River City Story

At around 6 o'clock, an acquaintance came to the old ancestral hall, a few years older than Xu Jialin, named Lu Ming, a policeman.When Lin Yan was squatting in the yard waiting for the water to boil, he habitually listened to Xu Jialin chatting with Lu Ming.When the water boiled, he dug out the tea set familiarly and made tea for the two of them.Lin Yan himself didn't like to drink, so after making tea, he just held a cup of white water and quietly moved it to Xu Jialin's side and stood there, without taking the initiative to talk to him.

Lu Ming held his teacup to thank Lin Yan, and said to Xu Jialin:

"Xiao Linyan is really becoming more and more sensible and capable, and you can be regarded as a good deed..."

Xu Jialin took a sip of tea without courtesy, and sank into the chair as if he had no bones, "Why? Envy me, it's a pity, this is my son." After he finished speaking, he pulled Lin Yan's thin arm, and put his Turning to Lu Ming's direction, he said, "During the time I was away, if you were bullied, you should find this police chief, and he will settle it for you."

Lin Yan nodded half-understood. He still had a good impression of Lu Ming. From the time when Xu Jialin brought him to Linshui Street when he was five years old, until he entered the current primary school, Lu Ming helped almost countless times.

Lu Ming and Xu Jialin chatted until 7 o'clock and planned to leave. Before leaving, he patted his thigh, took out a pack of dried bamboo shoots and a pack of bacon from his pocket, and put them on the table.

"When I came here, your sister-in-law brought it." He finished the last bowl of tea, picked up a cigarette and walked out, Lin Yan trotted to keep up, and walked to the gate.Lu Ming stretched out his hand and rubbed Lin Yan's dry hair, then spat at Xu Jialin who was stretching in the door, turned back and said to Lin Yan: "Old Xu doesn't care about anything, it's hard for you to follow him."

Lin Yan rescued his head from Lu Ming's hands, and smoothed his messy hair. He ignored Lu Ming's accusation against Xu Jialin, raised his head and said seriously, "Thank you, Uncle Lu." He loves bacon stew As for the bamboo shoots, Lu Ming always brought them for him.

Lu Ming patted Lin Yan's thin shoulder, walked away with a cigarette in his mouth, until he went around the alley and disappeared, Lin Yan turned around and ran back to the main room quickly, and plunged into Xu Jialin's arms.His appearance was so much like a child acting like a spoiled child to his parents, which made Xu Jialin's heart soften.

He picked up Lin Yan with one hand, and the two came to the yard talking and laughing. Lin Yan slipped out of Xu Jialin's arms, ran to the well, rolled up his sleeves to wash vegetables, and prepared dinner.

The ancestral hall is an independent courtyard, and the building structure and materials are too old, so it cannot be connected with other residents in Linshui Street. Xu Jialin is too lazy, and the natural gas tank at home is empty most of the time.Lin Yan himself didn't dare to play with that thing. He liked the taste of stewing vegetables and cooking rice with wood fire, and never thought it was a troublesome thing, let alone ashamed.

After Lin Yan finished his work alone, Xu Jialin, who ignored cats and dogs, finally worked hard. He moved the square table out of the back room, and asked Maza to set it face to face. The two had dinner quietly in the yard on a summer night. up.

Lin Yan was young, and his grasp of the taste of food was quite average, but Xu Jialin never raised any opinions on this. He really had no position to say anything, and if he said it, he would arouse Lin Yan's disgust.

Due to the fact that it had rained during the day, the night sky at this time was very transparent, and the half-full moonlight shone on the small square table, like a low-wattage fluorescent lamp.Lin Yan didn't eat at noon, and his appetite was all starved back. He only took a few bites and put the chopsticks on the table neatly.

"You child, you eat so little, when will you grow as tall as me?" Xu Jialin hiccupped with emotion.

"Just wait, in another 10 years, I will definitely be taller than you!" Lin Yan threatened Xu Jialin with a wink as he tidied up.

After dinner, he finally had some time to himself, boiled hot water, took a shower, and then comfortably returned to his hut.Lin Yan loves to read martial arts novels recently. He rented a set from the bookstore in front of the school and put it next to his pillow. He has been staying up late for the past few days and has to return it before the summer vacation.Xu Jialin installed a mosquito net for him, and the desk lamp was placed inside the mosquito net. Lin Yan liked to lie on the bed and read by the desk lamp, and there were small mosquitoes flying around outside the net.

