Chapter 11
Of course, this sentence does not mean that the money comes from illegal sources.
The old man's eldest daughter gives him 1,000 yuan in alimony every month, and the money he has saved now is what his daughter gave him this month. What the old man said just now does not mean that this money is not hard-earned money, but Li Ying'an's labor deserves to be recognized, and his efforts must be rewarded.
As the saying goes, you earn what you work for. The old man said firmly that he could not embezzle the money. Even if Li Ying'an did not accept it, the thousand yuan was what he deserved.
"If you want to go out, you'll have to find a place to live. Are you going to sleep on the streets without money? Listen to me, take it."
This sentence caught my attention and naturally reminded me of the five hundred yuan that the shop owner couple gave to Li Ying'an.
I looked up at Li Ying'an. He lowered his head and remained silent, seemingly weighing whether he should take the money. I immediately wondered if he was relying on the 500 yuan to refuse the old man's money.
The next second his words confirmed my thoughts.
"Actually, I still have five hundred..."
Before he could finish, the old man interrupted him: "What can you do with 500 yuan in this city? Even the most shabby house costs 500 yuan. Are you a god? People have to eat. Why do you become a beggar to eat?"
The old man was right. There were no fewer beggars in the city than people setting up stalls. The only difference was that they did not beg openly. Instead, they hid in the dark like animals that traveled at night. Whenever someone passed by them, they would stretch out their hands to signal.
I once passed by a street in the form of a cat. It was extremely prosperous in the morning, but it became sparsely populated near dusk. Beggars would sit sparsely on the street, begging for food from passers-by.
As for why they don't beg when there are many people around, I really don't understand, but I have thought of one possibility, which is that they are afraid of being laughed at for having hands and feet, and another possibility is that they use the shadows to steal, or they are afraid of being beaten up.
If your hands and feet are healthy, why don't you work to earn money and beg for money? Are you looking for death?
What the old man said was harsh, but that was the truth.
If he didn't take the money, after paying for rent, Li Ying'an would be left with nothing. These days, few jobs pay on the same day, and even if they did, he'd have to go without a meal. Besides, with Li Ying'an's abilities, how could he find a job quickly?
The competition in the city is very fierce, and Li Ying'an cannot adapt.
Hearing this, Li Ying'an was silent for a long time. After a breath, he finally confided his true feelings: "Actually, before I left, I was planning to borrow a thousand yuan from you. But I unexpectedly gained five hundred yuan, so I thought of borrowing another five hundred yuan from you to make a thousand yuan. From the beginning, I thought that if you borrow, you must repay. I thought I would save up my salary and pay you back in the future. I never thought about asking for it. So when you said to give me a thousand yuan, I always felt it was not appropriate."
"What's wrong with it? You worked hard to earn it. You didn't steal it from me, and you didn't rob it from me. How can it be wrong?"
Li Ying'an remained silent and looked down at me lying on the ground.
The air suddenly stagnated in the soundless environment. Neither of the two people in the room spoke. Even I, the little cat sitting on the ground with my head raised and looking up, meowed.
Things seemed to be at a stalemate, but the old man took a step back.
"If you really feel it's against your will, then I'll use this thousand dollars to buy you to do something for me. Is that okay with you?"
The old man who made the request finally made Li Ying'an move.
"What do you need me to do for you?"
"Help me go out and find my little daughter," the old man said, his face visibly aged after mentioning his daughter. "A few days ago, I asked someone to tell my fortune, and they said she's still alive, but she's having a hard time. She's been held captive and can't get away. I'll give you a photo of her from when she left us. Please help me find her."
After saying that, the old man took out a neat photo from his jacket pocket. He held it in his hand, smiled, and said that he had brought this photo with him when he went to have his fortune told that day.
Li Ying'an took the photo.
The photo does not meet the conditions of the photo paper. It is dry and yellow, and the prints from the previous year show the traces of the kiss of time.
But the woman in the photo was impeccable. She was a girl in her twenties, with dark hair in twin ponytails and a sweet smile. Her features were a little blurry, but it was clear she was the old man's daughter. She had almost the same eyebrows and eyes as the old man, but his were softer.
The old man stared at the photo in Li Ying'an's hand with reluctance, his eyes filled with tears, his words garbled. "The red-dot top and white-striped skirt. Actually, after so many years, she must have grown up. Her clothes are about to fade. The chances of finding them are actually not very high."
