Chapter 10 Are We Brothers?
The place where Shen Lin rented was a factory family quarters.
After dinner, in the courtyard of the family quarters, people who had been tired all day, each holding a large teacup, chatted about all sorts of things.
When they saw Shen Lin, many people showed indifference on their faces, but some people also showed a hint of smile towards Shen Lin.
Shen Lin ignored all this and quickly came to a dilapidated bungalow according to his memory.
The house is not big, but it is very lively inside. Four or five young men are playing cards under the dim light.
Although they were all shirtless and sweaty, they looked very excited.
"Haha, Brother Shen is here." Seeing Shen Lin come in, a sturdy young man who was playing cards greeted him with a smile.
Shen Lin smiled and said, "It's been two days since we last met. Do you miss us?"
The young man raised the cards in his hand and said, "Brother Shen, come and play a few rounds."
"Guangzi, you should fight, I'll just come and take a look."
"Brother Shen, there's a new little restaurant on the street. I heard the food there is really good. Brother Shen, when can you take us there for a meal?"
The person who spoke was another young man who was playing cards. Although he was not very old, he exuded a sense of shrewdness.
Shen Lin glanced at the young man, and countless memories came to his mind. In two years, this young man would be in jail for burglary.
When Shen Lin saw him again, he was completely exhausted.
"Having a meal is no small matter," Shen Lin waved his hand and said, "I, Shen Lin, keep my word. Let's have a meal together next Sunday."
Shen Lin's promise in this matter was very consistent with his previous style.
Hearing what Shen Lin said, the young men were very happy, except for the sturdy young man Guangzi who frowned.
"Brother Shen, don't listen to Qiangzi's nonsense. You have no salary now, and the family is supported by your sister-in-law. If we want to have a meal, we should treat you." Guangzi said solemnly.
The shrewd young man called Qiangzi frowned and shouted at Guangzi, "Guangzi, are you looking down on Brother Shen by talking like this?"
"Let me tell you, who is Brother Shen? He was our factory director in the past. Can your family compare to him?"
Shen Lin curled his lips inwardly as he listened to Qiangzi's words, thinking that this guy was still the same as before, always taking advantage of others.
But when he came, he had already made up his mind. He waved his hand and said, "Forget it, forget it. Why fight over such a small matter? It's just a meal!"
"We are brothers, and we are being laughed at for quarreling over this."
A trace of helplessness flashed across Guangzi's face. He felt that Shen Lin was good in every way, but when he was flattered, he would lose his mind and become confused.
As a brother, you should not always take advantage of him!
"Qiangzi, I came to you brothers this time to ask for your help." Shen Lin said with a smile: "Brothers, you won't refuse to help, right?"
The young men were stunned for a moment. They looked at Shen Lin in surprise, wondering what happened to Brother Shen?
In the past, he was omnipotent and never asked me for help.
"Brother Shen, you don't want us to help you deal with that ungrateful guy, do you? Let me tell you, this is a period of severe crackdown. If we beat him up, we..." Qiangzi said with some retreat.
"Guangzi, what are you thinking? I just want to deal with the ungrateful guy, but I can't let our brothers down." Shen Lin said calmly, "We don't have time to deal with him!"
When Qiangzi heard that it was not a gang fight, he immediately perked up. He patted his chest and said, "Brother Shen, if you have any plans, just tell me. I will definitely do it for you."
"Okay, Qiangzi, you're straightforward. Aren't you with your dad in the machine repair shop? Are there any scrapped motorcycle engines there?"
The engine of the scrapped motorcycle made Qiangzi frown. Although he had it, it was not easy to get it out! Moreover, he was a little reluctant to give it to Shen Lin for nothing.
"What's the matter? Is it hard to find?" Shen Lin asked when he saw Qiangzi trying to refuse.
Qiangzi faced the gazes coming from all directions and knew that he couldn't refuse at this moment, otherwise others would think that he was not brotherly enough.
"Brother, what you said, no matter how hard it is, I, Photon, must do my best! I can't get you a good engine, and it's useless if I dismantle it, but that won't be a problem for your brother!"
Qiangzi patted his chest and made the promise, but he felt a little unsure. It seemed that he could n't , and he needed his father to help.
"Qiangzi is straightforward." Shen Lin patted Guangzi on the shoulder, then looked at Guangzi and said, "Brother, doesn't your hardware factory have a lot of waste? I want you to help me weld a frame. Is it difficult?"
