Before we could understand what was happening, a burst of applause erupted from inside the house, and then a middle-aged man wearing a gray long gown walked out. If the silver-haired old lady just now had an aura about her, this man in front of us truly had an overwhelming presence.

  A long shirt, cloth shoes, clean and neat facial features, a rare long hair in that era, but it doesnt affect his demeanor at all. He holds an exquisitely crafted folding fan in his hand, and I almost think hes a great hero who has traveled through time from ancient times.

  "Damn, hes really handsome!" This was what Fatso said about him, also the first and last time in his life to describe a man like that.

  Have to admit, the man in front of him is elegant, has style, and even has a bit of unruly charm, he thinks that with just this face, he can conquer any woman.

  He opened his mouth and asked surprisingly: "Are you Cha Wenbin?"

  Cha Wenbin was also stunned, how did this person know me?

  Perhaps he had already seen our doubts and said: "Qianjia kid told you that Im here, Ive been waiting for you for a long time." He looked up and down at Cha Wenbin, just like looking at prey, and said excitedly and approvingly: "Not bad, not bad... really not bad..."

  Cha Wenbin felt uncomfortable being stared at like that, but he didnt want to lose his temper, so he patiently asked: "Who are you?"

  "That person still looked very happy and said: Nothing, nothing, just asked you to come and see, now its fine, the first pass is over, I really want to know how you found out?"

  Cha Wenbin replied: "A shadowless thing under the sun is either a spirit or a ghost. Although she has a shadow, there are flaws on her shadow."

  "That person asked with great interest: Where is the flaw?"

  "She can speak, but the shadows mouth didnt move, which made me suspicious; also, her skin is too pale, this is a desolate mountain village, how could an old lady in her seventies or eighties appear here? A paper person is after all just a paper person, its just been grafted by someone, cant withstand real fire, but she can escape into the earth which means she has also been relying on this place for many years, I am also in line with the Taoist rules."

  "Good kid, youre really only nineteen this year?"

  "Birthdays are given by parents, I dont dare to change them randomly. However, since you know my surname and name, and also know my age, I suppose you must be an acquaintance of my master?"

  That man immediately jumped down from the steps, walked around Cha Wenbin again, and his eyes were so fierce that he wanted to swallow him up: "I dont know you, nor do I want to know you. Youre a very interesting person, follow me!"

  "Is my companion in your hands?"

  "You mean that doll? Dont worry, Ill take good care of it, its very safe."

  Fatso took a step forward, drew the pistol from his waist and pointed it at that person: "Borrow? Shes a living being who was kidnapped by you guys, and you still have the nerve to tell us not to worry. In broad daylight, youre openly abducting civilians - whats the difference between you and the bandits of old society? Today, Ill take justice into my own hands! Well take care of those underground, and you can deal with those above ground!"

  Pangzis strength I understand, in his words can beat ten that is boasting, but two or three ordinary people are still not a problem. In that fierce momentum mixed with some cunning, a step forward to stretch out his hand to grab the opponents clothes, just about to reach, the opponent only lightly shifted his foot, Pangzis hand brushed past.

  Due to inertia, the fat mans body continued to move forward. At this time, that person hooked his foot, and the consequence of this action was that the fat man fell heavily at the gate, landing on his butt.

  "Hey, little brother, how come youre so careless?" The man comforted while helping the fatty up. Fatty was not reconciled and stretched out his hand to grab the mans neck, preparing to take advantage of the momentum to knock him down. His arm strength is beyond my comparison, knowing his temper I was worried that things would get out of hand, but reality once again made me see stars. The fattys hands were just wrapped around the mans neck and he was helped up by being supported at the waist, I saw the fattys face turn bright red from exertion, the veins on his arms bulging, while the mans face was relaxed and carefree, even asking with concern: "Didnt you get hurt?"

  Onlookers watch the excitement, insiders watch the door. With these two moves, Fatty thoroughly knew he had met a tough opponent. A ruthless person yields to someone even more ruthless. When it was all over, Fatty had completely lost his temper, hanging his head in shame with a red face, this ugliness was thoroughly exposed.

