Li Tianming walked for several days and nights in a row, and his feet were worn out, and he walked along the road, eating a few mouthfuls of pancakes when he was hungry, drinking a few sips of water when he was thirsty, and finding a place to suffer all night when he was sleepy. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

He didn't know where he was going, he just wanted to get out of here and go to a place where no one knew him and no one knew his name was Li Tianming.

I don't know how many miles I walked, how many villages I passed, and suddenly there were wide asphalt roads and buildings and shops in front of me -- I arrived at a county seat.

Li Tianming touched his body, he had eaten all the dry food he had brought, and there were still a few national food stamps left on his body, which was the only property he had left.

He found a grain and oil supply and marketing cooperative, wanting to exchange for some grain.

The manager of the supply and marketing cooperative, who is in his thirties, looks white and chubby -- it is not easy to have such a figure in this year.

The manager is moving goods and sorting out the shelves, dozens of pounds of grain bags, and he is tired after a trip.

Li Tianming took the initiative to go up to help, and when dozens of bags of grain were moved, the manager sat on the stool and panted, looking at the young man in front of him who worked without saying a word.

He looks lean and lean, but he has a lot of strength.

Li Tianming pinched a few food stamps in his hand, and suddenly changed his mind in his heart.

He said to the manager, I'll give you a hand here, don't want money.

"I'll do whatever work you arrange, I don't want to be a regular worker, just take care of the food, I don't eat much."

Li Tianming finished his words in one breath and looked at the manager's reaction.

The manager raised his eyebrows and said, "Who are you?" ”

"I, I am the youngest son of the Getian Dynasty family in Xinwangzhuang, my father sent me into the city to be an apprentice in Lao Liu's carpenter's shop, and the master thought I was too stupid and kicked me out. I didn't dare to go back to my hometown, my father would kill me if he found out. ”

Li Tianming said that these places were all things he had seen on the road, and the plots were all made up, but he said them very sincerely, and it was hard for others not to believe them.

"Uncle, you can leave me, I just need to have a place to live. I, I can sleep here at night to show you the shop. I don't usually eat much......"

The fat manager hesitated. He really lacks the hands and feet to help him with his work.

Although it seems that this young man's requirements are simple, in that era when everything has to be proven, it is actually quite difficult.

The manager is very difficult, such a request has never been encountered, originally, the store has one more employee and one less employee procedures are very troublesome, to report to the above, ask for instructions, to approve and seal one level at a time.

But this kid doesn't want an identity, he doesn't want a salary, he just adds a pair of chopsticks when he eats, and he works, and his hands and feet are quite neat.

As for the accommodation, the store is big anyway, so just find a place to build a board bed and solve it.

"Well, I think you're an honest man, and the main thing is that you're an honest man—" the manager deliberately emphasized the word honesty, "and I'll do it here for the time being." Do you have any luggage? You have to solve the futon yourself! ”

"Thank you manager, thank you manager, you are equivalent to my reborn parents, I am very grateful, I will have the opportunity to repay you in the future, I will definitely repay you......"

Leaving aside whether to repay or not, Li Tianming's gratitude is real, and it is really difficult to have a legal residence status in these years.

In this way, Li Tianming settled down, worked during the day, and lay on the plank at night, although the conditions were very difficult, but it was much better than the previous months of displacement, eating and sleeping in the open.

Unlike the empty home before, it is rare to dream of the four faceless corpses when you sleep at night.

Although the grain and oil supply and marketing cooperatives do have a lot of work, he doesn't mind when he is tired and tired, at least the people around him regard him as a human being. Gradually, the people around him accepted this taciturn and hard-working young man.

The manager is also very satisfied, seeing that this kid is so thin and weak, he can work quickly, and it is effortless to carry a bag of more than 100 catties, and he doesn't eat much, so he just carries a little bit from home every day.

The most important thing is that he is honest, and the fat manager has counted all the goods in the store several times, and there has never been a single one.

Every morning, I get up early at dawn and clean the supply and marketing cooperatives before dawn.

After cleaning up everything, Li Tianming sat on a low stool at the door, greedily breathing in the smell of the city in the sound of bicycle bells and bus horns.

The smoke of the coal-burning stove where the citizens make breakfast, the rustic smell of the slag poured at the door, and the aroma of fried dough sticks and soy milk in the factory canteen opposite are mixed with the cold air unique to the morning...... The bustle between heaven and earth, all of this made Li Tianming feel the breath of life.

Winter is coming, will spring be far away?

But this winter was over, but spring did not come.

A few months later, the county began to see hungry people fleeing the famine.

It didn't take long for the news to spread, and it is said that after planting in the spring of this year, none of the crops had sprouted. Others said that there was no sowing at all, and the peasants ate all the grain...... In any case, nothing grew in the fields that should have been full of spring.

Even the wild vegetables and bark were eaten.

More and more hungry people are fleeing the famine in the cities, and it is said that people have died of starvation in some places.

