River City Story

After Lin Yan started selling breakfast for Lao Li, his holiday life suddenly became busy.He was about to get up at five o'clock in the morning, hurriedly washed his face and brushed his teeth, then yawned and walked to Lao Li's house.It is not too difficult for Lin Yan to be responsible, but he needs to stay alone at a stall near the middle school. When someone comes, he will stand up and say hello. When there is no one, Lin Yan can sit and read.After persisting in this way for a few days, he gradually got used to it and no longer felt nervous.

Because of the holiday tutoring and the concentration of houses in the nearby school district, the breakfast sold out very quickly, and almost all of them were sold out by 9 or 10 o'clock.For the rest of the time, Lin Yan will stay where he is, waiting for Lao Li to pick him up and return to Linshui Street.

Lin Yan's part-time salary is paid three times a month. At the end of the first ten days, Lao Li counted 400 yuan for him.Lin Yan felt that it was too much, so he was embarrassed to accept it.He knew that the early shop was a small business, and Lao Li was not in good health, and had to take medicine every month. Lin Yan thought that if he took the money, it would be very unkind.But Lao Li insisted on giving it, and in the end he was almost blowing his beard and staring, and Lin Yan reluctantly stuffed the money into his pocket.

Seeing that he accepted it, Lao Li immediately smiled and said, "That's right, you must not pity me, old man. The money is not much, so go back and buy yourself clothes, you know?"

Lin Yan nodded and thanked him sincerely.He was very happy when he got the money.Lin Yan lives with He Zhengxi now, both of them are children, and they rarely spend a lot of money on weekdays.Before Xu Jia left, he left an envelope, which contained 5000 yuan in spare cash, and Lin Yan also knew the passbook password of his bank card at home, but he didn't plan to use it unless it was absolutely necessary.

Resisting his little excitement, he walked into the narrow back kitchen of the early shop, quickly finished what he had to do, wiped off the sweat from his forehead, bid farewell to Lao Li and went home.

Entering the yard, he happily patted his pocket and shouted: "He Zhengxi! Come out, my brother will take you shopping! Buy new clothes!"

The child has been wearing Lin Yan's old clothes since he came to the house, and he has to go to elementary school after the summer vacation. Although he has a school uniform, he must not have a few decent clothes that fit him.

He Zhengxi had a first-grade mathematics textbook in his left hand, and a Xinhua dictionary in his right hand. His brows were frowned into hills, and he looked at Lin Yan who was in a happy mood with a depressed face. He felt aggrieved immediately, pouted his mouth, and ignored him elder brother.

Lin Yan ran up to He Zhengxi, rubbed his round head, and said, "Let's go, don't look, I'll come back this afternoon and teach you."

He Zhengxi turned his head: "I won't go."

Lin Yan thought that the child's brain was probably broken today, so he could only make a big move. He stuffed both hands under He Zhengxi's arm, scratching and making noise, "Is it itchy, it's itchy, anyway, you don't have 502 on your butt, why not?" Afraid you won’t get up? Does it itch, hahahaha!”

He Zhengxi felt that this big brother was a little stupid, and he didn't scratch the right place at all, but he still said cooperatively: "Brother wow, I was wrong, it's so itchy, it's so itchy, I'll get up, I'll get up."

Lin Yan withdrew his hand triumphantly: "It's not too bad, let's go after washing our face."

He Zhengxi nodded, tidied up his books, and went out with Lin Yan holding his hands.Walking into the alley, He Zhengxi tilted his head and asked where he was going to buy it, but Lin Yan kept a mysterious face and refused to tell him.He Zhengxi guessed that Zuo Zuo was just a place like a wholesale market, so it was worth keeping a close eye on.But his brother held his hand all the way, passed by the shopping mall, and passed through the market. After walking for less than half an hour, he still hadn't arrived at the destination. At this moment, He Zhengxi was a little anxious and scared.

"Brother, are you going to sell me?" He stopped timidly, and refused to move any further, "I will eat less rice in the future, please don't sell me."

Apart from eating and sleeping, I don't know a lot of big characters. Lin Yan has always been busy with family affairs, and now the retribution is coming.He Zhengxi's mood was clouded instantly, and his face was extremely gloomy.

