Li Tianming walked for several days and nights, and his feet were worn out and he kept walking along the road. He ate a few sips of pancakes when he was hungry, drank a few sips of water when he was thirsty, and found a place to be in the night when he was sleepy.

He didn't know where he went. He just wanted to leave here and go to a place where no one knew him and no one knew his name.

I don’t know how many miles I walked and how many villages I passed, and suddenly there was a wide asphalt road, high and low building shops - I arrived at a county town.

Li Tianming touched his body, and had eaten up all the dry food he brought, and there were still a few nationally-used food coupons left on him. This was his only remaining property.

He found a grain and oil supply and marketing cooperative and wanted to exchange for some grain.

The supply and marketing cooperative manager is in his thirties and looks white and fat. In this day, it is not easy to have such a figure.

The manager is moving goods, sorting out the shelves, and grain bags weighing dozens of kilograms. He is so tired that he blushed after moving them.

Li Tianming took the initiative to go up and help. After dozens of bags of food were moved, the manager sat on the stool and panted, looking at the young man in front of him who worked without saying a word.

He looks thin and has a lot of strength.

Li Tianming held up a few food coupons in his hand and suddenly changed his mind.

He told the manager, I'll help you here, I don't have any money.

"I do whatever work you arrange. I don't want to be a formal worker. Just take care of the food. I don't eat much."

Li Tianming finished speaking in one breath, depending on the manager's reaction.

The manager raised his eyebrows and said, "Who are you?"

"I, I am the youngest son of Ge Tianchao's family in Xinwangzhuang. My father took me into the city to work as an apprentice at Lao Liu's carpenter shop. The master thought I was too stupid and drove me out. I dare not go back to my hometown. My father would beat me to death if he knew."

The places Li Tianming said were all the things he had seen on the road, and the plot was made up, but the words were very sincere, so it was difficult for others not to believe it.

"Uncle, just keep me. I just need to have a place to live. I can sleep here at night to show you the store. I don't eat much..."

The fat manager hesitated. He really lacked some hands and feet to help him work diligently.

Although the young man’s requirements seem to be very simple, it was actually quite difficult in that era when everything was required to be certified.

The manager is very difficult. I have never encountered such a request. Originally, the procedures for one more employee in the store are very troublesome. You have to report to the above and ask for instructions, and you have to approve and stamp it at one level.

But this kid doesn't have the identity or salary. He just needs to have a pair of chopsticks when he eats or does his work, and he looks very neat.

As for the residence, the store is big anyway, just find a place to build a bed.

"Let's do this, I think you are an honest person, mainly because you are an honest person-" The manager specifically emphasized the word "honest" - "Let's do it here for the time being. Do you have luggage? You have to solve the bedding by yourself!"

"Thank you, manager, thank you, manager, you are equivalent to my rebirth of parents. I will never thank you for your kindness. If you have a chance in the future, I will definitely repay you..."

Let’s not talk about whether to repay or not. Li Tianming’s gratitude is real. It is really difficult to have a legal residence status these days.

In this way, Li Tianming settled down, working during the day and lying on the wooden board overnight. Although the conditions were very difficult, it was much better to sleep in the open than the displacement in the previous few months.

Unlike the empty home before, I rarely dream of the four faceless corpses when I sleep at night.

Although the grain and oil supply and marketing cooperative does have a lot of work, he doesn't mind being hard or tired. At least the people around him regard themselves as human beings. Gradually, everyone around him accepted this taciturn and diligent young man.

The manager was also quite satisfied. Seeing that this kid was so thin and working quickly, he didn't have to carry a bag of more than 100 pounds at all, and he didn't eat much, so he just took a little from home every day.

The most important thing is that he is honest and the fat manager has counted all the goods in the store several times, and never missed one.

Every morning, Li Tianming gets up early and cleans the supply and marketing cooperative before dawn.

After packing up everything, Li Tianming sat on the stool at the door, breathing the smell of the city greedily in the ringtone of the bicycle and the horn of the bus.

The fireworks of the coal-fired stoves made for breakfast, the ash and earthy atmosphere of the slag at the door, and the aroma of fried dough sticks and soy milk in the factory canteen opposite, mixed with the unique cold air in the morning... The world is bustling, and all of this makes Li Tianming feel the breath of life.

Winter is here, will spring be far away?

But the winter of this year has passed, but spring has not come.

A few months later, hungry people fleeing famine began to appear in the county town.

Not long after, the news spread. It is said that after the spring planting this year, the crops did not sprout. Some people also said that there was no sowing at all, and farmers ate all the crops... No matter what, nothing grew in the fields that should have been full of spring.

Even the wild vegetables and bark were eaten up.

There are more and more hungry people entering the city to escape famine, and it is said that people have starved to death in some places.

The supply of grain and oil supply and marketing cooperatives has also begun to become tight, and the goods are getting smaller and smaller, including grain coupons, oil coupons, sugar coupons... Even if they have tickets, they can't buy anything.

Of course, the manager of the grain and oil supply and marketing cooperative is not hungry, but still fat. Even Li Tianming, the manager's "little worker", has benefited from it and is not hungry.

I was just not hungry, and I was still a long way from being full.

On this day, Li Tianming was squatting in the supply and marketing cooperative to watch the two old men playing chess. The supply and marketing cooperatives often had some idle people in the society to waste time doing nothing. They were riding on the stove in winter and there was nothing to waste in spring, but they still gathered here and formed a habit.

