Chapter 50

Every morning now, Old Qin takes his Pekingese, Duo Fu, for a walk in Yuhu Park. After Old Qin’s careful care for some time, although Duo Fu’s size hasn’t changed much, his fur has become even more beautiful, the golden yellow fur almost seems to shine. Walking down the street, the回头率 (turning heads) rate has significantly increased.

Through this period of feeding, Old Qin has found that Duo Fu is particularly smart, far surpassing ordinary dogs. However, a dog is still a dog, and its nature cannot be changed. Duo Fu likes to wander around on the road, which gives Old Qin a headache. But at his age, Old Qin is very patient. No matter how Duo Fu misbehaves on the road, he doesn’t get angry at all.

"Old Qin, your little son is turning into a demon," Old Liu teased.

"Why don’t you just marry your little daughter to him? What do you think?" Old Qin, not at all angry, immediately countered. The "little daughter" Old Qin referred to was Old Liu’s pet white dog.

"Your eldest son isn’t even married yet. You’re already worrying about your youngest son’s marriage? If you want to marry my Bai Xue, that’s fine. But you have to follow the rules and send the dowry first. According to our Tanshan rules, it should be at least one in a hundred thousand, right?" Old Liu laughed.

"Come on. Your Bai Xue can be bought for a hundred yuan at the back gate of the park. Do you believe me? Whether Duo Fu will even look at her is another matter. You’re acting like Bai Xue is your little daughter. In the countryside, even breeding pigs and cattle requires payment. If you want Bai Xue to breed with Duo Fu, you’d better bring a good bottle of wine and beg me, or don’t even think about it," Old Qin said.

Old Liu thought about it and realized he really did need to beg Old Qin. Old Qin’s Duo Fu was quite extraordinary, and Old Liu had always been envious. Although his Bai Xue was beautiful, she was far less intelligent than Duo Fu. He had been thinking about breeding Bai Xue with Duo Fu, hoping their offspring would be as smart as Duo Fu.

"Hey, Old Qin. Yesterday, my daughter and son-in-law brought me a good bottle of wine. Tomorrow, I’ll bring some peanuts, and we can enjoy it together, how about that?" Old Liu was led into a trap by Old Qin. He only had one daughter, but if you counted Bai Xue, she could be called his eldest daughter.

Old Qin saw that Old Liu had been led into the trap and couldn’t stop laughing.

"Ah, it’s still better to have a daughter. I’m most worried about where to get the dowry and the money for a new house if my son gets married," Old Qin scratched his head.

"You have yourself to blame. If you had been more proactive, your son would be about the same age as my grandson. If your son were the same age as my daughter, we could have been in-laws. I promise I wouldn’t ask for any dowry. But your son is a doctor at the central hospital, so you don’t need to worry. He won’t have trouble finding a partner. I saw Xiao Chuan on TV yesterday. Such a handsome young man, so many girls are vying for him. You just wait and see," Old Liu said.

"All this talk is useless. It ultimately depends on the children’s own wishes," Old Qin said, looking at Duo Fu running far away and immediately chasing after him.

"Don’t worry, your Duo Fu is so smart, no one can trick him away," Old Liu shouted from behind.

After Qin Chuan finished his shift, he didn’t go home immediately. Gao Zhanting parked her car next to Qin Chuan, "Xiao Chuan, do you want me to give you a ride home?"

Qin Chuan shook his head, "I’m not going home yet. I’m going to Youzi Cave."

"Where is Youzi Cave?" Gao Zhanting had never heard of this place.

"In the suburbs, near Jiutan Development Zone. Yao Si Hai is from there. I want to go and understand his family situation. This person is quite pitiful. I heard he has two adopted sons. I want to understand why these two adopted sons don’t care about Yao Si Hai," Qin Chuan said.

"Xiao Chuan, I actually want to advise you not to get involved in this. Yao Si Hai is staying in the hospital, and that’s the hospital’s problem. If anyone should handle it, it’s the administrative staff. You just focus on treating patients. Getting involved in these matters could cause trouble. People these days are hard to deal with. I know you have good intentions, but others might not appreciate it," Gao Zhanting immediately advised, fearing that Qin Chuan’s kindness would lead to trouble.

"It’s fine. Don’t worry, Zhanting. I’m just curious. I won’t force anything. I just want to gather some information. If Yao Si Hai has any relatives who can come and take care of him, give him some care, it would be better than the current situation," Qin Chuan said.

Seeing that she couldn’t persuade Qin Chuan, Gao Zhanting had no choice but to let him do as he pleased. Sometimes, growth comes at a cost, "Be careful. Don’t be too stubborn, okay?"

"I know, don’t worry. Drive carefully," Qin Chuan also reminded Gao Zhanting.

