Chapter 707 - 610: Man Proposes, Heaven Disposes
Chapter 707: Chapter 610: Man Proposes, Heaven Disposes
This year, for all the local products from the South, Xiao Man collected them all in the Treasure Pearl Space the night before leaving Gongdao Village. She let the abundant Spiritual Energy nourish them for a few hours to slightly enhance their quality and flavor, then took them out. She no longer swapped them with products from the Space as she had in previous years.
Of course, for the tea and honey intended for her own family and as gifts of respect for the elders, she still secretly swapped them for the highest-quality versions from the Space.
Ever since Tian Xueqin and her daughter were hospitalized for food poisoning after eating the dried fish, relations within the Gu family—between mother-in-law and daughters-in-law, and among the sisters-in-law—had been tense for a long time. The incident even spread to their own families. This was because Granny Gu found the dried fish to be incredibly nourishing. When distributing it, she couldn’t help but be a little partial. She favored the third branch of the family and gave them a larger share. Then, considering that her own brother and sister-in-law from her maiden family were old and frail, she sent some to them as well... When Tian Xueqin and her daughter caused a stir, Grandpa Gu was bound to investigate. There had only been a small amount of the rare dried fish to begin with. He ended up discovering that not only had his children and grandchildren not gotten their fill, but he himself had also received less. He didn’t say anything, but he was clearly displeased, giving Granny Gu the cold shoulder for days. After all the finger-pointing, wasn’t it all Xiao Man’s fault in the end?
’You just had to go and swap it with top-quality dried fish infused with Spiritual Energy, so why couldn’t you give more? Why can’t you provide a long-term supply? You made everyone lose face by arguing over a bit of food. If we don’t blame you, who do we blame?’
For this reason, Tang Qingshan took Xiao Man aside for a long talk. He told her that people’s desires can grow without limit. If she couldn’t satisfy them, it was better to simply keep her gifts to herself—don’t reveal them, and don’t give them away.
Gu Shaojun completely agreed with Tang Qingshan’s view. He proposed that from now on, Xiao Man should use only the herbs from Grandpa Mo’s garden for her alchemy. If she needed any other ingredients, even Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, she should make it known. That way, everyone could pitch in and search for them, ensuring that they all contributed and preventing a culture of dependency from forming.
While the items in the Treasure Pearl Space were indeed comprehensive and perfect, they belonged to Xiao Man. If everyone used her good things, they would be depleted quickly. What would Xiao Man do then? It was unfair to her.
Having been lectured by both Tang Qingshan and Gu Shaojun, Xiao Man began to tighten the purse strings and become more parsimonious.
Tang Qingyun stayed home for two more nights. He got his wish of sharing a few "reunion meals" with Xiao Man before heading back to work, completely satisfied, with the New Year’s goods, local specialties, tea, and fruit that Grandma Tang had personally packed for him.
Xiao Man returned to Beijing before the Lantern Festival, while the New Year festivities were still underway. The circuit of banquets among friends and family hadn’t yet ceased. In previous years, whenever Grandpa Tang and Grandma Tang were invited out, they would always take Xiao Man along. This year, however, they told everyone she was too tired from her trip back from the South and needed rest, insisting she stay home. Xiao Man wasn’t keen on banquets and social obligations anyway, so she was happy for the peace and quiet. She spent the time at home sorting the various herbs she had brought back from Gongdao Village. In her spare moments, she prepared a few prescriptions for Gu Shaozhen. Zheng Shaolian also came to Beijing to visit family for the New Year, and she refilled his grandfather’s medicine for him.
Zheng Shaolian’s grandfather had been taking medicine prescribed by Xiao Man for the past few years. Once perpetually ill and bedridden, looking more dead than alive, he was now fully recovered. He took a walk every day and could smoothly practice the Sun-style Tai Chi Thirty-Six Forms that Zheng Shaolian had taught him. Yet, he refused to stop the medication. Zheng Shaolian was at a loss. Xiao Man, however, knew what the old man was after. In consideration of the fact that he’d had a change of heart—forcefully suppressing the rest of the Zheng Family and decisively supporting Zheng Shaolian to become the head of the Zheng Group—she prescribed him a new, mild, nourishing formula for longevity. Living past one hundred wouldn’t be a problem.
