Chapter 1

Tall and slender, with clear features and a slightly pale complexion, Zhao Zhiqiang, wrapped in a military green overcoat, propped up his weak body and looked out the window with a mix of anxiety and confusion. The biting cold wind occasionally whipped up dust, and the gray, gloomy weather mirrored his heavy heart.

"It's the Little New Year..."

Zhao Zhiqiang sighed deeply.

Today was the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month.

In a small village near the coast of Linzhou, a mountain city in Northeast China, sporadic firecrackers began to go off. But his family didn't even have a two-string firecracker.

Slowly retracting his gaze, he listened to the noisy chatter coming from the hall, and his heart ached with a deep, wrenching pain.

The hall was filled with people, but they weren't there to visit relatives or friends.

They were there to collect debts. According to Northeastern customs, today marked the beginning of the New Year's Eve period. Debts that should be collected by today could not be delayed any longer. Collecting debts at people's doors was a last resort, and some would even wait outside on New Year's Eve if necessary.

He had been back from Xinjiang for half a month, only to find out that his family was destitute and owed a large amount of debt. He returned without a penny of his discharge allowance, and in a sense, he was sent back.

Sigh...

Thinking about it, he couldn't help but sigh softly, but if he had to do it again, he would still choose the same path.

Holding a hot water bottle, he forced his weak body to stand and poured hot water for each person. He picked up a half-pack of two-yuan Hong Shan tea from the gray-black cabinet and offered cigarettes to his second uncle, third aunt, second aunt, third aunt, old maternal uncle, fourth grandfather, Uncle Wang, and Brother Zhang, forcing a smile and carefully attending to them.

This was the current state of the Zhao family.

"Second Uncle, Third Aunt, Second Aunt, Third Aunt, Old Maternal Uncle, Fourth Grandfather, Uncle Wang, Brother Zhang... My mother is in the hospital, and my father hasn't returned. It's so cold today, yet you've come in person. Please, have some water to warm up."

Then, Zhao Zhiqiang straightened his back, his face slightly red from bowing, and his voice trembling, "I, Daqiang, thank you all! These three years, I was away serving in the military and didn't even know my mother was sick, let alone take care of her. I owe you all a great deal! My mother's survival is thanks to your help! With the New Year approaching, I can't delay these debts any longer. Please rest assured, my salary from the military will be coming soon, and I will definitely pay back what I owe!"

"Thank you, Second Uncle, Third Aunt, Second Aunt, Third Aunt, Old Maternal Uncle, Fourth Grandfather, Uncle Wang, Brother Zhang..." Zhao Zhiqiang bowed...

The crowd exchanged glances.

Many sighed deeply, and some women couldn't help but sob quietly. Looking at the bare, drafty house that didn't even resemble a home, they couldn't bear to stay any longer.

"Daqiang, we didn't come specifically to collect debts. Sigh, we heard you were back, and we had some hope... Forget it, we'll find another way. Your cousin Shunzi needs money to buy a house, so I'll go back first."

The third uncle next to him glared at his wife, "What are you saying to the child! Is a house more important than health? Let's go, we'll find another way!"

"Daqiang, sigh, I have two hundred yuan left. You're going to the hospital later, right? Take some food for your mother. She must be suffering from dialysis. I won't go to the hospital; I'm heading back to the mountains." He left without looking back.

"Sigh, over ten thousand yuan, what can we do? It's a sin..."

"Daqiang, I don't have much rice or flour, but what I have, you have too." His childhood friend Tang Gun turned and left, tears streaming down his face.

Zhao Zhiqiang, with his weak body, saw off each of these relatives and friends.

Zhao Zhigang, who was taller but thinner, had been worrying about cooking for the visitors in the kitchen. Later, he and his brother saw off these relatives who had come to help. Seeing his brother almost collapse in the wind, he quickly said, "Brother, you're still sick. Go lie down."

Zhao Zhiqiang struggled to stand, leaning on the door frame, and smiled weakly, "I'm fine. I feel much better today than yesterday. See?!" He moved his arms to prove his point.