Seeing his appearance, Lin Yan laughed until he hiccupped: "What are you doing! Are you acting in a TV series? You usually pretend to be stupid and clever, why are you suddenly so stupid? We'll be there right around the corner, just hold on."

He Zhengxi was held by Lin Yan's hand and walked across the alley entrance of another street, the cries of selling began to spread to his ears from far and near.He looked up nervously, and a huge market suddenly appeared in front of him unexpectedly. He Zhengxi's eyes widened, his face full of disbelief.

Lin Yan observed He Zhengxi's expression and knew that the child was happy, so he continued to drag him into the crowd.

"What shall we buy?" He Zhengxi quickly recovered and asked excitedly.

"Are you just so patient?" Lin Yan replied with a smile, "I'll know soon."

He Zhengxi puffed up his cheeks and hummed. Lin Yan thought he was cute, so he stretched out his hand to poke him.He Zhengxi didn't hide either, and let Lin Yan play with him openly.

"...Brother, you are actually a child too." He Zhengxi said to Lin Yan with his face up.

Lin Yan stopped what he was doing, "Of course, what do you think?"

He Zhengxi boldly stretched out his index finger, lightly touched the tip of Lin Yan's nose, and bared his teeth with a smile.

This unintentional action reminded Lin Yan of the time when Xu Jialin brought him here for the first time.

At the age of 8, Lidong, he was declared by the doctor to have permanent hearing loss in his left ear, and there was no possibility of healing.Lin Yan actually didn't think there was anything wrong, his right ear was healthy and he could still hear and speak, but Xu Jialin took this as a big deal.Coming out of the hospital, Xu Jialin hugged Lin Yan in his arms for the first time. He didn't speak all the way, but just walked. When Lin Yan felt that he was almost falling asleep, Xu Jialin stopped.

He opened his eyes, in front of him was a bustling market, he turned to look at Xu Jialin in surprise.Xu Jialin poked the tip of his nose with a smile, and handed over a piece of roasted sweet potato.The roasted sweet potato was very hot, he couldn't hold it firmly with one hand, and the other hand was still tightly clutching Xu Jialin's clothes, so he couldn't free himself.When Lin Yan was struggling, Xu Jialin actually reached out his hand. Like a real father, he helped him with extra patience for a long time.Lin Yan happily ate the soft and sweet sweet potato in small bites.

People always say that Xu Jialin is a loafer, he is indeed a loafer, Lin Yante thinks so, but he doesn't care.He knew that most of the time, Xu Jialin was actually very gentle, but he rarely showed those things on his own initiative.Now, this younger brother who is three years younger than me can actually let me feel a little bit of the atmosphere of belonging to the family...

He came to such a conclusion through memory in a bewildering manner, and felt miraculous.

Soon, a greeting interrupted his thinking.

"Hey, Lin Yan is on vacation, what are you going to buy?"

Lin Yan came back to his senses and waved at the man, led He Zhengxi to squeeze through the crowd to the front of the booth, and obediently called out, "Uncle Lu!"

"Hey! I haven't seen you for a month, and I've grown taller again." Uncle Lu stroked Lin Yan's head, saw a younger child beside him, and asked, "Who is this, the brat is very energetic!"

Lin Yan replied proudly: "My brother, bring him to buy some clothes from you today."

Uncle Lu said happily: "It's a good feeling. I just went to buy a batch of goods yesterday, and I'm sure it's suitable for you, little brother." As he spoke, he dragged out a huge woven bag from the pickup truck behind him. With dozens of sets of clothes, Uncle Lu spread them out for them to choose, then smiled and asked He Zhengxi's name.

He Zhengxi hid behind Lin Yan and did not speak, his eyes were full of caution and vigilance.Lin Yan squeezed his palm, and answered for He Zhengxi: "My brother's name is He Zhengxi, He Long's He, the upright Zheng, the one who cuts the candle at the west window."

"Yo, our Lin Yan's language must have improved, we all know Xichuang cut candles."

Lin Yan proudly raised his chin and stretched out his palm: "This time, I got No.5 in the class."

Uncle Lu laughed loudly and clapped, "It's terrible, we are going to produce college students in Linshui Street!"

Lin Yan scratched his hair in embarrassment, blushed and lowered his head to help He Zhengxi pick out clothes.

