Chapter 8: Returning Safely

Upon returning to the team, the driver immediately reported that he had been robbed.

When the team learned that he had been robbed of a few dozen yuan, they reimbursed him on the spot.

Wen Hao and Liangzi, however, left the transport brigade feeling utterly dejected.

It wasn't until they reached home that Liangzi and Wen Hao dared to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Brother, it's a good thing you were prepared, otherwise we would have really suffered a huge loss this time." Closing the door, Liangzi collapsed into a chair.

He was still gripped by lingering fear.

"You, in the future, when you're out and about, keep your mouth shut. That man surnamed Zhang is no good." Having seen many people in his time, Wen Hao understood the driver's mindset well enough.

If he knew that the bulk of their haul hadn't been stolen, he would likely have developed the urge to rob them himself.

"Brother, I'll listen to you from now on." Liangzi was truly shaken.

"Alright, we'll wait a while before we distribute the goods. Otherwise, that Zhang fellow will definitely figure it out. We need to be careful."

The two of them had pulled off a big job this time, and the items they brought back were high-quality. Because the pieces were precious, they hadn't put them in their large bags.

They had kept everything on their persons. It was fortunate those men hadn't searched them; otherwise, the two of them would have really been done for.

Heaven be praised.

The two stripped off their clothes and removed a dozen or two watches from their bodies.

There were all sorts of styles. One had to know that selling these here would fetch at least a hundred yuan or more apiece.

Several dozen watches meant several thousand yuan.

After deducting their costs, each of them would make at least eight hundred to a thousand yuan.

If those goods hadn't been lost, they would have made even more, but alas.

When Wen Hao returned, Auntie Yu went home.

During this time, Nan Shuang had actually scavenged quite a few things from the scrap yard.

The money had come from the living expenses her father left her.

When Wen Hao returned, he was almost frightened by the things in his own home.

"Nan Shuang, where did all this junk come from?" Looking at the pile of items in the small courtyard, he felt a headache coming on.

"Dad, you're back!" Today was the weekend, and it was rare for Nan Shuang to be home; she had spent the entire previous weekend at the scrap yard.

"What's going on with our house? Where did all this junk come from?"

"I bought these, Dad. Let me tell you..." Nan Shuang truly felt her luck was good. These pieces of wood were all high-quality materials.

If this were the future, they would be worth a fortune.

Right now, she could buy a whole pile for two yuan.

She happily shared what she considered to be treasures with her father.

"You... these have all been chopped up and ruined. You can't even piece together a full set. Tell me, aren't you being silly?" Wen Hao laughed after hearing her out.

He knew all about these materials, of course. He had spent plenty of time treasure hunting at the scrap yard back in the day, but unfortunately, the real treasures had all been taken by others.

Anything that ended up in a scrap yard was hardly a treasure anymore.

However, seeing his daughter's excitement, he decided it was better not to discourage her.

After helping her tidy up the items, Wen Hao took her to Liangzi's house.

They were having dinner at Liangzi's place that night.

Upon arriving, Nan Shuang learned that her father had been in trouble, and she felt very distressed.

"Dad, are you okay? Were you hurt?" She circled around her father.

"I'm fine. If I weren't, I wouldn't be standing here." Being cared for by his daughter made Wen Hao feel very comforted.

"Don't do this kind of thing again in the future. It's too dangerous." Auntie Yu was also full of worry, though she was relieved that neither of them had been hurt.

Liangzi scratched his head sheepishly.

The profit from this business was quite high, and he had been hoping to do it a few more times.

"Yeah, I won't do it again." The appearance of the highwaymen had indeed made Wen Hao feel a sense of retreat.

Now, he still had a daughter to raise; he couldn't leave Nan Shuang without a father.

"Dad, let's pinky swear." Nan Shuang was a bit skeptical.

To make her father take it seriously, she even insisted on a pinky swear.

"Haha, alright. Pinky swear for a hundred years, no backing out." Wen Hao played along with Nan Shuang.

Seeing the father and daughter like this, Liangzi and Auntie Yu exchanged a knowing smile.

The reunion dinner was enjoyed by everyone with great joy.

With her father back, Nan Shuang's life returned to its normal track.

Just as she condensed her second drop of spiritual liquid, she decided to take it out and dilute it for her father to drink.

The first time, she hadn't measured it well and made it too concentrated, which sent Wen Hao running to the bathroom three times in a row.

Wen Hao didn't even know what was wrong with him.

"Nan Shuang, do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?" To make it up to Nan Shuang, he had been buying a lot of meat and vegetables for the house these past few days.

After eating, he started having diarrhea, and it lasted for three days. If his energy hadn't remained good, he would have gone to the hospital.

"I'm fine, Dad." Nan Shuang felt a bit guilty. There was no helping it; she could smell the stench from far away whenever her father used the bathroom. It was really...

"You didn't get diarrhea?" Wen Hao couldn't figure it out. He hadn't eaten anything outside recently; he had been eating the same things as Nan Shuang. She was fine, but he had been suffering for three days.

Nan Shuang shook her head again. "No, I'm perfectly fine."

She gradually increased the dosage, and eventually, her father finished the diluted spiritual liquid.

There were no obvious changes on the outside, but on the inside, his body was now comparable to that of an eighteen-year-old.

After transforming her father, Nan Shuang settled down.

She slowly adapted to student life. The seventh-grade curriculum wasn't too heavy, and she found it quite easy.

Spending time with her few friends every day—it was actually quite pleasant.

"Have you heard? The school is selecting people to participate in the Math Olympiad, and the math teacher has already started picking candidates." Wang Lingling didn't have good grades, but she was very well-informed.

She shared the news she had gathered with her friends.

"Class monitor, you're going to participate this time, right?" After saying this, Wang Lingling turned her gaze toward her seatmate.

Yu Qian nodded in response.

She was busy writing on her test paper; a class monitor is always a class monitor, never forgetting to study.

Xiang Liling was also a bit tempted. She had participated in elementary school, but those were just held within the school. This time was different—it was organized by the province, and she wanted to try.

"Wang Lingling, are the participants chosen by the teachers themselves?"

Having just been snubbed by the class monitor, Wang Lingling didn't hesitate to share the information she had gathered when someone asked.

"It seems so. But for our class, only you and the class monitor have a chance of being selected." As a poor student, she couldn't help but envy such an honor.

Xiang Liling felt a bit uncertain because the teacher hadn't mentioned it to her.

She tapped the class monitor's desk. "Class monitor, did the teacher talk to you about it?"

Yu Qian was too distracted by the two of them to continue her homework. "She did, but I didn't agree." She put down her pen and looked at Xiang Liling. "My mom signed me up for an interest class, and I'm not interested in participating." To her, learning more things was more important than participating in some competition.

"Ah."

Sure enough, hearing the class monitor's answer, Xiang Liling looked disappointed.

The teacher had spoken to Yu Qian about it, but there hadn't been a peep for her. It seemed she had no chance.

Seeing Xiang Liling's disappointed expression, Nan Shuang couldn't help but say, "If you want to go, just take the initiative and talk to the teacher. If the teacher says the spots are filled, at least you won't have any regrets, right?"

If you've tried your best, you won't have any regrets.