The carefree life of Yang Shuisheng, the village miracle doctor

The children whispered enviously to their parents, "Mom, look how good Xiaoqiang's godfather is to him!"

"Dad, I want comic books and a Rubik's Cube too..."

Their parents shook their heads helplessly and scolded them in a low voice, "Don't ask for things like that. How much money would that cost? Our family isn't that wealthy."

Listening to the whispers and comparisons around her, watching Yang Shuisheng calmly pay the bill and the shop owner diligently pack the food, and then looking at her son beside her who was still sobbing and looking at her with resentful eyes, Li Guihua's face turned pale and then red, as if she had been slapped several times in public, and felt a burning pain.

Her attempt to regain face today not only failed to save her dignity, but also made her lose all face, turning her into a laughing stock and a negative example in the eyes of these parents.

She wished she could dig a hole and crawl into it right now!

It was intentional. This pretty boy was definitely doing it on purpose, deliberately trying to embarrass himself.

But if he just slunk away like that, wouldn't that just prove that he was insecure and petty, and couldn't compare to that pretty boy?

No!

We've already lost half our face; we can't afford to lose it all!

At the very least, we need to keep our son calm and prevent outsiders from making a fool of themselves.

She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the anger and shame in her heart, and forced a smile onto her face.

"Erpang, don't cry, it's Mom's fault."

She bent down and, in as gentle a tone as possible but still stiff, said to Erpang, who was still sobbing, "Mom didn't mean to refuse to buy it for you, it's just that I thought your uncle could bring you better things from the county town, isn't that the same? Look at how you're crying..."

She tried to save face for herself and give her child an explanation.

But Erpang wouldn't have it. He twisted his body and cried out, "It's different! I want to buy it now, I want the same one as Dong Xiaoqiang."

"Waaah—"

Li Guihua choked and felt a tightness in her chest.

She glanced at Yang Shuisheng, who was calmly watching the shop owner pack the food, then looked at her good-for-nothing son. With a determined look, she stood up and said to the shop owner, "Boss, since the child wants it so much, how about you get a set of those picture books, Rubik's Cubes, and Gomoku for my son, Erpang?"

"But the comic books have to be the 'Journey to the West' set, the same as the one the comrade just had."

Between money and face, she chose the latter.

He even added casually, "Next time, he can have his uncle bring him something else."

Although spending an extra few dozen yuan hurts a bit, at least it saves the day, shuts up my son, and makes it seem like I still care about him in the end.

It's better than being seen as a stingy, mean mother who only knows how to beat her children.

"This... I'm really sorry, sister."

The shop owner was happily packing up Yang Shuisheng's books when he heard this. He paused, a troubled look on his face. "This set of 'Journey to the West' comic books comes in sets of ten. We only have two sets in stock. This Mr. Yang just bought one set, and the other set was bought by a teacher from the town's primary school as a prize a few days ago."

"We really don't have any left in the warehouse right now. How about you take a look at the individual copies? We also have 'Havoc in Heaven' and 'The Monkey King Thrice Beats the White Bone Demon,' which are really good."

That's all? Only one set left?

Li Guihua's heart skipped a beat, but what welled up inside her was not disappointment, but a secret joy.

Great! I was just worried about not having an excuse to save a few dollars. It's not that I don't want to buy it, it's that your store is out of stock. Even God is helping me.

"Look at Erpang, it's not that Mom doesn't want to buy it for you, it's just that the store doesn't have any left."

A look of regret and helplessness immediately appeared on her face. She turned to Erpang, shrugged, and said in a much more relaxed tone, "That one set was bought by Dong Xiaoqiang's godfather."

"We can't just ask them to give up what they bought, can we? How about Mom buys you a single copy of 'Havoc in Heaven' to read first? The shopkeeper said it's really good."

She felt that her reason was flawless; it would save her a few dozen yuan, appease her son, and save her some face.

It wasn't that she was reluctant to part with it, but rather that the objective conditions didn't allow it.

However, she underestimated children's obsession with certain things, especially their competitive spirit and the allure of matching sets.

"No! I want the complete set!"

When Erpang heard that there were no more copies, only single volumes, his little mouth trembled, and the tears he had just stopped welled up again. He shook his head vigorously, insisting with a sob in his voice, "I want the same as Dong Xiaoqiang's. It doesn't have Journey to the West, but other complete sets are fine too. I want the complete set."

Li Guihua was furious at his unreasonable behavior, but she couldn't lose her temper because so many people were watching.

Suppressing her anger and clinging to her last glimmer of hope, she looked at the shop owner and said in a tone that was half questioning and half shifting blame, "Boss, did you hear that? This child is incredibly stubborn."

"You really don't have any other complete sets of comic books here?"

"Water Margin, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, anything is fine, as long as it's a complete set."

Her question sounded somewhat perfunctory, but she had already made up her mind that as long as the boss said no, she could refuse her son with a clear conscience and make it seem like she had done her best.

"Oh dear! Look at my memory."

The shop owner was packing up Yang Shuisheng's things when he heard this. He looked up, frowned and thought for a moment, then suddenly slapped his forehead: "The complete set of 'Journey to the West' is indeed out of stock, but there seem to be two sets of 'Water Margin' in the warehouse. They are also ten books a set, with color covers. They are about the heroes of Liangshan. They are very exciting, and the price is the same."

"Sister, do you want it? If so, I'll go get it for you right away!"

Li Guihua: "..."

Li Guihua's expression froze instantly, as if she had been punched in the face. The slight smugness and ease that had just surfaced vanished, leaving only astonishment and embarrassment.

She opened her mouth, but couldn't say a word for a long time.

Was the boss doing this on purpose?

Why did I have to wake up now of all times?

Two sets?

Didn't you say that complete sets are in high demand?

She felt like she was being roasted on a fire again.

Need?

All things considered, the cost of finding a place to settle scores today is over a hundred yuan. How am I going to explain this to Zhang Fugui when I get home?

don't want?

I was so confident just now asking if they had any other complete sets, but now they say they do, and I don't want them. Where do I put my face?

My son is still eagerly waiting!

"Mom! I want it! Water Margin is fine too, I want the whole set."

Erpang didn't care what his mother thought. As soon as he heard there were other sets of books, he immediately stopped crying and started laughing, grabbing Li Guihua's arm and shaking it.

"Mom, please tell the boss to get it. I want a complete set of comic books, just like Dong Xiaoqiang."

The parents and children around were watching, their eyes filled with amusement.

This play is much better than the comic book.

Li Guihua's face flushed red and then turned pale, her chest heaving violently, but she managed to hold back her outburst.

She felt like a clown who had been stripped naked and put on display.

Riding a tiger is a difficult situation! A truly difficult situation!

"Boss...boss..."

Li Guihua's voice was somewhat dry, carrying a hint of helplessness.

"Then... let's get a set of 'Water Margin' too."

Every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth, carrying a deep sense of heartache and frustration.

"Okay! Please wait a moment, I'll go to the warehouse and get it right away. I guarantee it's brand new."

The shop owner beamed with joy, responded, and then happily ran towards the small warehouse at the back, thinking to himself that he was having a really lucky day.

Li Guihua stood there, feeling cold all over, her hands and feet were icy.

Looking at her excited son, and then at her nearly empty wallet, her heart was bleeding.

Did he finally vent his anger, or did he end up with internal injuries from holding it in?

She's confused now.

All she knew was that she was definitely going to lose face today, and she had no choice but to spend the money.

And all of this is because of Dong Xiaoqiang's damn pretty-boy godfather!