Chapter 96: The Educated Youth Become Bandits
Xu Huazhang brought back some panes of glass, but Mu Lantu replaced them with higher-quality ones from the system’s mall. He swapped out all the paper windows in the house for glass ones. Not only were they sturdier and windproof, but the interior also became much brighter.
Seeing their home growing more and more perfect, both of them felt a deep sense of satisfaction.
The house in the county town was now livable too. Mu Lantu kept adding things day by day—essential furniture, cookware, dishes, firewood, rations—all sufficiently stocked.
Mu Lantu and Xu Huazhang shamelessly stayed two nights together in the county town.
“When the snow starts falling, don’t go back to the village at night. It’s not safe,” Mu Lantu said casually, though he felt a pang of sadness in his heart.
When he first came to the countryside, he hadn’t expected Xu Huazhang to move into town. He’d imagined many times how the two of them would happily spend the winter together.
“Baby.” Xu Huazhang couldn’t bear to tease him anymore and revealed what he had decided two days ago. “How could I leave you at home alone? I got a job transfer.”
Mu Lantu’s eyes darkened. “What happened? Someone making things difficult for you?”
Xu Huazhang touched his teacup, poured out the cold tea, and refilled it with hot tea to warm Mu Lantu’s hands.
“I’ve been hiding my skills at the machinery factory, never showing any new innovations. So when I asked to transfer to the procurement department, the leaders agreed.”
Being a procurement officer had its perks. He didn’t need to report to the office every day—just complete a certain quota of procurement tasks each month. Surpassing the quota was even better. The rest of the time was his own.
He could stay at home, or get extra travel passes under the pretext of procurement work, allowing him to go wherever he wanted.
Mu Lantu visibly brightened. “What’s your quota this month? I’ll help you meet it!”
“This month’s quota is 5,000 jin of grain—coarse or fine, doesn’t matter. I don’t need help yet. I’ve made some connections outside who can take care of it. If I do need your help, I’ll ask.”
Xu Huazhang never thought it shameful to ask his lover for help. He and his baby shared everything.
What he did worry about was something else—procurement required official supply partners. But the grain in Lantu’s possession didn’t have a legitimate source.
Even if he could get a legal delivery note, if someone investigated it, it would still pose a risk. Unless he had a foolproof plan, he wouldn’t use Lantu’s goods in bulk.
Though there weren’t surveillance cameras in this era, spies and secret agents were heavily cracked down on. The public was also very proactive in reporting suspicious behavior. If anyone got suspicious, the consequences could be dire.
“Five thousand jin of grain…”
It sounded like a lot, but the machinery factory had nearly a thousand workers—5,000 jin wouldn’t last long.
Fortunately, Xu Huazhang wasn’t the only procurement officer. He just needed to complete his portion.
“If you need help, just say the word. We’ll figure it out together.”
Xu Huazhang had to travel for a few days and wanted Mu Lantu to return to the village first. He didn’t feel safe with Lantu spending the night alone in the county town.
Mu Lantu didn’t know anyone in town anyway, and being alone was no fun. After seeing Xu Huazhang off, he locked the door and left with a basket on his back and Wangcai in tow. Before heading home, he planned to stop by the Supply Station.
The folks at the educated youth camp had asked him to bring back a few small items: sunflower seeds, pastries, peanut brittle, soap, toilet paper, and the like. They didn’t want to trouble him with bigger or heavier things.
Everything was withering. Water froze the moment it dropped. The cold wind cut like a knife.
Every pedestrian was hunched over, necks shrunk, hands stuffed in their sleeves, all in a hurry.
Bundled in a hat, scarf, and gloves, Mu Lantu looked like a bear.
Wangcai wasn’t afraid of the cold. Striding proudly into the wind, his gait was confident and elegant.
Up ahead, two children’s conversation drifted to Mu Lantu’s ears.
“Xiao Douzi, you don’t have a thick quilt at home. What will you and your sister do when it snows?”
“We’ll stay at Granny Chen’s place. We stayed with her last year too.”
“I heard your house was almost rented out recently?”
The boy named Xiao Douzi sighed, his tone tinged with subtle blame.
“Granny Chen’s a good person, but she’s too careless. She didn’t get the name or appearance of the person who wanted to rent our house. If I could find him and he agreed to be my and my sister’s godfather, we’d never have to worry again!”
Mu Lantu’s brow twitched under his hat. Those words sounded eerily familiar.
He kept walking at a natural pace, turning down another alley—
It looped around and also led to the supply station.
The weather was bitterly cold; only two or three people were inside the store.
It took Mu Lantu just a few minutes to buy everything he needed. Then he stopped by the state-run restaurant and bought a few meat buns—ate one himself, gave one to Wangcai, and tucked the rest in his coat to act as warmers.
