Act bravely to help others

There was a large table in the dormitory, and the desk lamp on it had also been wiped clean by him. He could use this spot to do practice questions and write.

By the time he finished tidying up, dusk had already fallen. The lunch he ate had long been digested, and his stomach was rumbling with hunger. Zhao Dongchuan thought about going out to eat; although there was a communal kitchen in the dormitory, it wasn't set up yet.

Just then, Du Lili also came out of her dormitory, carrying a bag, as if she had come to tidy up her things.

"Sister Lili, have you eaten dinner yet? Would you like to go to a restaurant together?" Zhao Dongchuan thought of taking this opportunity to treat Du Lili to a meal as a thank you.

To his surprise, Du Lili saw him and reacted as if she had stepped on a mouse, immediately running away, saying as she ran, "No, no, I've already eaten! You go eat by yourself!"

This time, Zhao Dongchuan finally understood. Although he didn't know why, it seemed Du Lili was deliberately keeping her distance from him. Zhao Dongchuan was utterly confused.

"I shouldn't have offended her anywhere," he thought to himself.

Zhao Dongchuan shook his head speechlessly. He wouldn't bother with her. Let's go! He would go explore Huangyuan City.

A city truly was a city. Even though it was already dark, there were quite a few people on the streets. Pedestrians chatted in groups of two or three under the streetlights, and people came and went at the cinema, making it quite lively. There were also some who secretly hid in corners, setting up stalls to do business.

It was not easy to set up stalls during the day, so most of them came out at night, in some corners, looking alert and ready to run at any moment. Many people turned a blind eye to this, and no one specifically reported them.

The state-run restaurant was already closed at this hour and wasn't taking new customers, so Zhao Dongchuan had to find a small stall to grab something to fill his stomach.

Zhao Dongchuan saw what looked like someone selling food at a corner near the cinema, with faint wisps of steam rising from it.

Zhao Dongchuan walked closer and found it was a stall selling plain noodles and Rou Jia Mo (Chinese meat burgers).

The vendor was a middle-aged woman, dressed in patched clothes, her face weathered by the elements. She was somewhat unskillfully preparing noodles and adding broth, while also making Rou Jia Mo.

There was also a girl of about ten years old helping out, who looked like a mother and daughter pair.

Two people stood nearby, holding bowls, eating noodles heartily, each with a Rou Jia Mo in hand.

Zhao Dongchuan walked over and asked, "Hello, how much for a bowl of noodles and a Rou Jia Mo?"

The young girl helping out said, "Fifteen fen, no food stamps needed."

"Alright, I'll have a bowl of noodles and a mo." Zhao Dongchuan didn't say much; having something to eat was good enough.

Hearing that she had a customer, the proprietress smiled and started another bowl of noodles, handing the freshly made Rou Jia Mo to Zhao Dongchuan. Zhao Dongchuan took the mo and began to eat it heartily. He was truly hungry and no longer cared about his image.

While waiting for his noodles and eating his mo, the two people next to him finished their meal, put down their bowls, and prepared to leave.

"Hey, you haven't paid yet?" the little girl reminded them.

"I just paid! How can you extort people? My brother here can testify for me," one skinny man said, pointing to the other man.

"Exactly! Exactly! We've all paid! What, are you trying to extort us? Come on, let's go to the Public Security Bureau and get this sorted out!" the other man echoed.

"You, you, you clearly didn't pay!" The little girl's face turned beet red with anger, and tears were about to fall.

"Forget it, forget it," the proprietress didn't want to cause trouble. They were already secretly running a small stall, how could they dare to go to the Public Security Bureau with them?

"Mom, they clearly didn't pay! They've eaten several bowls!" The little girl's face was full of indignation, her cheeks puffed out.

"Hehehe," the two men, seeing their scheme succeed, broke into lewd grins and prepared to walk away.

Zhao Dongchuan watched this scene, feeling a deep sense of emotion.

Indeed, no matter the era, there were always some "scumbags."

Zhao Dongchuan had an idea. He took out a 2-yuan banknote from his space, using his mind to make it appear where the two men would pass. The skinny man was walking when he saw it. "Hey, money!" He immediately bent down to pick it up, clutched it in his hand, and prepared to put it in his pocket.

At this moment, Zhao Dongchuan pretended to be anxious, feeling his pockets and saying, "Where's my money? Who stole my money!" Then he turned to look at the skinny man.

"What are you holding in your hand? Is that my money?" Zhao Dongchuan looked at the skinny man with a suspicious expression.

"No, I was just tying my shoelace," the skinny man said, feeling guilty.

"Open your hand and let me see, quickly!" Zhao Dongchuan walked over and said.

The two men exchanged glances, then took off running.

Ha! It was exactly what he wanted. Zhao Dongchuan didn't need to find any other excuses. His strength erupted with a whoosh, and he instantly chased after them.

One kick each, easily knocking them down.

Zhao Dongchuan stepped forward and gave each of them a big slap across the face.

"You stole my money and then tried to run? You're truly heartless. Let's go to the Public Security Bureau and talk about this," Zhao Dongchuan said with a cold expression, taking one by each arm, intending to drag them away.

"Big brother, big brother, we were wrong, here's your money back," the skinny man quickly caved in and admitted his mistake, snot and tears streaming down his face.

In those days, theft was a serious crime. Not only would one's reputation be ruined and one would go to jail, but one would also be forcibly taken to the infrastructure teams in surrounding villages for re-education through labor. At this point, even if he said he picked it up, no one would believe him; he had indeed held it in his hand, intending to keep the money.

"Enough! Why are you wailing?!"

"Give me back the money you stole."

The skinny man opened his hand, revealing the two yuan, and returned it to Zhao Dongchuan.

Zhao Dongchuan frowned, "These two yuan were originally mine. So where is your sincerity in apologizing? It looks like you still want to take a trip to the Public Security Bureau!"

"Sir, we don't have any money," the skinny man quickly said.

"No money? Then don't blame me for being impolite. Let's still go to the Public Security Bureau!" Zhao Dongchuan made a move to leave.

The two couldn't break free from his immense strength. Seeing that they couldn't refuse, they could only give in.

"Sir, I forgot, there... there..." As he spoke, the two each pooled one yuan and handed it to Zhao Dongchuan.

Zhao Dongchuan saw them produce 2 yuan and let it go. In those days, 2 yuan was a considerable amount. He released them, and the two, as if granted a great pardon, quickly scurried away, as if afraid Zhao Dongchuan would change his mind.

Zhao Dongchuan also planned to finish eating quickly, lest they call for reinforcements to come back and cause trouble. Although with his current physical fitness, he wasn't afraid of a fight at all, the current era was not suitable for being high-profile, at least not in his current identity.

He put his two yuan away and handed the other two yuan to the little girl.

"Here, this is the money they paid for the meal."

During the entire scene, the little girl and the proprietress had not dared to utter a sound.

The little girl took the money and looked at Zhao Dongchuan earnestly.

"Thank you, big brother," the little girl clearly knew that Zhao Dongchuan had stood up for them.

Zhao Dongchuan didn't say anything, just patted the little girl's head.