Chapter 22: Critical Illness

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Xia Ruofei laughed and said.

“This little girl is quite smart! You’ve guessed it so quickly!”

Xia Ruofei knew so much about Lin Qiao, so it was naturally through Lin Hu. When they were in the army, Xia Ruofei and Lin Hu were the best brothers, and Lin Hu doted on his sister. The two of them often talked about his sister when they chatted.

Lin Qiao usually attended high school in the county city. The last time Xia Ruofei came to Little Island Village, the two of them did not manage to meet.

As for Lin Qiao, she had naturally never seen Xia Ruofei before.

However, when Hu Zi sent photos home in the past, there were photos of Xia Ruofei and him. Although a few years had passed and Xia Ruofei had long lost his youthful appearance as a recruit, Lin Qiao still felt that he looked a little familiar.

In addition, Xia Ruofei had said so much about her just now. Moreover, she heard from her mother that Xia Ruofei had come to Little Island Village not long ago, so Lin Qiao quickly guessed Xia Ruofei’s identity.

After confirming Xia Ruofei’s identity, Lin Qiao was naturally very excited. However, she quickly realized something and quickly said.

“Brother Ruofei! Leave Little Island Village quickly! This Zhong Qiang is a tyrant in the village. His father is also the village director. If you beat him up, they will definitely not let you off!”

Xia Ruofei smiled indifferently and said.

“Let’s not talk about this first. Lin Qiao, aren’t you studying in the county city? It’s not the weekend today. Why are you at home? Also, I heard from those hooligans that your mother’s illness is very serious. Didn’t I already transfer 500,000 yuan to Auntie’s account? Why didn’t you go for treatment?”

Although uremia was very dangerous, if one persisted in doing treatment, it should not worsen immediately.

Of course, if she wanted to cure it completely, she still had to change the kidney. Otherwise, it would only be a temporary solution.

Lin Qiao’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Brother Ruofei, so you were the one who transferred the 500,000 yuan? I knew it…”

When Xia Ruofei transferred the money, he was worried that Hu Zi’s mother would reject such a huge sum of money, so he transferred it anonymously. Therefore, Hu Zi’s mother and Lin Qiao did not know who transferred the money.

Seeing Lin Qiao’s expression, Xia Ruofei could not help but have a bad feeling. He could not help but ask.

“Why? Auntie didn’t use the money, is it?”

Lin Qiao smiled bitterly and said.

“My mother is a person like that… The money came from an unknown source. She said someone else might have made a wrong transaction, so she insisted on not using it. She… She hasn’t been on dialysis for a month…”

At this point, Lin Qiao’s eyes couldn’t help but turn red.

“This… isn’t this a huge mistake? How can she survive so long without dialysis?” Xia Ruofei couldn’t help but cry out. Then he asked nervously, “How is Auntie now?”

“It’s not very good…” Two tears fell from Lin Qiao’s eyes as she sobbed.” She has been bedridden for a week… Brother Ruofei, if this continues, I’m afraid my mother won’t be able to hold on for long…”

Xia Ruofei quickly comforted her.

“It’s fine, it’s fine! Lin Qiao, with me around, Auntie will be fine!”

Hearing Xia Ruofei’s words, the helpless Lin Qiao seemed to feel a sense of support all of a sudden. Her uneasy emotions slowly eased.

At this moment, Lin Qiao recalled the matter about Zhong Qiang and hurriedly said.

“Brother Ruofei! Zhong Qiang will definitely seek revenge on you. You… you should leave first! We’ll talk about Mom’s illness a few days later…”

Xia Ruofei said nonchalantly.

“Don’t worry, girl! If that Zhong Qiang dares to come over again, I don’t mind letting him taste my fist again!”

Lin Qiao had seen Xia Ruofei’s heroic act with her own eyes and was relieved to hear that.

However, she was still worried. After all, this was a lawful society. Many things did not work just because one was strong.

Not only was Zhong Qiang the son of the village director, but he also had an uncle who was an official in the town’s police station. In Lin Qiao’s opinion, this was considered a strong background. How could ordinary people afford to offend him!

She glanced at Xia Ruofei worriedly. Seeing that he still looked indifferent, she did not dare to persuade him further. She obediently followed Xia Ruofei and walked towards her house.

Soon they reached the house at the east end of the village.

This was Hu Zi’s house.

Such houses were basically extinct in the economically developed coastal areas. They were also the only one in Little Island Village.

The mottled walls, dilapidated roof, and dilapidated courtyard all revealed how poor this family was.

With one hand on the shoulder pole, Xia Ruofei pushed open the courtyard door that was about to fall off and walked straight into the overgrown courtyard.

He went to the door of the simple kitchen on the right side of the house and poured both buckets of water into the vat under the eaves before walking into the house with Lin Qiao.

The house was filled with junk, and the light was dim.

However, Xia Ruofei’s vision seemed to have improved a lot after absorbing the tricolored petals. He did not feel uncomfortable coming in from outside.

There was a worn out wooden bed on the inside of the house. Hu Zi’s mother was half lying on it, two pillows beneath her.

Xia Ruofei immediately saw that Hu Zi’s mother’s face was very pale and her edema was very serious. She was on the verge of death.

Hearing footsteps, Hu Zi’s mother thought her daughter had returned. She gave a low moan and said weakly.

“Qiao’er, you’re back?”

Xia Ruofei hurriedly walked forward and squatted down in front of the bed.

“Auntie, it’s me!”

Hu Zi’s mother struggled to open her eyes. After seeing Xia Ruofei, she forced a smile and said.

“It’s… Ruofei… Quick… Take a seat…”

Seeing Hu Zi’s mother like this, Xia Ruofei almost cried as he asked.

“Auntie! I sent you some money. Why didn’t you go for dialysis?”

Hu Zi’s mother struggled to sit up when she heard this. As she panted, she said.

“So… so you were the one who transferred the money… child… where… where did you get so much money?”

“Auntie… Don’t worry about where I got the money from. You’re already so sick. Why didn’t you take the money to see the doctor first?” Xia Ruofei said with heartache.

At the same time, he felt even more guilty.

If he had known this would happen, he would have come back after transferring the money. No matter how much Hu Zi’s mother refused, even if he had to carry her to the hospital by force, it would not have delayed her illness to such a serious extent.

“Child… you just retired from the army, where did you get so much money? Don’t tell me you…” Hu Zi’s mother was clearly worried that Xia Ruofei did not take the right path and asked anxiously.

“Auntie, I sold the house a few days ago. Including my discharge fee, I only managed to raise 500,000 yuan. There’s definitely no problem with the source of it!” Xia Ruofei hurriedly explained.

“Ah? Sell the house!” Hu Zi’s mother said anxiously. “How can you do that? Ruofei, why are you so impulsive?”

Seeing that Hu Zi’s mother was struggling to speak, Xia Ruofei hurriedly said.

“Auntie! Let’s not talk about this first… I heard about a prescription a few days ago. It’s said to be very effective for uremia, so I made some medicine and brought it over. Take the medicine first!”

With that, Xia Ruofei quickly opened the military satchel and took out the bottle of petal solution.