The sky collapsed, and in the blink of an eye, I found myself transported to Nanluoguxiang.

When Li Kaixin appeared in Director Xie's and Xiao Zhang's line of sight carrying a black bear, pheasants, and rabbits.

Both of them gasped!

Despite being mentally prepared, the visual impact was still incredibly stunning!

"My God...it really is a black bear!" Xiao Zhang exclaimed, his mouth agape.

Director Xie strode forward, first circling the bear carcass and touching its fur.

He crouched down again to examine the wound on the bear's abdomen more closely. His brow furrowed slightly, and he looked up, asking with a mixture of curiosity and anticipation, "Kaixin, you...you got the bear gallbladder out?"

Li Kaixin understood, and a simple, honest smile appeared on his face.

He nodded quickly: "It's out, Uncle Xie. The situation was urgent, and I was afraid that if I delayed any longer, the bile would flow back and ruin the medicine's effectiveness, so I quickly took it out."

As he spoke, he took off the seemingly shrunken cloth bag he carried with him. In fact, when he reached inside, he had already taken out the bear bile wrapped in oil paper from the secret space and handed it over with both hands.

"Look, it's right here."

Director Xie took the oil paper package that still smelled of fish, carefully peeled off a corner, and when he saw the brown, plump, and moist bear bile, the wrinkles on his face instantly smoothed out, like a chrysanthemum blooming.

He carefully wrapped the oil paper and held it tightly in his hand, as if he were holding some rare treasure.

"Good! Good lad! This bear gall is made of iron!"

Director Xie praised repeatedly, then lowered his voice, but his tone left no room for doubt.

"Happy, Uncle Xie will take this bear bile! It's hard for you to handle, and you won't get a good price for it. How about this, I won't treat you unfairly, I'll give you the highest market price, three hundred and fifty yuan, what do you think?"

Without any hesitation, Li Kaixin nodded immediately: "Uncle Xie, it's your decision. I trust you!"

"happy!"

Director Xie's smile widened, and he then pointed to the black bear on the ground.

"I'll give you 650 yuan for the whole bear, plus the cost of the bile, making it 1000 yuan in total. What do you think?"

One thousand yuan! In an era when the average worker's monthly salary was only thirty or forty yuan, this was undoubtedly a huge sum of money!

Li Kaixin suppressed his overwhelming joy, his voice trembling slightly with excitement.

"No problem! Thank you, Uncle Xie!"

Director Xie's gaze then fell on the pheasants and rabbits.

Li Kaixin, being quick-witted, immediately stepped forward and said with a smile, "Uncle Xie, this trip went so smoothly thanks to the gun you lent me and the permit you provided. These pheasants and rabbits are freshly dead; it's just a small token of my appreciation, please don't find it offensive."

As he spoke, he deftly took out two of the fattest pheasants and a huge rabbit, and stuffed them into Director Xie's hands without saying a word.

"Hey, what are you doing? Keep it for yourself!"

Director Xie declined verbally, but reluctantly accepted it with a smile that deepened, clearly appreciating Li Kaixin's "sensible" behavior.

Li Kaixin then turned to the driver, Xiao Zhang, who had been waiting beside him, and handed him a pheasant: "Brother Zhang, thank you for making this trip. This little bit of wild game is just a small token of my appreciation. Please have a taste."

Xiao Zhang was flattered and accepted the gift, repeatedly expressing his gratitude: "Oh, Brother Li, you're too kind! Thank you, thank you!"

Finally, Li Kaixin took out the best-looking pheasant and rabbit from the remaining wild game.

He said respectfully to Director Xie, "Uncle Xie, this is just a small token of my appreciation. Please take it to Station Chief Zhao when you have some free time. Tell him it's a small token of my gratitude for your care and support."

Director Xie observed this series of actions and his opinion of Li Kaixin rose even higher.

"Alright, it's commendable that you're so kind. I'll pass on your message to the stationmaster." Director Xie readily agreed and no longer declined.

Several people worked together to lift the heavy black bear onto the truck, which roared back into the city.

Instead of returning to the transport station, the vehicle made several turns and eventually arrived at a rather quiet, two-courtyard house with a fairly large entrance.

Clearly, this is where Director Xie handles his "personal matters".

After the black bear was moved into the yard, Director Xie immediately took out a thick envelope from the house and stuffed it into Li Kaixin's hand: "Kaixin, this is a thousand yuan. Count it. The bear bile and the bear's money are all inside."

Li Kaixin took the heavy envelope and felt the thickness of the banknotes inside.

He pulled out 600 yuan from the envelope and handed it back to Director Xie with both hands: "Uncle Xie, this is the 600 yuan I owed you before, please keep it. As for the remaining 400, I'll shamelessly accept it."

"Great! The accounts are settled, everyone's happy!"

Director Xie laughed heartily, readily accepted the money, and patted Li Kaixin on the shoulder forcefully.

"Work hard from now on. If you encounter any difficulties, don't hesitate to come to Uncle Xie!"

"Yes! Definitely! Thank you, Uncle Xie!"

Li Kaixin put the remaining four hundred yuan into the secret space, then put the three pheasants and two rabbits back into the bag before bidding farewell to Director Xie and heading home.

......

I had just reached the entrance of the alley where my family's courtyard house was located.

A sharp voice, like a broken gong, rang out: "Hey! Whose kid is this? Carrying so many good things!"

Li Kaixin looked up and her heart skipped a beat.

There stood Jia Zhangshi from courtyard number 95, that notoriously shrewish and greedy old woman, with her hands on her hips, her triangular eyes fixed on the cloth bag in Li Kaixin's hand, the greed in her eyes almost overflowing.

