Chapter 1

"Xiaobo, don't worry about the family. Don't send all the money you earn. Take care of yourself; I will take care of your father!"

"Okay, Mom, you should also persuade Dad to go to the hospital for treatment!"

Yang Bo spoke a few more words to his mother and hung up the phone. Tears streamed down his face like a broken string. His father had liver cancer, and the family could not afford the high cost of treatment, so they could only endure at home!

Yang Bo consulted about the cost of liver cancer treatment. The first year would cost 500,000 yuan, and the second year would cost 350,000 yuan. In other words, to cure his father's illness, he needed at least 850,000 yuan, which was an astronomical figure for him!

But for his father, he had to raise this money!

"Yang Bo! Yang Bo! What are you doing? Are you slacking off again? Quickly come and serve the guests some tea!"

A shout pulled Yang Bo out of his thoughts. He hurriedly replied, "Okay, I'm coming!"

Yang Bo wiped away his tears, forced a smile, and ran out, "I'm coming!"

Yang Bo served a cup of tea to the guest. The tea was Mingqian Longjing, which was the rule at Gu De Zhai. The boss would give different signals based on the guest's status, and Yang Bo would serve the tea according to these signals.

"Serving tea" meant a regular guest, and Bi Luo Chun would suffice; "serving good tea" meant a higher-status guest, and at this time, Xinyang Maojian would be used; if the boss shouted "serving the best tea," then Mingqian Longjing would be required.

There were rarely times when Mingqian Longjing was served in the shop. After serving the tea, Yang Bo took a closer look. The guest was around fifty years old and was having a lively conversation with the boss. On the table was a blue-and-white porcelain vase.

The blue-and-white porcelain vase had a deep and dark glaze, which was still considered quite good. However, the boss using Mingqian Longjing seemed to be a bit too much.

Yang Bo quickly made a judgment. After graduating from high school without getting into college, he had become an apprentice at an antique shop. It was now his second year. Although the boss was not willing to teach him much, Yang Bo had learned a lot about antiques through his own efforts.

However, this knowledge was of no use now. He could not possibly intercept the sale of the porcelain and buy it to resell it! Intercepting a sale would break the rules and would be met with resistance from all the antique shops, and he did not have the capital for it!

His monthly salary was 1,800 yuan. To save money for his father's treatment, he lived in the shop and sent 1,500 yuan back home each month, but this was far from enough!

850,000 yuan felt like a heavy stone pressing on Yang Bo's chest!

The guest and the boss discussed for a few moments, and soon the boss, with his silver tongue, sold the porcelain vase. They exchanged money and signed the contract.

After the guest left, the boss, Guo Bapi, walked around the porcelain vase with a satisfied smile, seemingly proud and unable to share his joy. He boasted to Yang Bo, "This blue-and-white porcelain vase is from the Qing Dynasty, during the Guangxu period. Although it is not as good as the earlier ones, I bought it for 50,000 yuan, and I can resell it for double! Haha!"

Guo Bapi carried the porcelain vase into the inner room to put it in the safe!

Yang Bo forced a smile at the boss but thought to himself, 50,000 yuan, that's 50,000 yuan. If he had this money, his father could be admitted to the hospital for treatment!

He waited until lunchtime to go out and buy a boxed meal. To save money, Guo Bapi usually gave him only 20 yuan, enough for one 10-yuan boxed meal. To save more, Yang Bo would use his share to buy a 5-yuan fried rice, thus saving enough for dinner!

It was noon, and the sun was scorching. There were few pedestrians on the road. As Yang Bo walked, he still thought about his father's illness. Should he quit his job and go to work at a construction site? Although the work was harder, he could earn more!

He looked down at his thin body and hesitated.

"Little brother, please help me! I haven't eaten for three days!"

Yang Bo suddenly heard a voice from the roadside. He turned to see an old man in tattered clothes, leaning on the steps, his forehead covered in sweat!

He hesitated for a moment but did not turn back. He continued walking forward. He was struggling to take care of himself; how could he help others?

If he did good deeds every day and prayed sincerely, would his father's illness improve?

Yang Bo's heart stirred. 850,000 yuan was too far away, and he had no idea how to raise it. He could only place his hope in the gods, hoping to move them!

When he returned, Yang Bo had a box of fried rice in his hand. He gently placed it in front of the old beggar without saying a word.

The old beggar looked up at Yang Bo, "Thank you, little brother, you are truly a good person!"

Yang Bo nodded slightly and turned to leave, thinking about whether he should eat dinner.

"Little brother, wait a moment!"

Yang Bo suddenly heard the beggar's voice behind him. He turned to see the old beggar holding a green glass bead, "Little brother, this is for you."

Yang Bo looked at the bead. It was irregular in shape but had a smooth and lustrous appearance in the sunlight. However, he knew that such a glass bead was not valuable, though it was more expensive than the fried rice. He quickly shook his head, "I can't accept it!"

"Little brother, please take it," the old beggar said, holding the fried rice in one hand and the glass bead in the other, "I found this by chance. No one wants it, so I might as well give it to you, a kind young man!"

With that, the old beggar turned and left.

Yang Bo stood there for a moment, shaking his head, truly puzzled!

As soon as he held the glass bead, Yang Bo felt a cool and refreshing sensation in his eyes, and then his entire body felt as if it was immersed in icy water, making him feel very comfortable.

He did not know how long it had been, but he suddenly came to his senses and quickly ran back with the boxed meal.

When he returned to the shop, Guo Bapi scolded him, "What's wrong with you today? Why did you take so long? Do you know that time is life? You are wasting my life, do you understand?"

Yang Bo nodded slightly, "The boxed meal shop was very busy today, and I had to wait in line!"

"Did you go to help a pretty girl? Did you fall for the daughter of the boxed meal shop?"

Yang Bo did not respond. He had indeed helped there before to save a meal, but he had no other intentions. However, Guo Bapi had always misunderstood him, and he did not bother to explain.

Guo Bapi huffed and took the boxed meal to eat inside the shop.

Yang Bo took out his fried rice and disposable chopsticks. Suddenly, he thought of a question: Where was the glass bead?

The old beggar had given the glass bead to him, and he had been holding it the whole time!

He looked at the time; it was already 1 PM. He had returned half an hour later than usual, which meant he had stood there for half an hour!

But why had he not sweated much?

Yang Bo could not understand the reason and did not want to think about it further. He picked up the chopsticks and started eating the fried rice!