80-year-old boy searching for his family
On this day, a boy carrying a worn-out schoolbag and wearing faded jeans appeared near the long-abandoned old house of the Huo family in Pear City.
He was thin, with a pale complexion reminiscent of malnutrition, yet his eyes revealed a stubbornness.
The boy clutched a worn-out photograph in his hand, which had been handled countless times and whose edges were already torn.
The photo shows a young man whose eyebrows and eyes bear a striking resemblance to his own.
Looking at the dilapidated villa overgrown with weeds, the boy lowered his head in disappointment and wiped away his tears.
He took off his backpack, carefully put the photo in his hand back inside, and meticulously zipped up the backpack.
As darkness fell, the penniless and homeless boy lay down in front of the villa.
"Go to sleep, you won't be hungry when you're asleep." He rubbed his rumbling stomach, rested his head on his backpack, and closed his eyes.
An elderly woman walking her dog was startled, thinking someone had committed suicide at the entrance of the Huo family's old house.
She carefully led the golden retriever forward, squatted down, and checked the boy's breath.
"He's still breathing!" The aunt breathed a sigh of relief and patted the boy's shoulder hard. "Child! Wake up! Why are you sleeping here?"
Huo Xiaozhuang was thus awakened by his aunt's Iron Palm.
He opened his eyes, thinking he was being chased away, and sat up immediately in fright: "I'm so sorry! I'll leave right away!"
He turned around, grabbed his schoolbag, and prepared to leave, but his stomach started to rumble again.
Huo Xiaozhuang's pale face turned bright red in an instant.
The woman walking her dog realized that this appeared to be a homeless teenager.
Huo Xiaozhuang lowered his head uncomfortably, slung his schoolbag over his shoulder, and started to walk away, but was stopped by his aunt.
My aunt is a kind-hearted woman whose daily hobbies, besides walking her dog, include helping others.
So she took the initiative to ask, "Child, haven't you eaten yet? My house is nearby. If you don't mind, you can wait here, and I'll get you something to eat."
Huo Xiaozhuang hesitated.
Logically speaking, he was perfectly healthy and should be able to earn a living with his own hands. But he was so hungry and weak that he didn't refuse his aunt's offer.
...
Huo Xiaozhuang squatted on the ground, wolfing down the noodles his aunt had packed for him, with two empty lunch boxes beside him.
Clearly, this was his third serving.
The aunt also squatted on the ground, watching Huo Xiaozhuang eat noodles with gusto, her eyes revealing a hint of sympathy.
The poor child looks like he's been hungry for a long time.
When encountering such a pitiful person, kind-hearted people can't help but ask about the situation and see if they can help in any way. This helpful aunt was no exception.
When asked by his aunt, Huo Xiaozhuang didn't hide anything and frankly told her about his background.
“I am from Yangshi. I have never seen my father since I was born. I have been living with my mother since I was a child. My mother passed away recently. She gave me a photo of my father and a letter, asking me to find my father and give them to him.”
“I saved up some money by scavenging. I walked for a month from Yang City to here, following the address my mother left me. I just ran out of money and have been hungry for two days.”
As he spoke, Huo Xiaozhuang slurped up another mouthful of noodles: "Thank you so much, Auntie! This is the best noodles I've ever eaten!"
The aunt's eyes welled up with tears: "Then eat more! If you're still hungry, Auntie will get you more."
Look at this child, so good-looking and polite. How could he have been born into such a family!
What a tragedy! The children have had it so tough.
She wanted to help the child.
Then the aunt asked Huo Xiaozhuang's father, "What's your name? What's your father's name? Do you live in this area? I've lived here for decades, so I might know something."
"My name is Huo Xiaozhuang," Huo Xiaozhuang's voice, which had been relatively calm, suddenly trembled when he spoke of his biological father. "My father's name is Huo, Huo Chengrong."
My aunt was shocked.
The child's biological father is actually Huo Chengrong!
Is it Huo Chengrong who lives at No. 77, Honghua District, Iris City?
“I live at No. 77, Honghua Ward, Iris City.”
It really was Huo Chengrong, who lived at No. 77 Honghua District.
The aunt sighed regretfully: "I know Huo Chengrong, he's gone."
"What? Dead!" Huo Xiaozhuang stood up abruptly, unable to believe it.
Isn't that a bit odd? His mission was clearly to find and capture Huo Chengrong. How could a dead man keep coming back to cause trouble for his boss every few days?
That's right, Huo Xiaozhuang, who suddenly appeared in Pear City, was none other than Wang Erzhuang.
A week ago, Wang Erzhuang, who was beating the instructor playing the role of a "pursuer" to a pulp in the training ground of the international mercenary school, suddenly received a message from his boss.
He immediately found a safe grove of trees, crouched down inside, and pressed the answer button.
"boss!"
"Erzhuang, graduation exam." Chu Xiao's voice was emotionless, as calm as ever. "Target: Huo Chengrong. Very little public information about him; he's been missing for years. He's the mastermind behind the recent series of surveillance operations against me and Yu Chun. Find him and bring him back. Alive."
Wang Erzhuang was greatly surprised.
How dare they target the boss!
The boss's enemy is his enemy!
The boss's safety is his safety!
"Yes! I guarantee to complete the mission!" Wang Erzhuang made a passionate pledge.
A few minutes later, the encrypted terminal finished receiving the information.
After carefully reviewing the meager intelligence report, Wang Erzhuang frowned.
It's tricky, really tricky.
Wang Erzhuang stood up, paced back and forth, deep in thought.
Behind him was an apple tree, and he couldn't help but walk around the apple tree again and again.
When he reached the 66th lap, an apple hit him on the head, and the gears of fate began to turn.
Newton was hit by an apple, which inspired him to discover universal gravitation.
Wang Erzhuang was also inspired when he was hit by an apple.
He looked at the only remaining, blurry old photo of Huo Chengrong when he was eighteen or nineteen on his phone screen, then touched his own fifteen-year-old face, which still had a touch of boyish innocence. A bold, absurd, yet feasible plan quickly took shape in his mind.
"Boss, I need an identity..."
...
Auntie was startled by Wang Erzhuang and quickly waved her hand, saying, "What Auntie means is that he doesn't live here anymore."
"Twenty years ago, the Huo family suffered a misfortune, and he went abroad. We have never seen him since."
Wang Erzhuang realized he had been too excited and quickly adjusted his expression, switching back to "Huo Xiaozhuang" mode, and put on a relieved look: "Oh, he went abroad... That's good, as long as he's still here."
Seeing the dejected boy, the aunt was at a loss and didn't know how to comfort him.
They traveled for a month full of hope to find them, only to receive devastating news. Who could bear this?
So she changed the subject and asked Huo Xiaozhuang about his next plans.
“Going abroad…that costs a lot of money. I don’t have the ability to go abroad to find him, and I may never have the chance to see him again in my life.” Huo Xiaozhuang hung his head, looking dejected. “I’ll stay here for a few days, find a place to bury the letter that my mother gave me to deliver to him, and then go back to Yang City.”
The aunt couldn't bear to see the boy's innocent face, so she offered to provide Huo Xiaozhuang with food and lodging.
Huo Xiaozhuang shook his head and refused: "My aunt has already helped me a lot. I ate three bowls of noodles tonight, and now I have the energy to go scavenging for money again."
He slung his worn-out schoolbag over his shoulder, picked up the trash, and walked away, leaving his aunt with a thin but upright and strong back view.
"This child..."
"Click!" The auntie raised her phone and sent the scene to a mysterious number.
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