Lin Yan is fascinated by this moment before going to bed, which is completely his own world.

On weekend mornings, Lin Yan could sleep in for an extra half an hour, and when he woke up, Xu Jialin would wander somewhere else. There was rolled egg noodles on the table, and a plate of cold salad next to it.Lin Yan ran out with his messy hair to look at the direction of the sun, and then ran back to stare at the noodles and mutter to himself.

"The sun hasn't come out from the west, and I've already made breakfast, and I still make noodles..."

After washing his face with a yawn, he went to the yard and started to light a fire. Lin Yan skillfully cut the scallions into the pot, and the aroma of the peanut oil spread in the small courtyard.After Lin Yan made noodles, he finished breakfast quietly by himself, poured the dried bamboo shoots brought by Lu Ming on the bamboo woven curtain to dry, then went to the air vent of the rear window to step on a stool to hang the bacon, and then carried He took out his schoolbag and walked out of the house with peace of mind.

Although their area is a dead-end area in the city, there are almost no thieves. Moreover, Xu Jialin never takes the key with him when he goes out, so Lin Yan had no choice but to leave the door unlocked.After all, it was also because there was nothing of value in the old ancestral hall, and the thieves didn't even bother to come here. Xu Jialin was right about this point.

The teacher’s apartment where Cai Hengyuan lives is separated from Linshui Street by a crossroad. Lin Yan is quite afraid of cars, and he has to mix with the crowd every time before he dares to cross the sidewalk.When he walked to the gate of the community and was about to enter, the guard stopped him.

"Child, who are you looking for? Outsiders are not allowed in."

Lin Yan opened the backpack and showed the textbook to the guard: "I asked Cai Hengyuan to do my homework. His mother is my math teacher, and her name is Chen Shan."

Although the words were very logical, the guard was still dubious, so Lin Yan said that he could call the Cai family to confirm, and the two of them wrangled for five or six minutes before they were allowed to go.

The moment the retractable door opened, Lin Yan suddenly felt a little annoyed. He felt that his self-esteem had been hurt, so he didn't want to go.Lin Yan angrily walked 300 meters in the community, stuffed the change he had smoothed out at night into Cai Hengyuan's mailbox, turned around and ran out of the community with his schoolbag on his back.Lin Yan didn't know what to do. There was a small park nearby, and he lingered at the gate of the community for a few seconds before running there.Lie on the stone table and hurriedly finished the homework of the two subjects. When people began to pass by, Lin Yan put away the stationery and books, and kicked the stones all the way back to Linshui Street.

On Saturday, most of the residents have already gone out, and the alleys are empty.

Lin Yan carried a huge schoolbag and walked along the road to the entrance of the ancestral hall.Just as he was about to lift his foot in, he heard the voice of Lu Ming talking to Xu Jialin inside, so he retracted his foot again.

"If you want to raise it, you should raise it. One Lin Yan is not enough, so you just picked up another one. I don't know if you are rich or courageous..." Lu Ming walked out helplessly. Lin Yan on the steps outside.

"Hey, you're back, go in and see your cheap brother." He rubbed Lin Yan's hair habitually.

Lin Yan said goodbye to Lu Ming in doubt, stepped over the threshold, and as soon as he entered, he saw Xu Jialin smiling and leading a boy who looked younger than himself, standing in the middle of the courtyard and waving at him.

"Come here, dear son, your father and I picked up a doll."

baby?Lin Yan glanced at the little boy and sneered in his heart.Although smaller than me, there is such a big doll?

"Who is it, old man Xu, are you going to do good deeds again?"

"Hey, you bastard!" Xu Jialin moved the little boy in front of him, and said formally, "Comrade He Zhengxi, this little man with yellow hair is your brother, named Lin Yan."

Lin Yan frowned and said displeasedly: "You are short! I will grow taller! My hair will also turn black!" He turned his head and ran back to his hut angrily, shook his schoolbag, and climbed into bed to read.

Xu Jialin touched his nose guiltily, while He Zhengxi, who was standing beside him, asked seriously, "Is it because I'm angry? Or is it because of you?"

"Because of you." Xu Jia's expression did not change and his heart skipped a beat.

He Zhengxi sneered like an adult: "I don't believe it."