Man and dog left the county town and leisurely made their way along the bumpy village path.
There wasn’t a soul in sight.
Dead trees and dried grass rustled loudly in the cold wind, adding to the bleak atmosphere.
? “I have a little donkey, but I never ride it. One day on a whim, I rode it to the market, holding a little whip in my hand…” ?
He hadn’t even finished singing the part he remembered when Wangcai barked sharply and blocked his path.
Two figures leapt out from the woods by the roadside.
Two men, wearing only thin padded jackets and single-layer pants that flapped in the wind. Their faces were covered with ragged cloth strips, and each held a rusty kitchen knife. They trembled—maybe from the cold, maybe from nerves.
“Th-this is a robbery! Hand over the stuff in your basket and all your money! Strip off your clothes too!”
“Yeah! Scarf, hat, gloves—take everything off!”
Mu Lantu could tell from their manner that they weren’t villagers—probably educated youth. Whatever they’d been through, it had driven them to this point.
“Gentlemen, robbery is a serious crime,” Mu Lantu warned.
One of them snapped, “Cut the crap! I’m freezing to death here! Who cares about crimes!”
The other stared intently at Wangcai. “That dog’s ours too!”
Wangcai bared his sharp teeth. “Woof!”
The first man waved his knife threateningly. “Do it now! We don’t want to hurt you. Just hand it over and you can leave. If you don’t—don’t blame us!”
Mu Lantu casually tossed them two meat buns. “Here—eat these and calm down.”
The two instinctively tried to stuff the buns into their mouths, only to be blocked by their face coverings. They hesitated and began eyeing Mu Lantu suspiciously, then tucked the buns into their coats and stared at his basket.
The scent of meat buns was irresistible. One of them sniffed repeatedly, getting excited. “Bro! We hit the jackpot! We’ve got to rob him! No one else is around—let’s do this quick!”
“Shut up! Let’s go!”
“You’re asking for it.”
Mu Lantu pulled a thick tree branch from his basket and swatted at them. Just two hits and both were down.
“Ah—!”
Wearing so little, the two couldn’t handle even a single blow. They curled up on the ground in pain.
Mu Lantu tied their hands behind their backs with rope.
He pulled them up easily with both hands, surprising them. They realized they’d messed with the wrong person.
He dragged them along.
“Where are you taking us?” they resisted.
Mu Lantu sneered, “Where else? The police station.”
They turned pale with fear, struggling frantically and begging.
“No, please! We can’t go to the police!”
“Bro, we were wrong! Really! Please let us go! We’ll never do it again!”
“Yes! We’ll never rob again! We only did this because we had no other choice! It’s our first time! Please, spare us!”
“Please! Please!”
Kneel all you want.
“Too late to regret. Didn’t I give you a chance?”
He gave them the meat buns not to see their faces, but in hopes that the taste would awaken their humanity.
Dragging them forward, their thin clothes offered no protection from the cold. Their knees burned. Eventually, they had to stand up on their own.
As they got closer to the county town, the bandits grew increasingly panicked, struggling harder.
“We’re not going to the police! No—!”
Mu Lantu simply knocked them both out.
A horse-drawn cart came up behind. Seeing the scene, the driver reined in the horse and looked at Mu Lantu warily.
“What are you doing there?”
The villagers on the cart sensed something was off. A few jumped off in alarm.
Mu Lantu called out, “Don’t misunderstand! These two tried to rob me. I subdued them. Could someone help me report this to the police?”
Mentioning the police eased everyone’s suspicion.
A young man volunteered, “I can run fast. I’ll go!”
“Thank you, brother!” Mu Lantu nodded with a smile.
The young man bolted off like he had wings on his feet.
An elderly woman in a floral padded jacket and headscarf suggested, “We’re not far from town. Let’s help the lad out. We can all get off and put these two troublemakers on the cart.”
The villagers were enthusiastic. No one objected—they got off with their baskets and bundles.
Mu Lantu thanked them repeatedly.
The old woman tugged his sleeve, gossiping. “Young man, were you really almost robbed?”
“Really.” Mu Lantu told the story and even gave the location.
Another old woman was shocked. “If that lad hadn’t been ahead of us, we might’ve been the victims!”
Everyone realized the same and clutched their chests in fright.
A middle-aged man said, “She’s right. But with so many of us, we wouldn’t have been afraid.”
An old man added, “They had knives! We’d better warn the kids not to go to town alone.”
Everyone agreed loudly—every family had children.
The old lady in the floral jacket sized up Mu Lantu but couldn’t see much of his face beneath the scarf and hat.
“Young man, you don’t sound like a local. Are you one of the educated youth?”
