Chapter 1843: Signing Ceremony

After being admitted, they did another full checkup from head to toe and confirmed the diagnosis: a kidney tumor requiring the removal of one kidney. Fortunately, it was caught early.

There's also a cerebral infarction, but again, thankfully caught early, so it can still be monitored. From now on he'll have to take medication to keep it under control and can't do heavy or tiring labor, otherwise the main artery could easily get blocked and he'd lose consciousness.

It's so serious that Ye Yaodong and his wife couldn't hide it even if they wanted to, so they could only tell the truth.

When Uncle learned the news, he was completely stunned, at a loss, not knowing what to do.

"The doctor said it's good it was caught early. Just cooperate with the treatment and he'll be fine. Once he's cured, he can be discharged. After that, he'll take medication to keep it under control. He just can't do heavy or tiring labor anymore—he needs to retire. At your age anyway, going home to retire is fine too, enjoy your children and grandchildren's filial piety. You've worked hard for most of your life, it's time to enjoy some blessings."

Only then did Uncle find his voice again, trembling as he asked, "Can it really be cured?"

"Of course it can be cured. It's just removing one kidney. At your age, losing one doesn't have much impact. Take good care of yourself, and you can still live to a hundred."

"Then... then what if I don't treat it for now? Would putting it off a few months be the same?"

Ye Yaodong looked at him with an expression that said it all. "Still thinking about going out to sea? Is money more important, or is your life more important?"

The moment he heard it could be cured, he wanted to delay again...

"I was just thinking that if I work another two months, I can get paid for four months. What a shame. It's already like this anyway, putting it off two months should be fine, right? In a few months when I come back for treatment, I'll have the money for the surgery."

"Stop thinking such nonsense. If you're going to treat it, of course you have to treat it early. Inside your illness there's also a cerebral infarction. What is a cerebral infarction? It's a blocked main artery. One bad moment and you just drop. The risk is even greater than your kidney tumor, and there are more uncertainties. Out at sea is high-intensity labor—there's no village in front and no shop behind. If something happens, there's nowhere to get emergency treatment on the spot. You'll regret it when it's too late."

"Then I should've known earlier and just waited two more months to get checked during the break..."

There's no communicating with him.

In his past life, dying wasn't exactly unjustified either.

He prepared to call home, to have his family come over to look after him, to have his family talk to him.

It takes time for people to get here, so he should contact them in advance. Anyway, it's a done deal. When it's time for surgery, his own family will be there to take care of him.

Right there in the hospital room, he pulled out his big brother phone and called his old mother at home, asking her to pass the word along.

The old lady was happy for a moment when she first got the call, but when she heard he was looking for Ye's Mother, she felt deflated again. Still, she grabbed a handful of candy and called out to a kid at the door to run the errand.

"Dongzi, what's the rush looking for your mother? What happened?"

"Uncle had a physical in the Magic City, and the results weren't too good. I need to ask my mother to notify my aunt's family."

"Huh? What's not good? They're so young, how come every one of them is sick? At my age I don't even need to take medicine, but they pop pills every single day—they've all become sickly wrecks."

"Yeah, your health really is good."

"What illness is it? Can it be cured?"

"Even if I told you what illness it is, you wouldn't know. Anyway, it was caught early and can be treated. Right now we need to let his family know, and his family needs to send someone over to the Magic City to look after him. After all, he needs surgery, and after that he needs to recuperate—it's not something that'll be over in a few days."

"That serious? Then he can't do the ship-running work anymore."

"Of course he can't. You never know when his life might just be gone, and he still wants to work? He's already at that age, he can rest now."

When Ye's Mother heard there was a phone call at home, she hurried back, still out of breath, and called out the moment she stepped inside.

"Who's on the phone? And telling me to run faster."

"Dongzi's. He said his uncle is sick, and it's pretty serious—needs surgery and treatment. Ask him yourself."

Ye's Mother was startled, picked up the phone, and asked again.

Ye Yaodong explained things in more detail to his mother, hoping that when she relayed it, she could make it clear.

"... That serious? How come everyone's getting sick when they were perfectly fine? Then your father and I count as having pretty good health? I'll call his family right now and tell them, and leave them your phone number."

