Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing.

The electronic beeping of the ward monitors was particularly jarring in the silence.

Su Jianguo's cloudy eyes rolled around, the smell of disinfectant bringing a brief moment of clarity to his mind.

He is 73 years old this year and has suffered a cerebral thrombosis.

The doctor said it's treatable, but it requires a thrombectomy. The treatment and rehabilitation will cost approximately 300,000 yuan.

However, judging from the appearance of his children outside, Su Jianguo felt that he was probably beyond saving.

Well, it's all his fault for being so useless. He gave away all his money early on, otherwise, he wouldn't be in this predicament now.

In the corridor outside the ward.

"Three hundred thousand! Do you think I run a bank?"

Su Ming slammed his fist against the wall, the gold Pixiu bracelet on his wrist striking the surface with a piercing sound.

His face, full of fat, was contorted with rage.

"My grandfather bought me a big truck back then, but that's what I deserved! I'm the eldest son!"

"The eldest son should bear the responsibilities of the eldest son! When I wanted to repeat a year of high school, Dad said all the family's money was used to buy me a car! Now, if you don't pay, who will?"

Su Mingfu ripped off his greasy apron and threw it on the ground. The words "Old Su Family Restaurant" on the apron were stained with years of dirt. His voice suddenly choked up.

"Back then, I wanted to go to university. My mom begged my dad on her knees, offering only a thousand yuan, but he wouldn't give it to her! He even broke my mom's finger!"

With red eyes, he pointed to the intensive care unit.

"I haven't settled accounts with him yet! I don't lack money, but what he did back then..."

As he spoke, he pulled a wad of banknotes from his pocket and slapped it on the windowsill.

"Five thousand is the most! That's more than enough! When Mom passed away, I paid for most of her funeral expenses, didn't I?"

Su Mingqiang sneered and was about to retort when his eldest daughter, Su Yufen, suddenly interrupted, trembling.

"The third brother is right, you didn't even show your face when Mom passed away."

Her withered, yellowed fingers twisted the pilling hem of her sweater.

"My two sons are in college, and now I can't afford it... I borrowed 10,000 yuan from my dad back then, but later, for the sake of my eldest son's child, he demanded an additional 12,000 yuan from me..."

"Why are you pretending to be a good person, lady?"

Su Yuzhen's sheepskin boot heel crushed hard against the tip of Su Yufen's shoe.

"What business is it of ours if your son goes to school!"

Su Mingqiang sneered.

"Third brother, stop playing the victim! Wasn't your shabby restaurant funded by the old man? Whose fault is it that business is bad now? And second brother, are you mute? Isn't that your dad in there?"

Su Mingde adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and spoke slowly and deliberately.

"Brother, the Discipline Inspection Commission is cracking down hard right now, and I've only just been promoted to deputy director..."

"fart!"

Su Mingqiang suddenly flew into a rage and grabbed Su Mingde by the tie.

"Second brother, stop pretending to be honest! How much did you spend on your son's overseas studies last year? Five hundred thousand! Now you're trying to play the poor card with me?"

The nurses in the corridor, unfazed, walked around it.

An older caregiver shook his head and whispered to the intern.

“This family comes every week, but I’ve never seen anyone go in to see the old man.”

Seeing that the eldest and second eldest brothers were about to fight, and with hospital security guards almost arriving, the eldest sister, Su Yufen, quickly stepped forward and separated the two.

Su Mingqiang, who had been pulled away, seemed unsatisfied.

He kicked over the trash can next to him, scattering garbage all over the ground.

"To be honest, Dad's already 73 this year. What difference does it make whether he has the surgery or not? Even if he does, he doesn't have many years left to live."

A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes.

"Why don't we just let Dad have euthanasia? It'll save everyone trouble!"

"Boss! Do you have any humanity left?!"

Su Yufen was so angry that she trembled all over.

"human nature?"

Su Mingqiang sneered.

"Did that old man have any humanity back then? Mom was so sick, and he wouldn't even let her go to the hospital!"

Taking the opportunity, Su Mingde retreated to a safe distance, far away from his older brother, straightened his disheveled tie, and then spoke.

"I think it's like this: eldest brother, you contribute 150,000, and the rest we..."

"Bullshit!"

Su Mingqiang pointed at the crowd and cursed.

"I won't contribute a single cent! It's good that the old man is dead; we can divide the inheritance equally!"

Inside the ward, Su Jianguo's eyes welled up with cloudy tears.

The heart rate line on the monitor fluctuated violently, emitting a piercing alarm.

But the arguing outside drowned out everything else.

"Boss, don't go too far!"

Su Yufen's voice trembled.

"You're the one Dad loves most. He gave your son 20,000 yuan for college, and your daughter 50,000 yuan for her wedding. Even this gold Pixiu..."

She grabbed Su Mingqiang's wrist.

"My father begged for these from the Yonghe Temple, kneeling every three steps!"

Su Mingqiang abruptly shook her off.

"That's Dad's choice! What's it to me!"

He took out his car keys.

"I'm putting it this way today: either we split the cost equally, or the old man just waits to die!"

After saying that, he turned to leave.

Su Mingfu suddenly thought of something and immediately shouted.

"Big brother, have you forgotten? The property deed for Dad's old house is in your name."

"If you don't pay, we'll file a joint lawsuit against you for misappropriating the inheritance!"

Su Mingqiang stopped in his tracks, his face instantly turning ashen.

He turned around, his eyes flashing with a fierce light.

"You dare!"

"Why wouldn't you dare?"

Su Yuzhen suddenly perked up and took out her phone.

“I’ll record this right now. The judge will be very interested in what you just said about letting Dad wait to die.”

"You bitch!"

Su Mingqiang lunged at Su Yuzhen, but she nimbly dodged him.

"That's enough!"

Su Yufen suddenly broke down in tears.

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