Hunting 81: Gathering Goods in the Mountains, I Spoil My Ex-Wife to the Extreme

"Ring ring... Ring ring..."

A clear and melodious bicycle bell rang out on the snow-covered dirt road in the village.

Pedestrians on the road moved slightly to either side of the road after hearing the bicycle bell behind them.

Many people looked on with envy when they saw Li Yunshan riding his bicycle past.

"What kind of bicycle is this? It's brand new! I wish I could have one too."

"It looks like a Phoenix brand 28-inch bicycle. I saw it at the department store in the county town last time. It costs almost 200 yuan. I have to work hard for three or four years to save up enough money to buy a bicycle."

"What's the use of saving up money to buy a bicycle? You can't buy one even if you have the money if you don't have a bicycle ticket or industrial coupons."

"That guy on the bike looks familiar... I feel like I've seen him somewhere before... Oh, I remember now, he's the one who killed the tiger..."

"His name seems to be Li Yunshan, from Guapigou Village."

"Yes, yes, Li Yunshan, I remember now. This guy is really capable. I heard he chased a tiger and killed it with three shots, earning a reward from the Red Star Forest Farm. He's really amazing."

"..."

Even after Li Yunshan disappeared from sight on his bicycle, some passersby couldn't help but continue to discuss it.

After all, having the ability to kill a notorious man-eating tiger is legendary in itself.

When Li Yunshan rode his bicycle back to Guapigou Village, many people envied him. No one could have imagined that Li Yunshan, who used to be idle and lazy, would make such a remarkable achievement.

Originally, people thought he was just lucky to kill the wild boar, but not long after, he hunted deer and wolves in succession. Now, he even dares to go into the mountains alone and kill a man-eating tiger. This has made many people look at him with new eyes and greatly changed their impression of him. Li Yunshan's reputation is slowly turning around.

In the past, when villagers mentioned Li Yunshan, they always talked about his idleness, loafing around, street urchins, and three divorces. But now, when people mention Li Yunshan, they talk about his prodigal son's return, his killing of a wild boar, a deer, and a wolf, and his shooting a man-eating tiger with three shots.

When he got home, Li Yunshan first gave the tiger meat to Lin Xiulan.

Lin Xiulan took the bicycle and looked at the brand-new bike with delight: "This is the bicycle the forest farm awarded me! Can I ride it?"

"Of course you can. Ride whenever you want. If you don't know how, I can teach you."

"However, I still need to ride my bicycle to the county town later to get it stamped with a steel seal, and I'll also check on Hongmei and Lihua while I'm at it."

"I also want to go to the county town."

Lin Xiulan said eagerly.

"It's too late. I need to get the stamp on my bicycle and find a way to sell the tiger skin and bones I have. You stay home and wait a few days. I'll take you to the county town for a stroll. Is that alright?"

Li Yunshan checked the time; it was almost noon.

It's more than 20 miles from the village to the county town. Even if he rides a bicycle, it takes him two hours to go back and forth.

In addition, stamping the bicycles with metal stamps and finding ways to sell the tiger skin and bones will take an unknown amount of time.

Oh, and I also need to go to the hospital to see Gao Hongmei, Su Lihua, and his former father-in-law.

Lin Xiulan was initially a little disappointed, but when she heard Li Yunshan say that he would take her to visit the county town again in a few days, she immediately cheered up.

"I'll be going now if there's nothing else, otherwise I won't have enough time."

After Li Yunshan finished speaking, he pushed his bicycle and went out the door.

……

In the afternoon, Gao Hongmei bought Gao Zhankui a bowl of noodles with minced meat sauce at a noodle shop outside the hospital. As soon as she returned to the ward, she was called to the doctor's office by a nurse.

"Doctor, are the test results for my father yet?"

Upon entering the consultation room and seeing the doctor in a white coat, Gao Hongmei became somewhat nervous, fearing that the doctor would deliver a bad test result.

After arriving at the hospital yesterday, the doctor made a preliminary diagnosis of Gao Zhankui, confirming that he did indeed have a fracture of the left femur, but it was difficult to determine the specific type of fracture.

So they performed an X-ray examination on Gao Zhankui.

Although the specific test results wouldn't be available until the next day, Gao Hongmei was still on tenterhooks for a whole day and night.

"The test results are in. Your father's specific fracture type is a short oblique fracture. Look at this X-ray. His femur is broken into three segments from here... here. It is a relatively serious fracture and will be more complicated to treat. You need to be mentally prepared."

The doctor picked up an X-ray and showed it to Gao Hongmei.

Upon learning how severe Gao Zhankui's fracture was, Gao Hongmei felt a chill run down her spine, but she still took a deep breath: "Doctor, I understand. Just give me a definite answer: approximately how much will the surgery for my father's fracture cost?"

"I can't give you a precise answer, but based on my many years of medical experience, I can only give you a rough estimate. The surgery will cost around 400 to 500 yuan, plus medication during the patient's hospitalization, which depends on the patient's recovery."

