60s: I have a store

Chapter 461: Bad luck only seeks out the poor

Zhou Yimin took the letter of introduction and went to the address of Zhao Gang according to his memory. Soon he arrived at Zhao Gang's home.

The wind blew across the mottled brick wall, blowing up a few pieces of broken tiles and dropping them at Zhou Yimin's feet.

Zhou Yimin checked the address for the third time and glanced at the crooked iron plate with the words "No. 17 Dongfeng Lane" at the entrance of the alley. Rust had swallowed up half of the word "Dong".

Walking deeper along the mossy brick wall, the smell of mold and coal smoke became stronger and stronger. When he turned the third corner, he saw the crooked wooden door.

Although he knew that the accommodation conditions in the old city were very severe, he did not expect it to be so severe. This was already a dangerous building and no one could live there at all!

Zhou Yimin was afraid that if a strong wind blew, the house in front of him would be blown down.

The crack on the door panel was big enough for three fingers to fit in. Zhou Yimin raised his hand to knock, but the door hinge suddenly made a sharp squeak.

Through the crack in the door, he saw the young man kneeling in front of the earthen bed, the back of his thin blue cloth shirt stained with dark sweat stains.

A little girl of about six or seven years old was curled up on the kang. Her wrists, as thin as reed sticks, were revealed from under the gray quilt. The red hairband tied around her wrists was dazzlingly bright.

Then he said, "Excuse me, is this Comrade Zhao Gang's home?"

Zhao Gang felt a little strange. Normally, no one would approach him. After all, after seeing his family conditions, they would not even have time to hide from him. So why would someone approach him on their own initiative?

But the voice seemed a little familiar, but for a moment, I couldn't remember where I had heard it.

Then Zhao Gang stroked the little girl's head and said, "Xiaomei, wait a moment. I'll go open the door."

The little girl was very well behaved and nodded.

Zhao Gang stood up, fumbled around to grab a tattered cotton jacket from the edge of the kang and wrapped it around the girl. His movements were so skillful that it made people feel sad.

Cotton wool burst out from the cuffs and floated in the dim light.

Then he opened the door and saw Zhou Yimin, and he immediately remembered him.

"Leader, what do you want to talk to me about?"

He was thinking back that he had not done anything wrong when he applied for the job.

Zhou Yimin got straight to the point: "Actually, I have good news to tell you!"

Although Zhao Gang was a little confused, he still invited him, "Leader, come in and sit down!"

Zhou Yimin did not look down on it. He walked in and saw the money falling on the medicine bottles piled up in the corner.

He counted them and found twelve brown glass bottles neatly stacked in the wooden box. The labels on the bottles had been rubbed repeatedly until the writing was blurred.

The room was only ten square meters. The cracks in the north wall were stuffed with old newspapers, which had turned dark brown due to the rain water that seeped in.

The stove was so deserted that you could see spider webs in the cracks, but the residual warmth of the charcoal fire was still under the medicine jar.

Zhou Yimin's eyes swept across the windowsill. On the "desk" supported by three red bricks was a copy of the "Barefoot Doctor's Manual", with withered yellow ginkgo leaves sandwiched between the pages.

Zhao Gang was a little embarrassed: "Leader, my home is so simple, I'm sorry!"

Zhou Yimin waved his hand: "It doesn't matter!"

Just at this moment the girl started coughing again, and her thin body curled up like a shrimp in the quilt.

When Zhao Gang saw this, he quickly raised his pillow and took out an aluminum lunch box from his arms.

The moment he opened the lid, Zhou Yimin smelled the familiar smell of corn paste, but after smelling it, he found that it was even thinner than the corn paste in the cafeteria, so it would not be an exaggeration to say that it was water.

"Xiaomei, be good and eat two more bites." Zhao Gang scooped up the paste and blew on it. The rice soup flowed down the corners of the child's mouth, leaving dark marks on the yellowed pillowcase.

The girl swallowed with difficulty, making a gurgling sound in her throat, like a sick kitten.

Zhou Yimin felt his eyes getting red and he could only raise his head slightly, otherwise he was afraid that tears would flow uncontrollably. Although he had seen too many families in difficulty, the scene before him was still beyond his imagination.

Half a dried sweet potato appeared in the sack in the corner, and in the bamboo basket hanging from the beam, two shriveled radishes were swaying gently in the wind.

Zhou Yimin said, "Zhao Gang, the factory decided to give you this letter of introduction."

He did not tell Zhao Gang that he got the letter of introduction from the head of the personnel section.

Zhao Gang thought he had misheard. He didn't dare to believe it, fearing that he had misheard. "Leader, what did you just say?"

"Zhao Gang, the factory decided to give you this letter of introduction." Zhou Yimin said patiently again.

