The man struggled to break free of the ropes, not even bothering to put on his tattered cotton-padded coat, and staggered to the roadside. He squatted down beside the child, trembling, trying to check the child's breath. He reached out several times, but his hand was still trembling violently.
Before I could even breathe through my nose, tears were already streaming down my face.
"Xiao Shi, Xiao Shi, it's all Dad's fault. Dad didn't protect you well!"
People were fleeing in all directions on the street just now, and no one came out now. Apart from a few saleswomen, there was only Jian Dan and her group in the supply and marketing cooperative. They watched as the people left and didn't dare to make a sound for a long time.
The man's crying outside reached their ears clearly. Lin He and the others had seen many similar scenes in recent days, but they were still uneasy and leaned against the counter without saying a word.
Li Yan and the others were completely stunned. They had heard that things were a bit chaotic in the city, but who would have thought it would be this bloody? They hadn't even reacted yet.
Li Yan and the other girls shook hands with each other, and sure enough, their hands were all ice-cold.
"Is it simple?"
Simple is right outside the door.
The man stood beside the child for ages, completely oblivious, still crying incessantly.
Simple, that little hot temper.
"Are you never going to stop?"
The man was startled and looked up, tears streaming down his face.
"Why are you looking at me? Look at the child, or do you want to see you crying here?"
The man was surprised.
"You, you saved me?"
Simple, impatient, and a little hungry.
"Check if the child is alright?"
The man lowered his head and mocked himself.
"They're used to running rampant in this county. Aren't you afraid they'll come back and retaliate against you?"
He looked at me in a simple and strange way.
"Why are you retaliating against me? Who saw what I did?"
"Hehe, yes!"
The man held the child in his arms, gently stroking the child's face. After a long while, he slowly stood up.
"Auntie, comrade, could you look after Xiao Shi for a while?"
Simple just felt something was wrong and wanted to refuse.
"What are you doing? Isn't this your son?"
The man, his earlier hysteria gone, became remarkably gentle and refined, and chuckled softly.
"I'm going back to get some things, then I'll take the kids and leave here."
Really? Jian Dan still felt something was off, but after staring at the man for a long time and looking at the pale, translucent face in his arms, she still reached out and took it.
After thinking about it, we agreed on a place.
"I'll go to the state-run restaurant and wait for you there."
The man nodded, stared at the child for a moment, then turned and left.
Simple then added two more sentences.
"Hurry up, I'm telling you, this offer won't last!"
I glanced over just now. When the child was thrown, the angle changed slightly, and his body was cushioned. He must have received a lot of shock, but there are no bone injuries or anything like that. He just needs to rest.
Li Yan and the others came out trembling with fear, only to see a simple scene of someone holding a child. They were immediately horrified, but no longer afraid.
"You actually accepted it?"
"You can't just leave him here on the main road, can you? I'm going to wait for him at the state-run restaurant. What about you?"
Originally, I didn't mention it because I thought Li Yan and Lin Zhaodi might not be willing to part with it. But now it seems that sitting down and waiting is the only option.
Li Yan and the others seemed to have already discussed it and nodded in agreement.
"Let's go, we'll go too."
Back inside, she slung her basket over her shoulder, carrying the day's haul. Without a second thought, she waved to Lin He, and the group headed straight for the state-run restaurant a few doors away. Even her basket and the things she'd bought were carried by Chen Jianguo.
It's not time to go back on our word yet; the attached factories haven't closed yet, and there aren't many bad guys in the state-run restaurant—to be precise, it's just their gang.
I found a large table, put my things down, and simply placed the child on the bench next to me. As soon as I did that, the child woke up.
Suddenly, she met a pair of big eyes and was momentarily stunned.
"Simple, what do you want to eat? Steamed buns?"
"ah?"
After glancing at the child named Shengshi, the braised pork that was about to be eaten turned into...
"I want a bowl of noodles, no chili."
Jian Dan had no experience in taking care of children. The only children she was close to were Hu Zi, Xiao Hua, and Hei Dan. The children were already grown up and didn't need her to take care of them at all.
After thinking for a moment, I dug out my water bottle, which contained sugar water that I had filled that morning.
"Sister Yan, could you get me an empty bowl?"
Returning with the empty bowl, Li Yan was horrified to find that the child she had been holding was now sitting up. She simply took the bowl, poured half a bowl of water, and handed it to the child.
"Have some water first."
After being tormented for so long, both adults and children had chapped lips.
Shengshi didn't say anything, looked at it briefly for a few seconds, took the water, gulped down a mouthful, his eyes lit up, and then he held the bowl and gulped it down in a few more mouthfuls.
To put it simply, this person isn't stupid; they could tell it was sweet with just one sip.
Everyone ordered simple dishes, and they were quickly prepared. Jian Da then asked for a small bowl and divided the noodles in half.
“Here, eat up. Your dad said he’ll come pick you up in a bit.”
Even in prosperous times, people are obedient and will eat whatever is offered.
However, after eating for a long time, Sheng Zhiyuan still hadn't shown up, and Jian Dan couldn't help but feel uneasy. What did this mean?
"Fire! Fire!"
Jian Dan suddenly stood up, feeling that something was wrong with the fire.
I rushed to the door and saw thick smoke billowing into the sky from the end of the street, which must be a back street. The flames were quite large, and passersby were talking about it.
"How could it catch fire? There wasn't even a strong wind today."
"Yeah! Hey, that looks like it. Emma, let's go, that looks like where those people live?"
"Oh dear, it's true. Last time you wrecked Old Chen's house, you moved all his stuff over there, didn't you?"
"No, they moved here. The house over here, the one that caught fire, it seems to be the one they used to play in. They were always here during the day, and the neighbors around there didn't dare to make a sound."
"Ah, now that you mention it, I remember you. That kid was so scared he had nightmares in the middle of the night, right?"
"Hey, come to think of it, those houses in that area, aren't they all from the Sheng family?"
"What are you saying? You dare to say that? Be careful they come after you."
Although it was a jumbled mess, I could still make out the gist of it: these soldiers had vandalized many houses and taken away all the belongings. One house was used for storing things, and the other was used for daily activities. Now, the house used for daily activities was on fire.
I can tell without even needing conspiracy theories, something just doesn't make sense; it's too much of a coincidence.
"Hey? Who bumped into me?"
A small figure bumped into her, darted around the corner, and then turned back to give her directions, simply pointing to himself.
"You called me?"
The child nodded vigorously, pointing straight behind him.
Jian Dan, being both skilled and daring, told Li Yan and then headed in that direction, entering the alley as she pointed.
"Speak up, who told you to call me here?"
The little beggar pointed behind her, and when she turned around briefly, she immediately frowned.
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