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

"Even if we have to walk, I'll lead you all to the city center!"

Zhou Wenqian's voice was torn to pieces by the gale, but his unwavering determination burned into Su Nianci's heart like a red-hot iron.

She looked at the man who was only wearing a thin sweater, but had wrapped his thickest coat around Xiao Shitou. Looking at his face, which was blue from the cold, yet he was still clenching his teeth, a complex emotion welled up in her heart.

She knew she had made the right bet.

This man is someone she can entrust her life to.

"Uncle Zhou, please put your coat back on!" Su Nianci said anxiously. She wanted to take the wool coat off her brother and return it to Zhou Wenqian.

"Don't move!" Zhou Wenqian growled, stopping her. "I'm an adult, I can handle it! The child can't get cold!"

"But……"

"No buts!" Zhou Wenqian's tone was firm and resolute. "Listen to me! Let's go!"

Without another word, he hugged the little stone tightly and plunged headfirst into the vast expanse of snow and wind.

Su Nianci gritted her teeth and could only follow closely behind.

How far is it from the train station to the city center?

Su Nianci didn't know.

All she knew was that this was the longest and most desperate road she had ever walked in her two lifetimes.

The wind felt like a knife, scraping against my face.

The snow, like sand, blinded my eyes.

The cold, like an invisible hand, was frantically drawing the last bit of warmth from her body.

Her legs had completely lost sensation; she was only moving forward mechanically, instinctively.

Her consciousness began to blur.

She even started hallucinating.

She seemed to see a scene from her past life, where she stood under the operating lights, performing surgery for thirty-six consecutive hours, and finally collapsed from exhaustion beside the operating table.

That time, she also thought she was going to die.

But she pulled through.

"Su Nianci! You can't fall!"

"If you fall, what will happen to Little Stone?!"

A voice roared madly in her mind.

She bit her tongue hard!

A strong, metallic taste of blood instantly filled my mouth!

The intense pain brought her back to consciousness, which was on the verge of dissipation!

She looked up and saw a tall figure in front of her, swaying precariously in the wind and snow.

Zhou Wenqian is also nearing his limit.

He was only wearing a sweater and holding a child in his arms.

Every step he took was extremely difficult, and his body swayed as if he might collapse at any moment.

"Uncle Zhou!" Su Nianci mustered all her strength and chased after him, grabbing Zhou Wenqian's arm. "I...I'll carry Xiao Shitou! You...you rest for a while!"

Zhou Wenqian turned around; his lips had turned a dark purple from the cold, and his face was covered in frost.

He tried to speak, but as soon as he opened his mouth, a blast of cold air rushed in, triggering a violent cough.

"Cough...cough cough...no need...I...I'm fine..." he said intermittently.

"No!" Su Nianci's attitude was unusually firm. "If you continue like this, the three of us will freeze to death here! Give me the small stone! I'll carry it! You put on your coat!"

She didn't give Zhou Wenqian any chance to refute, and directly reached out to "snatch" the little stone from his arms.

However, at that moment...

A strange, sarcastic voice with a strong local accent suddenly came from the snowstorm behind them.

"Hey, aren't these three out-of-towners who just got off the train?"

"What? Are you... getting ready to go downtown to beg for food?"

Su Nianci's heart sank suddenly!

She turned around stiffly.

Not far behind them, seven or eight boys, dressed in tattered cotton-padded jackets and with their necks hunched, appeared out of nowhere.

The one leading them was the same boy with the scar on his face who had stopped them at the train station entrance earlier!

They followed them silently, like a pack of hungry wolves hunting their prey in the snow!

Beside the scarred man, a skinny boy, as thin as a monkey, chuckled, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth: "Scarface, look at those cowards! They thought they were so tough? They're just like us, can't even find a place to stay!"

"Shut up!" Scarface glared at Skinny Monkey, then strode over to Zhou Wenqian in a nonchalant manner.

He sized Zhou Wenqian up and down, especially noticing the expensive-looking sweater he was wearing and the barely visible watch on his wrist. A glint of greed flashed in his eyes.

"Hey, I said, 'Professor,'" he deliberately dragged out the word, full of sarcasm, "Weren't you going to the military medical university? What's wrong? Lost?"

Zhou Wenqian shielded the two children behind him, his face ashen as he stared at the group of ill-intentioned teenagers before him.

"What do you want?" His voice trembled slightly from the cold and anger.

"Nothing much." Scarface shrugged, giving an innocent look. "I just felt sorry for you guys and wanted to 'help' you out."

"Harbin is tough to get by in the dead of winter. Especially for 'fat sheep' like you from out of town."

As he spoke, he glanced at Su Nianci and the little stone in her arms with a malicious look.

"However, we're not unreasonable people. As long as you know the 'rules,' we brothers can help you find a way out."

"What rules?" Su Nianci asked coldly.

She knew trouble was finally coming.

"The rules are simple." Scarface stretched out a hand that was red and swollen from the cold and rubbed his fingers together in front of Zhou Wenqian.

The meaning is self-evident.

—Pay protection money!

Zhou Wenqian's face instantly turned a deep liver color!

He, a dignified university professor, was actually... was extorted in the street by a group of teenagers?!

This is an absolute disgrace!

"You...you're robbing me! That's illegal!" he shouted, his voice trembling with fear.

"Robbery? Illegal?" Scarface laughed as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world, and he and the group of lads behind him burst into unrestrained laughter.

"Hahaha! He said we broke the law!"

"Old man, are you awake yet? Look at this awful weather! Shout all you want! Even if you shout until you're hoarse, do you think a single cop will crawl out of bed to bother with your business!"

"If you know what's good for you, hand over your money and your watch! Otherwise..." Scarface's smile instantly turned sinister, "Otherwise, brothers, today we'll let you taste what Harbin's 'frozen pears' taste like!"

As he spoke, he and the few boys behind him slowly surrounded the three of them.

In their hands, they all pulled out gleaming knives or sharpened steel pipes from their pockets, seemingly from who-knows-where.

In the gray-white snowstorm, those weapons emitted a chilling gleam.

Zhou Wenqian panicked completely.

He was just a weak scholar; he had never seen anything like this before.

His legs started to feel weak.

Little Stone was so frightened that he burst into tears.

Finished!

Natural disasters, compounded by human error!

Today, they are really going to die here!

However, it was at this most desperate moment that...

The weakest figure, whom he had always protected behind him, suddenly stepped forward.

Su Nianci stepped out from behind Zhou Wenqian.

Her small face showed not a trace of fear, nor even the slightest extra expression.

She simply stared silently at the incredibly arrogant scarred man, and then slowly spoke:

"You want money?"

Scarface was taken aback, not expecting this little girl to dare to speak to him.

"Nonsense! Do you think I'd take your life if I didn't want your money?"

"Okay." Su Nianci nodded, and then said something that left everyone present, including Zhou Wenqian, speechless.

"I can give you money."

"However, I also have one condition."