Hospitals were places most people preferred to avoid—they burned money far too quickly.
But what if the wound on Lihua’s forehead left a scar? Shen Yunchu thought about the money she had secretly scraped together over the years. If it still wasn’t enough, she would borrow some more from her colleagues.
Who was Nan Lingyi? One glance at Shen Yunchu and she could guess why the foolish child was so restless.
“Worried about money?”
Shen Yunchu had nothing to hide from her mother and answered in a low voice, “Mom, my wages these past years have all been kept by my mother-in-law. I’ve saved a little on my own, but I don’t know if it’ll be enough.”
Hearing this, Sister-in-law Li twitched the corner of her mouth, thinking to herself that of all the things this silly child could worry about, money shouldn’t be one of them. Did she even know that her own biological mother could casually take out fifty yuan to sponsor their hospital?
Nan Lingyi gently patted her daughter’s head and said, “You don’t need to worry about money. Just accompany Lihua and make sure she gets proper treatment.”
As the director of the Twenty-Seventh Hospital, Director Li naturally had many connections with other hospitals as well. After a quick word from Sister-in-law Li, this hospital arranged for someone specifically to handle Lihua’s examinations.
After examining the wound on Qiao Lihua’s forehead, the doctor comforted Shen Yunchu, saying that with proper care, it likely wouldn’t leave a scar.
Shen Yunchu let out a sigh of relief, thinking that was the end of it.
Who knew the doctor would then hand her another form and say, “Later, Nurse Zhang will take you to do a full-body check for the child. Oh right, you need one too—I’ve already opened a form for you as well.”
Shen Yunchu hurriedly waved her hands in refusal. “Doctor, I won’t need it. To be honest, I don’t have much money on hand.”
The doctor froze for a moment, puzzled. “But your fees have already been paid by someone else. If you don’t do the examinations, the money will go to waste.”
Shen Yunchu’s eyes widened as she followed the nurse in a daze, undergoing a series of tests.
After she left, the doctor called the director’s office on the landline. “Director, everything has been taken care of.”
At that moment, in the director’s office, Nan Lingyi and Sister-in-law Li were sitting there with Li Jiaojiao.
Hearing this, Nan Lingyi sincerely thanked him. “Thank you for the trouble, Director. My foolish daughter and my granddaughter—please make sure they get thorough examinations. Whatever medicine or treatment they need, don’t worry about the cost. Just arrange it.”
The director agreed cheerfully. “You’re someone Brother Li’s wife brought over—don’t worry, we’ll arrange everything properly.”
Nan Lingyi continued, “There’s another thing I’ll have to trouble you with. Please give me a copy of the examination reports as well. I want to know exactly how much my daughter and granddaughter have suffered over the years.”
She turned to Sister-in-law Li and said, “I’ll make Old Madam Qiao pay this bill.”
Sister-in-law Li nodded with deep understanding and slapped her thigh. “That’s how it should be. That vile old woman is rotten to the core—it’s time she felt some pain.”
Nan Lingyi laughed at her righteous indignation. “I don’t lack money. What I lack is justice.”
She then looked back at the director. “But getting Old Madam Qiao to bleed won’t be easy, so I’ll need your help. Of course, I won’t let you help for nothing—I’ll invest in two buildings for the hospital.”
The director, who had merely been planning to do an old friend a favor, suddenly jumped to his feet, thinking he had misheard.
“Invest… invest in two buildings?”
You had to know that the cost of investing in two buildings could cover treatment for countless patients. It didn’t sound like something a normal person would willingly do.
Nan Lingyi nodded calmly and repeated, “Two buildings. If the director thinks that’s too little, three would be fine as well…”
The director hurriedly waved his hands. How could that be too little? It was far more than enough. Their hospital was undergoing reform, and he had been worrying himself bald trying to attract investors.
But still…
He looked at Sister-in-law Li, hardly daring to believe it.
Sister-in-law Li couldn’t help thinking: when Nan Lingyi handed her husband fifty yuan back then, didn’t he have the same dumbfounded expression? Tsk, truly embarrassing.
She cleared her throat. “Lingyi already said it—she doesn’t lack money. She just wants justice.”
The director said cautiously, “Three buildings would cost a great deal of money…”
Nan Lingyi opened her bag, took out a five-yuan bill, and casually waved it. “Is this enough?”
The director’s jaw nearly dropped. Such an enormous sum—and Nan Lingyi had taken it out so casually. And if he hadn’t seen wrong just now, the colorful bills in her bag were all—
The director immediately straightened up and assured solemnly, “Ms. Nan Lingyi, rest assured. We’ll do everything in our power to help you with what you need done!”
After settling things here, Nan Lingyi wanted to check on how her daughter Shen Yunchu and granddaughter Qiao Lihua’s examinations had gone.
Looking at the results, Nan Lingyi silently felt grateful that she had arrived in this world in time.
Shen Yunchu was quite seriously malnourished, with poor physical condition. Moreover, when she gave birth to Lihua back then, she likely hadn’t received proper postpartum care, leaving her with severe postpartum illness—she was sensitive to wind and cold, prone to sweating, headaches, and lower back pain…
There were also various other hidden injuries.
Qiao Lihua was still young, but the numerous old injuries and bruises on her body were shocking to behold—most of them hidden under her clothes.
Clutching the examination reports, Nan Lingyi clenched her fists, recalling how her granddaughter had curled softly in her arms and said, “It doesn’t hurt. I’m used to it…”
In that instant, it was as though countless needles pierced her heart.
At that moment, Nan Lingyi fully immersed herself in the role of a grandmother who loved her daughter and grandchild deeply.
She also recalled the plot, in which Qiao Lihua was disfigured and then abandoned by Old Madam Qiao just to make Shen Yunchu give birth to another son. After losing her daughter, Shen Yunchu eventually committed suicide.
She slowly exhaled, steadying herself. Beside her, Sister-in-law Li watched everything with a heart aching as well. What kind of grandmother behaved so viciously? In her own family, if Jiaojiao so much as cried once, the entire household would be heartbroken.
She grabbed Nan Lingyi’s hand and asked, “Old Madam Qiao surely won’t admit any of this. What are you planning to do?”
Nan Lingyi closed her eyes briefly and said, “Help me make a hundred copies of these reports—no, a thousand, ten thousand—then find people to distribute them in all the places the Qiao family frequents.”
Did Old Madam Qiao really think that acting sweet in front of neighbors could cover everything up?
Even if the courtyard residents were temporarily fooled, official hospital examination reports would plant seeds of doubt in their minds. On top of that, there were the children Nan Lingyi had instructed…
When Old Madam Qiao was driven to desperation, Nan Lingyi refused to believe she would still sit still.
Sister-in-law Li responded readily. “Don’t worry, sister. My younger brother knows plenty of people. I’ll have him handle it.”
“And one more thing—please find someone in this hospital who has a grudge against Old Madam Qiao and is quick-tongued. Yunchu and Lihua need to recuperate properly in the hospital, which naturally means medical expenses. Someone will have to inform Old Madam Qiao about the hospital’s updates…”
(End of Chapter)