The stand-in is also free and easy

In the dark night with dark clouds and turbulent clouds, strong winds, torrential rain and thunder came whistling.

The sparse forest trees on the barren hills were blown eastward and westward by the strong wind, making a terrifying sound of "creaking creaking".

This is the first rain in Yun County after three years of drought.It should have been a joyful event to meet the rain after a long drought.

but……

In a thatched hut on the mountainside, there was a mournful cry.

Under the dim light, Luo Shi was holding a dying baby, choked up, and tears fell down: "Father, the third baby is almost out of breath, and the second child has gone down the mountain to buy medicine and he hasn't come back yet. It's raining so hard again, what can I do..."

Lin Dali limped on one leg and moved to Luo Shi's side, stretched out his rough palm to caress the child in Luo Shi's arms, closed his eyes and said sadly: "Sin! We shouldn't have let him come to this world to suffer, we shouldn't!"

Thinking that the second son hadn't returned home safely, and the rain was so frenzied, Lin Dali's eyelids twitched, and he was really worried, so he hurriedly said: "Lady, you stay at home, I will pick up the second son with an umbrella."

Roche nodded tearfully.The youngest son is already powerless, and the second son can no longer be in trouble.

Unexpectedly, just as Lin Dali took the umbrella, he opened the door a little. It was also blown out long ago.Lin Dali grabbed the door frame and managed to stand still in the sweeping wind. It was pitch black in front of his eyes, and the only light left was the flashes of lightning in the night sky.

"Dali, come back!" Luo Shi shouted to her husband, "The wind and rain are too weird. You are crippled, don't go out and make trouble again. Let's wait for the second child to come back with peace of mind."

Lin Dali showed pain on his face: "But..."

"I'm afraid that neither of you will come back in the end." Luo Shi lowered his head, his heart aching.

The mountain road is already rugged and dangerous, coupled with the wind and rain, and the difficulty of distinguishing the road at night, just now Lin Dali was blown to the ground by the wind at home, and Lin Er's situation is even more conceivable.As a mother, Luo Shi only hoped that Lin Er would not hurry home and find a place at the foot of the mountain to shelter from the rain...

However, Lin Er braved the heavy rain and rushed home desperately.

Because my brother is waiting for his medicine.

The boy's body was soaked, and his feet in straw sandals were soaked in the mud.The thin lips lost their original warmth, the rain was flowing rapidly on the cold white cheeks, the two slender and dense black eyelashes were already wet, and the torrential rain kept washing away the clear eyes, causing his sight to gradually drift away. Vague.Raising his hand to wipe away the rainwater in his eyes, his vision became clear again, and he continued to walk up the mountain.

Nearly.

Closer to home.

Lin Er pumped up his energy and accelerated his pace.The bare pavement is soaked in rain, and it is easy to slip when stepping on it.On the way home, he has fallen more than once.

Not far from home, there is a rock ditch more than one meter wide, which is very deep.When he came here, Lin Er slowed down vigilantly. Although he was careful enough, his heel slipped and he fell into the ditch.He landed on the back of his head, hitting the hard rock.

He felt a warm liquid flowing from the back of his head, mixed with rainwater, with a faint fishy smell.

Lin Er stood up slowly with his arms outstretched, and staggered a few times on the spot. Regardless of the dizziness caused by the excessive blood loss in his brain, he used his hands and feet together to climb up the rock, and his five fingers firmly grasped the concave and convex parts of the rock. , move your feet up inch by inch.It's a pity that his feet stepped into the air again, and he fell back into the deep ditch again. Just like before, he still landed on the back of his head, and suffered another fatal injury.

This time, he couldn't get up.The powerless and dying people lay in a pool of blood, allowing the rain to wreak havoc.He couldn't think about it, why he couldn't even do such a small thing as buying medicine.

The moment before his death, Lin Er's mind came up with the three most regrettable things in his life:

In the early years, her eight-year-old sister was sold to a rich man's house as a maid by her parents.

During the drought, there was a famine in Yunxian County. In order to fight for some wild sweet potatoes, my father fought with others, so he lost a leg.

The younger brother, who was born in a drought and famine, could not drink his mother's milk, fell ill and had no medical treatment, and finally procrastinated to critical condition.

