Courtyard House: Purchasing Agents' Comeback from the Great Famine

"Aaaaaah!"

As the fire was about to engulf him, the intense heat turned his skin bright red, and the thick smoke made him cough incessantly. He frantically pulled at the door, trying to escape.

He had been completely drunk the night before and had only slept for a little over two hours. He was still not sober, and his legs were weak. He had only half the strength he usually had. He frantically pulled on the door for a while, but the door wouldn't budge. This made him completely desperate, and he let out a desperate roar.

Soon, his strength waned, and due to inhaling too much smoke, he gradually lost consciousness.

Immediately afterwards, he collapsed at the doorway, and a beam fell down and hit him, ending his tragic life.

......

at the same time.

Banggeng had already run more than a kilometer. Because this was deep in the mountains and forests, there wasn't even a basic path. In less than two kilometers, he had fallen seven or eight times. His whole body was covered in mud, even his head. Now, apart from his eyes, there was practically no clean spot on his body.

As he ran down the mountain, he would look back up every now and then. When he saw that the mountain was engulfed in flames, he finally felt a great deal of relief.

He ran for more than two kilometers before stopping. If he had continued running, even if he hadn't been caught, he would have been killed by the fall.

At the same time, he thought to himself, "Such a big fire should have burned that old eunuch Chen, that childless man, to death, right?"

He decided to wait there until dawn before going down the mountain. Since it was so far away, even if Chen Laoyan's child hadn't been burned to death, it wouldn't be easy for him to find him at night. Once it was light, he would run down the mountain, and Chen Laoyan wouldn't be able to catch him.

He was exhausted tonight. He had worked hard all day and hadn't slept at night. Smashing the window almost killed him. Now he had run so far. If it weren't for his belief that kept him going, he would have given up long ago.

It's so good to be at home. He doesn't have to do any chores at home. His mother cooks meals for him every day, and he can even eat meat occasionally. Just thinking about those days makes me nostalgic.

Ever since he was kidnapped by the kidnappers, he has been living a life that is not fit for a human being. He has not eaten a decent meal, and he has not even eaten cornbread, which he usually despises, for more than a month. When he returns to No. 95 Courtyard, he will definitely make his mother cook meat for him every day.

As Banggeng pondered this, he kept swallowing, a smile unconsciously creeping onto his lips. At the same time, he felt his eyelids growing heavier and heavier, and before he knew it, he had fallen asleep in the grass.

......

The next day, just as dawn was breaking.

Banggeng woke up from his deep sleep. The first thing he did was look up at the mountain. When he saw that the fire on the mountain had been completely extinguished, he ran down the mountain without thinking.

He didn't know if the fire was extinguished because Chen Laoyan's house had burned down or because Chen Laoyan had saved him. Anyway, running was the right thing to do. In any case, he absolutely couldn't let Chen Laoyan catch him, or he would definitely be dead.

Banggeng was starving; his stomach was growling loudly. But he had no choice but to run down the mountain to find something to eat.

On his way down the mountain, he came across a small puddle. He didn't care about anything else and lay down like a wild dog drinking water, gulping it down.

"belch."

Banggeng drank a lot of water, let out a burp, and drank almost all the water in the puddle. Finally, he didn't feel so hungry anymore.

He sat on the ground to rest for a few minutes, then continued walking down the mountain.

It was already bright outside, and he could see clearly, so he didn't fall again.

The mountain where Old Chen lived was more than ten miles away from the rural area below. There was only one mountain path, which was not really a road. He walked down the mountain for another half hour before finally finding the mountain path he had used to go up the mountain.

This mountain path is rarely used; only Chen Laoyan's family lives on the mountain. The path is overgrown with weeds, but you can still vaguely see the outline of the path.

Banggeng walked down the mountain path, and every now and then he would look back, afraid that Chen Laoyan would catch up with him.

But his worries were completely unnecessary; he just didn't know that Old Eunuch Chen was probably burned to ashes by now.

Banggeng walked along the mountain path for more than three hours before finally reaching the bottom. He was exhausted and panting heavily.

His clothes, soaked with sweat and covered in mud, made him look even more like a beggar than a real beggar.

Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, Banggeng finally saw a village not far away, but he dared not go into the village to beg for food, for fear of running into the person who had sold him to Chen Laoyan.

He had learned from the conversation between that person and Old Man Chen that the person who sold him to Old Man Chen was from the nearby countryside. He was not sure if that person was the same person from the countryside he was seeing now.

Banggeng gritted his teeth. In order to avoid being caught again, he found a secluded place to rest for more than ten minutes. He then found a main road and started walking aimlessly forward.

After walking for more than an hour, just when he was so hungry that he could no longer walk, he suddenly saw an oxcart coming from a fork in the road. The oxcart was driven by an old man in his fifties, and there were two young men sitting on the oxcart.

Seeing this, Bang Geng used his last bit of strength to chase after the oxcart, shouting loudly as he ran.

"Grandpa, grandpa, stop for a moment, stop for a moment!"

"Whoa!"

The old man stopped when he heard the shouts and saw a little boy covered in mud. He was very puzzled. Could this be a little beggar who had come to him to beg for food?

Banggeng ran to the front of the oxcart, panting heavily, and said in a broken voice:

"Sir...sir, where are you going? Could you give me a ride?"

The old man frowned and asked, "Young man, where are you going? What happened to you? Where are your parents?"

"Sir, I...I was kidnapped by a kidnapper. I just escaped from his house. Could you take me to the nearest police station?"

Upon hearing this, the two young men on the oxcart were instantly filled with sympathy; the child was truly pitiful.

"Dad, let's help him, this child is so pitiful."

"Yes, Dad, let's take him to the police station in town. It won't take much time anyway."

The old man nodded: "Alright, young man, come on up, I'll take you to the police station."

"Thank you, thank you sir, thank you both uncles."

When Banggeng heard that the old man had agreed to take him to the police station, he was overjoyed and also breathed a long sigh of relief. Once he got to the police station, he would be completely safe.