In an old alley in the outer suburbs of Forty-Nine City, sixteen-year-old Li Ming is wearing a school uniform, with a round head, and a pair of old BJ shoes at his feet, looking like a student.
But at this moment, Li Ming didn't look as arrogant and perverse as before, and his pale face was filled with fear.
"Doctor, how's it going? Is it serious?" Li Ming grabbed the stretcher cart that was being pushed to the emergency room and helped push it in, asking anxiously.
"Don't worry, we will do our best to rescue you." When the stretcher arrived at the door of the emergency room, the doctor stopped Li Ming and gave a formulaic line.
Looking at the red light on the operating room, a sense of helpless fear arose in Li Ming's heart.
The person being rescued in the operating room at this time was Li Ming's nominal master, the old liar with gray hair and boyish face.
In three years, the old liar regarded Li Ming as the heir to inherit the mantle, and almost gave away all his lifelong learning to the professor.
Starting from when the old liar touched Li Ming's head and said that Li Ming was born to do "Lao He" (people in the world call the method of deceiving people business. And businessmen are also called Lao He.), Li Ming
For the first time, I felt the warmth of family affection from an old man who was also a teacher, friend and father.
Happiness in the world has its own look, but unhappy life is basically the same.
Li Ming, who has been wandering beside the railway near Sijiu City since he was a child, is a veritable gangster. Like all children who wander the streets, Li Ming has a home he does not want to go back to and a broken family.
His mother ran away with him when Li Ming was three years old. As he grew up, his father, because he could not let go of his feelings, not only ignored Li Ming, but also beat Li Ming on the head with blood from time to time after drinking.
Stream.
Li Ming knew that this was because he and his mother looked alike, and his father used this to vent his hatred for that woman.
I originally thought that like all the stories circulating on the streets, I would wander around the world with the old liar and write a legendary life, and then support the old liar until the end of his life. However, he did not expect that the old liar would not allow Li Ming to follow his own path.
Although the old liar taught Li Ming the tricks of deception and charlatanism, he privately went through the admission procedures for Li Ming and asked Li Ming to return to school.
Although he cursed a lot, Li Ming finally returned to school according to the old liar's request.
The peaceful and peaceful life on campus once gave Li Ming the illusion that he was a normal student... until today.
Before he could feel the breath of youth and the tender attachment, Li Ming's life was shattered.
The old liar had his fingers cut off, his knees smashed, and thrown next to the garbage dump. Then the other party dialed the phone and called Li Ming, who was studying in the evening...
After dialing the emergency number, Li Ming rushed to the hospital frantically, and happened to meet the ambulance that arrived at the same time, so the previous scene occurred.
Before losing consciousness, the old liar who was lying on the stretcher still smiled kindly and told Li Ming the funeral details in a relaxed tone.
"Xiaozi, I thought you wouldn't cry, but it turns out you can."
"In the past, I relied on picking cakes from the ground and catching thieves from the opposite side. I would show off my skills and tricks. I would keep silent when I won, but I would hold my nose and admit it when I lost. Now times have really changed."
"Why? It's not like house prices have risen so horribly in the past two years. It's hard for you to get on the right path. If you can't afford to buy a house, I think you will follow my old path sooner or later..." p>
"It's okay to cry. I'm old and I can save you. If you can't save me, just drag me to a place where the red leaves are in full bloom and burn the flowers."
"Ah, damn! You guys are so careless now."
········
An hour later, Li Ming was sitting outside the emergency room, with the old liar's final resentful and unwilling look vaguely in front of him.
"Hello, are you a family member of the patient?" The emergency room lights turned from red to green, and a nurse came forward and said to Li Ming.
After hearing this, Li Ming knew what he might be facing, but without any hesitation, he wiped away the tears on his face and said firmly, "He is my master, and I am his grandson."<
/p>
What kind of messy relationship is this?
After hearing Li Ming's words, the nurse was obviously taken aback, but she didn't care so much. She nodded and said, "The operation was successful. Go and pay the hospitalization fee as soon as possible. After all, the postoperative recovery is also very important."<
/p>
"Yeah!" Li Ming, who was full of childishness, nodded heavily and said, "I'll go back and get it..."
Old liar! I said I would provide you with a pension until the end of your life, so I must give you a special pension until the end of your life!
After leaving the hospital, Li Ming hurried home. Taking advantage of his father's absence, he stole the old things his father inherited from his grandfather and all the family's savings from under the bed, and hurried towards an old pawn shop.
Run.
Standing at the door of the pawn shop, Li Ming looked at the yellowed and worn signboard, his eyes turning red again.
"The pawn trade is very deep. Pawnbrokers and pawnshop owners are natural enemies. Either you cheat me or I cheat you... There are things thrown in by Lao Rong (the thief) that can be collected, but they must be covered up.
