Reborn in 2005, starting with repairing mobile phones

The next day, at the hospital.

Lin Dong helped his mother, Li Xiuzhen, to sit down on the bench, while his father, Lin Guodong, sat on the other side, holding the medical examination report he had just retrieved.

The corridor was bustling with people, mostly elderly, all with similar expressions of sorrow on their faces.

"Ah Dong, how about... how about we stop investigating?"

The mother said softly, her fingers nervously twisting the hem of her clothes, "Your father and I are both perfectly healthy, why waste this money..."

"Mom, we've already done the investigation, let's just wait for the results."

Lin Dong's tone was gentle, but not argumentative.

The father didn't speak, but just looked down at his calloused hands.

After more than a decade of working in a hardware factory, my knuckles are large and deformed, and the calluses on my palms are so thick they can hurt people.

The nurse called out a name.

The father got up and went inside first.

Lin Dong sat outside with his mother, waiting.

The digital clock on the wall ticked numbers, the operating room light at the end of the corridor was still on, and several family members stood guard at the door with red eyes.

The mother suddenly lowered her voice: "Adong, have you heard?"

"What did you hear?"

"Just now... I overheard some family members talking over there."

The mother gestured towards the operating room, saying, "They said the person in the bed next to them, an old man, was stabbed and was covered in blood when he was brought in..."

Lin Dong's heart tightened.

"They said they owed money to loan sharks and couldn't pay it back, so the debt collectors came to their door and threatened them with knives."

The mother's voice trembled, "They couldn't save him; he was just pronounced dead. The family was crying so bitterly..."

Before he could finish speaking, the operating room door opened.

A doctor came out and shook his head at the family members.

The crying suddenly erupted, heart-wrenching.

A middle-aged man collapsed to the ground, pounding the floor and wailing, "Dad! Dad—!"

Everyone in the corridor looked over, then silently looked away.

His mother gripped Lin Dong's arm tightly, her nails digging into his flesh.

"Mom, it's okay."

Lin Dong patted her hand.

But the mother's hands kept shaking.

As Lin Dong looked at the chaos, memories from his past life suddenly flooded his mind.

past life.

The hospital corridor is exactly the same.

His mother also gripped his arm like that, her nails digging into his flesh, her whole body trembling.

At that time, my father had just been diagnosed with a worsening back injury and needed surgery, but the family couldn't afford it.

Right there in the hospital, they heard that an old man in the next ward had been stabbed to death by loan sharks who were pressuring him to pay off his debts.

"I heard... I heard it was Chen Xiong's men who did it."

My mother was deathly pale, her lips trembling. "Adong, let's... let's sell the house. Once the money's paid back, he'll be safe..."

The father squatted in the corner, holding his head, and remained silent.

The house was later sold at a low price.

The money has been returned.

My father's back was left untreated; he just let it drag on until he could no longer straighten up.

Lin Dong closed his eyes.

The old man who was stabbed to death was Zhao Dashan!

The time will be within the next few days, and the place will be this hospital!

In their past life, Zhao Dashan's death was the final straw that broke their parents' backs.

Fear spread like a plague, and all the families who owed Chen Xiong money panicked and sold everything they owned to pay off their debts.

this life……

"Ah Dong? Ah Dong, what's wrong?"

His mother's voice pulled him back to reality.

Lin Dong opened his eyes, his gaze clear and bright.

"Mom, I'm fine."

He stood up. "Dad should be done with his checkup soon. I'll go check on him. You stay here and don't wander off."

The mother nodded, her hands still trembling.

Lin Dong turned and walked quickly toward the consultation room.

He remembered the details he heard people talking about in his previous life: Zhao Dashan, a laid-off worker from the old cannery, lived in the bungalows in the western district that were about to be demolished.

His wife has uremia, and his son works in another city.

He borrowed 30,000 yuan from Chen Xiong to save his life, but the interest ballooned to 100,000 yuan. Unable to repay, he was stabbed by Chen Xiong's men and died in the hospital.

The timeframe is within the next few days.

If he could stop it...

The doctor's office door opened, and the father came out, looking unwell.

"What did the doctor say?" Lin Dong asked as he approached.

"Your back, they say it's a herniated disc and old strain," the father said, forcing a smile. "Tell him to do less heavy work and rest more."

Lin Dong took the report and looked at it: "Dad, don't go to the hardware factory anymore. We're not short of money now, you and Mom should stay home and take good care of yourselves."

The father didn't reply, but just glanced at the mother who was still trembling on the bench.

"What happened to your mother?"

"Over there just now..." Lin Dong gestured towards the operating room.

The father's face darkened, and he silently walked over, putting his arm around the mother's shoulder: "It's alright, let's go home."

The family of three walked out of the hospital.

Back home, the mother went to cook, her mind preoccupied.

My father sat in the living room smoking, one cigarette after another.

Lin Dong went into his room and closed the door.

He needs to find Zhao Dashan.

Should we go directly to the old cannery dormitory and ask around?

Too conspicuous.

Chen Xiong's men are probably watching nearby.

He needs a reason.

Lin Dong sat down at his desk to calm himself down and think things through.

Information about Zhao Dashan from his previous life is limited: he was a laid-off worker from an old cannery, lived in a bungalow in the western district, his wife had uremia, and his son worked away from home.

Most importantly, Zhao Dashan probably hasn't been stabbed yet, but Chen Xiong's men have definitely started pressing for repayment.

Lin Dong flipped through the Yellow Pages and found the phone number for the "Old Cannery Dormitory Residents' Committee".

He dialed the number.

After ringing seven or eight times, an old woman answered: "Feeding?"

"Hello, I am a student from Miancheng No. 2 Middle School."

Lin Dong spoke naturally, "Our school is organizing a social practice activity called 'Caring for Retired Workers,' and we'd like to visit retired workers from an old cannery to hear them tell us about the factory's history. Could you recommend someone?"

The old lady was very enthusiastic: "Oh my, schools still hold these kinds of activities? That's great! Let me think... Zhao Dashan, yes, Master Zhao is an honest man, he used to be a model worker in the workshop, but recently he's had some family issues..."

"Where does Master Zhao live? We'd like to pay him a visit."

"No. 17, single-story house in the West District. But be careful when you go there, it seems like someone's been causing trouble at their house lately..."

"thank you."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Dong felt reassured.

He walked out of the room and saw his mother chopping vegetables in the kitchen, looking distracted and almost cutting her hand.

"Mom, I'm going out for a bit," Lin Dong said.

"Where are you going? Dinner's almost ready."

"My classmate asked to borrow my study materials, and he came back quickly."

The father looked over from the living room: "Be careful."

"Know."

Lin Dong put on his coat, went out, and headed towards the west district.

The old cannery dormitory is located on the edge of the western district, a cluster of low-rise bungalows with peeling, mottled walls. It was one of the earliest worker housing areas in Cotton City, and is now mostly inhabited by retired elderly people and migrant tenants.

At 5:30 in the evening, the sky began to darken.

Lin Dong, carrying a backpack and holding a notebook and pen, walked to the gate of courtyard number 17. He didn't go in immediately, but observed from a distance for a few minutes first.

Sure enough, in front of the convenience store diagonally opposite, two men wearing leather jackets were squatting and smoking.

One of them had a shaved head, and the other was a tall, thin man who was one of Chen Xiong's henchmen.

The two men glanced at No. 17 from time to time, but their expressions were relaxed, clearly not taking this "surveillance" seriously.

Lin Dong adjusted his expression, making himself look like a bewildered student, and then walked straight towards Courtyard No. 17.

"Hey kid, what are you doing?" The bald man noticed him and stood up.