The aloof military doctor arrives at the unit, and the tough guy can't sit still.

"Great! We've opened for business!" Having earned eleven yuan, Aunt Lü's mood immediately changed, and she laughed heartily.

"Things will definitely get better and better in the future." Xia Qiuran held the money in her hand, and her confidence seemed to increase in an instant.

Just then, the old woman who had asked for the plaster and kindling earlier walked over, leaning on her cane. Her cheeks were sunken, her steps were unsteady, and she seemed much more haggard than before. She glanced at the sign in front of the stall and asked, "You're not giving out medicine anymore?"

Aunt Lü's brows, which had just relaxed, furrowed again. The medicine was supposed to be given out for free for seven days, and this old lady had come for seven days in a row. It seemed that all the plasters she had taken home had been used up in the fire.

"Auntie, it was an event before, but it's over now," she explained.

"How come it's over after only a week? Forget it, I don't want it anymore." The old woman's face immediately darkened, and she leaned on her cane to leave.

Xia Qiuran looked at the old woman who was about to leave, and then took a closer look at her wrist. She found that it was even more serious than the arthritis in the old man's leg. But after using her plaster for so many days, it shouldn't be like this.

Could it be that it has encountered a special constitution? It's immune to her plaster.

"Auntie, is it because you don't think the plaster is working well?" Xia Qiuran chased after her, wanting to ask for the specific reason.

"No, it works quite well?" The old woman shook her head.

"If it works well, then keep using it. It's only 50 cents a patch, not expensive at all," Aunt Lü said loudly, pouting.

The old woman didn't reply; her expression seemed to grow even more somber as she lifted her foot to continue walking forward.

"Auntie, is there some kind of difficulty? I see that your wrist inflammation seems quite serious. This plaster is just right for your condition," Xia Qiuran asked.

The old woman simply waved her hand, saying, "That's not necessary."

Xia Qiuran saw that the old woman was unwilling to talk and did not press her further. But just as she turned around, she suddenly heard a "bang" behind her.

Xia Qiuran quickly turned around and found that it was the old lady who had fallen to the ground. She immediately ran over and helped her up, sitting on the stool that she and Aunt Lü had brought for their stall.

"Auntie, are you alright?"

The old woman took a long time to catch her breath, catching her breath several times before slowly saying, "Thank you, young comrade, I'm alright now." She then leaned on her cane and prepared to leave.

"Auntie, wait a minute," Xia Qiuran called out.

Seeing that the old woman seemed to have something difficult to say, she didn't pry further, but instead picked up three more plasters and put them in the old woman's hand. "These are three plasters. Together with the ones you took home before, they should provide a lot of relief after you use them all. However, your arthritis is too severe, and it's probably impossible to cure it completely. This requires gradual conditioning."

"I have no money," the old woman said nervously, quickly withdrawing her hand.

"It's free. You need to take care of your hand, so try to do less work in the future." Xia Qiuran was also quite helpless. To cure the old lady's illness, she had to go to a big hospital or use good Chinese medicine, but she was in a difficult situation and could only offer a little help.

"Thank you, I definitely won't bother you tomorrow." The old woman clutched the plaster tightly in her hand, but after taking a step, her legs gave way and she almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, Xia Qiuran caught her in time.

"mom."

Just then, a voice came from behind.

Xia Qiuran turned around and saw a slightly plump woman wearing coarse floral fabric running from another direction.

The moment the woman walked in, Xia Qiuran smelled that familiar scent, and then the girl's two fingers on her left hand seemed to pierce her eyes like a bright light.

Judging from the healed wound, it was clearly caused by an external injury in recent years.

"Mom, how are you? Are you alright?" the slightly chubby girl asked her aunt anxiously.

"I'm fine, thanks to this kind young man who caught me in time," the old woman replied, looking at Xia Qiuran.

The slightly chubby girl immediately turned around and bowed to Xia Qiuran. "Thank you, thank you for saving my mother."

