"Beep! Beep!"
After a few beeps, someone answered the phone.
Then, a gentle female voice came through, "Hello! Who is it? Is it you, brother?"
The caller was Lin Yifan's sister — Lin Yifei, 18 years old, who had just gone through the most important exam of her life — the college entrance examination, and was now in charge of taking care of her sick parents at home.
"Yes!" Lin Yifan answered truthfully.
Hearing a family member's voice, he felt very close and warm; this was a consolation for him, who worked far away from home.
Knowing it was her brother, Lin Yifei opened up, asking with concern, "Brother, how are you doing now?"
Today, the entire family's burden fell on the elder brother and the eldest sister, whose whereabouts were unknown; therefore, as the younger sister, she was very concerned.
"I'm fine. How about you? Are you doing well?" Lin Yifan asked with concern.
"I'm okay, but mom and dad aren't doing well."
Lin Yifei was frowning, very upset.
"What happened to mom and dad?" Lin Yifan asked anxiously.
"Dad's leg worsened, and he just had surgery yesterday; and mom just had surgery for stones today, she's in a lot of pain."
While speaking, Lin Yifei started to cry over the phone.
Originally, her father was the pillar of the household, but half a month ago, he was accidentally struck by a heavy steel pipe at the construction site, severely breaking his leg, and urgently needed hospitalization.
Suddenly, the entire family collapsed and fell into debt.
As a high school student fresh from her exams, she felt deeply helpless and at a loss; fortunately, her brother had come back at that time.
Having only returned for two days, her brother was set to head to the provincial capital — Guiyuan City to work.
Watching her elder brother with his luggage walking away alone, she cried.
All the heavy burdens fell on her elder brother and sister, while she could only stay silently at the hospital looking after their parents, sometimes feeling very useless.
The brother and sister sent money home every month, but the elder sister sent more. After all, a military salary is so little, the elder sister could do part-time jobs in society, earn extra money, naturally more than what her brother could provide.
The brother and sister were people she greatly respected, especially her sister.
To allow her the opportunity to study, after receiving her university acceptance letter, the elder sister resolutely gave up this rare opportunity, entered society, and worked to pay for her education.
This favor, she would never forget in this lifetime.
She always felt guilty; since leaving their hometown to enter society, her elder sister had never returned home. Even during the New Year, she hadn't come back.
The elder sister only sent money home every month and occasionally called her; the family members didn't know how the elder sister was now doing.
Although the elder sister said on the phone it was not because she despised the family that she didn't come back, Lin Yifei always deeply blamed herself.
Thus, in order not to let down her elder sister's kindness, she studied hard and finally got into the most famous university in Shenzhou Country — Yanjing University.
In just over two months, she would head north to study.
"Don't worry, it will be all right." On the other end of the phone, Lin Yifan first comforted, then asked, "Is there enough money? Do you owe medical fees?"
"We do," Lin Yifei answered straightforwardly, without any evasiveness.
These days, the hospital had been pressing them hard, and she didn't know what to do.
If in a few days there was no money for medical fees, the hospital would stop the treatment, and her parents would suffer.
"How much do you owe?"
Lin Yifan asked anxiously, feeling his sister's helplessness.
"We owe more than ten thousand," Lin Yifei sighed and answered.
Ten thousand might not be much for the rich, but for a poor family, it was a huge sum; she had no idea where to find it.
"I just sent three thousand over, go take it out later, and pay some of the medical bills; for the rest, I'll think of something else."
Lin Yifan was also under immense pressure, but as the eldest son of the family, he had to bear it.
"Brother, where did you get so much money?" Lin Yifei curiously asked.
As far as she knew, her elder brother had left home not even a fortnight ago; with his qualifications, he couldn't have earned so much money in such a short time, unless he had committed illegal acts, so she was a bit worried.
"That's the salary, settled daily. Don't worry, as a soldier, I will absolutely not engage in any criminal activities. You just stay in the hospital, take care of our parents. I'll find a way to handle the money," Lin Yifan answered and instructed.
With her brother's words, Lin Yifei felt much more stable.
She believed in her brother, confident that he would find a way to resolve this urgent crisis.
After chatting for a while, the two hung up the phone.
Stepping out of the phone booth, Lin Yifan looked up to the sky and sighed deeply; with more than seven thousand in medical fees, where would he find the money?
Work as a security guard? A waiter? Move bricks on a construction site? Wash dishes for others? Or work as a personal bodyguard?
One idea after another flashed through his mind, but none could make big money quickly.
After thinking for a long time, he still felt that he should find a day job to stabilize his situation first, then consider other jobs; after all, he was currently unemployed and in urgent need of money.
After wandering the streets for most of the day, he finally saw a recruitment notice outside a large restaurant.
It read: Urgently hiring a dishwasher, gender unimportant, as long as you're healthy, daily wage 100, interested parties please contact the staff at the front desk.
"Although the salary is a bit low, it's worth doing."
After thinking about it, Lin Yifan stepped into the large restaurant to apply for the dishwashing job.
The staff at the restaurant didn't make it too difficult; after processing various procedures, Lin Yifan was hired.
Just like that, he became a dishwasher.