"Hey Locke, do you need help? It only costs 10 grams to fix the window."
On the street below Old Tom's apartment,
There is a tool bag on his left shoulder, and Uncle Martin, who has 262,800 hours above his head, is waving to Locke.
Next to him was a boy wearing a shabby cotton-padded jacket and a beret with a face covered with freckles. That was his son Kai. The number above his head at this moment was 432,768 hours.
"No thanks."
Locke, who had just spent 10 grams to boil water, had no intention of taking care of Uncle Martin's business, especially after seeing Kai.
Kai always liked to smash the windows of the surrounding neighbors in exchange for his father's business, for which he was often beaten.
If Locke takes care of Martin's business this time, the windows of his home will be smashed again in less than a week.
So Locke chose to use scrap newspapers and glue to seal the holes in the windows.
As long as there is no typhoon, these old newspapers can last a long time.
After repairing the window, Locke returned to the worn sofa and began to pick up the newspaper again to find a job.
Now that he has escaped the fate of being implicated by Miss Witch, he has to think about how to continue living.
Squeak——
With the sound of heavy metal friction, the rusty old iron door of the apartment was pushed open.
Hannah, who had long brown hair, fair skin, delicate features, and thin cheeks, walked in wearing an old, ill-fitting coat that was dusty and carrying two large bags in her hands.
"Locke, look what my sister brought back."
Hannah said excitedly, her nose and cheeks turned red by the cold wind. After entering the house, she took off her coat and hung it on the coat rack, revealing a blue linen waist-length skirt.
Her waist is very slender, her chest is flat, and her figure is like that of an underdeveloped girl.
The life bar jumping above her head showed the number 525,600.
In other words, Hannah still has 60 years to live, which is considered a longevity in this world, and she actually has 10 years longer than herself.
After seeing this number, Locke, who was in a good mood, stepped forward and took the pocket from his sister, which contained a man's coat and two woolen vests.
Although the style is old, the material is ordinary, and the corners are still worn, it is enough to withstand the invasion of winter.
"How much does this cost, Hannah? Don't waste your money."
"They are all second-hand. They are not expensive. They only cost 100 meters. I bought them all. This winter is going to be even colder. There will definitely be a heavy snowfall in December. We can't let you wear a vest through the winter, otherwise you will get sick."
Hannah took the clothes out of her pocket and took her brother to the dressing mirror in her room to gesture.
"It's great. The size is just right. I was worried that it would be too big. It would not be warm enough to wear. It would be too small and I would have to ask Mrs. Armor to help sew it up."
“How will you know if it’s suitable if you don’t try it?”
Locke stretched out his hand, intending to put the "new clothes" on himself, but Hannah slapped his hand.
"Second-hand items must be washed before wearing. Don't touch them."
Locke retracted his hand in pain, and at the same time looked at the shape of the clothes. He felt that it was barely acceptable, and the texture was better than Hannah's coat, like cashmere.
"It really only cost 100 grams?"
"Of course, your sister is very good at living. Don't underestimate the former reporter."
When the profession of reporter was mentioned, Hannah's bright eyes instantly dimmed a lot.
This morning she went for an interview at The Sun, and she was rejected again.
She obviously has very strong professional skills and had a good conversation with the interviewer, but in the end she was told that she was not suitable for the job.
Considering that if you don’t repay the debt company in time this month, they may come to visit you. What Tom, the landlord of Old Tom’s apartment, hates most is dealing with people from debt collection companies. It is very likely that they will expel the siblings because of this. After going out, Hannah became extremely depressed.
Hannah took out all the clothes from the two bags, put them in the basin, and walked silently to the public washroom at the end of the corridor, intending to wash the clothes.
Locke followed silently.
"Hannah, I'm sorry, I'm not having a good day either."
Feeling that he had no face to wear "new clothes", Locke took his sister Hannah's hand and said, "Why don't you quit? Save as much as you can."
Hannah looked back at her brother with an apologetic look in her eyes. After hesitating for a moment, she finally spoke,
"It's me who should say sorry."
"...I'm sorry, Locke. Actually, these clothes didn't cost any money. I took them off a dead gentleman when I was passing by Cypress Street. Forgive me, sister, but I can only wear these clothes for you."
Hannah's eyes were a little red, and her body was visibly shaking when she mentioned the dead body.
In the past, what she despised the most was pulling off the clothes of dead bodies, but seeing the weather getting colder and colder, and more and more people freezing to death on the street, she was afraid that Locke would become one of them, and when she saw the man The moment she lay on the ground, she had this idea and snatched away his clothes.
Of course, she was sure that he was dead and that he was not seeking wealth or murder.
This is also the reason why she doesn't let Locke touch these clothes. She is afraid that the clothes may be contaminated with bacteria or diseases, so she must wash them clean before giving them to her brother.
Locke reached out his hand and held the trembling Hannah tightly in his arms, his nose was a little sore.
"Hannah, I love this dress, no matter how it came about, it's the best New Year's gift I've ever received and I would definitely wear it every day."
"Woo...Woo..."
Hannah finally couldn't control her emotions and cried.
Facing the extremely sensible Locke, the strong Hannah became soft inside and cried like a child.
Poverty is like a terrible poison that can lower people's moral bottom line infinitely. Locke is determined not to let the kind-hearted Hannah continue to taste this poison.
You must make your life better!
Although he traveled to this world only three years ago, his relationship with Hannah has long surpassed the relationship between him and his parents in his previous life.
He was born in a single-parent family. His father was a pig butcher. His mother disliked the family's poverty and eloped when he was three years old. His father began to drink alcohol. After drinking, he was always angry with him. He was often beaten, and even All his school fees were spent on drinking by his father.
Later, he worked-study and went to college, but never returned to his hometown or met his father again. He became a food blogger, bought a house in Guangcheng, and lived a pleasant life until he time traveled.
As soon as I woke up, I arrived in this fucked up world where the hierarchy was strict, industrialization had just begun, old aristocrats and new aristocrats were wrestling with each other, businessmen were frantically accumulating primitive capital, congressmen controlled politics with cigars in their mouths, and traditional religions and cultists were fighting overt and covert battles.
The only person who can make me feel warm is my sister Hannah.
She always selflessly tolerates her own willfulness. If it were not for the family's debt problem, she would do her best to send herself to college.
Hannah wiped her tears and said stubbornly,
"It's okay, it's okay, we will be fine. Sister will make you lunch. After lunch, we can continue to go out to find work."
"good."
Locke nodded heavily, "But leave the cooking to me. There are no extra ingredients at home to waste."
"Ah, I'm sorry."
Hannah thought about her cooking skills, a shy blush appeared on her cheeks, and she wanted to find a crack in the ground to get in awkwardly.
Although they are siblings, Locke's cooking skills are several times better than his own. It's really unfair.
Hannah started doing the laundry while Locke went back to the apartment to cook.
There is also a ray of sunshine in the poor days, which warms the siblings.
Hannah turned back and looked in the direction of home, beginning to regret her impulse.
Can I really protect this warm little home?
If he had not rejected the editor-in-chief Lloyd that night, would he not have been fired? Do you have enough money to buy your brother a new coat?
But whenever she thought of Lloyd's disgusting rosacea and lewd eyes, Hannah got goosebumps all over her body.
She turned on the water and carefully washed her wool coat and two woolen vests.
I don't know if it's an illusion, but there seems to be a dark thing floating in front of my eyes.
When Hannah looked up, she saw nothing again.
