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

In the afternoon, Li Kaixin continued to walk slowly along the stream.

Perhaps his good luck for the day had been used up by encountering the tiger and the morning's bountiful catch, because Li Kaixin did not encounter any more decent large prey.

Apart from the three pheasants we shot down along the way, we had no other gains.

Just then, Li Kaixin looked up at the sky and saw that the sun had clearly set in the west.

"It's getting late," Li Kaixin thought to himself.

then.

Li Kaixin decisively abandoned his plan to go deeper and began to return along the same route, relying on the marks and memories he had left behind.

On his way home, an idea became increasingly clear to Li Kaixin: he absolutely had to get a watch.

Losing a clear sense of time is really inconvenient.

When we were in Beijing, it was fine to go to the mountains, as the distance wasn't too far. But it's not possible here in Northeast China. Yesterday, we estimated the time by the position of the sun, and by the time we got back to the guesthouse in the county, it was already completely dark, which made Master Chen and Wu Tian worry.

I thought of the black market again, but then rejected the idea.

The courtyard house was crowded with people and eyes. Although the people in their own courtyard had good relationships with each other, the people in the courtyard across the street at No. 95, especially the likes of Jia Zhangshi, were looking for a pretext to cause trouble.

If they see it and report it, and you can't clearly explain the legal source of the watch ticket, you'll be in big trouble.

"We still need to go through the proper channels. I'll go back and ask Director Xie for a solution," Li Kaixin thought to himself.

Bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun, Li Kaixin finally emerged from the dense forest and returned to the starting point of his ascent.

Perhaps luck had finally smiled upon Li Kaixin once again, for a tractor loaded with sacks of grain was chugging along the dirt road.

Li Kaixin was overjoyed and quickly stood by the roadside, waving vigorously.

The tractor slowed down and stopped beside him.

The driver was a very young-looking man who leaned out of the driver's seat, scrutinizing the unfamiliar young man with a somewhat critical look.

A rough voice asked, "What is it?"

Li Kaixin put on a polite smile and said in a measured tone, "Brother, excuse me. Is your car heading towards the county town? Would it be convenient for you to give me a ride? I'll pay for the gas."

The young tractor driver glanced at him again, seemingly assessing his reliability.

He then nodded and said, "Yes, one cent will do."

"Okay! Thanks, big brother!"

Li Kaixin deftly pulled out a dime and handed it over, then nimbly climbed onto the swaying truck bed.

As soon as we got on the truck, the tractor started up again and bumped its way toward the county town.

The young tractor driver smiled and said to Li Kaixin, "You're lucky, kid. You caught my last trip. Otherwise, you would have had to walk back in this desolate wilderness."

Li Kaixin, sitting in the truck bed facing the wind, smiled upon hearing this, but didn't say much, only echoing, "Yes, I'm so glad I met you today."

This young tractor driver was probably not a talkative person; he simply focused on driving the tractor for the rest of the time.

Seeing this, Li Kaixin didn't say anything and closed his eyes to take a nap.

For a moment, only the "putt-putt" sound of the tractor remained.

The tractor slowly came to a stop at the entrance of the grain depot compound.

Li Kaixin first thanked the tractor driver, then jumped off the truck bed.

The tractor driver waved his hand in response, then drove the tractor "putt-putt" toward the grain depot.

Li Kaixin dusted himself off and strode towards the guesthouse.

Just as I reached the corridor where my room was located, I saw Wu Tian strolling over from the other side.

When Wu Tianyi saw Li Kaixin, his eyes lit up, and he called out from a few steps away, "Kaixin! You're back! Let's go to the cafeteria for lunch together later."

"Okay! I'll put some things down, rest for a bit, and then I'll be right back."

Li Kaixin readily agreed, and without stopping, took out her keys and opened the door.

Seeing that Li Kaixin agreed, Wu Tian didn't say much, just nodded and said, "Okay, then hurry up, Dazhuang and I will wait for you at the door."

Li Kaixin slipped into the room and closed the door.

First, on a whim, he took the gun out of the secret space, carefully wrapped it in an oilcloth, and placed it at the bottom of his luggage.

Then, he quickly took off his outer trousers and cotton-padded jacket, simply washed his face and arms with cool water from a basin, changed into a clean set of underwear, and then put the tattered cotton-padded jacket back on.

I sat on the bed for a while longer.

Then, Li Kaixin took the lunchbox and quickly walked out of the room.

When Li Kaixin arrived at the guesthouse entrance, he saw Wu Tian and Qian Dazhuang already waiting there.

The two were chatting idly, and Qian Dazhuang still had that same honest and simple look. Most of the time he just listened and nodded occasionally.

Li Kaixin quietly approached from behind, reached out, and patted both of them on the shoulder.

With a smile on his face, he said, "Let's go eat!"

Wu Tian was startled by the sudden tap and turned around abruptly. When he saw that it was Li Kaixin, he was startled.

He laughed and scolded in an annoyed tone:

"You little rascal, are you like a cat? You walk without making a sound!"

"You know how scary it is to scare someone to death!"

Qian Dazhuang looked at Wu Tian's exaggerated reaction, scratched his head, and chuckled.

Li Kaixin laughed and put his arms around their shoulders: "Alright, alright, it's my fault! Let's go to the cafeteria, we're starving!"

Then, the three of them walked side by side toward the grain depot's canteen.

……

The canteen was still bustling, filled with the aroma of food and the noise of workers eating and chatting.

The three of them got their food and found a corner to sit down.

Li Kaixin ate the bland stew and cornbread in his bowl.

He turned directly to the two men and asked, "Wu Tian, ​​Da Zhuang, did you two meet my master today?"

Wu Tian swallowed the food in his mouth and shook his head:

"I didn't see it."

"Dazhuang and I stayed in the dormitory all day. Apart from us apprentices visiting each other, we didn't see a single master craftsman."

"That's strange, I ran into one or two yesterday."

Qian Dazhuang echoed in a muffled voice, "Yeah, I didn't see it. Even my master didn't see it."

Li Kaixin felt a little strange.

Seeing that Li Kaixin still looked puzzled, Wu Tian said, "Kaixin, don't think about it. It's impossible for all the masters to abandon us apprentices and go back to Beijing!"

"Yes! Yes!" Qian Dazhuang echoed.

After listening to the two, Li Kaixin temporarily suppressed his doubts and said with a smile:

"Alright, alright, you two are still singing in unison."

"Let's eat."

The two looked at each other, said nothing more, and began to eat.

After the meal, the three of them strolled leisurely back to the guesthouse.

As soon as I reached the main gate, I saw several familiar figures walking from another road. They were Captain Wang and a group of experienced workers from the transportation station.

They seemed to have just returned from somewhere, their faces showing a hint of fatigue, but their eyes also conveying a sense of relief at having completed a task, as they spoke to each other in hushed tones.

Li Kaixin also saw his master, his eyes lit up, and he immediately went to greet him.