Old Mrs. Song is reborn; get out of here, you scumbag husband and illegitimate child!

The man was dressed in a crisp military uniform and appeared to be around twenty-five years old.

He had a buzz cut, cold and hard features, and an upright posture.

He strode up to Grandpa Lei.

He gave a standard military salute.

He then turned to Song Xianglan, snapped to attention, and saluted: "Auntie, I am Lei Li, a comrade-in-arms of Comrade Song Xiangdong in the Southwest. It was your son who saved me."

Lei Li was prepared to sacrifice himself.

To everyone's surprise, Song Xiangdong rushed over and saved him.

Song Xianglan stood up, her eyes slightly moist.

The comrades-in-arms in the Southwest were forged in the midst of gunfire and bullets, becoming sworn brothers.

She looked Lei Li up and down, and saw that as a third-generation military officer, he still went to the front line without hesitation.

She admired him, thinking, "He's so energetic. He's a handsome young man."

Lei Li turned to look at Song Tingting.

I nodded as a greeting.

Only then did he greet Lei Hongying and the others.

"Grandpa and Grandma. I need to take three hours off because I have to rush back to my unit later."

Lei Hongying explained to Song Xianglan with a smile:

"Lei Li was previously stationed in the Southwest and was recently transferred back to the Beijing Military Region. He's usually very busy, but he made a special trip today after hearing that you were coming."

Everyone has arrived.

Grandpa Lei invited everyone to sit down and eat.

Apart from Song Tingting, Lei Li, and Zhou Yang.

Everyone else had a little alcohol.

After finishing the meal.

Lei Li volunteered to take on the task of delivering the people.

"I'll take Auntie and Comrade Tingting home. Brother Zhou Yang will take Auntie home."

Zhou Yang helped Lei Hongying, whose face was flushed.

"My mom was in a good mood today and drank a few too many drinks; she's already drunk."

Lei Hongying rolled her eyes. "Who said I'm drunk? If you brought me a daughter-in-law, I could drink another two jin (1 kg)."

Lei Ting laughed and said, "You can still drink two pounds of air."

The jeep drove out of the compound.

It merges into the night.

Lei Li gripped the steering wheel with both hands, his eyes fixed on the road ahead, and broke the silence, "Comrade Tingting, I heard from my aunt that you're in the Physics Department at Peking University?"

"Um."

Lei Li freed one hand and took a piece of paper out of his shirt pocket.

He handed it to Tingting, who was sitting in the back row.

"This is the phone number for my unit's office. Feel free to call me anytime if you want to go anywhere on weekends or if anything comes up."

Song Tingting took the note and glanced at it.

I took a pen out of my bag and wrote down the dormitory building's phone number on it.

He tore the note in two, put the one with Lei Li's phone number in his pocket, and handed back the note with his dorm room number. "I'm usually at school. You can call this number if you need anything."

The car stopped at the entrance of the alley.

Lei Li got off the bus.

I opened the trunk and took out two large net bags.

Inside were several beautifully packaged boxes of tonics such as bird's nest and ginseng.

"Auntie, this is a small token of my appreciation. Please accept it."

Song Xianglan quickly refused, "This is unacceptable. I ate and took things from your house today, and your grandfather and parents gave me quite a few things. How can I take your things again?"

"They are them, and I am me. This is what a junior should do." Lei Li forcefully stuffed the things into Song Xianglan's hands, leaving no room for refusal.

Song Xianglan was about to speak.

Suddenly, Song Tingting tugged at her arm.

Song Tingting stared in the direction of her own shop, her brows furrowed.

"Mom, something's not right."

Moonlight fell on the street, and shadowy figures could be vaguely seen moving in front of the shops.

Song Tingting put the things in her hand on the ground.

He took off running towards the shop a few hundred meters away.

"Tingting!" Song Xianglan's heart skipped a beat, and she turned to shout at Lei Li, "Go and see her quickly!"

She turned around, picked up half a red brick from under the wall of the alley, held it in her hand, and rushed over.

Beijing is a city with strict regulations.

Since I can't always carry a butcher knife with me, this brick is the most handy tool.

Song Tingting was extremely fast.

He darted to the shop entrance in a few steps.

The first lock hanging on the door latch has fallen to the ground, and the lock cylinder has been pried open.

The second lock, the big iron lock that Chang Ping just bought, is still hanging there.

But there was a wire stuck in the keyhole.

The thief was interrupted when he had only pried halfway through.

Song Tingting picked up the broken lock from the ground.

He weighed it in his hand; the iron lump was cold, hard, and heavy.

Lei Li followed closely behind, stopping Song Tingting and lowering his voice: "Open the door and go in to see what's missing. I'll search the surrounding area."

Song Tingting took out her key, unlocked the second lock, and pushed the door open to enter the house.

Turn off the light switch.

The clothes on the shelves were neatly arranged, and the drawers in the counter were intact.

The thief hadn't even had a chance to enter the house.

Lei Li walked in and glanced around. "It's good that nothing was stolen. Auntie, you and Tingting should go back and rest. I'll call the police to handle the aftermath."

Song Tingting put the broken lock into her pocket.

"I'm not leaving. I'll go with you to call the police. Mom, you go back to the courtyard and sleep first."

Song Xianglan held the brick, looked at her daughter, and then at Lei Li in his military uniform.

He nodded and turned to walk back.

Song Xianglan pushed open the door of the tenement courtyard.

Hearing the commotion, Chang Ping and Mao Qiaozhen put on their clothes and ran out to help get the things.

I heard a thief broke into the store.

The two little girls turned pale with fright.