Chess is also carved by oneself with wood, and the chessboard is drawn on the ground.

The supply and marketing cooperative manager also turned a blind eye to these old men, not buying things but not making trouble, so they would go.

Some of them are retired workers and some are old cadres, but they look up and see each other. Maybe someone’s children and grandchildren are their superiors.

Everyone was concentrating on the battle situation. An old man with a bitter face held his head and was thinking hard. Several people next to him were making suggestions, vaulting horses, driving out a car, and plugging cannons...

His opponent - a white-haired old man was in the game and looked around proudly.

Li Tianming sneered in his heart, a group of stinky chess tricks.

But he never speaks or participates. It’s not that he is a gentleman who doesn’t speak, but that he thinks that too much will lead to mistakes. No matter how he is holding his tail, it’s true.

At this time, two figures, one old and one young, slowly came in from the door of the supply and marketing cooperative.

The old man was fifty or sixty years old, with a bow and a burden on his back and carrying a burden. From his appearance, he knew that the burden was empty.

The young man is a little girl, four or five years old, with big eyes and braids on her head. She hasn't been tidying her face for many days, and her face is black and gray.

"Go out and go out, there is no begging here." The supply and marketing cooperative manager chased the grandparents and grandchildren out like a chicken.

The old man staggered at the door, with a hint of shame on his face.

Li Tianming thought to himself, it’s really strange that people are almost starving to death, but they still have to take care of the dignity on their faces.

The fat manager pushed the two of them out. The old man helped to pull the little girl's hand and was about to turn around and go out. The little girl saw the boxes and jars placed in the supply and marketing cooperative at a glance, and said timidly in a crisp voice, "Grandpa, I'm hungry!"

Grandpa stopped, looked at the manager with a hoarse voice, begging, "Please, we haven't eaten for several days, give the little girl some food."

I don’t know if it’s hunger or tired, but when the old man talks, his body is bent like shrimps, and he is half-squatting and half-bent.

If there wasn't a stick in your hand, you might kneel down, Li Tianming thought.

"Go and go, go," the supply and marketing cooperative manager opened his hands and blocked his grandfather and grandson, like driving chickens and ducks. "There is nothing to eat and nothing to eat, all the empty boxes! Go quickly and go!"

The old man glanced at everyone helplessly, some of them looked back, and then silently turned back.

Some people didn't look up at all.

Nowadays, no one cares about anyone.

Li Tianming looked at the grandparents and grandchildren with sad face. The misfortune of the grandparents and grandchildren reminded him of his own experience.

The old man seemed to see a glimmer of hope in Li Tianming's sad eyes, and staggered towards him, stretched out his dark hands and said, "Please, please..."

Li Tianming didn't speak, and his eyes were attracted by a ring on the old man's hand.

The old man saw Li Tianming's gaze, seemed to hesitate for a moment, and then he decided to pull out the ring with one hand.

I don't know how many years I have worn this ring. It looks like it has grown on my hands, but the finger is already thin and has been slapped off.

"This, this, let's exchange for some food for you." The old man seemed a little excited. The little girl held grandpa's clothes with one hand, put the other finger in her mouth and sucked it, and stared at Li Tianming with two big eyes.

The supply and marketing cooperative manager looked at Li Tianming and sneered, "How much money can this kind of broken thing be worth?"

The old man argued in a stutteringly, "This is a family heirloom left by his ancestors. It is very valuable. It has been passed down for many generations. I originally planned to pass it on to my son, but he has already..."

Li Tianming hesitated. He knew how much this ring was worth. If it were half a year ago, it would be fine to change to some food, not to mention changing to this supply and marketing cooperative.

The supply and marketing cooperative manager continued to sneer.

Li Tianming took the ring from the old man, lowered his head and said to the manager gently: "Take me, exchange my half-pound candy ticket for him."

Some time ago, the supply and marketing cooperative imported a batch of imported white sugar. Because of Li Tianming's long-term excellent performance, the manager specially "rewarded" him half a pound of sugar tickets.

"Are you sure? Just exchange for this broken ring when you have half a pound of candy ticket?" The manager obviously thought that he had a kind heart to be a donkey. Do you know how difficult it is to get a half a pound of candy ticket? Do you know how much you can exchange for half a pound of candy ticket? I'm useless to be kind.

Li Tianming nodded, not daring to look up at the manager's eyes.

The manager sneered and put away the sugar ticket to call it white sugar. He murmured to himself loudly, "There are so many people in the world who are hungry, how many can you save? It would be great to be able to live by yourself these days, and he still has the heart to take care of others..."

Li Tianming didn't say anything, tightly holding a few kilograms of food coupons in his pocket.

Half a pound of sugar tickets is really useless. The few pounds of food tickets in my pocket may save my grandfather and grandson’s lives, but so what? After eating these, can I save them for a while, can I save them for a lifetime?

The fat manager put the sugar wrapped in the paper bag on the scale and weighed it. After confirming that it was not a small gap, he handed it over to the grandfather and grandson.

Grandpa held the bag of sugar tightly on his chest, as if holding the most precious thing in the world.

The little girl held grandpa's clothes and the two walked out of the door. Her crisp voice came from the door:

"Grandpa, I want to eat candy."

"Slow down, slow down, stop sprinkling, dip your fingers first."

"How is it, is it sweet?"

"Sweet! Grandpa, you eat too."
To be continued...