  Cha Wenbin didnt understand the situation, but he wasnt stupid either. Anyone could see what was going on. He still put on a polite face and asked: "Big brother, dont make things difficult for us young people. That girl is our friend, we plan to return to our hometown immediately, so please return her to us."

  That person thought for a moment and then said: "Im not in charge of people, but if you agree to follow me back and stay for a year or so, I might be able to ask around for you."

  "What if I dont agree?"

  "Then be on your way, and by the way, tell that little fat gun enthusiast that there should be at least five snipers aiming at your heads right now, youd better put away that broken toy."

  "I can go with you!" Zhang Wenbin said this sentence very calmly and naturally, as if he had considered it for a long time. Even before we could stop him, he added: "But please spare my few friends."

  "Okay, wait here, Ill go ask about the progress." After finishing speaking, that person turned around and went back into the house. About the time it takes to smoke a cigarette, he came out and said: "You can stay, the other two go wait at the village office entrance, tonight at midnight, the person will be returned to you, you can follow me in."

  Zha Wenbin turned around and said to me, "Xiao Yi, take Xiao Bai and Shi Tou with you. From now on, do some stable business, dont go for anything too risky. Youre the only one in your family, I wont have a chance to show filial piety, so you must cherish it well."

  I heard him say this as if it were a farewell, and I became even more worried: "You...".

  Cha Wenbin seemed to understand what I meant and said: "Its okay, lets go, well all go, after all, its not like were going to make her, a girl, bear the burden."

  This sentence made both me and Paozi lose the right to refute, yes, from any angle, we have no reason to abandon Yuan Xiaobai. If it were me, if it were Paozi, I think either of us would be willing to stay as an exchange, let alone Cha Wenbin.

  Many years later, when I think back on that scene, I finally understand just how helpless the word "helpless" really is.

  Back in the village, I and Fatso were just waiting stupidly, every minute and second was counted, it was really called "days are like years". From the afternoon till night, neither of us had a drop of water nor spoke a word, we just kept pacing back and forth at the door. It wasnt until around one oclock in the middle of the night that I saw a figure swaying in the distance.

  "Xiao Bai?" I tried calling out, but after being stifled all day, even my vocal cords were dry and stuck together.

  That person was leaning against the wall and walking towards us step by step. Before I could see clearly whether it was her or not, she had already fallen down...

  Five days later, in Shanghai, her first words after waking up in the hospital were: "Where is he?"

  I shook my head, because I really didnt know. At that time, when I saw Yuan Xiaobai, she was covered in mud and emitting an unbearable stench. Her consciousness was already blurry. Luckily, there was a tractor in the village that night that took us away. As for Zhang Wenbins news, I entrusted it to Miao Dajie.

  The wait was long, and it wasnt until half a month later that I received a telegram from the Northeast. The telegram said that people in the village had been searching for us since the second day we left, but no one had been found anywhere on the mountain. Later, Lao Miao and I exchanged several letters, mainly asking about Zhang Wenbins whereabouts, but he just disappeared like those strangers, without a trace.

  Yuan Xiaobais body was fine after the examination, just some superficial wounds, but she refused to speak about what had happened, staring out of the window all day, sometimes tears would fall as she gazed.

  About a month later, when I went to Shanghai again to visit her, the Yuan family mansion was left with only one housekeeper. Yuan Xiaobai had left me a letter saying that her father was going to send her to study in the United States. Later, I received a postcard from the United States, with a background of an enviable university logo, and a photo of her smiling brightly but with a hint of loss in her eyes.

  I and Fatso went south to Guangzhou, it was the year when Chinas economy just started to take off. At that time, Shenzhen was still a vast construction site everywhere. Relying on our previous experience of selling goods, we continued our old business. Making money was crazy at that time, but I and Fatso chose his old trade: collecting scrap metal.

  Its not the same old junk, but with the advantage of the port, a large number of second-hand goods collected from abroad were piled up on the dock, from clothes to electrical appliances, those things that foreigners thought were outdated were exactly what was most lacking in the mainland at that time.

  A second-hand Japanese TV set shipped from Guangzhou to inland China can make a profit. A truckload of second-hand suits, which others collected as waste and smuggled into the country, would be snapped up after some ironing and tidying. It was an era of asymmetric information, but also an era of rapid development. I and Fatso were lucky, we dug out our first pot of gold.