Eating Melons in the Police Station

In the Fu Ding neighborhood, there was a large children's playground. Zhong Jin had never taken Little Tong there. A few times, while passing by, he saw children playing in the playground and parents chatting on the benches nearby.

He didn't want to join the group of chatting parents, and standing alone by the side would have seemed even stranger. Fortunately, Little Tong didn't show any desire to play there, so the father and daughter always bypassed the playground and preferred to go to a more distant mall to have fun instead.

However, Aunt Liang loved the playground. Every afternoon, she would take Little Tong there to play.

Before heading out, she would always send Zhong Jin a message: "Mr. Zhong, I'm taking Little Tong downstairs to play." Sometimes, she would even send him photos and videos of Little Tong playing.

Although Little Tong was out of the surveillance zone, Zhong Jin still felt uneasy. He privately asked Little Tong if anyone had bullied her while playing outside. She replied that no one had and even asked Zhong Jin to buy her a small bucket and shovel to play with sand.

Feeling guilty for not being able to accompany his child, Zhong Jin readily agreed to Little Tong's request for toys.

When Little Tong wanted a bucket for digging sand, Zhong Jin spared no expense and brought home a whole set of sandbox cooking toys. Besides the bucket and shovel, the set included pots, pans, bowls, a mini stove, even a refrigerator and an oven. The craftsmanship was exceptionally fine; for instance, the mini refrigerator was a perfect scaled-down version of a real one, with separate refrigeration and freezing sections, a light that turned on when the door was opened, and removable shelves and drawers.

The massive size of the toy set caught the attention of familiar neighbors when Aunt Liang dragged the big bag of toys outside one day. One neighbor even asked if she was moving.

Aunt Liang helped Little Tong set up the toys piece by piece, creating a small kitchen area in the corner of the sandbox. Once everything was arranged, Little Tong played on her own while Aunt Liang chatted with a fellow mother about parenting tips.

Little Tong's luxurious toy set quickly attracted other children, who all gathered around.

One child touched the overly delicate mini refrigerator and asked enviously, "Can I play too?"

Little Tong, who was making mooncake shapes out of sand using molds, glanced up at the child and asked, "Do you want to eat some biscuits?"

Seeing the sand biscuits, the child shook his head. "That's just sand. It's not edible. Can I play with your toys?"

Little Tong bent down and rummaged through her assortment of pots and pans, pulling out a timer.

Aunt Liang noticed but didn't say anything, guessing Little Tong must have brought the timer from home. She returned to chatting with the other mother.

Little Tong set the timer for 15 minutes and told the child, "We each get a turn with the timer. It's my turn now. I'm selling biscuits, so do you want to buy one?"

Even though adults might not understand phrases like "We each get a turn with the timer," children had no trouble grasping the concept. The child understood immediately and happily agreed.

So, the child patiently played the role of a customer. When the timer went off, Little Tong stepped out of her kitchen and handed over the toys. "Your turn."

Seeing such amazing toys for the first time, the child was thrilled. "I'll be the mom. You be my daughter, okay?"

Little Tong nodded. "Okay, Mom. I want to eat noodles."

The child looked at the sand. "But I can't make noodles with sand. How about you pretend you want to eat takoyaki?"

Little Tong sat cross-legged on the edge of the sandbox, playing along. "Mom, I want takoyaki."

More children joined in, and everyone followed Little Tong's rule: each had a 15-minute turn as the chef, while others would play different roles according to the chef's scenario. The scene was harmonious, with no fights or toy snatching.

A mother holding a baby praised to Aunt Liang, "Your child is so well-behaved and smart."

Aunt Liang agreed, "I've taken care of six children; this one is the easiest and smartest. I wonder how many good deeds their parents must have done in a past life to have such a great child."

The mother jiggled her baby, saying, "Baby, grow up soon so you can play with the big sister. Be as smart as her, okay?"

The baby seemed to understand, wrinkling its toothless mouth into a gummy smile.

"I want to keep playing," a shrill voice interrupted the harmony.

Aunt Liang stopped chatting and looked over. It was a boy who had joined the group later. His timer had gone off, but he refused to give up the toys and wanted to play longer.

Aunt Liang remained silent, deciding to observe.

It was normal for children to have minor disputes while playing. Adults shouldn't intervene too much. Let the kids handle it themselves; that's how they learn and grow from different situations.

Little Tong propped herself up with her hands and stood up from the mat. She marched over to the unruly boy, looked him in the eye, and, mimicking her father's stern look, said, "Please leave."

The boy suddenly pushed Little Tong, then fell into the sandbox and screamed at the top of his lungs, "She pushed me! She hit me! Waah, gramps, I've been hit!"

Little Tong fell into the sand but quickly got up, glaring fiercely, ready to throw a punch at any moment. Aunt Liang prepared to step in, worried that the taller boy might overpower Little Tong in a fight.

Instead, Little Tong grabbed her lower eyelids with both hands and made a big goofy face at the boy. "Doo doo doo... Boohoo ghost!"

Aunt Liang, who had braced herself for action, was left speechless. "This temper matches Little Zhong's."

