Early in the morning, two young boys, as swift as the wind, ran through the mountains made of garbage piles. They resembled unleashed wild dogs, frantically exploring the space that belonged to them.
Although it was already cold in the early November morning, the two boys seemed to possess inexhaustible energy, continuously searching and scavenging. Despite their age that should be filled with youthful vigor, they worked without dragging their feet. The heat rising from their heads and the cold air in the wind intertwined, creating a subtle distortion in the space.
"Cui Ge, do you think that old man, a decent citizen, committed some serious crime? He would rather abandon his identity and escape the city. Even though the world outside is still on the same Earth as the city, it's no longer the same world. If he made a mistake, he should accept punishment honestly. Running out of the city, I guess he's long gone," Yongcun walked along the "mountain peaks," randomly picking up things with a stick in his hand while talking.
"I think that old man might have committed a serious crime."
"A serious crime? That's unlikely. Otherwise, why would the reward be just a bag of not-so-fresh apples?"
"Well, I think if he really made a small mistake, issuing a world-class wanted order is a bit exaggerated. And at his age, there's no need to risk death by running out. It's probably because he knows that if caught, the punishment for his actions might be more severe than losing his life. Maybe something even more terrifying than death."
"So, if he committed a common offense, they could capture him quickly and offer a larger reward, like granting him citizen status or a year's supply of food or weapons. That would attract more people to assist in the capture, right? So, I think he might have committed something unspeakably significant. If the reward is too large, it might arouse suspicion. So, they need to capture him quickly without making a big fuss, to prevent... well, desperate measures?" Cui Xiao's words were like magic, lingering in Yongcun's mind. This bold speculation made his head swell, his eyes blur, and he blurted out:
"If what you said is true, and if we manage to get involved in such a big matter, giving us just a bag of apples would be a huge loss!" Yongcun's face turned red, and he danced around. "Do you think if we catch him, we could negotiate with those robots?"
"Heh, negotiate? If they could negotiate, they wouldn't be dead! Looking at Cui Xiao gripping the stick and picking things up, Yongcun realized he misspoke and quickly approached, putting an arm around his neck. "Cui Ge, my bad, don't be angry."
"It's okay, not angry. If it weren't for you, I might have been in trouble."
"Oh, why bring that up? It wasn't a big deal, right? Who knew I'd end up rescuing a clueless guy."
"I see you're feeling itchy again. Isn't it a bit too much to call your brother clueless?" Cui Xiao said, suddenly putting an arm around Yongcun's neck, using a leg to trip him, and with a little force, he tumbled Yongcun haphazardly. He then mounted him and pressed him down, laughing and scolding, "Little brat, dare you or not."
"Bro, my bad. Hold on, let people see and spread it to your siblings. It'll make things more complicated." Cui Xiao's dark and thin face blushed, and he raised his leg, ready to roll over. Seizing the opportunity, Yongcun suddenly rolled over, attempting to press on top of Cui Xiao. Not willing to back down, the two wrestled together, both exerting force. Amidst laughter and curses, they rolled down from the garbage mountain.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch~ Bro, my bad, it seems like I was bent by a computer just now." Rubbing his waist with one hand and pushing Cui Xiao away with the other, Yongcun's lean body showed no trace of fat.
Yes, in this era, food had become a scarce resource, while technological products had turned into massive piles of waste everywhere.
After a busy morning, as they looked at the slightly overcast sky beginning to let warm sunlight through, the two knew it was already noon. They casually found a relatively flat but seemingly useless large electronic device from the garbage, using it as a seat.
"Bro, try this pickled cucumber. It's a fresh cucumber I exchanged from Huang Pangzi, paired with saltwater extracted from salted fish."
Looking at the slender but still green cucumber, one could imagine how crisp and refreshing a bite would be. In this place, a fresh vegetable was a dream for many because the land had been contaminated for hundreds of years, rendering it unsuitable for cultivation. Except for the heavily guarded vegetable factories in the city, only a few people outside had a piece of land suitable for cultivation. However, having land alone was not enough. The sun, obscured by thick clouds, rarely shed light to promote plant growth. Moreover, there were only a few uncontaminated water sources flowing out of the city. Only with these conditions could a fresh vegetable be cultivated. So, this cucumber inevitably made Cui Xiao lose focus.
Swallowing his saliva, Cui Xiao regained his composure and said, "Why are you so generous? Not giving some to your sister, what are you trying to do to me?"
"Your sister has already had some. There's one left, and I thought of bringing it for you and Auntie to taste. Maybe if Auntie eats this, her condition will improve a bit."
After a moment of hesitation, Cui Xiao took out his lunchbox from his backpack, put the pickled cucumber in it, and jokingly scolded, "If Auntie knew it was you who gave it, she'd scold me for being unfilial. Well, scold away. Next time, you can deliver it yourself. If she sees you, she might not only stop gasping for breath but also gain the strength to walk." Cui Xiao worked swiftly, tightly closing the lunchbox and stuffing it into his canvas bag. "Yeah, if she stops gasping for breath and gains strength to walk, she might grab my ears."
Thinking back to those times, Cui Xiao couldn't help but shiver all over and instinctively touched his right ear, which was noticeably larger than his left ear.
"Today, we'll have roasted pigeons. I caught a few yesterday, haven't had a chance to deal with them. I'll handle this; you go find some branches or something," Cui Xiao took out several dead pigeons from his bag, sat down on the ground, and skillfully started processing them.
Not long after, Yongcun came over holding old clothes, plastic bags, and a few branches. "Cui Ge, it's getting harder to find branches now. Can we make do with these clothes and garbage bags?"
Cui Xiao didn't say anything in response. By now, he had finished processing the pigeons. He used an iron rod found on the ground to skewer the pigeons and set up a makeshift barbecue rack. He then placed a mixture of clothes, garbage, and branches into a dug pit, ignited it. Although the black smoke and foul smell from burning clothes and garbage were unbearable, the two grew accustomed to it since childhood. More importantly, the pigeons on the rack had started sizzling, and the white pigeon meat was gradually turning golden brown. Droplets of pigeon oil occasionally fell into the fire pit, causing sparks to fly, and the aroma of the barbecue filled the air. It made their stomachs start growling. The scent of roasted pigeons was like a naked beauty, irresistibly attracting the two hot-blooded young boys.
After a while, the pigeons were ready. The two held them in their hands, looking at the oil-fried black residue sticking to the golden-brown pigeon meat. Cui Xiao reminded, "Yongcun, bring the pickled cucumber water over and sprinkle it."
"Oh, okay, sure." Yongcun put down the roasted bird in his hand, opened his backpack, took out an empty jar where the pickled cucumber had been, which still had some saltwater, poured it into his palm, and sprinkled it over the pigeons. The cool saltwater met the just-roasted pigeon meat, emitting waves of smoke. The appetizing aroma stimulated their taste buds.
The two waited for a while, looking at the pigeons sizzling with oil. When they were almost within reach, about to take a bite, suddenly, there was a loud noise from the garbage heap behind them. Accompanied by a blurry figure rushing towards them, the two boys, who had already been frightened, heard a shout in their ears, "I can't take it anymore!"