"You're too kind, comrade. It was just a small favor." Xia Qiuran quickly helped the girl up.

After thanking the woman, the girl helped her up, saying, "Are your legs hurting again? Let me carry you back."

"Why carry it? I'm not that old yet." The old woman waved her hand, as if she didn't want her daughter to worry, and then took a few quick steps to show off. "Look at me, I'm perfectly fine, I can even walk faster than you."

"Please take it easy," the girl quickly said, helping him up.

"It's nothing, don't make a fuss," the old woman said nonchalantly.

But less than a second after he finished speaking, he suddenly stopped, his body began to sway slightly, and cold sweat began to fall from his forehead like raindrops.

Then everything went black, and he fell heavily to the ground again.

"Mom, Mom, what's wrong? Wake up!" the girl cried.

Xia Qiuran ran up to the old woman and quickly placed her fingers on her wrist.

A weak, scattered, and unsteady pulse—these are symptoms of impending heart failure.

"Her pulse is unstable; she needs to be taken to the hospital immediately," Xia Qiuran said to the slightly chubby girl as she turned around. "Go and borrow a car quickly."

She didn't have any first-aid supplies or tools on her, so taking her to the hospital is the safest course of action.

"Borrowing a bike is too slow, I'll carry my mom on my back instead." The girl looked around. She couldn't pull her mom on a bicycle, and there wasn't a single car on the whole street. Even if there were, no one would lend her one. The most feasible way was probably to carry her on her back.

"Can you carry her? Auntie can't fall again," Xia Qiuran asked, looking at the girl who wasn't much older than her.

But as she spoke, the girl had already carried her mother on her back.

Seeing the girl's legs trembling from being pressed down, and her two remaining fingers on her left hand struggling to wrap around the old woman's thigh, Xia Qiuran could only do her best to help lift her up from behind.

Fortunately, the First Hospital wasn't too far away, and we arrived in about ten minutes.

After a series of emergency treatments, the elderly woman finally regained consciousness.

In the hospital room, the elderly woman opened her eyes, slowly looked around, and asked the slightly chubby girl who was standing by her side with a hint of surprise, "Shujuan, where am I?"

Meng Shujuan, her eyes red-rimmed, said, "We're in the hospital, Mom."

"Hospital?" The old woman suddenly opened her eyes, as if she had just remembered something, and hurriedly tried to get up. "I'm not sick, please help me up, I want to go home."

"Mom, you're very ill, you can't get up," Meng Shujuan tried her best to comfort her.

The old woman's eyes were filled with panic, and even her breathing became heavier. "I know my own body. I'll be fine after lying at home for a couple of days. There's no need to come to the hospital at all."

"Auntie, the hospital fees here are very cheap. If you go home and your condition worsens, the treatment will be much more expensive," Xia Qiuran, who had been standing behind Meng Shujuan, said as she stepped forward.

She herself came from a poor background, so how could she not understand that the old lady was willing to risk her life to be discharged from the hospital because she was afraid of spending money? Judging from the mother and daughter's appearance and behavior, she knew that they must have lived a very difficult life. From the smell of the plaster on Meng Shujuan, Xia Qiuran basically figured it out. The old lady clearly had severe arthritis in her wrist, so why did she not use the medicine she received? She was saving all the plaster for her daughter.

Hearing Xia Qiuran say this, the old lady quieted down temporarily, but still looked worried.

"Young man, thank you, but you don't understand our family's situation. Even if hospitalization is cheaper, I can't stay here."

"My daughter works in a textile factory. She lost three fingers in a machine accident while working there. After that, she couldn't do textile work anymore, so the factory arranged for her to move goods in the warehouse. She's a young woman doing physical labor that men do every day. Her calves are swollen every day when she comes home, and sometimes her knees are so stiff that she can't even bend them back. How could I, as her mother, not feel sorry for her?"

The old woman choked up as she spoke, and Meng Shujuan kept wiping away tears beside her.