Chapter 68 The snow outside the window is gradually falling...

The snow outside the window gradually stopped. Jiang Huaichuan led Shen Li to the window and wiped the water droplets off the glass.

"Look at the results of the two children's hard work all night long."

Shen Li followed Jiang Huaichuan's gaze downwards and saw two familiar boys sitting by the flower bed, their heads, both wearing matching knitted hats, touching, each holding a hot water bottle.

A meter away from them stood a giant snowman, its round head tilted upwards in his direction, a bright yellow carrot stuck in its nose, and a black scarf that Shen Li was familiar with around its neck.

Is this me?

"Um."

It seems that two clever touches from the boys were added; the snowman wears a cute little hat on its head, with a small flower tucked into the brim—something they must have gotten from somewhere.

Shen Li lightly tapped his fingertip on the glass, slowly tracing the four large characters "Peace and Joy" before landing on the small ball next to the snowman: "Why did you bring the frozen pear along too?"

"They told me the snowman was too plain and asked me to add something, so I gave them a picture of frozen pears. Big pear and small pear together, peace and joy."

Shen Li looked at Jiang Huaichuan.

Jiang Huaichuan quickly replied, "I am also safe and happy."

Shen Li smiled: "Please thank them for me. I like them very much."

Jiang Huaichuan shook his head: "I think they would prefer you to thank them in person."

"Go." Jiang Huaichuan placed a deep kiss on Shen Li's forehead: "I'll wait for you to come back."

——

Yong'an Temple in the south of the city.

As usual, Jiang's mother and Shen's mother offered incense and chanted sutras in the main hall to pray for blessings. After donating money for the incense, they were stopped by someone as they were about to leave.

"Please wait, esteemed guests."

When Chen Mu turned around, she saw the little monk beside the abbot, whom she had seen several times in recent days.

Mother Shen: "Young Master, is there anything I can help you with?"

The young monk handed over a piece of red paper: "My master asked me to give this to you."

Chen's mother and Jiang's mother exchanged a glance, then took the document and opened it.

Upon reading the contents, Mother Shen's hand trembled. She cautiously raised her eyes and looked at the little monk with hopeful eyes.

The young monk put his hands together and bowed slightly: "Good thoughts lead to good karma, and good karma helps all sentient beings. Amitabha."

As soon as the words were spoken, a clear bell rang out from afar, its echo reverberating, and two white cranes circled and soared up the mountainside.

From inside the hall behind, an aged voice came: "Benefactor, it's snowing outside the temple, please stay for now."

After a moment's hesitation, Mother Shen bowed and clasped her hands together, saying, "Then I'll take my leave."

Half an hour had passed since Shen Li entered the operating room, and the snow started falling again outside the window.

Shen Wenyuan withdrew his gaze and landed on Jiang Huaichuan's wet coat. He silently stared at the puddle at his feet, hesitated for a moment, and then couldn't help but say, "Go take a hot shower and change your clothes. I'll watch over things here."

"I……"

Shen Wenyuan interrupted quietly, "If you catch a cold, Dr. Lu won't allow you to get close to Xiao Li."

Jiang Huaichuan: ...

Jiang Huaichuan swallowed his words and ran straight to the ward. In less than ten minutes, he reappeared at the door of the operating room.

Shen Wenyuan leaned against the cold wall, staring blankly at the numbers flashing in the distance.

Shen Wenyuan suddenly remembered something and asked curiously, "I saw on the news that Yong'an National Highway is closed and you can't get on the expressway either. How did you get back?"

"They forced me to go on the road even though I signed a waiver."

Shen Wenyuan remained silent.

The waiting time seemed to stretch on endlessly.

The surgery had been going on for more than six hours, far exceeding the originally planned time. Jiang Huaichuan was stiff all over, like a taut string.

[Father: How is it?]

[Shen Wenyuan: It's not over yet.]

[Father Shen: Okay, let us know when there are results]

Father Shen sighed deeply, met Shen Ci's gaze, and shook his head.

Shen Ci calculated the time; more than an hour had passed since the scheduled time. He concealed the worry in his eyes and reassured him in a relaxed manner, "No news is good news."

"Oh dear."

Shen Li felt very cold, the biting cold engulfing him. Before him was a desolate darkness, and the wind howled in his ears. Shen Li subconsciously shrank back. He wanted to wrap himself up tighter, but found that he was only wearing a thin nightgown.

A white light appeared in the distance. Shen Li followed the light and suddenly the white light flashed, so bright that he couldn't open his eyes. He raised his hand to block it, and the next second, the surrounding area turned into a desolate darkness.

He returned to where he started.

Shen Li looked around, circling around and around, but he could no longer see that dazzling white light.

The cold wind was getting increasingly biting.

Shen Li rubbed his arms. If he didn't get out soon, he would definitely freeze to death here. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, felt the direction of the wind, and slowly walked forward. He didn't know how long he walked before he bumped into a rock.

I opened my eyes to a hazy gray scene, surrounded by the shadows of trees and rows of stone tablets.

He was on the bluestone path at Qingshan Cemetery.

Shen Li didn't understand why he was here. He followed his instincts and went up the bluestone path. He saw familiar names: Grandpa Jiang and Father Jiang.

Taking another step forward, a corner of the monument behind Jiang's father was revealed. Suddenly remembering the heart-wrenching nightmare she had experienced a few days ago, Shen Li's breath caught in her throat, and she stood frozen in place.

Shen Li stared blankly at that corner for a long time before he took a small step and peeked over.

It is a blank stele.

fortunately.