……

The bitter tears overflowing from the corners of his eyes were diluted by the rain, Lin Er touched the medicine in his bosom, and died with hatred.

At this time, he was 16 years old.

That's the end of it all?

No.

Lin Er, who had died in the rainy night, accidentally opened his eyes amidst Luo Shi's cry.

"Ah Er, get up quickly."

With a big belly, Luo Shi stood in front of the bed and looked at Lin Er.

Lin Ershen sat up, rubbed his eyes, looked at his mother carefully, and was shocked: "Mother, you..."

"What's wrong?" Roche asked.

Seeing Luo Shi's pregnant belly, Lin Er's mind was confused, and he couldn't tell the truth from reality for a while, so he pinched his arm hard, and frowned in pain.

"This child, you are sleeping stupid!" Luo Shi anxiously pulled Lin Er's hand to check.

"..." Lin Er was stunned for a moment, then withdrew his hand and asked, "Mother, where is Dad?"

Luo Shi said: "Your father went to the field to dig sweet potatoes."

Lin Er: "..."

Not good!He subconsciously remembered that his father had a dispute with someone over sweet potatoes and had his leg broken.

"Ah Er, where are you going?" Seeing Lin Er hastily put on his shoes and ran out, Luo Shi grabbed his arm and asked.

Lin Er replied, "I'll go find my father."

Luo Shi was a little dull, so he let Lin Er go out.She felt something was wrong with her son today. In the past, Lin Er never slacked off in bed, but he didn't wake up until this morning, and Lin Er woke up in a daze... Maybe he was too tired recently, Roche thought.

Two months ago, Lin Er went to the city to find a job.He works as an oddball in a restaurant for eight renminbi a month, and also includes room and board, but he gets up early and stays late, so his life is relatively hard.Fortunately, the owner of the restaurant is reasonable and treats him well on weekdays, allowing him to go home and rest for a day every month.

Lin Er just came back from Sifang Restaurant with his wages and food yesterday, and he was about to leave home and go to the city again.Thinking of this, Luo Shi regretted waking him up just now.It's rare for my son to go home, so it's okay to sleep more.

In a field.

Two middle-aged men are arguing over sweet potatoes.

Lin Dali held a hoe in his hand, pointed to a pit at his feet, and said angrily, "I clearly dug up this cluster of sweet potatoes, why do you want to grab it from me?"

The pockmarked man on the opposite side snorted, "You are the one who dug it, but I saw it first! Did you see it? I made a mark here, are you blind?"

Being scolded blind for the first time, Lin Dali was out of breath, and was about to fight with the other party when he picked up the hoe.

Lin Er came just in time and shouted loudly: "Father!"

Lin Dali stopped his movements when he heard the sound, and turned to look at his son: "Second brother, what are you doing here?"

"Mother sees that you haven't returned for a long time, let me come over and have a look. Let me get the hoe for you." Lin Er smiled and snatched the hoe from Lin Dali's hand, turned to face the pockmarked man, and said politely: "This uncle , although you were the first to discover this clump of sweet potatoes, it was not planted by your family. Besides, my father also spent a lot of effort digging it out of the soil, so I can't give it to you for nothing. I think this clump of sweet potatoes is very fruitful. It’s quite a lot, why don’t we split it in half, what do you think?”

The pock-marked man thought about it for a while, then compromised and said: "Okay! The old ones are still sensible, if this is the case, it will be over."

Lin Dali became even angrier. Lin Er grabbed his father's hand and didn't let go until the pockmarked man walked away.

"Second, are you afraid that your father won't win?" Lin Dali asked with a dark face.

"No." Lin Er smiled far-fetched, and suddenly changed the topic: "Father, please walk a few steps and show me."

Lin Dali was baffled, and didn't want to talk to Lin Er, so he strode forward and ran towards home.Worried that Lin Er would not be able to keep up, he suddenly turned his head to look at his son behind him, and unexpectedly saw Lin Er's two eyes... sparkling, twinkling, brighter than the stars.

His son only showed this kind of starry eyes when he was very happy, and he was usually dumbfounded.

Lin Dali: "..." What is my son excited about?

Of course Lin Er was happy.

My brother is not yet born.

Dad's legs are fine.

He was basically sure that he was lucky to be reborn.

Back to the old days, the future can be expected.He will work hard to earn money to support his family in the future!

