It all started on the day Tomioka was hospitalized.

Because of a puncture wound in the abdomen, although Yiyong, who was given an anesthetic injection by Xiao Cheng, was placed on the hospital bed in the morning, he didn't wake up groggily until midnight.

It is said that Xiao Cheng originally planned to let him sleep directly for the whole day, but she obviously miscalculated the ability of a pillar to adapt to the medicine.

At one o'clock in the evening, Tomioka opened his eyes in a daze, and unconsciously looked at the only light source in the room, which was the bed next to him - it was Nagajin who was placing the new ghost killer team members who had been sent to the butterfly house, so he lit the oil lamp at the bedside, and from Tomioka Yoshiyu's angle, he could just see her back.

However, due to physical factors and drugs, his vision was blurred, and everything in his vision was like the canvas of an impressionist painter - all blocks of color without outline.

The dim light of the fire reflected on Yongzhen's red coat, like a whole sunset next to the sunset, coupled with the slight leaning movement and body posture of the wounded of her placement team to check the affected area, it also looked like preparing ingredients in front of the board.

So, in Tomioka's dazed mind, which was temporarily unable to invoke reason, this image directly awakened the most relevant memories in his mind—the red shirt and the dim firelight......

It was a winter morning, before the sun had risen, and Yoshiyuki Tomioka, who was less than 13 years old, heard the sound of chopping vegetables from the chopping board, and poked his head out of the quilt in curiosity, but the cold air outside made him shiver fiercely.

Sure enough, my sister started to be busy again early in the morning, lighting a candle and preparing meals in the dimly lit space.

Her parents did not have much inheritance, so Tomioka Tsutako sold the somewhat empty house to a relative and lived with her brother in a longhouse rented out near the pier in order to save the family's money.

The so-called longhouse, as the name suggests, is like a rectangular jar, with no walls to make spatial distinction and isolation in it.

In the cold winter, whether it is eating, drinking, sleeping or sleeping, it must be completed in this space of more than ten square meters, and cooking is no exception.

However, for the two siblings who depend on each other, such a narrow room is more warm and more secure. As long as they are in this house, even when they are the farthest apart, they are only a few steps away, and even small whispers can be heard clearly by each other.

Although their lives are not rich, they are still happy.

"Did you wake up Yiyong again?"

Hearing her brother's cold shivering voice, Tomioka Tsutako turned her head with a candle, her wet hands rubbed back and forth on the rag, looking a little stiff, "Breakfast will be better for a while, you better sleep for a while, it's still dark outside, it's okay to get up so early." ”

Hearing his sister's words, Tomioka almost accepted the temptation of the quilt and retracted himself.

But seeing his sister standing next to the stove so close to the door and not yet fully burned in the thin red shirt that had not been changed for several years, Tomioka still struggled to get up.

"No, I'll help my sister."

Tomioka put on his coat and walked over with goosebumps all over his body, and when he saw the cut radish on the board, he was stunned for a moment, and then looked down at the bucket on the ground with a hint of joy on his face.

There was a long, slender, lazy salmon in the water, its fine scales reflecting the faint candlelight, as if it were covered with gold paint.

"Is my sister going to make turnip salmon again today?"

Tomioka couldn't hide his excited expression, which made Tomioka Tsutako laugh as well, reaching out and grabbing his brother's sleeping hair.

Tsutako replied, "That's right." The fish was brought by the landlady last night, but you were asleep at the time and didn't tell you. ”

Just like most families have a special dish to celebrate a happy occasion or reward their children, for the Tomioka family, this dish is turnip salmon, which is not a luxury, but it is good to eat once or twice a month.

If you know in advance, you will be able to eat your sister's radish salmon in a few days, and Tomioka will be very happy for several days, and it can be said that the happiness is the most bursting.

But when he heard that the fish was sent by the landlady, Tomioka immediately became suspicious in his eyebrows: "What, how could that woman be so kind?" I don't want to increase the rent! ”

"Yiyong, you can't say that, everyone has to live, compared to other landlords, this one is already very good."

Tomioka Tsutako helped her brother sit on the straw mat, and her cold hands were grabbed by her brother and covered them with her hands, "However, it is true that this fish is not the landlady's intention, but a gift from someone else through her, in addition to two chickens and dozens of eggs, which can be eaten for a long time." ”

Tomioka became more and more curious, "So, who is the one who sent the things?" ”

"Hmmm......"

Tomioka Tsutako was silent for a moment, as if organizing the language: "Do you remember Dr. Nakajima?" More than a year ago, when you had a fever, I asked him to come and see you. ”

Tomioka nodded and said casually, "It's that chubby uncle, I remember he also said that I have the talent to be a doctor." ”

Speaking of others praising him, Tomioka's expression still had this pride.

"Did he send these things?"

"Yes, that's him."

"It's weird. We've only met once, right? ”

Tomioka was even more puzzled, "What does he want to do?" ”

Tomioka Tsutako's tone became a little low: "That's it, Yiyong. Half a year ago, Dr. Nakajima's wife died not long after she had an accident while giving birth. ”

"Huh?"

Tomioka showed a look of pity and fear, "What about that kid? ”

"The child survived."

Tsutako Tomioka emphasized, "Although this is a blessing in disguise, Dr. Nakajima has been taking care of his children by himself ever since, which has delayed many job opportunities. In the long run, I'm afraid it won't be long before he will be like us......"

Tomioka Yoshiyuki already had some bad premonitions, and his tone became a little impatient: "So what? What does this have to do with us? ”

"So ......"

