"No need, I'll just eat like this." Chen Feng shook his head, stopped the old lady, and sat down in the seat that had been reserved for him.
Chen Feng picked up his chopsticks and, seeing that neither of them had touched their food, looked at the two of them.
"Eat quickly."
"Um."
The old man took a deep breath, sniffed, and then picked up his chopsticks. The three of them ate together.
The dishes are simple: stewed green beans with pork and a cold salad.
The green beans were homegrown, and the meat... must have been frozen for a long time; they had been reluctant to eat it until Chen Feng came today, when they finally brought it out to entertain him.
"Where did Duoduo's parents go?" Chen Feng looked up at the old man and asked the question that had been on his mind.
"Duoduo's father died three years ago. He was crushed to death at the construction site in an engineering accident."
The old man spoke calmly, but only he knew how many tears were hidden behind that calm.
"Nobody cares?" Chen Feng asked, taking a bite of rice.
"The person in charge ran away, construction stopped, and everyone was passing the buck. I ran around for a year, and finally the court judgment came down."
"But I only have the judgment and the 30,000 yuan in compensation I've received. I don't know where to get the remaining 170,000 yuan."
"The medical expenses cost 170,000 yuan, but we couldn't save him." The old man stuffed a mouthful of cold food into his mouth and squeezed his eyes shut.
"Where's her mother?" Chen Feng picked up a green bean but didn't touch the dozen or so slices of meat that were left in the bowl.
"She died too. She had congenital heart disease and couldn't bear the double blow from her husband and daughter. She couldn't catch her breath."
The old man shoveled a mouthful of rice into his mouth, his lips pressed tightly together.
"Can Duoduo's illness be cured?" Chen Feng took a deep breath, feeling a tightness in his chest.
"Late-stage uremia, and a series of complications, as well as some other congenital conditions."
"The only way to cure it is with a kidney transplant, which will cost at least 300,000 yuan, and there is no prospect of finding a suitable kidney."
"We've run out of money and borrowed from all our relatives and friends. Because we have no money, Duoduo has to be discharged from the hospital and stay home for dialysis."
“If this continues, the doctor said she only has a few years left to live; she's too young…”
The old man put down his rice bowl and wiped away the tears from the corner of his eyes.
"I'm so sorry, Duoduo. I'm such a useless father..."
The old man choked up and lowered his head to wipe away his tears.
Chen Feng looked up at the old-fashioned tungsten filament lamp and felt that the light was getting bigger and bigger.
He wanted to comfort the old man, but he couldn't bring himself to say the words of comfort.
He couldn't bring himself to say something like, "It's okay, tomorrow will be better," while trying to sound casual.
Because tomorrow won't be better, it will only get worse.
A hemp rope always breaks at its thinnest point, and misfortune always finds those with a hard life.
Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
"Sir, I've finished eating. I'll be going now. Call me if you need anything."
Chen Feng stood up. He just wanted to go outside for some fresh air. He didn't know how to comfort the old man or what to say.
"It's so late, why don't you stay here for the night before you leave?" The old man wiped away his tears, stood up, and said.
"No, sir, please sit down. Don't see me off, I'll walk by myself."
Chen Feng forcibly stopped the elderly couple from getting up to see him off, and then left the house and closed the door behind them.
Arriving in the kitchen, Chen Feng looked at Duo Duo's closed door and thought of the two tubes inserted into her abdomen. His nose stung with tears, and he took out the small bottle containing gold from his bag.
I opened the bottle, poured out some gold fragments, and placed them in the most conspicuous spot in the kitchen.
It's probably worth seven or eight thousand yuan.
After doing all this, Chen Feng didn't say anything, pushed open the door and left.
Back in the car, Chen Feng gripped the steering wheel with both hands and saw the cute cinnamon dog sticker that Duo Duo had stuck on the back of his hand.
He reached out and gently took it off, then firmly stuck it to the armrest between the two seats.
That spot is sheltered from the sun and you don't usually touch it; it just stays there.
He wiped his wet eyes and drove towards the abandoned mine in the hills.
Zheng Ping and the others sent Chen Feng their location in the evening, and he was expected to arrive around 2 a.m.
The old man and woman sat for a while, barely eating any of the food, before getting up to clear the dishes.
Rolling the spiciest cigarette, the old man smoked three in a row before getting up to rinse his mouth, suppressing his emotions, and went to Duoduo's room, where he sat down on the stool.
"Grandpa." Duoduo couldn't help but smile as soon as she saw her grandfather.
"Hey, why is Duoduo so happy today?" The old man could tell that Duoduo was very happy today.
Upon hearing this, Duoduo thought of her promise to Chen Feng and couldn't help but shake her head mysteriously, then gave the old man a knowing smile.
"I won't tell you, it's a secret."
"It's a secret? You'd better keep it safe, or I'll find out."
The old man made a gesturing gesture in front of Duoduo, which made her laugh out loud.
"Okay, Duoduo, reach out your hand. The IV drip is finished. Let's go to sleep."
The old man gently removed the needle from Duoduo's hand and then covered her with a blanket.
"Okay." Duoduo obediently closed her eyes. Only by sleeping more could she get better, that's what her grandfather told her.
The old man went out, turned off the lights, and gently closed the door.
After the old man left, Duoduo quietly opened her eyes, looked at her pillow, and couldn't help but smile happily.
I'm finally going to have my own cinnamon dog friend! Just thinking about it makes me so happy I can't sleep.
It was late at night when Chen Feng finally drove to the location. With the headlights on, Chen Feng saw Huang Fei's car.
Upon seeing the car, Chen Feng turned off the lights and parked not far from them.
It's so late, Chen Feng doesn't plan to bother them. He also doesn't plan to pan for gold tomorrow; he'll take a day off and figure it out later.
Chen Feng stopped the car, opened the trunk, and sat down next to it.
Reaching out, Chen Feng lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and stared aimlessly into the distance. No one knew what he was thinking.
In the darkness, that little red light would go out and then come back on, then go out and come back on.
After repeating this three or four times, the sound of the trunk lid closing was finally heard.
The next morning, Zheng Ping and his group got up one after another, only to be surprised to find the Wuling parked in the distance.
After taking a closer look at the license plate, he confirmed that it was Chen Feng's car.
"Holy crap, when did Fengzi arrive? How come I didn't know?"
"Yes, I have absolutely no recollection of it. What time did he arrive?"
"He didn't come so late yesterday, I thought he couldn't make it and wouldn't be here until this morning," the group said to each other.
Huang Fei got out of the car in a daze, stretched, and spoke to everyone.
"Fengzi arrived around 2 a.m. last night. When he came, the headlights were shining directly at me. I thought it was already dawn."
"I realized it was him when I looked closer. I figured he must be sleeping too since it was so late, so I didn't get off the bus."
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