To the southeast of Maple Forest City, there is a small town with beautiful scenery and simple folk customs.
A small river flows outside the town, and it has been as peaceful as this town for many years.
The fourteen-year-old boy has a handsome appearance, and his facial features give people a clean and comfortable feeling. He is wearing a simple military uniform, which restrains his already beautiful figure. Except for a long sword, there is nothing else on his body, making the whole person look very handsome.
neat.
He walked along the river, answering people's greetings from time to time.
"Hello Aunt Wang."
"Hello Aunt Hong."
"just came back."
"have eaten."
The women in Huanyi by the river have watched him grow up and are very fond of this boy who went to the city to work alone at a young age.
One pinched his shoulders, the other compared his size.
Finally, they let him go home.
The young man had a hidden worry on his brow. After walking through this small river, the concern and sympathy of people made him even more uneasy.
Walking through a familiar street, I passed by my own drug store. The clerks were not interested in doing business, and all of them had sad faces. The young man did not go in, but passed by, looking for his own door.
The Jiang family is considered a wealthy family in Fengxi Town. The Jiang family pharmacy is well-known, not to mention this town. There are often people from other towns who would rather walk more than ten miles to come to the Jiang family pharmacy to get medicine.
People have this consensus - you will never buy fake medicine at Jiang's Pharmacy, you will never miss anyone's scale, and what you buy must be the best quality medicinal materials in Maplewood City.
The threshold that I thought was very high when I was young is now easily crossed. In the main room, Aunt Song was greeted by the voice. Her eyes were red and swollen, and she shed tears when she saw the boy.
The young man's heart clenched tightly: "How is my father?"
"Who's coming?"
A weak voice came from the bedroom.
Aunt Song wiped away her tears, turned around and walked in: "It's Xiao Wang! Xiao Wang is back to see you!"
The young man instinctively raised his steps and suddenly did not dare to fall down.
He bit his lower lip and walked into the back room after all.
The first thing he saw was a canopy bed. The carvings were old and the paint had already peeled off. His eyes hesitated for a few seconds, but finally fell down.
Then he saw the man who was leaning against the pillow and had become emaciated. His skinny hands resting on the quilt were hidden under his sleeves, and he looked at him tenderly with his eyes that were no longer bright.
The two looked at each other and did not speak immediately.
The young man looked down and saw a round stool in front of the canopy bed. On the stool was a medicine bowl. The dark medicinal soup in the bowl was emitting heat.
Two-year-old Jiang Anan knelt down behind this round stool. Before he entered, she was puffing up her cheeks and blowing hard on the medicine bowl in front of her.
Now he met his brother's gaze, his dark eyes fixed there.
"Hot," she said.
Jiang Changshan on the bed laughed: "The medicine is too hot, she is helping me cool it down."
The boy started to have a sore nose at this time.
He didn't know why he couldn't hold it back.
He is obviously an adult now.
"Why are you back?" Jiang Changshan asked again.
"I wrote to tell him." Aunt Song helped him stuff an extra pillow to make him lean more comfortably, her words choked with sobs.
Jiang Changshan's tone was a little helpless: "I didn't blame you, why did you cry first, in front of the child..."
Aunt Song stopped sobbing, but tears fell heavily.
Jiang Changshan raised his hand to wipe her tears, but he couldn't raise it.
His skinny hand fell back like this and he sighed weakly.
The little Jiang Anan knelt on the ground and looked at his father, mother, and brother, feeling at a loss.
The young man walked over, picked up Jiang Anan, and held her in his arms. His calloused hands gently held her little head.
Jiang Anan's round face rested peacefully on his neck.
Jiang Changshan looked at them quietly on the hospital bed, his eyes pleased.
"I haven't seen you in half a year. Has Xiaowang grown taller again?" he asked Song Ruyi.
"It's almost taller than you." Song Ruyi said while wiping her tears.
Jiang Changshan looked at his son, feeling somewhat satisfied, and asked: "When is the exam for the outer gate of Maplewood City Taoist Academy?"
"Next month." The boy replied.
"Do you have any money? Ruyi, please put that drawer -"
The young man interrupted him: "I have made many friends in the city. My sword skills are very good now. I can take on some easy tasks and earn money by myself."
As he said that, he took off a money bag from his waist and placed it in Aunt Song's hand: "Use these first to treat the disease. If there is not enough, I will think of a way."
