The carefree life of Yang Shuisheng, the village miracle doctor

Yang Shuisheng held Dong Xiaoqiang's little hand as they walked along the bustling town streets.

The little one was being led by the hand, while the other hand was tightly clutching a hot, juicy fried dough stick. His mouth was glistening with oil, and his little face was beaming with unprecedented excitement and satisfaction.

Yang Shuisheng was also carrying a paper bag containing freshly baked fried dough twists and several meat buns, which he was carrying for Dong Xiaoqiang.

"Godfather, this is really delicious." Dong Xiaoqiang looked up, his eyes crinkling into crescent moons with laughter.

"Eat more if you like it." Yang Shuisheng rubbed his little head, feeling a warm glow in his heart.

It feels pretty good to be relied upon and trusted.

They hadn't walked far when Dong Xiaoqiang remembered something, tugged at Yang Shuisheng's hand, and whispered, "Godfather, that...that toy gun, should we still buy it?"

He asked cautiously, his big eyes filled with anticipation, as if afraid his godfather would forget or think it was too expensive to buy.

"Buy! Of course I'll buy! I always keep my promises," Yang Shuisheng readily agreed. "Come on, I'll take you to buy it now."

There were several toy stores in town. The two came to one next to the supply and marketing cooperative. The storefront was small, but the inside was packed full of toys.

When Yang Shuisheng led Dong Xiaoqiang inside, there were already two groups of customers in the store, both adults with children.

The shelves were filled with various tin toys, plastic toys, rag dolls, and a few toy guns that looked quite impressive.

As soon as Dong Xiaoqiang entered the room, his eyes were glued to the toy guns, and he looked around excitedly.

"Xiaoqiang? You're here to buy toys too?" A slightly smug child's voice suddenly rang out.

Yang Shuisheng and Dong Xiaoqiang turned their heads and saw a chubby little boy wearing a sailor shirt being led by the hand by a middle-aged man in work clothes with a proud look on his face.

The chubby boy was already holding a black, high-end-looking toy gun with a plastic scope on it.

"Erpang?" Dong Xiaoqiang recognized him as his classmate.

"Look! My dad just bought this for me, it cost five yuan."

"Put in the batteries, and it will make a sound when you press here."

The little boy, nicknamed Erpang, proudly raised his toy gun. At his father's prompting, he clumsily pulled the trigger, and the toy gun made a "bang bang" sound. Although it wasn't very loud, it was impressive enough to a child of that age.

"Sir, are you also bringing your child to buy toys?"

Erpang's father, with a proud smile on his face, looked at Yang Shuisheng, then at Dong Xiaoqiang's ordinary clothes and Yang Shuisheng's simple attire, and took the initiative to speak, his tone slightly condescending and polite: "Your child seems quite clever."

His words sounded like casual conversation, but the scrutinizing look in his eyes and the way he unconsciously puffed out his chest clearly indicated that his family was richer.

"Yes, I came to take a look." Yang Shuisheng smiled and didn't say anything more.

He couldn't be bothered to argue with that kind of person.

"Comrade, what would you like to buy for the child?"

At this moment, the toy store owner, a thin middle-aged man wearing an apron, also came up with a big smile: "We have a complete range of toys here, tin frogs, wind-up cars, dolls... oh, and toy guns too, we have several kinds here."

He enthusiastically introduced the products, his gaze sweeping over Yang Shuisheng and Erpang's father, clearly thinking the latter looked more like a major customer.

Erpang's father crossed his arms, pointed to the shelves with his chin, and said to Yang Shuisheng in a "I know what I'm talking about" tone, "This store has the most complete selection of toys in town, but the prices... are a bit more expensive than elsewhere."

"When buying for your child, you have to be careful. Don't just go for the cheapest option; the quality might be poor."

While he was ostensibly referring to toys, he was subtly implying that Yang Shuisheng might not be able to afford the expensive ones and could only buy the cheaper ones.

Yang Shuisheng ignored him and asked Dong Xiaoqiang, "Xiaoqiang, take a look and see which one you like, pick one yourself."

Dong Xiaoqiang's gaze swept over the toy guns on the shelf. Finally, he pointed to the smallest and simplest wooden pistol and timidly asked the shopkeeper, "Uncle, how much is that...?"

"Oh, that one, it's two dollars."

The boss glanced at it and casually said, "It's made of wood, so it won't make a sound. It's just for show."

Two yuan is not cheap for an ordinary rural child.

But compared to the five-yuan plastic gun that Erpang was holding, it seemed much more shabby.

"Tch—" Erpang let out a disdainful sneer, raising his gun. "What kind of gun is this two-dollar piece of broken wood? This is a real gun, one that can make a sound."

"You can only hold that up and wave it around aimlessly, it's boring."

Erpang's father also revealed a knowing smile, shook his head without saying anything, but the sense of superiority in his eyes was even stronger.

