The old man's panic was obvious. When Song Lili reached out to help him up, he instinctively shook off her hand.
Her arm, which was already a little sore from the impact, hurt even more now. However, Song Lili wasn't angry, though she was a little uncomfortable.
After watching the old man struggle to his feet, she stopped caring and, seeing the cloth bag on the ground, tried to pick it up.
Unexpectedly, when I pulled the little hand, I found several books and two wooden boxes that looked quite old.
"You...you let go, you...what are you doing?" The old man reacted strongly, and as he saw Song Lili pulling the bag over, he pushed her away.
Song Lili had already seen what was inside. She stumbled several times as the old man pushed her, but she wasn't angry anymore.
It seems the old man was scared. I wonder what he's going to do with all that stuff? It's really dangerous to be out on the street like that.
Seeing the old man's gaze fixed on her, Song Lili stopped moving and stood there, saying reassuringly, "Grandpa, don't worry or be afraid."
"You...you...I beg you, please don't tell anyone, okay?" The old man suddenly looked at Song Lili with tears streaming down his face, pleading humbly.
"My...my house was ransacked. These are things that were hidden well and haven't been found yet, but they come every few days, so they'll find them sooner or later."
"I don't want my family to be criticized and denounced because of this. I... I don't want to harm my wife and children." The old man cried very sadly.
Song Lili looked around, then pulled the old man into a deserted alley. The old man, afraid that Song Lili would report him, obediently followed her.
He just hoped that the girl would have a change of heart and let the old man go.
When there were only two people around, Song Lili released the old man and asked, "Grandpa, what are you planning to do with these things?"
It doesn't seem like they want to sell it.
"Throw it away, find a secluded place to throw it away," the old man said, his fingers trembling, his lips turning blue.
Song Lili's eyes lit up. She leaned closer to the old man and said, "How about this, you give me these things. I happen to be short of some kindling at home. If you give them to me, I won't have to look for them anymore."
"Of course, I won't take your things for free. Can I buy them? I'll give you five dollars, will you sell these things to me?"
"Really?" The old man looked at Song Lili with surprise, as if he had gotten a great deal. The light that suddenly appeared in his eyes even caught Song Lili's eye.
Song Lili looked around cautiously. "Of course, why would I lie to you? I need to start a fire to heat the kang (a traditional heated bed) at home." Song Lili made up a story on the spot. Why would you need paper to start a fire to heat a kang?
However, the old man was completely focused on Song Lili asking for these things and didn't notice the loophole in her words.
He nodded happily, "Okay, okay, it's all yours, it's all yours, I don't want money, it's all yours." As he spoke, as if afraid that Song Lili would refuse, he quickly stuffed it into Song Lili's arms.
Song Lili quickly took out five yuan and stuffed it into the old man's hand, saying, "We agreed that I wouldn't take advantage of you. Goodbye, sir."
Having gotten what she wanted, Song Lili had only one thought: to make a quick getaway. Without giving the old man a chance to refuse, she immediately turned and ran away.
The old man reacted quickly; seeing Song Lili run, he turned around and ran in the opposite direction.
Song Lili made several turns before finally stopping, stuffing the cloth bag into her basket. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.
She looked around and, finding no one watching, then headed towards the more crowded areas, whereas before she had been running in the less crowded places.
Passing by a recycling station, Song Lili thought for a moment, went in and bought a large stack of waste newspapers, using the excuse that she wanted to wallpaper the walls.
However, this can't really be considered an excuse, since she did have this idea, but she just didn't plan to make it happen today.
However, the cloth bag in the basket was too big. Song Lili touched it and felt that there seemed to be a vase or something inside. It was round and quite large.
So, to cover it up, she could only buy some newspapers to wrap it up, so that if others asked, she could say it was newspapers.
With so many dangerous things on her back, Song Lili didn't linger and quickly returned to Hongqi Village. Instead of going home, she went straight to the cave that Zhang Qinghua had taken her to.
Of course, Zhang Qinghua accompanied her, because she didn't have a rope, so Zhang Qinghua had to carry it.
The two of them hadn't been here for a long time, and the weeds here seemed to have grown much taller and more compact, so it took a lot of effort to clear a path.
After skillfully descending into the cave, Song Lili took out the cloth bag, opened it, and found that half of it was filled with books.
Song Lili had heard of a few of the books before, but not the others. She looked at them; there were medical books and other miscellaneous items.
Besides the books, there were two wooden boxes containing items, one made of jade and the other of gold.
Then there was a very large bottle, not a vase, but more like a fish tank, though it wasn't broken.
After putting the items down, Song Lili clapped her hands and said, "These are all good things. It was worth the risk I took."
These are things that many people avoid like the plague now, but in a few years they will be valuable, so of course people will be willing to take the risk.
Zhang Qinghua looked at Song Lili with a headache. "Lili, don't do this again. What if you get caught?"
"These are good things, but I just want you to be safe." Her safety is the most important thing.
"I know, but I'm not from this town, so I grabbed the things and ran away immediately. That's why I dared to do it."
"Otherwise, I wouldn't want anything even better than this." Her only advantage was that she wasn't from the town.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have risked her life; she would never put the cart before the horse and put herself in danger for something inanimate.
"Sigh..." Zhang Qinghua couldn't help but pat Song Lili's head. "It's good that you know. I was just afraid you would do something dangerous."
This world is very unsafe.
"I know." She knew better than anyone how cruel this era was, and she knew better than anyone that only by protecting herself could she have unlimited possibilities.
She always felt that she was important.
"If you have anything, bring it here. Don't leave it at home; it'll be even more unsafe later on," Song Lili couldn't help but remind Zhang Qinghua.
With Luo Juan around, she really didn't dare to let her guard down. Right now, there weren't even any books left in her house.
Since no one in the family was going to school anymore, there was no need to keep them, so she tore them all up and used them for firewood.
"I know, I've moved everything from home here, don't worry." I won't let anything happen to myself, I still want to protect you, and I still want to spend the rest of my days with you.
Therefore, I will protect myself.
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