At this moment, an elderly man with white hair and beard stood up shakily, his face full of pleading as he spoke to the pockmarked man.
"Good man, please have a kind heart and get a doctor for the child. As long as my grandson gets better, I will do whatever you say."
"What nonsense are you spouting? Didn't I say I'd get a doctor for you after this is all settled?" The pockmarked man said impatiently.
The woman, holding her child, was so anxious that tears streamed down her face. She knelt down, banging her knees on the ground as if she were crawling, until she reached the pockmarked man.
"Good sir, I know you are a kind person. Since you are willing to give us white flour buns to eat, please have mercy and save my child!"
The pockmarked man glanced lewdly at the woman holding the child. He noticed that although she wasn't young, she was fairly good-looking, even somewhat attractive. He swallowed hard, hatching a wicked plan.
He rubbed his hands together, a lewd grin on his face, and said, "Saving your child isn't out of the question, but what will you give me in return?"
The woman knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "If you can save my son's life, sir, I will repay your great kindness even if I cannot do so in this life, I will be your servant in the next."
The woman had barely finished speaking when, before the pockmarked man could reply, Carrot Head interrupted,
"You're really stubborn. Do you think Brother Ma would let you be his slave? He wants you to repay him with your body. If you leave Brother Ma tonight, he can save your son's life."
"This is a good deal. Count me in too. As long as you keep me company tonight, we'll give you money." The hook-nosed man grinned lewdly, already having a thousand ways to torture people in his mind.
The woman was both ashamed and angry upon hearing this, and remained speechless for a long time.
Upon hearing this, the surrounding beggars began to criticize.
"Are you even human? How dare you take advantage of us in our time of need? Even though we've fallen on hard times, we still have our dignity. It's one thing for you to stand by and watch us die, but to make such a despicable request is utterly shameless!"
"Don't you have any humanity? Even though we are beggars, you can't treat us like this!"
"What's the difference between your despicable behavior and that of robbers who take advantage of a disaster?"
"You not only stood by and watched me die, but you also kicked me when I was down! You're a bunch of beasts! No! You're all worse than beasts!"
"Shut up, all of you! Who are you calling an animal?" Radish Head glared, crossed his arms, and struck a domineering pose. "I'm just kicking someone when they're down, what are you going to do about it?"
The man with the hooked nose also glared and puffed out his beard, "You guys are really bored out of your minds. Anyone who dares to say another word, watch out for my fists!"
"Good man, you promised that if we came with you to block the door, you would call a doctor for my grandson. You can't go back on your word!" The old man pleaded anxiously, clutching the pockmarked man's clothes tightly.
One of the middle-aged men was also furious. "We've never done anything so disgusting. If it weren't for these sick children, we would rather starve to death than do such a despicable thing."
"Alright, all of you shut up. You're not hungry anymore after eating my steamed buns, are you? Look at you, so capable! If you're so smart, why didn't you eat them in the first place!"
The pockmarked man impatiently approached the woman, craned his neck to give her a cursory glance, and then curled his lip in disapproval.
"This child is beyond saving. Spending more money is like a blind man lighting a lamp – it's a waste of time. You should just take him to a mass grave and bury him."
The woman was so anxious that she cried and kowtowed repeatedly, pleading, "Please, sir, have mercy! My son is still breathing, he's not dead, please save him!"
"Are you ever going to stop? I've already told you, your child is beyond saving. What are you still dawdling about? Get out of here! If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have let you and your child come along. You're just making things worse!"
Upon hearing this, the woman hugged the child tightly and burst into tears, crying out, "My child, you can't leave your mother like this! How can I live like this!"
Chen Qingqing understood the whole story and smiled. It was just like someone offering a pillow when you're sleepy. As long as these real refugees were dealt with, she had a hundred ways to make those scoundrels leave obediently.
Chen Qingqing got up and walked out, parting the crowd to get closer. She saw that the boy in the woman's arms was pale, his eyes were closed, and his body was convulsing.
She crouched down and said with a serious expression,
"Sister-in-law, I am a doctor. Please believe me, I can cure his illness."
The woman, nearly in despair, upon hearing that Chen Qingqing was a doctor, grasped at a straw like a drowning person, and immediately knelt down and kowtowed.
"Thank you, young lady. Please take a look quickly!"
Chen Qingqing ignored the woman, took the child from her arms, and found that the child was burning hot and had already fainted. If not treated in time, the child's life could be in danger at any time.
Without bothering to explain further, she conjured up a fever reducer in her hand with a thought, immediately pried open the child's mouth, and fed it to him with warm water.
They immediately began the examination, and just as they were about to unbutton the child's outer garment, the pockmarked man standing behind them quickly stepped forward.
"Stop! What are you doing?"
Chen Qingqing ignored him and continued what she was doing.
Seeing this, the pockmarked man became anxious. He knew that Chen Qingqing was a doctor at Jishetang, and he had also heard that her medical skills were very high and that she had cured many people of their difficult and complicated diseases.
If she saves this child's life today, these beggars will be eternally grateful to her, and she won't be able to blackmail them anymore.
Thinking of this, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "She's not a doctor at all! She's just lying to you so we'll leave the restaurant. Don't let this girl fool you!"
Radish Head quickly chimed in, "What kind of good person are you, a little girl? If you knew how to treat illnesses, donkeys would fly. Get up, there's no need for you to be all crocodile tears and fake compassion."
"Shut your filthy mouths! You just stood by and watched someone die, and you wouldn't let anyone else help. I'll beat you bastards to death!" The gray-haired old man raised the stick in his hand and swung it at the pockmarked man.
The middle-aged man clenched his fists and gestured fiercely at the pockmarked man and his gang.
Seeing this, all the beggars scrambled to their feet, shielding Chen Qingqing in the middle, glaring angrily at the pockmarked man and the thugs pretending to be beggars.
The pockmarked man shrank back, intimidated by these people, and unconsciously touched his nose, not daring to utter another sound...
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