Several minutes later, the truck started up again, passing through the checkpoint without incident.
Upon reflection, the reason I wasn't detected by the police dog might be because the engine compartment was filled with the smell of oil and gas, masking my scent.
A searing pain surged through me; during the tense moment at the checkpoint, my calf grazed against the engine, stripping away a layer of skin.
The agony was unimaginable for an ordinary person. If I had had a knife at that moment, I might have considered cutting off my own leg.
The cabin temperature was high, causing me to sweat profusely. My body trembled incessantly, and as I gritted my teeth, I gradually lost consciousness.
When I awoke, it was surprisingly quiet. Outside, there was utter silence; no sound could be heard. Opening the hood, I saw it was still nighttime; I had spent a whole day inside.
I tried to push open the engine hood with my head, intending to climb out. However, my leg suddenly throbbed with pain. Coupled with the prolonged stress and lack of food and water, as well as rapid dehydration in the high-temperature environment, I was too weak to continue.
Dizzy spells overwhelmed me, and I collapsed to the ground, the impact making my skull reverberate.
This jolt brought me back to my senses. Surveying my surroundings, I found myself in an urban village.
During those years of rapid development in the west, demolition was rampant. Developers and local residents engaged in a battle of wits, often resulting in small-scale skirmishes and numerous lawsuits involving casualties.
In the vicinity of the Western Capital, there were no fewer than a hundred such urban villages.
Crawling to my feet, gritting my teeth, I limped away like a stray dog, heading toward the distance. After walking about two hundred meters, the pain in my leg became unbearable, and I collapsed into a nearby pile of firewood.
Footsteps echoed through the cold winter night, clear and distinct. Following the sound, I saw a figure walking toward me in the moonlight.
Judging by her appearance and gait, she appeared to be a woman, carrying a woven bag under her arm and a broom in one hand, while the other held a shovel.
Stopping not far from me, she began sweeping the ground with the broom. After a few minutes, she started scooping up the debris into the woven bag, making a "shua shua" sound.
The woman glanced around occasionally, behaving furtively, as if she were a thief.
The coal that had been spilled on the ground had been mostly sold off, leaving behind some unwanted coal ash. Finally, I understood her true intentions; she was collecting the coal ash.
After about half an hour, she had filled half a bag. She struggled to hoist it onto her back and began laboriously trudging forward.
As she passed by me, I rolled out of the firewood pile and weakly cried out, "Help me."
Startled, the woman dropped the woven bag and brandished the broom as a weapon. "Who are you? Ghost or human?"
"Help me," I repeated.
Clearly frightened, she hesitated for a moment before cautiously approaching me, carefully scrutinizing me. Suddenly, she exclaimed, "Xiao Du, is that you?"
With widened eyes, I realized it was none other than the mother of Shi Jingxia.
"Auntie."
"Oh my, how did you get so injured? Come with me quickly."
Supporting me, Shi's mother helped me home and disinfected the wound with iodine. Fortunately, she had some antibiotics at home, loose white pills packaged in paper. I took three tablets, and Shi's mother crushed the other three into powder with a rolling pin, sprinkling it on the wound. She said that taking them internally and externally would be more effective.
The house was small, with old-fashioned furnishings and hardly any decent furniture. There wasn't even a washing machine; the most valuable item was a 17-inch Yellow River brand TV.
Shi's mother said they used to have some furniture at home, but Shi Jingxia's father, Shi Dashan, had taken it all to sell. This TV was something Shi Jingxia had picked up from a second-hand market.
As she spoke, Shi's mother's eyes reddened, and I quickly changed the subject.
It's been over half an hour since I arrived, but I haven't seen Shi Jingxia. I casually inquired, "Where's Xiao Jing?"
"She's working at a nearby towel factory. With the New Year approaching, she's always working overtime. Today is her night shift; she'll finish around eight tomorrow morning and be home by around nine."
"Oh, that's quite exhausting."
"On the surface, this child doesn't complain, but as a mother, I know she's struggling inwardly, holding it all in."
At that moment, my stomach embarrassingly growled. Shi's mother stood up to go to the kitchen, saying she would cook, but I stopped her.
"You're our guest. Let me make you a bowl of instant noodles, piping hot. It'll ease your hunger."
"Auntie, whatever you have at home is fine."
After some back and forth, and with my insistence, Shi's mother brought me a plate of leftover mustard greens dumplings and half a bowl of cabbage stew with vermicelli, the noodles had already swollen like chopsticks.
"Shall I reheat some steamed buns for you?"
"No need. I'm young and have a good appetite. Besides, chewing cold buns with sweet aftertaste is something I enjoy."
Shi's mother smiled faintly without saying a word, brought a pile of broken wires, turned on the TV, tuned it to channel eight, and while stripping the copper and aluminum cores from the wires, she watched TV.
"Auntie, where did all these wires come from?"
"A nearby village was demolished, so I picked up some broken wires when I had nothing else to do, to help with household expenses. You must be laughing at me."
"No, not at all, Auntie. Please don't say that. After I finish eating, I'll help you with them."
The TV was broadcasting the evening news, reporting on the theft case at the Eternal Tomb.
While eating, my eyes remained fixed on the TV, even forgetting to chew. Suddenly, I noticed Shi's mother looking at me with a peculiar expression, which made me nervous, my heart pounding.
"Auntie, why are you looking at me like that?"
"Xiao Du, something just occurred to me."
"What? What is it?"
"Did you do it?"
At her words, my hand trembled, the chopsticks fell to the ground, and cold sweat broke out on my forehead.
Seeing my hesitation, Shi's mother continued, "I knew it was you."
"I..."
Shi's mother interrupted me, saying, "Xiao Du, they're just like you, still children. It's one thing to teach them a lesson, but you shouldn't have been so ruthless."
She was referring to the Burial Love Clan incident, which almost scared me to death. I breathed a sigh of relief, feeling grateful.
Shi's mother's kindness was touching. Despite the cruelty she and her daughter had endured from those hoodlums, she repaid enmity with kindness, which was admirable.
But times have changed. Good deeds are taken advantage of, and kind people are often taken advantage of. As a philosopher once said, when life pushes you to a dead end, anything you do is justified.
Shi's mother was very skilled at her work; it didn't take long for her to strip the wires completely. They seemed to weigh about two or three catties, enough to fetch several tens of yuan.
After tidying up, Shi's mother said to me, "The house is small, but if you don't mind, you can sleep on the sofa tonight."