Chapter 10

Lin Xuerou's self-esteem was clearly hurt. Without turning her head, she shook her ponytail and turned to walk up the stairs.

Suddenly, she turned around and asked, "If you need help, just come to General Surgery Ward 4. I'll visit the elderly when I have time."

As she spoke, a white figure turned and disappeared up the stairs.

"What did she say?" Zhao Zhiqiang hadn't noticed her, as half of his attention was on the strange thing in his heart, which seemed to be changing.

Although Zhao Zhigang was only in high school, he was quite shrewd. Looking at the stairs that now seemed empty, he shook his head. "Bro, she said you can find her in General Surgery Ward 4, but I think you should have gotten her phone number..."

"What?"

"Uh, nothing..."

Zhao Zhigang's thoughts drifted back to the money that hadn't even warmed up yet.

"Speak up..."

"The food for Mom is a bit cold." Zhao Zhigang, though fully supportive of his older brother, was still a bit unhappy.

"That wasn't what you said just now." Zhao Zhiqiang's mind was still on the copper shell. Fifty thousand yuan, and it only gave him five times the usual mental control!

In other words, ten thousand yuan for one level?

"Damn, the cost-effectiveness is too low..." He muttered to himself, cursing the copper shell in his heart!

"Bro, what did you say?"

"Uh, nothing..."

"I said the food is a bit cold." Zhao Zhigang thought his brother was angry and looked at his face seriously. "Also, your face is too pale. I'll go buy you a black chicken to eat later!"

"Let's talk about my issues later. I'll find some hot water to warm up the food. Sigh, don't put on a sour face. About the money, I'll take care of it. From tomorrow, focus on your studies. You're going to be a senior next year, and the Zhao family is counting on you! Don't worry, with me around, the debt of over a hundred thousand yuan and Mom's illness won't be a problem!"

He patted his brother's head and smiled.

Zhao Zhigang, hearing his brother's words, noticed that his brother's spirit seemed much better, and his body seemed to have some strength, though his pale face was still a bit scary...

As they talked and walked, they soon entered the Nephrology Ward, Room C746, a standard three-bed room, but now with four beds.

Before they even entered, they heard a woman speaking loudly inside.

"I told you, Zhao Jincái, you said you'd pay us back two years ago, but you keep saying you'll pay soon. This 'soon' has been going on for three years! Are you going to pay or not? If you can't pay, I think you should give us that irrigated land below the ditch. Five thousand yuan, with interest, should be seven thousand after three years. Let us farm it for ten years, and it will connect with my land, perfect for a greenhouse. You can grow corn and make at most five hundred yuan a year, but if we farm it, you won't lose anything. What do you think?"

The woman's voice was grating, making Zhao Zhiqiang and his brother feel very uncomfortable, but they recognized who was speaking.

The two brothers entered the ward one after the other.

Their mother, wearing a hospital gown, sat on the bed, looking exhausted.

The woman stood with her legs apart, her thick body like a wall. Beside her was a short man with a young son, making the already crowded ward even more cramped.

What annoyed Zhao Zhiqiang the most was that they were demanding money in the hospital. Wasn't this just adding to their troubles!

Money, it's not like we won't pay...

But since they owed the money, they had to endure it for now.

"Daqiang, why are you here?"

Mother Hua Xuemei was surprised. Her face, which must have been quite attractive in her youth, was now haggard.

Seeing her eldest son, she was nervous. "Your illness—hasn't it healed yet? Sigh, I can go home after dialysis..."

"Mom, I'm fine." Grabbing his mother's hand, Zhao Zhiqiang felt his nose tingle, almost tearing up, but the tears turned and went back.

In just a few days, Mom had lost more weight, and her face was frighteningly yellow.

Zhao Zhigang glanced at the woman and prepared to heat up the food with hot water. Neither of the brothers acknowledged the neighbors from their village. To them, demanding money in front of others was a huge loss of face, and they were seething inside.

"Oh, isn't this Daqiang, who went to serve in the military and even went abroad? You're back and didn't even visit Auntie. What's wrong, are you sick too?" The woman exaggeratedly twisted her waist. "Tsk tsk, what's wrong with your family? Everyone is sick!"

"Your whole family is sick!"

Zhao Zhiqiang retorted.

He had tried to suppress his anger, as he didn't know if the money was owed for Mom's treatment. After all, they had helped, so he didn't speak at first. But this woman had cursed his whole family!

"You, you!" The woman was taken aback by Zhao Zhiqiang's response and was speechless for a moment.

"Mom, why did we borrow money from her?"

Hua Xuemei smoothed her already neat hair, took a sip of water from her son, and glanced at the neighbor. "Three years ago, we borrowed your Uncle Wang's ox to plow the land. The ox died, and the five thousand yuan was the compensation your father agreed to pay."

Zhao Zhigang suddenly interjected, "Bro, that ox, the village head said it was worth at most three thousand. But she said it was pregnant and insisted on five thousand. With interest over three years, it's now seven thousand. I heard they want to take over our good land because they heard it might be expropriated!"

The short man tugged at his wife's arm. "Cuifhua, I told you not to come here, but you insisted..."

"Get lost! You good-for-nothing, without me, you're nothing!" The fat woman suddenly erupted. "Without me, could you manage? A good ox died, and they don't pay, who will? You're just like Zhao Jincái, good for nothing, always hungry!"

"What did you say?" Zhao Zhiqiang roared immediately!

Slap!

Slap!

Slap!

Three very loud slaps!

Louder than the three slaps on Zhao Tiejun.

The enraged Zhao Zhiqiang couldn't hold back any longer. Just as he was about to stand up and argue with the woman, two fragrant figures suddenly rushed in from the door. Before he could see who they were, he heard the continuous sound of slaps!

Hua Xuemei was terrified and grabbed her standing son.

Zhao Zhigang was so surprised that he almost dropped the food box.

Zhao Zhiqiang was also confused and didn't see clearly.

The man was pushed to the side, and the child was frightened by the sudden incident and cried out.

"Auntie!" The child, seeing the person he feared the most, immediately burst into tears.

"Cuifhua! How can you bully people like this! Demanding money is one thing, but your mother is still on dialysis. If you were sick, would you want someone to come to the hospital and demand money? You act as if you've never seen money before. Your family isn't really in such dire straits that you can't even afford a meal! Shameless!"

Chen Liqin and Su Fengrong didn't take much effort. They just thought it was inappropriate to visit a patient empty-handed, so they bought some food from the supermarket at the bottom of the building, which is why they arrived a bit later than Zhao Zhiqiang.

As they reached the door, they heard Cuifhua's harsh words.

The two women, both known for their toughness, one wanting to befriend Zhao Zhiqiang and the other Zhao Zhigang, exchanged a glance. Chen Liqin went in first, followed by Su Fengrong, and they immediately slapped Cuifhua's face cleanly and swiftly!

"Hit you, you shameless, despicable woman!"

Hitting her? For Chen Liqin, it wasn't the first time...

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