I arrived at the courtyard in silence, only to see the group of children laughing and joking as they walked away.
After getting out of the car, I looked around. The drag marks on the ground pointed directly to the neighbors two houses away. They were standing at their door, and I could almost hear their faint groans.
Simple's eyes flashed, and he groped around in a corner by the door, flipping over a standing brick and taking out the key from the groove inside.
Seeing that Jian Su had safely entered the room, Cheng Jin couldn't resist pointing two people over to take a look.
Both rooms were very simple: a kang (heated brick bed), miscellaneous items, a kitchen with some firewood, and nothing else.
Cheng Jin assumed Jian Dan was going to rest there. Seeing her go inside, he planned to follow her in to discuss the details of the rendezvous. But then he saw her come out of the west room with a serious expression. Cheng Jin's heart skipped a beat, and the feeling immediately showed on his face.
"What's wrong? What happened?"
Jian Dan only noticed it just now. There was a stove hole under the kang (heated brick bed) in the west room, and it was quite spacious inside. Wasn't this prepared for her?
Just as he was about to point it out to Cheng Jin, a loud shout came from outside.
"Halt! Who goes there?"
Then came the sounds of fighting, and a man's voice, which sounded fierce but was actually weak.
"Who are you? You're trespassing! I'll report you to the police!"
Cheng Jin was on tenterhooks when this startled him. His face darkened, and he turned and strode out the door.
"Private residence? Whose private residence is it? Do we need to ask you for permission to enter our own home?"
"Who are you, deity? State your name so I can test my skills."
The man rolled around, clutching his head, looking quite disheveled, trying to dodge the punches and kicks coming his way.
"Impossible! The landlord is clearly a young man. I checked, and he hasn't been back for months!"
He cried out that he was innocent, but his eyes kept darting around, clearly indicating that he was looking for trouble.
Cheng Jin rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on, and waved his hand.
"Tell him to be quiet, ask him what he's here for, and if that doesn't work, take him to the police station."
"yes,"
The next second, the person on the ground began to struggle violently.
"Let me go! I went to the wrong house. I'm going to the one up ahead!"
Seeing that they remained unmoved, he raised his voice even louder.
"Mom, come quick, someone's hitting me!"
"Help!"
Several figures immediately ran over from the alley entrance.
"Where are you? Who would dare bully you?"
The villagers were about to fight at the front gate. Inside the house, a simple, sensitive person noticed that there were many more presences nearby, all of them very hurried, as if they were running.
After getting a feel for the location, I tiptoed to the back window of the kitchen; it was a single, very small window.
If you gently push it open, you can feel these scents even more clearly, and you can also hear deliberately hushed voices, as if they are right outside the back wall.
"Run! There must be outsiders on the street ahead!"
"Didn't the police say they wouldn't be checking today?"
"Let's go, stop dawdling, something might have happened."
I heard there's going to be a crackdown soon, but I don't know if it's related to this. I'd better hurry, whether it's true or not. Better to avoid trouble.
"That's right, we're after money."
Then came the sound of hurried footsteps, fading into the distance.
It's simple yet amusing; is this what they call the black market in novels?
She had no shortage of money or goods, and she had no intention of dealing with the little stock she had in the base's space, so she was really unfamiliar with it.
She rarely came into contact with the black market and scrap metal yards, which are essential places for making money in novels. It's quite a coincidence that she's here today.
"Erniu, I can't run anymore. You run, don't worry about me, let's go home."
"Brother, I'll carry you on my back. You can't stay here, brother,"
His young voice already sounded like he was crying.
"Brother, if you don't come home, I'll have no family left."
"cough!"
The voice that had been speaking earlier was panting.
"Listen to me, my health isn't good to begin with, and I'm just adding to your burden. Listen to me, go home. If you don't want to go back to that person's house, then, cough cough, go find Grandpa Lin and beg him to help you find a good place, to go to the countryside."
"elder brother!"
"Erniu, listen to me! It's all my fault today. I shouldn't have come here. Don't cry."
Do you remember that person who took us in that winter?
Go to their village; there are lots of good people there.
"elder brother!"
The little one was already crying, while the older one was still giving instructions with great concern.
On the other side of the wall, Jian Dan listened quietly, her heart aching. Oh, child.
"elder brother!
"I don't want to go there. They're all bad people. They hit me, kicked me, poured hot water on me, and didn't give me food. Brother, I'm not going back. I want to stay with you."
The older brother's breath grew weaker and weaker; every word he uttered was a testament to his worry for his younger brother.
"Okay, don't go back. Listen to your brother. Go in a little while and find Uncle Lin. He's a good man. He'll help you for Dad's sake. Go, be good. Go to the countryside. Only by going to the countryside can you survive, understand?"
You're still young, so remember everyone who has helped you.
Later, when I have the ability, I will repay you.
"elder brother!"
......
"What's wrong?"
As Jian Dan was listening, Cheng Jin's lowered voice sounded in her ear.
"What happened?"
She simply shook her head slightly, then gestured for him to listen outside the wall.
"The two brothers are facing a life-or-death separation."
"You've softened your heart?"
She simply tilted her head back, forcing back the tears welling in her eyes.
"Not really, it's just that I feel they have it so hard."
A few minutes later, Cheng Jin was so angry that he almost overturned the table.
"Da Niu, Er Niu, why don't you come looking for me?"
Erniu's eyes were red from crying.
"Are you... Grandpa Lin?"
When the older brother leaned against the wall and curled the corners of his mouth...
"This is Grandpa Cheng, just like Grandpa Lin, a good person."
Cheng Jin raised his hand and slapped himself. A good person?
These two words felt like a slap in the face to him, even in front of his child, making him blush.
The men surrounding them also had tears in their eyes.
"Political Commissar, we can't let the child suffer like this. It's unreasonable that our brothers sacrificed themselves to defend the country, while our child is being tormented like this by relatives."
"Political Commissar, shall we go?"
Cheng Jin clenched his fists tightly, looking at the child's dependence on his older brother, and the sadness and helplessness in Da Niu's eyes. He gritted his teeth.
"Go, all of you go and bring over all the people who bullied them."
Jian Dan sensed that the two children looked a little flustered, but couldn't quite place them. She wasn't worried, and looked at the older brother, Da Niu.
"Uncle, should we take him to the hospital first?"
Take your time with everything else, focus on getting your health back on track first.
Cheng Jin wiped his face.
"Yes, let's go to the hospital first."
He reached out to help Da Niu up, but Da Niu shook his head, a faint blush creeping onto his face.
"Uncle Cheng, I'm not seriously ill, I'm just... hungry,"
Cheng Jin took several steps back, his shock beyond words, and his fist hardened again.
"What? They even stole your father's pension?"
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