Chapter 082: He's here! He's here!
That evening.
In a remote corner of the Shanghai suburbs, in a dilapidated shack within the shantytown, a small house with one bedroom, one living room, one kitchen, and one bathroom, totaling less than forty square meters, served as the home for Zhang Qiaoyun and Li Moli, mother and daughter.
The environment here was harsh, the house small, dark, and damp, as if even the sun was stingy with its light in this area.
Zhang Qiaoyun, suffering from uremia, struggled to survive at the lowest rung of society in this very environment.
Zhang Qiaoyun, afflicted with uremia, was as thin as a withered branch, her skin dull and gray due to kidney failure.
On her arms, the fistulas left by dialysis were like the devil's brands, constantly reminding her of her battle with the disease.
Though Zhang Qiaoyun's eyes showed fatigue and weakness, whenever she saw her daughter return, they would always sparkle with a warm light.
Though the room was small, it was filled with the warm affection between mother and daughter.
“Mom, I’m home!”
As Li Moli pushed the door open, a smile immediately bloomed on Zhang Qiaoyun's face, as if all her pain had vanished at that moment.
She struggled to support her weak body and gave her daughter, Li Moli, a warm hug.
“My dear daughter, why are you off work so early today?!”
Li Moli replied mysteriously, “Because I closed a big deal today, so the manager allowed me to leave early, and even gave me half a month of paid leave!”
Zhang Qiaoyun chuckled weakly, “There’s such a good thing?”
“Mm.” Li Moli nodded.
“My dear daughter, you must be hungry, right?”
“Mom has cooked for you, hurry and eat!”
At dinner, the table only held simple steamed buns and stewed potatoes with cabbage, without a trace of meat.
Even the oil in the dish was scarce, as if they couldn't bear to add even a little more, which showed that Zhang Qiaoyun's long-term kidney dialysis medical expenses had long since emptied their home.
In this difficult environment, the mother and daughter relied on each other, supporting each other, and maintaining the warmth of their lives with the simplest food.
“Ta-da… ”
Li Moli, like a magician, pulled out a fragrant roasted duck from behind her back, her eyes playfully narrowed as she sweetly smiled, “Mom, I bought you a roasted duck to help you nourish your body.”
However, when the roasted duck was placed on the table, Zhang Qiaoyun frowned slightly and said softly, “Mom is almost in her coffin, why did you spend this money?”
Zhang Qiaoyun's tone was full of heartache and reluctance, as if this roasted duck was a precious item her daughter had earned with her blood and sweat.
Li Moli knew that her mother felt for her and didn't want her to spend money on her.
So, Li Moli sensibly said, “Mom, you are not allowed to say such discouraging things anymore.
I will actively visit various hospitals to find a suitable kidney donor for you and have your kidney transplant surgery as soon as possible.”
As Zhang Qiaoyun listened to her daughter's words, tears welled up in her eyes.
Although Zhang Qiaoyun's condition was severe, with her daughter's companionship and care, she felt both despair and warmth.
“Mom, hurry and try it, how does this store's roasted duck taste?”
Li Moli tore off a piece of roasted duck, dipped it in a little sweet bean paste, and fed it to her mother, Zhang Qiaoyun's mouth, her eyes full of anticipation.
This touching mother-daughter bond, relying on each other, was deeply moving.
AI generated beautiful image of Li Moli
The weak Zhang Qiaoyun smiled as she ate a bite of the roasted duck, as if savoring her daughter's thoughtfulness and a touch of sweetness in their difficult life.
“Delicious!”
“So fragrant!”
“Daughter, you eat too!”
Li Moli, however, replied with an excuse, “Eating meat makes you gain weight, Mom, I’m on a diet!”
“You can save the leftover roasted duck for yourself to eat tomorrow!”
Zhang Qiaoyun's nose tingled upon hearing this, and she tore off a piece of roasted duck meat, forcefully feeding it to her daughter, Li Moli's mouth, saying with heartache, “Mom knows you’re reluctant to eat it.
You’re not even fat, why are you dieting?”