He Zhengxi had never seen Lin Yan like this, reporting his grades to adults with joy, like a domestic pet begging for praise from its owner.He Zhengxi stood next to Lin Yan again, staring at him, the more he looked, the more he felt that his brother was actually kind of cute.Even cuter than when he poked his face just now.

"Look at me, look at my clothes." Lin Yan suddenly turned his face and said to him.

He Zhengxi took a few breaths nervously, and when he was fiddling with his clothes in his hands and was about to answer the conversation, Lin Yan quickly turned his gaze back and continued to bargain with Uncle Lu.

Lin Yan helped him choose two spring and autumn outfits, one in blue and one in gray. Uncle Lu thought that these two colors were not lively, but Lin Yan successfully refuted them with a sentence of "dirty resistance".It is impossible for him to wash the clothes of three people every day, and he is powerless.Uncle Lu understood the situation in Lin Yan's family, so he didn't insist anymore.

Uncle Lu's full name is Lu Guoqing, and like most residents on Linshui Street, he is also a migrant worker from other places.Last spring, Lin Yan, who was only nine years old, directly bargained down the price of an 80 yuan dress to 45 yuan at a small stall in Lu Guoqing, and asked for a towel as a gift before leaving.Lu Guoqing's face was extremely ugly at that time, he was a clothing dealer, he lived on the price difference, and was squeezed into such a state by a child, he still wants to do business.

Not long after, Xu Jialin personally brought Lin Yan over to apologize to Lu Guoqing, saying that children are ignorant, so don't take it to heart.Lu Guoqing didn't think that Lin Yan was ignorant, this kid was simply too sensible and matured.

Once a stranger and second acquaintance, Lin Yan still often came to his stall to buy clothes after that, but he didn't bargain like the first time, leaving some room for each other.Although he is small, he has a quick mind, can talk, and looks better than ordinary children. When he stands by the stall, he always makes people stop and take a few more glances, which is very pleasing.What's more, being able to haggle on a person in their 50s or [-]s is not too popular, but if it were a child, it would be an incredible skill.

He Zhengxi had been listening carefully to Lin Yan's chat with this Uncle Lu, from "how to wholesale clothes" to "how to transplant small tomatoes", the topics were indeed quite rich, but he was confused .But He Zhengxi can be considered a child with good eyesight. He saw that Lin Yan had a good relationship with others, and his eyes full of vigilance before had been completely withdrawn at this time.When he and Lin Yan left the stall to continue shopping in the market, He Zhengxi could already obediently say "Goodbye, Uncle Lu".

For this, Lin Yan was very satisfied.He doesn't like difficult kids, He Zhengxi is smart and sensible enough, and Lin Yan feels just right at ease.

After shopping for clothes, Lin Yan dragged He Zhengxi to continue picking out shoes. This time, he didn't chat with the stall owner anymore, and simply and quickly chose two pairs of running shoes for He Zhengxi. This trip could finally come to an end.

He took He Zhengxi straight to the end of the market, passed through the exit, and entered a convenience store.

"What else do we need to buy?" He Zhengxi asked with his things in his arms, "Do you have money for lunch?"

"What are you worrying about? Don't worry if you're hungry." Lin Yan stored his clothes and shoes at the service desk, held on to He Zhengxi's hand and pondered as he walked, and finally stood in front of the daily necessities shelf and said, "I'll buy you two more small ones." As for the underwear, it’s actually short of a few sets of thick clothes, but it’s still early, so wait until the National Day holiday is discounted before buying, and there’s no rush.”

When he spoke, his mouth would pout unconsciously. After watching it for a long time, He Zhengxi wanted to touch it.But after struggling, He Zhengxi still held back, he felt that he would be severely repaired by Lin Yan.

He Zhengxi put away his careful thoughts, and followed Lin Yan's thin and shriveled buttocks step by step, to the cash register to pay.The older sister at the cash register also seemed to know Lin Yan, she pointed at Lin Yan's little yellow hair, and said with a gentle smile:

"I haven't seen you for a while, student Lin Xiaoyan, how is your final exam result?"

"Oh, I just asked this when I first came here. I passed the exam well, No.5." Lin Yan put the shopping basket on the cash register, speaking with an unusual lightness, his face was flushed, as if he was shy .

He Zhengxi turned his eyes to Lin Fei's badge in surprise. He had been looking through the dictionary frequently recently, and he roughly guessed that the cashier sister who made Lin Yan shy was named Lin Fei.

