"Indenture"

  Mrs. Lin opened a small leather box on the table, took out an exquisite wooden ship model, and placed it on the small table at the head of Lin Yujing's bed. Lin Yujing looked at this warship model, and his eyes flashed with an unusual luster, as if he had taken a big puff of smoke, and his whole person became different.

  Mrs. Lin looked at the expression on his face that was like a madman, and helplessly glanced at Shi Xuanhou, with a hint of worry flashing in her eyes.

  On Lin Yuqing's bedside table was a model of a battleship.

  This is a twin-screw, three-funnel battleship with four double turrets, arranged in the "two forward, two aft" pattern. The hull is painted in the Victorian style, with black above and red below, looking very majestic and beautiful. All components of the model are strictly scaled down according to the real ship's proportions, including the guns, turrets, anchors, etc., all perfectly replicated. The bow and stern are decorated with golden dragon-and-pearl designs, while a small five-color national flag flies atop the mast.

  "Alas, a masterpiece of the ages... buried in the mundane world... regret that no one can use it..." Lin Yuqing looked at the battleship model in front of her, and tears involuntarily seeped out from the corners of her eyes.

  When Lin Yuqing said the words "masterpiece" in a hoarse voice, Shi Xuanhou's face was filled with a mixture of laughter and tears. He stuck out his tongue and made an exaggerated gagging motion.

  "Brother and sister, come and help me with the medicine," Shi Xuanhou said to Lin Furen, "such a foolish design and he actually says it's a masterpiece! I really can't stand him anymore. I think he's gone mad now, let's hurry up and cure him!"

  Mrs. Lin happily agreed and came over to help Shi Xuanhou, Lin Yutang heard Shi Xuanhou's evaluation of his warship design, his eyes widened, with a look of being on the verge of tears, he wanted to retort a few words, but because of the "reflection" earlier, he had consumed too much energy, his lips trembled for half a day, and not a single word came out.

  "Let him try it first, if he's allergic, the doctor said that taking medicine forcibly can be dangerous if he's allergic." Shi Xuanhou said, looking at Lin Yuchen still practicing her breathing, and couldn't help but shake his head.

  "You two are the same, every time you meet, you quarrel endlessly about this ship," Mrs. Lin said as she worked on the embroidery according to Shi Xuanhou's requirements, and looked at him with a hint of complaint, "I really don't understand how you became infatuated with this line of work."

  "Damn it!......" With a loud roar, Lin Yujing's body suddenly convulsed violently on the bed, startling Shi Xuanhou and Madame Lin.

  "You women don't understand! ... Nowadays, every country in the world... all prioritize their navies! ... Do you know that without these battleships... our China's ten thousand miles of coastline would be a thoroughfare for the powers! ..." Lin Yujing said in a shrill voice, "If we didn't have these battleships... those who would destroy our China would certainly be Japan! Japan! ..."

  "Alright, alright! You can stop now!" Mrs. Lin looked at her husband with a mixture of anger and amusement as he stood there rolling his eyes, "You've been drawing designs and making models for years, but you still haven't built a single boat. The dream of a strong nation isn't achieved like this, you should save your energy!"

  "The merchant woman does not know the sorrow of a lost nation... Across the river, she still sings 'The Backyard Flower'..." Lin Yuqin was muttering to herself there, Shi Xuanhou just wanted to say something, but was suddenly startled by a tender shout from Mrs. Lin.

  "Who are you scolding?" Mrs. Lin stared at Lin Yuqing with wide eyes, "Who is a merchant's daughter? Do you know that using such language is not proper and is nonsense?"

  Lin Yu-jing saw that the lady was really angry, and immediately shut up. Shi Xuan-hou looked at Lin Yu-jing, with a hint of schadenfreude in his eyes.

  Lin Yujing let out a long sigh, no longer speaking, her eyes staring blankly at the ceiling as Shi Xuanhou and Madame Lin administered medicine to her. Before long, Lin Yujing fell into a deep sleep once again.

  The next morning, Shi Xuanhou, who was sleeping in the adjacent room, was suddenly awakened by Lin's wife's cry. He hastily put on his clothes and came to Lin Yuxiang's room, where he saw Lin's wife with a look of surprise and joy.

  "It's gone!" Mrs. Lin exclaimed when she saw Mr. Shi approaching, "It's really unbelievable!"

  Shi Xuanhou nodded and came to Lin Yujing's bedside. Mrs. Lin carefully pulled out her husband's injured leg from the back of the quilt, untied the bandage that bound the wound, and Shi Xuanhou smelled a foul smell of rotting flesh. He frowned and carefully examined the wound on Lin Yujing's leg.

  There was a bullet hole there, and the strange smell just now came from the festering wound around it.

  "The wound has started to heal, it should be alright." Shi Xuanhou said.

  "What kind of medicine is this? It's actually so effective?" Mrs. Lin asked, raising her head, and Shi Xuanhou saw the tears in the corner of her eyes, and he was also very pleased.

  "I heard them mention something called penicillin..." Xuan Hou thought of that young man with a handsome face, full of passion and ideals, and the scene of their debate, and couldn't help but smile.

