Chapter 137: Tales of the Old House

Old-style tube building.

Full of the traces left by Li Jiaci and his brothers' lives.

Li Jiaci got out of the car, under the heavy snow, and said, "Everyone get out; we'll spend the night here tonight!"

Great!

Brother, I've always wanted to come back and have a look!

We don't live here; no one collects the trash in the alley!

No way, who dumped this trash?

It must be Lao Wangtou selling opium across the alley!

Damn it, I'll go find him and settle the score!

……

The brothers got out of the car noisily.

The lumber mill was swamped.

Sometimes when driving past the tube building, there wasn't even time to stop and look.

Let alone spending the night here.

Li Jiaci's decision won the hearts of his brothers.

Everyone went upstairs.

Because no one had cleaned it for a long time, dust filled the room, several windows had been smashed, and a whoosh of cold wind poured into the room.

The narrow hallway was filled with cursing.

Li Jiaci pushed open the door to his room; because his back was to the sun, the window faced the outer wall, so it hadn't been damaged by those meddlesome people.

Come to my place, everyone!

A shout.

The brothers gathered in Li Jiaci's room.

Zhao Chen opened the cabinet, took out several thick blankets and spread them on the floor.

After sealing the windows, several people huddled on the makeshift bed to keep warm, relying on each other's body heat, and for a while didn't feel cold.

This scene seemed to return to ten years ago.

They were still fresh-faced youths.

Because they couldn't afford rent, they could only find a few discarded cardboard boxes under the bridge, tear them open, and lay them on the ground.

Several people sat on the boxes, chatting and dreaming about the future.

Seeing passersby dressed finely, they all said they too would one day dress and live respectably.

But actually, at that time they had no idea what the future held.

They owned nothing, and didn't even dare to imagine what the future would be like.

Whenever a beam of light shone on them, they would hurriedly get up and hide in the dark.

Only after the patrolling passersby left would they sneak back, feeling ashamed.

Ten years later.

Not a single one of them was missing.

Under Li Jiaci's leadership, they opened a lumber mill.

They made a lot of money.

They used to dare not go to department stores, but now they can go whenever they want.

Even clothes they couldn't afford before, they now wear.

From envying others' lives, they have become the envy of others.

Zhao Chen looked at Li Jiaci, his eyes slightly moist.

Brother, thank you!

Li Jiaci laughed and said, "What's with the sudden thanks out of nowhere?"

Zhao Chen glanced around the shabby room, and his moist eyes suddenly welled up.

His shoulders trembled, but he didn't answer.

The others were the same.

Li Yihu was usually carefree.

Now he too was sniffling, head bowed.

Wang Lan was the youngest, and only with the help of his older brothers did he achieve his current life.

Hearing the sobs all around, he felt the worst inside.

Wang Lan gripped Li Yihu's hand tightly.

The one who should be saying thank you is me!

Back when you brought me into society, I was still a greenhorn!

You took on all the dangerous work, just let me do some easy jobs that still make money!

I thank you, brothers!

With Wang Lan's words,

Li Yihu suddenly recalled the past.

He wiped the tears blurring his vision and said, "Back then Xiao A Lan wanted to eat a street‑side popsicle, but I had no money to buy one; watching his snot drip down, I simply steeled myself, rushed to the popsicle stall, snatched the cheapest one, and ran off."

Brother, do you still have the nerve to bring that up?

Wang Lan gave him a sideways glance.

Why are you embarrassed? I was locked up by the patrol for three days and three nights because of you!

Li Yihu spoke and laughed, the tears at the corners of his eyes shining brightly in the streetlight outside the window.

Afterwards, Wang Lan pushed his hand aside, turned her head and said: "This guy ran a few li, happened to run into a patrol; they saw him all dirty and disheveled, running so miserably, they thought he'd been bullied, so they wanted to go up and ask what happened, but just as they stopped him, he gave them a surprised look and asked, 'I just stole an ice pop—has the news spread this far?'"

Hahaha...

Li Yihu laughed the loudest.

He continued: "Back then I was also young; seeing the patrol come, I was so scared my legs were shaking!"

And that's not all—this guy volunteered the information, was taken away and locked up for three days and three nights; when he came out, the ice pop had melted into water, he poured it into my mouth like offering a treasure; I tasted it and it was spoiled—rotten!

Just as Wang Lan finished speaking, Li Yihu objected: "How was I to know this stuff goes bad so fast!"

The rotten smell made me frown; I opened my mouth to vomit, but he pulled the bag of ice pops away and the whole bag of spoiled liquid went straight into my stomach!

You know, there's a saying: even fragrant things make you frown; I figured this must be really fragrant, so we can't waste it!

Li Yihu's antics had everyone laughing hysterically.

Liu Jiang beside them snorted: "Poor Little A Lan ran to the toilet for days, and just lifted his butt he farted!"

At least he got it out—he saved his own life!

Little A Lan, quickly thank your Tiger Brother for sparing your life!

Get lost!

……

There are many more memories that come to mind together.

For example, Zhao Chen, to make a bit more money, went in the dark to steal screws from the railway tracks, and almost got pulled into the train's wheels.

Also, Zhang Chuqiang, when they had just moved into the apartment building, fell for a girl selling buttons on the street; he struggled inside for half a month before daring to approach her, only to find out her child was already old enough to run errands for soy sauce.

Furthermore, Liu Jiang, having received his first wages, was delighted and wanted to buy some tasty food for everyone to supplement their diet, but on the road he encountered a mother begging with her legless child; the mother wept bitterly, and unable to hold back, he gave all his money to the mother and child. The next day he saw the child leaping about energetically on the ground, and in anger he kicked the child.

However, the topic they discussed most animatedly was still Li Jiaci's affair.

Especially the memories concerning Li Qinglan.

Back then, everyone lived in poverty, risking being stabbed to death at any moment while struggling to earn money outside.

Li Qinglan appeared just when they were at their lowest.

She was like a beam of light shining on the brothers.

She not only took on the cooking, but also tidied the house spotlessly; their clothes had never been so neat, and even carried a fragrance when worn.

When they were wounded outside, Li Qinglan would apply medicine for them at home.

When they were looked down upon outside, Li Qinglan would grab a broom and rush out to argue with people, standing up for them.

At that time, the brothers all felt she was a heavenly bodhisattva.

How could there be a woman in the world with such a kind heart?