Back to 1984: I built a chicken farm on a barren mountain.

Before Feng Jianguo could react, one of the burly men yanked off Feng Jianguo's tattered hat, fiddled with it in his hand, and then stared intently at him.

Feng Jianguo panicked. Had he been discovered?

Although he felt completely lost, he still clung to his illusions, pretending to be foolish and acting clumsy and panicked.

Another burly man walked towards him with a grin, pulled off his shirt, leaving him with only a dirty, old vest underneath.

The vest was white, but now it's so dirty you can't tell its original color.

Actually, Feng Jianguo had carefully prepared this vest, since even clothes worn close to the skin shouldn't be worn clean.

The burly man searched Feng Jianguo's coat thoroughly, finding only a few cigarette butts in the pockets and nothing else. He then casually tossed it back to him and said to the person who had pulled off Feng Jianguo's hat:

"Sixth brother, don't scare him, he's an idiot."

The sixth man chuckled and said:

"Fifth Brother, I didn't mean to scare him. I just saw his silly face, with his squinting eyes, looking just like a water rat, so I wanted to tease him."

Then the sixth man said to the person who had brought Feng Jianguo:

"Seventh Brother, we haven't been spotted along the way, have we?"

The seventh man took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, took a deep drag, and said:

"Sixth Brother, you can rest assured about my handling of the matter. I staked out him at the station for a week, and even had people bully him at night. This silly kid does nothing but rummage through trash cans and beg for food from passersby. He's not clear-headed, and he speaks unclearly. Nobody bothers him."

The sixth brother nodded and said:

"As long as they're not too stupid to do the work."

"If you can't do it, just fight. After a few times, you'll be able to do it."

"Fifth Brother, you should arrange for this person to go to the mine."

......

Feng Jianguo was relieved that the camera had not been discovered, so he could take photos and collect evidence.

He was taken by the fifth brother to a coal mine, or rather, an open-air pit.

This is because the nearby coal mines are located on the surface, so people always mine illegally, using brick factories, sand pits, and other names as cover.

This coal mine was disguised as a sand pit. A few people from out of town contracted a remote wasteland, fenced it off, and secretly mined coal.

To save costs and reduce the risk of being discovered, they hired some homeless people to work. Later, they found that these homeless people were easy to control; they only needed to provide food, and they didn't even have to pay wages. Even if the homeless people couldn't stand the hardship and quit, they wouldn't get any money when they left.

Gradually, these people became bolder and began to look for mentally challenged homeless people near the station, making them work day and night like livestock.

Feng Jianguo was, in their eyes, the best free labor.

On the day he was taken to the coal mine, Feng Jianguo started working without any transition period. He endured the dirt and exhaustion of mining coal, secretly observed several other homeless people who had also been abducted, took pictures of what he saw, and waited for an opportunity to escape.

Because Feng Jianguo was hardworking and didn't mind getting dirty or tired, and he was a man of few words, he did whatever he was asked to do except when eating. So no one suspected or was wary of him.

On the evening of July 2nd, the weather was muggy and the dark clouds were low. The fifth, sixth, and seventh brothers couldn't stand the heat, so they locked the door and each drank a lot of beer.

The other workers had gone to bed early, but Feng Jianguo couldn't sleep in his cramped shack. His eyes were wide open, and he could hear faint thunder outside the shack.

Feng Jianguo knew that the guards were drinking under the lamp, their boasting going on and on. He listened slowly, and after midnight, they gradually dispersed.

Feng Jianguo knew that his chance to escape had come, and this chance would only come once. If he failed this time, there would be no second chance to escape.

He quietly got up, took off his camera, put it in a plastic bag, wrapped it layer by layer, then put it in his pocket. He then carefully sewed the bag shut in the dark. After he finished sewing, he pressed it down with his hand and breathed a sigh of relief.

Feng Jianguo put on his shoes, tiptoed, and slowly made his way out of the shack. He had already chosen the route: there was a gap in the wall with a dog hole.

There was an old dog tied up near the dog hole. He heard from Lao Liu during the day that the dog had been sold to a dog meat restaurant.

Feng Jianguo cautiously reached the dog hole. A flash of lightning illuminated the coal yard as bright as day. Startled, he quickly crouched down and hid by the wall.

After the lightning, the thunder rumbled incessantly, and the rain began to fall.

Feng Jianguo didn't dare to delay and crawled out through the small dog hole. Fortunately, he was small and thin, and he quickly crawled halfway out.

Another flash of lightning struck, and when he looked up, he saw a familiar figure standing in front of him.

The old dog returned, covered in blood.

As Feng Jianguo crawled out, the dog barked softly at him. Feng Jianguo ignored it and quickly crawled out. Seeing the old dog trying to crawl back into the dog hole, Feng Jianguo suddenly felt a pang of sadness. He picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at the dog.

The dog ran away in a panic, and Feng Jianguo threw several more stones at it to drive it away.

I hope it never comes back. Rather than waiting here to be sold and slaughtered, it's better to go wandering.

But he threw the last stone too hard and accidentally fell into the mud.

Feng Jianguo got up and continued running. Instead of returning along the route he took to enter the village that day, he took a shortcut, but this shortcut crossed a small river.

The river has a small volume of water, and the route to cross it is also part of Feng Jianguo's plan.

He waded across the river, walking forward with uneven steps.

Behind him, the coal mine lights had been turned on, and shouts gradually rose up. Several beams of flashlight beams, like snakes in the rainy night, slithered and searched.

Feng Jianguo knew that his pursuers had arrived, but he would be safe once he crossed the river.

Because he had arranged for someone to meet him there.

The rain intensified, falling like arrows, and Feng Jianguo could barely breathe in it.

Because of the heavy rain, the river had risen considerably. Feng Jianguo was not careful and stepped on something hard. A sharp pain shot through his foot, and he lost his balance and fell into the icy river.

He was exhausted. The days of overwork, high stress, and the escape had pushed his physical strength to its limit.

He felt dizzy, but his body felt a sense of ease he hadn't experienced in a long time.

Finally, the overwhelming feeling of suffocation forced him to struggle to his feet. He endured the pain, made his way to the other side, and climbed ashore.

"Found you!"

A joyful shout rang in Feng Jianguo's ears, and a beam of flashlight shone on his face. Feng Jianguo looked up and saw a familiar face; his voice trembled with emotion as he said:

"Old Wu, what brings you here!"