"Okay, also write down the hospital's phone number while you're at it. I might not be at the hospital the whole time."

"Alright, don't go through all that trouble next time—bringing this checkup, bringing that checkup. If you check and find something wrong, who knows if they'll blame you. If you don't check, there's no illness, and they can work and earn money just fine. Now they can't earn money anymore, and they still have to spend a big chunk to treat it."

"Mm, got it."

Exactly so. Just now Uncle kept mumbling that it would've been better to get checked two months later. Having it caught early meant he lost four months of wages for nothing.

His life was almost gone, and he was still fretting over the lost wages, still thinking about going back to work for two more months and only coming for surgery after finishing.

"And it's a thankless task—you two are already busy to death, and you still have to keep him company at the hospital! I need to hurry and call them to send their own family up to look after him. How can the two of you take care of him? You're not his son or grandson—it's not your turn to look after him, is it?"

"There's no choice for now. He's family. Until his own family gets there, you two will still have to take turns looking after him. Ye Ye Huimei is here too, let her take turns with you to keep an eye on things."

"They've checked and found an illness, it's this serious, and he still needs surgery. You can't just ignore it. Help out where you should, and once his own family gets there, it'll be fine."

"What a hassle. You two were perfectly fine, and you still had to bring this checkup, bring that checkup. Now look, your father and I have both become medicine jars, popping pills every day. We were perfectly fine and didn't need to take anything, but now we have to spend money on medicine every month..."

Ye Yaodong's head was pounding listening to all this. Wasn't he just thinking about the whole family's health?

If you don't take medicine, a small illness drags into a big one—what then? It's not like they're forcing her to take medicine when she's not sick. If you're sick, of course you take medicine and follow the doctor's orders.

Catch it early, control it early, and you can still ease the body's pain.

Uncle's situation just happened to land on him. He couldn't just watch and let the man drop dead in a few years, beyond saving, right?

He was family after all. Of course he wanted to save him if he could.

If it had nothing to do with him, he naturally wouldn't drag someone to the hospital for a checkup.

"I need to have a good talk with your aunt. It's all thanks to you taking him for the checkup—otherwise by the time it was late, even his life would be gone, and he'd still be out there earning money. Money isn't as important as life."

"You're still at the hospital keeping him company now, and your own big matters haven't been handled. You're someone who makes money by the minute, and your time is being spent on your uncle. They owe you for this."

"Otherwise, who would care about a stranger? You're being kind-hearted. You don't even have enough time to make your own money, and the two of you are stuck at the hospital—how much money are you losing? They should be grateful to you."

"If you don't get checked, you won't even know when your life is gone out at sea. You can call out to heaven and get no answer, call out to earth and get no response..."

"His life was basically picked back up by you. We have to make this clear. If we don't say it clearly, people will think you're being nosy. We can't do a good deed and still leave behind resentment."

Ye Yaodong nodded repeatedly as he listened. Wasn't that right? His mother laid it out clearly!

Sure enough, she'd eaten more salt than he'd eaten rice. He himself was too embarrassed to say it, so his mother laying it out was just right.

Once it's laid out clearly, let his aunt's family come up to look after him, and then keep explaining things to his uncle—his life was picked back up by him.

From now on, he won't take people for checkups anymore. He won't meddle in other people's business. Taking care of his own family is enough.

"Oh wait, isn't your father just sitting around up there? Pick him up and bring him over, let your father watch him at the hospital. Two old men keeping each other company, they have things to talk about, and it won't hold up you two."

"Ye Ye Huimei still has to help cook and earn money. They're still young—how can you ask young people to look after an old man? Let your father go, that's perfect."

"Right, that's settled. Nobody's held up. Call your father in a bit and tell him to go over. When I hang up, I'll also call your aunt and tell her to bring money and bring someone to look after him."

Ye Yaodong nodded in agreement, "Mom, you really think of everything."

"Of course I do—I've eaten more salt than you've eaten rice. What do you young people know? Besides making money, everything else still depends on me. I'm hanging up now—this call's costing a fortune, don't waste money."

She hung up right away, decisive as ever, not even waiting for him to respond.

