Liu Jiandong had really bad luck today; he only managed to pick some wild vegetables on the mountain and didn't get anything else.
An'an grimaced as she plucked grass. She wanted to go deeper into the mountains, but Aunt Tian had repeatedly warned her not to let Liu Jiandong take her in.
"Don't even think about it. If I take you in today, my legs will be broken tomorrow, and I'll be stuck on this kang for the rest of my life."
"……Oh well"
I don’t know if it was because his tone was too serious today, but he managed to coax An’an in no time. Usually, she would have to act cute and act spoiled for a while.
The two wandered aimlessly in the mountains for a while. An'an was holding a large bunch of wildflowers when she suddenly spotted Tiedan.
"Hiss, what's he doing here again?"
After their first encounter, Liu Jiandong took An'an in a different direction, only to run into them again by sheer bad luck.
Tie Dan still looked flustered. His schoolbag was made from fabric that Zhou Lian had specially saved up last year when they were in their hometown. Er Ya had been sulking about it for a long time.
Her schoolbag was made from a urea bag cut from the village's soil. She asked her mother for a new one many times, but she couldn't get one, so her brother got one.
Although he's only carried it for a little over a year, Tie Dan used to often leave his schoolbag aside to play when he was back in his hometown. He tossed it around in the mud and grass so much that it got old.
But he always carried this ordinary schoolbag on his back, and even wore it in front of him.
"What do you think is in his backpack?"
Liu Jiandong himself had been a primary school student and had encountered Tiedan skipping school several times before. For children like them who loved to skip school, the books in their schoolbags were not valuable items.
There's no need to treasure it so much.
There was a large clump of bushes where they were standing, completely obscuring their view, so Tie Dan couldn't see them at all.
An'an wasn't interested and, clutching the flowers in her hand, urged Liu Jiandong to leave quickly.
"Uncle, let's go."
An'an had already avenged Tie Dan for pushing her last time, and she didn't like him or want to see him again.
The textile factory's lunch break was around 11 a.m., so Zhou Lian had her son wait for Wei Lan outside Yanghe Village early, mainly because she was worried about the crowds after Wei Lan finished school in the morning.
If you go to the textile factory to look for Wei Lan at this time, you'll be too likely to be seen by someone.
But she hadn't considered that it might take several hours from when she left home in the morning to get to Wei Lan, and that Tie Dan would have to stand there all by himself for such a long time.
He not only had to listen to Zhou Lian and not let anyone see him, but also had to keep the things in his schoolbag safe, while inevitably having all sorts of wild thoughts.
Tiedan is in fifth grade this year, but he is already 13 years old. He just started school late in the countryside.
With his father away, the family relied on his mother to support them. Tie Dan matured early on, so he shouldn't lack even this basic awareness.
This morning, when Zhou Lian came to him, she looked flustered and avoided eye contact. She also solemnly emphasized to him that he must not be seen by anyone and that he must keep the things in his schoolbag safe.
Seeing his mother like that, Tiedan had many thoughts in his mind.
His fear intensified, especially since he had been hiding in the mountains early in the morning, afraid of being seen.
As time ticked by, he felt like he was holding a hot potato, clutching his schoolbag. At the slightest sound in the woods, he would cautiously move to the side.
Liu Jiandong, hiding in the shadows, ignored An'an's protests and looked thoughtfully at his schoolbag.
Did he steal something?
Liu Jiandong knew that Tiedan was from the family compound, and his father's salary was generally not low, enough to support a family. In addition, the compound was strictly managed, so what child would dare to steal?
But Liu Jiandong couldn't think of any other explanation for his timid and cowardly behavior except that he was stealing.
"Uncle, let's go."
An'an didn't know why her uncle kept staring at that person; she craned her neck to look several times but still wasn't interested.
"He's gone."
Meanwhile, Tie Dan, carrying his schoolbag, walked forward, looking around.
Liu Jiandong was just too curious. He didn't believe that there were books in the backpack and that the kid would skip class to come out.
"Come up with me and stand quietly to the side."
Liu Jiandong wondered if he should just snatch it and take a look?
He had no idea how dangerous his idea was. An'an frowned in disapproval. If her father found out they were stealing other people's things, they would definitely get a beating.
Despite her quirky personality, she knows what she can and cannot do.
However, Liu Jiandong had already made up his mind, and he carefully followed behind Tiedan with An'an.
So now the mountain forest presents an extremely eerie scene. Tie Dan, feeling guilty, walks cautiously ahead, as do the two people following behind.
Tie Dan didn't know the mountain roads, and after walking for a while, he got lost. He knew it was almost time and wanted to get to the mountain road in front of Yanghe Village as soon as possible.
"Anyone?"
Of course, there were more than just the three of them in such a large mountain. Tie Dan accidentally stepped on a dry branch and made a sound. Suddenly, a sound came from ahead.
You must have misheard me!
He heard several voices ahead, and Tie Dan panicked. Not wanting them to see him or his backpack, he tried to quickly move to the side.
“I heard right, there’s definitely something there.”
It's either human or wild animal.
The person cautiously searched the direction from which the sound came out. Tie Dan became increasingly flustered, clutching his schoolbag and looking around anxiously.
When people are in a panic, they don't think about much else. He suddenly grabbed his backpack, found a clump of grass, and threw it in.
After throwing it away, I was about to walk in another direction when I ran into the same group of people from before.
“I told you there was someone there, but you didn’t believe me.”
"Dude, what are you doing in the mountains? We called you just now and you didn't answer. You scared us to death."
Those guys were also young men around 10 years old. Like Liu Jiandong, they were learning from adults to set traps in the mountains. If they caught anything, they could not only eat it but also exchange it for money.
"...I..." Liu Jiandong stammered for a while before calming down, "I'll just wander around in the mountains."
"You're looking for something too, right? Do you know how to set traps? Why don't you come with us? There are a lot of us, and we want to go deeper into the mountains."
Tie Dan certainly didn't want him to have anything else to do, but those people were very enthusiastic and wanted to recruit him.
"You're not safe alone. Come with us, and we'll split anything we find."
Taking advantage of their distraction, Liu Jiandong led An'an around to the bushes where he had thrown his schoolbag.
He actually found Tie Dan's schoolbag.
Fearing that Tie Dan would come soon, Liu Jiandong picked up his schoolbag and quietly slipped away with An An.
"uncle?"
An'an didn't know why her uncle kept staring at Tie Dan and even took his schoolbag.
"Shh, I'll just take a look, then I'll return it."
The two found a secluded spot, and Liu Jiandong opened the bag in his backpack, finding a thick stack of wrapped items inside.
"What the hell?"
After all that, it turned out to be books. Liu Jiandong took the stack of things out of his bag, but accidentally dropped it on the ground, and the twig tore the cover.
He glanced at it casually and saw a stack of blank paper.
Liu Jiandong was skeptical, so he removed the cover and flipped through it; sure enough, it was a stack of blank paper.
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