I am the Odd One Out Chapter 15

On this day, Leo Lin met Charlie Chen. At that time, Charlie Chen's second son was three months old. It was the child's cry that summoned Leo Lin to Charlie Chen. In this two-room home, Leo Lin felt the warm atmosphere. The bearded Charlie Chen held his two-year-old son in his arms, and his wife Li Meilian was breastfeeding her three-month-old son. The family sat around the charcoal fire.

Leo Lin came among them, and Charlie Chen gave him a stool and asked him to sit by the charcoal fire. Different from the blank expressions of other women in Xizhen, when Li Meilian hugged the girl to his chest, Leo Lin saw the expression of a mother. Li Meilian admired the girl's beauty, and then admired the bright red satin clothes and hat on the girl's body, and admired the meticulous hand-sewing. She took off the girl's satin hat and kept sniffing the girl's hair. At this time, Charlie Chen was holding his two sons and looking at his wife with a smile. Leo Lin, who had not felt the atmosphere of a family for a long time, had a strange thought in his heart when he saw such a scene. If something unexpected happened to him, could his daughter stay in this family?

Leo Lin, who was familiar with the accent of Xizhen, could tell from the tone of their voices that they were also foreigners. Charlie Chen told Leo Lin that their hometown was five hundred miles north. Due to continuous droughts, they had no choice but to leave their hometown and go all the way south. They made a living by doing part-time labor, carrying bags and pulling carts, and also worked as a boatman. Charlie Chen said that he was Rowing with hands is not like rowing with feet like a boatman on thousands of acres of water. It wasn't until he met Gu Yimin two years ago that he ended his wandering life and settled down in Xizhen. Charlie Chen spoke in a calm tone about how they struggled to survive the rough and precarious days with their newborn first son.

Charlie Chen's family met Gu Yimin in Shendian. At that time, Gu Yimin had a batch of silk and satin to bring back to Xizhen from Shendian and hired four porters. Charlie Chen was one of them. When Charlie Chen walked towards Xizhen carrying silk and satin and three other day laborers, his wife and children followed closely behind. Like Charlie Chen, Li Meilian also carried a load. On one end of the load were clothes and quilts, and on the other end was their son. The burden that should have been Charlie Chen's fell on Li Meilian's shoulders. Gu Yimin and Charlie Chen, who were sitting in the sedan, talked all the way and learned about their life experiences. They also knew that the reason why Charlie Chen's wife and children were traveling together was that they had no accommodation. Gu Yimin watched Li Meilian, who was carrying the burden, follow her husband tiredly. This petite woman kept trotting in order to keep up with the men's fast pace. When her son cried on the way, she picked him up. In order to balance the load, she put the quilt on the empty end, then untied the clothes on her chest, held her son with her right hand, fed him, and supported him with her left hand. Carrying the load, she continued to trot, the sound of her breathing was like the sound of a bellows, her hair was soaked with sweat, and the sweat on her face was constantly blown off by the wind while running, but she kept smiling. When they arrived at Xizhen, Gu Yimin paid the three porters to go home, leaving Charlie Chen and his family behind.

Leo Lin knew from Charlie Chen's story that the Gu Yimin he was talking about was the thin man he saw four days ago. Leo Lin thought of the tall and long walls of the Gu family and asked Charlie Chen how big the house was. Charlie Chen shook his head. He said that although he often went to Gu Yimin's house, he usually went to the lobby and occasionally to the study. He didn't know what kind of world was inside. After Charlie Chen finished speaking, he looked at Leo Lin quietly. Leo Lin knew that he was waiting for his story, and Leo Lin said lightly: