Upon hearing Captain Chen's voice, Lin Haodong's gloomy expression suddenly changed, and his eyes flickered slightly.
He looked up at his mother, and slowly reached out his stiff hand to grasp hers.
"Mother, please help me. I don't want to stay in the brigade to do farm work. Please help me?" The hoarse voice carried a hint of pleading.
A few minutes later, Captain Chen carried a bag of grain into the house. He looked around the cold, lifeless room and then at the lifeless Lin Haodong, and couldn't help but frown.
He handed the grain to Granny Lin, sat down next to Lin Haodong, and sighed, "Haodong's mother, Haodong hasn't eaten anything yet, has he? Let's make him something to eat!"
"Good, Captain, you're such a good person."
Granny Lin glanced at him gratefully, then looked at her son, her eyes filled with an overwhelming sadness.
She sighed softly, "Captain, A-Dong—he's really too heartbroken this time. Please try to comfort him—"
"That's exactly what I came here for."
Captain Chen nodded to Granny Lin and waved to reassure her.
After Granny Lin left, he sighed and patted Lin Haodong on the shoulder: "Everyone has their ups and downs in life, Dongzi. You grew up relying on your mother since you were little, and you've always been very strong. You shouldn't have fallen so easily."
Lin Haodong slowly raised his ashen face, his eyes empty and numb: "What's the use of being strong? When you're down on your luck, no amount of strength can change your fate."
"How can you think like that? You're only twenty years old, with all your limbs intact, and you're young. You've studied so much; even if you couldn't go to university, you should still have other ways to live your life..."
Lin Haodong listened quietly with his head down, a slight bitterness rising at the corner of his mouth, his eyes dim.
Just as Captain Chen was about to try to persuade her again, Granny Lin suddenly rushed in from outside the door, crying and grabbing Captain Chen's hand: "Captain, you're a good person, please, please help Haodong!"
"Sister Lin, what are you saying?"
Captain Chen was startled by her lunging figure and instinctively dodged her claws: "I know Dongzi is having such a big setback all of a sudden, and he can't handle it."
"However, he's been back for over a month now, so he should cheer up. Sister Lin, you're his mother, so you should comfort him when he's upset."
Granny Lin immediately wailed in anguish, "How can I persuade him? I can't get his teacher to change his mind, and I can't help him find a job in the city—"
They talked as if they could actually do it. Captain Chen looked at the mother and son speechlessly. He knew that the two of them were a trap.
If Lao Ji hadn't stubbornly refused to come forward, he wouldn't have had to bite the bullet and come over to try and persuade him.
Being a brigade leader isn't easy these days. He can't just watch a promising young man do nothing and stay at home all day waiting to die!
"Sister Lin, there are plenty of people in the city who don't have jobs or go to college, and they're doing just fine, aren't they?"
"No, it's different, Captain. You know, my son Adong only wants to work in the city all his life. Please help him!"
Granny Lin wailed around Captain Chen, her face contorted in pain, while Lin Haodong closed his eyes in agony.
"Yes, Captain, please, I beg you! If you can help my Dongzi find a job in the city, he will definitely get better. Please, please help him!"
Granny Lin suddenly knelt down in front of Captain Chen, startling him so much that he jumped up.
He stared at the mother and son in disbelief: "What are you doing? How could I possibly have the ability to arrange a job for your son in the city? I can't even arrange a job for my own son."
Lin Haodong opened his mouth and let out a low, hoarse voice: "Uncle Chen, please help me. I know you can do it."
"Sister Lin, you think too highly of me. How could I possibly have that ability?"
"Why not? Your son Chen Jing can definitely do it. Just have him arrange one for A Dong, right?"
Looking at the pleading eyes on his left and right, Captain Chen smiled wryly and said, "You want A-Jing to make the arrangements? You should know that Xiang Jun helped him with his job back then."
Lin Haodong's gloomy eyes seemed to ignite with flames: "Uncle Chen, maybe Chen Jing was arranged by Ji Xiangjun before, but can't he arrange it now? The brigade has already arranged more than a dozen, so one more won't make a difference, will it?"
Captain Chen sighed helplessly: "There's something you don't know. He has already resigned and gone to Beijing."
Lin Haodong was taken aback upon hearing this, then expressed disbelief: "Captain, how is that possible? What is he going to Beijing for?"
"Of course he's keeping his wife company, what else could he be doing?"
Seeing that Lin Haodong did not believe him, he sighed and shook his head: "If you don't believe me, ask Ah Hu and Monkey. They went to Beijing for more than a month and left on the day Ah Dong came back."
Lin Haodong subconsciously looked at his mother, Lin Pozi, who had heard the news.
However, because of her son's situation, she didn't pay much attention to Ji Xia and Chen Jing's relationship. She mentioned it to her son occasionally, but Lin Haodong didn't listen at all.
She said to her son in a humble voice, "I told you a few days ago that Ji Xia went to Beijing to take the college entrance exam."
“They’re lying. Why would you need to go to the capital to take the college entrance exam? Her household registration is here, so she should take the exam in the county town. Besides, this isn’t the time to take the college entrance exam.”
Captain Chen shook his head: "I don't know what happened either, but she and A-Jing have indeed been gone for more than a month. Many people in the brigade saw them off at the train station, and A-Jing stopped working in the city because of her."
Lin Haodong's mind went blank, and he sat back down listlessly.
Granny Lin looked at her son sadly for a long time, then suddenly turned to Captain Chen and pleaded, "Captain, please do me a favor. Since Chen Jing is quitting his job, how about giving this job to A Dong?"
Captain Chen couldn't help but sigh: "Sister Lin, whether or not this job is allowed is not a decision I can make."
"Besides, even if we were to hand over the reins, it should have been done before A-Jing left. He's been gone for over a month now, so how can we possibly hand them over?"
After Captain Chen finished speaking, he didn't want to stay any longer. He waved his hand, shook his head, and sighed, "The work in the city is not something I can arrange. At most, I'll ask Xiang Jun to see if he can help."
He turned and left in a hurry, as if afraid that the mother and son would cling to him.
Who is this guy? If you want a job in the city, find your own way to take the exam. Why are you looking for him? If he were that capable, why would he still be the brigade leader?
After leaving the Lin family, Captain Chen thought it over and over and decided to ask Old Ji for a solution.
He still needs to think of a way to persuade the commune members, lest they cause any trouble in the brigade!
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