Tsutako paused, staggered her gaze slightly, and didn't dare to look at her brother's next expression, "Dr. Nakajima needs, needs a young woman with experience in taking care of children...... Be his second wife. ”

"And I've never been married, I'm very young, and I've taken care of you since I was a child, so ...... Very much in line with Dr. Nakajima's requirements. ”

Tomioka's mouth slowly widened, and then the surprise turned into anger in the blink of an eye.

"What? What are you talking about, Sister Tsutako! ”

He stood up and kicked the bucket over, and the fish slid into the shadows with the overturned barrel, his hollow eyes widening in horror, and the scales on his body no longer reflected, looking so ugly.

"Isn't he crazy?"

It's the first time that Tomioka has lost his temper like this, "That uncle is almost forty, it's enough to be our father, how can he hit his sister with his idea, he really has no shame at all!" ”

"Let's give him everything back, sister, don't pay attention to him anymore! And the landlady, that woman has never had any good intentions, and we don't want to rent her house! ”

Tomioka took a big stride and grabbed the fish with one hand rather ferociously, and threw it back into the bucket with all the curiosity he usually did. He wasn't in the mood to enjoy food at all.

Originally, Tomioka Yoshiyoshi still had a good impression of the kind fat uncle, but since he wanted to take away his sister, the guy suddenly became hateful, and the originally warm smile became a hidden knife in the smile.

Just kidding, he's almost twice as old as his sister! If Dad were still alive, he would only be thirty-four years old.

A man who is only a few years older than his father suddenly becomes his brother-in-law, and Tomioka will not agree to it no matter what.

However, Tsutako's voice suddenly came from behind her: "But I have already promised the landlady." ”

"What?!"

Tomioka Yoshiyoshi turned his head and found that his sister, who had always been fond of him, had a very firm expression at this time, as if he had already made up his mind.

Obviously, he had to ask his sister what he had for dinner every day, but he actually made a decision on such a big matter, and then told him.

"Yiyong, I'm sorry, because you are still young, and there are some things that you still don't understand, so I haven't dared to tell you. In fact, I had already heard from the landlady about it a month ago. ”

Tsutako confronts the loss and anger in her brother's eyes, but acts quite calmly.

"I've been talking to Dr. Nakajima through her for the past month, and there's one thing you can rest assured that I'm not leaving you alone,...... When we get married, you can choose to become a disciple of Dr. Nakajima and learn medicine from him. Alternatively, he can provide you with the ability to finish secondary school, and if your grades are good enough for college, he is also willing to provide half of the tuition fee......"

"I don't care about ......"

Tomioka still doesn't understand how precious the things his sister fought for him are.

"Don't make a noise, listen to me first, Yiyong."

Tsutako interrupted him, her eyes as sincere as ever, but with the scheming of an adult.

"We can't stay here any longer, sooner or later you will grow up, and sooner or later I will get married...... But if we reject Dr. Nakajima now and miss this opportunity, we will always stay here. ”

"In that case, I will most likely marry a dock worker who only knows how to drink and beat his wife after work, give birth to a lot of dolls, and live a poor and miserable life; And if you rely on me so much, you will definitely not go too far, and there is a high probability that you will become a dock worker, and become the annoying appearance of those men outside, and entangle with a bunch of ruffians and hooligans. You don't understand it, but that's what most of the kids here do......"

"But I know very well in my heart that Yiyong is a very smart child, you should go to school, become a doctor or an officer to get ahead, not here, for a bite to eat, waste a lot of good time."

"I will never allow my younger brother, a smart child like Yi Yong, to be hunched over and drunk all day long in just a few years."

"So, I'm going to take advantage of this opportunity."

Tomioka finally understood.

My sister will agree to Dr. Nakajima's request, more for her own future, although he can't fully understand these truths, but the complex feeling continues to impact his nasal cavity, and tears suddenly flow.

Tsutako took the opportunity to pull Yoshiyong into her arms and said softly: "Moreover, you don't need to worry about other problems, although Dr. Nakajima is a little older, he doesn't gamble or drink, he is a well-known good person, and he is also very enthusiastic about children...... To be honest, we and Dr. Nakajima are not from the same world in the first place. If it weren't for the last time you were sick, he wouldn't have noticed me......"

"So, Yiyong, this time just listen to my sister, move in with me, live a better life, and do more meaningful things."

"It's probably the luckiest thing that has ever happened to us since we were born, so I made the decision without asking your opinion."

"This time, will you do what my sister said? After we passed, we will definitely live happily together. ”

At that time, Tomioka, who was still young, could not understand this sacrifice, nor could he understand the meaning of the future that his sister had designed for him, but he knew that from now on, his sister would no longer be his alone, so he couldn't cry silently.

But he understood that this day would come sooner or later, but he didn't expect it to be so early.

After a long time, he sobbed and said, "I know, I know." ”

He withdrew from his sister's arms, with tears on his face, and then solemnly announced: "I will not disappoint my sister, I want to get ahead and become a big businessman or a general, if he dares to bully my sister, I will definitely not let him go!" ”

"Then we're done, Righteous Brave."

"In the future, my sister will be protected by you." Tsutako rubbed Tomioka's hair fiercely, "However, your mouth is so stupid, I don't think the big businessman has any hope!" ”

"Don't underestimate me! I'm just too lazy to talk to people! ”

"Hahaha, Yiyong is really cute......"

The scenes of the past gradually dissipated, and those voices became meaningless fragments and drowned in endless memories, but Tomioka Yoshiyoshi, who was lying on the hospital bed, still had the expression that broke into laughter at that time, supported his body, and handed his right hand towards the orange-red shadow, and used the tone of the child and his sister Hou coquettish.

"Sister Tsutako, can you pull me up?"

When Yongjin and the team members who were being examined heard the voice, they couldn't help but stop their movements and slowly turned their heads.