The carefree life of Yang Shuisheng, the village miracle doctor

The shop owner quickly took out another set of colorful-covered comic books of "Water Margin" from the storeroom.

Li Guihua looked at the set of books, maintaining a stiff smile on her face. She slowly took out a small cloth bag wrapped in several layers of handkerchief from her bosom, opened it layer by layer, and revealed a stack of banknotes of varying ages inside.

She counted them over and over again before finally pulling out a few and handing them to the eagerly waiting shop owner.

"That'll be 135 yuan in total. Please order."

Li Guihua's voice was dry and hoarse, each word sounding like it was being squeezed out of her throat.

One hundred and thirty-five yuan!

This was almost her family's food expenses for a month. Her heart was bleeding, and the pain made her vision go black.

But in front of so many people, she had to put on a brave face, trying to appear nonchalant and as if the money was nothing, but that smile was more like a grimace.

She silently comforted herself.

Oh well, even though I spent too much money, at least I saved face.

The things I bought for my son are just as good as what that pretty boy bought for his godson. Now let's see who dares to laugh at me for being stingy.

Just as she found a little peace in her heart and was preparing to pick up her things and quickly leave this awful place that had caused her both financial loss and embarrassment, she was about to leave.

Yang Shuisheng, who had been mostly silent and just watching quietly, suddenly spoke up again.

"Boss, could you please pack up the remaining set of 'Water Margin' comic books in the warehouse for me as well?"

"..."

An eerie silence instantly fell over the stationery store.

Everyone was stunned, including Li Guihua, who was about to leave. As if frozen in place, she turned around abruptly, her eyes wide with disbelief, staring at Yang Shuisheng.

What?

He...he wants to buy another set of "Water Margin" comic books?

Didn't he already buy a set of "Journey to the West"?

He bought so many things for Dong Xiaoqiang, how much money does he actually have?

This spending spree is absolutely mind-boggling!

The parents and children around were all stunned, their eyes filled with shock and disbelief as they looked at Yang Shuisheng.

Buying a set of comic books for fifty yuan is already generous enough, but he actually wants to buy another set?

How wealthy must this family be? How much do they love their children?

No, this goes beyond the scope of simply loving a child. It's incomprehensible. And this is just a godfather. What would happen if he were the biological father?

Shouldn't we empty the entire stationery store?

Even the shop owner was momentarily stunned, thinking he had misheard, and stammered, "T-comrade, do you mean add another set of 'Water Margin' or replace 'Journey to the West' with 'Water Margin'?"

"Add another set of 'Water Margin'," Yang Shuisheng repeated calmly, then added as if explaining, "so that our Xiaoqiang can learn more about the heroes of Liangshan."

"Okay! I'll go get it right away, I'll go right away." The shop owner was extremely excited, and he could no longer suppress his smile, which stretched almost to his ears.

What an amazing day! Has the God of Wealth descended to earth?

He practically ran into the warehouse.

At this moment, Li Guihua could no longer hold back!

She felt as if her face was being slapped repeatedly by invisible hands.

Her self-comfort at having saved face was shattered by Yang Shuisheng's casual remark.

They didn't even consider her little competition. They casually spent another fifty yuan to buy a set of comic books that she had gritted her teeth to buy and that she was heartbroken over.

This is not even in the same league!

She was like a clown, jumping around in front of real tycoons, but they didn't even bother to lift an eyelid.

"Where...where did you get so much money?"

An indescribable sense of frustration mixed with anger surged through Li Guihua. In a moment of impulsiveness, she blurted out, her voice sharp, "Spending money so extravagantly, does your family own a mine?"

This question was extremely rude and revealed her inner imbalance and resentment.

"Where I get the money is none of your business!"

Yang Shuisheng then turned to look at her, his tone cold and devoid of any warmth.

After saying that, he looked away, ignoring her, and instead lowered his head gently to Dong Xiaoqiang, saying, "Xiaoqiang, we should go back now, or your mother will be getting impatient."

"Yes! Thank you, godfather." Dong Xiaoqiang hugged his bunch of new treasures, his little face full of happiness and satisfaction, and nodded vigorously.

Li Guihua was choked by Yang Shuisheng's undisguised indifference and contempt, her face flushed red and then turned pale. She stood there, unsure whether to leave or stay, feeling utterly ashamed.

