"Don't run, you old man!"

In the hot July, on the streets of Haitian Antique Market, a 16- or 17-year-old boy was chasing an old man in his 60s while cursing.

The boy was young, but he was over 1.8 meters tall, with sharp eyebrows and starry eyes, a straight nose and a square mouth, and he was quite handsome. It was a pity that he was dressed in a gangster outfit, had red hair, and was full of swear words, which ruined his good appearance. At this moment, he was holding a brick and chasing an old man in his 60s, which made passers-by sigh: the world is going downhill, and people's hearts are not as good as before.

Strangely, the boy ran very fast, even reaching a speed of about 100 meters in ten seconds, but he couldn't catch up with the old man in front of him, which was surprising.

The old man had white hair and a childlike face, a ruddy face, and a white beard up to his chest, but he was a little embarrassed by the boy's chase.

"Boy, you've chased me for two blocks, why are you so stubborn? It's just a ring! Why do you have to worry about it!"

"You old fool, you said this ring is an antique, worth at least two thousand yuan, and I only spent a hundred yuan to buy it. Who knew it was just a fifty-cent item from a roadside stall? Give me back my hundred yuan, or I'll chase you to the ends of the earth!"

"Zhou Yu fights Huang Gai, and the business is a matter of willing to fight and willing to be beaten. I've already sold the ring to you, and I've spent all the money. Even if you catch up with me, you have no money. You'd better give up this idea!"

"You old fool, I'm not done with you!"

Half an hour later, the boy was lying on the street panting, and the old man had disappeared.

"Old... old... immortal... must have practiced... internal strength..." The boy couldn't believe that he, a young man, couldn't catch up with an old man in his sixties. He was famous for his indomitable running on the football field. He chased him for more than half an hour and ran at least more than 10,000 meters. He didn't expect the old man to run away.

The boy took a long time to catch his breath, stood up weakly, and went home with the help of the wall. People who didn't know would think that the boy did something inappropriate for his age!

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In the southwest corner of Haitian City, there are dilapidated bungalows everywhere. These bungalows are more than 50 years old, but they are still not included in the demolition range. This place has become a slum in Haitian City, where the poorest people in Haitian City live.

When the boy walked into this area, his brows frowned tightly. Every time he saw the garbage on the ground and the stench in the air, he couldn't stand it, but no matter what, this is the place where he was born and raised, and he has no choice.

"Bibi, you're back!" Walking into a bungalow in a large courtyard, a slightly old woman came out. Seeing the boy, she smiled kindly: "Bibi, are you hot? There are watermelons that mom just bought in the refrigerator."

This woman is the boy's mother. She has a very ordinary name - Ma Min. She is also very ordinary. Whether it is height, appearance, figure, or work, every aspect of the mother reveals the ordinary, but she has the characteristics of the most typical good wife and mother in the world. Even if she lives in the slums with her husband and children, she still maintains a sufficiently optimistic attitude.

Looking at his mother, the boy felt as if his heart was cut by a knife. His mother is less than 40 years old this year, but she looks like she is already 50 years old. This is all the aging brought to her by the pressure of life and work in advance, but the most important reason is the boy, because he has been naughty since he was a child, and he didn't study hard, which made his mother worry.

"Mom..." The boy opened his mouth, but he couldn't say the rest of the words.

"Bibi, what's wrong?" The mother looked at her child and saw that he was covered in dust. She gently patted him with her hands and scolded him, "Why are you covered in dust again? Did you fight with someone?"

"No." The boy patted the dust off himself and said, "I'm hungry. Is there anything to eat?"

"No, that's good." Ma Min breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "There are some leftovers in the refrigerator. Mom will heat it up for you."

"Well, I'll go lie down in the room for a while." The boy didn't look at his mother's smiling face again and walked into his room silently.

A small compartment of less than five square meters, a wooden bed, a mat on the bed, a pillow and a sheet on the mat, a row of hooks nailed on the wall, and a few clothes hanging on them. It couldn't be simpler. This is the boy's own space since he was eight years old.

Lying on the bed, looking at the ring on the middle finger of his right hand, the more he thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt.

The boy's father's surname was Niu, and he gave him a very special name - Niu Bi.

Niu Bi's family has been very poor since he could remember. Both his father and mother were ordinary workers at the bottom of society. Their combined monthly salary was only over 3,000 yuan. Such a salary was too little in 2026 when inflation was becoming increasingly serious.

Perhaps because he felt that he was incompetent, Niu Bi's father always had a bad temper. In addition, Niu Bi had never lived up to expectations since he was a child. Not only was he naughty and causing trouble everywhere, but he was also very bad at studying. The school could no longer tolerate Niu Bi and ordered Niu Bi to drop out of school the year before last, so that his father would beat Niu Bi at will. Every time Niu Bi was beaten, his mother would apply medicine to Niu Bi with tears in her eyes.