Chapter Thirty-two: Three Resounding Kowtows

At this moment, tears sparkled in Shang Wende's eyes.

He was a person who rarely showed his emotions on his face. Even when he was touched in the past, he would silently suppress those feelings in his heart. But at this moment, he could no longer control his emotions. A trace of sadness and a hint of being moved appeared on his wrinkled face.

And Lu Feng was even more touched than Shang Wende at this moment, much more so. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he almost bit through his lower lip.

On the hospital bed, there were mostly small change like ten-cent, twenty-cent coins, and some fifty-cent and one-yuan coins. Occasionally, there were also five-yuan and ten-yuan notes. Among this large pile of change, Lu Feng's sharp eyes noticed that the largest denomination was actually just a twenty-yuan note, and there was not a single fifty-yuan or one-hundred-yuan note in the whole pile!

All this money had been begged for by Li Xiaohu with his thin and weak hands!

He finally understood why, in that cold and desolate alley, Li Xiaohu had fought so desperately, even when he was severely beaten by those three hooligan robbers, and he still refused to let go.

This money was the life-saving money for his mother!

For his mother, he was willing to be beaten to death! For his mother, he was willing to starve to death!

It was a kind of persistence and filial piety.

Heaven and earth may be heartless, but people have feelings. This kind of filial piety can even move heaven and earth, and finally clear the clouds to see the blue sky!

Fortunately, Li Xiaohu's persistence had not been in vain. At least, he had come from Gansu to Shandong, to Jiyang City, and found his master. Whether it was the will of fate or the slim chance he had fought for through all the hardships, Lu Feng firmly believed that Li Xiaohu, who had now gone through the trials and tribulations, had seen the rainbow of hope.

"Thud..."

Li Xiaohu knelt down in front of Shang Wende again, his eyes filled with tears, and said, "Dr. Shang, I know I don't have much money, but this is really all I have. Please cure my mother's illness. If this money isn't enough, I'll stay by your side and serve you. I'll do whatever you ask me to do, and I'll listen to you from now on. Please don't be like those other doctors and refuse to treat my mother. This is really all the money I have now! Please have mercy and save my mother, please!"

His words were full of pleading and sorrow, as well as a trace of hesitation and fear!

He was afraid, afraid that the doctor he had traveled so far to find would be like the doctors in those hospitals, afraid that because of the lack of money, the other party would ask the security guards to drive them out!

This was his only hope now. If they were driven away this time, he didn't know how long his mother could hold on. Just thinking of his mother's illness, Li Xiaohu's heart ached like being stabbed.

There were glistening tears in Shang Wende's weathered eyes. With a bitter sigh, he gently helped Li Xiaohu up from the ground and said softly, "My child, get up! A real man only kneels to the heaven, the earth, and his parents. Don't always kneel to others. I understand your filial piety, and I will do my best to treat your mother's illness. You can rest assured about that."

A look of surprise appeared on Li Xiaohu's thin face, but tears streamed down his face again.

His heart was shouting and cheering!

"My mother will be saved. Dr. Shang is willing to save my mother. Thank you, God! Thank you. Thank you for letting me find a kind person, a good doctor who is willing to save my mother! Thank you. Even if you take my life in the dark, I'm willing to trade my life for my mother's life as long as she can get better. God, please be a complete good person. Please bless Dr. Shang to definitely cure my mother. Please!"

"Please!"

Li Xiaohu understood the principle that one only kneels to the heaven, the earth, and his parents.

But at this moment, his emaciated body seemed to well up with infinite strength, breaking free from Shang Wende's support.

Once again!

He knelt down heavily in front of Shang Wende and burst into tears. It was as if all the hardships he had endured, all the grievances he had suffered on this long journey, and all the pain in his heart could be released through his crying.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three resounding kowtows were made, producing a dull sound!

However, after the three kowtows, his forehead was already covered in blood.

That bright red blood, which seemed to sting people's eyes, flowed down his forehead, past his slightly furrowed eyebrows due to the pain, and gathered at the tip of his nose.

Drip!

Drip!

It dripped from the tip of his nose onto the cold cement floor in front of his chest.

