Font Size:
Xu Chengwei gritted his teeth and made the decision to let his wife pay the fee.
“But I rushed out without bringing any money at the time. Moreover…”
Moreover, the Xu family’s money was never in his wife’s hands.
Xu Chengwei had always been the one controlling the money. His wife didn’t have more than a couple of coins to spare.
Xu Chengwei didn’t have the habit of carrying cash with him, so naturally, he didn’t have any money on him either.
He cursed a few times and told his wife to ask how much more money was needed to settle the hospital bill. After that, he instructed her to go back to the village to get the money.
Once the tractor left, Xu Chengwei’s wife had no choice but to walk back to the village.
It was only after his wife had left that Xu Chengwei realized he hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast. His stomach had already started to growl, feeling as empty as a deserted city.
His legs couldn’t move, so he could only wait on the hospital bed for his wife to return with the money.
Xu Chengwei was so angry that he felt like he might explode.
On the other side, after more than an hour’s journey, the tractor finally returned to Kaoshan Village.
By now, it was already past three in the afternoon.
The tractor was driven right up to Gu Nan’s doorstep, as the steamed buns had been arranged by Su Niannian to be placed at Gu Nan’s house.
Widow Wu jumped off the tractor and hurried toward Gu Nan’s courtyard in quick strides, practically running.
She didn’t spare a thought for her own health—throughout the entire trip, all she had been thinking about was her son.
“Auntie, Auntie, my Baozi…” As soon as Widow Wu entered the courtyard, she saw Gu Zhi carrying dinner out from the kitchen.
Song Zhaodi was there too. She walked over to Su Niannian and asked softly if she was hungry.
“How could I possibly be hungry? With Gu Nan right by my side the whole time, it’s hard to feel anything else,” Su Niannian said with a smile, glancing back at Gu Nan.
Gu Nan gave Song Zhaodi a slight nod, and she nodded back in response.
“Where’s Baozi?”
“He’s in the main hall. When I got here, he was already awake. I fed him some rice porridge, and he seems to be doing quite well now,” Song Zhaodi replied.
“Can I go see Baozi?” Widow Wu asked anxiously, turning to Gu Zhi.
“Of course you can, he’s right this way. I’ll take you to him,” Gu Nan’s mother said, taking Widow Wu by the hand and leading her toward the main hall.
Su Niannian followed along as well.
After Jiang Aiguo stepped into the courtyard, he greeted everyone and also trailed after them.
“Baozi…”
“My son.”
When Widow Wu saw Baozi inside the main hall, he was sitting with Gu Ningning, reading a picture book.
Baozi looked much better now—his energy had returned, and at the very least, his face was no longer flushed with fever.
He could even sit up on his own.
At that moment, Widow Wu’s eyes turned red with emotion. She rushed forward and threw her arms around her son, pulling him into a tight embrace.
“Mother…” Baozi called out softly.
“My child… as long as you’re alright, as long as you’re alright,” Widow Wu murmured, holding Baozi as if she were embracing her entire world. At that moment, the heavy weight pressing on her heart finally lifted.
“Thank you, thank you so much.” Widow Wu turned to Su Niannian, expressing her gratitude once again.
She even looked as if she wanted to kneel and kowtow to Su Niannian.
Su Niannian quickly reached out to stop her.
“I didn’t really do much,” Su Niannian said gently. “I just gave Baozi a tablet of anti-inflammatory medicine and a few sips of water soaked with ginseng.”
This matter couldn’t be examined too deeply—nor thought about too carefully.
What she had really given Baozi was a few mouthfuls of spiritual spring water. But that was something outsiders must never find out.
So now, the only explanation that could be given was that Baozi had taken anti-inflammatory medicine at the time—but since such medicine wasn’t usually this effective, they tacked on the story about ginseng-infused water. That way, it sounded just believable enough.
Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain how Su Niannian had miraculously healed Baozi so quickly.
Gu Nan was also a bit worried that Su Niannian’s secret might be exposed.
Because he knew—without a doubt—that Su Niannian had something truly extraordinary in her possession. Something so miraculous, it could even treat cancer…
Seeing Su Niannian say this so calmly, Gu Nan finally let out a small sigh of relief. At least part of the weight on his chest had lifted.
“Anti-inflammatory medicine… ginseng…” In Widow Wu’s eyes, both of those things weren’t cheap—especially ginseng. Just the mention of it sounded expensive.
Standing at the doorway, Jiang Aiguo was so stunned his jaw nearly dropped to the floor.
He was a well-informed man. In an era like this, it was already hard enough for an old farmer to get a full meal—ginseng was practically something they couldn’t afford even after a lifetime of hard work.
A decent ginseng root might cost over a hundred yuan. And yet, Su Niannian had been willing to let a stranger drink ginseng-infused water.
His admiration for Su Niannian skyrocketed in that moment.
“Life is the most important thing,” Su Niannian said with a gentle smile.
“This is something we shouldn’t talk about outside,” Gu Jinnian added at this moment.
Gu Zhi felt that the improvement in his health might have been due to Su Niannian adding ginseng water to his herbal remedies.
Such a valuable thing could easily attract envy from others. The fewer people who knew, the better.
“This is natural,” Jiang Aiguo agreed, not one to speak unnecessarily.
Widow Wu and Baozi also nodded in acknowledgment.
Su Niannian then handed the anti-inflammatory medicine she had gotten from the hospital to Widow Wu.
“Give Baozi one pill in the morning and one at night when you get home. After finishing these, he’ll definitely be fine,” Su Niannian said to Widow Wu.
“Thank you…”
“How much are these? And the lunch earlier, how much do I owe for that as well?” Widow Wu asked. She didn’t have money on her at the moment, but she needed to know how much she owed Su Niannian. Even if she had to go hungry, she was determined to repay Su Niannian.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll get the money from the right person. You don’t need to concern yourself with it,” Su Niannian replied, not intending to ask Widow Wu for any money.
This money, after all, should be paid by Xu Chengwei.
Widow Wu’s eyes reddened, and her nose tingled as tears once again fell. She hadn’t felt such kindness and warmth in a long time.
“How can we ever repay you for this…?” Widow Wu said, helplessly clutching the hem of her clothes.
Su Niannian could tell that Widow Wu was genuinely trying to express her gratitude.
“Well, in a couple of days, I’ll buy some fabric and ask Sister Wu to make me a couple of outfits,” Su Niannian smiled warmly.
Helping others is usually done without expecting anything in return, but one can’t always act as if they’re a saint. Since the other party is genuinely trying to express gratitude, it wouldn’t be right to reject it entirely. It’s similar to the chicken that Zhou Dajie gave earlier—accepting it was a way of acknowledging their desire to repay the kindness.
“Alright, I can do that. Making clothes is still something I can manage,” Widow Wu immediately agreed.
Widow Wu didn’t have much in terms of possessions, but she felt confident about her sewing skills.
“Yes, Widow Wu’s craftsmanship is really good,” Gu Zhi added from the side.
Seeing the conversation winding down, Jiang Aiguo felt it was time to address the main issue. He stepped forward, approaching Baozi, and asked him about who had attacked him.
Baozi carefully thought back and then answered, “It was Xu Wansui who hit me, and Baobei was there too. Baobei even stopped Xu Wansui, telling him that continuing would cause trouble.”