The supply of grain and oil supply and marketing cooperatives has also begun to be tight, and the goods are getting smaller and smaller...... Even if you have a ticket, you can't buy anything.

Of course, the manager of the grain and oil supply and marketing cooperatives is not hungry, he is still fat in vain, and even the manager's "little worker" Li Tianming is also stained, and he is not very hungry.

It's just that I'm not very hungry, and I'm still far from being full.

On this day, Li Tianming was squatting in the supply and marketing cooperative, watching two old men play chess -- there are often some idle people in the supply and marketing cooperative, and there are often idle people in the society who spend their time in it doing nothing. Rubbing the stove in winter, there is nothing to rub in spring, but it is still gathered here, and it has become a habit.

The chess pieces were also carved out of wood, and the chessboard was drawn on the ground.

The manager of the supply and marketing cooperatives also turned a blind eye to these old men, did not buy things but did not make trouble, and let them go.

They are all retired workers, some of them are old cadres, and they don't see them when they look up, and maybe some of the children and grandchildren of someone in them are their superiors.

Everyone was concentrating on observing the battle situation, and an old man with a bitter gourd face on the opposite side was holding his head and thinking hard, and several people next to him were making suggestions and suggestions, jumping horses, getting out of the car, and stuffing cannons......

His opponent, a white-haired old man, was victorious, and looked around triumphantly.

Li Tianming sneered in his heart, a group of stinky chess baskets.

But he never spoke, did not participate. It's not that he doesn't say anything about a true gentleman, but he feels that if he talks too much, he will lose, and no matter how he behaves with his tail between his legs, it's right.

At this time, two figures, an old and a young, slowly came in at the door of the supply and marketing cooperative.

The old man was fifty or sixty years old, hunched over, carrying a burden, and he knew from the appearance that the burden was empty.

The young girl was a little girl, four or five years old, with two big eyes, braided to the sky, and I don't know how many days she hadn't been groomed, and her face was black and gray.

"Go out, go out, don't beg here", the manager of the supply and marketing cooperative, like a chicken, drove the two grandparents and grandchildren.

The old man staggered in the doorway, a hint of shame on his face.

Li Tianming thought to himself, people are really strange, they are about to starve to death, but they still have to take care of the dignity on their faces.

The fat manager pushed the two of them out, the old man helplessly took the little girl's hand, and was about to turn around and go out, the little girl saw the boxes and cans placed in the supply and marketing cooperative, and said timidly in a crisp voice, "Grandpa, I'm hungry!" ”

Grandpa stopped, hoarse, and looked at the manager with a pleading face, "Please, we haven't eaten for a few days, give the little girl something to eat." ”

I don't know if he was hungry or tired, the old man's body was bent like a shrimp when he spoke, and the whole person was half squatting and half bending.

If it weren't for the support of a stick in his hand, maybe he would have knelt down, Li Tianming thought to himself.

"Go, go, go," the manager of the supply and marketing cooperative, with his open hands, blocked in front of his grandson and grandson, like chasing chickens and ducks, "There is no food and there is no food, it is an empty box!" Hurry up, hurry up, go away! ”

The old man glanced helplessly at the crowd, and some looked back, then silently turned their heads again.

Some people don't even look up.

In these years, no one can take care of anyone.

Li Tianming looked at the two grandparents with sadness, and the misfortune of the two grandparents made him think of what happened to him.

The old man seemed to see a glimmer of hope in Li Tianming's pitiful eyes, staggered closer, stretched out his black hand and said, "Please, please......"

Li Tianming didn't speak, his eyes were attracted by a wrench in the old man's hand.

The old man saw Li Tianming's gaze, seemed to hesitate slightly, and then resolutely pulled out the wrench with one hand.

I don't know how many years I've been wearing this wrench, and it looks like it's on my hand, but the finger is already thin and jagged, and it's finally taken off.

"This, this, for you, give us something to eat." The old man's tone seemed to be a little excited, the little girl held her grandfather's shirt with one hand, put one finger in her mouth and sucked, and stared at Li Tianming with two big eyes.

The manager of the supply and marketing cooperatives looked at Li Tianming and sneered, "How much is this broken thing worth?" ”

The old man snorted and argued, "This, this is a family heirloom left by the ancestors, it is very valuable, it has been passed down for many generations, and it was originally intended to be passed on to my son, but he has already ......"

Li Tianming hesitated, he knew how much this wrench was worth, if it was placed half a year ago, let alone change to some food, it would be no problem to change this supply and marketing cooperative.

The manager of the supply and marketing cooperatives continued to sneer silently.

Li Tianming took the wrench from the old man's hand, lowered his head and said softly to the manager: "Give me, exchange my half-catty sugar ticket to him." ”

Some time ago, the supply and marketing cooperatives bought a batch of imported white sugar, and because of Li Tianming's long-term excellent performance, the manager specially "rewarded" him with half a catty of sugar tickets.