Zhao Gang found that he had not heard wrong, and his pupils suddenly contracted. His hand covered with corn paste hung in the air, and his lunch box slammed onto the edge of the kang with a bang.

The little girl was awakened and grabbed the corner of her brother's clothes with her delicate fingers. Zhao Gang hurriedly patted her back, his movements as gentle as if he was treating fragile porcelain.

"Xiaomei was only three years old when my father passed away." Zhao Gang suddenly spoke, his voice soaked in the icy water of memories.

"On the day the accident happened at the mine, my mother was sewing shoe soles and didn't even notice the needle piercing her finger."

His thumb unconsciously stroked the back of his sister's hand. "She ran three miles after the corpse transporter and fell ill when she came back. The sputum she coughed up in the early spring was stained with blood."

The wind outside the window blew the snow onto the window paper, and the flame of the oil lamp swayed.

Zhou Yimin saw Zhao Gang's Adam's apple rolling and veins bulging on the back of his young hands. "The day I dropped out of school, my homeroom teacher came to my house and said that I shouldn't have dropped out given my grades. If I had continued to study, it wouldn't be a problem to get into a technical secondary school. I would even have a chance to get into university."

At that time, Xiaomei also held my schoolbag tightly and said, "Brother, I will stop taking the medicine and you can go to school."

Zhao Gang's laughter was short and broken. "Do you know how expensive chlorpromazine is? Half a pill can be exchanged for three kilograms of corn flour."

"I didn't expect that God would finally see the misfortune in my family."

Zhou Yimin didn't expect that the young man in front of him had endured so much, and that his frail body had endured so much injustice.

Then he took out a letter of introduction and a few White Rabbit candies from his pocket.

"Zhao Gang, this is for you."

Then he turned to the child and said, "Xiaomei, this is a gift from your brother."

Although Xiaomei's eyes were full of desire, she did not reach out to take it, but turned to look at Zhao Gang.

Zhao Gang also saw what his sister was thinking, and after some ideological struggle, he said, "Xiaomei, remember to thank your brother!"

Xiaomei immediately smiled: "Thank you, brother!"

Then he took the White Rabbit milk candy and couldn't wait to open the candy wrapper. However, he didn't eat it all. He just took a small bite and handed the rest to Zhao Gang.

"Brother, it's sweet and delicious!"

It was the first time that Zhou Yimin saw such a well-behaved and sensible child. Usually, those children couldn’t wait to eat the candies after receiving them, so how could they be willing to keep some to share with others?

Zhao Gang shook his head: "Xiaomei, eat by yourself! Brother is not hungry!"

At this moment, Xiaomei suddenly covered her chest in great pain, and even the White Rabbit candy in her mouth fell to the ground.

Brother Zhao immediately panicked: "Xiaomei, how are you?"

"Don't be afraid, brother, I'll take you to the hospital now!"

When Zhou Yimin saw this, he was a little panicked at first, but after careful observation, he found that Xiaomei had difficulty breathing and chest pain. "Zhao Gang, does Xiaomei have a heart disease?"

Zhao Gang didn't dare to hide it at this time: "Xiaomei, she does have a heart disease!"

Zhou Yimin said at this time: "Go and pour some warm water!"

Although Zhao Gang felt a little strange, he still did as he was told.

Zhou Yimin was not idle either. He immediately took out the quick-acting heart-saving pills he carried with him from the store space.

Zhao Gang poured the water over.

Zhou Yimin said, "Zhao Gang, feed this medicine to Xiaomei."

At this time, Zhao Gang had no opinion of his own and could only obey Zhou Yimin's orders. He also knew that Zhou Yimin would not harm them.

"Xiaomei, take the medicine!"

Although Xiaomei was in great pain, after hearing what her brother said, she still opened her mouth with difficulty and swallowed the quick-acting heart-saving pill.

Soon Xiaomei's symptoms began to ease, and her frowning brows also relaxed.

When Zhao Gang saw this scene, he finally felt relieved.

"Thank you, Leader. If it weren't for your medicine, I don't know what would have happened to Xiaomei!"

Zhou Yimin said: "It's okay, you don't have to keep calling me leader. My name is Zhou Yimin, you can call me Brother Yimin, or Brother Zhou!"

Brother Zhao said: "Thank you, Brother Zhou!"

Zhou Yimin said at this time: "Zhao Gang, do you want to send Xiaomei to the hospital for a check-up? Although this medicine is very effective, it is still a bit unsafe if you don't see a doctor."

Zhao was a little hesitant at first, but he immediately made up his mind: "Okay, Brother Zhou, wait for me!"

He took out a small cloth bag hidden deep in the cabinet. Inside the bag was all the family savings.

Zhao Gang carefully opened the cloth bag and counted the money inside. It only added up to a few dollars. This little money seemed so meager when facing the unknown medical expenses.

