A young boy from the 1970s, separated from his family, fled famine and led his younger brother into

"Help! Robbery!"

With a piercing scream, Su Nianci crashed into the door of the state-run restaurant like a small cannonball!

Inside the restaurant, it was the peak of dinner time. The dozen or so square tables were packed full. The air was filled with the aroma of food, the smell of alcohol, and the boisterous chatter of people.

Su Nianci's intrusion was like pouring a ladle of cold water into a pot of boiling oil.

The entire restaurant fell silent instantly.

All the customers who were eating, along with the several waiters carrying plates and wearing white aprons, turned their astonished gazes to the ragged, panicked little girl at the door.

"What happened?"

"Where did this little beggar come from?"

Before anyone could react, Skinny Monkey and Triangular Eyes also caught up to the door, panting heavily.

Seeing the scene inside the restaurant, especially the several uniformed and serious-looking waiters, they felt a little intimidated and involuntarily stopped at the door.

"Brother Monkey, there are too many people inside..." The man with the triangular eyes tugged at the skinny monkey's sleeve, quietly trying to back out.

Skinny Monkey was also somewhat regretful, but looking at the damned enamel bowl in Su Nianci's hand, he was unwilling to give up so easily. He pointed at Su Nianci, his voice trembling with fear, and shouted inside, "You thief! You stole our money and dared to run away! Give us back our money!"

He wanted to be the one to accuse others first and muddy the waters.

The people in the restaurant immediately showed expressions of anticipation, some even with a hint of disdain. In their eyes, it was nothing more than a dog-eat-dog fight between street thugs and a female thief.

"What's all the noise about! What's all the shouting about! This is a state-run restaurant! Not a place for you to run wild! Go beg somewhere else!"

A slightly plump waitress with a black mole on the corner of her mouth walked over with a frown. She was carrying an enamel plate and had an air of imperiousness and impatience. This was the arrogance unique to waitresses in state-owned enterprises.

She looked Su Nianci and Xiao Shitou up and down, her disdain undisguised.

"Where did you come from? Get out of here! Don't delay our business!"

Faced with the waiter's attempts to drive her away and the menacing thugs at the door, Su Nianci knew she had nowhere left to retreat!

Success or failure hinges on this one battle!

She didn't cry, she didn't defend herself, and she didn't beg.

She did something that left everyone present, including the two thugs, speechless!

Suddenly, she took a few quick strides, rushed to the middle-aged waiter, and then, holding the enamel bowl that contained all her savings high, shouted in an incredibly loud, clear voice, filled with both grievance and trust:

"Auntie! Auntie! Please! Please help me put this money away!"

The waitress was taken aback by her sudden action and instinctively took a step back: "What are you doing, kid? I don't want your money! Hurry up..."

"Auntie! You have to help me!" At this moment, Su Nianci's tears welled up at just the right time. She choked up, but her voice rose even higher, making sure that everyone in the hotel could hear her clearly!

"My uncle... my uncle is a People's Liberation Army soldier! He's in a nearby unit! He asked me to come here and wait for him! He promised to treat my brother and me to meat buns!"

"This is the living expenses he just sent us this month! He said there are many bad people in Zhongzhou City, and it's not safe for a girl like me to carry money! He specifically told me that if I encounter any danger, I should run to the nearest state-owned enterprise and find the uncles and aunts in uniform! I should give the money to them for safekeeping! He said that state-owned enterprises are the people's enterprises, the safest places! You will definitely not let bad people steal the hard-earned money of the People's Liberation Army!"

Su Nianci spoke this long passage quickly and urgently, with great emotion. Every word was like a steel needle that had been tempered and pierced the ears of everyone present!

People's Liberation Army!

In this era, these three words are a golden brand! They represent honor, justice, and inviolability!

Robbing the families of People's Liberation Army soldiers? What kind of behavior is that? That's undermining socialism! That's going against the People's Army!

The entire restaurant fell into a deathly silence instantly!

Everyone's gaze has changed!

The gaze directed at Su Nianci shifted from amusement and disdain to sympathy, shock, and admiration!

The look in their eyes as they gazed at the two thugs at the door instantly filled with anger and hostility!

"Good heavens! They're incredibly audacious! They even dare to rob the families of military personnel!"

"This is absolutely outrageous!"

"These two guys are clearly up to no good! Arrest them! Take them to the police station!"

Several burly workers who were drinking suddenly stood up, grabbed beer bottles from the table, and rushed towards the door!

The skinny guy and the guy with the triangular eyes at the door were completely dumbfounded!

Their minds went blank with a "buzz"!

People's Liberation Army?

Is this girl's uncle a member of the People's Liberation Army?!

Even if they had the guts of a bear and the gall of a leopard, they would never dare to get involved with the People's Liberation Army! If the army found out, they'd be lucky to escape being sent to the police station, or even have their legs broken!

"No...no...we..." The skinny monkey was so frightened that his face turned pale and he could barely speak.

"Still trying to argue!" a worker roared, brandishing a bottle and charging forward. "Do you think we're all blind?!"

The skinny monkey and the triangular-eyed man were terrified! They didn't dare ask for any money anymore. They exchanged a glance, then turned and ran away as fast as they could, disappearing into the night in an instant, faster than rabbits!

A potentially fatal crisis was resolved by Su Nianci with just a few words.

Inside the restaurant, a few good-natured laughs and exclamations rang out.

"This girl is really clever!"

The waitress who had previously looked at Su Nianci with disdain now had an extremely complicated expression on her face.

She looked at the enamel bowl, still warm from the child's body, that had been forced into her hand, and then at the little girl in front of her, whose clothes were worn but whose back was straight and whose eyes were frighteningly bright. For a moment, she didn't know what to say.

As a waitress, she had seen all sorts of people and considered herself to have developed a keen eye for talent.

But today, for the first time, she felt that she couldn't understand a five-year-old child at all.

Is this child... really a relative of the People's Liberation Army?

Or is all of this just a lie she made up to escape?

If it's a lie, then this child's cunning and audacity are truly terrifying!

Su Nianci looked at the waitress's unpredictable expression.

She stepped forward, tugged at the waitress's sleeve, looked up at her tear-streaked face, and whispered in a tone that was both grateful and a little timid:

"Auntie, thank you. My uncle... my uncle's name is Su Weiguo, he's a hero... He said, 'The people's restaurant is our home...'"

She deliberately only mentioned her father's name, without saying that he had already sacrificed his life.

The waitress's body jolted violently!