Gao Zhanting felt a warm feeling in her heart, slowly started the car, and after driving a short distance, stopped and turned back to Qin Chuan, "Get in the car!"

Qin Chuan walked over and asked, "Zhanting, what’s up?"

"I don’t want to go home anyway, and I have nowhere else to go. I might as well accompany you on your foolish errand," Gao Zhanting’s face showed a sweet smile. A woman like Gao Zhanting shouldn’t smile, or her charm would be overwhelming. Qin Chuan was momentarily stunned.

"Foolish boy, get in the car quickly, what are you staring at?" Gao Zhanting could see Qin Chuan’s reaction, her face slightly blushing, but she quickly covered it up.

Qin Chuan quickly got in the car and fastened his seatbelt.

"Where is it? Do you know where it is?" Gao Zhanting asked.

"I’m not sure. It should be near Jiutan. If we head in that direction, we should be fine. Let’s use the navigation. Youzi Cave Village, it should be able to find it," Qin Chuan opened his phone’s Baidu Maps and entered Youzi Cave Village, and indeed found the location.

"If I didn’t go with you, how did you plan to get there?" Gao Zhanting asked.

"I could just take a taxi," Qin Chuan really didn’t know how to get there, but he planned to take a taxi.

"In such a remote place, a taxi might not be willing to take you," Gao Zhanting said.

"At most, they’ll charge a bit more. I don’t look like someone who would rob them," Qin Chuan laughed.

"That’s true. But I didn’t realize you’re so strong. Having a martial arts expert like you in our emergency department has greatly improved our safety," Gao Zhanting recalled Qin Chuan’s combat skills during the night shift, where a large, burly man was no match for him.

"Sis, I don’t tell this to just anyone. But to you, I’ll say it. I’m actually a martial arts expert," Qin Chuan joked.

"Really? I didn’t realize I had a martial arts expert by my side. Great hero, are your parents aware of your skills?" Gao Zhanting was amused by Qin Chuan.

The two of them spent the journey in a very relaxed atmosphere.

When they arrived at Youzi Cave Village, Qin Chuan and Gao Zhanting got a general idea of the village’s condition. The village was not in good shape, still some distance from the Jiutan Development Zone, and likely not within the expropriation range. The village was full of vegetable greenhouses.

"Sis, park the car here first. I’ll get out and ask around," Qin Chuan said.

Gao Zhanting stopped the car, and Qin Chuan jumped out, walking to the edge of a field and waving to a local.

"Uncle, are you busy?"

"Yes, young man, who are you looking for?" The local stopped his work.

"Uncle, I want to ask you about someone," Qin Chuan walked over and offered the local a piece of betel nut.

The local took the betel nut and skillfully cracked it open, "Who are you asking about?"

"Yao Si Hai, do you know him?" Qin Chuan asked.

"Why are you asking about him?" The local was still cautious.

"I’m a doctor from the central hospital’s emergency department. Yao Si Hai has been staying in the emergency department. Do you know about this?" Qin Chuan said.

The local thought Qin Chuan was there to collect medical fees, "Even if you come to our village, it won’t help. Yao Si Hai only has a dilapidated house. A strong wind might blow it away."

"Doesn’t he have two sons?" Qin Chuan asked.

"He’s never been married, where did he get sons from?" The local said casually.

"That’s not true. I heard he adopted two sons!" Qin Chuan was surprised.

"You’ve heard about that too. They’re like ungrateful wolves. Let me tell you, Yao Si Hai is foolish. When those two kids came to his house, they were already teenagers. He went to Tanshan City to collect garbage and used all of it to send those two ungrateful wolves to school. Later, when they graduated and got jobs, they both felt ashamed of their garbage-collecting adoptive father and disowned him. Because Yao Si Hai adopted two sons, he doesn’t qualify for the five-guarantees program or receive any relief or low-income assistance. He’s been severely hurt by those two beasts. Don’t expect to get medical fees from them," the local said.

"I’m not here to collect medical fees. I’m a doctor, and that’s not my concern. I came to see if Yao Si Hai has any relatives. He can’t even get a proper meal in the hospital, and his clothes haven’t been changed in years. This can’t go on much longer," Qin Chuan said.

"Yao Si Hai has a sister. She used to visit him in the hospital. But now she’s old and in poor health, barely able to take care of herself. His nephews don’t care much for their uncle. Think about it, Yao Si Hai worked so hard to raise two unrelated adopted sons while neglecting his own nephews. How can you expect them to be filial to him now?" the local said.

"That’s true, but you can’t blame Yao Si Hai entirely. Who could have thought he would raise two ungrateful wolves?" Qin Chuan said.

"Exactly. I heard one of them is even a government official in the city. With such low moral standards, he’s still a leader," the local said angrily.