Sure enough, Grandpa Chai returned the next evening in a ride from the village. He looked to be in good spirits, carrying a new schoolbag on his shoulder, though he had lost some weight after a week of travel.
Shang Lin hurriedly stepped forward to help carry the things, but was directly refused by Old Man Chai, "They're not heavy. You're still recovering from your illness, you can't overexert yourself."
After saying that, he handed the schoolbag to Shang Lin. "This is the schoolbag and stationery I bought for you. I don't know if you like it. If you need anything else, it will be convenient to buy it in the county when school starts."
Shang Lin took the schoolbag. "Why did Godfather take so long? Was it because the paperwork was difficult to complete?"
Old Man Chai smiled and said, "It's not that it's difficult to arrange, it's just that it's not easy to find someone during the holidays. But no matter what, you can go to the county's No. 1 Middle School to start your third year of junior high school on September 1st. Oh, right, you have to go to the county's No. 1 Middle School to complete the formalities on August 20th so that you can officially enroll."
Seeing Old Man Chai's demeanor, Shang Lin was certain that he wouldn't answer no matter what he asked, and besides, how could he even ask? He could only take it one step at a time.
However, the next morning, Old Man Chai fell ill with a high fever, which made him delirious and even started talking nonsense. He would be angry one moment, apologetic the next, and finally cried very sadly.
Seeing this, Shang Lin could only have the natural refrigerators in the Dragon Spirit Tower cool down Old Man Chai and then send him to the county for treatment. He could treat him, but unfortunately, he had no medicine.
The medicinal herbs in the Dragon Spirit Pagoda are either ginseng or lingzhi, which are highly nourishing, but they can't cure inflammation and fever. It's just that the village's ride-sharing service had already left, so Li Hongjin gave them a ride on a tractor.
Not only that, when they arrived in the county, Li Hongjin helped run errands for him. After Old Man Chai settled in, he comforted him, saying, "It's alright, don't worry. The doctor said you'll be fine after the IV drip. Look at you, your complexion, which had just gotten a little better, has gotten worse again."
Shang Lin naturally knew that Old Man Chai was alright. If he had medicine at home, he could have treated him. What he was concerned about were the external injuries. When he examined him, he found that those external injuries were left by people with some martial arts skills.
Based on Shang Lin's understanding of the human world, such people are extremely rare. How did Old Man Chai encounter him? If he was robbed... how could someone be tempted by his clothes?
Seeing that Shang Lin didn't speak, Li Hongjin continued, "Grandpa Chai will have to wait a while before he wakes up. Why don't you go outside and get something to eat first?"
Shang Lin immediately snapped out of her daze, "Yes, I'll be back soon."
Li Hongjin laughed and said, "No need to rush, Uncle Chai, we'll be waiting for you at the hospital."
"good."
After leaving the hospital, Shang Lin first bought dozens of chicks, and then bought ten live chickens to put into the Dragon Spirit Tower. The chicks were naturally for them to raise, and the live chickens were for eating. With his current financial ability, he could only afford to let the demons have a little treat.
Then he went to buy clothes for the little boy Huang Li. The little guy had probably just transformed, and his clothes were not even fully formed yet, but why were the children's clothes so expensive? Shang Lin suddenly remembered that Qiu Niang could make clothes, so he bought some fabric.
Oh, I also need to buy needles, thread, and scissors.
Since time was limited, Shang Lin didn't want to buy anything else. Even so, he still spent several hundred yuan. On the way back, he bought Li Hongjin a big watermelon and a bag of apples.
Watermelons are cheap, but they're heavy. The price of apples really shocked Shang Lin. As for the prices of other fruits... well, they're only more expensive than apples. No wonder Xing Tian said he wanted to grow high-quality fruits and vegetables; they're much more profitable than wild mountain vegetables.
However, I don't have the ability to investigate Old Man Chai's matter right now, but since he's already at the hospital, I can just ask him directly.
When Shang Lin returned to the hospital, Old Man Chai was still asleep. He wondered what Old Man Chai had gone through during the week he was gone. However, his fever had subsided and he was sleeping soundly.
As soon as Li Hongjin saw Shang Lin, he said, "You're back. The doctor just came to see Grandpa Chai and said he needs to be hospitalized for observation for a day. You can take the village bus home this afternoon. I'll stay with Grandpa Chai."
Shang Lin immediately refused, "No need, I'll stay with you. You should go home; you have a lot to do there." He then handed the fruit he had bought to Li Hongjin, saying, "Take these back with you."
Li Hongjin immediately became unhappy. "Tiedan, what are you doing? Did I help you for these reasons?"
"Of course not," Shang Lin explained with a smile. "I bought this for my nephew. Since you're here, you can drop it off and see the child, right?"
"you……"
Li Hongjin didn't know what to say for a moment. Shang Lin had already started pushing him outside, "Go quickly, don't be late for home."
As Li Hongjin walked, he said, "Then I'll come pick you up tomorrow."
Shang Lin immediately refused, "No, we don't know what the situation will be like tomorrow. If I can be discharged, we can take the village car back."
"Okay then, if you need any help, be sure to call me."
"good."
Hospitals in small counties are completely different from those in big cities. There are few patients, let alone long queues, and even fewer hospitalized patients. The number of patients was probably highest when I had cataract surgery.
Old Man Chai was the only patient in the three-person ward. When Shang Lin brought Li Hongjin back, he had just woken up and seemed out of sorts.
Shang Lin hurriedly stepped forward, "Godfather is awake, how are you feeling?"
Old Man Chai looked at the IV drip bottle, then looked around, "Is this a hospital?!"
Shang Lin nodded. "Yes, my godfather had a high fever and was in a coma. If we had come any later, his life would have been in danger."
This wasn't Shang Lin intentionally trying to scare people. If Old Man Chai didn't have natural refrigerators like Ji Xiaoyao by his side, who knows what kind of burns they would have suffered if Li Hongjin had taken them to the hospital by tractor?
Old Man Chai smiled awkwardly, "It's all my fault for being careless. I didn't pay attention to my slight cold."
Shang Lin's little face was tense. "Did something happen to Godfather outside? You're not like this because of a cold. The doctor checked you and said it's an external injury. We're like father and son, what can't we talk about? Besides, I'm already fifteen years old, not a little kid in your eyes."
Old Man Chai remained silent for a while, then looked at Shang Lin's unyielding face, and finally could only compromise, saying, "Actually, it's not a big deal. When I went back, I ran into some former colleagues. They thought I was neglecting my duties, and they got a little agitated and started hitting me."
Shang Lin looked puzzled. "What kind of colleague is he? Why would he start a fight over something so trivial?"
"Martial arts instructor." Old Man Chai smiled a little awkwardly. "Actually, it's not that I don't want to continue working, but how can I teach students when I'm too old? Wouldn't that be misleading them? But that's not what others think."
Such matters are simply a matter of different personal stances, hence the different opinions. Shang Lin didn't know what to say, only saying, "Godfather shouldn't be in such a hurry to go home; he should go to the hospital first, so as not to lose more than he gains."
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