Although she was somewhat prepared, Gao Hongmei still couldn't help but be momentarily stunned when she heard the doctor mention the costs.

But after a moment, she came to her senses and said firmly, "Doctor, please arrange for my father to have surgery as soon as possible."

Although the money she borrowed from Li Yunshan wasn't even enough to cover the surgery costs, Gao Hongmei had already made up her mind. She would sell everything she owned to pay for Gao Zhankui's surgery. She couldn't be afraid of spending money and just watch her own father suffer the pain of a broken bone.

If the surgery goes well, Dad can live a few more years; but if we don't have the surgery, how many more years can he live?

"Okay, let me take a look..."

The doctor looked through the surgery schedule and after a while said, "It's better to be sooner rather than later. There are no surgeries scheduled for tomorrow morning, so your father's surgery will be scheduled for 9:00 AM tomorrow. What do you think?"

"Okay, doctor, thank you."

Gao Hongmei quickly thanked the doctor and left the doctor's office.

However, once she stepped into the outer corridor, a look of sorrow instantly filled her face.

The cost of Gao Zhankui's fracture surgery was beyond her expectations, and what made it even more difficult for her was how to raise the money.

Borrowing money from Li Yunshan was definitely not enough. Although the doctor did not specify how much it would cost during her hospitalization, Gao Hongmei estimated that there was still a funding gap of at least 300 yuan.

Three hundred yuan was undoubtedly a huge sum of money for her, a woman who saved money by earning work points through farm work in the collective.

Although she had said that she would sell everything she owned to pay for her father's surgery, she knew that was just an angry outburst. It would be very difficult for her to raise the money on her own, even if she sold everything she owned.

"Ugh!"

Gao Hongmei couldn't help but sigh, rubbing her face with both hands.

But as she rubbed her hands together, her vision was obstructed, and because she was distracted and didn't pay attention, she bumped into someone walking towards her.

"Ouch!"

Gao Hongmei felt as if she had hit a wall and then been thrown into the air.

Once she regained her balance, she cursed, "Li Yunshan, you bastard, can't you watch where you're going?"

The person who bumped into Gao Hongmei was none other than Li Yunshan.

It's clearly because you don't watch where you're going, okay?

Li Yunshan originally intended to say that, but seeing Gao Hongmei's worried face, he ultimately didn't say it.

"You look so worried, is your father's condition not good?"

"You're the one in trouble. If you keep spouting nonsense, I'll tear your stinking mouth apart."

Gao Hongmei glared at Li Yunshan and said irritably.

"Then why are you looking so gloomy?"

Li Yunshan wasn't annoyed by Gao Hongmei's scolding. After all, he had slept in the same pit as Gao Hongmei and knew her temper very well.

Thinking back to his wedding night with Gao Hongmei, he almost kicked him into a pit because the starting position he was learning the pose hurt her so much.

"Sigh, it's all because of money." Gao Hongmei sighed and looked at Li Yunshan, saying, "Li Yunshan, I might not be able to pay you back the money I borrowed for several years. Please... don't blame me."

She didn't even have enough money for the surgery, so she had to swallow her pride and borrow from relatives.

However, she doesn't have many relatives, and none of them are wealthy, so it's uncertain how much money she can borrow.

If she borrows money from her relatives, she will definitely have to pay it back when she saves up.

But when faced with the choice between repaying Li Yunshan first or repaying her relatives first, Gao Hongmei chose to repay her relatives first.

As for borrowing money from Li Yunshan, she hoped that Li Yunshan could give her a break out of consideration for their past marriage.

Although she knew it was unfair to Li Yunshan, she really had no other choice.

However, to her surprise, Li Yunshan remained calm.

"Why would I blame you? Everyone has their own troubles. The money I lent you before, even though it was a loan, I never intended for you to pay it back."

As Li Yunshan spoke, he grabbed Gao Hongmei's hand and said, "Come on, let's go to a quiet place."

"Where are you going? What do you want to do?"

Gao Hongmei withdrew her hand without moving, and looked at Li Yunshan with some wariness.

Go somewhere secluded... No wonder, that bastard... He wanted to take advantage of me and grope me?

Gao Hongmei couldn't help but think to herself.

"What are you thinking? Do you think I'm that kind of person?"

Seeing Gao Hongmei's reaction, Li Yunshan instantly understood what she was worried about and couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Even if he wanted to have an affair with Gao Hongmei, he would do it based on his own abilities, not by taking advantage of her vulnerability.

He leaned close to Gao Hongmei's ear and whispered, "Your dad needs money for surgery, right? I just happened to get some money. There are too many people around here, so how can I give you the money if we don't find a quiet place?"

"Where did you get this money from?"

Gao Hongmei was puzzled.

"Never mind all that. Come with me to a less crowded place. There are too many people here, so you should keep your wealth out of sight, you know?"

Li Yunshan rolled his eyes.

"Then come with me."

Although she had doubts, Gao Hongmei, knowing that Gao Zhankui needed money, wisely led Li Yunshan to a quiet place—the hospital rooftop.