As a father, the old man still held out hope for himself, and his daughter also had features that supported the search. "But she has a mole on her neck, not a big one, probably behind her ear. If you think it looks similar, you should pay attention to the back of her ear. Also, her sister said she has a gold bracelet, but that thing... people are greedy, you know."
After a long and rambling speech, the old man suppressed his sudden emotion, wiped his face, and asked with a smile: "Is it okay?"
Without a doubt, Li Ying'an said easily: "Okay."
They had lunch at the scrap yard. After lunch, the old man wanted to keep Li Ying'an for a nap, but Li Ying'an suggested going to choose a house.
The matter of choosing a house was just a prevarication for the old man. Li Ying'an already had a suitable choice in his mind.
While collecting scrap, he had spotted a rental apartment. The apartment was about 20 square meters, and the internal organs could be seen as soon as he entered, which was enough to imagine how crowded it would be after he moved in.
The house was located in a remote area, and the exterior was shabby, but Li Ying'an didn't think that was a problem; he wanted practicality. Although it was shabby, the price was good, at only 400 yuan a month.
However, because he did not have enough money, he did not immediately agree to it, but just kept it for the time being on the pretext of comparing prices. Now that he has money, he will definitely rent it as soon as possible.
Li Ying'an is lucky.
A few days later, he signed the contract with the boss before anyone else discovered the room.
I leaned on Li Ying'an's shoulder and walked into the 20-square-meter house with him.
The interior of the house had been renovated. Although it wasn't as neat as I'd imagined, with some dirt on the walls, it wasn't a grayish-green adobe house. The landlord said all the buildings in this area belonged to him. Because of the location, few people rented them, so he renovated them at his own expense and lowered the price, hoping that poor people like Li Ying'an would come and rent them.
"You childish boy! We're going to sleep on the floor tonight."
Li Ying'an turned his head to look at me, and I glanced at him arrogantly.
The heating has been turned off at this time of year, and this is on the ninth floor, so it feels a bit cold up there. The room is dry and undecorated, and the white walls give people a visual chill. It would be somewhat cold if you sleep on the floor.
But I don't mind, as long as Li Ying'an doesn't throw me out on the street to fend for myself. Besides, the conditions here are definitely warmer than the old man's leaky room in the scrap yard.
The dinner that day was ready-made.
The house had no decent furniture except for the bathroom, which was relatively intact. Li Ying'an arrived with his bags and had finished packing by evening. The food in his bag was enough to sustain him and his cat for two days.
As for what will happen in the future, Li Ying'an still has one thousand yuan in his hands and he still needs to find a job. These are not things I should consider.
I'm just a cat.
The weather was warm enough for me tonight. I shared a bed with Li Ying'an, lying next to him, watching him scribble and draw on a piece of white paper with a pen. In the middle of the process, he told me that this would be our future home.
Looking at the design, it was ugly and clearly not professionally designed, but I felt incredibly warm. Li Ying'an's design had taken everything into consideration. The room was three meters high, and he planned to move the bed to the center, leaving a decent space at the bottom to create a play area for me, so that I wouldn't feel bored while he worked day and night.
In the following days, I accompanied him to the second-hand market recommended by the landlord to buy some cheap furniture, the most basic bed and cooking utensils, and a small refrigerator. After that, this task was put on hold for the time being.
What Li Ying'an needs most right now is to find another job to support his and my future life.
Of course he also needs a mobile phone, but this phone is not purchased with money, but a second-hand phone used by someone else.
As for who gave it to him and why, it must be due to the contribution of this genius little cat, me.
After finishing some of the furniture, Li Ying'an began looking for work. He was self-aware, avoiding jobs that required a certain level of education, and actively sought out work that required minimal thought and physical exertion. Uneducated and unskilled, his primary goal was to move bricks at a construction site. Since there were no such jobs nearby, he had no choice but to switch to the service industry.
After two or three days of twists and turns, Li Ying'an finally successfully got a job in a restaurant after explaining his situation.
Li Ying'an's job is to serve dishes and handle logistics.
To be honest, there are actually a lot of people who want a job like this. The reason why Li Ying'an was kept by the boss was not because he was good-looking and capable, but because the boss did think it was profitable after weighing the pros and cons.