Zhao Zhigang believed his brother, "Brother! Is it true that you can earn so much money on foreign missions? They even pay in dollars... Then I won't go to college; I'll join the military too!"

Zhao Zhiqiang smiled at his thinner brother, "Xiaogang, joining the military? I support you. But for now, eat more and get stronger. I was discharged due to health issues... Come on, Mom is still hungry. I'll go to the hospital with you today."

Actually, he was lying. He had been shot while saving a comrade, but he didn't die. When he regained consciousness, he found that the copper shell hanging around his neck had embedded itself in his heart! Now, it acted as a "pacemaker."

Each time it worked, it drew one-tenth of his blood and one-tenth of his spirit, converting it into "spiritual energy." This energy circulated through his body, allowing him to breathe, pulse, and experience various sensations. Each cycle required him to take various Chinese medicines and foods to replenish himself, or he wouldn't even have the strength to sit up.

In the past ten days, his strange illness had cost thousands of yuan. Even if the relatives didn't come to collect debts, Zhao Zhiqiang was desperate to earn money! His and his mother's expenses for the past week... were equivalent to his father's monthly income. His younger brother was about to start college, and the money was still not secured.

Zhao Zhigang was very understanding. Seeing his brother lost in thought, he knew his brother was worried about their mother. He thought for a moment and didn't stop him. He ran to the kitchen, grabbed an old aluminum lunch box, and carefully packed it with steaming hot cabbage dumplings, wrapping it in a cloth and then in an old cotton coat to keep it warm.

Before the visitors arrived, the two brothers had made twenty dumplings for their mother. It was the Little New Year, and they couldn't let her go without dumplings.

The 17-and-a-half-year-old boy, smelling the fragrant food, quietly swallowed his saliva.

Zhao Zhiqiang, leaning by the door, watched all this, his heart aching as if pierced by a needle! After three years, the family couldn't even afford dumplings. What kind of son and brother am I...

Sacrificing for the country without recognition, being filial in poverty and loneliness, his younger brother, four years his junior, was in his second year of high school and was the family's hope! Now, on the Little New Year, they couldn't even afford dumplings!

No!

His emotions stirred, and his heart began to change in a strange way!

The intermittent "energy flow" that had been troubling him for half a month suddenly surged to his eyes, making him feel a moment of dizziness.

His gaze landed on his brother, and he saw something extra.

Or rather, an additional piece of information appeared in his mind:

"50 gold. Today's fortune: go west, someone will come at noon, need old sea willow."

Huh?

Zhao Zhiqiang was startled!

"What am I seeing?"

Confused, his brother waved his hand in front of him, "Brother, go lie down. I can take the food to Mom myself."

Shaken by his brother's gesture, the vision disappeared. He paused for a moment and then said, "I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me. By the way, how much money do you have on you?"

Zhao Zhigang reached into his pocket and pulled out fifty yuan, "Brother, Old Maternal Uncle gave me this when he came. He said Auntie asked me to buy some food for Mom. I forgot to tell you." He handed the money over, thinking his brother might need it for something.

"I don't need it." Zhao Zhiqiang was shocked!

These eyes could see how much money others had—what did that mean?

"Brother, don't space out. When you space out, you get dizzy." Zhao Zhigang, worried, tried to support his brother, knowing he had to get him to bed. Over the past few days, his brother had fallen several times, once into the stove while cooking and another time into the corner of the wall while using the toilet. When he suggested taking his brother to the hospital, he refused. Zhao Zhiqiang, with a worried look, tightly held his brother's arm.

Perhaps it was the three years of suppression, or perhaps it was seeing his brother bow to the relatives and now on the verge of collapse, but he couldn't hold back his tears any longer!

Seeing the mist in his brother's eyes, "Xiaogang, don't cry. I'm back, so you can focus on your studies. With me here, I'll take care of everything!"

PS: New book, all kinds of requests. Book friends, please add to your collection. Drunken Fish needs your support!

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