Zhou Yimin stood aside, watching Zhao Gang counting the money, and felt a pang of bitterness in his heart.

He didn't say much, just patted Zhao Gang on the shoulder and signaled him to leave quickly.

The two men came to the yard, and Zhou Yimin took out his motorcycle, which was very rare at the time.

The moment Zhao Gang saw the motorcycle, a look of shock appeared on his face.

In this era of material scarcity, motorcycles were a rare item. He never imagined that Zhou Yimin actually had such a "treasure".

"Brother Zhou, you actually have a motorcycle!" Zhao Gang couldn't help but exclaimed.

Zhou Yimin smiled and said, "Don't worry about this for now, get in the car quickly, we need to go to the hospital."

Zhao Gang quickly carried Xiaomei onto the motorcycle and sat on the back seat.

As the roar of the motorcycle engine sounded, the two men sped towards the hospital.

Along the way, the wind blew across her face. Xiaomei held the corner of Zhao Gang's clothes tightly. She was worried about the unknown medical expenses. If it weren't for her being a burden, her brother should be able to live a good life!
Zhao Gang didn't say much, he just hugged Xiaomei tightly, fearing that Xiaomei would fall if he was not careful.

Soon, they arrived at the hospital.

People were coming and going in the hospital, and noisy sounds filled the entire space.

Zhou Yimin asked Zhao Gang to take care of Xiaomei here, and then he went to the registration office alone and registered there.

Then he was taken to the internal medicine clinic.

The doctor was an old man with gray hair. He wore a pair of black-framed glasses and had a kind expression.

He carefully asked Zhao Gang about Xiaomei's symptoms and the medication she had just taken, and then wrote out a series of examination lists.

"Go do these tests first, and then I'll take a look at the specific situation after the results come out," said the doctor.

Zhao Gang took the checklist and looked at the densely packed items on it, feeling uneasy.

He and Zhou Yimin came to the examination room and carried out examinations one by one.

While waiting for the test results, Zhao Gang sat on a bench in the hospital, rubbing his hands constantly, his eyes full of anxiety.

Zhou Yimin sat next to him and comforted him from time to time: "Don't worry too much, we will find a solution after the results come out."

Finally, all the inspections were completed.

Zhao Gang and Zhou Yimin came to the toll booth to settle the bill. When the toll collector reported the inspection fee of more than ten yuan, Zhao Gang's face turned pale instantly.

He hurriedly took out the few dollars from his pocket, his hands trembling slightly, and his voice trembling a little: "I... I only have this much money on me, it's not enough..."

The toll collector frowned and said, "That won't work. You can't get the inspection report if you don't have enough money."

Zhao Gang felt a sense of despair. He stood there, at a loss, not knowing what to do.

At this time, Zhou Yimin stepped forward and looked at Zhao Gang's embarrassed look. Without any hesitation, he took out money from his pocket and handed it to the toll collector: "I'll pay."

When Zhao Gang heard Zhou Yimin's words, he raised his head suddenly, his eyes full of surprise and gratitude: "Brother Zhou, how can this be possible, so much money..."

Zhou Yimin waved his hand and said, "Don't say any more. It's more important to get the medical report first and let the doctor take a look at Xiaomei's condition. Consider this money as a loan from me. Just pay it back when you get your salary in the future."

Zhao Gang's eyes were moist and his lips trembled slightly, but he couldn't utter a word.

He never expected that Zhou Yimin would lend a helping hand without hesitation when he was in the most difficult time.

Normally, when those people saw Xiaomei and I, they treated us as if we were the plague god. They were too late to help us, so how could they help us?

Zhao Gang silently kept this favor in his heart and secretly vowed to repay Zhou Yimin in the future.

After paying the fee, they got the examination report and went to the doctor's office again.

The doctor looked at the examination report carefully and asked Zhao Gang about Xiaomei's living habits and physical condition.

After a diagnosis, the doctor said, "It's not a big problem. It's just that you eat too poorly and haven't supplemented your nutrition for a long time, which has caused your heart to be overloaded. When you go back, you need to rest well, take your medicine on time, and come for regular checkups."

Hearing the doctor's words, Zhao Gang and Zhou Yimin both breathed a sigh of relief.

Walking out of the hospital gate, the sunlight shone on them, and Zhao Gang's mood gradually calmed down.

He looked at Zhou Yimin and said seriously, "Brother Zhou, if it weren't for you today, I really don't know what I would do. I will never forget this kindness."

Zhou Yimin smiled and patted his shoulder, saying, "We are colleagues, and colleagues should help each other. Take Xiaomei back and have a good rest. If you have any difficulties in the future, just tell me."

The three of them got on the motorcycle again and drove towards Zhao Gang's home.

Along the way, Zhao Gang's heart was filled with warmth and strength. It was the first time that someone was so kind to them.

(End of this chapter)