Li Moli passively ate the roasted duck, narrowing her eyes and sweetly smiling, “It really is quite delicious! Hehe…”
The scene of motherly kindness and filial piety was very heartwarming.
Although life was difficult, the bond between Li Moli and her mother was like a bright light, illuminating their lives.
“Mom, I also bought you the crabapple cakes you used to love the most!”
“Butterfly pastries!”
“And also sticky rice cakes!”
“These are all pastries you haven’t eaten in a long time.
I bought them to satisfy your craving, hehe…”
Li Moli took out several famous Shanghai pastries from her backpack, which she was reluctant to eat herself, and picked up a butterfly pastry to feed her mother, Zhang Qiaoyun.
AI generated beautiful image of Li Moli
Zhang Qiaoyun chewed the butterfly pastry with tears in her eyes, saying with heartache, “Silly child, don't be so extravagant in the future.
It’s not easy for you to earn money from your part-time job.
It doesn’t matter if Mom eats these or not.”
“Daughter, you are also a twenty-year-old girl now.
Buy some pretty new clothes, and also buy some cosmetics to dress yourself up.”
Li Moli, however, replied, “Your daughter is naturally beautiful, a beauty even without makeup, and as long as my clothes are clean and fit, I look very pretty in them, new or old doesn’t matter!”
Zhang Qiaoyun's heart ached because of her daughter's thoughtfulness, and she blamed herself, saying, “It’s all because I, your mother, have dragged you down.
I should just find a crooked tree and hang myself.”
“Mom, please don’t ever think that!”
“When I was little, you took care of me, and now that I’m grown up, I’ll take care of you.”
“Let’s not say those discouraging words.
Your daughter is now officially sharing two good news with you!”
“They are two especially great pieces of good news~”
Zhang Qiaoyun smiled and said, “Didn’t you just say you closed a big deal today?
It must be that you sold a big house with a high commission, right?”
Li Moli took a bite of a steamed bun, eating the stewed potatoes with cabbage, and replied with an exaggerated expression, “Mom, let your imagination run wild, guess even bigger.”
Zhang Qiaoyun guessed, “Could it be that you sold two big houses with high commissions?”
“Mom, keep guessing!”
“Could it be that my daughter was lucky today and sold three houses at once?”
“Guess again!”
“My dear daughter, did you sell four houses?!”
Li Moli took a big bite of the steamed bun and replied with an exaggerated expression, “I sold four buildings today, four buildings, not four sets of houses~”
Zhang Qiaoyun was so shocked that her mouth couldn't close, and she asked in astonishment, “Is that true or false?”
“Of course, it’s true!”
“Now, your daughter is a gold-medal sales champion.
The four buildings, one hundred and twenty apartments, I sold today have a total price of seventy-six million eight hundred thousand chinese yuan, and my commission is seven hundred sixty-eight thousand chinese yuan!”
“Mom!”
“Now, our family finally has money for your kidney transplant surgery, aren’t you happy?!”
Zhang Qiaoyun's eyes welled up with tears upon hearing this, and she excitedly hugged her daughter, Li Moli.
The mother and daughter wept tears of joy, a very moving scene.
“Oh my goodness!”
“I can’t believe that you, my daughter, just working a summer job selling houses, actually earned so much money in one day.”
“That’s truly wonderful!”
“My dear daughter, you are simply amazing!”
Li Moli wiped away her mother Zhang Qiaoyun's tears and said obediently and sensibly, “Mom, you’re already weak, don’t cry!”
“Mom, these are tears of joy.
Mom won’t cry! Won’t cry!” Zhang Qiaoyun wiped her tears, her eyes smiling through them.
Li Moli sniffed, her eyes red, and said, “Mom, now I’m sharing the second piece of good news with you.
Guess who bought three of the four buildings I sold today?”
“Mom can’t guess.
Someone who bought three buildings at once must be a billionaire, right?”
Li Moli bit her red lips like a young girl in love, her beautiful eyes sparkling as she replied, “It’s Lang Ge!”
Zhang Qiaoyun was shocked and asked, “Who?”