Chang Ping stammered, "Auntie, how about Qiaozhen and I sleep on the floor in the shop tonight and keep watch?"

"Ping and I will stay at the shop," Mao Qiaozhen quickly chimed in.

"No way." Song Xianglan placed the gifts on the table, her tone stern. "How much are a few pieces of clothing worth? If something like this really happens, you two should stay far away from each other."

Money can be earned back, but people are the most important thing; you can't risk your life. Do you understand?

The two girls were stunned.

From childhood, they were taught to defend collective property to the death.

Song Xianglan's words made them nod repeatedly.

Song Xianglan poured hot water to soak her feet, then sat on the edge of the bed after washing up.

She stared at the night view outside the window.

My heart was still heavy with worry for Song Tingting and Lei Li outside.

Chang Ping and Mao Qiaozhen didn't dare to sleep either.

Song Tingting and Lei Li walked side by side toward the police station.

When passing by the public toilet at the entrance of the alley.

Song Tingting suddenly stopped in her tracks.

She squinted at the large, thick locust tree next to the public toilet.

Something flashed in the dense canopy of trees.

Like a pair of eyes.

"In the tree," Song Tingting uttered in a very soft voice.

Without even turning his head, Lei Li suddenly rushed out.

He gripped the tree trunk with both hands and moved nimbly, leaping up the branches like a nimble monkey in no time.

"Ouch."

"Bang! Bang!"

Two muffled thuds.

Two dark figures were kicked off the tree and crashed heavily to the ground.

One of them rolled on the spot, got up, and crawled into the public toilet next door.

A cold glint flashed in his other hand as he pulled out a switchblade and stabbed it straight at Lei Li, who had just landed.

Lei Li dodged the blade by sidestepping.

He grabbed the man's wrist with his backhand and twisted it hard.

A crisp "snap" sounded.

The knife fell to the ground.

Lei Li raised his knee and slammed it hard into the opponent's abdomen.

The man screamed and collapsed to the ground.

Song Tingting completely ignored Lei Li's side; she stared intently at the dark figure rushing into the public restroom.

The public toilet was stinking and pitch black.

"You little wench, you're asking for it." A curse came from the shadows, and a gust of wind accompanied by a cold glint of light lashed out at him.

Instead of retreating, Song Tingting advanced.

He pulled the broken iron lock from his pocket with his right hand and smashed it hard against the dark figure's face.

"Bang."

The lump of iron slammed solidly into the man's nose.

"Ah!" The shadowy figure screamed, clutching its face and retreating.

Song Tingting grabbed a stiff-bristled broom from the corner of the wall, which was used to sweep the toilet, and started hitting the man's head with both hands.

This public toilet stinks.

The smoke made her so angry that her temper flared up.

Lei Li rushed into the public toilet.

He didn't give the thief a chance to catch his breath.

He leaped into the air and delivered a fierce spinning kick.

The military boots slammed into the thief's chest.

The thief was sent flying backwards with a loud thud, landing directly in the cesspool behind him.

A strong stench instantly filled the air.

Song Tingting dropped the broom, covered her mouth and nose, and ran outside.

A heart-wrenching scream and thrashing sounds came from the cesspool: "Help! Help!"

Outside the alley.

The thief, who had been knocked down by Lei Li, had his hands tightly bound to the tree trunk with a belt.

This commotion startled the surrounding neighbors.

Elderly men and women, wearing clothes and carrying flashlights, rushed out one after another.

"What's going on? It's the middle of the night."

Lei Li came out and pointed to the people tied to the tree. "We caught two thieves who were trying to break into the house with knives. Please call the police, sir. There's another one in the outhouse."

"Okay!" An old man took off running outside.

Several tens of minutes later.

The police arrived at the scene.

Several policemen, pinching their noses, entered the public toilet and pulled the "shit man" who was still struggling in the cesspool out of the toilet.

The man was covered in yellow and white stuff.

The stench was so overwhelming that the police had to back away.

Several kind-hearted old men carried buckets of water and poured bucket after bucket of cold water over the thief's head, managing to wash him clean.

The police handcuffed the two men.

They were taken back to the police station.

Lei Li and Song Tingting, as the parties involved, went along to give their statements.

They spent half the night in the interrogation room.

The police officer in charge of the interrogation came out with a thick stack of records, his face beaming with barely concealed excitement.

"Comrade Lei, Comrade Song, you two have made a great contribution this time."

"These two are not ordinary thieves. They are part of a gang that commits crimes all over the place."

They scouted the location during the day and broke into the house at night.

The more they asked, the more frightening it became. The case of the elderly couple who were murdered in their home at the end of last year, which caused a sensation in our city, has been preliminarily identified as being committed by their gang.

Besides this, several victims have filed police reports in the past two weeks. There have been several reports in our area alone.

I came out of the police station.

It was already past midnight.

Lei Li drove Song Tingting back to the tenement.

The car drove along the empty street.

Lei Li turned to look at Song Tingting, breaking the silence: "You're quite skilled. Are you interested in receiving further instruction? The more you learn, the better you can protect yourself."

Song Tingting nodded directly.

"Okay. Can I still learn to shoot?"

Lei Li pondered for a moment and gave his answer:

"able."

"Then I'll call you before I take a break next week," Song Tingting said decisively.

The jeep was parked at the entrance of the alley.

The moon cast gentle, fragmented shadows on Song Tingting's face, as if coating it with a layer of light.

He exuded vitality.

Lei Li glanced at it, then quickly looked away. "Okay. I'll wait for your call."

He opened the car door and stood beside it.

Watching Song Tingting turn and walk into the alley.

Lei Li waited until the figure disappeared behind the gate of the courtyard before turning around and driving away.