After the divorce, he took care of his child and sold fried rice; his ex-wife was filled with regret

Just as the woman turned around...

Su Xiaoxiao's gaze inadvertently swept over the transparent plastic bag containing the thermos flask that the woman was carrying.

The bag was printed with several faded blue characters: "Jiangcheng First People's Hospital".

Su Xiaoxiao was stunned for a moment, and her heart skipped a beat.

Isn't that the hospital where her mother is staying right now?!

"Wait! Ma'am, please wait a moment!"

Su Xiaoxiao almost instinctively called out, quickly took a step forward, pointed at the plastic bag, and asked:

"Ma'am, is someone in your family hospitalized at the First Municipal Hospital?"

The woman stopped, turned around, looked at Su Xiaoxiao with some surprise, and nodded silently.

"Yes, my daughter is on the third floor of the inpatient department... in the pediatric nephrology ward."

Su Xiaoxiao felt as if something had gently tugged at her heart.

Looking at the woman's sweat-soaked temples and her bloodshot, weary eyes, she couldn't help but ask softly:

"You rushed over to buy scrambled eggs with tomatoes... is it for your daughter?"

Upon hearing the word "daughter," the woman's eyes, which she had been holding back, instantly reddened.

"Yes... she has uremia and has been on dialysis."

"These past few days, her appetite has been extremely poor. She vomits everything she eats, and even drinking water is difficult for her. All her health indicators are dropping, and the doctor says that if this continues, her health will collapse... But she's only seven years old..."

The woman sniffed, trying to make her voice sound steady, but the despair of a mother was impossible to hide:

"Last night, she mumbled to me that she wanted to eat a bite of the tomato and egg stir-fry that her grandma used to make in the old house with a traditional earthen stove."

"But...her grandmother passed away two years ago. I cooked it for her several times last night in our rented room, but she tasted it and said it wasn't the right flavor and she couldn't eat it."

"This morning when I was delivering takeout, I overheard some people passing by talking about how delicious your new tomato and egg stir-fry is..."

The woman lowered her head, looking at her hands, roughened by years of wind and sun, her voice filled with deep self-reproach and helplessness:

"I originally wanted to grab some orders early at noon to earn a few dozen yuan more, so I rushed over to queue up."

"As a result, my electric scooter got a flat tire on the way, and I had to push it for three kilometers to get it fixed... After delivering the orders at noon, I rushed over as fast as I could, but I didn't expect... I was still too late."

After saying that, she tightly gripped the empty thermos and forced a smile that looked more like a grimace at Su Xiaoxiao:

"It's all my fault. I was too slow... I'm sorry for disturbing your rest."

"Tomorrow... I'll come to line up at five o'clock tomorrow morning, young lady, thank you."

After saying that, the woman bent down slightly, turned around and walked towards the old electric scooter parked in the scorching sun.

Looking at the woman's thin yet stubborn back, Su Xiaoxiao's tears instantly welled up in her eyes.

She felt the same deep-seated helplessness and despair that she experienced at the same city hospital, where she was desperately trying to pay for her loved ones' medical expenses.

Su Xiaoxiao suddenly turned her head and looked at Lin Fan standing behind the cashier.

"Brother Lin..."

Su Xiaoxiao's voice trembled slightly, barely suppressed.

"Little one."

Lin Fan interrupted her.

"I told you about the rules of the Lin family shop on your first day of work."

Limited quantities available daily, while supplies last. No additional orders accepted.

"But Brother Lin, she..." Su Xiaoxiao was anxious and wanted to argue.

"No buts."

Lin Fan's gaze passed over Su Xiaoxiao and landed on the woman outside the door who was about to get on her electric scooter:

"There are too many pitiful people in this world. If it's because her daughter is sick, I'll make an exception and restart the fire."

"Then tomorrow, other family members of terminally ill cancer patients will kneel at my door and beg me; the day after tomorrow, a disabled person who was in a car accident will come and beg me."

"Then you'll tell me, should I do it or not?"

Lin Fan's words were like ice water poured over her head, instantly extinguishing the overflowing maternal instincts in Su Xiaoxiao's heart.

She lowered her head and instantly understood the cruel logic behind it.

Once the rules are breached due to "sympathy," what awaits them is endless moral blackmail and bottomless demands!

Upon hearing Lin Fan's words, the female rider outside the door, who was about to get on her electric scooter, stopped.

She turned around, showing no resentment, but instead waved repeatedly at Su Xiaoxiao, her eyes full of apology:

"Young lady, don't beg the boss! He's right, there are rules to doing business, and we can't make an exception for just one person!"

"This is my own fault; I was late... Boss, I'm so sorry for the trouble!"

The female rider took a deep breath, forcibly holding back the tears welling up in her eyes, hugged the thermos tightly to her chest, and put on her helmet.

"I'll definitely come earlier tomorrow!"

She nodded deeply in the direction of Lin Fan and Su Xiaoxiao, twisted the accelerator, and her slender figure quickly blended into the scorching traffic outside.

Watching the woman's departing figure, Su Xiaoxiao silently retreated.

The shop fell silent again.

Su Xiaoxiao stood at the door, head down, feeling depressed and somewhat sad.

Rationally, she completely agreed with Lin Fan's actions, because rules are the bottom line.

But emotionally, the thought of that seven-year-old girl lying in the hospital bed, growing thinner and thinner because she couldn't eat anything, and the thought of how she herself had cried in the middle of the night because of her mother's surgery fees, made her feel like her chest was stuffed with cotton.

She knew Lin Fan's rules, but faced with a mother like this, she truly couldn't control her empathy. She simply sighed.

Lin Fan didn't say anything more; he turned and walked into the kitchen.

Before long, the faint sound of chopping vegetables and the roar of the high-powered stove could be heard from the kitchen.

I don't know how much time passed.

The kitchen door was pushed open.

Lin Fan came out, carrying a large black insulated bag.

"Brother Lin?" Su Xiaoxiao looked up at him with some confusion.

"I suddenly remembered that I have something to do later, I need to pick up Tuantuan from the early childhood education center, so I won't eat here."

Lin Fan took off his apron and casually draped it over the back of the chair next to him.

As he spoke, he handed the black insulated food bag in his hand to Su Xiaoxiao, who was standing to the side.

"You did a good job this morning, keeping things in the lobby very orderly. Go and get some rest, spend time with your mother. You've been working hard lately."

Su Xiaoxiao subconsciously reached out her hands and took the takeout bag.

But Su Xiaoxiao was stunned for a moment when she held the bag in her hand.