Chapter 78

Catching the two little thieves did not waste much of He Ping's time. These two little girls had clear roles: one kept watch while the other acted, and the one acting relied entirely on the one keeping watch for directions. He Ping first caught the one keeping watch, and without her directions, the one acting didn't know where to run and was naturally no match for He Ping. However, He Ping still had to put in a bit of effort. The one keeping watch had only average skills, but the one acting was very agile, able to turn corners, climb walls, and jump over roofs with considerable speed.

After catching both of them and bringing them to a nearby abandoned yard, He Ping finally had the chance to observe the two little girls closely. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that they looked similar, differing only in the length of their hair, and they seemed to be twins. They were huddled together in a corner, looking at He Ping nervously. The one with longer hair, who had been keeping watch, spoke up first: "We'll give your money back, please let us go."

He Ping ignored the little girl's plea. He was not concerned about the money but about the two little girls themselves. Both of them had managed to hide their presence so well that he couldn't detect them. Since coming to this world, he had never encountered such a situation. He only felt the presence of the one who had stolen from him after she had already done it, and the other one was only detected after he used his perception ability. It seemed these two little girls had good natural talents.

In addition to their ability to hide their presence, the one keeping watch had sharp observational skills, and the one acting was very agile. Their abilities already surpassed those of their peers. If they were given the right training now, they might grow up to be excellent shooters or gymnasts. But if they went down the wrong path, they could become excellent snipers or scouts.

He Ping became interested in these two. Although he wasn't entirely sure yet, he had a rough idea of the path he would take. People like Li Yutang, who already had high combat skills, were rare and hard to find. Encountering one was a stroke of luck, and not finding another was the norm. So where could he find subordinates with outstanding combat skills? The answer was clear—train them himself. Dong Dapeng was still lacking; his physical talent was not good, and he lacked perseverance. But these two little girls seemed very suitable.

Looking at the two little girls who were about to cry, He Ping squatted down, trying to look gentle, and spoke in a calm voice: "Don't be afraid. Tell me, what are your names? How old are you this year?"

The short-haired girl was already sobbing and couldn't speak, but the long-haired girl was much calmer. Seeing that He Ping didn't intend to hit them, she mustered the courage to say: "My name is Ye Nan, and she is my sister, Ye Tong. We are eleven years old this year."

"Twins of the same age? Are you twins?"

Ye Nan nodded in affirmation.

He Ping asked again: "Why did you come out to steal? Where are your parents?"

At He Ping's question, both sisters trembled, showing a hint of fear. After a while, Ye Nan said softly: "Our parents are dead. We live with Uncle Zhang and Aunt Zhang. They make us go out to steal. If we don't steal enough things or money, they beat us."

He Ping frowned. In his previous life, he had heard of such scoundrels who gathered orphaned children and made them steal. Children who stole would only get a beating, and even if they were sent to the police station, they would only receive a scolding. The adults hiding behind them would continuously exploit these children, keeping the stolen money and goods for themselves. If any child dared to defy them, they would be scolded or beaten, with no humanity at all.

To confirm whether Uncle Zhang and Aunt Zhang were such scoundrels, He Ping asked: "Does Uncle Zhang and Aunt Zhang make other children steal besides you two?"

Ye Nan nodded and said: "Including us, there are about twenty of us."

It seemed clear now. This so-called Uncle Zhang and Aunt Zhang were indeed such scoundrels. A hint of killing intent flashed in He Ping's eyes but quickly disappeared. Seeing the two little girls and hearing their story, He Ping felt a surge of sympathy. He had been considering whether his plan was good, but now it seemed that it would be much better than their current life.

Gurgle~~~

At that moment, Ye Nan and Ye Tong's stomachs growled simultaneously. Both girls blushed, and He Ping asked: "Did you not eat lunch?"

Both girls shook their heads. Ye Nan said: "We only have one meal a day, at night. If we don't steal enough, we don't even get that meal."

No wonder. He Ping had thought they were only ten years old based on their small, thin bodies, but they said they were eleven, almost twelve. Eating only one meal a day would definitely lead to malnutrition, and they wouldn't grow properly. If they continued this life, they might prematurely end their growth period and never fully develop. As they got older, their health would only get worse.

He Ping reached into his bag and took out two packets of compressed biscuits and two bottles of water, handing them to the girls. Ye Tong, being timid, didn't dare to take them, but Ye Nan hesitated for a moment and then took them. The two girls wolfed down the biscuits and water, and within a few minutes, everything was gone. After eating, their faces relaxed a bit, and they became bolder. Ye Tong, who had been shrinking back, now occasionally joined in the conversation when He Ping spoke to Ye Nan.

"Have you been to school?"

"Up to fourth grade. After our parents died, no one took care of us, and we were kicked out of our home. We haven't been to school since."

"Do you have any relatives? Uncles, aunts, or cousins?"

Both girls shook their heads. Ye Nan said: "No, we've never seen any relatives, and our parents never took us to see any."

"Where do you go during the New Year?"

"We stay at home or go to the homes of people who worked with our parents."

He Ping was a bit surprised. Due to historical reasons, their parents' generation rarely had only one child; most had several siblings. He Xiangdong had four siblings, and he was the youngest. His older brothers and sisters also worked at Dongfang Hardware, all in management positions. Family-run businesses were common in that era. In his previous life, because of He Xiangdong's incident, their families were also implicated and did their best to protect themselves, leaving no energy to help Yin Xiulan much.

Yin Xiulan's family was even larger, with five people, all farmers in the countryside. They were more independent, and since Yin Xiulan was a married daughter, they didn't receive much support from He Xiangdong and his wife. In his previous life, after Yin Xiulan returned, they did give her a lot of help.

But Ye Nan and Ye Tong, these two sisters, claimed to have no relatives on either side of their family, which was indeed a strange situation.

[PS: Third update of the day!]