Chapter 1

In the evening, the rain that had been falling all day showed no signs of stopping. The streets were sparsely populated, and the few passersby who did venture out hurried along, unwilling to linger in such weather. However, there were always exceptions, and at this moment, a young man stood at the street corner, next to a tricycle loaded with magazines and newspapers, clearly a newspaper and magazine vendor.

Xiao Ping covered the tricycle with a raincoat to protect the newspapers and magazines from the rain, but he himself was drenched. However, he did not mind; after all, it was summer, and even if he was soaked through, it was not a big deal. Xiao Ping was an optimist and would not let such a trivial matter bother him.

However, in such weather, no one would come to buy from Xiao Ping's stand, and instead, they would look at him with a mix of curiosity and disdain. It was no wonder they looked at him this way; after all, he was just in his early twenties. At his age, there were many other things he could do, so why did he have to sell newspapers? It seemed he lacked ambition.

But Xiao Ping remained unperturbed, showing no concern. Six years ago, his grandfather, who he had relied on, suddenly suffered a stroke and became bedridden. At the time, Xiao Ping had already received a university admission notice but gave up the opportunity to continue his studies and started selling newspapers to earn money for his grandfather's medical expenses. After his grandfather passed away, he continued to sell newspapers to support himself. Over the years, Xiao Ping had become accustomed to the strange looks from others and did not take them to heart.

Knowing that waiting any longer would not bring any business, Xiao Ping began to skillfully pack up his stand to go home. When standing still, one might not notice anything wrong with him, but when he started to move around the tricycle, it became apparent that his movements were slower than those of an average person. Even so, after a while of working, Xiao Ping's breathing would become rapid, and he would need to rest for a moment before continuing. He had been weak and often ill since childhood due to a congenital heart condition, and no boss would dare hire him. Because of this, Xiao Ping could not find any other work and had to rely on selling newspapers to earn a living.

Xiao Ping placed all the newspapers and magazines under a plastic sheet and covered them with the raincoat without hesitation, muttering to himself, "A wet person can dry off, but wet books are not worth much."

After tidying up his small stand, Xiao Ping pedaled the tricycle against the wind and rain to return to his residence. In recent years, the city had developed rapidly, and many villages that were originally on the outskirts had been incorporated into the city. Only a few villages had been preserved, surrounded by high-rise buildings, and these were aptly called "urban villages."

To pay for his grandfather's medical treatment, Xiao Ping had sold the family house in the city without hesitation and now lived in an urban village. A healthy person could ride from Xiao Ping's newspaper stand to his residence in about twenty minutes, but it took Xiao Ping an hour. Although pedaling for two hours every day was tiring, the optimistic Xiao Ping never complained.

Xiao Ping pedaled the tricycle against the wind and rain, humming a song softly. A sports car sped past from behind, splashing water almost onto his body.

"Audi TT, hey, if I ever have money, I'll buy a sports car too, with a pretty girl by my side. Wow... amazing!" Looking at the blurred taillights of the sports car, Xiao Ping was extremely envious.

Having grown up in difficult circumstances, Xiao Ping was very envious of the luxurious lives of the rich and had never given up on his efforts. During the day, while selling newspapers on the street, he would study university courses whenever he had free time. At night, he would learn various useful and seemingly useless knowledge online, more diligently than any regular college student. Xiao Ping knew that opportunities favor the prepared, and he had to be ready to seize them when they came.

After nearly an hour, the heavy rain finally stopped, and Xiao Ping arrived at the village entrance. Just past the small river, he would officially enter the urban village. There was a narrow concrete bridge over the river, and the residents of the village relied on this bridge for all their comings and goings. When he reached the bridge, Xiao Ping got off the tricycle and was about to push it up the bridge when he was blocked by a few rough-looking young men.

"Bad luck!" Seeing these people, Xiao Ping sighed inwardly. These were the village hooligans, led by a guy named Zhao Yong, who, relying on his cousin who was a police officer, wreaked havoc in the area. They often extorted money from small vendors, harassed passing women, and bullying Xiao Ping was one of their "entertainment activities."

Zhao Yong deliberately left his collar open, revealing a thick gold chain around his neck and a wolf head tattoo on his chest. He looked at Xiao Ping with a mocking smile and said, "You're out doing business in such heavy rain? You must have made a lot of money. My brothers and I want to buy a pack of cigarettes. Hand over the money!"

Xiao Ping did not want to confront Zhao Yong and silently took out a few small bills from his pocket, saying, "It's raining today, and I only made this much..."

Zhao Yong took the money, dissatisfied, and said, "Just this much? Let me see what's on the tricycle!"

As he spoke, Zhao Yong pulled off the raincoat and plastic sheet covering the tricycle, casually flipping through the magazines and newspapers and throwing them on the ground. The ground was still wet from the heavy rain, and the brand new magazines were immediately soaked and could no longer be sold.

