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墨書 Inktalez
"I only had a bowl of dumplings, and as a result, they made me wash hundreds of plates. By the time I finished, it was already dark. They just gave me a moldy bun and sent me on my way.
I don't have any other skills; I'm old and can't do any work anymore. All I have left is this Erhu. I thought maybe if I played the Erhu, I could earn some money.
But when people saw me, they asked if I had any disabilities. I said no, and they called me a fraud. I was confused; how could I be a fraud just because I don't have a disability?" As he spoke, the old man shed tears of grievance.
"Later, a child told me that nowadays people love to see disabled individuals; as long as you're disabled, you can get money. I said, 'I can't pretend to be disabled just to get a little money; I can't even afford medical treatment.'
Then he told me that it didn't have to be real; just act like it. I thought about it and realized that I couldn't pretend to be anything else. Since I used to perform Er Ren Zhuan and played the Blind Man before, I decided to act like the Blind Man.
I really didn't intend to deceive anyone," the old man cried with a trembling voice.
The people around him were also moved. A few came over and gave him some money, but it was only small bills. Most people were still unwilling to give; they probably thought that little money wouldn't help much.
"I want to give him money; look how pitiful he is," the girl from earlier was about to step forward, but the Boy pulled her back.
"Don't fall for it. If he's a fraud, you'll be the one crying later. I think those two might be in cahoots; he's probably a plant."
Ye Mingshang heard this and simply shook his head.
"Uncle, you shouldn't keep playing the Erhu here. I have some money; take this first. Go eat something and then head to the police station. They can help you find your son. They have records now; as long as you remember his name and some basic information, they should be able to find him."
Saying this, Ye Mingshang stuffed over a thousand cash from his wallet into the old man's hands.
"No, no, I can't take this! It's too much!" The old man hesitated to accept it, trembling as he pushed it away.
However, Ye Mingshang wanted to give him something, and he couldn't push it back.
Ye Mingshang used a bit of cleverness to slip the money into his hand.
"Just take it. When you're out, help when you can; it's nothing," Ye Mingshang said with a smile.
The old man wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes with his rough hands and said emotionally, "I never expected there would still be good people like you in this city. Young man, thank you!"
Ye Mingshang smiled and felt very happy inside.
Not leaving immediately, Ye Mingshang walked up to the boy who had been questioning him.
"What do you want?!" The boy stepped back in fear, thinking he was about to be taught a lesson.
Disappointed by his attitude, Ye Mingshang shook his head.
"Not everyone is a scammer. Don't let your narrow mind block others' kindness." He patted the boy on the shoulder and walked away.
"How is it? Is your husband handsome?" Ye Mingshang asked as he walked over to Li Mengyu, taking her hand.
Li Mengyu nodded with a smile.
While enduring the hand-holding, they were discussing where to go next. Just a few steps out, they heard a commotion behind them.
Looking back, it was exactly where the old man had pulled Erhu earlier.
"Wait, Officer, don't misunderstand! I'm just about to leave," the old man said with a wronged expression.
However, the two police officers who arrived completely ignored how pitiful he was and scolded, "This is not our concern. You're begging here, which seriously obstructs traffic. Come with us!"
"That's not true, Officer. I was planning to leave before you arrived."
"Ha! You're still being stubborn. If I hadn't come, you would have continued to beg on the street. Who would believe you?" As he spoke, the officer tried to forcibly grab the old man.
The old man was unwilling and backed away, saying, "Please don't grab me! I haven't committed any crime. I was just about to leave. Besides, there are several people over there begging too, and you haven't arrested them."
"You old man still aren't satisfied? You're seriously obstructing traffic; that's illegal, you know? You could be fined or even detained for serious offenses. And as for your claim of leaving, who would believe that?" The officer reached out again to grab the old man.
"Wait, if you don't believe me, ask the others. They all saw that I was packing up to leave."
"Yes, the old man is already about to leave; don't make it difficult for him," some onlookers said. There were still some Good Samaritans who couldn't stand by and wanted to support the old man.
"It's not easy for the old man either. He's about to leave; just let him go."
"You say he's obstructing traffic, but we were all together here. If you're going to arrest someone, you can't just take him alone; you might as well arrest all of us."
"Yeah, just arrest all of us then."
"Hey! You guys..." The police officer was furious but didn't know what else to say.
At that moment, the old man slightly bent his waist and instinctively adopted a pleading tone, saying, "Officer, here's the thing. I just came from the countryside looking for my son. However, my wallet was stolen from the car, and all my money and address were inside. I'm really at a loss and can only play the Erhu here; otherwise, I wouldn't be doing this at all. Officer."
"Don't waste my time with useless talk; if you have something to say, say it at the station." Saying this, he firmly grabbed the old man's collar and tried to pull him away.
Ye Mingshang watched this unfold with anger in his heart and was about to step forward to help when unexpectedly someone rushed in front of him.
"Stop! Don't grab the old man!" A young man rushed forward and pulled the elderly man back. It was the same boy who had been insisting that the old man was a fraud.
The police officer stumbled slightly from the push, his cap askew.
"Hey, you little brat, do you dare to assault an officer?" The policeman adjusted his cap angrily.
"I didn't! I just can't stand you bullying an old man!" the boy retorted fiercely.
"What do you mean by bullying an old man? He's begging on the street, seriously disrupting traffic. I'm taking him in; this is routine duty."
The boy scoffed, "Routine duty, huh? Sounds nice. Aren't you just jealous of that old man's little bit of money?"
"What nonsense are you talking about!" the officer shouted.
"I'm not talking nonsense. You don't arrest other beggars; you only go after this old man because you're envious of his money," the boy shot back defiantly.
"Exactly! That old man came to the city looking for his son and can't even find him. He's already pitiful enough; don't make it harder for him," a supporter chimed in from the crowd.
"Let him go; don't make things difficult for him."
"Yeah, if you take him away, we won't leave either. You're the ones disrupting traffic!" (To be continued.)
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