She spent her days handling these small tasks, trailed by two adorable toddlers. They were at that stage where they were just starting to talk but couldn’t speak clearly, yet they were incredibly eager to chat with their "big sister." Xiao Man had to work her brain just to decipher their babble, leaving her both comically frustrated and filled with joy. After the Lantern Festival, winter break ended, and her busy life shuttling between school and the hospital resumed.
On her first day back at De Ren Hospital, Xiao Man brought some local specialties for the Sun Family to Sun Yiming’s office. Sun Yiming was delighted to see her and immediately invited her to dinner. Then, he gave her a piece of unexpected news: Mr. Bai was dead!
Xiao Man froze. ’Mr. Bai is dead?’ She hadn’t known. What surprised her more was that it seemed her family, including the Gu family, had made a pact not to mention it to her.
Now she was starting to understand. ’That’s why Grandpa and Grandma didn’t take me to the banquet at Pang Xiaoji’s home. They must be deliberately trying to lower my profile in public.’
After all, the granddaughter of the Tang family was said to have been taught medicine by Imperial Doctor Sun; rumors even called her his final, personally-chosen disciple. Her skill with a silver needle was so miraculous that she had saved Mr. Gu from a stroke-induced coma. With such ability, saving Mr. Bai—a man from another prominent aristocratic family, a national dignitary, who had even helped the Gu and Tang families in their time of need—would be seen by some as an absolute obligation!
Sun Yiming recounted the events of that night, adding that these rumors were all being spread, whether intentionally or not, by the Bai family. His expression was calm, but his voice was tinged with suppressed anger.
The Bai family had, in fact, called De Ren Hospital ahead of time to say they were bringing Mr. Bai in for emergency care. However, they explicitly refused an ambulance, claiming the Bai Mansion’s car was faster and that the hospital shouldn’t "bother with the fuss." All the hospital needed to do was prepare for his arrival. They had their own private physicians with them, proficient in both traditional and Western medicine! But the Bai family’s driver, trying to take a shortcut, turned onto West Hua Road, a street notorious for a stretch of traffic so congested it’s nearly impossible to get through. That section was only two blocks from De Ren Hospital. Seeing the endless, unmoving line of cars, the Bai family members decided to carry Mr. Bai on their backs and run the rest of the way.
The man carrying Mr. Bai was a soldier, strong and fit. A hard ten-minute run should have been enough to reach the hospital, but then disaster struck again. The man stepped on a piece of wood that had appeared out of nowhere; its top surface was covered with sharp nails. His foot was pierced, and he dropped to his knees, but he managed to hold on tightly to the man on his back, preventing him from falling. However, the people right behind him couldn’t stop their momentum. Three or four of them piled into him. Mr. Bai went flying, somersaulting before crashing to the ground. He had been hanging on by a single thread; how could he possibly survive such a jolt? He expired right then and there, completely gone.
The Bai family, of course, refused to give up. The hospital was just a few hundred meters away, right around the corner. They still wanted to get him there for resuscitation. But as the saying goes, man proposes, Heaven disposes—they had another person carry Mr. Bai and run for the hospital, but he also fell. They switched again, and that person fell too! Besides the first man who stepped on the nail-studded board, the next three all claimed it felt as if someone had shoved their legs. But everyone crowded around was solely focused on protecting Mr. Bai—who would dare push them? And even if someone did, who could be stronger than these soldiers? There were, however, a few pebbles, each about the size of a fingertip, lying on the path. If there was a problem, it had to be them!
At this point, the Bai family must have realized that Mr. Bai’s life could not be extended. Even passersby could see the old man was already thoroughly dead. To keep manhandling his body like this was just unfilial. Only then did the Bai family finally give up.
It was then that Bai Qingyue, as if suddenly remembering her role, pulled a few of her nieces down to sit on the ground and began to wail. Pointing toward De Ren Hospital with a hoarse voice, she started cursing, screaming that its doctors were ungrateful, cold-hearted, and utterly devoid of medical ethics. She claimed they had received the call for help but refused to send a doctor or an ambulance, treating a human life as if it were nothing but weeds...
Early the next morning, a horde of reporters flooded into De Ren Hospital, demanding an explanation for their failure to promptly dispatch an ambulance and doctors after receiving the call. Fortunately, De Ren Hospital was well-equipped with modern technology; the phone that took the call had a built-in recording function. The hospital released the recording to the public, proving why they hadn’t dispatched a team and thus foiling the Bai family’s plot.