"Why are you like this, kid... just now you shrank the trash can and asked me for steamed stuffed buns, how long did it take to play tricks on me..." Xu Jialin slandered, this kid is not like a little beggar, he is as smart as a monkey Similarly, which parents have to be brainless to send such a smart child to the street.

The shrewd little boy named He Zhengxi turned a blind eye to Xu Jialin's roar, "I'm sleepy, can I have a place to sleep?"

Xu Jialin waved his hand: "You sleep with Lin Yan first, I will go out tomorrow, and then I will sleep in my room."

He Zhengxi tilted his head: "Isn't it suitable for children in your room?"

Xu Jialin looked at him condescendingly: "Yes, how about sharing it with you?"

He Zhengxi: "No, I'm still young."

Xu Jialin frowned for an instant and fell silent. This child who had been struggling in the crowd was indeed different.

When he came back from a walk in the morning, he became addicted to cigarettes when he passed the intersection, so he stood there and smoked a cigarette.As a result, the cigarette butt didn't go in. Instead, it hit a dirty little cat under the trash can.Xu Jialin was taken aback immediately, let alone burning some treasure, he hurried over to have a look.It doesn't matter if you look at it, it's stuck.

"Uncle, I'm so hungry..."

"Uncle, I was kidnapped here."

"Uncle, I escaped secretly by myself, or I would be sold into the mountains."

"uncle……"

Xu Jialin wanted to light a cigarette again. Back then, he was the unlucky boy Lin Yan who was picked up on the street. Why did he come across such a thing now? He didn't run an orphanage.So he scratched his hair, raised his face, and walked straight forward without looking sideways.But he took a few steps, but couldn't move, and then looked down, the child was hanging on his lap like an octopus, and he attacked with innocent and pitiful eyes.

Xu Jialin looked up at the sky, feeling unconfident in his heart: "...Your uncle and I are very poor."

Child: "I'm not afraid of being poor."

Xu Jialin: "Your uncle and I are nothing but trash."

Child: "I will be successful."

Xu Jialin wiped away tears: "Your uncle, I don't even have a decent place to live."

Child: "Squeeze the car on the floor, I'm used to it."

Xu Jialin was convinced: "Okay, then come with me."

The child compares his hands to the branches of the tree: "Long live!"

Isn't it said that children who have experienced twists and turns are dull and autistic, so what's going on with this one?

Xu Jialin recalled the process of establishing a relationship with He Zhengxi, and felt that the burden on his shoulders was heavy again, and his carefree and carefree life came to a grand end.He sighed and went back to his room to pack his luggage.

Every year, he would regularly go out to stay for two months, and then come back after making enough for a year's expenses. The rest of the time, he slept, ate and drank.

That Lin Yan was laying on the bedside, eating a book happily and intoxicated, and felt thirsty halfway, when he got up to get a water glass, he glanced out of the corner of his eye, and was startled.

"Why are you silent!" Lin Yan touched his chest and gave He Zhengxi a supercilious look.

"Aren't you reading? If I disturb you, I'll be scolded." He Zhengxi muttered softly.

Lin Yan got up from the bed, rolled up the mosquito net, moved to He Zhengxi's side and said, "What are you talking about? Louder!"

He Zhengxi frowned, thinking that the elder brother was looking for trouble and wanted to show him off, so he replied loudly: "I want to sleep!!"

Lin Yan was startled again when he heard He Zhengxi's roar, he leaned back against the wall, took a breath, and said, "You'll kill someone if you make such a loud noise!"

What a psycho, He Zhengxi thought.He wasn't sure about Lin Yan's character, he made it louder just now, but now he made it softer.

Forget it or go to sleep, sleep is the most secure.

He ran and crawled all the way from the entrance of the Xicheng Expressway to Linshui Street. He hadn't closed his eyes for almost two days, and he was really sleepy.

He Zhengxi closed his eyes, and fell asleep while clutching the sheets.

Lin Yan looked at the new member of the family who was still arrogant one second, and started to sleep soundly on the edge of the bed the next second, and couldn't help feeling a little complicated.But he still gave full play to his sense of responsibility as an older brother, dragged He Zhengxi up from below with his hands and feet, found a pillow and a small blanket from the bedside table, and ran to the main room to get prickly heat powder to illuminate He Zhengxi. After rubbing Zhengxi's body vigorously, he sat down again in satisfaction and continued to read.

