Lin Wan drove herself to the largest pawnshop in Shanghai. She used to come here several times a year to select jewelry, antiques, and calligraphy and paintings as gifts for her clients.
It was her first time pawning something here, and she felt a little sad.
She took out the set of jewelry: a bracelet, a necklace, and a brooch. The entire set of jade jewelry was made from the same piece of jade, which was old and fine-grained, icy and translucent with floating flowers, and the flower shapes were lively.
The boss looked at the item again and again, his face full of surprise.
"Miss Lin, how much would you like to pay for this?"
"Boss, name your price first!"
The moment she entered, the shopkeeper could tell from the anxious look on Lin Wan's face that she urgently needed money, and he calmly held up five fingers.
"Five million, how about that?"
Lin Wan was stunned. Zhang Wanru had said that these were her grandmother's belongings, worth at least tens of millions. She knew that pawn shops would offer discounts, but she didn't expect them to be reduced so much.
Seeing that Lin Wan didn't respond or try to negotiate the price, the shopkeeper became a little anxious.
“Miss Lin, we’ve known each other for a long time, so I won’t try to lower the price. At most, it’ll be six million. The material of this set is indeed good, but the pattern is a bit old-fashioned. It’s not a style that young people like, so it’s not easy to sell. If you don’t believe me, you can go and look at other stores.”
Lin Wan thought about the mess at home and how time was of the essence; getting the money was the priority. She nodded solemnly.
"Okay, six million it is."
"Okay, Miss Lin, I'll go prepare the money for you."
Lin Wan reached out and touched the jade jewelry set again, her eyes filled with reluctance as she thought of her mother, Zhang Wanru.
"Boss, don't sell this set of jewelry yet. I'll come back to redeem it as soon as my family's cash flow improves."
"Okay, okay."
The boss readily agreed, but didn't take it to heart at all. He had been doing this for so many years and had heard "I'll come back" countless times, but he could never redeem most of them. When he saw them again, they would basically come to pawn their things again, and the items he sold would become cheaper and cheaper. When people start to have bad luck, their money will keep flowing away.
"Tell me about your account."
Soon, Lin Wan completed the formalities, and the boss prompted her to check her phone; the six million should have already been deposited into her account.
Lin Wan opened her phone and saw more than a dozen missed calls and WeChat notifications.
She must have mute her phone when she went to see Lin An earlier, fearing that Lin Haoran might suddenly call and disrupt the conversation.
Lin Wan saw that all the callers were Lin Rou, and immediately wondered if something had happened to Zhang Wanru.
"What happened?"
"Big sister, come to the hospital quickly! Mom has had a sudden heart attack and has been admitted to the ICU." Lin Rou's voice sounded strangely muffled.
Lin Wan rushed to the hospital to check on the situation.
When she arrived, Lin Haoran, Lin Zhe, and Lin Xi were already at the hospital. Through the glass window of the ICU ward, Lin Wan saw Zhang Wanru lying on the hospital bed, her face pale and lifeless.
Lin Wan asked worriedly, "What did the doctor say?"
Lin Rou spoke in a muffled voice:
"The doctor said that Mom suffered a heart attack due to the shock. Fortunately, she was taken to the hospital in time and is not in life-threatening danger. However, her coronary arteries are now severely narrowed and blocked, and she may need to have a coronary stent procedure once her condition stabilizes."
"It must be Lin An who made Mom so angry, waaaaah." Lin Zhe sobbed.
At this moment, Lin Wan noticed that Lin Rou's lips were swollen like sausages and her cheeks were puffed out, much like a bee and puppy emoji that Lin Wan often used.
"What’s wrong with you?"
"From a bee sting."
Lin Wan was puzzled. Shanghai was full of skyscrapers, and it would be hard to find a bee. She had lived there for more than 20 years and this was the first time she had seen someone around her get stung by a bee. If Zhang Wanru hadn't been lying in a hospital bed and she hadn't been so worried, she probably would have laughed on the spot.
"Did you get the money back?" Lin Haoran asked.
Lin Wan nodded: "Mom's jewelry set was pawned for six million."
"The money was transferred directly to the company account, half of which was used for public relations with Xiao Zhe, and the other half for pre-launch promotion of the new product."
Lin Haoran had high expectations for that baby moisturizing cream. The company's reputation was not good, so he needed to spend more money on promotion.
Lin Wan frowned slightly and asked, "Mom still needs surgery, shouldn't we leave some money for her?"
Clearly, Lin Haoran hadn't considered this question. If Lin Rou hadn't said on the phone that Zhang Wanru was dying and he couldn't contact his older sister, he wouldn't have bothered coming to the hospital. He casually replied:
"Then keep 200,000."
Both ICU and coronary stents are expensive, and 200,000 yuan is clearly not enough. But Lin Haoran doesn't care. Even if Zhang Wanru dies, it won't affect him. He even has a little expectation that he can bring Yang Li into the family then.
Lin Haoran looked unwell and left the hospital after speaking.
For several days in a row, Lin Haoran did not appear at the hospital again.
Lin Wan stayed at the hospital to facilitate communication with the doctors at any time.
His other children would come to visit every day, and Lin Zhe would cry whenever he came. He was heartbroken that his soft-hearted mother had fallen ill at such a crucial moment, and no one in the family was there to speak up for him.
Lin Wan was unsure whether to inform Lin An and ask him to come to the hospital to see her mother, but Zhang Wanru's condition was uncertain, and seeing Lin An might cause her further distress.
A week later, the doctor discussed Zhang Wanru's condition with Lin Wan:
“Zhang Wanru’s family, the patient’s condition has improved and she meets the criteria for surgery. I recommend that the surgery be performed immediately.”
"Okay, doctor, I agree." Lin Wan trusted the professional expertise of the doctors at Jiren Hospital.
The doctor, wearing a white coat, adjusted his glasses and said:
"The ECMO device is needed during the surgery. The activation code for this device costs 60,000?"
Price is a sensitive issue that must be discussed with the patient's family before the surgery.
"Sixty thousand just from booting up?"
"It is indeed quite expensive, and this equipment cannot be produced domestically yet."
"Doctor, just tell me directly how much money I need to prepare in total."
"Including the cost of the heart stent, a surgery will cost around 100,000 yuan. With subsequent treatment, I suggest you prepare another 300,000 yuan."
Hearing the price of 300,000, Lin Wan's heart tightened. Her mother's surgery absolutely could not be delayed. She had been in the ICU for a week, and all the drugs she was using were imported. The 200,000 left was almost gone, and now the family had no money at all.
The company's funds have all been used up, and tomorrow is the launch date for the new product. Lin Haoran is working like a man possessed, focusing all his energy on it. He doesn't even bother to ask about Zhang Wanru's situation. If you try to raise money from him now, you'll definitely get a cold shoulder.
"Family member, do you want the surgery? If so, I'll schedule it for you." Seeing Lin Wan's stunned expression, the doctor pressed for an answer.
Lin Wan quickly replied, "Yes! Money is no problem."
Three hundred thousand. Back when the Lin family was at its peak, the Lin sisters could earn more than that by going on a shopping spree in the port area.
After much deliberation, Lin Wan decided that the pawnshop was the most reliable option.
She went home and took two small pony bags from Zhang Wanru. They were made of crocodile skin and were limited editions. They should be worth at least 300,000 yuan.
Lin Wan walked into the pawnshop and was surprised to run into Lin An. The two were stunned when their eyes met.
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