Wait for a while to avoid having dignitaries or dignitaries come to ask for your trust."
"There is a screen at the entrance of the pawn shop. You think it is to prevent others from seeing the things you are pawning. In fact, it is for the poor. The poorer a person is, the more face he has. The better the face, the poorer he is. You have to remember that face is
What you earn is not what others give you.”
"When doing business, there are hot and cold faces. The key is to watch what people eat. For example, when poor people come to pawn something, they are in urgent need of money. The pawnshop will usually drive the price to the death, and if you can have an extra sip of blood, take a sip.
Blood."
"Dirty? What is dirty? Money is money. It can buy things, cure diseases, play with girls, and make household items. Well, even if money is a bastard, don't say it looks real.
It’s beautiful.”
"Gouzi, you have to remember that people like us are born with the disease of greed, and this disease can only be cured by gold..."
Li Ming recalled that every time he followed the old liar past this pawn shop with Arctic Ocean in his mouth and a straw in his mouth, the old liar would act like an old man, stroking his beard and giving Professor Li Ming something.
Li Ming, who used to listen to these stories as jokes, never thought that he would become a person in the stories.
Standing at the door of the pawn shop, Li Ming walked forward with the dusty wooden box in his arms, then held the wooden box in both hands and placed it on the desk. He took a deep breath and said, "Boss, do you want to take it?"
········
Three months later.
The old liar's recovery was not very satisfactory, and the hand with only the palm left could not hold the crutch made of the green saplings that Li Ming cut down in the middle of the night.
But today when Li Ming returned to this dilapidated house after helping others unload the goods, the old liar seemed to be sitting on the chair.
"Old liar, why are you up? I brought you the roast duck you like..." Li Ming was frightened by the scene in front of him and said hurriedly.
"Hey, I finally climbed over after falling seven times." The old liar blew his beard and said proudly.
"Why didn't you wait for me to come back?" Li Ming said sadly.
"I just want to see if I can be of any use." The old liar looked at the roast duck in front of him, shook his head and then said with a smile, "It really can't work anymore."
"Old liar, if you don't talk about this, let's eat roast duck." Li Ming deliberately avoided the topic, then washed his hands and began to put the white onion shreds and the shiny duck skin and meat into the burrito.<
/p>
The old liar quietly watched Li Ming busy without saying a word, and then waited for Li Ming to carefully put the pancake to his mouth.
While chewing the pancakes with relish, the old liar said with a smile, "Gouzi, last time I used the twelve jade arhats as a tactic. By releasing them first and then collecting them, I took advantage of his mentality of wanting to collect them all and deceived you.
One million and two hundred thousand. But that bitch is careless and wants to get away with it, but what he puts in my mouth can't be spit out...I put the money in my bank card and hide it at your door.
A locust tree fell..."
"Eat first, and then we'll talk after dinner." Li Ming vaguely noticed something was wrong, and subconsciously avoided it again.
"Also, Gouzi, if you have a chance in the future, you can help me beat him to death, do you understand?" The old liar chewed the food while continuing to speak inarticulately.
"Well, I understand, don't worry." Li Ming pursed his lips and replied.
After finishing the pancakes one after another, it was obvious that the old liar couldn't eat any more in the end, but he still resisted the desire to vomit and swallowed all the roast duck originally meant for two people.
After swallowing the last bite of the burrito, the old liar said with satisfaction but an ugly face, "Gouzi, today is my last lesson for you..."
"Fuck you, mom, lie down and have a rest. Eat so much and you won't be afraid of stuffing yourself to death." Li Ming cursed angrily with tears and gritted teeth. But he still helped the old liar to lie down.
"My mother has been dead for I don't know how many years, and I don't even know where her grave is. It's very difficult to handle your request." The old liar chuckled and continued, "Young man, call me Master."
After waiting for the old liar to lie down, Li Ming wiped his face and said, "Master!"
After nodding with satisfaction, the old liar smiled and said, "You have enough shrewdness and cleverness, but now you lack a little ruthlessness."
After a pause, the old liar took a breath and continued, "It's so uncomfortable for me to live like this, so for the last lesson, if you are filial to me and treat me as your master, then kill me with your own hands..." When Li Ming heard these words, his face was already filled with tears.
The old liar chuckled, pointed to the pillow next to him, and said, "Young man, you have to remember that being rich is at best unkind, and being poor can be extremely evil..."
There is heavy snow outside the window, ghosts are wandering around, and wild dogs are howling in the deserted area.
·········
Li Ming raised his head and drank the wine in the glass. He looked at the whining stray dog in front of him, shook his head, and said to himself, "Those people who have never seen darkness and have always lived in warmth, they are fighting for luck.
It is patience, but those who come out from the dark, groping for hard and sharp rocks with wounds all over their bodies, strive to be cruel to themselves..."