Chapter 4: A Penny Can Stymie a Hero

Hearing this, Kong Yizhang stood up abruptly, but suppressing his words, he asked: "Where are you?"

Liu Chuxue looked around calmly and lowered her voice: "Baiye Commune Post Office."

"I'll come to find you in an hour and a half. I'll need your help to share the burden of the things I need to bring."

Liu Chuxue understood what he meant: "No problem."

After hanging up, Kong Yizhang rushed to gather his team. He knew Fu Yan Cheng must be in trouble; otherwise, he wouldn't have risked sending a message, as they had agreed to use this code only as a last resort.

Liu Chuxue, having left the post office, already had a plan. Since her aunt was heartless, she wouldn't be righteous.

She went to school first, explained her family situation to her teacher, and asked for a week off.

Then she wandered around the classroom, greeted a few friends, and specifically asked the only male student with a watch for the time before leaving.

After that, she ran toward the rural clinic.

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

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

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

Liu Mother burst into tears again, covering her mouth to keep her husband in the ward from hearing.

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

Liu Mother wiped her eyes with her sleeve and choked out: "The clinic doctor said we need to go to a higher-level hospital, preferably in the city. The reservoir site said it wasn't working hours, so they'll only cover half the costs."

"I asked the old dean, and he said your dad's injury is severe and he might need steel pins. It’ll cost at least two or three hundred, and they can't guarantee a full recovery, let alone the aftermath. But your grandparents say the family doesn't have that much money."

As she spoke, tears flowed again.

Liu Chuxue said: "Mom, no matter how much it costs, we have to treat it, and we can't delay, or we'll miss the best window for treatment."

Liu Mother knew this, but her in-laws 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 desperate.

Liu Chuxue, though not the original owner, had taken over her body: "Mom, don't worry. Since the reservoir site agreed to pay half, even if the family can't pay much, they can't pay nothing. I'll go to my sister's and see if I can borrow some from my brother-in-law. A living person shouldn't be stifled by a lack of money."

Hearing her second daughter, Liu Mother felt a sense of direction. She knew she couldn't keep avoiding it: "Then I'll go back to the village and see if I can borrow from the villagers. We can't put all our eggs in one basket."

With the plan set, Liu Chuxue entered the ward and looked at the weary man on the bed, feeling a mix of emotions.

Truly, a penny can stymie a hero. No matter the era, you can't move an inch without money.

Sensing someone approaching, Father Liu turned his head and forced a smile uglier than crying: "Chuxue, why are you here?"

Remembering something, he added: "Dad is fine. Go back to school."

The second daughter would graduate from high school in a few months, and she could not let herself affect the girl's studies; if the girl failed to get her diploma, all that schooling would have been for nothing. Thinking of her own situation, she clutched her hand tightly beneath the quilt in defeat.