First, Li Ying'an was young. At 23, he was well into his prime. Most of the people applying for this job were over 30, or younger siblings looking for a holiday job. Hiring child labor was illegal, and older people had more to do. All things considered, they weren't as reliable as Li Ying'an.
Furthermore, Li Ying'an handed over his background without reservation. The boss thought he was a genuine person, or perhaps felt sorry for him. Another reason was that from the employer's perspective, it was easier to use someone who knew nothing.
Li Ying'an did not hide anything from his boss, and the boss also told him what was in his heart. It was up to Li Ying'an whether he dared to do it or not.
The restaurant owner was very straightforward and honest. His words were very clear: I hired you because you are young and stupid.
This kind of words may sound harsh, but it is indeed the truth, so it is not considered derogatory. Li Ying'an urgently needs a job to support his family, so he must agree immediately after the boss gives the number.
"Three thousand yuan a month, 8am to 6pm, lunch break at 12pm, one shift per month." The boss explained the conditions, took out a cigarette and shook it. "Do you want to do it?"
Li Ying'an said without hesitation: "I'll do it."
"Okay, I'll schedule your shift today and come early tomorrow to tell you what to pay attention to."
The restaurant owner, cigarette in hand, mumbled incoherently. Finally, he habitually pulled his phone from his pocket and checked the time. He then stopped Li Ying'an, who was about to turn and leave, and said, "You don't have a smartphone? I have to tell you, you need to buy a cheap one, otherwise it'll cost you money to contact you from now on."
Li Ying'an didn't even think twice: "Okay, I'll buy it later."
Seeing that he obeyed, the boss was in a good mood: "Well, go home. Don't carry a cat to work in the future. You should know that restaurants are most taboo against these cats and dogs. The sky is full of fur."
Before turning around, Li Ying'an said respectfully, "Okay."
I crouched on Li Ying'an's shoulder, feeling the jolt of his footsteps. Looking down from my position, I could see the struggle hidden in his eyes beneath his thick, dark lashes. I knew he was in deep trouble. His money was running low, and a phone would likely drain his savings, and then his meals would become a problem.
When I got home, Li Ying'an poured cat food into my new plate as usual. I ate with relish. When my stomach was full, I turned around and saw him holding a pen, staring blankly at a bowl of instant noodles.
He is now planning how to save money.
In my eyes, most of the people of Li Ying'an's age that I have seen are bright and beautiful. Li Ying'an does not seem to belong to his twenties. The heart beneath his youthful appearance is full of wrinkles caressed by the years. Especially when he is in deep thought, he looks too old and too vicissitudes of life.
It's rare for a cat like me to feel sorry for people, so after dinner, before he stepped out of the door, I blocked the door in advance and raised my head several times to indicate that I wanted to follow him out.
It seemed like he and I were really in tune with each other. He could guess my actions at a glance, and he thought I was going out when he opened his mouth.
"Remember to go home and don't run around on the road."
I lifted my tail to him, circled around him a few times as if to comfort him, and then swept his legs back and forth with the curved tip of my tail.
Afterwards, I left the residential building faster than Li Ying'an, ran to a place where few people passed by, and turned into a mute child.
I walked out of the alley, looked around, and made sure there was no one I knew before heading towards the street where Li Ying'an had applied for a job that morning.
Of course I can't work with Li Ying'an. The issue of the mobile phone alone is enough to stump me.
In fact, when Li Ying'an entered the restaurant to apply for a job, I found that there was a place opposite it where disabled people could work.
That supermarket isn't a privately-owned business, but rather one built with government funding to help people of all ages with disabilities participate in society. There's no advanced artificial intelligence, and these products don't replace basic jobs. These jobs are allocated to those who need them, regardless of age, to enable them to become self-sufficient.
As a mute, I successfully became a cashier after explaining my situation to the supermarket agent.
Three thousand, nine to six, one shift per month.
I am very satisfied with this job, and I will do my best to make this 3,000 yuan into Li Ying'an's salary.
In this way, Li Ying'an will have a monthly salary of 6,000 yuan to live a comfortable life.
I hope he can have a mobile phone he likes soon.
I also hope that such a good person like him will have a more wonderful life in the future.
Because I was looking for a job, when I went home, my steps were like a cat's, and I unconsciously jumped up lightly.
Just when I was wondering whether I could turn back into a cat in my original position, I suddenly heard someone calling Mimi.
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