"Hou San, Hou San..."

Hongmei suddenly started foaming at the corners of her mouth, her hands curled into chicken claws, and her whole body convulsed uncontrollably.

"Oh no! He's having an epileptic seizure!"

Li Xiangdong quickened his pace.

"Red plum! Red plum!"

Wu Jianjun quickly hugged the convulsing Hongmei.

Tie Tou Lao Wu was anxious and at a loss. Looking at his sister, he was sweating profusely.

"When did Hongmei develop this problem?!"

He was only away from home for two years, so how come everything has changed when he came back?

Li Xiangdong ran over, picked up a wooden stick from the ground, and handed it to Wu Jianjun, saying, "Put it in her mouth!"

Wu Jianjun quickly took it and made Hongmei bite on the wooden stick, in case she bit off her tongue while she was convulsing.

"Is there a bed? Quickly lay her down."

"Ah! Yes, yes, yes!"

Wu Jianjun pointed to the small shed next to him, and Tie Tou Lao Wu quickly helped carry Hongmei into the drafty little shack made of sheet metal, a few broken pieces of wood and woven bags.

The so-called bed in the shack was just a few broken wooden planks laid on top of bricks, with a tattered cotton quilt on top.

This is winter in Yanjing!

Even though it's already the coldest period of winter, the cool breeze is still blowing, making people feel icy cold all over.

Without thinking twice, Li Xiangdong ordered Wu Jianjun and Tie Tou Lao Wu to hold Wu Hongmei down.

While pressing down on the convulsing Hongmei, Wu Jianjun asked in a tearful voice, "Who are you, brother? Shouldn't we take Hongmei to the hospital?"

When Tie Tou Lao Wu suddenly saw his sister like this, he was so anxious that he lost his composure and finally obeyed Li Xiangdong's command.

"Yeah, who are you!"

"Don't worry about who I am, just hold him down!"

Li Xiangdong's face was serious. He took out a black soft deerskin cylindrical bag from his shirt pocket, untied the rope binding it, and laid it flat. There was a row of silver needles of various sizes stuck in it.

Li Xiangdong pulled out several 1.5-inch long needles and "swish, swish, swish" inserted them into acupoints such as Taichong, Neiguan, Shenmen, and Sanyinjiao on Hongmei's body.

Soon, Hongmei quieted down and stopped foaming at the corners of her mouth.

Wu Jianjun watched as his wife's breathing gradually calmed down, wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve, and then tightly grasped Li Xiangdong's hand, "Thank you so much, young comrade!"

"You're welcome!"

"Sit down for a while, I'll go to the main room and get you some boiled water."

There wasn't even a thermos in this shack.

"No need, let's take the patient to the hospital for a check-up first!"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Tie Tou Lao Wu squatted down in front of the bed, letting Wu Jianjun put Hongmei on his back, "Lead the way!"

The hospital wasn't far; you just had to cross three alleys to get there. It was a row of three-story buildings with the words "Siping Hospital" prominently displayed above the main entrance.

Once they arrived at the hospital, they first sent the person to the emergency room. When it came time to register and pay, Wu Jianjun and Tie Tou Lao Wu were dumbfounded.

Both of them are penniless!

"I'll do it!"

Li Xiangdong pushed the two men aside, paid the money, and got a receipt.

......

The doctor gave Hongmei a full-body examination and finally diagnosed her with epilepsy. "Epilepsy, also known as seizures, is a chronic disease caused by sudden abnormal electrical discharges in the brain's neurons, leading to temporary brain dysfunction."

Iron-Headed Fifth Brother's voice trembled slightly, "My sister was perfectly fine before, how could she suddenly get epilepsy...?"

"The cause of this disease is not yet clear. It may be due to genetic factors or brain disease."

Wu Jianjun adjusted his glasses, which had slipped down his nose, and asked, "Could it be caused by some kind of shock...?"

Ironhead Lao Wu's eyes were like those of a hawk as he looked at Wu Jianjun, and Wu Jianjun's legs went weak.

The doctor didn't even look up, saying "That's possible" as he wrote a prescription in a flourish, "Take this medicine from now on, and we'll see how it goes."

Li Xiangdong, Liu Junbo, Li Zhen, and Ning Ruoruo were all sitting on a bench outside the ward.

Li Zhen glanced at Hongmei, who was lying in the ward receiving an IV drip, and said, "She's a girl with a hard life. Judging from her accent, she sounds like she's from our area!"

Ning Ruoruo sighed. She had met Hongmei twice when she was looking for a house. Each time, Hongmei was being scolded by her mother-in-law. She was washing clothes with cold water in the dead of winter, and her hands were frozen like red radishes.

Tie Tou Lao Wu was the first to come out of the doctor's office. He glared at Wu Jianjun fiercely and said, "I'll settle the score with you later!"

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Li Xiangdong and his group of four were still there.

"Young man, I need your help again..."

Li Xiangdong stood up, took out a wad of cash from his pocket—a thick stack of ten-yuan notes and one-yuan-and-fifty-cent notes—and shoved it into Tie Tou Lao Wu's hand. "Take this and use it for now!"

——————————

Jingxi State-run Hotel.

Li Xiangdong, Tie Tou Lao Wu, and Wu Jianjun were sitting and talking in a room.

The atmosphere inside the room was cold and stagnant.

Sudden.

"Fuck Hou San's ancestors for eight generations!"

Iron-Headed Old Five's eyes were bloodshot. He slammed his hand on the table, which made Wu Jianjun tremble and turn even paler.

Li Xiangdong now understood perfectly. No wonder Hou San died at the hands of Tie Tou Lao Wu in his previous life.

Tie Tou Lao Wu suddenly stood up, and Li Xiangdong pushed back his chair and stood up as well, silently blocking the door between him and the door.

"Young brother, you bravely saved my sister today, and we get along well. I heard everything that happened. If I, Zhou Hongsong, survive after avenging my sister, I will definitely repay your great kindness!"

"Fifth Brother, where are you going?"

Wu Jianjun cried out in fear. He felt his calves cramping and his mind went blank.

Revenge... to live...

Li Xiangdong grabbed Zhou Hongsong's arm and said in a deep voice, "Brother Song, we're from the same hometown. Since you say we're compatible, I'll tell you the truth. Actually, I met you on the train. The moment I saw you, I felt like we had known each other in a past life."

"Brother Song, I understand what happened just now. I won't stop you from taking revenge, but this isn't the way to do it!"

Zhou Hongsong stared intently at Li Xiangdong with his large, round eyes. "How do you suggest we report it?"

"Sit down first, or you'll wake Sister Hongmei up."

Zhou Hongsong glanced at his sister sleeping peacefully on the bed, and the pain in his heart intensified. He picked up the cold water on the table and drank it all in one gulp!

Seeing that Zhou Hongsong's emotions had stabilized, Li Xiangdong slowly spoke and asked Wu Jianjun, "Is Hou San in charge of verifying and stamping the documents for educated youth returning to the city?"

"Um!"

Wu Jianjun's face turned ashen, and he nodded slightly.

"Then he must have harmed more than just one person, right?"

Wu Jianjun's voice grew softer and softer, "Yeah, a lot of female educated youth, they also had to sleep with him before he would give his approval."

Zhou Hongsong glared fiercely at Wu Jianjun, "If you're willing to go back to Yanjing, why don't you go and sleep with him yourself!"

Li Xiangdong: ......