Chapter 55: A Small Token from Sun Xiaobao! (Happy New Year, Please Keep Reading!!)

After a brief conversation, Jiang Tao learned that the old man's name was Sun Xiaobao.

Lean and small-framed, with a very dark complexion, not only did his name sound like a certain comedian, but he even looked quite a bit like him!

Sun Xiaobao's home was located in Baigezhuang New Village, not far from the demolition zone.

At first hearing, Baigezhuang New Village sounded similar to the Lesser Sand River Village where Jiang Tao rented a room, or their hometown of Jiangjia Village.

In reality, however, they were worlds apart—it would be no exaggeration to say they were as different as heaven and earth.

Baigezhuang New Village was a large, modern residential community featuring hundreds of high-rise buildings.

It was a resettlement neighborhood built for the displaced residents of the original Baigezhuang Village, with current average housing prices exceeding 30,000 yuan, approaching nearly 40,000 yuan per square meter!

Jiang Tao noticed that Sun Xiaobao said "his home" rather than just mentioning that he lived in that neighborhood.

Connecting this to the high-end tea and Moutai liquor mentioned in the intelligence provided by the System Brother...

"Could it be that this old man Sun Xiaobao is also a demolition compensation recipient?"

"That doesn't seem right either. If he were a demolition beneficiary, he wouldn't be out collecting scrap, would he?"

"But the intelligence provided by the System Brother has never been wrong..."

Jiang Tao berbagai speculations ran through his mind regarding Sun Xiaobao; this old man truly was an inscrutable fellow.

"Take your time eating, Grandpa, don't choke. Have some water."

Seeing Sun Xiaobao wolfing down his food, Jiang Tao feared he might choke and hurriedly handed over his thermos.

Yet, considering he had been trapped there for two days and two nights, starving the entire time, such table manners were entirely understandable.

"Hiccup~"

Gulping down a hiccup, Sun Xiaobao took the thermos from Jiang Tao's hand and downed the remaining water in one long, continuous swallow.

"Thank you, young man, thank you. If not for you, this old man's life would have ended right there today."

Having finished the bread and water, Sun Xiaobao expressed his sincere gratitude to Jiang Tao with an earnest look on his face.

"Don't mention it, Grandpa. It was just a small effort. Try to see if you can stand and walk. If you really can't manage, I'll take you to the hospital."

As he spoke, Jiang Tao once again tried to help Sun Xiaobao up from the ground.

Due to prolonged inactivity and the freezing weather, Sun Xiaobao's legs had gone somewhat numb and lacked sensation.

Combined with two days of starvation, he had very little strength left in his body.

Jiang Tao's previous attempt to pull him up had failed.

This time, having eaten the bread and drunk a cup of warm water, his body had warmed up a bit and he had regained some strength.

When Jiang Tao tried again to help him up, he succeeded.

After swaying unsteadily for a few moments, Sun Xiaobao managed to stand upright once more.

Once he adjusted slightly, he was able to walk again.

"Young man, why do you look somewhat familiar to me..."

Regaining a bit of his vitality, Sun Xiaobao looked at Jiang Tao with a puzzled expression, his weathered, wrinkled face deep in thought as he tried hard to remember.

"Oh! I remember now! Aren't you the one who hangs around waiting for odd jobs over at the Red Star Second-Hand Furniture Wholesale Market?"

Sun Xiaobao's eyes suddenly lit up as he pointed at Jiang Tao with an excited expression.

"Grandpa, you... know me?"

Hearing that Sun Xiaobao actually recognized him from his days waiting for work at Red Star, Jiang Tao wore an expression of utter astonishment.

Suddenly, a flash of memory crossed his mind.

It was more than ten days ago, on the day Jiang Tao had bound himself to the Intelligence System.

When he went rummaging through a dumpster based on the tip provided by the System Brother, he had also run into an old scavenger wearing a green military-style greatcoat.

Thinking back now, the images of the two old scavengers instantly overlapped—they really were the same person!

"So it was you!"

