In the lives of the vast majority of the people of the Land of Rain, the most profound thing that accompanies them is the rain of the Land of Rain.

There are only a handful of days when it doesn't rain all year round, and for them, sunshine, dryness, and abundance of food are luxuries.

They are always accompanied by haze, clammy and cold, moss that cannot be cleaned every day, and a musty smell that can never be completely dissipated.

And, of course, there is hunger, poverty and disease.

The day after his father's death, Shinichiro received a notice from the Mimura Iron and Steel Works.

Before he had time to grieve, he took his father's place and became a new worker in the Mimura Iron and Steel Works.

As for the worker's compensation caused by his father's frequent overtime, it is impossible to have it, and it is already a gift for him to take over his father's work.

Yes, it's a gift.

He sensed this from the jealous eyes of many people around him, in the past he longed for himself to enter the factory as soon as possible to make money, but now that the idea had come true, he thought of the source of all this.

The figure lying on the wooden plank with a cold body and a pale face felt extremely depressed in his heart, as if a huge stone was pressing on his heart.

Bell, bell, bell...

When the overseer rang the bell for the end of work, all the workers in the factory breathed a sigh of relief, their bodies were exhausted from the heavy workload, and the sky outside began to fall silent, leaving only the last glimmer of light.

If it weren't for the temporary shortage of pine oil for lighting, the factory would have had to leave work even later today.

Taking advantage of the gap in the light, Shinichiro wiped the sweat from his forehead and walked in the direction of the gate.

The crowd lined up a few meters closer to the gate, two oil lamps had been lit near the gate, and two tall men sat on chairs, with two large iron buckets beside them.

Whenever someone passed by them, they would take out six brown rice balls mixed with wild vegetables from the Tietong and hand them to the workers.

Among those who got the wild vegetable rice balls, some of them gobbled them up directly, and some carefully put the rice balls into the lunch boxes prepared in advance.

Perhaps in order to prevent the production of the factory from being delayed by starvation of the skilled workers, a week ago, the Mimura Iron and Steel Factory began to provide workers with six more brown rice balls similar to this one every night.

Of course, it is not without a price, each worker's monthly salary will be reduced by 2,000 taels, and the monthly salary will only be about 6,000 taels on the base of the previous salary reduction of 20%.

In comparison, it is nearly half of the normal monthly income of a worker in the past.

At a time when prices are rising severely, this amount of money can barely support myself and one or two family members.

Holding back the feeling of acid reflux in his stomach, Shinichiro seemed to smell the aroma of brown rice balls in front of him, which stimulated his saliva to secrete continuously, and in the waiting process of this hunger constantly hitting his mind, he felt that time became slow.

Finally, it was his turn.

Handing over the lunch box, six brown rice balls were placed in the box, Shinichiro immediately quickly pressed down the lid and stuffed the lunch box into his arms, controlled himself to raise his head to look to the side, and then walked outside the factory door and waited quietly.

After a while, the remaining three people also came out.

They both looked much older than Shinichiro, and it was his father's neighbor uncle who lived in the same neighborhood that helped Shinichiro get through the first few days of work as a novice.

Otherwise, if he continues to make mistakes for a few more days, he will undoubtedly be fired from Mimura Iron and Steel Factory.

"Shinichiro has come out." The last person to come out was a dark-skinned man with a white headband, and he saw that his two old friends and Shinichiro were already waiting for him, "Sorry for being late, but since everyone is out, let's go back together." ”

The Mimura Iron and Steel Plant is located in the eastern ward near Sensuko Lake, and it takes about an hour to walk back to the neighborhood of the western ward.

In this case, for the convenience of travel, the boat has become a convenient means of transportation for them to go back and forth.

It's just that now they can't afford to pay for the boat, but they have a little strength, and the boat is a rough boat made by themselves, and in order to prevent it from being lost, they park the boat on the pier of Qianshui Lake.

There are special guards there, and they only need one hundred taels a month as a guard fee, and if the four people share it, it will only be 25 taels a month, which is still within the acceptable range.

After handing the voucher to the guards, they untied the ropes, skillfully boarded the boats one by one, picked up the oars, and set sail in the direction of the West End separately from the other boats around them.

Because it was dark, in addition to the paddlers, some people lit a glass oil lamp at the bow of the boat to prevent them from falling into the water by mistake.

There are quite a few of them who do this, and at this point in time dozens of lighted boats are scattered around, a bit like fireflies scattered on a summer night.

With the convenience of a small boat with the help of water, it only took a few people about 20 minutes to return home.

The ground in his neighborhood was not as flat as the main one, and without the light, he didn't know if there was a puddle under his feet until he stepped on it.