Dong Xiaoqiang's face fell instantly. He looked at the two-yuan wooden gun and then at the high-end plastic gun in Erpang's hand, his eyes full of envy. But the sensible boy didn't cry or make a fuss. He just lowered his head and whispered to Yang Shuisheng, "Godfather... I... I want this wooden one."

Looking at Dong Xiaoqiang's aggrieved yet sensible appearance, Yang Shuisheng felt a pang of heartache and felt even more disgusted with the boastful father and son.

"Boss, do you have a bigger, better gun?"

He patted Dong Xiaoqiang's head, then looked up and asked the shop owner, "Like the kind that can fire bullets?"

Yes, yes, yes!

The shop owner was taken aback for a moment, then his eyes lit up, and he quickly said, "Comrade, you've come to the right place! I just got some good stuff here."

He turned around and carefully took out a long, rectangular cardboard box from the back of the counter. Inside was a well-made, black plastic rifle with a stock, a trigger, a front sight, and a small pack of orange plastic bullets.

"Comrade, look, this is made in the provincial capital, the latest model."

"These plastic bullets can shoot far, and if you're at the right distance, you can even shoot birds."

"I'm not bragging, but very few kids in town have that!"

"It's just a little pricey, it costs twenty yuan."

As the shop owner introduced the products, his eyes glanced at Erpang's father, as if he thought Yang Shuisheng was just asking and might not actually buy anything.

Twenty yuan is equivalent to several days' wages for an ordinary worker. Buying toys for children is an absolute astronomical price!

"Twenty yuan?"

Erpang's father was also taken aback. He clicked his tongue and shook his head, saying, "It's too expensive. It's not worth it for a child to play with."

"With that money, it's better to buy some food and clothes."

His words seemed to be advising Yang Shuisheng, but in reality, he was showing off his thriftiness and implying that Yang Shuisheng couldn't afford it at all.

But Yang Shuisheng ignored him, picked up the spear, weighed it in his hand, and then looked at Dong Xiaoqiang's wide-eyed disbelief.

"Okay, this one will do."

He smiled slightly and said to the shop owner, "Wrap it up, and give me two extra packs of bullets."

As he spoke, he pulled out two brand-new ten-yuan bills and slapped them on the counter.

"Okay! Good!"

The shop owner's eyes widened at the sight of the money. He was stunned for a couple of seconds before he reacted, and his smile instantly became incredibly bright. He bowed and scraped, saying, "Comrade, you're such a generous person. I'll pack it up for you right away, and I'll throw in another pack of bullets for free."

He hurriedly started packing, his face beaming with joy.

The gun only cost him ten yuan to buy, and he sold it for twenty yuan, making a net profit of ten yuan.

The smile and sense of superiority on Erpang's father's face instantly froze, and his eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

Twenty yuan!

He just casually took it out and gave it to his godson to buy a toy gun?

How rich must they be? Or how extravagant?

He looked at the five-yuan gun he had bought for his son and suddenly felt it wasn't so appealing anymore. His face burned as if he had been slapped.

"Daddy! I want that too."

His son, Erpang, had no time to show off his gun. He stared longingly at the imposing long gun in the shop owner's hand, then looked at his own little pistol, his lips trembled, and he burst into tears, tugging at his father's trouser leg: "I want the big one too! Buy it for me! Buy it for me!"

"Stop crying!"

Erpang's father was exasperated by his son's crying and, even more embarrassed, snapped, "That gun is so expensive! Do you think you can eat it?"

"Let's go home!"

As she spoke, she practically dragged her crying son out of the toy store in a disheveled state, not daring to even look back.

Here, your gun.

Yang Shuisheng didn't even glance at them. He took the wrapped rifle and three packs of bullets from the shop owner and handed them to Dong Xiaoqiang, who was already stunned: "Be careful when you play. Don't shoot anyone."

Dong Xiaoqiang held the heavy cardboard box, his face flushed with excitement, his eyes shining brightly.

"Thank you, Godfather!" He glanced at the gun, then at Yang Shuisheng, and suddenly shouted, "Godfather is the best!"

This time, the word "godfather" was louder and more heartfelt than ever before.

"Good boy." Yang Shuisheng smiled, then looked at the shelf and pointed to a colorful ball with a panda pattern on it. "Boss, how much is that ball?"

"That's ten yuan." The shop owner was now extremely respectful to Yang Shuisheng.

"Okay, take them all." Yang Shuisheng took out another ten yuan.

"Take care, come again next time."

And so, Yang Shuisheng, with one hand holding Dong Xiaoqiang, who was carrying a long gun case and grinning from ear to ear, and the other carrying a newly bought ball, left the toy store with a flourish amidst the shop owner's enthusiastic farewells.

Watching Dong Xiaoqiang chatter excitedly about how he was going to play with his new gun when he got back.

Yang Shuisheng had a faint smile on his face. Xu Xiuxia would be very happy to see her son so happy, right?

This money is well spent.