Hearing this, Gu Hai shook his head.
"Uncle Sun, since Comrade Xiao Su is already fine, I don't need to use the car…"
"You child," Director Sun said with a sigh. "You rushed to bring Sister Xu here earlier. Are you going to let her walk back? Besides, the young comrade just said her whole body hurts. Hurry up and take her to the hospital for a checkup."
"When your father was alive, he took good care of me. If you keep refusing, you're treating me like a stranger."
Since Director Sun had put it that way, Gu Hai didn't refuse again.
Hearing their conversation, Su Yun couldn't help whispering to Xu Fang,
"Godmother, why did Comrade Gu Hai go to pick you up?"
Xu Fang whispered back,
"Didn't I ask the Gu family's boy to look out for you? He said that when he went to sell scrap today, he had just arrived at the recycling station when he saw Captain Liu and his group storming in, saying they were going after you because of the job purchase. As soon as he heard that, he went to the police station to borrow a car and came to pick me up so I could testify for you. Director Sun happened to be there, so he came along as well."
"We had only gotten halfway when we almost ran into you. That's how everything turned out like this."
"That Gu family boy really arrived just in time. If he had been even half a moment later, I would already have packed my luggage and gone to the train station."
After hearing this, Su Yun felt both surprised and deeply moved.
"Godmother, are you leaving for another city today?"
Xu Fang nodded.
"I bought the ticket long ago. The train leaves at 1:30 this afternoon. When I get there, my daughter-in-law will pick me up. From now on, I'll focus on taking care of my grandson."
After they finished talking, they looked up and realized Director Sun had already left. Only Gu Hai remained, standing beside the jeep.
Su Yun quickly thanked him.
"Comrade Gu, thank you so much today. If I hadn't run into you in time, I would definitely have suffered badly at Captain Liu's hands."
Gu Hai nodded casually and glanced at Su Yun's left arm.
"Comrade Xiao Su, are you alright?"
After he mentioned it, Su Yun once again felt the strong soreness coming from her left arm.
She endured the pain and didn't show it on her face. Instead, she smiled easily.
"I'm fine. I was only pretending to be in pain earlier so I could extort Captain Liu. Actually, nothing hurts."
Seeing her deliberately relaxed expression, Gu Hai thought for a moment but did not continue the topic.
It was already nearly 12:30. Gu Hai drove the jeep, first taking Xu Fang home. Together with Su Yun, they helped her load her luggage into the car, then headed to the train station.
At 1:20, Xu Fang boarded the train bound for another city.
The surroundings were noisy and crowded.
Standing below the train window, Gu Hai and Su Yun both said goodbye to Xu Fang. Xu Fang looked particularly at Su Yun.
"My good girl, if anything happens in the future, send me a telegram. I can come back anytime to help you deal with it. You can also ask Gu Hai for help. Although he's young, he's reliable. With him looking after you, I feel reassured."
Su Yun nodded obediently.
"Alright, I understand. If something really happens, I won't be polite about asking for help."
Gu Hai also assured her.
"Aunt Xu, don't worry. From now on, I'll look after Comrade Xiao Su. Nothing will go wrong."
The train whistle sounded.
It meant the train was about to depart.
People around them hurriedly made their final farewells. Soon, amid the rhythmic clanking of wheels, the green train gradually disappeared into the distance.
Gu Hai and Su Yun left the train station and returned to the jeep parked outside.
As soon as the car door closed, Su Yun pulled out the fifty yuan from her pocket and began dividing the money. She counted out a stack of small bills and stuffed them into Gu Hai's hand.
"Comrade Gu, we'll split this money in half. Thank you for being so righteous today and saving me from almost walking into the tiger's mouth."
Looking at the pile of small bills, Gu Hai felt rather speechless.
"…You extorted such a large sum from Liu 'Black Hand,' and now you want to drag me into it too?"
"How is that dragging you into it? You helped me—you were already in the water. Just tell me whether you want the money or not!"
After she said that, Gu Hai casually stuffed the money into his pocket.
At that moment, Su Yun noticed that he was once again wearing a patched set of clothes.
"Comrade Gu, didn't I just give you a new set of clothes? Why aren't you wearing them?"
Gu Hai started the car, turned the wheel, and drove back the way they had come.
"New clothes should be saved for the New Year. These old ones aren't torn—they're just a bit worn. I can still wear them for another four or five years!"
Su Yun: "???"
Just a bit worn?
She couldn't help looking at the patches on his pants. Counting them absentmindedly, her gaze accidentally drifted to the crotch area…
It wasn't that she had improper thoughts. The problem was that Gu Hai's pants were too thin, and he clearly had no sense of it. If he dared to wear these for another four or five years, had he considered the consequences for everyone else?
Su Yun covered her mouth and pretended to cough.
"Comrade Gu, how about this—next time you want to exchange something, I'll ask my friend to trade it for cloth. You should make several more pairs of pants, thicker ones."
Gu Hai looked surprised.
"Your friend has cloth? What kind? Dacron?"
Dacron was the synthetic fiber fabric popular at the time. Because it was scarce, it was highly fashionable, though its quality was far worse than cotton.
Su Yun replied, "He only has cotton cloth. Do you want it?"
"Yes!" Gu Hai became even more delighted. Who would want synthetic cloth when cotton was available?
"Comrade Xiao Su, then it's settled. Next time I want all cotton cloth!"
Su Yun nodded.
"Alright."
As long as he changed his pants, anything was fine!
At that moment, Gu Hai suddenly turned into a narrow stone-paved lane. The car began to shake noticeably.
Su Yun grabbed the handle and looked at the unfamiliar alley.
"Comrade Gu, this isn't the road back to the police station. Why did you drive in here?"
After driving another dozen meters, Gu Hai stopped the car and turned off the engine.
"Comrade Xiao Su, there's an old traditional doctor here who specializes in treating sprains and bruises. Your left hand looks seriously injured. If it isn't treated quickly, you probably won't be able to use it tomorrow."
"You may not have noticed, but your hand has been shaking the whole way."
That's because it hurts!
Su Yun shouted silently in her heart.
But she still pretended to be unconcerned.
"It's really nothing serious. There's no need to come specifically to see a doctor for injuries…"
"Ah! Ah! Ah!"
Inside the medicine shop, the elderly doctor looked serious as he grabbed Su Yun's arm and vigorously manipulated it. The pain made Su Yun scream loudly, tears streaming down her face.
Gu Hai stood nearby with his head turned away, his shoulders shaking constantly—he was clearly trying to hide his laughter.
Gritting her teeth, Su Yun secretly swore that the next time this guy came to exchange goods, she would deduct as much as possible and see if he still dared to laugh!
After the treatment, Gu Hai drove Su Yun back to the entrance of the recycling station before heading to the police station to return the car.
Su Yun slowly rotated her aching arm. Looking at the official seal pasted across the gate of the recycling station, she raised her hand and tore it off in one swift motion—as if she were tearing Captain Liu apart.
Evening gradually fell, and the streetlights lit up brilliantly.
Inside the courtyard residence, it should have been time for dinner. Yet none of the households had even started cooking.
Everyone had gathered in the central courtyard, watching Chen Xiu'e smash and wreck the He family's simple kitchen like a madwoman—