The splash of muddy water stained the trouser legs and the feeling of getting wet was not pleasant, but both Shinichiro and most people living in such a similar environment were used to it.

With his familiarity with the terrain, Shinichiro carefully avoided most puddles, came to his door, and knocked on the door.

Knock knock!

"Who is it?" A vigilant female voice could be heard in the room.

"It's me, I'm back."

The rain is not loud enough to carry its own sound into the house.

Soon, a little candle lit up in the dark room, and Pear held an oil lamp and dragged her sour legs to open the door.

"Ahem.., Shinichiro, welcome back."

Lizi forced a few soft coughs and took the lunch box handed over by her eldest son.

"I'm going to wake up Ya and Ah Li."

When the oil lamp was placed, the light and shadow of the candle flame stopped fluttering, and after the pear entered a room, it was not long before two thin figures ran out.

"It's my brother, my brother is back."

"Brother, do you still have rice balls today?"

The two siblings ran to Shinichiro's side and scrambled to make their voices heard.

"Ya, Ah Li, Shinichiro is already very tired, you have to be quiet." Pear walked out from behind and reprimanded in a low voice.

"It's okay, Mom." Shinichiro touched his younger sibling's head and said with a smile, "I also have rice balls today." ”

The rice balls in the lunch box have long been cold, but there is still a reserve of hot water at home.

Hot water with a little salt and cold rice balls is not too much, but it can ensure that you will not be stimulated by the overflowing stomach acid when you go to bed at night.

When food is scarce, sleep takes up most of the day.

"Ahem..." is a violent coughing sound that is hard to stop.

After eating the two brown rice balls, Shinichiro was hesitating to eat the third rice ball, when he heard his mother coughing violently as she covered her mouth.

His eyes became a little worried, not long after his father died, his mother suffered from a cold, and the last bit of money in the family was exhausted to deal with his father's funeral.

In order to avoid using money, Pear has been dragging it out and not looking at it, as is not uncommon in the entire Rain Country, just like her.

But since yesterday, Pear's condition has worsened, the body has been frequently feverish, the whole body is soft and unable to lift a little energy, the headache is cracking, and the cough that has never been able to stop also involves the stabbing discomfort in the chest.

"Mom..."

Shinichiro shouted worriedly.

"It's okay, cough cough..."Pear reluctantly comforted Shinichiro, and there was a heart-rending cough. In a few days, it will be fine, the same as before, just a few days of discomfort. ”

Shinichiro stopped talking, silently swallowing all the words he wanted to say into his throat.

They don't have any money, which is cruel and helpless.

"After five days, after the first month's salary is paid, I will definitely take my mother to see a doctor." He secretly made up his mind in his heart.

After dinner, everyone went back to their rooms to rest.

Approaching five o'clock, he was half-asleep when he was suddenly awakened by the sound of rushing into his room.

"Brother, brother, mother, she can't wake up." The youngest sister, Ah Li, pushed him and said.

In an instant, like a bolt from the blue, Shinichiro got up from the bed and ran to the next room.

In the dimly lit room, the younger brother was pushing and shouting to the man lying on the bed.

"Mommy, Mommy, wake up."

Shinichiro's hand couldn't stop shivering, he lit the oil lamp, checked his mother's condition, and when he saw that his chest was still heaving, he breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

"It's hot."

Tried to shout a few times, Shinichiro found that his mother's forehead was very hot, and the person was also unconscious in the high fever, and his heart sank, if this situation continues, the most serious consequences can be imagined.

Instructed his younger siblings to put a cold towel on his forehead to reduce the heat, Shinichiro put on a raincoat and hurriedly ran out of the house.

He was going to find someone who could save his mother, and some time ago the kind pharmacist who had waived his father's illness expenses was remembered by him.

The Qingyao Fang in his neighborhood was not too far away, and after more than ten minutes, he rushed to the door of the Qingyao Fang.

"Yakushi-sama, Yakushi-sama."

Bai Ming, who was reading a book, heard an urgent knock on the door downstairs, put down the "Salvation Sutra of the Lifeless Old Mother" in his hand, and walked down.

"It's you."

Opening the door, Bai Ming recognized the panting teenager standing at the door.

"Yakushi-sama, please save my mother."

When Shinichiro saw Bai Ming, he knelt down and pleaded.

"Let's go." Although he didn't know exactly what happened, there was probably some speculation about this situation, and he went straight back to the house to get his medicine box and said.

When he was on the way, Bai Ming learned about the general situation from the young man's mouth.

When he got home, Shinichiro found that there were a few more people in the house, it was the neighbor Uncle Sato and a few of them, and it seemed that they were called by the teeth.

"Please, Yakushi-sama." After a few hurried words with a few people, Shinichiro entered the bedroom with Bai Ming.

