In the end, An Ning kept the ten-yuan bill clutched in her palm instead of putting it into the cash box.
"Doudou, I can't make change for ten yuan right now. Why don't you take your things first, okay?"
Doudou looked at An Ning hesitantly, a hint of fear in her eyes. She nodded with a soft "mhm" and walked out of the convenience store with the cookies.
Just then, her sister-in-law returned.
She wiped her damp hands and said wearily to An Ning, "My legs have gone completely numb."
An Ning stepped forward to help her sister-in-law sit down, then told her what she had sold.
"Soy sauce, matches… I also bought two 'Little Rascal' candies and ten cents' worth of small cookies."
"What are you paying for? Take it back, take it back."
Her sister-in-law, whose legs had just been numb, insisted on standing up to give An Ning money, but An Ning held her down with a single finger.
