"Auntie, call an ambulance quickly, I can't move..."
Soon, Lily also started calling out.
"Auntie, I can't move either, what should I do? Waaaaah..."
Bai Lian was at a loss for what to do. She picked up her phone and dialed 120 with trembling hands, and quickly sent the two people to the hospital.
After a full-body checkup, nothing was found to be wrong with either of them, so they had no choice but to take them home.
Once he entered the hospital, his already meager assets dwindled to just a few hundred yuan.
Bai Lian was worried about the little money she had. The rent was due soon, but she had no money to pay it, and there were three sick people in her house.
She wandered around the market, bought only a bunch of greens and a few eggs, and headed home.
"Ms. Bai, so this is where you are! We've been looking for you everywhere."
Bai Lian looked and realized it was Wu Gui, a beggar she had met on the street not long ago.
When Bailian first arrived in the city, she was carrying 100,000 yuan that her daughter had just given her as a filial gift. She couldn't help but feel sorry for the beggars.
So she took the poor Wu Gui, whom she had met, out for a big meal, and then took him to a hotel and booked a room for him to wash up.
They also bought him clothes and daily necessities, and gave him several hundred yuan so that he wouldn't go hungry before finding a job.
Later, she met him a few more times, and Wu Gui told Bailian that he had found a job as a gatekeeper at a welfare home.
The salary was low, but room and board were included. He was very content and grateful to her.
Bai Lian was very interested in the welfare home he mentioned. Hearing that the children didn't have much to eat or use, she donated 50,000 yuan and bought a lot of supplies to send over.
However, Wu Gui did all the work on her behalf, and she trusted Wu Gui's character and believed that he would handle the matter well.
She moved away after that, and we never saw each other again.
"Oh, it's you. What are you dressed like? Don't you work at the orphanage?"
Bai Lian looked at the ragged beggar in front of her and could hardly recognize him. If she hadn't seen how destitute he used to be, she would never have believed that they were the same person.
"Don't even mention it. The orphanage was about to go out of business, so they fired me. Ms. Bai, didn't you say you would donate to us regularly? Look, you haven't shown up for months, and the children haven't had any food."
Bai Lian suddenly felt it was all her fault; how heartbreaking it must be for the children to go hungry. But she had no money at all.
She looked troubled. "Wu Gui, I'm short on money lately and don't have any extra to help the welfare home. But I will definitely donate to you again when I have money in the future."
Wu Gui was taken aback, but he quickly put on a fawning smile.
"Ms. Bai, I haven't eaten for three days, you see..."
Seeing Wu Gui waiting expectantly, Bai Lian shyly reached into her pocket, took out some money, took out a fifty-yuan note, thought for a moment, then exchanged it for a ten-yuan note and handed it to Wu Gui.
"You can buy a few steamed buns to tide you over. I don't have much money left, and my family is waiting for me to cook. I'll be going now."
Wu Gui looked at the ten yuan with disdain; this old woman was too stingy.
"Ms. Bai, don't you still have a few hundred yuan? Just give me three hundred. We brothers can order a few dishes and buy a bottle of wine, and that'll be it."
Bai Lian's face stiffened, and she looked at Wu Gui in disbelief. She had already said that she had no money, so why was she asking her for money again?
Before I could even react, my hand felt light, and the money was gone.
Wu Gui took out three hundred-yuan bills and stuffed the remaining tens of yuan back into Bai Lian's hand.
"Tch~ What a show-off! I thought she was a rich woman, but she's just a pretentious show-off. What bad luck!"
He grumbled and called to his companions as they walked away.
Bai Lian held the money in her hand, feeling a chill in her heart. Human nature has changed so much.
It was already dark when Xiaoli got home. She learned what had happened from 123. Seeing Bailian looking so distracted, she sneered inwardly. There were many more outrageous things she had done.
"Clang clang clang... I'm so hungry, Auntie, aren't you going to cook?"
Bai Lian finally came to her senses, wiped away her tears, and went into the kitchen.
"Okay, I'll do it right away."
In the past, the original owner would have definitely asked her mother what was wrong when she saw her crying, but now Xiaoli felt nothing. It was all her own fault, so who could she blame?
The next morning, Bailian went to buy groceries. She had heard from the aunties at the market that it was cheaper to buy groceries in the morning, so she got up very early this morning.
The vegetables were exceptionally fresh this morning, and the prices were quite reasonable. Bailian carried her full basket of vegetables back home.
When she reached the fork in the road, she suddenly felt a strong urge to visit the children at the orphanage.
It wasn't far from the welfare home; she arrived in half an hour.
Through the fence, the children at the welfare home were either playing or working, looking quite harmonious. It wasn't like Wu Gui had said, that it was about to close down.
She went to the door to inquire, and the dean received her. The dean was an elegant woman in her forties or fifties. After talking with her, Bailian discovered that there was no record of her donation.
She now realized that she had been deceived by Wu Gui.
Bai Lian felt ashamed. Looking at the lovely children in the garden, she wanted to do something for them, but she had no money left.
As she left the orphanage and passed a lake, she stood there lost in thought for a long time.
"Young lady, what's wrong with you? Don't do anything rash."
When Bailian turned around, she saw a refined-looking middle-aged man in his forties or fifties standing next to her, looking at her nervously, as if afraid that she might try to commit suicide.
Bai Lian smiled sheepishly, "Big brother, don't worry, I just want to enjoy the scenery here, I won't jump."
Pan Xiaodong laughed too, "That's good. That's life. There are ups and downs. Just keep moving forward, and you'll get through this hurdle."
Bai Lian felt much better and went home happily.
In the following days, she often went to the lakeside to sit on a bench, and unsurprisingly, she ran into Pan Xiaodong several more times.
The two hit it off immediately and chatted happily. After learning about Bailian's predicament, Pan Xiaodong generously lent her 10,000 yuan to help her through the crisis.
Looking at the increasingly abundant dishes at home, Xiao Li raised her eyebrows in confusion. Which sucker had been swindled this time?
123 dutifully reported the situation, and Xiao Li asked 123 to investigate Pan Xiaodong's background.
This Pan Xiaodong is no simple person.
He is fifty years old this year and has three children, all of whom are very outstanding, but they are all working in other places and not by his side.
He lost his wife in middle age and struggled to raise his three children. He then retired early and began a leisurely retirement life.
You could say he's a handsome, wealthy, and kind-hearted middle-aged man.
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