On the first day of reporting, Lu Cijiu didn't rest at all, as there was endless work to do here.
After taking a shower and getting ready, it was noon and time for lunch.
Lu Cijiu: ...It’s too difficult.
There was only rice in the kitchen, and it was moldy. Lu Cijiu frowned and asked, "What do you usually eat?"
"I can catch bugs." The waiter puffed out his chest proudly, "I can catch bugs and give them to you to eat first."
"Rice mixed with cold water."
Sasa and Xiaosi nodded and agreed with their elder and second brothers.
Lu Cijiu: ...This damn scumbag is not a human being!
It's a tall order for four children to survive this long. They should have been taken to the hospital for a checkup, but conditions didn't allow that. Lu Cijiu barely made a living carrying bricks, with only a little over two thousand in savings. He didn't show it, rubbing the second child's head. "That's great of you, but we won't be eating bugs today. Let's spare its life and eat something else."
"Senmo?" Sasa raised his chubby face and asked with sparkling eyes.
There was no takeout; the shelter was so remote, nestled in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by desolate mountains and wilderness. It was a scorching summer day, and the children's clothes were half-drenched, but there was nothing they could do but keep their clothes on.
"Let's go out and eat."
Lu Cijiu gave Sasa and Xiaosi a set of clothes. Xiaoer looked over and was caught by Lu Cijiu. He knew what Xiaoer was thinking and said, "I'll put them on first and then put them on you."
"No need, I'm very capable and can put it on by myself." The waiter said stubbornly with red cheeks.
Lu Cijiu: ...I understand, the waiter is not a good boss.
"Jiujiu, can you dress me?" Xiaoyi asked shyly, blushing. No one had ever dressed him before.
The waiter immediately jumped up and said, "You, you! Forget it, just wear it for him. I don't want it."
In the summer, they wore short-sleeved shirts and shorts. After washing, their clothes were weathered and gray, and it was hard to tell what color they were originally. Lu Ci's old subordinates carefully put them on one by one, saying, "Dad will give you all clothes. No one is left empty."
"I can put it on myself." said the waiter.
Then Lu Cijiu saw the waiter dawdling in only his trousers, holding a short-sleeved shirt in his hand and looking at him secretly.
Lu Cijiu: ...died of laughter.
"I really want to dress you, can you give me some face?"
The waiter's eyes lit up, his face flushed as he stammered, "Okay, okay."
Lu Cijiu thought his son was adorable, so he rubbed his washed, fluffy hair and carefully dressed Xiao Er. When he wasn't looking, Xiao Er stretched out his little arms and secretly rubbed his neck, wanting to hug him, so after he dressed him, he took him back without hesitation.
Waiter:!!!
Chuchu hugged me!!!
Lu Cijiu worked all morning and began to doubt the reliability of the phone call, but when he thought that if he really left and quit his job, the four children would starve to death, he had no choice but to accept it.
Considering that he is only 22 years old and already a father of four children, who can be better than him?
"This is what grandpa called fate." From another angle, it is still beautiful.
When we changed our clothes and walked out of the shelter, there was a small problem. The child was afraid to go out. Xiaoyi said that they would eat people and we couldn't go out. If we went out, we would be beaten to death.
Lu Cijiu naturally knew who said that and was furious. Were these four kids eating people with their baby teeth?!
"I am a human, do you want to eat me?" Lu Cijiu asked seriously.
One, two, three, four, all shook their heads in unison, so vigorously that Lu Cijiu felt dizzy. He was afraid he would faint in a moment, so he said, "See, you don't eat people."
Then he took the child down the mountain.
After waiting for five minutes, bus No. 11 arrived.
It was the ticket seller from that morning. She recognized Lu Cijiu immediately, then saw him holding a child and followed by three others. She was stunned for a moment and said, "What are you doing, young man?"
"Little One and Little Two, take your younger sisters and brothers and sit down." Lu Cijiu saw that the children were seated, then turned around and bought tickets from the eldest sister, saying politely, "I just found a job, so I need to take care of the children."
The elder sister suddenly understood and nodded, "Kindergarten teacher, you look upright and I know you're a good person. This job is good."