Recognizing Sun Xiaobao, Jiang Tao could not help but marvel at the twists of fate.

"Right! It's me! You and I share quite a connection!"

"Come, come, come, young man. Drive me home first; I must properly thank you!"

As he spoke, Sun Xiaobao grabbed Jiang Tao's jacket and pulled him toward the exit.

At the same time, he did not forget to pick up a woven plastic bag lying nearby filled with cut pieces of steel rebar.

It was precisely because he had been scavenging for those steel rebar ends that he had accidentally gotten "pinned" beneath a fallen slab of concrete.

Naturally, he was unwilling to abandon the rebar he had worked so hard to pry loose.

Supporting each other with unsteady steps, the two of them walked out of the ruins.

During their conversation, Jiang Tao learned that Sun Xiaobao had lost his wife in his early years and had no children.

He was a retired employee of a state-owned enterprise, with a monthly pension of 13,000 yuan.

When his village underwent demolition, he was also allocated five apartments.

The reason he went out to collect scrap was purely as a hobby; he didn't rely on it to make a living.

Furthermore, he never carried a mobile phone when he went out, which was why he had no way to call for help when he got trapped this time.

Jiang Tao was left utterly speechless upon hearing this.

It was his first time hearing of anyone treating garbage collection as a hobby!

Still, the world was full of wonders, and while this hobby was a bit niche and rather difficult to understand...

Well... existence justified itself, right?

At least it was better than those old folks who had nothing better to do all day than ride public buses and use moral blackmail to force young people to give up their seats.

Chatting along the way, it took them over half an hour to walk out of the ruins and reach Jiang Tao's delivery truck.

Jiang Tao drove while Sun Xiaobao sat in the passenger seat to navigate for him.

The truck entered Baigezhuang New Village directly through the north gate and drove straight to the foot of Building 79.

Sun Xiaobao led Jiang Tao into Building 79, and apartment 101 on the right was his home.

Upon stepping inside, Jiang Tao saw that the place was fairly tidy, devoid of the dirt and clutter he had imagined.

Sun Xiaobao usually sold his collected recyclables to a scrap station every day and rarely brought them home.

After greeting Jiang Tao and inviting him to sit, Sun Xiaobao busied himself with preparing a meal.

The few small bread rolls Jiang Tao had brought were clearly insufficient to satisfy his appetite.

After bustling about for twenty minutes, Sun Xiaobao cooked a large pot of instant noodles, cracking four poached eggs into it, and warmly invited Jiang Tao to eat a little more with him.

By this time, it was already past 1:00 AM.

After all the commotion, Jiang Tao actually felt a bit hungry.

Without standing on ceremony, Jiang Tao dug into a large bowl of instant noodles, ate two poached eggs, and drank every last drop of the soup.

Stomach full and satisfied, the two of them sat leaning against opposite sides of the sofa and lit up a cigarette each.

Just as they were finishing their cigarettes, Jiang Tao looked at Sun Xiaobao and bid him farewell:

"Grandpa Sun, it's getting late, I should head back now. Thank you for your hospitality."

"Alright then! The old man only has one bed here, so I won't keep you overnight. Wait a moment, young Jiang, the old man has something for you."

As he spoke, Sun Xiaobao stood up and walked toward one of the inner rooms.

In less than a minute, he emerged carrying a box in his arms, atop which sat a black square box.

Seeing the wine box and the tea box brought out from the inner room, Jiang Tao once again marveled at the omnipotence of the System Brother—could it calculate even this?

"Grandpa, what is this..."

Jiang Tao rose from the sofa.

Though he had long since known about this reward scenario, he still feigned a look of great surprise.

"Young Jiang, this is just a small token of the old man's appreciation."

"A box of liquor and a box of tea. With the New Year fast approaching, take them home to drink so you won't have to buy any."

"You are my savior; if not for you, I might have died out there."

"Don't think it's too meager a token of gratitude."

"No refusing! If you don't take it, do you believe I'll smash it right here on the floor?"

As he spoke, Sun Xiaobao even made a threatening gesture as if to hurl the items onto the ground.