"Aunty, Grandma was right. Please don't talk about compensating with a life. Jiujiu is kind-hearted, and she would be very upset if she knew," Yang Chengyou persuaded.
The more the Yang family said this, the more apologetic and sad Aunty Zhuzi became. Tears in her eyes kept falling as she picked up the bamboo basket nearby: "Mother, these are thirty eggs that my family sent this morning, to nourish Jiujiu's body. And here are three taels of silver, to hire a good doctor for Jiujiu." She stuffed the cloth bag with the silver and the bamboo basket into Liu Xiuyun's hands.
"Sister-in-law, we really can't accept these things," Liu Xiuyun hurriedly refused, and both Madam Yang Zhou and Yang Chengyou also would not accept.
Besides during festivals, which household in the village would be willing to eat eggs? They all sold them for money. And those three taels of silver were probably Aunty Zhuzi's entire savings from her own family and her husband's, scrimping and saving for so long. Furthermore, as soon as the accident happened to Jiujiu, Aunty Zhuzi had already brought over a dozen eggs and several tens of wen money. How could they accept more now?
"This is just a little token of our thoughts, you must accept it."
"Sister-in-law, the villagers have already pooled together some money and sent Third Younger Brother and the eldest nephew to town to find a doctor. They have also brought over quite a few eggs. Your home isn't well-off either, you should take these things back," Yang Chengyou insisted.
One side persisted in offering, the other side stood firm in refusing, both sides argued back and forth, but no one noticed Yang Mengchen on the kang bed suddenly open her eyes.
Where is this?
Her gaze fell on the dilapidated mud house, the roof covered with straw, the walls and floor around her made of earth. The room was narrow, with only a broken table and a battered wooden chest. Below her was a hard, icy kang bed, covered by a worn, cold quilt, worse off than even the countryside home she lived in as a child.
The pain coming from her head made Yang Mengchen frown.
She remembered, when the chief physician told her she had less than two months left to live, she felt as though her heart turned to ash. After all, she was not even forty yet, and despite her wealth of over a hundred billion, despite helping countless people, she still couldn't cure her disease, couldn't save her own life.
She didn't wish to die without a resting soul, so she called her lawyer, left a will, and several letters, booked a ticket, and prepared to return to her native county town, all because that was where Grandma Zhang lay, who loved her most, and whom she respected dearly.
She and Grandma Zhang were not blood-related, but their bond was stronger than that of blood relatives. If it were not for Grandma Zhang, she would have died long ago, much less become the legendary female CEO who reigned over the business world later on.
When she moved Grandma Zhang's ashes to the county's cemetery, she secured a spot for herself next to it, hoping in the next life to be real grandparents and grandchild with Grandma Zhang.
Little did she know she would encounter a once-in-a-century cold snap, and the plane she was on plummeted from the sky.
By all accounts, she should have died, so why was she lying in this decrepit room?
With a vague headache, Yang Mengchen subconsciously raised her right hand to rub it, but when she saw her own hand, she was completely stunned.
As a child, she had to do many farm chores, and her hands were rough and cracked. Grandma Zhang bought her hand cream, taught her how to care for her hands, and said that hands are a woman's second face. Once she was financially secure, she paid special attention to keeping her hands well-maintained, soft, and slender. But now, though clean and tidy, they were dry, thin as little sticks of kindling.
She lifted her left hand and saw it was the same.
She pinched her left hand forcefully with her right, the clear pain telling her this was indeed her hand. She then lifted the quilt, saw the small, scrawny body in patched hemp clothes beneath.
Yang Mengchen desperately wanted to know what was going on. She turned her head towards the direction of the sound and upon seeing the face ingrained in her marrow, tears streamed down her face: "Grandma..."
The moment the plane crashed, she wasn't scared of being lost without a trace, only regretted she couldn't die by Grandma Zhang's side. Never did she expect, upon opening her eyes once more, to see the face she dreamt of countless times at midnight. How could she not be overcome with joy?
"Grandma, Grandma," even though her throat was dry, even though her voice was hoarse, Yang Mengchen still persistently called out, over and over again.
"Jiujiu?"
"Little Sister Jiu?"
The four people who had been pushing and shoving each other suddenly heard the calls and froze in unison. In a moment they either turned around or rushed to the edge of the bed, all excitedly shouting, "Jiujiu (Little Sister Jiu), have you woken up?"
"Grandma, can you not leave me alone again?" Struggling to sit up, Yang Mengchen clung tightly to Madam Yang Zhou without letting go.
Holding her most beloved granddaughter in her arms, Madam Yang Zhou choked up and said, "Grandma promises you, she'll never leave her good granddaughter alone again."
"It's great that Jiujiu has woken up! I'm so relieved!" Liu Xiuyun wept with joy as she looked at her niece and laughed happily.
Aunty Zhuzi kept praying with her hands together, "Blessings from heaven, Little Sister Jiu has finally awakened, this is so wonderful!"
"Little Sister Jiu is alright, that's fantastic!" Yang Chengyou, as if suddenly remembering something, rushed to the doorway and yelled loudly, "Grandpa, come quickly, Little Sister Jiu is awake!"
"She's awake!"
Standing at the courtyard entrance, waiting for Sansan and his eldest grandson to bring the doctor back, Old Master Yang, hearing Yang Chengyou's call, hurried into the house with large strides. Seeing his granddaughter in his wife's embrace, his eyes brimmed with tears, "Grandpa knew, Jiujiu wouldn't leave us, good! That's really good!" His voice was choked but filled with relief.
"Grandpa..."
Looking up at Grandpa Yang, whose resolute face was tinted with the marks of time, Yang Mengchen's expression faltered, and then tears streamed down like rain.
Grandpa Liang was the village barefoot doctor and also one of the few people in the village who loved and took care of her, teaching her medical skills since she was a child.
Later, Grandpa Liang went to the city with his son but still cared for her, and after she established her own pharmaceutical company, she hired Grandpa Liang at a high salary as an honorary consultant. She took care of Grandpa Liang's children, and even accompanied him on trips around the country.
But Grandpa Liang had passed away several years ago, and she visited his grave every year; how could he be standing before her right now?
Rubbing his granddaughter's hair, Grandpa Yang said with a lingering fear, "Jiujiu, you can't ever scare Grandpa like that again, Grandpa is getting old and can't take such shocks, understand?"
"Little Sister Jiu is awake?" Before Yang Mengchen could speak, the frail figures of Yang Cheng'an and Yang Chengbin limped in.
Yang Cheng'an, full of remorse, said, "Little Sister Jiu, Seventh Brother knows he was wrong; Seventh Brother promises nothing like this will happen again."
"Sorry, Little Sister Jiu, Eighth Brother won't dare you to climb trees and disturb bird nests anymore," Yang Chengbin admitted his mistake proactively.
That's when Yang Mengchen noticed the attire of the people around her; it was almost identical to the costumes from the historical dramas her film company produced. Shocked by the realization, she fainted.
"Jiujiu?"
"Little Sister Jiu?"
Seeing Yang Mengchen collapse, everyone was shocked and dismayed.