Chapter 4: A Single Penny Defeats a Hero

Kong Yizhang stood up abruptly upon hearing this, but remembering something, he suppressed the words that were on the tip of his tongue: "Where are you?"

Liu Chuxue glanced around nonchalantly and lowered her voice: "The post and telecommunications office at Baiye Commune."

"I'll come find you in an hour and a half. I'll also need to trouble you to help me carry some of the things I need to bring over."

Liu Chuxue naturally understood the implication of his words: "No problem."

After hanging up the phone, Kong Yizhang hurriedly set about gathering his people. He understood that something must have happened to Fu Yancheng; otherwise, he wouldn't have risked sending a message. After all, they had previously agreed that this code would not be used unless it was an absolute last resort.

Meanwhile, Liu Chuxue, having left the post office, already had a plan in mind. Since her aunt was being heartless, she shouldn't blame her for being unrighteous.

She first went to school and, after explaining her family situation to her homeroom teacher, requested a week of leave.

Afterward, she wandered around the classroom, greeted a few classmates she got along well with, and specifically asked the only male student in the class who owned a watch for the time before leaving the school.

Then, she hurried toward the township health center.

By the time she arrived, the elderly Liu couple had already left, and the original owner's mother was wiping away tears in the corridor outside the ward.

Seeing Liu Chuxue approach, she asked, "Why are you here?"

"I was worried about Dad, so I asked my homeroom teacher for leave."

Hearing this, Mother Liu's tears flowed again. Fearing that her husband inside the ward might hear, she raised her hand to cover her mouth.

Liu Chuxue peeked into the ward and lowered her voice: "Mom, what is the situation exactly?"

Mother Liu wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with her sleeve and choked out, "The doctors at the health center told us to seek treatment at a higher-level hospital. They said it would be best to go to the city. The reservoir construction site said that since it wasn't working hours, they would only be responsible for half of the medical expenses.

I asked the old director of the health center, and he said your father's injury is quite serious. He mentioned needing steel pins and such, fearing it wouldn't cost less than two or three hundred, and there's no guarantee it can be fully cured, not to mention the aftermath. But your grandparents said the family can't come up with that much money."

As she spoke, her tears fell once more.

Liu Chuxue heard this and said, "Mom, no matter how much it costs, this illness must be treated, and we can't delay it for too long, or we risk missing the optimal window for treatment."

Mother Liu knew this all too well, but her parents-in-law had said they needed to go home and discuss it. She was a clever woman unable to cook without rice, and with no one to consult, she was nearly frantic with worry.

Although Liu Chuxue was not the original owner, she had, after all, taken over her body: "Mom, don't worry yet. Since the reservoir side said they would pay half the medical expenses, even if the family can't come up with much, it's impossible that they can't pay a single cent. I'll go to my sister's place and see if I can borrow some from my brother-in-law. A living person shouldn't be suffocated by a lack of options."

Hearing her second daughter's words, Mother Liu felt a sense of resolve; she knew she couldn't keep avoiding the issue: "Then Mom will go back to the village and see if I can borrow some from the villagers. We can't bet everything on the family."

With the matter settled, Liu Chuxue entered the ward. Looking at the weathered man on the hospital bed, she felt a complex mix of emotions.

Truly, a single cent can stump a hero. No matter the era, it is impossible to move an inch without money.

Sensing someone approaching the bed, Father Liu turned his head and squeezed out a smile that looked worse than crying: "Chuxue, why are you here?"

Remembering something, he hurriedly added: "Dad is fine. You should hurry back to school for class."

His second daughter would graduate from high school in a few months, and he couldn't let his situation affect her studies. If she didn't get her diploma, all her schooling would have been in vain. Thinking of his own condition, he despairingly clenched his hands hidden under the quilt.