Chapter 978 — What Divine Doctor?
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
Chen Xi took her mother's hand and went happily upstairs, only to run straight into Old Man Zhu from next door, who made his living collecting junk.
"Grandpa Zhu, are you going to the seaside tonight?" Chen Xi greeted him with a smile.
Old Man Zhu was a childless widower who lived next door to Chen Xi and her mother. By day he scraped a living collecting recyclables, and at night he also went to busy spots like the beach baths to pick up drink bottles and waste cardboard.
Ever since Chen Xi's mother fell ill, Old Man Zhu had taken Chen Xi along on his scavenging rounds, and he never kept a single thing they found—it was all to help Chen Xi.
Chen Xi was deeply grateful, and had once offered to split the proceeds from the sales with him, but Old Man Zhu said that living alone as he did, the money he made collecting junk each day was enough for his needs; there was no use for the extra money, and treating Chen's mother was more important.
Old Man Zhu had even brought out the savings he had accumulated over the years and given them to Chen Xi so she could take her mother to see a doctor.
Chen Xi and her mother and Old Man Zhu were old neighbors. More than ten years ago, when Chen's mother had lived here only half a year, Old Man Zhu moved in next door, and there he had stayed for over a decade, looking after Chen Xi and her mother with special care all the while...
"I'm going, Xiaoxi. Come find me when school lets out and we'll go together!" A kindly smile spread across Old Man Zhu's face, creasing it into a mass of wrinkles, and his eyes as he looked at Chen Xi were full of tender affection.
"All right!" Chen Xi nodded. She was happy today—her mother's illness could finally be cured!
Still, even though her mother's illness could be cured, she would have to keep going to the beach to collect drink bottles, because it would be a long time yet before her mother recovered, and the household's living expenses would still fall on her shoulders.
"Hm? Little Chen, you're looking well today!" Old Man Zhu glanced at Chen's mother, paused in surprise, then said with a smile.
"Heh, is that so?" Chen's mother had not expected her complexion to have changed either.
"Grandpa Zhu, Mother's terrible illness will soon be cured!" Chen Xi said happily.
"What? Cured?" Grandpa Zhu's expression shifted slightly, and then, betraying nothing, he said, "Cancer... can that even be cured? Xiaoxi, don't let yourself be fooled by some quack wandering doctor. You can't trust a word from people like that. They claim they can cure you, but all they want is your money!"
"He doesn't want money!" At the thought of Wei Zhao, Chen Xi felt a warm surge in her heart. "Mother and I met a miracle doctor today, a young man, and he's treating her for free!"
"A miracle doctor?" Grandpa Zhu frowned. "What miracle doctor?"
"Heh, well, he's no swindler, anyway. Grandpa Zhu, you needn't worry. Go on with your work; I'll tell you all about it tonight!" Chen Xi said with a smile.
"All right, then I'll go collect scrap first—haven't had a single sale today!" Grandpa Zhu nodded. "Tonight you tell me everything properly. Don't go letting yourself be cheated!"
"Yes, of course!" Chen Xi wanted to share her joy with Grandpa Zhu too.
Grandpa Zhu nodded and went downstairs. But when he reached the landing between the two floors, he turned back and glanced at the receding figures of Chen Xi and Chen's mother. He frowned, a cold gleam flashing through his eyes. A miracle doctor, was it? What miracle doctor? One who could actually cure cancer?