  After a few more days, Lin Yujing's body recovered quickly. One morning, Shi Xuanhou saw that Lin Yujing had basically regained her former "demeanor", so he followed his preconceived plan and handed over the contract book obtained from Yang Shuoming to Lin Yujing.

  "Look, this is your 'bill of sale'."

  Shi Xuanhou handed the contract to Lin Yujing, who took it with a puzzled expression and immediately saw her own signature and fingerprint on it.

  "What's going on?" Lin Yujing didn't dare look at what was written on the paper and asked cautiously.

  "This kind of medicine that can cure your illness is as valuable as gold and extremely rare. Do you know how much gold's worth of medicine was used to save you this time?" Shi Xuan Hou asked Lin Yu Qing seriously.

  Lin Yuqin's eyes showed a hint of worry as he looked at Shi Xuanhou and shook his head.

  "I'd rather not tell you the exact price, lest it scares you off. Just knowing that even with my abilities I couldn't afford it is enough," said Shi Xuan Hou, "Fortunately, the person who produces this medicine is a great philanthropist whom you've probably never met before, and has always taken care of poor families..."

  "Did he waive my medical expenses?" Lin Yujing asked eagerly.

  "You think you're so clever! Do you think our medicine just magically appears out of thin air? Are we going to give it away for free? Will we still be in business?" Shi Xuanhou cursed with a smile.

  "Could it be... you used my wife to pay off his debt?" Lin Yujing asked with a mournful face, and only then did he notice that his wife was not in the room, which made him even more panicked.

  Shi Xuanhou never thought that Lin Yujing would think of this aspect, he suddenly had a mischievous heart and did not answer, but instead looked at him with a serious expression, his eyes revealing a hint of sadness.

  "No! No! Xiao Wan! Don't leave me!" Lin Yuqin started wailing like a madman, he threw the "sale contract" on the ground, struggling to get down, but was pressed firmly onto the bed by Shi Xuanhou.

  "How could this be! How could this be!" Lin Yuqin frantically grabbed her hair, wailing with a mix of snot and tears, "I'm sorry to you, Xiao Ni! I'm sorry to you! I'm a scoundrel! If I hadn't followed Sun Dapao's gang in their recklessness, I wouldn't have gotten hurt so badly! If I weren't ill like this, you wouldn't have had to leave! I'm sorry to you, Xiao Ni! Come back! Come back quickly, Xiao Ni!"

  Perhaps his crying was too miserable, and the surrounding tenants were all startled. Many people didn't know what had happened, they all gathered at the door of the house, staring at the big man sitting on the bed, wailing loudly and speechless.

  "What's wrong, what's wrong?" Mrs. Lin, who had just bought vegetables and returned home, pushed through the crowd at the door and entered the house, saw Lin Yutian crying like a child without a mother, and immediately rushed to his side like a gust of wind, holding his hand.

  Lin Yuqiang suddenly held his wife tightly in his arms, and the crying turned into low sobs. Mrs. Lin didn't know what had happened, but she was infected by his sad emotions and also started crying. Shi Xuanhou smiled as he looked at the couple crying together, and bent down to pick up the "sale contract".

  Enough joking around, it's easy to wait until Lin Yuqing has cried enough. Only then did Shi Xuanhou tell him the contents of the "body-selling contract". After listening to Shi Xuanhou's explanation, Lin Yuqing first laughed heartily for a while, and then said to Lin Furen: "Xiao Niang, go get me a knife."

  "What are you going to do with that knife?" asked Mrs. Lin, also smiling through tears as she wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

  Lin Yujing's gaze turned to Shixuanhou, and her expression suddenly became ferocious.

  "Shi Xuanhou! Don't run away! You damn dog, come here! I'm going to kill you! Kill you! You son of a bitch!" Lin Yujing yelled furiously as she threw whatever she could find at Shi Xuanhou, who dodged and begged for mercy with a smile.

  Two weeks later, Shi Xuanhou and Lin Yujing's party appeared in front of the gate of the "Renhe Company" headquarters, Dòngbǎo.

  At this time, the cave mansion had a flat mountain road in front of it. Lin Yutang, riding on a donkey, looked at the ancient and elegant courtyard inside the huge wall, the crowd coming and going around, and the red and blue pennant flags fluttering in the wind, and couldn't help but feel like he was in a dream.

  Shi Xuanhou arrived at a sentry post in front of the gate, handed Lin Yuchen's "body contract" to a soldier wearing a neat gray-blue uniform, and said, "We are friends of Mr. Yang, we are here to help 'Human Harmony Company', please help us report."

  "Director Yang is not at headquarters right now," the guard said after checking, and returned the "contract of sale" to Shi Xuanhou, "However, if you are willing, you can wait for him here."

  "Oh." Xuan Hou felt a little disappointed and casually asked, "Where did President Yang go?"

  "Of course we're going to pay our respects." The sentry replied with a smile.

  "Pay respects to the mountain?" Shi Xuanhou and Lin Yujing exchanged a glance.

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