“Lin Lang.”
Zhang Qiaoyun was stunned and asked, “Could it be Lin Lang, who grew up with you, spent tens of millions of chinese yuan to buy three buildings from you?”
Li Moli nodded and replied, “Yes.”
“Lang Ge, in order to help me earn a large sales commission so we would have money for your kidney transplant surgery, spent fifty-seven million chinese yuan today to buy three buildings, ninety apartments.”
“Just from Lang Ge’s deal alone, my sales commission reached five hundred seventy thousand yuan, wow~” Li Moli said with a hint of playful pride.
Zhang Qiaoyun said, lost in thought, “Hearing you say that Lang Ge has made a name for himself and become so rich, Mom is truly happy!”
“Lang Ge, that child, was smart and sensible from a young age.
I knew he would be successful when he grew up!”
“When you and Lang Ge were little, your Uncle Lin even mentioned to Mom about arranging a child engagement between you and Lin Lang.
It’s just a pity that fate played tricks; your Uncle Lin and his wife passed away unexpectedly in a car accident, leaving behind their only son, Lang Ge.”
“Mom also contracted uremia, and we sold the house to pay for treatment, so your fate with Lang Ge ended.”
Li Moli lowered her head, picking at her fingers, and said weakly, “Mom, the child engagement between Lang Ge and me when we were little, that’s ancient history.
Please don’t bring it up again.”
“I never thought you and Lang Ge would meet again.
My dear daughter, quickly tell Mom, does Lang Ge have a girlfriend now?”
Li Moli said sadly, “Lang Ge is single for now, but today there was a very beautiful rich young lady who stayed by his side the whole time.
She must like Lang Ge, right?!”
Zhang Qiaoyun asked further, “Then does Lang Ge like this beautiful rich young lady?”
Li Moli replied, “I don’t know, probably yes!”
“Silly girl, like is like, dislike is dislike, what do you mean ‘probably yes’?”
Li Moli replied with a hint of inferiority, “I have never seen a girl as beautiful as Zhou Mengyao in real life, whether it’s her height, looks, temperament, family background, or personality, she’s simply a perfect goddess!”
“It seems impossible to find any flaw in her.
If I were a man, I would like her too, right?!”
“If I had to find a flaw in Zhou Mengyao, it might be that she is too beautiful, like a fairy descended from heaven, not like a woman who should exist in the human world.”
Zhang Qiaoyun sighed upon hearing this, and her heart immediately sank by half.
Originally, Zhang Qiaoyun had thought that since she didn't have much time left, entrusting her daughter's future to Lin Lang would not be a bad choice for her.
After all, Lin Lang was trustworthy, and Zhang Qiaoyun had watched him grow up since he was little.
“Knock knock…”
Before Zhang Qiaoyun could think further, she heard a knock at the door.
“Creak…”
Li Moli opened the old anti-theft door and was surprised to see that the visitor was Lin Lang, sweet-smiling with delight, “Lang Ge, why are you here?”
“I missed you! So I came to see you, and also to visit Aunt Qiaoyun!” Lin Lang was carrying many high-end nutritional supplements like ginseng and sea cucumber.
Li Moli's small face flushed slightly as she said, “We just saw each other this afternoon, and you already miss me so soon?”
Lin Lang replied, “We haven’t seen each other for four years, how could I not miss you?”
“When we were little, we saw each other every day, played together every day, and still couldn’t get enough, never got tired of it, right?” Lin Lang placed the nutritional supplements he was carrying by the door inside the house.
Li Moli's eyes became a little red upon hearing this, and she pouted her small mouth, replying, “Lang Ge, I miss you too! Sometimes, I even dream of you!”
“Silly girl!” Lin Lang performed a head pat, his gaze gentle and doting.
Li Moli gently linked her arm with Lin Lang's, sweetly and playfully saying, “Mom, Lang Ge is here to see you!”
“Lang Ge, you came all this way, and even brought so many gifts, it’s too much!” Zhang Qiaoyun, dragging her weak body, walked forward happily to greet him.