After eating a simple breakfast at home, Lin Er bid farewell to his parents and went to the city alone after giving some instructions to his father.

Sifang Restaurant is the most prosperous restaurant in the city.Drought has a huge impact on the poor, but it has no obvious hindrance on the rich.Even in the current drought, Sifang Restaurant still has a considerable source of customers, and the business has never been bad.

It just so happened that Lin Er was working in Sifang Restaurant.

He entered the kitchen courtyard through the side door of the restaurant familiarly, and started chopping firewood as usual.After chopping the firewood, he went on to choose, wash and chop vegetables.After finishing this, he squatted in front of the stove to help the chef light the fire.While lighting the fire, he also had to clean a lot of dishes and chopsticks.

While washing the dishes, the waiter specially came to inform him: "Lin Er, the boss has something to ask for you."

Lin Er nodded.

Seeing the big boss of Sifang Restaurant, Lin Erban bowed and called him respectfully, "Master Lu."

Shopkeeper Lu stared at Lin Er for a long time, and suddenly sighed softly: "Lin Er, you also know that the business of the restaurant has become more and more deserted recently, and it is almost impossible to make ends meet. I am a businessman. I don't want to waste food and feed too many idlers. So, I plan to dismiss some handymen."

Lin Er said whatever came to his mind: "I think the business of the restaurant is pretty good." He was as simple-minded as he was, and he also knew that the restaurant made a lot of money every day.

"Really?" Shopkeeper Lu laughed dryly, "Then you must have never seen the grand occasion of the restaurant in the past. If the drought continues like this, my restaurant will have to close down soon. But don't worry, I am I can't bear to dismiss you."

What shopkeeper Lu said was not polite, he really didn't want to dismiss Lin Er.Don't look at Lin Er's soft and weak appearance, but he has quick hands and feet, is diligent in doing things, never plays slippery or lazy, and a fool is willing to let him go if he can stand up to three.

"It's like this. You haven't been in the restaurant for a long time. I'm afraid you'll quit after you're done." As if prepared, Shopkeeper Lu took out the contract in duplicate and spread it out on the table. "If you are willing to do long-term work with me, then put a bet on these two death deeds. In this way, we will be bound to each other. Ha, if you work in my restaurant, I will definitely not treat you badly .”

Lin Er understands what it means to sign a death contract, which means selling himself.If he had encountered such a situation before, he would definitely discuss it with his parents before making a decision.For such a big matter, he dared not make up his own mind.

It was precisely because he hesitated to sign this death contract on the spot in his previous life, and his parents firmly refused to allow him to sign after they learned about it, that he lost his only job, and he and his family ended up like that.In short, he needs the wages, and he cannot leave this restaurant.

"I can't write, can I just press my fingerprints?"

"That's natural."

Lin Er's thumb was dipped in red ink pad, and the bright red fingerprints landed impressively on the two contracts.

After the contract was finalized, shopkeeper Lu immediately smiled, as if he had completed a big deal.He put one of the contracts into a box full of silver, and then said to Lin Er: "Lin Er, there are 500 taels of silver in this box, and I will send someone to bring the box together with your contract later." Send it to your home, and make sure to hand it over to your parents."

Lin Er's eyes were slightly startled.Sure enough, what he signed was no different from the deed of sale.

He can accept working as a handyman in a restaurant all his life.Anyway, he has low intelligence since he was a child, and he is only suitable for doing some rough work without using his brain.

But he didn't expect that he was so valuable...

500 taels can do a lot of things.The first thing is to redeem my sister.

Lin Er was grateful, and thanked him: "Thank you shopkeeper Lu, I don't need to trouble you, I can just take it back by myself. I will have to explain this matter clearly to my parents when the time comes."

"I always want to run home. You are not a three-year-old baby anymore. It's not the way to miss home like this. What's good about your family, huh?"

Shopkeeper Lu sat on the chair with his back, and tapped the table with two fingers leisurely, but a trace of impatience flashed in his eyes, "Come here, take Lin Er down, and find a guest room to stay overnight."

Outside the door, two strong men rushed in, grabbing Lin Er's arms tightly.Lin Er couldn't break free from the restraint, and couldn't help being sullen: "Why are you arresting me?"

Shopkeeper Lu chuckled and said, "Congratulations, a nobleman has taken a fancy to you."