The carefree life of Yang Shuisheng, the village miracle doctor

Yang Shuisheng stood outside Xu Xiuxia's courtyard wall, looking at the tightly closed gate and then at the window that shone with dim yellow light.

After hesitating for a moment, he didn't knock on the door. Instead, he took a few steps back, took a running start, and with a light leap, he grabbed the top of the courtyard wall with both hands, used his waist and abdomen to silently climb into the courtyard without making a sound.

The courtyard was quiet, with only the light shining from the windows of the main house.

He tiptoed closer to the window and listened intently.

"The gross profit was 84 yuan the day before yesterday, 136 yuan yesterday, and today... wow, it's 185 yuan today!"

From inside came Xu Xiuxia's cheerful voice as she did some calculations: "After deducting costs, we've made a net profit of almost 350 yuan in the past few days, more than we made in the previous month."

Then came the scratching of pen on paper, and her barely suppressed chuckle: "Comrade Yang's method really works. Half price on the second dish sounds like a loss, but actually, with more people, we make more money, and it even boosts the sales of alcohol..."

"That's great! We can cover the child's tuition and rent next month, and maybe we can even save some money."

Her voice was filled with a long-lost sense of ease and hope; clearly, the improved business at the restaurant during this period had lightened the burden on her shoulders considerably.

"Oh right, I need to take it out separately." Xu Xiuxia muttered to herself, and the sound of opening a drawer to take something out could be heard. "Shuisheng has helped so much, we can't let his help go unrewarded."

"I should give him this two hundred yuan next time he comes to town, or when I go to the village to help out. It's a thank-you gift, and it's also my duty."

"They are cadres, capable people, they don't care about our little things, but we can't be ignorant."

Hearing this from outside the window, Yang Shuisheng felt a warmth in his heart, and a smile unconsciously appeared on his lips.

This Xu Xiuxia is truly a sensible and grateful woman.

I only made a casual suggestion at the time, but she kept it in mind and never forgot to thank me when her business was doing well.

This simple kindness and gratitude are rare in the countryside, and it made him feel that his help was not in vain.

"Knock knock knock~~~"

He was preparing to leave quietly so as not to disturb her.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the gate. It wasn't loud, but it was very clear in the quiet night.

It's so late, who would come?

Yang Shuisheng's heart skipped a beat, and he stopped in his tracks.

He subconsciously glanced quickly at the yard and saw a few broken baskets and a stack of firewood piled up in the corner. He then darted away and hid in the shadows behind the firewood stack, holding his breath.

The sounds of accounting inside the house stopped.

Xu Xiuxia had obviously heard the knocking and asked with some confusion, "Who is it?"

A middle-aged woman's hushed voice came from outside the door, tinged with urgency: "Xiuxia, it's me, your second aunt! Open the door quickly!"

Second Aunt?

Are they relatives of Xu Xiuxia?

Yang Shuisheng remembered that Xu Xiuxia seemed to have married into the village from another place and didn't have many close relatives in the area. This second aunt was probably a relative from her maternal family.

"Second Aunt? What brings you here so late..."

Xu Xiuxia's voice was filled with surprise. Footsteps sounded, and soon the door to the main room was opened. Xu Xiuxia came out, walked quickly to the courtyard gate, and opened the door.

A thin woman in her fifties, wearing a blue cotton shirt, with gray hair and a sorrowful face, rushed in. She was Xu Xiuxia's second aunt.

As soon as she came in, she closed the door behind her, grabbed Xu Xiuxia's hand, and said urgently, "Xiuxia, I've finally found you! Something terrible has happened."

"Second Aunt, what's wrong?"

Xu Xiuxia was frightened by her appearance and quickly helped her into the main room.

"What happened? Tell me slowly, don't rush me."

The two entered the main room without closing the door. Yang Shuisheng hid behind the woodpile and could clearly hear the conversation inside.

"It was your parents, and that damned brother of yours, who kicked them out of the house." Auntie's voice was filled with sobs and anger as she dropped a bombshell.

"What?!" Xu Xiuxia exclaimed, her voice trembling. "Kicked out? My brother... has he gone mad? Why?!"

Yang Shuisheng, who was outside, frowned as he overheard this.

Kick your parents out of the house?

This would be considered outrageous anywhere.

"Why should they? It's all because of your brother's wife who instigated it," Auntie said bitterly. "That woman thinks your parents are too old, can't work properly, eat too much, and are always sick and cost money. She's disliked them for a long time."

