Rebirth 70: I am a Koi

In despair, the person who came to my mind was my grandfather's good friend, Uncle Li. My grandfather helped him a lot in those days. If he knew our current predicament, he would definitely lend a helping hand.

"Uncle Li... Let's go find Uncle Li!" I helped Bai Hanchuan up. His face was frighteningly pale and his forehead was covered in cold sweat, obviously affected by his previous injuries.

"Jinli, don't worry, I'm fine..." Bai Hanchuan endured the pain and comforted me.

We stumbled out of the office, and those people had already left, leaving behind a mess. I looked around, and it was empty, not to mention valuables, not even a penny was left.

"Don't worry about all this for now, let's go!" I supported Bai Hanchuan and moved forward step by step.

It is already evening, the sky is getting darker, and the dim light of the street lamps falls on us, making our shadows look particularly long and lonely.

I bit my lips tightly, trying to hold back the tears in my eyes, my heart was filled with bitterness and helplessness. We asked for the address of Uncle Li's home and walked a long way, and finally found where he used to live, but the neighbors told us that Uncle Li had moved away half a year ago, and they didn't know where he moved to.

"How could this happen..." My heart suddenly sank to the bottom, the flame of hope was ruthlessly extinguished, leaving only endless despair.

Bai Hanchuan also fell silent. He leaned weakly on me, his eyes empty, as if he had lost all his strength.

Is there really no way out? No, I can't give up, I must find Uncle Li!

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down, thinking quickly about a solution. Oh, I can post a missing person notice!

I told Bai Hanchuan my idea, and he nodded in agreement.

We found a printing shop, wrote a missing person notice, and posted it at the intersection near Uncle Li's house.

"What are you doing?"

A frivolous voice suddenly came from behind me. My heart tightened and I slowly turned around...

I turned around and saw three young men with colorfully dyed hair standing behind us with malicious smiles on their faces. One of them, a guy with a fat face, was holding the missing person notice we had just posted in his hand and reading the contents of it mockingly under the street light.

"Hey, isn't this Boss Mu? How did you end up posting missing person notices?" the guy said sarcastically, his tone full of gloating.

I recognized him as a worker in my previous factory. He was fired by Bai Hanchuan for stealing and had been holding a grudge against him ever since.

"We are looking for someone. It has nothing to do with you. Please get out of the way!" I said coldly, not wanting to waste any more words with them.

"Oh, you're quite arrogant!" The guy crumpled up the missing person notice, threw it on the ground, and stomped it to pieces. "I'm telling you, don't even think about posting anything here in the future, or I'll tear it up every time I see it!"

"You guys..." I was so angry that I was shaking all over, but I could do nothing. Bai Hanchuan's physical condition did not allow us to have a conflict with them.

"Let's go!" I suppressed my anger, supported Bai Hanchuan and turned to leave.

"Haha, you're scared already? You deserve it!" The arrogant laughter of the group of people behind me pierced my eardrums like needles.

Bai Hanchuan's body was getting heavier and heavier, and he almost put all his weight on me.

"Jinli, am I useless..." he said weakly, his voice very hoarse.

"Don't say that, you're just sick and you'll be fine soon." I comforted him, but my tears couldn't stop falling.

When we got home, Bai Hanchuan's fever got worse, his cheeks were red, his breathing was rapid, and he kept talking nonsense. I was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, but there was nothing I could do. We didn't have a penny on us, and we couldn't even afford the most basic medicine.

I could only fill a basin with cold water and wipe his body with a wet towel over and over again, hoping that the physical cooling method would make him feel better.

"Grandpa... I'm sorry... I'm useless..." Bai Hanchuan murmured in a daze, his voice getting smaller and smaller, as if it would disappear at any time.

My heart seemed to be tightly grasped by an invisible hand, and I was about to suffocate. Am I really going to watch him go on like this?

No, I can't give up!

I turned the house upside down like crazy, hoping to find something valuable, even if it was just a little bit. However, our house was bare, with nothing but a few shabby furniture and clothes.

Just when I was about to despair, my eyes fell on a dusty wooden box in the corner... It was something my grandfather left behind! I rushed over and opened the box with trembling hands. Inside were a few old clothes and a package tightly wrapped in red cloth. I carefully opened the package and found some yellowed letters and a photo. The photo showed an old man in military uniform, full of energy, and his eyebrows and eyes vaguely showed some of Bai Hanchuan's shadow.

I looked through the letters and found that they were all correspondence between my grandfather and the old man. In the letters, they called each other comrades-in-arms, and their words were full of care and longing. In one letter, the old man mentioned his plans after retirement. He wanted to return to his hometown and live a peaceful life. The letter also included an address. Although the handwriting was a little blurry, I still recognized it at a glance. It was a village not far from us!

Could it be that the old man in the photo is the person we are looking for? Would he know something about Bai Hanchuan's condition?

A glimmer of hope ignited in my heart, as if I had grasped the last straw to save my life. I took the photos and address, found Bai Hanchuan, and told him my discovery.

"Really? That's great!" A long-lost smile appeared on Bai Hanchuan's face, with a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

We didn't waste a minute and immediately set off for the village. However, when we found the place according to the address, we were told that the place had been demolished long ago, and the old man in the photo had also moved away, and no one knew his whereabouts.

My hopes were dashed again, and my mood hit rock bottom. Are we really going to watch Bai Hanchuan...

"Don't lose heart, let's think of another way." Bai Hanchuan saw my frustration and comforted me instead.

In the following days, we walked around the streets, asking for the whereabouts of the old man. However, our efforts were not rewarded, and we were deceived several times by some people with bad intentions. They made up all kinds of lies to gain our trust, and then took us to a remote place and robbed us of the little money we had left.

I was exhausted, physically and mentally, and almost in despair. Was God really going to kill us all?

Just when we were about to give up, I learned by chance from an old man who was selling things at a stall that a few years ago, a man who looked very similar to the old man in the photo had come here. He seemed to be looking for something and left after living in the village for a few months. As for where he went, no one knew.

The old man also told us that when the old man left, he seemed to go south.

South?

Bai Hanchuan and I looked at each other, and a glimmer of hope ignited in our hearts at the same time. Although there was only a faint clue, we decided to seize it. Even if there was only a glimmer of hope, we couldn't give up!

We packed our simple bags and set out again on a journey to find our old friend. This time, we headed south...

"Is anyone there? We're here to look for..." Before I could finish my words, the gate of the yard suddenly opened and a familiar figure appeared in front of us.