"No need to thank , we don’t need it anymore. If you don’t mind, take it ho and use it. It’s a bit old, and my son drew all over it."
"No problem, no problem, this sofa is great."
"Alright then, take it ho. I’m heading back."
"Okay, okay."
The middle-aged man left, and the old man was alone, moving the sofa down the steps. It seed like they weren’t in the sa unit.
Lin Yi had a vague impression of the old man in front of him; he’d seen him in the community before.
At that ti, he only guessed that the old man’s condition might not be very good.
But he hadn’t expected it to be worse than he imagined.
"People living in this community shouldn’t be in such poor condition, right?"
"Actually, so are poor." Xiao Fengshan said:
"This community has two buildings that are relocation housing. This old man’s house was relocated, and he was given two apartnts here. Plus, being old, he doesn’t get welfare, so it’s like this."
"What about his children? Is he a widow or a widower?"
"I’ve heard he has a son, but I’ve never seen him." Xiao Fengshan said:
"But I don’t know the specifics. I guess the conditions aren’t great either; otherwise, he wouldn’t let his dad go out to collect garbage, looking like a beggar."
"Let’s go, let’s help him. It’s quite hard for him to move it back alone."
"Lin Bro, I noticed you’re really kind-hearted."
"If you have the ans to help, why not? If not, you just take care of yourself; that’s normal."
"Damn, good-looking and rich, and kind-hearted too. People like you should really just ..."
"Get lost."
Lin Yi kicked Xiao Fengshan lightly, and they went over to help.
"Sir, we’ll help you carry it. You just need to hold on to the empty mineral water bottles."
Seeing Lin Yi and Xiao Fengshan approaching, the old man smiled warmly and genuinely.
"Thank you, my back is not good, it’s quite strenuous to do this."
"It’s not a big deal."
Lin Yi tried lifting it, and for him, the weight was negligible. He didn’t need Xiao Fengshan’s help and moved it himself.
Under the old man’s guidance, the three of them reached the 24th floor of Building 27.
As soon as they stepped off the elevator, they saw a young woman with a child coming out, seemingly heading for a walk.
Initially joyful, her expression turned cold upon seeing the old man.
Her eyes were full of disdain.
The old man was still smiling and greeted her, but the woman ignored him.
"Hello, grandpa." said the little boy.
"Hello to you too."
"Hurry up, so many words."
The child was pushed into the elevator by his mother, full of disdain, avoiding interaction.
The old man didn’t say anything else, just hunched over, slowly heading ho.
Trembling, he took out his key, the old man opened the door.
As soon as the door opened, Lin Yi and Xiao Fengshan were given quite a sight.
The room was ssy, with an unpleasant, strange odor.
Lin Yi frowned montarily, then quickly returned to normal, but Xiao Fengshan covered his nose, unable to bear the sll.
The apartnt wasn’t big, barely over fifty square ters in usable space.
There were no signs of renovation, everything was very primitive.
Even the stove in the kitchen was temporarily set up.
It looked like a makeshift house on a construction site.
Just surviving was good enough.
The room was filled with shabby items.
Tattered clothes, old shoes, all seasons mixed together in heaps.
In the kitchen area, there was a lot of food, looking more like things picked from garbage cans.
The rotten, stinky sll emanated from there.
Besides that, there were plenty of mineral water bottles, all stuffed into a large burlap sack.
"Young man, just put the sofa in the room."
Lin Yi placed the sofa on the empty space, then examined the house again.
He sighed silently in his heart.
"Sir, you should tidy up a bit, the sll here is too strong." Xiao Fengshan said.
"I’m the only one living in this house."
The old man chuckled, "I’m thinking of saving so water, so I pile things up here."
"Water charges aren’t that expensive, no need to save like this..."
Mid-sentence, Lin Yi nudged Xiao Fengshan with his elbow.
The latter stopped talking and said nothing further.
"Sir, we’ve delivered your things, we’ll head off now." Lin Yi said:
"If you’re ever in trouble, let the property managent know, or contact the community, we’ll definitely help if we can."
"Alright, alright, I understand. Thank you very much."
"You’re welco, it’s what we should do."
They walked out, waiting for the elevator at the doorway.
A few seconds later, the old man ca out too.
Dragging the large burlap sack full of mineral water bottles.
"Sir, why are you coming out?" Xiao Fengshan asked.
"I’ve gathered enough stuff, I’m going to sell it."
"We’ll help you."
"It’s just so cardboard boxes, I’ve sorted them all already; I can handle it myself, no need to trouble you."
"It’s no trouble, just lending a hand."
"No, no, no."
The old man refused:
"Things I can do myself, I shouldn’t bother others; it annoys people."
"Alright, then we won’t interfere."
Lin Yi didn’t insist further.
This is one way a person maintains dignity, and of course, it should be respected.
The old man headed into the stairwell as the two waited for the elevator.
Just as they were stepping into the elevator, they suddenly heard the old man’s voice.
"Where are my things!"
"Hmm?"
Sensing sothing was wrong, Lin Yi quickly reached out, blocking the elevator door.
They walked out and went into the stairwell.
They found the old man standing there, motionless.
"Who took my things away?"
"Sir, don’t worry. What exactly got lost?"
"All the cardboard boxes I left here are gone; I’ve been saving them for more than a week, and they’re all gone."
The old man was frantic, patting his thigh, wiping a tear.
"Besides the cardboard boxes, what else has gone missing?"
"Just the boxes, they could sell for more than 20 yuan."
Hearing the figure of more than 20 yuan.
The two were montarily at a loss for words.
"I thought sothing valuable was missing."
Xiao Fengshan took out his phone, ready to transfer money to the old man.
Heartfelt compassion, seeing soone older than his own father shed tears.
Yet, when he was about to transfer money, Lin Yi stopped him.
"Wait for a mont. We’ll check the security caras and definitely help you find your things."
"Thank you, young man. Please find them for ."
"Leave it to us; we’ll definitely get them back." Lin Yi reassured him.
"You go back and rest; when we find them, we’ll bring them over."
"Thank you."
They took the elevator and left Building 27.
"Lin Bro, why did you stop just now? It’s just 20 yuan worth of stuff, I could easily give him 30 as a good deed."
"I understand your intention, but so things shouldn’t be done that way."
Lin Yi felt sentintal, mories flashing through his mind.
"There’s a saying that you save in ergencies, not for poverty. Although he’s pitiful, there are many more miserable than him in the world; you can’t help everyone."
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