This sight made Xiao Ping's heart ache, and he somehow found the strength to break free from two of the hooligans, pushing Zhao Yong away and shouting, "Don't touch my things!"

Stumbling back, Zhao Yong was enraged and glared at Xiao Ping, saying, "You dare to hit me? You'll regret it today!"

As he spoke, Zhao Yong punched Xiao Ping in the face, causing him to bleed from the nose. Zhao Yong did not stop there and rushed forward to kick and punch Xiao Ping. Although Xiao Ping tried to resist, his weak heart made him no match for Zhao Yong and his gang, and he was quickly beaten to the ground. Zhao Yong signaled to the other hooligans, and they all worked together to throw Xiao Ping's tricycle into the river, then laughed triumphantly.

"This is what happens when you defy me. I'll beat you up every time I see you!" Zhao Yong warned Xiao Ping menacingly before leaving with his gang, looking very pleased with himself.

The water in the river was not deep, only reaching the knees. Xiao Ping's tricycle had flipped over in the river, and the newspapers and magazines were floating downstream, the money he had earned lost. Although this was a significant loss for Xiao Ping, he did not become discouraged. The word "give up" did not exist in his vocabulary, and even the most severe difficulties had never defeated him, let alone such a minor setback.

"You can push the tricycle into the river, but I can pull it out!" With this thought, Xiao Ping took off his shoes and waded into the river, using all his strength to pull the tricycle to the shore.

Despite his weak body, Xiao Ping had a very stubborn side. Once he made up his mind to do something, he would never give up. Although he had to rest for a while after moving the tricycle a few inches, he eventually managed to pull it onto the shore. As he was about to get out of the river, his foot suddenly stepped on a strange object. This object had a smooth surface and a flat, round shape, clearly not naturally formed.

Curious, Xiao Ping dug the object out of the mud. Although it was still covered in mud, he immediately recognized it as a small, flat bottle with what seemed to be intricate designs on it. However, he was still in the river and did not have time to examine it in detail, so he put the small bottle in his pocket and climbed out of the river.

Xiao Ping slowly returned to his residence, gently opened the door, and walked in. This was the house he rented, and the landlords were a local couple in their fifties, the husband named Liu Jianguo and the wife named Wang Fang. The couple lived on the second floor, and the three rooms on the first floor were rented to three young people. The couple were very kind and treated the three young tenants well, especially taking care of Xiao Ping, who was in poor health. The relationship between them had always been harmonious.

When Xiao Ping entered, Wang Fang was busy in the kitchen on the first floor. Seeing his disheveled appearance, she asked with concern, "Xiao Ping, what happened? Why are you all wet?"

"Nothing, I forgot to bring my raincoat when I went out," Xiao Ping replied, not wanting to worry Wang Fang.

But Wang Fang was still worried and said, "Look at you, all wet. What if you get sick? I'm not saying this to criticize you, but..."

From Xiao Ping's past experience, whenever Wang Fang started with "I'm not saying this to criticize you," she would talk for at least fifteen minutes before stopping. To Xiao Ping, this nagging was a form of verbal abuse, but he knew Wang Fang was genuinely concerned about him and could not just turn around and leave, making her feel awkward.

Seeing Wang Fang bring out the freshly cooked dishes, Xiao Ping suddenly had an idea and took a deep breath, saying, "The food smells great, Aunt Wang. Your cooking skills are getting better and better. Uncle Liu is lucky to have you!"

Xiao Ping's words made Wang Fang very happy, and she smiled, saying, "You're such a sweet talker. Go take a shower and come join us for dinner!"

"Sure thing!" Xiao Ping secretly wiped the sweat from his forehead and quickly left the kitchen.

Xiao Ping took a refreshing shower in the shared bathroom and, as he came out, ran into Li Wanqing, who had just finished work. This girl had just graduated from university and was now interning at a company. She was one of the tenants and a neighbor of Xiao Ping. Li Wanqing was gentle and always smiled before speaking, and when she smiled, her beautiful big eyes would form two slender crescents.

Li Wanqing smiled and asked Xiao Ping, "What did you say to Aunt Wang to make her so happy? She praised you as soon as she saw me and is now praising you to Uncle Liu!"

"What do you mean by 'flattery'? I never lie!" Xiao Ping defended himself seriously, then deliberately looked Li Wanqing up and down and said, "Wow, it's been a few days, and you look more and more like a professional woman!"

Li Wanqing, who had just entered society, could not handle Xiao Ping's teasing and blushed, running to her room. Xiao Ping smiled at her slender figure and went straight to have dinner with the Wang Fang couple.

After dinner, Xiao Ping offered to help Wang Fang with the dishes and then returned to his room to carefully examine the small bottle he had found in the river.

{Piaotian Literature}