"How much did you earn?" Jiang Changshan said with a smile on his face.
Song Ruyi untied the tether and showed it to him. There was mostly silver inside, some in whole ingots, some in pieces, and some knives.
Jiang Changshan was stunned for a long time before saying: "My son has grown up."
I couldn't tell what the tone was like, it sounded like relief, but also like loss.
"So just relax and recuperate." The young man said, "Don't worry about money, and don't worry about me."
Jiang Changshan was silent for a while: "Ruyi, it's time for An An to go to bed. You take her to rest first. Xiao Wang will bring this bowl of medicine to me later."
Song Ruyi knew that the father and son had something to talk about, so she put the money bag beside the bed and came over to take An An away.
"How is it?" Jiang Changshan asked: "Are you confident about the exam next month?"
The young man bent down to pick up the bowl of medicine, scooped it up with a spoon, and casually replied: "Yes."
Jiang Changshan then smiled with satisfaction, and drank the bowl of medicine with a smile while being served by the young man.
"Isn't it bitter?" the young man asked.
"I can't taste it whether it's bitter or not." Jiang Changshan smiled and said, "The sense of taste has long been gone."
"Then you still laugh."
"My heart is sweet."
The young man was silent. He put the medicine bowl aside and put his hand back into the quilt. When he held the skinny palm, his hand couldn't help shaking.
Jiang Changshan felt all this silently, and then said: "Dad is really leaving this time."
The young man helped him tuck in the quilt: "There is always a way."
"This disease cannot be cured." Jiang Changshan said slowly: "I have already sold a shop, so I won't drag you down anymore."
"I told you not to worry about this...don't worry about it."
"Listen to dad." Jiang Changshan looked at him gently and with a smile: "Dad is in the medicinal materials business and has been dealing with patients all his life. He is very clear about his situation.
“If we discovered it two years earlier, there might be a way to do it.
“Now I am just hanging my life with money and suffering in vain.
"Dad, my life has been pretty smooth. I was lucky enough to meet your mother and fall in love with her. I was lucky enough to have a son like you. I was lucky enough to have a daughter named An'an. I was lucky enough to meet your aunt and she treated me sincerely. The folks are all willing to take care of the family business.
My neighbors and friends are all very nice to me...
"Dad is used to enjoying blessings and cannot bear hardships.
"Just don't let me hold on anymore."
At this point, he frowned: "It's too uncomfortable to lie on the bed like this."
The boy is sitting on the edge of the bed.
After a long silence, he said, "I'll stay with you."
Jiang Changshan's eyes became serious: "Have you forgotten why you went to Maplewood City?"
"Have you forgotten your childhood ideal?"
"You want to be extraordinary, you want to fly into the sky and escape from the earth, slay demons and demons, you want to serve the country and protect the country...can you do it in front of my hospital bed?"
The young man lowered his head: "I don't want to think about that now."
"You can't cry." Jiang Changshan said softly: "You are the eldest son of the Jiang family, and you will have to take care of your sister in the future. If you only know how to cry, what will she do?"
"I didn't cry."
Jiang Changshan wanted to pat his shoulder and stand up to see how tall his son was.
But I can only lie down.
He tried his best to keep his voice painless, and said as calmly as possible: "We don't need you at home. Your aunt can take care of me, your sister can make me happy, and the shop has income every day, which is enough for us to live on.
"The most important thing you should do now is to go back to the city and prepare well for your exam. Get the place in the outer sect of Maplewood City Taoist Academy and come back to me to tell me the good news. You have worked hard for so long, and you should have a result.
What do you think?"
"There will be a result." The young man said.
"Then go back... Go back now." Jiang Changshan said weakly: "Dad is tired too and wants to take a nap."
The young man looked at him: "Will you wait for me to come back?"
"Of course." Jiang Changshan smiled: "When did dad lie to you?"
In front of the hospital bed, the young man promised his father: "If only one person can pass the Taoist examination, that person will be me."
Jiang Changshan closed his eyes with satisfaction: "A man cannot stand without faith. Jiang Wang, what a man has said must come true. I am waiting for your first place."
After the boy got up and walked out of the room.
He murmured again: "Son, Fengxi Town is too small. You want to see the world further away."
The three free extra chapters that Mr. Qin fought for for everyone have all been updated.
Praise Mr. Qin~
After killing this debt collector, I will continue writing tomorrow's update.