He has always had the ability to adapt beyond everything, let alone a cheap younger brother, even if Mount Tai is overwhelmed, Lin Yan doesn't care, he should eat and drink.

He Zhengxi slept until the sun was shining, he was still being chased by human traffickers in his dream, and he remembered running away wheezing, with a fine layer of sweat on his forehead, and then he was woken up by fright.He opened his eyes and saw that his elder brother Lin Yan was holding a handkerchief to wipe his sweat, and He Zhengxi's heart shrouded in haze and panic suddenly brightened.

"Brother Lin Yan, I'll just wash my face, I don't need to wipe it." He Zhengxi curled his mouth and smiled obediently, with a standard expression like a social veteran.

"Ah? Oh..."

I was still yelling before going to bed, had a dream, did I become a docile child?Lin Yan trembled all over, quite uncomfortable.As a 10-year-old boy, he is not very good at dealing with smart people.

"Get up when you wake up. I'll boil water and make food, but..." He put on his slippers, turned his head, and gave He Zhengxi a slightly haughty look: "Don't dislike it if it's not delicious, or you can eat it yourself." Fire, understand?"

He Zhengxi nodded repeatedly.

"Why don't you get up quickly and help me, brother?"

"Oh oh oh, get up!" He Zhengxi hurriedly rolled up the blanket and sat up.

"Bed, make it up yourself." Lin Yan who stepped out of the door pointed to the younger brother Xinshou and spoke again.

"no problem!"

After walking a few steps, Lin Yan turned his head again and said, "The wound on your knee, I will treat it for you later, otherwise it will become inflamed."

He Zhengxi lowered his head and was stunned for a while, before he realized it, and replied loudly: "Oh!"

At this time, Xu Jialin had already gone out for a stroll again.He often stays away from home, eats, drinks, and even rubs into other people's bedrooms. Lin Yan has long been used to it.

He taught He Zhengxi to draw tap water hand in hand. He Zhengxi learned things very quickly. He didn't need Lin Yan to say more. After reading it twice, he could already operate it by himself.

"Brother, this thing is very fun, and there is a little rainbow." He Zhengxi rolled up his sleeves, and played with the water with his strong little arms up and down.Lin Yan stared at him for a long time, then asked tangledly, "How old are you?"

He Zhengxi was thinking while busy, and replied, "Almost 7 years old."

"Almost?" 7 years old?Lin Yan didn't quite believe it.After all, this kid is not much shorter than him. Although he is dirty, his hair is black and shiny, his hands and feet are strong, his pupils are clear, he looks slick, and his head is quite functional.This is not the image that a 7-year-old boy should have. A child who is taken around by human traffickers every day, shouldn't he be like a little radish.However, Lin Yan didn't ask too much. Does he look like this? It's really not good. He is full of yellow hair and malnourished, with thin arms and thin legs. This has nothing to do with others, so don't be too jealous.

Lin Yan walked to the stove alone and sighed, lamenting his fate. He Zhengxi, who was not far away, stared in a daze.

"Brother, why are you sighing there alone?" He Zhengxi finished getting the water, ran to squat down beside Lin Yan who was lighting the fire, and spoke softly.Lin Yan pushed him aside impatiently, and picked up a handful of dry branches.

"Can you speak louder? Either change the other side and come to my right, or I can't hear clearly."

He Zhengxi scratched his head, his face full of confusion, he squatted beside the firewood pile for a minute, and finally suddenly realized that he turned to Lin Yan's right, and said with apologetic expression: "Brother, are your ears sick, can't you hear?"

He Zhengxi spoke with a touch of dialect, which sounded very down-to-earth, but at the same time it had the effect of a sketch. This was a normal sentence, but when Lin Yan heard it, it seemed that it had some other meaning.

He poked the wooden stick on the ground, patted the debris off his body, and said fiercely: "What do you mean, what's wrong with my ear? I will still light a fire for you to cook, and still go to school for exams. How dare you look down on me?" , Believe it or not?" He clenched his fists tightly, his thin arm bones showing a clear shape through the thin skin.

He Zhengxi didn't expect to offend Lin Yan with a single word, so he hastily adjusted his tone.

