Understanding

Memory, unknown time, unknown place.

Cheng Shi opened his eyes and found himself sitting on a bumpy bus. There were quite a few people on the bus, about a dozen, all dressed in rich and noble clothes, and most of them were cursing and swearing.

They were complaining about the difficult mountain road. The man at the front was smiling obsequiously. After listening for a while, Cheng Shi realized that this was a tour group that had come all the way from the south to go hiking and camping, and he was now one of the members of the tour group.

Of course, no one else can see him; this is the perspective of Memory Traveler.

He had assumed Old Jia would be in the car, but unfortunately, he couldn't find Old Jia.

So why do Memory begin here?

Soon, the stopped bus provided him with the answer.

The bus arrived at the entrance of a small mountain village. The village is surrounded by mountains on three sides and should be the only way to climb the mountain. A wooden sign was crookedly stuck at the entrance of the village with words pasted on it. Perhaps because of wind and sun exposure, the words were almost completely peeled off. From the format, you could vaguely make out that it was something like a fee schedule.

The moment the bus stopped, someone started banging on the door. The driver didn't open it, but the tour guide opened the window, leaned out, and, seeing it was a child, chuckled and scolded:

"Damn, you scared the hell out of me! You little brat, who taught you to stop a car like that?"

The passengers on the bus crowded around as if watching a spectacle, and found a child standing at the door. He looked to be about 8 or 9 years old, with a resilient look on his dark face and a mischievous glint in his bright eyes.

Cheng Shi recognized the other person at a glance, and his eyes reddened at that moment.

The old man was quite cute when he was a child...

However, the word "cute" is only for those who love him; what the child said next was anything but cute to the tour group.

The dark-skinned child looked up at the tour guide and said in a serious and measured manner:

"The town issued a notice saying that it would repair roads in the village, but it didn't have enough money and asked the village committee to contribute some."

The village was short of money, so the village chief sent my brother to the village entrance with his work ID to ask for money. The old village chief said, "Anyway, the road construction is for outsiders like you, so what's wrong with you contributing some money?"

Besides, those who can afford to come here aren't short of money, so they should pay!

"?"

The tour guide was amused and exasperated. He had arranged for so many big clients to relax in the mountains, not to be "robbed." He had done thorough research beforehand and there was no charge for it. However, instead of refusing, he picked up the phone to verify.

Unexpectedly, a man who looked like a boss on the bus complained, "This road really needs fixing."

The tour guide abruptly hung up the phone, turned back with an apologetic smile, then looked at the child, suppressing his anger, and said:

"How much?"

The child had a very serious "work attitude," pointing to the wooden sign with only a few words on it and saying:

"It's calculated per person, 200 per person."

200?

The tour guide initially thought he'd encountered a robbery, but it turned out to be a beggar. He didn't bother verifying the authenticity of the inspection fee, scoffed, and casually pulled out a thick wad of bills—he didn't even know how much money it contained—and handed it to the man, saying:

"The majority of the funding comes from the bosses' subsidies."

The child was delighted and reached out to take it, but the tour guide quickly withdrew his hand, frowning as he said:

Where's your brother?

The child stared longingly at the money in the tour guide's hand, pointing to the path on the other side of the hillside:

"I'm going to take a dump, I'll be back in a bit. After you pay, keep walking in, turn right at the first intersection, and you can get a subsidy certificate at the village committee. Leave your name there, and when the road is repaired, the village committee will carve your name at the intersection as a memento."

"With your subsidy certificate, you get a 10% discount on meals and lodging in the village. The old village elder said this is called economic stimulus. You're city people, do you even know what economic stimulus is?"

"..."

The child's eloquent explanation didn't seem fake. The tour guide glanced at his watch, not wanting to waste time, tossed the money to the child, closed the window, and waved to the driver, saying:

"Let's go, Master."

The children stood aside while the bus collected the money. The bus started again, beginning its swaying motion. The passengers complained about how late the road repairs were being completed, grumbling as they drove towards the village.

Cheng Shi did not follow the main group. Instead, he got out of the car and followed the child who was carrying the wooden sign and fleeing as fast as he could, walking along the path towards the village.

Not long after, a loud, gruff voice came from the direction of the bus not far away.

"Stop, stop, stop! The village is repairing the road, and all vehicles coming and going have to pay a toll. It's 20 yuan per person. If you don't pay, you can't enter."

What!?

You've already submitted it!?

200!??

Bullshit! I don't have a brother. Where's the receipt? Show me the receipt!

No receipt? What are you talking about if you don't have a receipt? Even if the King of Heaven himself came today, you'd still have to pay 20 yuan to get into the village!

"..."

Cheng Shi had no idea how the people on the bus cursed him; all he knew was that his father had been a liar since childhood.

You yourself are like this, and you still want to teach me to be honest?

Cheng Shi looked at the little kid's back in front of him, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

But what happened next was even more absurd. Cheng Shi followed Little Jia around and around until they arrived at a dilapidated house. He watched as Little Jia counted out the money from the heads of people, buried the extra money against the wall, and then sat at the door with the money in his hand, seemingly waiting for someone to return.

The moment Little Jia sat down, Cheng Shi raised an eyebrow, already guessing who the other person was waiting for.

Sure enough, not long after, a burly man returned. Though called a man, he was actually a young man, but the weathered look on his face made him appear older. As soon as he returned, he opened his mouth and began to curse in a hoarse, raspy voice:

"Damn it, who told you to ask for 200? We agreed it would only be 50..."

Before he could finish speaking, Little Jia handed him a stack of banknotes. The man was taken aback, but a satisfied smile instantly spread across his face.

He smacked his fingers and started counting the money. When he confirmed that the number of people was correct, he laughed and slapped the child on the forehead.

"You really dare to ask for that, kid."

Little Jia puffed out his chest and said proudly, "I saw them dressed well from the window, so I knew they must have a lot of money."

"You clever little devil!" The man patted the child's head again, pulled out a hundred-yuan bill from the pile of banknotes... He put it back, then took out a twenty-yuan bill from his pocket and stuffed it into Little Jia's hand.

"Your."

Little Jia watched helplessly as 100 became 20, but he wasn't upset at all; he was as happy as a child.

Although he himself is just a child.

But Cheng Shi knew that there was still over a thousand yuan buried in the wall, and this child earned no less than the man.

Do you like to hide money at the base of walls?

We don't have any money under the walls of our house.

Cheng Shi stroked his chin, looking at his father with great interest. At this moment, he forgot all the pressure and smiled happily.

But soon, his smile vanished.

Because he personally witnessed Little Jia following that man to the gambling den in the backyard of the village chief's house with money, sitting down with practiced ease, and losing all 20 yuan in just two minutes.

Faced with the adults' mockery at the gambling table, Little Jia's face turned bright red.

"What are you laughing at? I'll win it back sooner or later."