"Are you sure? Half a pound of sugar ticket for this broken ring? "The manager obviously thinks that he has a good heart to be a donkey's liver and lungs, do you know how difficult it is to get a half-pound sugar ticket? Do you know how much you can exchange for half a pound of sugar tickets? I'm blind, I'm kind.

Li Tianming nodded, not daring to look up at the manager's eyes.

The manager sneered and put away the sugar ticket to weigh the sugar. He said to himself loudly, "There are more hungry people in the world, how many can you save?" It's good to be alive on your own these days, and you still have the heart to care about others......"

Li Tianming didn't speak, and tightly squeezed the few catties of food stamps in his pocket.

Half a catty of sugar stamps is really useless, and these catties of food stamps in your pocket may be able to save the lives of your grandparents and grandchildren, but so what? What about all this? Can you save yourself for a while, can you save a lifetime?

The fat manager put the white sugar wrapped in the paper bag on the scale and weighed it, and after confirming that it was not the slightest bit, he handed it to the grandfather and grandson.

Grandpa held the bag of sugar tightly to his chest, as if he was holding the most precious thing in the world.

The little girl took her grandfather's clothes, and the two walked out of the door, and her crisp voice came from the door:

"Grandpa, I want to eat sugar."

"Slow down, slow down, don't spill it, dip your finger in it first."

"How's it going, sweet?"

"Sweet! Grandpa, you eat too. ”

"You eat, you eat, grandpa is not hungry, grandpa doesn't like sugar."

Listening to the happy voices of his grandfather and grandson, Li Tianming held the wrench in his hand tightly, and grasped it so hard that he felt that the wrench was about to be embedded in his palm.

After the grandfather and grandson walked away, he suddenly stood up and chased in the direction where the grandfather and grandson had left.

The manager sneered behind his back: "How is it? Regretted it? It's late, it's been eaten up a long time ago! ”

Dawn followed his grandson from a distance, unhurriedly, watching them walk to a dilapidated house on the outskirts of the city.

……

That night, Li Tianming came back very late, and the fat manager had already finished dinner, and it seemed that he didn't mean to wait for him at all.

Li Tianming's face has always been ugly, and the fat manager can't stop sneering, "What's the matter?" Didn't catch up? ”

"How's it going, have you eaten it all?"

"How's it going, have you lost it?"

"Tsk, half a catty of food stamps for a broken ring, you were kicked in the head by a donkey, right?"

"I don't think you're short of food, so let's reduce it every month in the future, and if you have more, it's a waste. There's not much work in the store now, in fact, it's already very merciful for me to keep you here, you don't know how much food it costs me to raise such a person like you every month, alas, I'm just soft-hearted......"

That night, Li Tianming lay on the wooden plank, did not sleep all night, and a picture kept coming to his mind.

……

He followed his grandfather and grandson to a dilapidated house on the outskirts of the city, where the doors and windows had been torn down, leaving only half of the house with exposed walls.

The owner of the house probably went out to flee the famine, and the dilapidated house became a temporary residence for the wanderers passing by.

Li Tianming sat silently at the base of the wall, listening to the conversation between the grandfather and grandson inside.

Grandpa asked, "Is it delicious?" ”

Granddaughter: "Delicious, delicious." ”

Grandpa asked, "Have you eaten enough?" ”

Granddaughter: "I'm full, grandpa, there's still something left, I can't eat, you eat, you eat." ”

Grandpa: "You finish eating, I don't eat, I'm not hungry." ”

Granddaughter: "Grandpa lied to me, you eat, you eat!" ”

"Okay, I'll eat, I'll eat, Niuniu is full and sleeping."

"Hmm."

After a while, a mournful cry suddenly sounded in the room, as terrible as a wounded wolf.

The old mournful cry broke through the sky and floated in the night sky.

After the sound in the house stopped, Dawn slowly walked into the dilapidated house.

Under the white and cold moonlight, the old man's thin body hung on the beams of the room, swaying gently in the breeze.

The little girl lay on the ground, her body stiff, her eyes wide open, and a bruise on her neck.

On the ground next to it, there was also a small packet of white sugar, which shimmered white in the moonlight.

Li Tianming stood there silent. The old man could not bear to see his granddaughter suffering from hunger, and when she had eaten and slept soundly for the last time, he strangled her to death.

After doing these things, he also ended his painful life on the wooden beam.

What a hopelessness!

Li Tianming lowered the old man's body from the beam of the house, and the old man was so thin that he only had a handful of bones, as light as nothing.

Li Tianming searched his whole body carefully, and even pinched the seams of his clothes. I searched the little girl carefully, and there was nothing else on the two of them except for the tattered clothes.

Dawn silently placed the two corpses together and closed the little girl's round eyes. He lowered his head and thought about it, then turned around and left.

The remaining small packet of sugar was placed there, but it didn't move.

Li Tianming has been allergic to candy since he was a child and cannot eat white sugar.