In the blink of an eye, more than an hour had passed. They had looked at many houses, but none of them were suitable. Either they were too messy and cluttered, or the rent was too expensive.
“Xiao Chen, I have a relative’s friend who owns a house in the urban village. It’s vacant right now.” Song Ziyan smiled after reading a message. “I just asked around. The price is especially cheap. It’s only 300 yuan a month, and water and electricity are free. Why don’t we go take a look?”
“Ah, there’s a place that cheap in the urban village?” Xiao Chen asked doubtfully.
Tongfang High School was not in the city center, but it was close to the university town. Even houses in the urban village usually started at over 2,000 yuan per month.
“Yes, come on, let’s go have a look.” Song Ziyan grabbed his hand and ran over.
When they arrived at the standalone courtyard, Uncle Ming, the Song family’s housekeeper, was already there, disguised as the landlord. Although he wore ordinary clothes, he stood politely with his hands folded in front of him.
His demeanor was slightly off. Song Ziyan coughed lightly twice. Only then did Uncle Ming realize and quickly move his hands behind his back.
Uncle Ming smiled and said, “My son got married and bought a house out of town, so the old house has been left vacant. An old house needs people living in it, otherwise it will deteriorate quickly. If you’re satisfied, just give a symbolic amount.”
“Uncle, we’re very satisfied. If there’s no problem, let’s sign the contract,” Xiao Chen said after walking around the place once.
The location had excellent access. The courtyard was spacious, and there were no illegal extensions nearby. Not far away, there was a small vegetable market. It was perfect for Grandma Wu.
“Good, good. You seem like a good kid. I’ll give you an extra discount. How about this, 2,000 yuan for a whole year,” Uncle Ming said, waving his hand generously.
After signing the contract and paying one year’s rent, Song Ziyan secretly gave Uncle Ming an OK gesture.
After thanking Song Ziyan, Xiao Chen brought Grandma Wu over.
That afternoon, he asked the Homeroom Teacher for leave and helped Grandma Wu clean up the courtyard.
Grandma Wu was quick and capable. After the two of them worked for most of the day, the courtyard looked completely renewed.
“Chen Chen, sit down and rest for a while.” Grandma Wu asked him to sit and poured him a glass of water.
“I’m fine, Grandma. I’m not tired.” Xiao Chen took the water and drank a sip.
“Chen Chen, tell Grandma the truth. Are they treating you badly?” Grandma Wu suddenly asked.
The “they” naturally referred to Xiao Chen’s parents.
Xiao Chen’s hand froze for a moment while holding the cup. He then set it down, his expression calm. “It’s fine, Grandma. I’m used to it.” Get faster updates on g.com.
“Those two heartless people. You’re their son too. How can they be so biased?” Grandma Wu said angrily.
“I’m going to the Xiao family tomorrow. I’ll ask your mother face to face if she carried you for ten months before giving birth to you.”
“Grandma…” Xiao Chen held her hand. “There’s no need to ask. I’ve already severed ties with them. I can support myself. As long as I have you with me, I’m satisfied.”
Grandma Wu pulled him into her arms, her voice full of heartache. “Grandma will stay with you. I’ll always stay with you.”
Just then, Grandma Wu suddenly frowned. She pressed a hand against her chest, her face showing pain.
“Grandma, what’s wrong? Is your heart acting up again?” Xiao Chen was startled. He quickly helped her sit down and poured her another glass of water.
In his previous life, Grandma Wu’s heart condition had worsened because no one was there to care for her, and she had passed away early. The memory still weighed heavily on him.
“It’s nothing. Just an old problem. I’ll be fine after resting a bit,” Grandma Wu said after drinking the water. Her expression gradually relaxed.
“Grandma, rest for a while. A classmate’s elder had the same problem with insufficient blood supply to the heart, and he recovered after taking traditional medicine. I have the prescription. I’ll go out and get the medicine now.”
After saying that, Xiao Chen hurried out. Not far from here was a chain pharmacy called Zhongjing Hall.
In his previous life, Grandma Wu’s sudden passing had filled him with guilt. He had once obtained a good prescription for treating heart conditions from a Taoist priest, but Grandma Wu never had the chance to use it. Now that he had been reborn, he would not allow her to leave early again.
He scanned a shared bicycle outside and rode to the nearest pharmacy.
Following his memory, he wrote down the prescription and handed it to the clerk to prepare the medicine.
The clerk’s attitude was indifferent. She wore a stern face, as if someone owed her several million yuan. She handled things carelessly. Just as she was about to wrap up six packs of medicine, Xiao Chen frowned. “Miss, you missed one ingredient. Danshen.”
Because of the guilt he carried toward Grandma Wu, Xiao Chen remembered the prescription very clearly. One ingredient was indeed missing. If he had not noticed in time, would the clerk have just fooled him?
“What’s missing? What does a kid like you know?” The clerk found it troublesome and did not want to bother adding another herb.
“This is medicine for someone to take. Danshen is the most important ingredient. How can it be missing?” Xiao Chen frowned. “What if the patient has problems after taking it?”
“Kid, why are you so troublesome?” the clerk snapped, pointing at him. “The medicine is already packed. That’s all. 500 yuan.” Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
The herbs were worth at most 100 yuan. Seeing that Xiao Chen was just a high school student, she was clearly trying to take advantage of him.
“First, the quantity is insufficient. You’re missing one ingredient, Danshen. That counts as shortchanging. Second, the prices of medicines are regulated. Charging this much is price gouging.” Xiao Chen pointed at the computer for the Drug Administration on the side. “What do you think will happen if I call them?”
“You…” The clerk did not expect this high school student to be so difficult.
Shortchanging and price gouging could result in fines of tens of thousands of yuan at the highest level. Thinking of the consequences, the clerk reluctantly added the missing Danshen and recalculated the price to 150 yuan.
Xiao Chen picked up the medicine and paid by scanning the code.
He calculated silently that his wallet was almost empty again. He had invested 50,000 yuan in the stock market. In hand, he only had the 3,000 yuan Academic Bonus given by the Principal. After paying 2,000 yuan for rent, he was left with very little. The stock market would take at least half a month to bring returns. It seemed he needed to find a way to earn money.
As he turned to leave, he glanced at a corner near the entrance of the pharmacy. On top of a worn snakeskin bag lay a dark, blackish object.
A flash of recognition crossed his mind. In his previous life, a rare and precious medicinal herb matched that lump in the corner.
Purple-Stem Ganoderma. It was extremely rare and considered a treasure in traditional medicine.
Its value was comparable to wild ginseng. In his previous life, someone had offered a high price to buy it as a medicinal catalyst. A pharmacy owner had bought one and later sold it for 500,000 yuan.
The one in front of him was twice as large as the one in his memory.
“How much is this Ganoderma?” Xiao Chen asked, pointing at it.
“1,000 yuan. No bargaining,” the clerk snorted, rolling her eyes.
An old man had dug it up in the mountains. The boss had bought it for 50 yuan. What would a high school student know? Besides, things dug from the mountains could be priced high.
“I’ll take it for 800 yuan,” Xiao Chen said, making a token counteroffer.
“Scan the payment and take it,” the clerk said, glancing at him in slight surprise.
Xiao Chen suppressed the excitement in his heart. He scanned the code with his phone, then asked for a plastic bag and put the Ganoderma inside.