12dz Chapter 224: Chen Shazi
Chapter 224: Chen Shazi
Chen Sanlang had not been to the gambling house to look at the street corner lights for half a year. He had not seen Huo Ying for a long time. Chen Sanlang was stunned for a moment. When he saw Huo Ying walking towards him, he stood up and shouted:
"Big boss."
Huo Ying waved his hand and said:
"I have something to tell you. Come out."
Chen Sanlang said hello to Manager Li and went out. Huo Ying looked at Chen Sanlang carefully from head to toe. The young man had not changed much. He was still thin and gaunt, with a sallow complexion, but his eyes were bright and lively under his thick eyebrows.
Usually, there is no expression on his face, and he always looks at the world calmly. It seems that he is not familiar with anyone, and he is not close to anyone!
Chen Sanlang had changed his short brown coat into a coarse cloth short jacket and long trousers, and wore a pair of cloth shoes over a pair of linen shoes.
Huo Ying nodded slightly and said:
"Let's go, let's eat something on the way and talk while we eat."
Chen Sanlang refused again and again, but finally followed Huo Ying.
Huo Ying ordered two multi-grain pancakes and a bowl of vegetarian noodle soup for each of them. While eating, he asked:
"Do you know that everyone calls you Chen the Fool?"
When Chen Sanlang heard this, he realized that Huo Ying came because of this matter, and smiled faintly:
"I know."
"Everyone is clearly treating you as a fool, but you keep falling for it. Are you intentionally giving people the opportunity to cheat you?"
Chen Sanlang just shook his head casually and didn't say anything, because he couldn't explain why he wanted to find Wang Jinyi. Now this was his only clue and he couldn't give up.
It was because I kept spending money to find Wang Jinyi. I barely saved a penny in the past six months. I gave half of my income from copying books to my family, and spent the other half on finding someone.
I had originally planned to save money while copying books, and use the money to buy a study room and register for the provincial examination three years later. But now it seems that half a year has passed and I can't save any money!
Huo Ying ate while looking at Chen Sanlang's silly expression, went up to him, punched him and asked:
"What are you thinking? What on earth are you going to do? Haven't you been saving money for your studies? If you keep on doing this and spending all your money on other people, when will you be able to make a name for yourself?"
Chen Sanlang was awakened from his thoughts by the beating. He just looked at Huo Ying with a faint smile without making any explanation.
Huo Ying was a little anxious, he raised his leg and kicked Chen Sanlang and scolded him:
"What on earth are you thinking about? Do you want to study? If you want to study, tell me and I'll help you."
Chen Sanlang knew that Huo Ying had always taken good care of him, but he did not expect that Huo Ying came to him just to help him with his studies. He was somewhat grateful and said:
"Master, no need. I'm helping people because I have a knot in my heart. I can't explain it to you..."
Huo Ying asked, "Tell me what's bothering you."
As he spoke, he drank the noodle soup in two or three mouthfuls, and put the remaining pancake in his pocket. Seeing this, Chen Sanlang also quickly finished the noodle soup, put the remaining half of the pancake in his pocket, and stood up with Huo Ying.
Huo Ying paid the bill and the two of them walked and chatted along the street.
Huo Ying's family was originally a military household. His father had been the head of a detachment but was later killed in battle. As the eldest son in the family, Huo Ying became a soldier. He also had a younger brother and a younger sister.
The younger brother loved reading just like Chen Sanlang, but unfortunately he fell ill and died later. The younger sister was betrothed at a very young age. He was seriously injured in the leg during the border war, so he returned to his hometown and was transformed from a military household into a good citizen, and lived with his elderly mother.
Because he had a leg injury and was uneducated, he couldn't do most of the jobs. Since he had been in the army and served as a captain, he wanted to join the escort agency, but his mother was in poor health and needed someone to take care of her, so he gritted his teeth and simply went to work in a gambling house as a manager.
Not long after Huo Ying entered the gambling house, he met Chen Sanlang who came to him and wanted a job watching the street corner lights in the gambling house.
Huo Ying felt sorry for the boy at first, as he was so thin that he could be blown away by the wind. But later, he found that Chen Sanlang loved reading as much as his own brother, and he felt compassion for him.
He took care of everything and reminded the people in the gambling room not to bully Chen Sanlang. Chen Sanlang had already guessed it without Huo Ying saying anything, just because he looked very much like his brother...
Under Huo Ying's repeated questioning, Chen Sanlang briefly introduced his family situation, but he refused to tell why he went around helping people who had car accidents.
Seeing that Chen Sanlang was so stubborn, Huo Ying stopped asking questions, but made a suggestion:
"You waste your time running back and forth like this. You can neither help with farm work at home nor concentrate on copying books.
Why don't you find a place to stay in the city? Why not just earn money in the city, save time and earn more money for your family, isn't that good?"
Chen Sanlang was indeed tempted, but he had to spend money to find a place to live. While he was hesitating, Huo Ying said:
"Well, if you meet me, I will take a loss and rent you a bed in my house. You can live in the same room with me and pay me ten cents a month. What do you think?"
When Chen Sanlang heard that he could settle down in the county town for only ten cents, he thought it was indeed a good thing. However, after thinking about it, he realized that living and eating in the county town would also be a problem.
Before Chen Sanlang could ask, Huo Ying said:
"If you add one copper coin a day, I can give you two meals. Is that okay?"
Chen Sanlang quickly calculated that he only needed to pay 40 copper coins a month to have a place to shelter from the wind and rain. If everything went well, he would earn back the money in a day and a half, and he could make more money the rest of the time.
I really need money. Not only do I need to save money to find Wang Jinyi, but I also need to save money to buy the four treasures of the study and save up the exam fees! The two thatched houses at home are about to collapse, so I have to save money to repair the house first!
Chen Sanlang nodded as he thought about it. Before he could say anything, Huo Ying saw him nod and patted him on the shoulder and said:
"Let's go to my house and take a look at it."
Huo Ying's house is in a narrow alley, where ordinary people live.
Walking to the end of the alley, there is a small courtyard with two low houses. An old woman with gray hair and a slightly bent back is busy in the yard.
Huo Ying opened the gate and patted his mother's shoulder from behind. The old woman turned her head.
"You came back really early today. Do you want to eat? The meal is ready and warming on the stove. Go and get it yourself."
The old woman saw a thin young man standing behind her son. She was stunned for a moment and pointed at Chen Sanlang and asked:
"Who is this?"
Huo Ying looked at his mother with a silly smile on his face, and whispered loudly in the old woman's ear:
"Mom, this is my new brother. He will stay at my house from now on. He will pay me a monthly fee and live in the same room with me."
The mother asked, "You mean living in the same room with you? Where is the room left in your room?"
Huo Ying did not respond to his mother's words. Instead, he helped his mother into the room, then chopped all the firewood in the yard before taking Chen Sanlang to see the room.