A certain train station, bustling with people.
Zhou Yu, pulling a black Oxford cloth suitcase, walked towards the train station at a leisurely pace, the wheels of the suitcase rubbing against the concrete ground, creating a rustling sound. Behind him followed his fellow villager, Li Fei.
They were preparing to go to Jincheng to seek opportunities to change their fate.
Arriving at the station square, Zhou Yu suddenly stopped, turned around, and instructed Li Fei, “Go buy two bottles of water and some snacks, the water should be in large bottles, I’ll wait for you here.”
Li Fei subconsciously took his hands out of his jeans pockets, finding it troublesome, and said, “Forget it, let’s just buy them on the train.”
“Things on the train are expensive! Hurry up and go!” Being frugal was Zhou Yu’s consistent habit.
“Okay, I’ll go, I’ll go.” Being urged in such a commanding manner, Li Fei was visibly displeased.
Zhou Yu looked around, seeing the hurried pace of the passing travelers, wondering which of them were returning to this city, and which, like himself, were just passersby.
Suddenly, a scream pierced Zhou Yu’s ears. He quickly looked in the direction of the sound and saw, seven or eight meters away, an elderly woman with white hair lying on her back on the hard concrete ground, groaning in pain. Beside the old woman was an elegant patchwork drawstring bag, bulging and full.
He initially wanted to help her up, but then he remembered the news he had seen online about kind people being blackmailed after helping fallen elderly people, so he hesitated.
The old woman struggled to try to get up, but she failed several times.
Passersby hurried past the old woman, but no one reached out to help her. The old woman seemed isolated and helpless.
Zhou Yu couldn’t bear to see the old woman lying pitifully on the ground. He thought that one day he would also grow old, and if he suddenly had an accident and fell, and passersby were indifferent, he would be heartbroken. Not every elderly person who is helped will act out the story of “the farmer and the snake.” If he offered the old woman a helping hand, she would be grateful to him.
Although Zhou Yu tried to think of the worst possibilities, just in case, he first took out his phone and filmed a video of the old woman, so that if he was “bitten back” after helping her, he would have proof of his innocence.
Zhou Yu walked over and carefully helped the old woman up. Then, he picked up the bag, which seemed to be filled with clothes, and handed it to the old woman. He asked with concern, “Grandma, where do you live? Would you like me to call a car for you?”
The old woman’s face, full of wrinkles, revealed a look of gratitude. She said, “No need, I live nearby. Thank you, young man!”
Watching the old woman leave slowly, Zhou Yu felt a ripple of comfort in his heart. He remembered the saying, “Giving roses, fragrance lingers on the hand,” and couldn’t help but smile happily.
A little while later, Li Fei returned with a bag of food. Zhou Yu told Li Fei about helping the old woman, and Li Fei praised him, saying he did the right thing, and that he would have done the same.
The two of them took the tickets they had ordered online yesterday from the ticket window and then entered the waiting room. Forty minutes later, they lined up behind the crowded people, waiting to have their tickets checked.
After successfully boarding the train, Zhou Yu and Li Fei found their seats with their tickets.
Just as Zhou Yu raised his suitcase, preparing to place it on the luggage rack, he suddenly frowned, then placed the suitcase on the ground and carefully examined it.
His unusual behavior caught Li Fei’s attention. Li Fei asked, “Hey, why don’t I put the suitcase up for you?”
“This isn’t my suitcase!” Zhou Yu said with certainty.
“No way?” Li Fei felt confused. He glanced at Zhou Yu’s serious expression, then turned his gaze to the suitcase, examining it carefully. “This is clearly your suitcase, how can you say it’s not your suitcase? Am I… am I mistaken?”
“This suitcase looks exactly like mine. It’s possible they were made by the same manufacturer. The difference is that this suitcase is older, while mine is newer. Ever since I bought it at the market last year, I’ve left it unused. Look, the handle of this suitcase is worn out,” Zhou Yu explained seriously.
Li Fei looked carefully and, indeed, much of the leather on the handle was worn away, looking mottled, indicating long-term gripping. He then asked with some confusion, “Then where’s your suitcase?”
Zhou Yu remembered a scene he had inadvertently witnessed an hour ago in the square: a tall young man wearing a black T-shirt and black-framed glasses was pulling a suitcase of the same color and style as his, walking in his direction…
Because the man was almost running like a crane, and the suitcase he was carrying was exactly the same as his own, Zhou Yu couldn’t help but take another look at him, and therefore remembered his appearance. As for the man’s subsequent actions, Zhou Yu was unaware of them because he was walking towards the fallen old woman at that time. After watching the old woman he had helped up walk away, he returned to his suitcase and continued to wait for Li Fei. During this process, he didn’t notice anything unusual about the suitcase beside him.
“It must be him who took my suitcase!” Zhou Yu stamped his foot angrily.
“Who?” Li Fei wanted to know who was so immoral.
Zhou Yu briefly explained what had happened, and asked worriedly, “Are there any valuables in my suitcase that you packed?”
“Just a few clothes, nothing valuable,” Li Fei said. “What about yours?”
Zhou Yu said, “My graduation certificate is very important, other than that it’s just a few clothes.”
Li Fei cursed, “Damn it, that must be because the person who switched our bags thought there were valuable things in our suitcases!”
Zhou Yu agreed, looking at the suitcase that he found so hateful, and said, “After we get off the train, take it out and throw it away.”
“Haven’t you thought about opening it to take a look?” Although Li Fei also hated it, he was a little unwilling. “Maybe there are a few coins inside.”
“It’s locked, how can we open it?” Zhou Yu kicked the suitcase, and under the momentum of the wheels, the suitcase slid smoothly down the aisle for about ten feet, only stopping when it hit a seat.
Li Fei came over and kicked the suitcase back. Looking at the nylon zipper below, he said, “Cut the zipper teeth.”
Zhou Yu’s eyes lit up, and he said, “Good idea.”
After the passengers had finished putting their luggage away and no one was walking in the aisle, Zhou Yu took the metal keychain hanging from his pants ring, which had keys, an ear scoop, and a folding scissors attached to it. He picked up the scissors and began to forcefully cut the zipper teeth. After the zipper was broken, he laid the suitcase flat, making it easier to open the suitcase lid and check the contents inside.
The suitcase lid was opened, and Zhou Yu saw a pile of messy clothes inside. However, the clothes were cleaner than he had imagined and even gave off a faint fragrance. He reached in and rummaged around, suddenly feeling something relatively hard. He curiously pushed the clothes aside and saw an item wrapped in black packaging paper on the surface, and also wrapped with several layers of transparent tape. He wondered, wrapped so tightly, what could be inside?
He determined that it wasn’t something valuable because if it were, the person wouldn’t have switched his suitcase, unless that person had something wrong with their brain. But out of curiosity, he still used the scissors to cut open the packaging paper, preparing to see what was inside.
He vaguely saw a tangerine-red floral pattern. He knew that this was a pattern printed on paper, but he couldn’t guess what the thing was for. In order to figure it out, he tore open the packaging paper from the cut.
Suddenly, a stack of red hundred-yuan bills came into view. He was startled, and couldn’t help but widen his eyes, thinking he was seeing things. Looking again, it was indeed real money. He quickly reacted by closing the suitcase lid and then pushing the suitcase under the seat, anxiously looking around. He was relieved when he saw no one staring at him.
Because what he had witnessed was so shocking, his heart was pounding non-stop. He thought to himself that if this package was full of banknotes, it was estimated that there would be at least 150,000 to 160,000 yuan!