Shen Li breathed a sigh of relief.

Shen Li's steps quickened as he continued forward. Suddenly, a drop of water hit his face, and in an instant, a torrential downpour began. Everything before him began to distort. Shen Li stared intently at the two names on the stone tablet.

The sky was just beginning to brighten.

"The patient's heartbeat has returned!"

Wen Feng said in a deep voice, "Continue the surgery!"

As darkness fell outside, the tightly closed operating room door suddenly opened. Hearing the noise, Shen Wenyuan, who had been squatting to the side sending messages, jumped up and rushed to Jiang Huaichuan's side.

Lu Mingxuan's figure slowly appeared behind the door.

Jiang Huaichuan's pupils constricted sharply as he stared at the large pool of blood in front of Lu Mingxuan. His hands, hanging by his sides, suddenly trembled violently.

Jiang Huaichuan staggered forward a step.

Lu Mingxuan's temples were damp with sweat, his brows and eyes were tired, but a smile still lingered at the corners of his eyes.

"Congratulations," Lu Mingxuan said softly. "The surgery was a success."

Jiang Huaichuan's tears welled up instantly.

Shen Li was wheeled out half an hour later. He was still unconscious, breathing shallowly, and the white mist in the oxygen mask appeared and disappeared intermittently.

The surgery depleted his energy accumulated over many years, and even in his sleep, his brows were still slightly furrowed.

Lu Mingxuan: "Let him sleep. It's good that he's asleep; he won't feel uncomfortable."

Shen Li was sent to the intensive care unit, but Jiang Huaichuan was not put in. He only had half an hour of visiting time each day, and the rest of the time he could only look into the room through the glass.

Jiang Huaichuan went in the first time, and Shen Wenyuan didn't try to take it from him.

The temperature in the intensive care unit was very low. Shen Li lay quietly on the hospital bed, her eyelashes lightly closed, her chest rising and falling slightly, surrounded by the rhythmic sounds of the medical equipment.

Jiang Huaichuan, wearing a mask, sat on the stool next to her. Seemingly afraid of disturbing Shen Li, he said in a soft and low voice, "No rush, it's fine if we wake up after we've rested. I'll wait for you."

On the sixth day after Shen Li's surgery, an uninvited guest arrived outside her ward.

The Xiao family, Xiao Jingming.

Xiao Jingming came to express his gratitude. The Xiao family is a foreign trade enterprise, and due to the huge volume of shipments, logistics costs have always been a problem for them. After the completion of the Haigang Xinwan project last year, the Xiao family's freight costs have been reduced a lot through the Haigang Xinwan port, but it is still a considerable expense.

Last Friday, the port transportation manager suddenly rushed into his office, his words filled with shock and confusion.

"Mr. Xiao, since the last shipment, our freight costs have dropped to 10% of what they used to be."

"Ten percent?" Xiao Jingming sat up straight instantly. "Did you miscalculate it for us?"

“I asked around, and they said it was correct. They said it was a special instruction from President Jiang that from now on, we will only charge 10% for any goods from the Xiao family.”

Even 10% isn't enough to cover costs.

Xiao Jingming was completely baffled: "Haigang New Bay is a project of the Jiang family and the Shen family. Whether our cooperation with the Shen family can be successful is another matter, but we have no connection with the Jiang family at all, right? Why should they give us such a drastically reduced price?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than the project manager rushed in, his face beaming with joy: "President Xiao, the project partner for Shen's Group has been decided, it's us!"

Xiao Jingming was extremely puzzled. After hesitating for a long time, he silently uttered three words: "...a pig butchering scam?"

Project Manager: ?

Project Manager: "Mr. Shen said this is a thank-you gift."

"A thank-you gift?"

Xiao Jingming was even more confused. What was all this about?

After asking around, they finally found out the reason. It turned out that his good younger brother, instead of resting in the hospital room in the middle of the night, dragged his classmate to build a snowman in the freezing cold. By sheer luck, he bumped into Jiang Huaichuan and, coincidentally, did him a great favor.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Xiao Jingming stopped, finding President Jiang too cold.

Xiao Jingming stood up and took out a contract from his pocket: "President Jiang, I apologize for the intrusion. One-tenth of the freight cost is really too low. This contract stipulates fifty percent. Is that acceptable to you? You can consider it a half-price discount for us."

Jiang Huaichuan fell silent. In all his years in the business world, he had always been the one taking advantage of others. This was the first time he had let someone else take advantage of him, and they even came to haggle and insisted on paying more. What kind of logic was that?

"No need, ten percent is a token of my gratitude."

Xiao Jingming shook his head frantically: "No, no, no, it's too valuable."

Five minutes later, Jiang Huaichuan stared at the contracts on the table, lost in thought. He couldn't understand how someone could pull out one contract after another from their pocket and even stamp an official seal on the spot.

——

Shen Li stayed in the hospital for more than two months before returning home in the spring. She stayed home for another two months, and before she knew it, it was early summer.

That day, when Jiang Huaichuan returned home from get off work, he was embraced by Shen Li.

Jiang Huaichuan then lifted Shen Li up by supporting her bottom.

"Why is it still so light?"

After the surgery, Shen Li's weight reached its lowest point in history. She ate bowl after bowl of supplements, and the uneaten food went into Jiang Huaichuan's stomach. Over the months, Shen Li's weight did not increase, but Jiang Huaichuan's nosebleeds increased significantly.

"It's already heavy, hey, don't jostle me." Shen Li quickly hugged Jiang Huaichuan's neck.