“Who is it?!”

The members of the Song family looked at each other nervously, unsure who would be at the door at this time.

“Who?”

Song Luoyun felt that she was the oldest one in the house at the moment, so she took the initiative to answer the door.

“Your neighbor.”

“I heard someone in your house has a fever, and I happened to have some medicine, so I came over.”

Qiao Jiuru recognized the voice of the person at the door—it was soft, likely from a young man, and the tone sounded hesitant.

She decided to explain more to ease the situation.

Her neighbor?

Was it the one on the left or the right?!

There was no one living on the left, and there was no interaction with the house on the right.

However, Song Luoyun was eventually swayed by the word “medicine” and, overcoming her fear and uncertainty, opened the door without much hesitation.

Outside, in the dimming night, stood a man and a woman, both seemingly in their fifties, dressed in a way that exuded an intellectual aura.

They didn’t look like bad people at all.

“Aunt, Uncle.”

Song Luoyun greeted Qiao Jiuru and Su Huaiyuan politely, but was too reserved to know what else to say.

“My surname is Qiao, and my husband’s surname is Su. Children, may we come in and take a look at the patient? Medicine shouldn’t be taken recklessly; we have a few types, and we need to determine what illness they have.”

Qiao Jiuru could tell the child was a bit awkward, wanting to speak but unsure how to. So she took the initiative to elaborate further.

“Sure, sure, Aunt Qiao, Uncle Su, please come in. It’s my little brother and sister who have high fevers.”

At this point, Song Luoyun had no more doubts or hesitations. After all, their house had nothing else to offer, so what could they possibly want?

Qiao Jiuru and Su Huaiyuan followed Song Luoyun inside, but they were surprised by the condition of the house.

It was even more dilapidated than they had imagined—empty and barren.

There was only one main room, two side rooms, a kitchen, and a washroom, which clearly appeared to have been divided from the main room.

“Grandfather, Grandmother, this is Aunt Qiao and Uncle Su from next door. They came to check on my brother and sister.”

Song Luoyun led them into the side room and introduced them to her grandparents and the siblings.

Next door?!

Grandfather and Grandmother Song exchanged puzzled looks.

The house on the left had never been occupied, and they knew everyone on the right.

However, seeing the newcomers under the dim light of the room, the elderly couple could tell they didn’t seem like bad people.

In fact, anyone who had come in response to the crying children was probably someone with a kind heart.

“Uncle, Aunt, my name is Qiao, and this is my husband Su. We heard your children crying and guessed they might be sick. We happen to have some medicine, so we came to ask.”

Qiao Jiuru smiled as she stepped forward to greet the elderly couple, introducing themselves and explaining their purpose.

“Qiao and Su, it’s my two grandsons who are sick, running a high fever.”

Grandmother Song, though not completely reassured, knew that the most important thing now was the children’s condition, and there was no time to wait.

She had been wiping them down with cool water, but after so long, the fever had not subsided.

It seemed that medicine was needed, but they had no money.

“Let me take a look.”

By now, Qiao Jiuru had a rough idea of the situation in the house.

It seemed that apart from the elderly couple, there were only a bunch of children living here.

Such a family would likely fall into the category of those struggling to make ends meet.

And none of them seemed capable of earning money—old people were old, the weak were weak, and the young were all frail and hungry, living difficult lives.

“I have some fever-reducing medicine and cough medicine. Let’s start with the fever medicine for the children.”

Qiao Jiuru examined the two children and saw their faces were hot enough to fry an egg. If they didn’t take medicine soon, it would become dangerous.

Without hesitation, she reached into the cloth bag she was carrying and took out the fever-reducing pills she had brought from her space.

Unlike the white tablets of Western medicine, these pills were black, and Qiao Jiuru believed the effect of these pills, made in her medicinal workshop, would likely be better than anything available outside.

“This is a traditional Chinese medicine fever-reducing pill. It’s gentle and won’t harm the body.”

She handed the two pills to Grandmother Song, who took them without hesitation and fed them to the children.

For a family like theirs, what was there to hesitate about?

Having medicine to give was already a blessing.

“Aunt Qiao, Uncle Su, here’s some water.”

At some point, Song Luoyun had poured two bowls of water and brought them over for Qiao Jiuru and Su Huaiyuan to drink.

The couple accepted the bowls without refusal, taking a few sips.

Then, they exchanged a glance filled with sighs and sympathy.

The bowls that Song Luoyun had used to serve them were cracked in several places, and as they looked around, they saw that the people in the room, from the elderly to the children, were all dressed in ragged clothes.

The quilts on the bed were worn thin and patched, and everyone, young and old, was terribly thin.

Their faces were pale, showing clear signs of long-term malnutrition.

“Uncle Song, this is the cough medicine. I heard you coughing earlier, so I brought it over for you.”

After finishing the water, Qiao Jiuru took out a bottle of cough medicine from her cloth bag and handed it to Grandfather Song.

“This… How can we accept this? We don’t have any money to pay you.”

Grandfather Song had lived his whole life without ever experiencing such financial hardship.

He was overwhelmed by the situation, and his eyes reddened with emotion.

“Uncle Song, this small amount of medicine doesn’t cost much. Besides, the purpose of making medicine is to cure and save people. That’s its value.”

Su Huaiyuan, who had not spoken until now, finally broke his silence.

He couldn’t bear to see the elderly couple in such a sad condition.

It was heartbreaking and painful.

“Sigh… Then I’ll accept it, though I’m ashamed. Unfortunately, there’s nothing good in the house to offer you in return.”

Grandfather Song no longer cared about pride.

He could hold on to his dignity, but the children’s lives were more important.

Dignity wasn’t as important as life.

“Old sir, what happened to your family?”