The carefree life of Yang Shuisheng, the village miracle doctor

On the other side, Erpang cried and wailed all the way home, and was dragged and pulled back by his father, Zhang Fugui.

"Mom! Waaah... Dad won't buy me a gun."

As soon as he entered the house, Erpang broke free and threw himself into the arms of a slightly plump woman in a floral shirt who was busy at the stove, wailing, "He even scolded me! Waaah..."

This woman was Erpang's mother, Li Guihua.

"Zhang Fugui! What's wrong with you?"

Seeing her beloved son crying so hard, with tears and snot bubbles on his face, she felt heartbroken. She immediately hardened her expression and scolded her husband, who was following behind with a livid face, "I asked you to take our son out to buy a toy, and you made him cry!"

"What kind of father are you?"

"What's wrong with me?"

Zhang Fugui was already in a bad mood, and his wife's complaint only fueled his anger. He slammed the five-yuan toy gun he was holding onto the table with a "bang" and said irritably, "Ask your good son!"

"If someone buys a toy gun that costs twenty yuan, he insists on having one too."

"Twenty yuan! What are our family's circumstances? We only earn a few yuan a month! With twenty yuan, how many kilograms of meat could we buy, how much cloth could we get?"

"All you do is compare yourself to others, and then you cry! You still have the nerve to cry!"

"Twenty yuan?" Li Guihua was also startled. She glanced at the gun on the table, then at her son who was crying uncontrollably. Her tone softened a little, but still carried a hint of dissatisfaction. "Then...then you should talk to him nicely! Why are you yelling at him?"

"Besides, what kind of kid is so wasteful as to spend twenty yuan on a toy gun? You must be kidding!"

"Liar? I saw it with my own eyes!" Zhang Fugui felt even worse when he recalled how readily Yang Shuisheng took out his money. He said sourly, "It was Dong Xiaoqiang, the son of the owner of Shili Xiang Restaurant. His godfather didn't even blink. He bought it for twenty yuan without hesitation, and then spent another ten yuan on a ball."

"Your son, on the other hand, sees others have them and acts like he's jealous, insisting on having them too!"

"Do you think I can buy it for him?"

"Dong Xiaoqiang? He... doesn't he only have one mother? When did he suddenly have a godfather? And one who's so rich?"

Li Guihua was stunned, and forgot to comfort her son, asking curiously.

Many people in the town knew about Dong Xiaoqiang's family situation: an orphan and a widow, barely making ends meet by running a small restaurant, and life was generally very difficult for them.

"How would I know?" Zhang Fugui scratched his hair in frustration. "He looks like a young man, not bad looking, and dressed casually, but I didn't expect him to be so generous."

"Tsk, do you think... it could be that Xu Xiuxia's new lover?"

"He looks to be several years younger than her."

"A lover?" Li Guihua's eyes lit up instantly, filled with gossip. "Really? Xu Xiuxia has been a widow for several years, and I've never heard of her having a man."

"This sudden appearance of a sugar daddy, and the fact that he's so willing to spend money on me, there's probably something fishy going on!"

"Or maybe she hooked up with some rich guy from out of town?"

"Who cares! What does it have to do with us?"

Zhang Fugui was too lazy to think about it. He plopped down on a stool, poured himself a bowl of cold tea, and gulped it down, trying to calm his anger.

The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he felt; he had really lost face today.

I got slapped in the face with money by that kid at the toy store, and my son kept crying and making a fuss. What bad luck!

"How can it be nothing?" Li Guihua protested, pulling Erpang, who was still sobbing, aside. She put her hands on her hips, her face contorted with indignation. "How can it be nothing? That pretty boy made you lose face so badly, and caused our Erpang so much humiliation. Do you think we can just let this go like that?"

"What else can we do but forget about it?" Zhang Fugui said irritably. "You want to beat him up? Hitting someone is against the law! Besides, look how readily that kid pulled out his money, who knows what kind of background he has, can we afford to mess with him?"

"Hit someone? I'm not that stupid." Li Guihua curled her lips, a malicious glint flashing in her eyes. "Hit someone is illegal, but there are some things that are more effective than hitting someone."

"Since her man has embarrassed you, I'll make sure Xu Xiuxia can't hold her head up in town."

"What do you want to do?" Zhang Fugui put down his teacup and looked at her with suspicion.

"What for? Simple!" Li Guihua leaned closer, lowered her voice, and said with a vengeful smile, "I'll go have a chat with Sister Liu and Sister Wang later."

"Take Xu Xiuxia for example. She couldn't stay a widow and hooked up with a young gigolo from out of town. That gigolo was even eager to be the father of her son and spent money like water. Who knows what kind of illicit business he got the money from?"

