His second uncle and his father stood guard at the entrance.
He casually tossed his second uncle a cigarette.
They chatted idly to pass the time.
"I'm a little worried about him."
His second uncle spoke.
He took a gloomy drag on his cigarette.
"Who knows what he's scheming," Li Hongyuan said in one breath.
Then he glanced worriedly in the direction they had left.
"I'm worried about him carrying so much pressure." His second uncle felt miserable too.
His second uncle flicked away his cigarette butt with a hint of resentment.
He had opened a small circuit board factory.
And caught a favorable market trend.
Only family remained.
That counted as a silver lining in all this misfortune.
Doing business away from home had made him somewhat slick and shrewd.
But his sincerity was genuine.
He would always bring gifts for the younger children in the family.
Li Hongyuan looked at his brother, who was three years younger than him.
In the blink of an eye, they were both in their forties.
A group of people approached from the woods.
He patted Li Hongyuan beside him.
"Someone's coming," his second uncle, Li Hongqian, said.
"There are some villagers behind them too."
The village Party secretary approached with his group.
They were filthy and bedraggled.
Their clothes were covered in dirt and blood.
The village Party secretary's expression instantly brightened with delight.
The village Party secretary's tone carried concern.
He replied as well.
"We have nowhere left to go."
"Ah, she's the only one left in Da Zhuang's family."
Only despair remained.
She was left all alone, the sole survivor of her family.
And she had only one shoe left on her feet.
Then came the hot weather.
Days.
Even at that time of the month, it would be around ten degrees.
Below that temperature.
The little girl probably hadn't had time to change.
She was still wearing clothes meant for summer and autumn.
She shivered all over from the cold.
Blood seeped out.
Then it was wrapped in a piece of cloth.
She looked utterly pitiful.
The grief in those words was heartbreaking.
"We're probably all that's left of the village," the village Party secretary added.
He glanced at Li Hongyuan's expression.
He reached up and wiped at it.
His eyes were full of pity.
He had seen her at Da Zhuang's home before.
She had always smiled whenever she saw someone.
She had been very polite too.
Full of life and spark.
The little white rabbit had become a black rabbit.
At that age, a child was the apple of her parents' eyes.
He fell silent.
But there was even more wariness.
They didn't look as though they had gone hungry.
Their faces looked sallow with hunger.
He nodded too. They had all used to see one another around every day. He hadn't clearly heard their conversation.
So he added more fuel to the fire.
"I was the one who approved the paperwork for building this base of yours. We haven't had a single good night's sleep."
But in the end, he said nothing.
Not a single word.
Heaven and earth would punish such selfishness.
He had been cheated plenty of times when he first started his business.
Outwardly, however, he betrayed nothing.
He had enough trouble looking after himself.
Things had already descended into a state with no organization.
Otherwise, that moral accusation really might have trapped him.
Li Hongda thought.
He tugged hard at her.
She was rather good-looking.
His expression soured as well.
Before you continue