Li Kaixin didn't want to cause trouble, so she turned to the side to try and go around, mumbling a reply, "Aunt Jia."

Jia Zhangshi nimbly moved aside, blocking his path once again, a fake smile plastered on her face, but her voice carried an undeniable sense of coercion.

"Is that the Li family kid from the neighboring yard having a good time? Tsk tsk, so many pheasants and rabbits, where did you, a kid of your age, get them? You didn't...steal them, did you?"

She deliberately raised her voice, attracting the attention of a few passersby in the alley.

"Let me tell you, these days, stealing collective property is a serious crime! I'm being kind by showing you kindness by giving me half of your things, otherwise I'll call for help!"

Li Kaixin's face darkened, and he gripped the bag tightly. "Aunt Jia, what you're saying isn't pleasant to hear. I hunted these in the mountains honestly and fairly! Why should I share half with you?"

"Hey! You little brat, you dare talk back!"

When Jia Zhangshi realized that gentle persuasion was ineffective, she immediately started throwing a tantrum, sitting down on the ground and slapping her thighs as she began to wail.

"Everyone, come quick! That brat Li is bullying an old man! He stole public property and won't admit it! It's outrageous!"

Her howl was like a thunderclap dropped into a quiet alley.

Immediately, people from both the front and back yards rushed out upon hearing the noise.

In the courtyard where Li Kaixin lived, Aunt Zhao and Aunt Sun from the front yard were the first to run out.

Upon seeing this, Aunt Zhao immediately shouted at the top of her lungs, "Xiuli! Mingde! Come out quickly! Your Kaixin is being blocked at the door!"

Li Kaixin's parents had just returned from her maternal grandmother's house and were tidying up inside when they heard the noise. Their expressions changed, and they immediately rushed out with their youngest son and daughter.

Seeing Li Kaixin blocked in the middle of the alley by Jia Zhangshi, his face pale, his mother felt sorry for him and took a few steps forward to grab his arm.

"Happy! What happened? She didn't do anything to you, did she?"

The father shielded Li Kaixin behind him and looked at Jia Zhangshi with a stern face.

The younger brother and sister also clung tightly to their older brother, their little faces full of worry and anger.

Meanwhile, several elderly men who manage courtyard number 95...

The shrewd and calculating Third Uncle Yan Bugui, the career-obsessed Second Uncle Liu Haizhong, and the relatively fair-minded First Uncle Yi Zhonghai, who was biased towards the Jia family in the courtyard, all stepped forward.

Yan Bugui pushed up his glasses, looked at the wild game in Li Kaixin's hand, a hint of envy flashing in his eyes, but he didn't say anything.

Liu Haizhong stood with his hands behind his back, looking as if it were none of his business.

Yi Zhonghai frowned and stepped forward to persuade her, "Sister-in-law, what are you doing? Get up, let's talk this out. What kind of behavior is this in the alley!"

He then said to Li Kaixin, "Li family boy, what's going on? Where did you come from, you wild creature?"

Seeing more people around, Jia Zhangshi became even more enthusiastic.

Pointing at Li Kaixin, she screamed, "Grandpa, you have to do me justice! This kid got all this stuff from who-knows-where, it's definitely ill-gotten! I told him to hand it over, and he even cursed at me! He's so young and already behaving badly!"

"You're talking nonsense! My older brother didn't steal anything!" The younger sister retorted loudly, her face flushed with anger.

"Exactly!" the younger brother chimed in.

Li Kaixin patted her younger siblings on the shoulder, signaling them to calm down.

Facing the crowd, especially the three old men from courtyard number 95, he calmly and confidently pulled out the hunting certificate stamped with the red seal of the transportation station from his pocket.

He said loudly, "Neighbors, take a look! This is a hunting permit personally issued to me by Director Xie of the transportation station! Aunt Jia accused me of stealing without any evidence? If you don't believe me, go to the neighborhood committee and let them judge this matter."

The certificate bearing the bright red official seal carried immense weight at that moment.

Upon seeing this, the neighbors of No. 93 Courtyard immediately felt more confident and began to speak up:

"Exactly! They're happy, and there's proof! What makes you, Jia Zhangshi, dare to spout such nonsense?"

"I think you're just jealous that other kids are talented!"

"Get up! Stop making a fool of yourself here!"

"Yes, go to the neighborhood office!"

Yi Zhonghai knew what was going on as soon as he saw the certificate.

He quickly winked at Jia Dongxu and Qin Huairu, who were following behind, saying, "Dongxu, Huairu, hurry up and help your mother back! What kind of behavior is this!"

Then, with a hint of reproach, she said to Li Kaixin, "How could you trouble the neighborhood committee with such a small matter! Aunt Jia was wrong this time, but she's also an elder!"

Jia Dongxu looked unwilling, while Qin Huairu looked embarrassed. She stepped forward and pulled Jia Zhangshi away, saying, "Mom, get up quickly, stop making a fuss. They have proof."

Seeing that things were not going well, Jia Zhangshi still refused to give up and struggled and shouted.

"Proof? Proof can be fake! He stole it! You're all ganging up on us, a widow and her orphan!"

Li Kaixin smiled coldly, having also experienced Yi Zhonghai's moralistic approach and Jia Zhangshi's unreasonable arguments.

I didn't want to argue anymore. I just put the certificate away, thinking that dealing with them now would be bad for my reputation. I'll find another opportunity later.

With her son and daughter-in-law half-pulling and half-dragging her, Jia Zhangshi was dragged back to courtyard number 95, cursing and swearing the whole time.

Before leaving, Qin Huairu turned back to Li Kaixin, giving him an apologetic and helpless look, and whispered, "I'm sorry, my mom... she just has this temper."

Li Kaixin just watched them leave without saying a word.

......