Meanwhile, the boy's grandfather, playing chess in the distance, hurried over, shouting, "What's going on? What's going on?"

With his back up, the boy cried even louder. "Gramps, she pushed me! She hit me in the head!"

His dramatic performance would have convinced anyone who didn't witness what happened.

The mother holding the baby spoke up. "No one hit him. He tried to take someone's toys and pushed the little girl instead."

The grandfather, though, focused on his grandson wanting to play with the toy but being denied. His voice boomed, "What toy? What toy does he want to play with?"

The other children playing with the toys were scared by the fierce grandfather. Some ran away, others stood frozen, looking helpless and pitiful.

The troublesome boy pointed to the sandbox kitchen. "Gramps, I want to play with that."

"Go ahead. I'll stand here and see who dares to bully you." The old man crossed his arms and adopted a combat stance, preventing others from getting near the toys.

The boy bolted into the kitchen, grinning smugly.

At ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‍that point, Aunt Liang stood up with a smile. "Oh dear, I have to go home to cook. Little Tong, where's the toy box? Let's pack up and head home."

The little boy picked up a frying pan, and Aunt Liang, with a smile, quickly snatched it away, "No playing anymore, we're going home now."

The boy then grabbed a mooncake mold, and Aunt Liang handed over a box, "Thank you for helping us tidy up the toys. Here, put it in this box." The boy clutched the toy tightly, refusing to let go, so Aunt Liang forcefully took it from him and placed it in the box.

The boy started to cry loudly again.

The grandfather pointed at Aunt Liang and yelled, "Put that back! What's the big deal if my grandson plays with it for a while? It won't break."

Little Tong was really furious, clenching her little fists and shouting loudly, "These are my toys! I don't want to share them with him anymore."

The grandfather turned his head and scolding her sternly, "What are you yelling about? At such a young age, you don't know how to share, and you don't respect the elderly."

Aunt Liang, who had been very calm until now, pulled Little Tong behind her and finally got angry, "Why are you yelling at my kid? Huh? What right do you have to yell at my child? We bought these toys with our own money, letting you play with them is a kindness, not letting you play is our right. Try yelling again and see if I won't slap you. Old fool, old man."

The old man exploded when Aunt Liang yelled at him, behaving like a brawler, lifting up a small refrigerator and throwing it out, then tossed several toys to the ground, smashing them to pieces, "If my grandson can't play with them, then none of us will!"

Aunt Liang reached out to stop him, but he grabbed her hair instead.

Aunt Liang fell to the ground, clutching her head, "Ouch, my head, my head hurts, oh so painful. Can someone please call the police? Oh, I can't take it anymore."

As she writhed in pain, she kicked and thrashed around, delivering several solid kicks to the old man.

The old man, accustomed to being domineering, felt both ashamed and furious being scolded and kicked by Aunt Liang, his hair standing on end. He tried to kick Aunt Liang but was met with a kick to his knee, causing him to howl in pain.

Despite looking robust, the old man, likely spoiled by being the master of his household, wasn't a match for Aunt Liang, who was both fit and agile from her usual work.

Aunt Liang held the upper hand, delivering several hard kicks, but she knew when to stop; she didn't want to go too far and risk being held responsible if things got serious.

Just then, Zhong Jin emerged from the parking lot of the community, holding a roast duck in his hand. Knowing that Aunt Liang was downstairs playing with Little Tong, he headed straight in that direction.

He arrived at the sandbox just as the property security guards, who had been summoned, arrived. Everyone worked together to separate the two elderly people who had been fighting.

"What happened?" Zhong Jin asked.

Aunt Liang shook off the security guard's hand, re-tied her disheveled hair, and seeing Zhong Jin, she wasn't flustered at all. Her expression was calm as she said, "Just a little conflict over toys between the kids. It's nothing serious."

Zhong Jin crouched down and opened his arms toward Little Tong. The plump child rushed over, practically a little cannonball, crashing into Zhong Jin's embrace.

"Were you scared?" Zhong Jin gently pinched her little face.

Little Tong, who had been fuming earlier, like a brave little warrior with zero actual combat power, just giving death stares, now that her supporter had arrived, suddenly felt wronged, holding back tears, pointing at Aunt Liang, "He pulled my aunt's hair." She then pointed at the broken toys on the ground, pouting, "And he broke my toys."

Then, turning to look at the old man being held by the security guards, she put her hands on her hips, puffed up her cheeks, and shouted angrily at the top of her voice, "You're so crazy!"

The old man, having been kicked several times by Aunt Liang and feeling both pain and anger, had his face twisted in frustration, looking like the squashed pumpkin from "Plants vs. Zombies." Not wanting to just suffer the kicks in vain, he loudly proclaimed,

"I'm calling the police! They hit me, and they hit my grandson. This isn't over. I'm calling the police."@@novelbin@@

Zhong Jin, holding the child, stood up and walked calmly to the old man, "Do you want to call the police?"

The old man thought he was scared and deliberately shouted, "I don't agree to settle this privately. I absolutely want to call the police and hold them accountable."

Zhong Jin pulled out his police badge and showed it to the old man, "He'an Police Station, Zhong Jin. I'll take your report."