Li Junsheng's heart dropped, and he quickly dashed home.
Just twenty minutes away from the machinery factory, he found his second son, Li Guohua, and his daughter-in-law, Ji Xiaocui, desperately pleading at his door!
Ji Xiaocui was cradling a small boy of about three years old, his face flushed and feverish.
This couple was Li Junsheng's second son and daughter-in-law, and the little boy was his grandson, Li Wei.
"Big Brother, Big Sister-in-law, please lend us some money. We need to take the child to the hospital. After all, he's your nephew!"
Li Guohua beseeched his older brother, Li Guojun, but the elder brother reacted with cold indifference, while his wife, Wang Xiuhua, displayed an attitude of complete disregard.
Ji Xiaocui was already on the verge of tears.
"Big Brother, Big Sister-in-law, please help us! Xiao Wei has pneumonia and needs to be hospitalized. The doctor said we need to pay the deposit, but we don't have enough money. As soon as Xiao Wei is better, we'll pay you back!"
Wang Xiuhua glared at Li Guohua and Ji Xiaocui, arms crossed against the door, refusing to let them inside to discuss further.
"We don't have any money either! You've lost your parents, why don't you just go back to your maternal uncle and borrow some from there?"
Ji Xiaocui's tears streamed down her face; if she could borrow money, would she be begging at her in-laws' door?
They were truly out of options!
Li Guohua clenched his fists. He understood that his brother and sister-in-law simply didn't want to lend him money.
"Big Brother, after all these years, I've never argued with you about anything. Can't you lend me this one time?"
They were blood brothers, after all!
Li Guohua's expression darkened, clearly hurt by his brother and sister-in-law's cold demeanor.
Guojun was about to say something dismissive when Li Junsheng returned home.
Seeing his second son and daughter-in-law at the door, he spoke sternly, "What's going on? Why are you blocking the entrance? If you have something to discuss, come inside!"
Upon hearing Li Junsheng's voice, Ji Xiaocui immediately knelt in front of him, holding the feverish child.
"Dad, please! You have to save Xiao Wei! He has pneumonia, and the doctor said we need to pay a deposit to get him hospitalized. We're still short by a few dozen yuan!"
"Xiao Wei is your grandson! Can you lend me and Guohua that few dozen yuan? We promise to pay you back as soon as he gets better!"
Ji Xiaocui pleaded with tears streaming down her face.
Hearing his daughter-in-law's words sent a jolt through Li Junsheng!
His thoughts quickly raced back to his previous life, where he had favored his eldest son's family and let Ma Yulian control all the money.
When Guohua and Ji Xiaocui came to him for help, he didn't have any money to give. This led to his grandson's illness not being treated in time.
As a result, Xiao Wei had died from pneumonia!
Guohua and Ji Xiaocui were devastated, effectively severing ties with him from that moment on.
Even when he grew old and fell ill, this couple treated him coldly.
Perhaps they were simply returning the favor—repaying him with indifference for his past actions.
After losing his grandson, Li Junsheng had regretted it immensely!
He never wanted his grandson to suffer, but he truly had no money to assist Guohua back then.
Suddenly, a wave of relief washed over him.
Fortunately, he had just gotten some money from Chen Dazhu, which had originally been meant to support his family!
Otherwise, he would be helpless again!
Before Li Junsheng could say anything, Li Guojun snickered mockingly, showing no compassion for his brother. "You guys are asking the wrong person; he's got no money."
He was aware of how much Li Junsheng had due to the favoritism he had shown to his eldest son.
Guojun was as aware of Li Junsheng's finances as he was.
If his father had any extra money, Guojun would have had it by now to fund his daughter's piano lessons!
There was no need for him to struggle to earn or save for it.
"Exactly! Dad is getting older. Not only did we not ask you for money for your retirement, but you also have to lend them money?" Wang Xiuhua chimed in.
Li Guohua and Ji Xiaocui exchanged glances, their expressions filled with despair.
What were they supposed to do now?
Their son was burning up with fever and barely conscious!
If they didn't take him to the hospital soon, it would truly be disastrous.
Li Guohua couldn't believe it. His father had worked at the machinery factory for many years; how could he possibly not save up a few dozen yuan?
When he married Ji Xiaocui, he didn't take a penny from his dad and solely relied on his own hard work.
For that, Ji Xiaocui's family had also expressed their displeasure with him as a son-in-law, damaging their relationship.
His father was clearly unwilling to lend a hand, and for his own flesh and blood to be this cold was unbearable!
Li Guohua's heart was heavy with resentment.
He couldn't understand why his father didn't love him!
Li Guojun didn't even let Li Guohua inside their home, drawing the attention of their neighbors who watched the family drama unfold.
"Alas, Guohua is so pitiful. Neither mom nor dad cares for him. When he got married, they didn't offer any support, and now that his son is sick, he can't even borrow money from his own brother or father!"
"Exactly! Junsheng, you shouldn't be so biased. This is still your grandson—hurry and give them the money so they can take the boy to the doctor!"
"You work at the factory, so how could you not have saved up a few dozen yuan?"
These onlookers' comments snapped Li Junsheng back to reality. Without hesitation, he rummaged through his pocket and pulled out some cash, handing it to Li Guohua.
"Here's two hundred yuan! Don't listen to your brother's nonsense! Take this money and get Xiao Wei to the hospital right away. Pneumonia is no small matter!"
In his previous life, his grandson's death had become a rift between him and his second son, an everlasting regret in his heart.
This time around, he would not sit idly by and watch his grandson die!
Two hundred yuan should be enough to cover treatment and hospitalization costs.
Seeing Li Junsheng pull out the money, the spectators all breathed a sigh of relief on behalf of Li Guohua and Ji Xiaocui.
"Now that's more like it! This is your own grandson, Li Ge!"
"Guohua, Ji Xiaocui, hurry and take Xiao Wei to the hospital! Don't delay!"
Thinking their father would never lend them money, Li Guohua and Ji Xiaocui were stunned when he not only provided the funds but gave them even more than they needed!
"Dad, thank you! I promise I will pay you back!"
The previous indifference from his elder brother had not pushed Li Guohua too far emotionally.
But when Li Junsheng handed him those two hundred yuan, it overwhelmed him with tears!
It turned out that Dad did love him!
"Get moving! We're family—no need to talk about repayment! Xiao Wei is also my grandson!"
Ji Xiaocui, teary-eyed, looked gratefully at her father-in-law. Although she had once been aware of his favoritism toward his eldest son's family, she realized now that her assumptions had been mistaken; during critical moments, he could differentiate between what was important and what wasn't.
On the other hand, Li Guojun and Wang Xiuhua stood dumbfounded!
Wang Xiuhua hurriedly approached to see the money in Li Guohua's hand.
It really was two hundred yuan!
Oh my god!
Their father had actually pulled out two hundred yuan from his pocket?
That was several months' worth of wages!
Where did it come from? They both knew how much money he had!
Could it be that he had been secretly saving money all this time?
Li Guojun was equally stunned and in disbelief!
He thought his father was completely broke, only to find out he had hidden resources?