Lu Cijiu didn't explain, but smiled slightly, "Sister, I know physiognomy, divination, metaphysics, and feng shui. If you need anything, you can come find me at the blue brick and tile house on the hillside at the intersection of Haishan Station."
Eldest sister: ???
The elder sister couldn't continue this topic. She didn't believe in superstitions. It was a different era now. She didn't expect that this young man was more superstitious than her mother-in-law at such a young age.
The two looked at each other. Lu Cijiu saw the embarrassment in his elder sister's eyes, so he said nothing more, bought the ticket and sat back down.
He stopped doing this business after his grandfather passed away.
Because he was often considered a swindler and didn't make much money, my grandfather regularly donated half of his earnings to accumulate merit. Divination and physiognomy were originally about uncovering the mysteries of the heavens. Later, when my grandfather passed away, he said that there was no need to be in this line of work, as long as one lived peacefully.
But what can he do now? Lu Cijiu thought about his three thousand yuan a month, raising four children, the windows of the house in the yard need repairing, the overdue water and electricity bills need to be paid, and the children need to go to school...
Which one doesn't cost money? What else can he do? Of course he will go back to his old job for love.
Lu bids farewell to the old way with a sigh.
"Jiujiu, don't be angry." Sasa said in a childish voice.
Xiaoyi said sweetly, "Jiujiu, is it too troublesome for us to eat?"
"If I don't eat, I can catch insects." The waiter gave his strengths and emphasized, "I can feed you."
Xiao Si nervously stretched out his little hands to grab the corner of Lu Cijiu's clothes.
Kids are too sensitive.
Lu Cijiu smiled, rubbed his head, and said, "I'm wondering whether we should have noodles or rice for lunch."
"Senmo?" Sasa's mind followed what Jiujiu said.
The same goes for the other three.
In this day and age, children don't even know what rice and noodles are. The ticket seller was stunned when she heard this. Then she looked at the four children's clothes and wondered if they were human traffickers. But the four children's attitude towards the young man didn't seem like they were kidnapped.
strangeness.
The bus crossed the bridge and soon arrived in town, a bustling urban and rural area. It was already past midnight, and Lu Cijiu was hungry, not to mention the children, but all four of them were well-behaved and no one complained of hunger or cried.
Lu Cijiu: The sea is deep, you can swim deeper.
So when I got off the car, I said to the driver, "Brother, I can also draw talismans to exorcise ghosts. Remember to come to me if you need anything."
driver:……
Eldest sister: ...
How poor is this?
Lu Cijiu took the child straight to a small restaurant and ordered porridge and steamed buns. Thinking the child had been hungry for a long time and had a delicate stomach, he didn't dare order anything hard. He ordered a bowl of noodles for himself, which would keep him full.
The red bean and eight-treasure porridge is made with sugar, the century egg and lean meat porridge is fresh and fragrant, the buns have thin skin and rich fillings, and are made with soft-ground eggs with tender egg yolks. The big buns are freshly baked, white and fragrant.
I haven't seen these foods in a while.
When the boss brought the food, the four of them didn't dare move. They sat in their chairs, staring at the food and looking at Jiujiu in unison. The waiter even swallowed quietly and glanced at Lu Cijiu, and when he saw that Lu Cijiu hadn't noticed, he let out a sigh of relief.
The waiter secretly swallowed his saliva to save face.
Lu Cijiu didn't see it and said, "Be careful of the heat. Let's eat porridge today. When we have money in the future, we can eat meat every meal and throw it away after eating it - uh, we can't waste food."
Seeing that the children didn't move, he thought about it and knew the reason. He broke the buns and gave them to four children. Then he used a spoon to show them how to drink porridge.
"Wow!"
Sasa couldn't resist taking the first bite of the bun. His cheeks puffed up with food, and his round eyes gleamed with wonder. The other three were almost there, except for the waiter, who was too concerned about his reputation to care about the boss's dignity. He ate until his mouth was covered in grease.
Lu Cijiu: Ask online how to make a lot of money.