Also surnamed Lin... He thought endlessly.

"I've improved a lot from before, keep working hard." Lin Fei stretched out her thumb to encourage Lin Yan, and waved to He Zhengxi who was behind him, "Which kid is this?"

Lin Yan immediately dragged him to him and said, "My brother, He Zhengxi, is very smart."

Lin Fei covered her mouth and smiled: "You are really interesting. Is today's business just to show off to me?"

Seeing her smile, Lin Yan blushed even more. He urged Lin Fei to check out quickly, and then quickly ran out of the supermarket with He Zhengxi.

Lin Fei warned through the glass door: "Don't leave the things in the locker!"

"Oh!" Lin Yan waved to her from a distance, "Goodbye, sister!"

Going shopping twice a day refreshed Lin Yan's perception in He Zhengxi's mind.In various senses, He Zhengxi thought that Lin Yan was very strong, not only strong, but also very interesting.

"Brother, I think you are really good." He Zhengxi commented seriously.

"I don't understand what you're talking about." Lin Yan hung the shopping bag on his shoulder, and freed a hand to pull He Zhengxi's forearm, "The sidewalk also depends on the road, so be careful."

He Zhengxi didn't seem to hear Lin Yan's warning, he raised his small face, leaned in front of Lin Yan, and raised his voice, "I said you are really amazing!"

Lin Yan chuckled: "Of course I'm good, and I will be even better in the future."

He Zhengxi nodded: "Yes, yes, my brother, Linshui Street is a bully! Linshui Street is a flower!"

Lin Yan lightly kicked his calf and said, "A bully is a very accurate description, but a flower is not enough. In most cases, it is used to describe girls."

He Zhengxi immediately replied: "That's right, Lin Yiba!"

Lin Yan felt that the name "Lin Yiba" was quite quack-like, and he liked it.

Back home, Lin Yan was still busy with laundry.He has a bit of a cleanliness obsession. The clothes after leaving the factory have passed through countless hands. He is not at ease just to wash them with water.

He Zhengxi didn't understand these things, so he moved a wooden bench and sat nearby to watch quietly.

Lin Yan rubbed his sore elbow and raised his head: "What are you looking at, pass me the wet clothes later, will you?"

He Zhengxi put his hands in the water and held the soap bubbles and nodded: "Yes!"

Lin Yan raised his hand: "Don't play with this, you haven't washed your clothes, your skin isn't used to it."

He Zhengxi turned a deaf ear, groping around in the water with both hands, just as Lin Yan's hand was also in the water, as if he was diving, he floated his little finger into Lin Yan's palm, and scratched gently.

"What are you doing!" Lin Yan gasped and giggled.

"Brother, you are also ticklish, hehe." He Zhengxi looked at Lin Yan through the foam on his fingertips and said.

Lin Yan took a breath, leaned back in the chair, pretended to be very distressed and said: "Then my weakness has been mastered by you, what should I do, you will bully me when you grow up."

He Zhengxi approached Lin Yan: "I won't bully my brother. I can protect my brother. In the future, I can grow up to 1.8 meters. If I exercise more, I might reach 1.9 meters!" He waved his arms and hands The ones on it flew around indiscriminately.

Lin Yan was quite moved by the first half of the sentence, but he was not so concerned about the second half of the sentence.Lin Yan himself also wants to grow to 1.8 meters, he must be 1.8 meters, 1.7 meters is not possible.

He shook off the water in his hand and scolded with a smile: "Fuck you, if you dare to bully me, I'll sell you!"

Lin Yan said this very casually without much thought, it was just a joke, but after He Zhengxi heard it, his expression suddenly changed.The hand that was playing with the soap bubbles was tense, and a circle of red quickly appeared around the eyes.

Lin Yan thought to himself, this is broken, and I have to apologize for poking someone's sadness.

He patted He Zhengxi's shoulder and said guiltily, "Brother didn't pay attention to what he said just now, so he won't sell you. With you as a younger brother, I'm too happy to be happy. How can I sell you?"

After speaking, he carefully observed He Zhengxi's reaction, even breathing lightly.Although Lin Yan is much more mature than his peers, he is still a child. If he did something wrong, he must blame himself and feel uncomfortable.