"Once this gets out, see if anyone will dare to go to Xu Xiuxia's restaurant. Let's see how she'll face people in town after this."

"This...isn't this just spreading rumors?" Zhang Fugui's heart skipped a beat, feeling that his wife's move was a bit vicious.

"Spreading rumors? What rumors have I spread?" Li Guihua retorted confidently. "That child even calls her godfather, and he spends twenty or thirty yuan on toys every time. Isn't that obvious?"

"If Xu Xiuxia hadn't used some underhanded methods, why would a young man treat her son so well and spend so much money on him?"

"There's nothing fishy going on here. I'll just write my name, Li Guihua, backwards."

"I was just saying what everyone was thinking."

"Besides, her man embarrassed you, so I'll embarrass her too. Isn't that perfect?"

Zhang Fugui opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but looking at his wife's determined look and remembering the humiliation he had suffered at the toy store, he swallowed back the words of advice that were about to come out.

"Maybe...maybe we should just forget about it?" he said in a low voice, sounding a little guilty. "It's better to avoid trouble."

"What do you mean, 'calculate'? You coward!" Li Guihua got even angrier, spitting almost in his face. "You got slapped in the face outside, and you're going to cower like a turtle?"

"You're not the one spreading rumors, what are you afraid of? Look at you, so pathetic!"

"Alright, you can stay home then, I'm going out for a walk."

As she spoke, she took off her apron and stormed out, ready to find her best friends and start chatting about important matters.

However, just as she opened the courtyard gate and before she even stepped out, she happened to see Dong Xiaoqiang carrying a long toy gun in a box at the street corner not far away, accompanied by a young man, the two of them walking and chatting happily.

Li Guihua immediately stopped and hid behind the door, only one eye showing, staring intently at the two people at the street corner.

She looked Yang Shuisheng up and down carefully.

Yes, he is indeed young, with a decent appearance and a sturdy build, but his clothes are ordinary, not like those of a rich family's young master.

However, given his generosity, it seems most likely that he is Xu Xiuxia's new lover, trying to please her and her burdened son by spending all his savings to save face.

Suddenly, an idea popped into Li Guihua's mind, and a smug sneer appeared on her face.

Spreading rumors is a matter for later; it takes time to see results.

Right now, there's a chance to get revenge on the spot!

She immediately retreated into the yard, slammed the door shut, turned around and rushed into the house, grabbing Erpang, who was still sobbing, and yelling, "Cry, cry, cry! All you do is cry!"

"Your dad's a good-for-nothing, Mom's taking you to get revenge! Let's go!"

"What's gotten into you now?"

Zhang Fugui was bewildered by her hurried manner: "Where are you planning to take him?"

"Where to? Of course, to find Dong Xiaoqiang and his godfather." Li Guihua said quickly while wiping Erpang's face. "I just saw them on the street outside."

"Hmph, that pretty boy is probably just putting on a show to curry favor with Xu Xiuxia. He's probably spent most of his money already."

"Let's follow them, pretend we bump into them, and buy them something better than what they're buying."

"Isn't he just pretending to be generous because he has money?"

"Let's show him what real money is, and make him lose face!"

"It also helped my son save face; this is called giving them a taste of their own medicine."

The more she talked about it, the more brilliant she felt the idea was.

In her opinion, Yang Shuisheng was so young and dressed so plainly that even if he had some money, it must be limited. He had spent several tens of yuan on Dong Xiaoqiang today, so his pockets were probably empty now.

Although his family wasn't wealthy, Zhang Fugui worked as a foreman at a machinery factory in town, earning a fixed monthly salary, and his family also had some savings.

Take out some money and show off in front of that pretty boy, outdo him, and get revenge for your son and your husband—it's absolutely no problem.

Moreover, being slapped in the face on the spot is much more satisfying than gossiping behind someone's back.

Zhang Fugui opened his mouth as if to say something, but seeing his wife's determined and ambitious look, and seeing his son's eyes light up instantly upon hearing that revenge was possible, he swallowed back the words of dissuasion he was about to utter.

Fine, let her do whatever she wants, as long as she doesn't cause any major trouble.

He also wanted to see what expression the kid who had embarrassed him would have when his wife slapped him in the face with money.

"Okay! Mom! Let's go quickly."

"I want to buy a bigger gun than his."

Erpang perked up and eagerly grabbed Li Guihua's hand.

"Come on! Mom will make you proud today." Li Guihua puffed out her chest, took her son's hand, and proudly opened the courtyard gate again, quickly following in the direction where Yang Shuisheng and Dong Xiaoqiang had disappeared.

She was planning in her mind that she would see which store they went into later, and then she would take her son and bump into them, and then show off her family's strength.