Nie Zhenbang's sudden gesture instantly cooled the atmosphere in the room. Lying in bed, half propped up, Lin Sanqiang's eyes brimmed with tears, touched by the act.
For so many years, since he became paraplegic from a high spinal cord injury, although the local government and the neighborhood committee had provided him and his children much care and help, generally speaking, it only happened once a year. Moreover, it was mostly commodities such as firewood, rice, oil, salt, and New Year's goods for comfort. Cash was a rare gesture, especially as New Year's solace. Regarding the regular days, life was still a bitter struggle. Though there was food to eat, it was just enough to survive.
On ordinary days, there were never any vegetables with their meals, which consisted entirely of discarded leaves the children picked up from the market after school. As for meat, they could only rely on the kindness of neighbors.
