Chapter 55: Sun Xiao Bao’s Small Token Of Appreciation!
After a simple inquiry, it was learned.
The old man’s name was Sun Xiao Bao.
He was thin and small, with very dark skin. Not only did his name resemble a certain comedian’s, but he looked quite like him too!
Sun Xiao Bao’s home was in Bai Ge Zhuang New Village, not far from the demolition area.
At first listen, Bai Ge Zhuang New Village sounded similar to Jiang Tao’s rented place in Xiao Sha He Village, and their hometown, Jiang Family Village.
In reality, they were very different, to the point where one could say the difference was like night and day.
Bai Ge Zhuang New Village was a large, modern residential community with hundreds of high-rise buildings.
It was a relocation community for the original Bai Ge Zhuang Village residents after demolition, with current average prices over 30,000 yuan, nearing 40,000!
Jiang Tao noticed that Sun Xiao Bao said “his home” rather than “he lived in that community.”
Connecting this with the intelligence provided by System Brother about tea and Moutai…
“Could it be that this old man named Sun Xiao Bao is also a demolition recipient?”
“That doesn’t make sense, though. If he was a demolition recipient, he wouldn’t be out scavenging, would he?”
“But the intelligence provided by System Brother has never been wrong…”
Jiang Tao speculated about Sun Xiao Bao in various ways; this old man was truly an unfathomable man.
“Old man, eat slowly, don’t choke. Have some water.”
Watching Sun Xiao Bao devour his food, Jiang Tao, afraid he might choke, quickly handed him the thermos cup in his hand.
But when he remembered that the old man had been stranded here for two days and two nights, hungry for two days and two nights, his eating habits could be understood.
“Burp~”
Sun Xiao Bao burped, reached out to take the thermos cup from Jiang Tao’s hand, and gulped down another cup of water in one go.
“Thank you, young man, thank you. Without you, this old man’s life would have ended here today.”
After finishing the bread and drinking the water, Sun Xiao Bao expressed his sincere gratitude to Jiang Tao with a face full of sincerity.
“You don’t need to be so polite, old man. It was just a small favor. Try to stand up and walk again. If you still can’t, I’ll take you to the hospital.”
Jiang Tao said this as he again tried to help Sun Xiao Bao up from the ground.
Sun Xiao Bao’s legs were numb and had little sensation due to prolonged inactivity and the cold weather.
Coupled with being hungry for two days, he had little strength left in his body.
Jiang Tao had previously tried to help him up from the ground but failed.
Now, after eating bread and drinking a cup of warm water.
He felt a bit warmer and had regained some strength.
Jiang Tao tried to help him up from the ground again, and this time, he succeeded.
Sun Xiao Bao swayed a few times and was able to stand up again.
After adjusting for a moment, he could also walk again.
“Young man, why do you look a bit familiar to me…”
Sun Xiao Bao’s spirits seemed to have somewhat recovered, and he looked at Jiang Tao with a hint of confusion, his withered old face showing an expression of deep thought.
“Oh! I remember! Weren’t you waiting for work near the Hongxing Second-hand Furniture Wholesale Market?”
Sun Xiao Bao’s eyes suddenly lit up, and he pointed at Jiang Tao with an excited look on his face.
“Old man, you… know me?”
Hearing that Sun Xiao Bao knew he was waiting for work at Hongxing Second-hand Furniture, Jiang Tao also showed an expression of immense surprise.
Suddenly, a scene flashed through his mind.
More than ten days ago, on the day Jiang Tao bound with the System.
When he was looking through trash cans based on intelligence provided by System Brother, he had also encountered a scavenging old man wearing a green military coat.
Thinking back now, the images of the two scavenging old men instantly merged; they were indeed the same person!
“So it was you!”
After recognizing Sun Xiao Bao, Jiang Tao couldn’t help but marvel at the wonders of fate.
“Yes! It was me! We two old men are quite fated!”
“Come, come, young man, take the old man home first. I must thank you properly!”
Sun Xiao Bao said, grabbing Jiang Tao’s clothes and heading out.
Jiang Tao mumbled “Thank you for what,” but went along with Sun Xiao Bao, as if it were a natural progression.
Climbing out of a warm quilt in the middle of the night to rescue someone from the ruins, it wouldn’t be excessive to accept some benefit, right?
Besides, he wasn’t the one who actively asked for it; it was being offered voluntarily.
The father and son walked towards the outside of the ruins, stumbling along the way.
Through conversation, it was learned that Sun Xiao Bao was indeed a demolition recipient from Bai Ge Zhuang, owning five houses.
The reason he went out scavenging was merely a hobby of his; he didn’t rely on it to earn money.
Moreover, he never carried his mobile phone when he went out, so he couldn’t call for help when he was trapped this time.
Jiang Tao was speechless upon hearing this.
It was the first time he had heard of someone considering scavenging a hobby!
However, the world is vast and full of wonders.
Although this hobby was a bit niche and difficult to understand.
But… existence is reasonable!
It was certainly better than those old people who idled around on buses all day and always guilt-tripped young people into giving up their seats.
The father and son chatted as they walked, taking over half an hour to exit the ruins and reach Jiang Tao’s truck.
Jiang Tao drove, and Sun Xiao Bao sat in the front passenger seat, navigating for him.
The truck entered Bai Ge Zhuang New Village directly through the north gate and drove to the downstairs of Building 79.
Sun Xiao Bao led Jiang Tao into Building 79, and the unit to the right of the entrance was 101, his home.
As soon as he entered, Jiang Tao saw that the house was relatively tidy, not as messy and dilapidated as he had imagined.
Sun Xiao Bao usually sold the scrap he collected to the scrap station every day and did not bring it home.
After inviting Jiang Tao to sit down, Sun Xiao Bao went to prepare food.
The few small bread rolls Jiang Tao brought were clearly not enough to satisfy his appetite.
After about twenty minutes of preparation, Sun Xiao Bao cooked a large pot of instant noodles, cracking four fried eggs into it, and enthusiastically invited Jiang Tao to eat with him.
It was already past 1 AM.
After all this commotion, Jiang Tao was indeed a bit hungry.
Jiang Tao didn’t stand on ceremony with Sun Xiao Bao and wolfed down a large bowl of instant noodles, ate two fried eggs, and drank all the soup.
Full and satisfied, the father and son each sat on one side of the sofa, leaning back and lighting cigarettes.
As their cigarettes were almost finished, Jiang Tao looked at Sun Xiao Bao and said goodbye:
“Grandpa Sun, it’s getting late, I should be going back. Thank you for your hospitality.”
“Alright! This old man only has one bed, so I won’t have you stay the night. Xiao Jiang, wait a moment, the old man will get you something.”
Sun Xiao Bao said this, got up, and walked towards a room inside the house.
He came out less than a minute later, holding a box in his arms, with a black rectangular box placed on top of it.
Seeing the wine box and the tea box Sun Xiao Bao brought out from the room.
Jiang Tao once again marveled at the power of System Brother; it could even predict this?
“Old man, this is…”
Jiang Tao got up from the sofa.
Although he already knew about this reward plot, he still pretended to be surprised.
“Xiao Jiang, this is just a small token of the old man’s appreciation.”
“A box of wine and a box of tea. It’s almost the Spring Festival, take it back to drink, saves you buying it.”
“You are the old man’s savior. If it weren’t for you, the old man might have died there.”
“Don’t think this small gift is shabby.”
“You’re not allowed to refuse! If you don’t take it, do you believe I’ll smash it right here?”
Sun Xiao Bao said this, even making a gesture as if he were going to throw it on the ground.