One, two, three, four, he had an astonishing appetite. He ate a whole bowl of porridge with a spoon, then ate a large steamed bun. Lu Cijiu didn't dare call him again, fearing he'd eat too much, as children with indigestion can easily develop fevers. On his way out, he bought a few pounds of biscuits and bread from next door, so he could fill up when he got hungry.
There was also rice, flour, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and dishes - the dishes in the shelter were moldy.
Lu Cijiu also despised the scum used.
I had to buy bedding and pay the overdue water and electricity bills. I called to check and found out that I owed six hundred and ninety.
Lu Bijiu: ...
I want to kill that scumbag. X2.
Don’t be angry, don’t be angry. I’m so angry that my son and daughter have no father.
Soon the water and electricity people arrived. Lu Cijiu finished shopping and headed back home with his children. He calculated that after paying the fine and the utility bills, his two thousand yuan savings were down to just over three hundred yuan. He wore the smile of a man who was the breadwinner.
This place is remote and it’s a weekday, so there are not many people on the bus and it only takes about 20 minutes to get there.
I just got off the car when the phone rang.
Plumber: "Where is the Shanhai shelter you mentioned? I can't see it."
"It's halfway up the hill on the left side of the big intersection at Haishan Station."
"No, I didn't see it."
Lu Cijiu carried his bedding, a bag of dishes, and a phone in one hand. One, two, three, and four walked in front, Xiaoyi holding a bag of bread and biscuits, Xiaoer holding a pillow (Xiaoer insisted on taking something heavy), Sasa holding a toothbrush cup, and Xiaosi holding a toothbrush in her tiny hand, all walking cautiously.
Be a good kid and work as long as you can. If you don't work, you will look at me pitifully with your big eyes.
Of course, Lu Cijiu's fatherly heart wanted to satisfy his child.
He first saw the man carrying a utility bag at the intersection.
"I see you."
When they met and greeted each other, Lu Cijiu led the way and said, "It's right there."
The plumber looked in the direction Lu Cijiu pointed, and as if seeing through the fog, he said, "Oh, it's true. How come I didn't see it just now? It's such a big place, it's really strange."
"Maybe it's because of the hot weather and I feel dizzy from the sun." Lu Cijiu said he didn't care, but stared at the yard thoughtfully.
The shelter was dilapidated and had no lock. Lu Cijiu had just left without locking the door so he wasn't afraid of being robbed. Now he pushed the door open with one hand, and a cool breeze blew through, dispelling the heat and dryness.
"The old yard is so cool." The plumber exchanged a few words and went to read the water and electricity meters.
After finishing his work, the plumber left the shelter and looked back at the house number, wondering how he couldn't see such a big yard just now. He kept muttering all the way and suddenly stopped at the intersection. His memory of the Shanhai Shelter was vague and he didn't have any curiosity.
Wang Yue'e is a bus conductor on bus route 11. Route 11 is a privately owned minibus that runs remote routes to villages and towns on the mountainside. It happens to pass by her village, making it convenient for her daily commute.
The minibus stops working at nine o'clock in the evening.
This is the last trip. It is pitch black outside and there is no one on the bus. The final stop is Haishan Station, which is about ten minutes' drive after crossing the bridge.
Wang Yue'e recalled the young man she had met during the day and chatted with him, "Hey, Lao Lin, when did Haishan have a Shanhai Village? I've been working here for three years, and this is the first time I've heard of it. That young man looks educated, but why is he so confused? It's a pity that such a good young man is not so smart."
"It's better to believe it. This kind of thing is still taboo."
The driver, Lao Lin, a middle-aged man in his fifties, knew who Wang Yue'e was talking about, but the young man had left such a deep impression on him during the day. He had experienced several inexplicable ghost traps on long night trips before, so he believed these things, but not the young man, and he didn't want to talk about them with Wang Yue'e so late at night.
"Old Lin, you really believe it." Wang Yue'e teased and said no more.
As a result, when she got home from work, she heard her mother-in-law crying before she even entered the door: "Yueyue, wake up and look at grandma, what's wrong with you..."
Yueyue is Wang Yue'e's daughter.
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