Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 1125 Fishing in troubled waters
Shichahai is like a dazzling pearl in Beijing, especially breathtakingly beautiful in the winter snow. When the earth is covered in silver, snowflakes flutter down onto the lake, creating a scene resembling an exquisite ink painting. A cold wind blows, and the snowflakes on the lake dance in the breeze, like thousands of silver butterflies fluttering about, giving a sense of tranquility and mystery.

Layers of ice and snow covered the lake, piling up to form small mountain peaks. Standing atop these snow-capped mountains, one felt as if transported to a secluded paradise, a place of pure tranquility. In the distance, ancient and solemn buildings were covered by snowflakes that gently adorned their rooftops, like delicate embroidery needles, creating a dreamlike beauty.

For children, the ice and snow on the lake is a paradise for playing and skating. Dressed in thick cotton coats, scarves, and hats, they dance and sing as they tread the ice, chasing snowballs and splashing around on the beautiful surface. Their laughter echoes in the cold air, bringing warmth and joy.

Wang Zhan rented an ice sled with his younger sister, mainly because he was worried she wouldn't skate well. This was the first time he'd brought her to the Shichahai ice rink in winter; he'd never taken her before because she was too young. Even when his younger siblings invited him to go out during the holidays, he declined, choosing to stay home and take care of his sister.

Wang Li sat in front of the ice sled, holding a candied hawthorn, while Wang Zhan skated hard behind her. Wang Li was very excited and shouted loudly to cheer for her brother. The boys around her kept coming over to provoke her, so skating alone turned into an ice sled race. Shouts, screams, laughter and songs from the loudspeaker in the distance blended together, turning the entire ice rink into a sea of ​​joy for the children.

On the distant shore, three boys were watching the skaters on the ice with envy. One of them pulled out half a cigarette from one of his pockets, lit it, and asked the younger-looking boy next to him, "Second brother, did you earn some money doing odd jobs? How come you still have cigarettes to smoke? Do you have any more?"

“Guangfu, how old are you? Why don’t you learn the good things and instead learn the bad ones?” another person said.

“Who are you calling bad? We’re already being kind by bringing you here to play. Look at the state of our two families, nobody in the whole compound talks to you. Don’t you know that, Yan Jiefang? I think you don’t appreciate kindness, do you?” Liu Guangtian said.

"Exactly, if it weren't for us two brothers, who would want to hang out with you? You don't appreciate kindness." Liu Guangfu rolled his eyes and said.

Yan Jiefang chuckled dismissively and said, "You're still talking. If I hadn't secretly closed the door halfway, you two would have escaped your dad's clutches. You should be thanking me, right? Alright, enough of that. Guangtian, you brought us here, not here to freeze and watch people ice skate."

“Otherwise, can the three of us find a single penny in our pockets?” Liu Guangfu said.

"What are you talking about? We need to find an opportunity, see if any classmates are skating here, and then we can go and mooch some skates," Liu Guangtian said, finishing the last puff of his cigarette.

"To rub ice skates?" Liu Guangfu and Yan Jiefang said in unison.

Liu Guangtian kept his eyes fixed on the ice rink, completely ignoring the two people next to him. Suddenly, two groups of people on the ice started to confront each other, and it seemed that a conflict had broken out. Liu Guangtian jumped up and whispered, "The opportunity has come. You two be smart and come closer."

Liu Guangtian whispered to Liu Guangfu and Yan Jiefang for a long time, and then the three of them split up and headed towards the ice rink.

At this point, more and more people began to join one of the two groups facing off on the ice. Gradually, the number of people grew, and the leaders and those involved in the conflict became increasingly agitated. However, no one actually laid a hand on them; instead, they began exchanging insults. Everyone initially thought a fight was unlikely, given it was broad daylight and patrols were constantly on the shore. But then someone shouted, "Let's get them!" This single sentence instantly shattered the tension between the two groups on the ice, and a chaotic brawl quickly broke out.

More than ten minutes later, someone was knocked down on the ice rink, bleeding from the head, lying motionless on the ice. Judging from their clothes, they seemed to be children from a compound. The patrol team members on the shore quickly rushed into the rink.

Conflicts often occur on the ice rink. Usually, when patrolling team members see a fight, they don't step in to stop it. They're used to it. There are always some arrogant people showing off on the ice. But after the fight is over, they go in to educate both sides and then let them go.

This is a common occurrence at the ice rink, but today someone drew blood, so this is unacceptable. The patrol team rushed into the ice rink immediately and quickly subdued the people who were assaulting the victim. The main issue was that a young boy had brought an iron bar into the ice rink, which changed the nature of the incident. In addition, someone was injured, so it seems that this conflict cannot be resolved peacefully.

At the ice rink, those who needed to be sent to the hospital were sent to the hospital, those who needed to be educated were educated, those who needed to be dispersed were dispersed, and those who needed to be taken back to the police station were taken back directly. The situation gradually calmed down.

At this moment, no one noticed that three people quickly moved away from the chaotic scene when the patrol team rushed down. The three of them ran out of Shichahai without saying a word, ran into the alley next to Majialou, crossed Gulouqian Street, went directly into Maoxing Hutong on the east side of the street, and then turned into Doujiao Hutong.

In Doujiao Hutong, there is an abandoned courtyard house. It looks like a two-section courtyard, but you can't tell at all now. The large courtyard is overgrown with weeds, and only half of the main building's wall remains. Even the roof, doors, and windows are nowhere to be found. They were probably picked up by the neighbors.

Right under that low wall, the three of them sat down against it, panting heavily, looking exhausted.

Yan Jiefang was the first to recover and looked at Liu Guangtian, asking, "How are you?"

The reason Yan Jiefang asked Liu Guangtian first was because Liu Guangtian's cotton-padded coat was bulging, and the buttons couldn't be fastened. Yan Jiefang also admired Liu Guangtian's audacity, because while others didn't recognize it, Yan Jiefang immediately recognized that the phrase "Fuck him!" was shouted by Liu Guangtian.

It turns out that Liu Guangtian was really bold. When he saw the conflict on the ice rink, he felt that the time to fish in troubled waters had come. When these two groups started fighting, they wouldn't care about anything else. Some valuable things would definitely fall on the ice rink, and some skates would be thrown off. Wouldn't that be their opportunity?

Liu Guangtian also instructed Liu Guangfu and Yan Jiefang to keep their bodies low to the ground, even if they had to crawl, and not to stand up. They should just keep an eye on the things on the ground. If they stood up, they might get dragged into a fight, which would be a loss. Once they found something, they should hide it in their clothes, but they should also keep an eye on the patrolling people on the shore. As soon as they left the ice rink, they should quickly escape to the east.

The three of them fled to the abandoned courtyard with their spoils. They were all very excited, and Liu Guangtian was even more excited than usual. He opened his cotton-padded coat, and the other two saw that Liu Guangtian had two bulging backpacks hanging around his neck.

(End of this chapter)