Chapter 4: Affection

Ling Mo looked over and saw his second uncle.

“Sister-in-law, Xiao Mo, you’re heading back already? Why didn’t you stop by my place for a bit?” The second uncle walked up, feigning a displeased expression.

Yang Shulan felt a bit awkward. Having been unable to borrow money from any of her brothers, her eldest uncle, or her aunts, she was heartbroken and hadn’t considered her second uncle, whose financial situation was the worst. She hadn’t expected him to come after them.

A hint of self-deprecation flashed across the second uncle’s face. He pulled out a patched cloth bundle from his chest pocket, unfolded it, revealing a stack of hundred, ten, and twenty yuan notes. “I know I’m the least capable of all the relatives, and I’ve always troubled you all. Now that my eldest brother is sick, I can’t be of much help either. Here’s 2650 yuan. It’s what I got from selling a pig and some savings I’ve put away. It’s not much, but I hope it can help you. It’s the best I can do, and I hope your brother gets well soon.”

Tears finally welled up in Yang Shulan’s eyes and streamed down her face. “Second brother, thank you, thank you.”

Ling Mo also looked at his second uncle with gratitude. What he brought wasn’t just two thousand-plus yuan, but also hope and a sense of family that had rekindled his mother’s previously ice-cold heart.

Not all family bonds are so cold in the face of money.

“Second Uncle, thank you. Dad will get better,” Ling Mo said sincerely.

The second uncle replied, “What’s there to thank? We’re all family. Sister-in-law, Xiao Mo, I know you’re busy these days, so I won’t hold you up. If there’s anything I can do next, just let me know. I’m available anytime.”

The second uncle said a few simple words and left. Looking at the scattered money in the cloth bundle, the mother and son felt it was heavier than anything else.

Seeing a trace of vitality return to his mother’s face, Ling Mo was very happy and couldn’t help but feel even more grateful to his second uncle.

His one action was more effective than ten or a hundred words of comfort.

As they approached their house, the mother and son saw someone standing in their courtyard.

“Little sister?” Yang Shulan called out in surprise.

Yang Shuxiang greeted them with a smile. “Third Sister, you’re back. I knew you must be busy these days, and my home is quite far, so I came over.”

Yang Shuxiang took out two bundled handkerchiefs and said, “Third Sister, this is a little bit of savings from our family. This one is from eldest brother for you. It’s not a lot of money – 8,000 from me and 5,000 from eldest brother – but I hope it can help brother-in-law.”

The handkerchiefs were opened, revealing two stacks of banknotes that were quite old and looked like they had been buried for a long time.

“Little sister, thank you, thank you to you and eldest brother.” Yang Shulan took the money with trembling hands, her heart stirred, and the gratitude in her heart was beyond words.

Ling Mo sighed inwardly. He understood his mother very well. From his most hopeful aunt and several uncles, he had received ruthless rejection, but instead, three of the poorest relatives had unhesitatingly offered all their family savings.

Human nature, in a short day, had been performed to the fullest extent.

Second Uncle, Little Aunt, and Eldest Uncle, although they were poor and didn’t have much money, they had the most simple and kind hearts.

And some other people, they had a little money, but they seemed to have all turned into so-called ‘rich people’. Every move they made was according to the standards of ‘rich people’, and they began to measure and judge everything with money and benefits.

What ‘help in emergencies, not in poverty,’ whether there would be returns for lending money or giving gifts, whether the people they associate with could bring them benefits, and so on.

Their lives had become an investment, and their hearts had long been covered by money.

They abandoned others with the values of money and buried themselves even more.

The arrival of Second Uncle and Little Aunt brought a lot of comfort to his mother’s mood.

But overall, the behavior of the relatives was too heartbreaking.

And the shortfall of fifty to sixty thousand yuan in surgical expenses made his mother even more worried.

Ling Mo finally opened WeChat and showed his mother the pile of private orchid quotations, and with his confident guarantees, he finally managed to convince his mother a bit.

The two rested for the night with different feelings.

The next morning, before dawn, the mother and son walked through the long mountain road and caught a bus to the city by the highway, heading towards the county seat.

The sky was grey, and the world was dark green.

On the broken dirt road, the dilapidated minibus zigzagged along the steep mountain road, bumping up and down.

The passengers gripped the seat handrails tightly, trying to steady their bodies, their faces pale.

In the countryside, scattered mud-walled houses were vaguely visible, and occasionally even more dilapidated thatched cottages could be seen.

This scene was like a black and white photograph from the 1940s and 1950s.

In the fields by the roadside, several farmers who went out early and came back late, wearing patched clothes and covered in mud, could occasionally be seen working hard.

When the bus passed, people raised their weathered faces, looked at the bus, and a trace of envy appeared in their numb eyes.

Poverty, backwardness.

Not to mention compared with the most prosperous big cities in the country, even compared with some second and third-tier cities, this place was half a century behind.

After more than two hours of bumpy ride, the bus finally arrived in the county seat.

A small cyan river winds around the county town, like a jade belt, tying the petite and beautiful city to the three green and majestic mountains behind it.

Even from a distance, one had to admit that Yushan County was very beautiful, like a pearl in the high mountains.

However, backward transportation and remote geographical location seriously hindered the development of Yushan County. Even though the country is now vigorously promoting the Western Development Strategy, the development here is far behind the brother cities outside.

After crossing a long bridge, the bus quickly reached its destination.

Ling Mo and his mother rushed to the hospital. Looking at his weak father in the hospital bed, Ling Mo once again felt heartbreaking pain.

His father, who was once so strong and guarded him like a mountain, was now skin and bones, looking so weak and helpless.

Ling Mo held back his tears, grasped his father’s hand with trembling hands, and looked at his father, whom he had been thinking about day and night, with deep affection: “Dad, your son is back, you will be fine.”

“Mom, you stay with Dad, I’m going to sell the orchids, don’t worry about the money.”

After leaving the hospital, Ling Mo took a taxi to the most upscale hotel in Yushan County, a three-star Yulong Hotel.

Led by the waiter, Ling Mo walked into the agreed-upon private room.

As soon as he entered, he saw Wang Qianjin greet him with a smile. “Ling Mo, you’re finally here. Come, let me introduce you. This is my Third Grandpa Wang Zhengfeng, and this is my cousin Song Yuan, who is also the Deputy County Mayor of your Yushan County.”

In the private room, besides Wang Qianjin, there was also an old man in his seventies and a middle-aged man in a suit.

“Hahahaha, Little Ling, quickly, quickly, sit inside. Did you bring the orchids? I can’t wait any longer,” Wang Zhengfeng stood up and said with a burning face.

“To make you, Elder, so unforgettable, it must be the best of the orchids. Today, I will follow Elder to broaden my horizons,” Song Yuan said with a smile beside him.

Ling Mo stepped forward, placed the bamboo basket he was carrying on the table in the private room, and then uncovered the gauze covering it. The orchids immediately appeared in front of several people.