Zhang Heng's appearance was like a small stone dropped into a pond, sending faint ripples through the little girl's once placid life.
Although Zhang Heng spent most of his time in his own cave apart from mealtimes, whenever he went out—whether to chop wood in the forest, dig for wild vegetables, or hunt—he would first stop by the little girl's cave and ask whether they needed anything.
The little girl had been somewhat shy at first, usually hiding behind the old man, but she gradually grew bolder. Once, she silently followed Zhang Heng, and when he noticed her, he did not wave her away. Instead, he even took the initiative to teach her how to identify plants.
From then on, whenever Zhang Heng went out, the little girl followed behind him. He casually taught her how to make traps for wild rabbits and catch fish with stones. As for climbing trees, she did not need Zhang Heng to teach her; she was already quite skilled at it, and even brought him bird eggs as gifts.
Unfortunately, happy times were always short-lived.
Ten days later, a convoy rumbled into the small village deep in the mountains. A man wearing a bulletproof vest and sunglasses stepped out of the lead SUV.
He waved away the children watching nearby, then strode straight through the village committee's gate. Ignoring the village officials who had come to welcome him, he walked directly up to a middle-aged man of around forty and asked, "Where is he?"
The middle-aged man, the village Party secretary, immediately said to his assistant, "Go. Have the broadcast station call Chaoying over."
But before the man could take a step, the bulletproof-vested man called out, "Come back." He then looked at the village secretary with a faintly mocking smile and swept his