"No, just tell me the size of the shelf and I'll make it for you." Guangzi agreed without hesitation.
Shen Lin was not surprised by Guangzi's generosity. It was not only because of his personality, but also because in those days, it was normal to use the items in the factory to make some small things for his own home.
Moreover, there are many young factory workers who are children of the factory workers. Because their wages are too low, they rely on the factory to make a living and do small business with leftover materials. They are also turned a blind eye and let off.
Gears, bearings, oil tanks...
Shen Lin made arrangements for each of these young men according to their abilities. After everyone agreed, Shen Lin smiled and said, "I'll tinker with something myself. When it's done, I'll treat everyone to a nice meal."
When Qiangzi thought about the old engine he had to bear, he felt a pang of pain. Although he could accomplish this task, he felt uncomfortable giving Shen Lin an old engine for no reason.
"Brother Shen, you said this, and you can't go back on your word when the time comes. We have to get at least two bottles of wine worth more than 50 cents."
Liquor worth more than 50 cents was considered very good at that time. Shen Lin thought of the gasoline tricycle he had arranged, and said with a smile: "50 cents? You look down on me too much. At least I have to get a bottle of Laojiao worth one yuan!"
Shen Lin's generosity naturally attracted a chorus of responses, with Guangzi's voice being the loudest: "Brother Shen is so generous, so we can't keep him waiting for too long. Don't worry, we promise to solve everything for you within three days."
After finishing his work, Shen Lin did not stay long. After saying a few words, he left the small house.
After Shen Lin left, Qiangzi couldn't help but mutter, "Why is Brother Shen a little different from before? In the past, when he treated us to a meal, he never asked us to do anything. What's going on today?"
Everyone who was playing cards stopped at this moment. If Qiangzi hadn't said it, they wouldn't have felt anything unusual, but now after hearing what Qiangzi said, they also felt that Shen Lin seemed to be really different from before.
"What are you thinking? Brother Shen just asked us to help him with something. How difficult is that? We have eaten a lot of his food in the past."
It was Guangzi who spoke. He said in a rough voice: "If you ask me, we shouldn't let Brother Shen treat us anymore. He has been fired from the factory now. It would be too unfair to let him spend money again!"
Everyone stopped talking, only Qiangzi got angry and said, "Shen Lin is willing to treat you, what does it have to do with you, Guangzi?"
"I'm reminding you, stop pretending to be a good person here. You are just meddling in other people's business!"
Looking at the vicious Qiangzi, Guangzi snorted and said, "Why, you still want to fight? I tell you, I'm not afraid of you!"
Seeing that the two were getting angry, the people who were playing cards hurriedly pulled them apart, and the lively card game suddenly became quiet.
When Shen Lin opened the door, he saw Lu Xiaorong flipping through an old book in the dim light. He said, "The light is too dim. If you want to read, just turn on the headlights in the house."
Lu Xiaorong looked up and saw Shen Lin, feeling somewhat happy.
Although she was reading, she kept thinking about her mother's words. Shen Lin had only worked for two days before he went to meet his bad friends again. Was there any need for the two of them to continue living together?
The word "divorce" kept flashing through her mind. But every time she made up her mind to divorce, she thought of Shen Lin pulling the cart under the scorching sun today.
"Why are you back?" Looking at Shen Lin who suddenly came back, Lu Xiaorong asked in surprise.
"I'll be back when I'm done." As Shen Lin spoke, he took the two broken radios and opened the back cover of one of them with a screwdriver.
Lu Xiaorong watched Shen Lin's skillful movements and suddenly had an idea: if Shen Lin worked hard and repaired the radio, he would not starve to death .
But she didn't say anything and just continued reading.
Under the dim light, Shen Lin was repairing the radio while Lu Xiaorong was reading quietly. This situation made Lu Xiaorong feel very enjoyable.
Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly felt a churning sensation in her stomach, and she quickly covered her mouth to prevent herself from vomiting.
Just at this moment, a series of piercing and lapping sounds came from the radio that was being repaired. Lu Xiaorong looked up and saw Shen Lin, who was very serious. Under Lu Xiaorong's gaze, the sound of the radio slowly turned into a beautiful song.
Another radio was repaired by Shen Lin.