"I didn't mean that. I apologize to you. Hey, it's all my fault for imitating other people's language. Now I have an accent. I'm trying to learn Mandarin well." He used his thick-skinned skills and stepped forward to hug Lin Yan's leg.

Lin Yan sighed: "...you let go first."

He Zhengxi looked up at him: "I don't."

Lin Yan: "The fire is about to go out, so more firewood has to be added."

He Zhengxi hooked Lin Yan's leg with one hand, and went to get firewood with the other, "I'll help you." He said and stuffed a twig into the stove.

Lin Yan wanted to stomp his feet, "...you don't understand that, you will burn your hands, anyway, let me go."

He Zhengxi let go of his hand: "Then you accept my apology..."

Lin Yan: "I accept it, I accept it, I accept it." He raised his hand in surrender.

He Zhengxi stood up and pounced: "I really like my brother!"

"...Who are you? You still like me. We've only known each other for a few hours...It's too hypocritical."

Lin Yan wiped off the sweat from his forehead, but he couldn't see that Xu Jialin picked up a familiar and difficult child.

Xu Jialin, who was on the poker table, sneezed involuntarily, and the bearded man on the opposite side laughed like he had epilepsy with a cigarette in his mouth.

"Xu Dashan, I'm leaving tomorrow, what about your two children?"

Xu Jialin didn't change his face in the smog, quickly shuffling and drawing cards.After hearing the bearded words, he put his feet on the coffee table, glanced at the person opposite, exhaled smoke, and said, "Those two children are smarter than you, so don't worry."

After hearing this, the bearded man played the card with a "snap", "Hey! The arrogant and domineering young and handsome Boss Xu from ten years ago has fallen into this state now, ask the brothers if they can still recognize you, sooner or later they will be recognized by the children Drag to death."

"I'm not ugly now, so I'll turn the audience over." Xu Jialin handed the card to the bearded subordinate who was watching the battle by his side, and went to the sofa to lie down comfortably, closing his eyes and sleeping.

The bearded man shook his head, picked up the beer and blew half of the bottle, hiccupped and began to babble: "You can flirt, but what woman can like you like you. Disregarding family, lazy, not the boss who takes care of the children at home, people The woman married you and became the stepmother of those two children? I didn't say, what age are you, and you are still fooling around. When will you be a head? Lin Yan of your family looks clever, but his ears are still It’s not working, you’re coming back with another one today, when will you be able to move out of that dilapidated shantytown? You guys..."

"You're fucking endless!" Xu Jialin picked up the thick magazine on the sofa and threw it violently, staggering his beard, "A gangster still dislikes me, show me how to live Look! Why don't you just go and do something serious? Who the hell brought me into society? Is it you?" Xu Jialin tucked his head into the corner of the sofa, covered his ears tightly, and ignored his beard.

"Who is it... I'm not doing it for your own good." The bearded man continued to play cards in a muttering manner. After a few rounds, his luck became worse and worse, so he dropped the cards and went into the house to sleep.The several hands looked at each other in blank dismay, cleared away the coffee table, and went out to press the road.

When Lin Yan lit the fire and boiled the water, He Zhengxi squatted aside and looked at it. It looked like a mushroom, the kind that rolled back and forth in the pond. Lin Yan couldn't bear it anymore, and frowned, "You , go and take off your clothes."

He Zhengxi shrank back, "What do you mean? I'm a good boy from a good family."

Lin Yan said with disgust: "Who would snatch a chicken like you? Go to my room and open the drawer in the lower left corner of the bedside table. There are several sets of clothes I used when I was 7 or 8 years old. Pick out the ones you like and put the dirty clothes on the shelf." Just sit on the stone bench at the door."

"Good brother!" He Zhengxi ran away happily.

Lin Yandui prepared the bath water and tested the temperature with his hand before going to greet He Zhengxi.He Zhengxi had already stripped off quickly, he hugged Lin Yan's old clothes and rushed over excitedly.

It's really like the Pekingese in the TV series, Lin Yan thought silently, and pushed the dirty child close to him a few centimeters away.

"Take a bath first, the soap and towels are put aside for you, rub it clean and then change your clothes, do you know how to wash?"

He Zhengxi's head was like pounding garlic, and then his face sank again, he covered his legs, and said shyly, "Brother, I just wash in the yard? It's in broad daylight, so I'm so embarrassed..."

