Chapter 1

"Wu Fan, stop writing and come quickly, your father isn't doing well!"

While he was immersed in a creative frenzy, furiously typing on his keyboard for his online novel, his mother's panicked voice suddenly echoed.

Wu Fan, standing 1.75 meters tall, had a lean but well-toned physique and an undeniable charm.

After failing to get into university, he returned to the family farm, where he had been working for a year under harsh conditions. Fortunately, during his school years, he had read online novels and picked up some tricks. He decided to try writing his own. After ten failures, he finally secured a contract with a literary website, earning a meager $0.85 per thousand words—a laughable amount.

Months of writing allowed him to barely scrape by when suddenly, his father fell ill.

His father had been sick for a month. After fifteen days in the county hospital with no improvement, they had to leave, unable to afford the medical expenses. They turned to an old village doctor, but his remedies proved ineffective, and his father's condition worsened by the day.

"Cough, cough…" Wu Fan's father coughed violently, blood filling the basin in front of him and splattering the floor like a slaughterhouse scene.

"I'm afraid your father won't make it. What should we do?" His mother, Meng Jiangmei, was in tears, looking at her son with desperation.

"Father, how are you feeling? Should we take you back to the hospital?"

"No, no, don't waste any more on me. Where would you even get the money for the hospital? We already owe others $1,400. Don't spend another cent on me. How will you get married otherwise? Promise me you'll take good care of your mother and live happily together."

His father, Wu Dahai, gave him a weak but resolute smile.

"Father!" Wu Fan couldn't hold back his tears.

"It's okay. Don't be too sad. Birth, aging, illness, and death are part of life. Go find your uncle and the village chief, Lao Liu," Wu Dahai said bitterly, waving his hand.

Wu Fan wiped his tears and rushed out of the house.

Seeing Wu Dahai's condition, his uncle Wu Datian and the village chief, Liu Tiansheng, shook their heads in sorrow.

They both understood that Wu Dahai probably didn't have much time left.

"Brother, Lao Liu, my death is not the issue. Just bury me properly. But after that, please take care of Wu Fan and Meng Jiangmei. They've taken on so much debt to treat me; I don't know how they'll repay it. My greatest regret in life is leaving them with such debts and not seeing Wu Fan get married…" Wu Dahai, tears in his eyes, held the hands of his two friends.

These two men, hardened by rural life, couldn't hold back their tears, overwhelmed with grief.

Taoyuan, the highest village in Tianshui, was almost entirely cut off from the outside world, with no roads and extreme poverty. The residents had no stable income.

Even if they wanted to help Wu Dahai, they were unable to.

"Datian, stay with Dahai; I'll try to gather some money. As long as there's life, there must be treatment!"

The village chief, Lao Liu, took Wu Datian aside to discuss the matter.

But half an hour later, he returned, utterly dejected, holding a small bundle of crumpled bills.

Even with the authority of a village chief, he had only managed to collect $80.

It wasn't that the villagers were unwilling to help; most didn't even have $2 to spare.

Many villagers gathered, all sighing in disappointment.

"What are you so proud of? Now you have no choice, do you?"

At that moment, a loud, confident voice rang

out.

Everyone turned to see Aunt Ling standing there.