original tricycle street stall to this seventy or eighty square meter street-facing shop, it had taken the Li family grandfather and granddaughter exactly five years.

There were no customers in the shop right now.

Li Zhiyi was sitting in a corner by the window, clutching a handful of iron skewers.

The stainless steel basin in front of her was piled high with diced mutton, the bright red meat interspersed with snow-white sheep fat.

Because it had just been taken out of the freezer, the meat was still hard, and it took some effort to pierce it with the skewers.

Her fingers were red from the cold, and her knuckles were even a little stiff, but her skewering motions were incredibly skilled.

Pinching the meat with her left hand and guiding the skewer with her right, a flick of her wrist sent a piece of meat firmly onto the stick.

Alternating fat and lean, two pieces of lean meat sandwiching one piece of fat.

This was the secret to their booming business over the past few years.

Li Zhiyi didn't wear gloves; she felt they made her clumsy and would slow down her work.

A thick layer of condensation covered the glass door.

She paused her work, raised the back of her hand, and wiped haphazardly at the glass.

A patch of the blurry world instantly became clear.

The originally gray road was now blanketed in snow.

Two figures entered that clear field of vision.

One in black, one in white.

A boy in a long black puffer jacket was walking slowly, his hands stuffed in his pockets and his neck hunched against the cold.

The girl next to him, wearing a cream-white puffer jacket, was completely different.

Wearing a red scarf, she was like a playful rabbit, one moment running ahead and walking backwards, the next skipping back to tug at the boy's arm.

The boy seemed very impatient, turning his head to the side.

The girl wasn't angry; instead, she laughed uproariously, practically hanging her whole body onto the boy.

Separated by the thick glass and the howling wind, Li Zhiyi couldn't hear what they were saying.

It was Chen Zhi and Lin Wanwan.

The iron skewer in Li Zhiyi's hand stopped in mid-air.

The fat on the mutton began to melt at room temperature, sticking clammily to her fingertips.

She just stared blankly.

Watching Lin Wanwan stuff a snowball down Chen Zhi's collar, watching Chen Zhi jump up and curse, then turn around and shove Lin Wanwan into a snowbank.

Lin Wanwan got up and chased Chen Zhi to hit him, and Chen Zhi took to his heels and ran.

"Zhiyi."

A call interrupted Li Zhiyi's thoughts.

She snapped back to reality, instinctively lowered her head, and the iron skewer in her hand started moving again.

"Yes, Grandpa, I'm almost done skewering this basin of meat."

Li Zhiyi didn't look up, speaking quickly in an attempt to use her busyness to cover up her momentary lapse in concentration.

A large, rough hand reached over and pressed directly down on the stainless steel basin.

"Stop skewering."

Li Jianjun pushed the basin aside and grabbed a rag to wipe his hands.

He looked at his granddaughter's red, freezing hands, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes quivered.

"It's the dead of winter, and it's the off-season. We don't have many customers in the shop altogether. If you skewer so many in one go, they won't be fresh tomorrow."

Li Zhiyi looked up, a flash of panic in her usually downcast eyes.

"It's fine, Grandpa, they won't go bad if we freeze them in the freezer. What if we get a large table tonight? It's better to be prepared than to be caught off guard."

She said this while reaching out to snatch the basin back.

In this family, working was the only way she could find a sense of security.

Only by working non-stop did she feel she could do justice to the hardship her grandparents endured, waking up early and staying up late to support her education.

"Put it down!"

Li Jianjun suddenly raised his voice.

Li Zhiyi jumped in fright, timidly withdrawing her hand, and looked at her grandfather in dismay.

Li Jianjun's back was slightly hunched, and years of smoke and fire had made him look much older than his actual age.

He sighed, walked around the table, and sat down on the bench next to Li Zhiyi.

Li Jianjun turned his head to look out the window.

In that direction, the figures of Chen Zhi and Lin Wanwan had already gone far away, leaving only a messy trail of footprints.

"That was Xiao Zhi and Wanwan just now, right?"

Li Zhiyi pursed her lips and gave a soft "Mm."

"Look at them."

Li Jianjun pointed out the window, his tone carrying a bit of envy and a bit of heartache.

"On a heavy snowy day, they know to come out and go crazy, to come out and play. Look at you. As soon as you have a holiday, you bury yourself in the shop, either skewering meat or washing dishes."

"Zhiyi."

He turned his head, his eyes full of complex emotions.

"You're too sensible."

These words were like a rock, smashing heavily against Li Zhiyi's heart.

From childhood to adulthood, the surrounding neighbors, teachers, and relatives praised her the most with these words.

"Zhiyi is so sensible."

"This child never wastes money and never causes trouble."

Li Zhiyi lowered her head, staring at the tips of her shoes.

"Is it bad to be sensible?" she mumbled softly. "Grandpa, you're getting older and your back isn't good. If I do a little more, you can relax a little more."

"Bullshit!"

Li Jianjun slapped the table with his palm, shaking the bottles and jars on the table.

"Grandpa is only fifty-eight this year! Not even sixty yet! How can I not be able to work?"

He was a little agitated, his chest heaving violently.