He thought, he was about to get into trouble, if He Zhengxi ran away in a fit of anger, Xu Jialin would blame him for not taking good care of his brother when he came back.Lin Yan hoped that his image in Xu Jialin's heart would always be sensible and capable, and he didn't want to be a narrow-minded person who couldn't tolerate outsiders.

The atmosphere in the small courtyard became a little awkward, but soon, He Zhengxi seemed to have forgotten, and went to help Lin Yan with a smile.The two of them never brought up the topic just now again, but He Zhengxi did undergo some changes because of Lin Yan's joke.

For meals, he would prepare the dishes and chopsticks before Lin Yan; he would wash the small pieces of clothes by himself as soon as he got up, without asking Lin Yan to help; when he was reading and reading, he would ask Lin Yan less often.

Lin Yan was anxious, but he didn't know how to deal with it. He was only 10 years old.In the morning, Lin Yan was not at home, and had almost no chance to chat with He Zhengxi; when he came back before noon to chat with He Zhengxi, the child had already finished what he needed to do and went to study quietly.

This situation lasted for more than half a month, and Lin Yan's enthusiasm for selling breakfast was fading day by day. Occasionally, he met Song Rui and Feng Bowen patronizing, but he didn't even take the initiative to say hello.

"What's the matter? It's not energetic, it's not like you." Song Rui lowered his head and poked Lin Yan's face with his backpack between his hands.

"It's nothing." Lin Yan pushed Song Rui's hand away, "Go to class as soon as you finish shopping, I have to close the stall."

Feng Bowen didn't pay attention to Lin Yan's state, so he walked over and asked, "The cruel little brother didn't follow?"

Lin Yan was quite annoyed by people talking about He Zhengxi, so he said impatiently: "He is not cruel at all, my brother is very good, don't judge him like that."

Feng Bowen was choked up, and felt quite upset. He wanted to know why Lin Yan suddenly became angry, and planned to ask a few more questions, but he was stopped by the people around him before he could open his mouth.

Song Rui smiled and bowed to Lin Yan and said, "Your brother is very cute and defends you very much. He is just playing with you."

Lin Yan had already noticed that he was a bit willful at this time, he quickly recovered his face and apologized to Feng Bowen.

Song Rui gnawed and pinched Lin Yan's earlobe early, and said, "Then we will withdraw first, and we will play with you on the weekend." Lin Yan nodded and watched the two enter the school.

The day has come to the end of July, the rainy season has ended long ago, the summer heat has just passed, the sun is abundant, and the sky is blue.

Lin Yan's stall was basically following the shade of the trees, and when the shade falling on his head turned into mottled noodles, it was just in time for him to go home with Lao Li.It's just that the weather is too hot recently, even if there is shade from trees, it makes people anxious.Lin Yan felt that he was being roasted by the sun from the inside to the outside, and it was the kind of roasting that was flipped back and forth, brushing some sweet and spicy sauce and pinching a few grains of cumin, which could be directly served on the plate.

"It's so hot..." He wiped off the sweat from his forehead, rubbed his sleepy eyes, and climbed onto Lao Li's third wheel.

"It's been a long time since I've been in bed. It must be hot. I'll give you a big parasol tomorrow. I just remembered." Lao Li said while riding his bicycle, panting heavily.

Lin Yan was actually embarrassed to let a 60-year-old man drive him, but Lao Li refused to be taken care of by a 10-year-old child. The old and the young were pinched several times because of the car.

Back home, he washed his face indiscriminately, and Lin Yan nestled on the bed.He felt that his legs weighed a thousand catties, his eyes were blurred, he couldn't see the ceiling clearly, his whole body was sore from exhaustion, and it hurt wherever he poked.Lao Li gave tea eggs and meat buns, and there was ice cream in the refrigerator. He didn't have time to tell He Zhengxi, and he didn't bother to talk about it.

Lying on the bed, Lin Yan's eyes wandered around the room, and finally fell on He Zhengxi who came in.It's been less than a month, and it seems to have grown a little bit taller.Lin Yan wanted to roll his eyes, but couldn't, so he could only mutter angrily:

"Don't grow any longer, I don't allow you to exceed 1.8 meters..."

The author has something to say:

The story started at the beginning of 2000, and the consumption level cannot be compared with the present...