After Bai Ming checked it, he understood that it was the wind chill that worsened and turned into pneumonia.

First, he took out a porcelain bottle from the medicine box and poured out a pill of Qinghe, handed it to Shinichiro and asked him to melt it with warm water and feed it to the patient, and then used a silver needle to start regulating the vitality of the internal organs, so as to improve the condition as soon as possible.

After about half an hour passed, Lizi opened her eyes from the confusion, felt that her spirit seemed to have recovered a lot, and her head didn't hurt so much, and then she saw a few children come over in surprise.

"Mom.."

"Mom woke up... That's great. “

"What am I?"

Before she could doubt too much, several women from the surrounding neighborhoods explained the situation to her one by one.

After understanding what had happened, Pear's heart was heavy, and she blamed herself and felt guilty.

The family, which was already in trouble, fell into a desperate situation again because of his illness, and if he hadn't been sick, this kind of thing would not have happened.

She lifted her few strengths, reluctantly got up from the bed and remained on her knees, looked at the pharmacist who had saved her husband and herself in front of her, and lowered her head.

"Thank you for saving your life, Lord Bai Ming, but I'm really sorry, I don't have the money in my family to pay for your consultation."

"Although it is very brazen, I have already endured your kindness many times, but can you forgive us for a while?"

The people around them fell silent all at once, and one or two people opened their mouths to say something, but in the end they didn't say anything.

The people who lived in this neighborhood weren't very wealthy families in the first place, and at this time, the other families weren't much better off than Shinichiro's family.

"She's a smart woman."

Bai Ming looked at the pear who knelt down and lowered his head and pleaded with him, what she said was not too wrong, but the time and place were not suitable.

If you say this when no one is around, it is naturally more convincing.

But in the case that there are many people around, putting on this kind of posture, Bai Ming agrees that it is okay, and if he does not agree, there is no doubt that his reputation as a doctor will be damaged.

Although Bai Ming doesn't care too much about his reputation, as long as he still wants to eat in mixed rice, he always has to be careful.

Perhaps she thought a little more, and it was not impossible to stimulate her compassion and thus waive her medical bills and receive free treatment.

This kind of thinking may make people's hearts think a little badly, but in fact, Bai Ming asserts his judgment.

I have already said that he has the ability to resemble a premonition of crisis because of the tempering of death again and again in the space, and the strengthening of the body in "King Kong Qi" has also promoted his personal five senses to become more acute.

Stimulated by this variety of factors, his intuitive ability was strengthened again, and he gradually began to be able to perceive some of the more subdued emotional fluctuations except for murderous intent and malice.

Most of the time, as long as an ordinary person stands in front of him within a certain range, he can instinctively sense the various emotional fluctuations hidden in the other party's heart, and then it is easy to figure out what the other party is thinking.

To be honest, Bai Ming didn't care about some calculations in her heart, on the contrary, he admired her.

A woman can react quickly in this predicament, in the final analysis, in order to barely support her family and not be completely ruined by a greater storm all of a sudden.

It just so happened that I had a lot of ideas after reading the "Salvation Sutra of the Childless Mother" in the past few days, and I could also take this opportunity to officially start some of my own plans.

"There is no need to do this, I will not charge a penny for this visit." Bai Ming's voice was elegant and gentle, "If you take money too seriously, it goes against my belief as a doctor. ”

"It is also contrary to the purpose of our religion, all the poor people are our brothers and sisters, but if there is a difficulty, it is because of help."

Saying that, Bai Ming clasped his hands, stood in front of his chest, and chanted, "Nan Wudang will come to the next birth Maitreya Buddha." ”

As he spoke, he also showed a hint of compassion on his face at the right time, so pretending like this, several people around him didn't feel the slightest abnormality about him suddenly adding an identity to himself, but felt that it should be so.

Listening to the teachings he took the opportunity to talk about, several adults around him felt a little novel and incredible, which family's teachings were so kind, they could care about their own people, and regarded themselves as brothers and sisters.

They have been at the bottom for too long, and they have also seen the existence of some sects in the Rain Country, but all of them are closely involved with people at the level of factory owners, merchants, samurai, and nobles.

There never seemed to be a sect that put the poor people into its teachings.

A middle-aged man subconsciously asked, "Lord Bai Ming, may I ask what sect you believe in?" ”

"That's a good question."

Bai Ming gave the middle-aged man a thumbs up in his heart, and he explained in a gentle and clear voice.

"The sect I believe in here is the White Lotus Sect."

"White Lotus Sect?"

Bai Ming nodded slightly, and said to himself in his heart, "Yes, that white lotus blossomed, Maitreya was born, and King Ming was born... of the White Lotus Sect. ”