"I don't know what kind of pillow talk she gave you this time, but your heartless brother actually listened to her and had a huge fight with your parents, throwing out their bedding rolls."

"They said they could go wherever they wanted and not get in the way of our house. Tell me, is that even a human thing to do?"

Xu Xiuxia trembled with anger, her voice choked with sobs and fury: "How much suffering did my parents endure to support his education?"

"He emptied the family's savings! Now that he's doing a bit better and has established himself in the city, is this how he repays his parents? Is he... is he even human?"

"That's right! The neighbors can't stand it anymore, but he's your own brother, who dares to say anything?" Auntie sighed. "Your parents have nowhere to go right now, so they're staying with me temporarily."

"But you know where I am, it's just a dilapidated house, and your uncle's health isn't good either, so it's not a long-term solution."

The room fell silent for a moment, with only Xu Xiuxia's suppressed sobs.

"Second Aunt, you know how my parents treated me back then."

After a long while, she spoke, her voice thick with nasal congestion and turning cold: "Since I married into this family, they haven't even bothered to come and see me."

"My husband left, and I'm raising my child alone. During the hardest times, they didn't even ask about my well-being once."

"Now that they've been kicked out by their son, they've suddenly remembered me?"

Her words were filled with heartbreak and years of grievances.

Yang Shuisheng listened from outside and roughly understood.

Xu Xiuxia has a strained relationship with her parents, and there may even be past conflicts. Her parents favor her younger brother and are not kind to their daughter.

"Xiuxia, your second aunt knows that your parents were wrong back then, they were biased."

The second aunt seemed to understand Xu Xiuxia's resentment, but still advised, "No matter what, they are still your parents who gave you life and raised you. Blood is thicker than water."

"Now that they're in trouble, your brother doesn't care, and if you, as their daughter, really don't care either, then... how will those two elderly people survive? Will they really end up homeless?"

These words are very true and touch upon the most basic ethics of being a child.

Xu Xiuxia fell silent again. Her sobs gradually subsided, but her breathing remained rapid, clearly indicating an intense internal struggle.

Yang Shuisheng could imagine the conflicted and painful feelings she was experiencing at that moment.

On one side are her parents who once mistreated her and are now in dire straits; on the other side is her small family that she is struggling to maintain and the resentment in her heart.

"Second Aunt, things aren't easy for me either."

Finally, Xu Xiuxia's voice rang out again, filled with deep weariness and helplessness: "I'm raising my child alone, running a small restaurant, and it's just starting to get a little better. I can't help much."

"Here, I have two hundred dollars."

"It's from the store's recent profits. I was originally thinking..."

She paused, as if making up her mind, before continuing, "Never mind, take it back to my parents and tell them to find a cheap place to stay and buy some rice and flour to tide them over for a while."

"This is the only thing I can do right now."

As they spoke, the sound of rummaging through drawers came from behind, followed by the sound of money being handed over.

"Two hundred yuan?"

"Xiuxia, this..." Auntie seemed a little surprised and touched. "You're a kind-hearted child. I thank you on their behalf."

"No need to thank me." Xu Xiuxia's voice remained indifferent. "This money is for their emergency needs, not for forgiving them."

"Second Aunt, when you go back, tell them this is the last time I'll take care of them."

"From now on, their business is none of my concern. Let them take care of themselves."

"Yes, yes, I understand, I understand," Auntie Er agreed repeatedly, but then cautiously asked, "Xiuxia, such a big thing happened at home, aren't you going back to check on things?"

Even if your parents don't say it, they definitely want to see you, after all, you are their daughter.

Should we go back and take a look?

Xu Xiuxia clearly hadn't thought of this, and another oppressive silence fell over the room.

Yang Shuisheng, standing outside the window, also sighed softly.

Even an upright official finds it difficult to settle family disputes; the mess in Xu Xiuxia's family is truly tangled and impossible to untangle.

He could understand Xu Xiuxia's resentment and current difficulties.

That two hundred yuan was probably the maximum amount of goodwill she could muster by gritting her teeth.

Xu Xiuxia remained silent for a long time, so long that Yang Shuisheng outside the window thought she wouldn't answer.

"go back?"

Finally, her voice rang out again, even colder than before, carrying a resolute determination to sever all ties.

"Second Aunt, please don't try to persuade me anymore. I will never go back to that home in my life."

"Back when they forced me to marry that widowed old butcher in town in order to raise money for my brother's dowry, and I refused, they beat and scolded me, and finally kicked me out of the house without even letting me take a decent piece of clothing with me, that little bit of family affection I had with them was already severed."