Such a smart person will be trafficked?Lin Yan sneered, raised his foot and kicked He Zhengxi's ass, and scolded with a smile: "Get out of here! Just throw the dirty clothes into another basin."

The cheap brother hummed a nursery rhyme and focused on taking a bath. Lin Yan began to think about lunch for the two of them. He didn't know He Zhengxi's taste very well, so he planned to make his favorite food first after thinking for a long time.There are two big silver carp in the water tank of the ancestral hall, which Xu Jialin fished back from nowhere. The pair of fish lived half-dead in the tank for almost a week. Today is considered to be the end of their fate, and it is considered a well-deserved death.

Lin Yan is not very good at handling live fish. He fished out one with a net bag, but he couldn't do anything afterwards. He usually looked lifeless in the water, but once he left the water, he desperately tried to survive.

Lin Yan imitated the technique of fish sellers in the market. He threw the fish to the ground and it was still alive. He threw it again and it jumped again.

Holding the still twitching fish tightly with both hands, he walked to the bucket and took the knife to open it up expertly.It's just familiarity, Lin Yan is a little afraid of this thing, and rarely handles it. The feeling of internal organs sticking to the skin is very bad, which makes him feel sick.

He Zhengxi on the other side took a quick shower, and his appearance has completely changed.He stood in front of Lin Yan, and the fresh scent of soap rushed into his nostrils.

"Oh, who is this? Why don't I know him?" Lin Yan pushed He Zhengxi's leg aside with his elbow, and lowered his head to scoop up water to wash the fish.

"Hey, I'm handsome. What's the name of that story, ugly duckling, I can transform." He Zhengxi said triumphantly.

Lin Yan didn't bother to answer this strange metaphor, he wanted to concentrate on making fish.In fact, he doesn’t know how to cook river fresh seafood, but the onion, ginger, and garlic have been deep-fried in oil, and the starch-coated fish is put into the pan, and the front and back are fried until they are browned. , the taste is good enough.Lin Yan took advantage of the fish stew and went out to buy a bag of white flour steamed buns. From He Zhengxi's accent, he should be from the north, and there would be no problem with the pasta.

When he walked to the gate of the old ancestral hall and was about to enter, Cai Hengyuan walked up angrily, grabbed Lin Yan's arm, and spoke very aggressively.

"I knew you wouldn't come. Did you sleep late? You actually started making lunch here at 9 o'clock as agreed?"

Lin Yan was upset immediately, he shook off Cai Hengyuan's hand, and walked into the yard on his own, Cai Hengyuan ran in after him. "Did you hear me, Lin Yan! Can you please treat yourself, my mother treats you so well, can't you learn it seriously?"

"Brother, who is this?" He Zhengxi stood up from the stove with a stick in his hand.

"It's not anyone, don't worry about it, wash your hands and get ready to eat." Lin Yan pulled out a few branches from the stove and plunged them into the charcoal ash to extinguish them, then moved out the square table horses one by one, put a wooden circle on the table, and brought the pot over in silence Put it on.He Zhengxi probably sensed that the atmosphere was really bad, so he obediently kept silent.

"What do you mean? If you don't want to come, just tell me yesterday. Why didn't you say hello today?" Cai Hengyuan didn't understand what was wrong with Lin Yan, but Lin Yan didn't want to explain why, and he didn't have a temper. It's fine, and I don't bother to worry about this kind of thing.

"Do you want to be annoying? I don't like to study. It's okay if it's bothering you. I don't need your mother's concern. Don't talk to me in the future."

When Cai Hengyuan heard this, the anger in his heart rose to a high level. He blushed and roared, "You are really biting Lu Dongbin. My mother must be blind to care about you!" Hiko pushed back hard.

"Hey! It's dangerous, brother!"

He Zhengxi stood aside, he wanted to support Lin Yan, and also wanted to take away the boiling fish, but He Zhengxi was only 7 years old, he didn't have the strength to support his brother who was three years older than him, and he didn't dare To touch the hot pot just off the stove.

Although Cai Hengyuan's thrust was strong, Lin Yan did not fall down, but the table behind his feet became a "stumbling block", Lin Yan fell backwards, and his elbow hit the fish pot directly.

Nothing is right today...

He frowned and quickly straightened his upper body, looking at the scorching skin.

He Zhengxi beside him said innocently, "Brother, your arm seems to be burnt."