"Our family isn't in the days of setting up street stalls anymore, you don't need to suffer along with me. What is Grandpa risking his old life to make money for? Isn't it just so you can be like other kids, eating whatever you want to eat, playing whatever you want to play?"

Li Zhiyi bit her lip, not daring to speak.

She knew her grandfather's heart ached for her, but she was used to it.

Used to living frugally, used to spending every penny wisely, used to being an invisible person in the corner.

Looking at his granddaughter's submissive appearance, Li Jianjun felt even worse.

He stood up, walked behind the cash register, and bent down to fiddle around for a long time.

When he returned, he had a white square box in his hand.

"Take it."

Li Jianjun pushed the box in front of Li Zhiyi.

Li Zhiyi froze for a moment.

The white packaging box was highly textured. The top of the front had a raised outline of a mobile phone printed on it, and the side had a line of silver English letters.

iPhone 6s.

In this winter of 2015, this box represented the absolute trend; it was a luxury item in the eyes of many students.

Li Zhiyi's breathing stopped instantly.

Several girls in her class were using this. Every time they took it out between classes, it would draw a wave of envious looks.

She heard it cost over six thousand yuan.

Over six thousand yuan.

How many skewers of mutton was that? How many cases of beer? How many nights would Grandpa have to stand in front of the smoky grill?

As if her hand had been burned, Li Zhiyi violently pushed the box back.

"Grandpa, why did you buy this!"

Her voice was trembling, not out of pleasant surprise, but fright.

"This is way too expensive! I don't want it! The phone I'm using now can make calls, I don't need to change it at all!"

She stood up, grabbed the box, and made to walk toward the cash register.

"While it's just bought and hasn't been unsealed, hurry up and go return it! Over six thousand yuan is enough for us to pay several months' rent!"

"Stop right there!"

Li Jianjun grabbed her arm and pressed her back onto the stool.

"Return what? Grandpa specifically asked someone to bring this back from the official store. It's that... rose gold! They said it's the color you little girls like the most."

Li Jianjun stuffed the box back into Li Zhiyi's hands, pressing down hard on the back of her hands so she couldn't let go.

"Zhiyi, listen to Grandpa."

The old man's voice softened, carrying a hint of pleading.

"We used to be poor, and it made you suffer a lot of grievances. Watching other kids eat snacks while you could only swallow your saliva, watching others wear new clothes while you could only wear your school uniform."

"Grandpa felt terrible in his heart."

Li Jianjun sniffled, his eyes turning a little red.

"Now our conditions are better, and our family isn't short of these few thousand bucks. Grandpa just wants you to know that you, Li Zhiyi, are no worse than anyone else. Whatever others have, my Zhiyi must have too, and she must use the best!"

Li Zhiyi held the heavy box, tears falling without warning.

Drop.

They landed on the plastic shrink wrap, blurring into a small water stain.

"But, it really is too expensive..." she choked out, her voice as faint as a mosquito.

"Expensive my foot!"

Li Jianjun waved his big hand, speaking with a heroic spirit. "Spending money on my granddaughter, even ten thousand bucks isn't expensive! As long as you're happy, Grandpa would gladly grill skewers for another ten years!"

He reached out a rough thumb and clumsily wiped the tears from Li Zhiyi's face.

"Stop crying, you won't be pretty if you keep crying."

Li Jianjun tore open the box, took out the phone gleaming with a pink metallic luster, and stuffed it into Li Zhiyi's palm.

The cold metallic touch made Li Zhiyi feel as if her palm was burning hot.

"The weather is cold now, and there's not much business. Don't waste your time in the shop anymore."

Li Jianjun gently pushed her back, pointing out the door.

"Take your new phone, give Xiao Zhi and Wanwan a call, and invite them over to our house for a meal when they have time."

"Go find them and play."

"Like a normal little girl, go build snowmen, have snowball fights, go crazy, go have fun."

Li Jianjun looked at his granddaughter, his gaze gentle.

"Grandpa hasn't achieved much in this life. Now that life is getting better, my greatest hope is that you can live a little happier. Don't live like an eighty-year-old lady."

Li Zhiyi tightened her grip on the phone.

She looked up through blurred teary eyes at her grandfather's increasingly aged face.

"Go on."

Li Jianjun waved his hand and turned toward the back kitchen.

"You don't need to come back for lunch. Have a good meal outside with your classmates, Grandpa will reimburse you!"

Li Zhiyi sniffled and nodded vigorously.

She carefully tucked the phone into her pocket, took off her apron, and hung it on the wall.

Then.

She pushed open the heavy glass door.

The biting cold wind mixed with snow flurries rushed against her face, instantly blowing away the smell of grease and smoke on her.

Li Zhiyi stood on the steps and took a deep breath of the freezing air.

She took out the brand-new phone and pressed the power button.

The screen lit up.

A white apple logo appeared on the black screen.

Li Zhiyi's fingers trembled slightly as she dialed that familiar number.

She glanced at the two figures in the distant snow, which had already turned into black dots, bit her lip, and pressed the call button.

"Beep— Beep—"

The waiting tone from the receiver felt like it was striking right on her heartbeat with every sound.

The moment it connected.

Li Zhiyi felt as if the wind and snow of the entire world had stopped.