"Li Wei, get in the car," Mo Siyu instructed.
"No way, Brother Mo," Li Wei said excitedly. "Brother Mo, if I get in, what will you all do?"
"Just get in the car when I tell you to."
Mo Siyu dodged left and right, his nimble movements from childhood now coming into full play. While dodging, he said, "You guys go first, Siyu and I will cover the rear, otherwise, no one’s getting out."
Mo Siyu hastily issued orders, taking advantage of the fight’s lull. They moved the big logs blocking the road; if they didn’t move them, they couldn’t drive away.
Being unable to drive meant they also couldn’t escape these people.
Therefore, Mo Siyu and his comrades were fully aware that they must not let these opponents sabotage their tires.
Mo Siyu, who had driven cars far and wide, facing countless perils, believed that this time too, fortune would be on their side.
The scene was chaotic, and the truck was filled with crates of fresh apples. Mo Siyu grabbed a crate and started throwing the apples like projectiles at the opponents, while shouting, "Get in the car."
Every apple Mo Siyu threw was accurate. They quickly climbed into the vehicle as he yelled at Li Wei to drive, opting to stay behind and cover their escape.
Yan Dong and Zhao Xiangqian had clear roles; Yan Dong climbed into the driver’s seat while Zhao Xiangqian got into the back of the truck to help Mo Siyu cover the rear.
"Get lost, don’t even think about stealing our cargo."
Zhao Xiangqian cursed and threw a crate of apples at them, simultaneously yelling, "Brother Mo, hurry and get in!"
The vehicle slowly started, and those men didn’t dare come too close. Those who tried to climb into the driver’s compartment were knocked down by Yan Dong, and Zhao Xiangqian, with apples in hand, pummeled those attempting to get into the back of the truck. His eyes were red from the fight; he had sustained many injuries.
"They’re coming." Mo Siyu, fleet-footed, was about to climb into the rear compartment when suddenly, someone struck his back.
"Brother Mo," Zhao Xiangqian clutched at Mo Siyu, hurling apples fiercely at the attacker.
With Zhao Xiangqian’s help, Mo Siyu climbed aboard the truck, finally relieved. Although they lost many crates of apples, as long as they managed to deliver this batch, they could establish a market and earn more money later.
"Brother Mo, hold on." Zhao Xiangqian clutched tightly at Mo Siyu’s back where fresh blood flowed profusely, the stark red color making Zhao Xiangqian extremely anxious.
The blazing summer sun and the relentless heatwave made it unbearable, even with a fan blowing, it felt stifling hot.
"What’s happening." Mo Xiaolin, after lunch, felt a sudden unease, as if something was about to happen.
Restless, Mo Xiaolin usually took a stroll after lunch and then napped on a bamboo-made bed, but today, even laying on the cool bamboo mat, she felt panicky.
Half-asleep, half-awake.
A knock on the door came from outside the house, startling Mo Xiaolin awake. She shivered and instantly sat up, puzzled by the continuous knocking and unable to quickly grasp what was happening.
"Sister Mo, there’s a phone call for you." Sister Wang from the neighborhood store shouted, muttering to herself, could it be that Sister Mo isn’t home today?
Could it be that Si Yu needed her?
Mo Xiaolin suppressed the panic rising from the bottom of her heart, hurriedly straightening her clothes and asked, "Is it Si Yu from my family who called?"
"It doesn’t sound like him," Sister Wang replied as she saw her coming out, adding quickly, "Sister Mo, you better hurry, the caller seemed quite urgent."
Mo Xiaolin rushed to the store, despite the scorching summer weather, she felt a chill on her back, with cold sweat pouring down. She comforted herself internally, thinking she might be overreacting, after all, she had just spoken to Si Yu a few days ago.
"Aunt Mo, I’m Li Wei. We are on our way to the First Hospital in Shenzhen, you better come quickly."
Mo Xiaolin clutched the phone, unable to comprehend what was coming through the receiver.
In the past, whenever Si Yu got injured, she would only know when he returned home and she counted his wounds.
Li Wei calling her over in such a panic, Mo Xiaolin knew deep down what that meant. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out; on her beautiful face, tears fell like pearls cut loose, dropping one by one.
Sister Wang trailed behind, and seeing Mo Xiaolin in such a state rushed to support her, worried that she might stumble and fall.
"Sister Mo, don’t cry yet, what exactly happened?"
"I... Si Yu..." Mo Xiaolin’s voice broke down instantly, no wonder she had been feeling anxious all day since this morning.
"What happened to Si Yu? Don’t rush, take your time," Sister Wang urged, guessing that something might have happened to Mo Siyu, but she couldn’t assume the worst yet, hence she inquired, "Sister Mo, is Si Yu injured? Then you better hurry and see him."
"Yes." Mo Xiaolin nodded, tears continuously falling, unstoppable.
"Sister Mo, how about this, I’ll accompany you back to pack your things," Sister Wang suggested comfortingly.
Between questions and answers, Mo Xiaolin gradually calmed down. Now the most important thing was to get to Shenzhen as fast as possible to see her son.
At Deng Lanhua’s house.
"Xiao Yue, this is my eldest brother’s address, just follow it and you’ll find him," Deng Lanhua confirmed the address three times. In these times, there were no cell phones, only telegrams or beepers, but her elder brother didn’t have one. Normally, Deng Lanhua would contact her elder brother, Deng Yong, through telegrams.
Ever since Tang Yue mentioned she was going to Shenzhen, Deng Lanhua offered to let her visit her elder brother. Hearing they were going to buy a sewing machine, she immediately informed Deng Yong, who also provided the directions for the bus routes they should take after reaching Shenzhen.
"Okay, thank you, Sister Deng," Tang Yue said happily. With this address, their trip to Shenzhen wouldn’t be completely blind, although she had spent a long time in Shenzhen before, its development was too rapid, who knew how much it had changed from now to the future?
"It’s nothing, I’ve spoken to my elder brother about this matter, and he will definitely help if he can," Deng Lanhua felt grateful towards Tang Yue, thus she was very eager and happy to offer some assistance.
"Xiao Yue, how did it go, all set?" Tang Mingli was handing over the store affairs to his sister-in-law, Zhang Hualian. Although they had hired a young girl, he still needed to take the daily earnings; if he were to go to Shenzhen, he wouldn’t be able to return for at least a few days, so naturally, he had to arrange everything in the store.