Chapter 18

Thinking about this, Lin Nanzhi walked home with her hands behind her back and told her father about the matter. Lin Father then went to find the village chief, while Lin Nanzhi focused on monitoring the progress of their house construction.

Just as she was observing, she met her older brother Lin Nanye’s gaze. Lin Nanzhi felt a little nervous inside but put on a cheerful smile and greeted him before quickly looking away.

Well, whatever. If he finds out, he finds out. As long as Lin Nanye doesn’t ask, she won’t say anything. Let’s see who can hold out longer.

However, she felt like she was getting to know Lin Nanye all over again.

Who said he was just a simple, honest guy? He was clearly a cunning strategist—someone who pretended to be weak while secretly being strong.

Realizing that such an impressive person was her older brother, Lin Nanzhi couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride.

She raised an eyebrow and continued watching the construction.

—-

In their village, houses were usually built by hiring local villagers. It was cheaper and well done. The Lin family was no exception. According to tradition, the host family was supposed to provide meals for the workers, but since the Lin family only had one adult and two children at the time, Lin Father decided to increase their wages instead of providing meals, which made things much easier.

Once the house was completed, they would build a fence. As for the interior design, Lin Nanzhi planned to handle it herself. However, Lin Nanye mentioned that he had a friend in the industry who could do it at a discount, so she entrusted him with the task.

Before the house was finished, the Lin family was able to spend a rare reunion during the New Year. However, the holiday ended quickly, and it was time to go back to school.

Lin Nanzhi knew that Lin Nanye, just like Lin Father, wouldn’t sit idly even though their family was now wealthy. Especially since this money came from her, Lin Nanye would be even more reluctant to use it. So he would definitely continue working hard to earn his own money.

And when he got busy, he tended to neglect himself—especially when it came to meals, often skipping or delaying them.

—-

In her past life, he developed stomach cancer because of this. Over the holiday, she had been secretly using spiritual spring water to help him recover, but she still wasn’t at ease. She planned to take him to the hospital for a check-up and have him rest at home for a semester.

Lin Father and Lin Mother also needed check-ups.

In the village, almost everyone had some minor health issues, but they usually ignored them because they weren’t severe. Many avoided hospital visits just to save money. Some could have had a chance at treatment but ended up losing that opportunity due to delays.

Not only them—Lin Nanxun, Lin Nanxuan, and even herself needed to get checked. It was just for peace of mind, and now that they had money, there was no reason not to.

With this in mind, Lin Nanzhi brought up the idea during dinner. Lin Father was reluctant at first, but Lin Nanye thought for a moment and said, “Let’s go. A check-up is a good idea. If we’re healthy, that’s great. If there’s a problem, early treatment gives us a better chance.”

Since Lin Nanye had spoken, Lin Father stopped objecting.

The whole family took a car to the city. Since it was already afternoon, they couldn’t get checked that day, so they stayed at a hotel. Lin Nanye went to the hospital and made an appointment for the next morning.

Early the next day, the entire family underwent a full-body check-up.

Thanks to Lin Nanzhi secretly adding small amounts of spiritual spring water to their food and their consumption of the low-grade red fruit, the results came back completely normal. They were in excellent health.

Lin Father saw the reports and let out a sigh of relief. “See? I told you we were fine. We just wasted all that money for nothing!”

—-

In 2013, medical fees weren’t subsidized yet, and a full-body check-up cost no less than 10,000 yuan per person. Lin Father couldn’t help but feel the pain of spending so much.

But Lin Nanzhi didn’t care.

It was worth it for peace of mind.

Money was meant to be spent—what was the point of earning it otherwise?

Just as Lin Father was complaining, the doctor examining Lin Nanye’s report suddenly frowned, his expression becoming serious. He looked at Lin Nanye and said, “You need to undergo a gastroscopy.”

The moment he said that, everyone except Lin Nanzhi turned pale.

Lin Nanzhi sighed inwardly.

She had still held onto a sliver of hope—hoping that Lin Nanye hadn’t yet developed cancer, that it was just a warning sign. She had been giving him spiritual spring water daily, believing it could prevent the disease. But in the end…

Lin Nanye seemed to have an idea of what was happening. He glanced at Lin Nanzhi but eventually reassured his parents and took the doctor’s referral for further testing.

The family anxiously watched the doctor, dreading bad news.

“Doctor, how is my son?” Lin Mother asked, her voice trembling.

The doctor glanced at the family. Judging by their decent clothes and the fact that they had all undergone full-body check-ups, he figured they weren’t short on money. And from their expressions, the patient seemed to have some awareness of his condition. So, he didn’t sugarcoat his words.

“To be honest, I don’t know whether to say you’re lucky or unlucky.”

Lin Nanye’s test results did show some issues.

“What kind of issues?”

“The medical term is intestinal metaplasia, a common gastric mucosal lesion that refers to…” The doctor began explaining with medical jargon that few in the room understood.

But they understood one thing: Lin Nanye was sick. Though caught early, there was no effective cure. Medication could only help manage the condition and reduce the chances of cancerous transformation.

Hearing this, the Lin family panicked. Lin Mother even burst into tears, clutching Lin Nanye’s hand in despair.

Lin Nanye hadn’t expected this outcome either.

In his past life, it had been a year later—his work habits of skipping meals and staying up late had caused the disease to progress to late-stage cancer. By then, it was too late, and chemotherapy was his only option.

“This illness is tricky, but we’ll do our best. It’s better to begin treatment as soon as possible,” the doctor advised.

“We’ll get him admitted immediately…”

“Next week,” Lin Nanye interrupted unexpectedly. He was even calmer than his parents, as if he had just caught a mild cold.

Ignoring his parents’ reactions, he pulled them out of the doctor’s office.

“Nanye, we have money. You have to get treated!”

“Dad, Mom, I know. I never said I wouldn’t. But school is starting soon. I need to go back and notify them. Also, I told you before—I partnered with a classmate to start a business. I have to inform them too.”

He planned to apply for early graduation. His credits were already complete, and he had only stayed because of the business. Now that this had happened, he had to settle things.

Hearing this, Lin Father and Lin Mother felt a little relieved and insisted on accompanying him. Knowing they were worried, Lin Nanye agreed.

Since they had all fasted for the check-ups, they were starving after the long process. They found a restaurant across from the hospital, had a meal, and then went home.

The car ride was unusually quiet.

Lin Nanzhi absentmindedly rubbed the jade ring on her right thumb, tracing its patterns as she thought to herself—she had to upgrade her spatial dimension and obtain a higher-grade red fruit.

She remembered that her parents had some minor health issues, but their check-up results had shown them to be even healthier than the average person. That meant the red fruit and spiritual spring water were indeed effective.

Then, if she could get a more advanced version…

Maybe she could completely cure her brother!

She had to try!