Chapter 5 In Times of Hardship

  "Ahh... Dongzi, be gentle! " An Yi, wearing only a pair of loose underwear, lay on the hard board bed and cried out in pain.

  Dongzi burst out laughing, poured some medicinal wine from a white glass bottle onto his palm, quickly rubbed it on An Yiqing's waist and back, which had turned blue and purple, gently wiped for a moment before increasing the force to rub vigorously. He didn't care that An Yiqing was wailing in pain like a slaughtered pig, and comforted him with a laugh: "Bear with it for a bit, this is Mr.'s special medicinal wine for external injuries, it's very effective...Mr. used it on me last time too...Big Brother, who beat you up like this?"

  An Yi finally caught his breath and replied with a hum: "This afternoon at Tianzi Wharf, I saw a woman carrying two boxes alone and fell down, so I went to help her. Who knew that after walking for a few steps, I was beaten by two people who suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Fortunately, if the police hadn't arrived in time, I'm afraid I wouldn't have made it back."

  "What does the person who hit you look like?"

  "Two turtle sons were both wearing black satin jackets, the kind that shines. One of them had a tiger head tattooed on his arm, probably not a good guy."

  "This is terrible! Those people are the Si Hai gang who have been rampant in Guangzhou for decades... Big brother, how did you offend them?"

  "I didn't provoke them, did I? I guess they mistook me for a dockworker who helps passengers with their luggage and asks for money. It was Li Tiegui, the police officer in charge of maintaining order at the dock, who told me that this place has always been a stronghold of gangsters, where outsiders are not allowed to intervene, even if it's just to do some hard labor. If you don't get their approval first, they'll start a fight, and if things get serious, they might even kill you and throw your body into the Pearl River. The perpetrators will then flee to Dongguan or Hong Kong and continue their activities in secret societies. The police can't even do anything about it... Alas, this world is always the same, no matter what era it is... gangsters and hoodlums are everywhere..."

  "Wait, what did you just say... Police Officer Li?" Dongzi stopped and asked curiously.

  "That was Li Tiegui, the captain of the Guangdong Police Department's Huangpu District and Nantai Road Middle Section. He is my fellow Sichuan native. In 1921, several leaders of the Sichuan Protection Alliance came to Guangzhou, but for some reason, they stayed behind and joined the police department. On that day when I first arrived in Guangzhou, I was almost beheaded by the self-defense team of the Merchant Corps on the dock. If Li hadn't heard me shouting for help before my death and known that I was a Sichuan native, not a member of the Merchant Corps, he would have shouted to spare my life, and that three-foot-long knife would have fallen... Brother, I still can't bear to recall it today... Ah, even now, I often dream about the tragic scene at that time, with heads rolling and blood flowing like rivers..." An Yi closed his eyes, lying weakly on the bed, clearly unwilling to mention it again.

  Dongzi was stunned for a long time before suddenly realizing: "So that's how it is... No wonder when Master took your pulse earlier, he said your illness looked like high fever that wouldn't subside, but in fact it was due to excessive fright caused by wind and cold invading the body. Master is really amazing! Big brother, why didn't you ever tell me about this?"

  An Yi struggled to get up, sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed, and pointed to the clothes box on the corner shelf: "I don't even want to think about these broken things, how can I still have the mood to talk to you? Go, there are two sets of clothes in that box, they were sent by Brother Li this afternoon, I didn't want them but had to take them back, seeing him with his nose up and eyes wide open, I could only bring them back. You go pick one out, tomorrow take it to Fourth Aunt's store to get altered, don't always wear those tattered clothes like a corpse collector, after all you're now a public servant on the government payroll, don't let people look down on you."

  Dongzi quickly walked over, took the box to the bed, opened it, and saw two neatly folded sets inside. She gasped in surprise, carefully took them out, and admired them repeatedly. Finally, she refolded them and put them back in the box: "Big brother, I can't accept such expensive clothes. This gift is too generous."

  An Yi sighed: "I also told Li Ge, but I couldn't get rid of it. Thinking about the future in Guangzhou, who knows what unexpected things might happen and need Li Ge's help? I had to swallow my pride and accept it. I can see that Li Ge is a hot-tempered person who values relationships, and I know that the prosperous area he manages is a lucrative position, not caring about these tens of dollars worth of clothes. But for me, it's a heavy favor. Dongzi, since we can't decline, let's just accept it and find an opportunity to repay him in the future."

  "But, big brother, you've been wearing these old clothes for so long, I reckon not being able to find a job is also because of the worn-out clothes. Why don't you just keep them for yourself and we'll talk about it later when you find work? To be honest, little brother has been hiding something from you... the two sets of old clothes on your body... were taken off corpses by little brother. It's all little brother's fault, coming to Guangzhou for over a year and not having much money left. Little brother owes you an apology..." Dongzi hung his head in distress, sniffled heavily, and his eyes turned red with tears of shame and helplessness.

  An Yi struggled to get up, wrapped his arms around Dong Zi and wanted to say something, but couldn't utter a word. He thought of the days when he was bedridden with illness, Dong Zi had stayed up all night to take care of him, spent all his savings on medicine and food for him. Because of An Yi's presence, their stingy landlord even increased the rent by two dollars per month. Dong Zi endured everything silently without a word of complaint or boastfulness. Now, because of a set of clothes, he was filled with guilt to this extent, making An Yi feel like his heart was being cut by a knife and his nose was sour.