Lin Lin Xiuqing had kept her ear pressed to the landline the whole time, probably hearing every word.

She whispered, "It's better to have Dad come take care of him. Men are more convenient. We can have Ye Huimei bring lunch at noon and check in, then we'll come after work in the evening. The rest of the time, leave it to Dad."

"Alright, I'll call Dad and tell him to come over."

The uncle-in-law, seeing they'd finished their call, asked, "So, what did you say? Did you notify the family?"

"I had Mom notify them. If my aunt calls later, I'll hand you the phone."

He nodded vigorously.

"By the way, ask the hospital if we can delay the surgery by a few months."

"The hospital won't force you to have surgery now if you want to wait. Even if you refuse, they won't force you. Frankly, what happens to you outside has nothing to do with them—but your life is yours. If you stubbornly refuse, no one can help you."

The uncle-in-law nodded weakly.

"When my aunt calls, you two talk directly."

He quickly called his father too, telling him to come to the hospital. No one needed to answer—the old man was now familiar with Shanghai.

Many tests still hadn't been completed, so Ye Yaodong stayed on. Sometimes, as a woman, Lin Lin Xiuqing found it inconvenient—he, as a man, could lend a hand more easily.

He had no pressing matters to attend to; losing half a day was fine.

His aunt called just in time—right after his father hung up, another call came in. He spoke a few words, gave a detailed update, then handed the phone to his uncle-in-law.

From the phone, the voice grew noticeably louder, clearly a scolding—probably accusing him of valuing money over life.

She also said it was lucky he'd gotten to the hospital in time; they could still save him. If he'd waited, he might not have made it—going out to sea might have been a death sentence.

He guessed his mother had unleashed her famed silver tongue, nearly talking the person to death.

After hanging up, his uncle-in-law said his aunt would come with her son in the next two days to help care for him, and they'd have to trouble them again for the following days.

This time, the words sounded more comforting—no more talk of "no cure" or "wait a couple days."

When night fell, they went home first. The patient wasn't bedridden yet, hadn't had surgery, so no one needed to stay overnight.

Ye Ye Huimei didn't know about it yet—she only heard when the couple got home, and sighed at the unpredictability of life.

The next day, they all went to visit together. Ye Yaodong stood by for a while, then left to handle business.

When Ye's father arrived in the afternoon, they handed everything over to him and returned home to resume their usual routines.

Ye's father and the uncle-in-law stayed together—they had common topics: complaining about the hospital, chatting about fishing boats, and discussing their children and grandchildren. They kept each other company, not lonely.

Ye Yaodong officially signed the housing purchase contract three days later.

After receiving the call, he went to the sales office the next day.

When he arrived at the entrance, he was stunned by the banner hanging there.

Congratulations to Mr. Ye on purchasing the entire Building 8!

Holy crap—they even threw a ceremony for him, maxed out the prestige.

He glanced down at his outfit—thankfully, it wasn't summer; he wasn't wearing sandals, and he looked presentable enough.

"Mr. Ye, you're here! Come on in—the sales manager's been waiting for you, and they've arranged a signing ceremony."

Ye Yaodong was pulled inside by Director Zhang. "What signing ceremony?"

"The contract signing ceremony. Didn't you drive today? There's a pile of free appliances for you—small items can be taken home right away."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I've been asking for them since before, but I hadn't gotten approval yet, so I didn't dare mention it. Now it's confirmed."

"You sneaky old Zhang—you were afraid if you told me early and there were no gifts, I wouldn't sign, right? It'd hurt your commission."

"Haha, how could I? I'd risk my old face to get you even more stuff."

"What's included?"

"Big items: color TV, refrigerator, air conditioner, washing machine—all there, but you'll have to wait for delivery. Small items: rice cooker, hair dryer, thermos, bowls—you can take them home now."

"I'll call my wife right away to come pick them up. Can we take the big items today? I'll call Da Da Jiefang to haul them."

"The big items need to wait a bit longer."

"Fine. So you didn't hold back when you bought your own place, right?"

"Don't even mention it—stingy as hell. Only gave me a hair dryer, a thermos, and a set of bowls. I also asked for some for your sister—you can pick them up right after signing."