She watched as Yang Shuisheng calmly paid the extra fifty yuan, accepted another set of "Water Margin" from the shop owner's eager hand, and then, hand in hand with Dong Xiaoqiang, the two of them, one big and one small, carrying bags and packages, walked out of the stationery store with composure under everyone's envious gazes, without even glancing at her again.

"Mom... Shall we go home too?" Erpang whispered, clutching his pile of equally expensive gifts.

"go home!"

Li Guihua spat out two words through gritted teeth, her face ashen. She snatched the things from Erpang's arms, stuffed them haphazardly into a bag, and then roughly grabbed her son's arm. She practically dragged the sobbing, out-of-touch Erpang out of the stationery store as if fleeing, her back view hurried and disheveled.

As soon as she got home, Li Guihua slammed the door shut, threw the heavy bag in her hand on the ground, and her chest heaved violently with anger, frustration, and heartache.

As she watched Erpang start tearing off the cover of the comic book on his own, her pent-up anger surged to its peak.

"Look, look, I'll show you."

She cursed under her breath, her eyes quickly scanning the room. She spotted the tree branch behind the door, which she used to beat her son, rushed over, grabbed it, and turned to lash out at Erpang.

"Wow--"

"Mom! Why did you hit me? Waaah..." Erpang was caught off guard and his arm hurt from the blow. His comic book fell to the ground, and he burst into tears, crying his heart out.

"I told you to take it!"

"I'll teach you to compare yourself to others!"

"You're so clueless!"

……

Zhang Fugui, who was drinking tea in the house, was startled by the sudden beating, scolding and crying. He rushed out of the inner room and saw his wife hitting their son with a tree branch. The son was crying uncontrollably, and there was a pile of brand-new, expensive-looking items on the ground. He was stunned.

"Guihua! Are you crazy?"

Why would you hit your child for no reason?

"And they used such heavy force!"

Zhang Fugui quickly stepped forward, grabbed Li Guihua's hand that was waving a tree branch, and pulled her away.

"Hit him? I'd kill this debt collector!" Li Guihua's eyes were bloodshot as she pointed at the pile of things on the ground. "Do you know how much all this stuff cost?"

"One hundred and thirty-five yuan! A full one hundred and thirty-five yuan!"

"Just to spite that pretty boy, I threw it all in."

"That spendthrift! All he knows is how to ask for more, and he never asks for anything cheap. He only asks for the expensive stuff. I'll beat him to death."

One hundred and thirty-five yuan?

Upon hearing this number, Zhang Fugui's mind went blank, and his blood pressure spiked instantly!

He abruptly released Li Guihua, staring in disbelief at the pile of things on the ground that he considered frivolous, then at his son who was crying his eyes out, and finally fixed his gaze on Li Guihua, his voice trembling with anger: "One hundred and thirty-five? Li Guihua, you're such a spendthrift woman."

"Are you crazy? Buying so much useless stuff and spending so much money, do you think we own a bank? Did this money fall from the sky?"

He originally thought his wife was just going out to spread rumors, and at most spending a few dollars to buy some needles and thread, but he never expected it to turn out like this.

One hundred and thirty-five yuan!

This is almost half a month's salary for him.

"I'm a spendthrift? Am I crazy?" Li Guihua, already seething with anger, was immediately turned on by her husband's scolding and pointed at Zhang Fugui's nose, yelling, "Zhang Fugui! How dare you talk to me like that?"

"If you hadn't been such a spineless coward, getting slapped in the face at the toy store and slinking back home, would I have had to bring our son to settle the score?"

"If it weren't for you, and for getting revenge for our son, would I have wasted this money?"

"I must have had the worst luck in my life to marry you! You have no money, no skills, all you do is act tough at home, but you're a coward and a spineless wimp outside!"

"You're talking nonsense!" Zhang Fugui was humiliated by her insult, and his anger was completely ignited. "How can you blame me for this?"

"It's clearly your own fault for not being able to control yourself, for showing off, and for suffering for the sake of saving face."

"You promised to spread rumors about Xu Xiuxia, but instead of spreading rumors, you've already squandered your own wealth."

"He wasted money without thinking and then took his anger out on me and the kids."

"Li Guihua, let me tell you, my money didn't fall from the sky. It was earned penny by penny through sweat in the workshop. It's not for you to squander like this."

The couple, pointing fingers at each other in the cramped main room, argued heatedly, their voices rising higher and higher, drowning out Erpang's cries.