Standing in the hospital ward corridor, Long Zhanjun’s hands trembled slightly!
In fact, before coming here, he had still held onto a sliver of hope!
Although all signs pointed to his mother having a serious health issue, he thought that since she wasn’t young anymore, it might just be an age-related condition.
So, when Long Zhanjun arrived in Chang’an, he still secretly hoped that his mother’s condition wasn’t as serious as he’d feared.
But the old doctor’s words just now had shattered his last shred of hope. His mother’s condition was far worse than he had imagined—so severe that her life could be in danger at any moment.
What made him feel most desperate, however, was that even if his mother underwent surgery now, the success rate wasn’t very high!
Even if it were successful, she would only have a few more years to live afterward.
“Brother Yi, my mother…”
Before Long Zhanjun could finish, Li Yi cut him off: “Listen to me—your mother absolutely needs surgery. We have to save her life first, then we’ll see if there’s a chance for further treatment later!”
Although Li Yi wasn’t a professional doctor, he knew that many conditions that currently seemed incurable might one day be treatable as medical technology advanced.
“Yeah, but I’m counting on you for the medical costs, Yi. No matter how much it costs, consider it a loan from your brother!” Long Zhanjun said solemnly.
“Don’t worry about the money. Didn’t we already agree on this back in Yong County? I’d save your mom and sister, and you’d work for me. Are you going back on your word now?” Li Yi said.
“No, I just don’t want you to lose out on this, Brother Yi. It’s ten thousand yuan—I’m not worth that much!”
“Haha, I know exactly whether you’re worth it or not!” Li Yi said.
“Alright, from now on, my life belongs to you!” Long Zhanjun declared with unwavering resolve.
“Your life is still your own. Just do a good job from now on. You’ll be proud of the choice you made today!” Li Yi said.
“Mm-hmm! Thanks, Brother Yi!”
Li Yi didn’t say a word; instead, he pulled a stack of bills straight out of his pocket and handed it to Long Zhanjun.
“Here’s three thousand yuan. Use this to cover your hospital bill first; I’ll bring you the rest later!” Li Yi said.
Long Zhanjun didn’t make a fuss; he took the money and said, “Alright, no need to say more. We’ll see how you perform from now on!”
“Got it!”
…….
At noon, the group had lunch at the hospital cafeteria—a simple, inexpensive meal.
After the meal, Li Yi took Tang Xue back to the guesthouse, while Long Zhanjun stayed at the hospital with Ni Qiu and Zhou Ling—after all, the doctors were scheduled to examine his mother and sister that afternoon.
Once back at the guesthouse, Zhou Yang immediately called Tang Xue over and said, “Xiao Xue, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you!”
“Is it about Aunt Jiang’s medical bills?”
Tang Xue was a smart girl; she guessed right away!
“Yeah, I made a promise to Dalong. He’s doing me a favor, so I’ll help pay for his mother and sister’s medical treatment!” Li Yi said.
Tang Xue sighed and said, “You’re doing this for my sake, too. At the end of the day, I’m the one dragging you down!”
Li Yi smiled and said, “Don’t say that. You’re my wife—your problems are my problems. What do you mean, a burden?”
“But if it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have agreed to Da Long’s terms. That’s over ten thousand yuan!” Tang Xue said.
“Haha, ten thousand yuan is certainly a lot, but I value Dalong as a person even more!”
“What do you value about him?” Tang Xue asked curiously.
“His ability, character, and loyalty!”
Li Yi continued, “Xiao Xue, we can’t stay cooped up in that little village of Nianzishan forever. Someday we’ll have to head to a bigger city. We can’t do it on our own—we have to build our own team!”
“Dalong is a former soldier—his competence goes without saying. Plus, he’s devoted to his parents, loyal to his friends, and his brotherly loyalty is second to none. A man like that is priceless!”
Tang Xue nodded and said, “Hmm, you’re a man; you think more long-term. You can make the decision on this!”
“Alright, then I’ll go to the bank to withdraw some money in a bit. You just take a nap inside!” Li Yi said.
“Alright!”
Then Tang Xue asked again, “By the way, when are we going home?”
“We’ll wait until Aunt Jiang and the others have finished their surgeries. I need to see how the surgeries go before I can arrange Dalong’s next assignment!” Li Yi said.
“Doesn’t that mean we’ll have to stay here for over a week?” Tang Xue frowned.
“What’s wrong? Don’t you want to stay anymore?”
“Well, when we first arrived in Nianzishan Village, I absolutely didn’t want to stay there and kept thinking about going back to Yong County. But now I find myself thinking about Nianzishan Village all the time—I just feel more at ease there!” Tang Xue said.
“Heh, that means you’ve already come to regard Nianzishan Village as your home!”
“You’re right. Before, the only thing I missed about Yong County was my parents and relatives, but now I’ve lost all of that, so I just want to go back as soon as possible!”
“Alright, we’ll try to get back as soon as possible!”
“Mm-hmm!”
After saying this, Li Yi immediately took a passbook out of his suitcase and headed out the door.
When he came to Qin Province this time, Li Yi knew things wouldn’t be peaceful, so in addition to carrying a few thousand yuan on him, he’d also brought the passbook.
He’d originally intended it as a precaution, but he never expected he’d actually need it!
Li Yi had already inquired about whether he could withdraw money from the passbook at an out-of-town branch.
It was possible, but he couldn’t withdraw from a different bank, and there would be a service fee.
Li Yi’s passbook was from the Agricultural Bank of China, so he could only withdraw from an Agricultural Bank branch.
A staff member at the guesthouse told him there was an Agricultural Bank branch nearby, so Li Yi headed straight there.
When the teller learned that Li Yi was making an out-of-town withdrawal, she was somewhat surprised, and became even more cautious upon hearing that he wanted to withdraw 10,000 yuan.
After checking his passbook, various identification documents, and letter of introduction, and confirming everything was in order, she finally processed the transaction.
After nearly half an hour of back-and-forth, just as Li Yi’s patience was about to run out, the teller finally handed him the money.
Once he had the money, Li Yi didn’t linger at the bank; he rushed straight to the hospital!
After all, this was life-saving money; the sooner it was delivered, the sooner Long Zhanjun and the hospital staff could rest easy!
When Long Zhanjun took the remaining 7,000 yuan from Li Yi’s hands, the burly man’s eyes instantly welled up with tears.
Although he didn’t know how Li Yi had found out about his mother’s condition, nor did he know what Li Yi was up to—the man was too mysterious, so mysterious it was almost frightening.
But Long Zhanjun understood that without Li Yi, his mother’s life might not have been saved.
And, of course, his sister’s as well!
It could be said that Li Yi was a benefactor to his mother and sister, and to him, Long Zhanjun—a benefactor who had saved their lives!
So he secretly resolved that from now on, his life belonged to Li Yi. He would follow Li Yi’s lead without question, with no regrets, and would never betray him!
At that moment, Long Zhanjun’s heart was completely subjugated!