As Ye Yaodong spoke, he stared at Director Zhang. Right inside the sales office, the floor was covered in red carpet, and two rows of salesgirls in silk stockings greeted him with smiles.

"Welcome, Mr. Ye!"

Ye Yaodong's face lit up instantly. "Haha, nice touch—you really went all out with the ceremony."

"There's photography too. We'll take photos during the signing."

"You sneaky old Zhang—you didn't even remind me! I didn't even style my hair today!"

"Why bother? You're handsome enough. Any two random photos will beat movie stars on TV."

Ye Yaodong touched his hair—thankfully, it wasn't greasy, and he'd shaved that morning.

Early in the morning, a few other bosses had come to view apartments. All of them stared curiously at them, whispering questions—they'd already noticed the banner at the entrance.

The sales manager hurried over, shook his hand, "Mr. Ye, welcome. Let's go to the office. I'll walk you through the contract details."

"This thick? Should I bring a lawyer to review it carefully?"

"If you're uneasy, you can. But Director Zhang has dealt with property for years—he can help you review it too. I'll explain everything to you as well."

"Alright. First, explain it to me, then let Old Zhang check it over."

Director Zhang adjusted his glasses. "Of course—I'll examine it thoroughly."

They talked for two hours, locked in the office—otherwise, they'd have become the entire office's center of attention.

But by the time they finished negotiating and came out to sign the contract, they still became the center of attention.

The sales office had put up a red backdrop wall, pulled Ye Yaodong over to take a group photo, and even made a little banner with the exact same wording as the one at the entrance.

Congratulations, Mr. Ye, on purchasing the entire Building 8!

The camera kept clicking away, click-click-click.

All the people looking at apartments in the sales center crowded around, discussing this Boss Ye of theirs!

Lin Lin Xiuqing stood smiling radiantly in the crowd, watching him.

Maximum showing off.

Ye Yaodong was still quite satisfied, just a pity he hadn't brought a camera, but after the photo session he also asked the sales office for one, so they could mail him a copy of the pictures later.

"Why don't you come over and take the group photo too?"

"I won't. Keep a low profile. Otherwise, if people can't kidnap you, what if they kidnap me?"

"Fine, go load up the car with whatever freebies can be moved."

"Already done. While you were in the office negotiating, I had them carry everything up to the car for me. The trunk and back seat are stuffed full."

Ye Yaodong draped his arm over her shoulder. "Then let's head straight to handle the wire transfer, and come back for the invoice later."

After saying that, he also greeted the others—anyone who needed to go with him to the bank to wire the money had to follow along.

Wiring money is a hassle these days; one purchase procedure requires several back-and-forth trips.

They were busy the whole day before finally getting it done, and at the same time the keys to the entire building were handed over to him.

During the photo session earlier, they only let him hold them for a quick shot, then took them back. Only after he paid the full amount did they hand them over together with the invoice.

Ye Yaodong and Lin Lin Xiuqing, the couple, stared at a whole box of keys, their eyes lighting up.

The two of them grabbed the keys and headed straight for their Building 8. They didn't mind the trouble—key by key they tried each door, floor by floor they climbed upward, overjoyed.

"This whole building is ours! That's amazing!"

"Once Pudong is developed properly, in a few years we'll buy another building in Pudong. Then we can lie flat for the rest of our lives, no more work."

"Really buying that many?"

"Won't lose money anyway. If our son or daughter turns out useless in the future, they can still collect rent to get by."

"Alright."

Ye Yaodong was extremely satisfied after looking over the entire building. "Let's go, head home. It's getting dark."

"Let's go, home. Lock all these keys in the safe."

"Once this busy stretch is over, next month when we come back from Yangcheng, we'll arrange for people to do the renovations."

"Okay. Want to stop by the hospital on the way? I only went for a bit this morning."

"Let's go home first, put the keys and the car full of stuff away properly, then head over."

"No idea when your aunt and them are coming over either. We can't set a surgery date now, just have to wait."

"Then we'll wait. A day in a hospital bed only costs a dozen-something kuai, and they take the train—it's fast, a direct ride to Magic Capital would be best."