  After a while, An Yi gently pushed away Dong Zi, who was leaning on his shoulder and crying, and excitedly said: "Dong Zi, it's all thanks to you that I'm alive today. This life is yours, so what's a small set of clothes? Just because I couldn't find a job now doesn't mean I'll be down for the rest of my life. Believe me, everything will get better! In the future, we'll have more money than we can count. I swear! Although I don't have any special skills, I'm good at mechanical operation and parts processing technology. I know how to draw and repair machines. I also helped out in a friend's auto repair shop for half a year, so I know how to fix motorcycles and common car problems. I also know many English words and can hold simple conversations in English. I'm not worse than most people nowadays. Although I still can't recognize many characters now, I study every day and believe I'll master them soon. Believe me, Dong Zi! Your brother is not a fool, he knows the difficulties of life and the preciousness of relationships. If I don't make something of myself this lifetime, I'll just jump into the Pearl River and go back to where I came from..."

  "Uh... I believe!" Dongzi wiped away tears from her face, walked to the door, took down the towel and handed it to An Yi. Looking at An Yi wiping his face randomly, she suddenly remembered what he said earlier: "Big brother, can you fix cars? And English too? Why didn't you tell me sooner? These are not ordinary skills, with these skills, you won't have trouble finding a job, the government will recruit you immediately if they know. Big brother, tomorrow I'll go find Director Cai and tell her about your skills, the government and military really need people like you."

  He smiled wryly and shook his head: "Can't say it's all, I was just excited earlier and might have said too much. Actually, big brother's skills are mostly half-baked, especially English is less than half-baked. Daily conversations can barely get by, and a few swear words will do. Mechanical drawings' specialized vocabulary and explanations require some effort to understand, but it's not enough to have a fluent conversation with foreigners. Another thing, big brother doesn't like working in government departments, doesn't want to live a life of flattering officials, likes his own profession, and likes living a carefree life. So, let big brother go out and try again, okay? If he still can't find a job that's good enough, big brother will definitely listen to you."

  "Dongzi nodded: "Okay, I'll listen to big brother.""

  "This is my good brother." An Yi smiled and picked up two sets of clothes, shaking them open: "Choose one, you're not much shorter than me, your waist is about the same, you must be around 1.7 meters tall, it's okay if the clothes are a bit long, maybe you'll have a second growth spurt and grow taller again, just alter the pant legs... what are you shy about? You work in a government department, so wear this black one!"

  An Yi threw the black clothes into Dong Zi's arms, jumped off the bed and bent down to pick up the rubber-soled canvas shoes from under the bed: "These shoes were also given by Li Ge, made in Nanyang, good quality, but a bit small for me, you wear them just right. Alright, I'm going to go wash up at the well, sleep early tonight and try my luck again tomorrow."

  Wrapped in thick emotions, Dongzi sat quietly on the edge of the bed, hugging new clothes and staring at the new shoes by his feet, completely unaware that An Yi found the shoes very comfortable, nor did he know that An Yi had secretly taken away the pair of plastic sandals with a big crack.

  Walls have ears, and the simple partitioned room has no secrets. An Yi and Dong Zi's words were heard clearly by Mr. Lao without any omission. Because of what he saw in the afternoon, the deep-hearted Mr. Lao deliberately came back late, slowly eating a bowl of rice at a street stall until it was dark. He calmly entered his own room and didn't go out again, carefully thinking about what he had seen in the afternoon, predicting that An Yi would make some changes, so he also listened to the conversation between the two brothers next door clearly, and he himself was moved to sigh frequently.

  Not hearing the sound of water from the well in the courtyard, Mr. Lao furrowed his brow and got up to walk behind the window, looking out into the courtyard through the gaps between the creaking window frames. After a while, he found An Yi making a fire next to the stove in front of the east wing. Mr. Lao was slightly surprised and gently pushed open half of the window. Under the reflection of the bright flames, An Yi was seen holding a piece of tinplate iron and putting it into the fire to roast. After a while, he carefully pinched out the red-hot iron plate and began to repair the broken shoes placed on his knees.

  A gentle breeze blew in, the pungent smell of burnt plastic drilled into Mr. Lao's sensitive nose, and his nostrils expanded slightly several times, with a deep sense of emotion and admiration in his eyes.

  Before long, An Yi happily tried on his mended shoes and walked out two steps. He then extinguished the stove, whistling as he returned to the well, lifted a full bucket of water high above his head and poured it down, letting out a low whoop of delight. Putting down the bucket, he hummed a little tune as he quickly washed himself with soap.

  Mr. Lao closed the window and sat back down beside the bed, staring at the dim flame of the oil lamp as he fell into deep thought. Years of experience on the road had told him that An Yi, the young man with a clear and kind heart, had a strong sense of justice and a grateful nature, but before tonight, Mr. Lao had no idea that An Yi possessed many other skills, only knowing that he was an intelligent and determined good kid, whose refined and gentle appearance concealed his extraordinary pride and perseverance. This kind of person, with this kind of looks and character, was someone Mr. Lao had never met in his half-life of fortune-telling, occasionally having some noble-looking guests come to have their fortunes told, but only An Yi, the wandering youth, made him feel a strange sense of powerlessness.

  The night was deep, Mr. Lao lay in bed and listened to the even breathing sound from next door, a faint purple light appeared in his mind but he couldn't grasp it, finally he let out a soft sigh and muttered to himself: "A golden unicorn is not an ordinary creature, once it encounters wind and cloud, it transforms into a dragon..."

  It's time for me to get over the slump after crossing over. It's time to collect what needs to be collected and smash what needs to be smashed. Friends, please support me!