"Thank you, thank you so much!"

Shang Wende's lips trembled, and finally two tears fell. With a trembling voice and teary eyes, he looked at the pitiful child in front of him who was smiling, crying, and bleeding. Suddenly, he felt an intense pain in his heart, as if someone had stabbed him several times in the chest.

With his slightly trembling arms, he gently grasped Li Xiaohu's skinny shoulders. Shang Wende's voice was full of distress: "My child, what are you doing! We appreciate your kindness, but your health is important. Don't do anything stupid again. You're already grown up and a young man. Your mother still needs your care. You can't hurt yourself. Just think, if she saw you like this, she would definitely be heartbroken and sad, right? You're a young man now, so never make your mother sad again, understand?"

Li Xiaohu was helped up by Shang Wende again. At this moment, his loud crying had stopped, and his eyes were filled with determination despite the tears. He nodded heavily. Although his voice was still choked with sobs, his firm words were very serious: "Dr. Shang, I've remembered everything you said. I will definitely take good care of my mother in the future and won't let her be sad."

Lu Feng beside them had already been in tears.

Since he became sensible until now, he swore that he had never seen any child, especially a child who looked only fifteen or sixteen years old, be so filial.

The bright red blood had greatly shocked his heart.

There were countless filial sons in ancient history, but those were all scenes seen in books. However, this was happening right in front of his eyes. He saw it with his own eyes, heard it with his own ears, and felt it with his own heart.

Suddenly, Lu Feng remembered a scene, a scene where even livestock knew how to be grateful. When a little lamb was nursing, it would always kneel under its mother!

Maternal love is selfless and broad! But wasn't the love of a child for his mother the same?

Lu Feng's tears fell down his cheeks. He thought of his own mother again. If he were in this young man's place, would he do the same as him?

The answer was very firm: he would!

Even if he had to trade his own life for his mother's, it would be worth it!

"Xiaofeng, quickly go and get the ointment and gauze to help him deal with the wound."

Shang Wende's old and withered hand did not let go of Li Xiaohu's arm. It was as if the young man in front of him was not just a boy who had traveled a long way to ask him to treat his mother's illness, but his own beloved grandson.

Lu Feng wiped the tears from his face without saying a word, but he turned around much faster than usual.

Every drop of blood that flowed from Li Xiaohu's forehead made him feel extremely hot. It didn't seem to be dripping on the cold cement floor, but rather on his heart.

After bringing the gauze, alcohol, and ointment, Shang Wende let go of Li Xiaohu's arms. He personally bandaged Li Xiaohu's wound, then put the pile of change on the hospital bed back into the tattered bag. After handing it to Li Xiaohu, he said softly, "My child, take this money. You'll need it to buy food and nutritional products for your mother in the future. I won't take money for treating your mother. With your filial piety, it's more important than any amount of money. Take it. Let's go and pick up your mother. I will definitely do my best to cure her illness!"

Tears were still streaming down Li Xiaohu's face, but he stared blankly at Shang Wende. There was a trace of surprise, a trace of being moved, and a trace of gratitude in his expression.

He didn't decline, perhaps because he knew that this money was far from enough to pay for Dr. Shang to treat his mother. Or perhaps he knew even better that his mother still needed money to buy food.

Silently taking the tattered bag, having gone through countless hardships, he engraved this gratitude in his heart and deep in his soul. He swore that in the future, he would work hard and earn money to repay the benefactor in front of him.

This kindness was as heavy as a mountain.

Since Li Xiaohu had drunk some millet porridge earlier, his body had regained a lot of strength. Although the feeling of hunger hadn't completely disappeared, it didn't prevent him from moving around.

Shang Wende didn't pack any other things. After leaving the door of the medical clinic and asking Lu Feng to lock the door again, he directly led Lu Feng and Li Xiaohu towards the main road outside the alley.

"Dr. Shang, can I... can I buy some food first? When I left the bridge cave this morning, my mother was still waiting for me to buy her some food. She only ate a little last night, and I'm afraid she's hungry."

There was a trace of uneasiness in Li Xiaohu's voice, for fear that Shang Wende would be angry and refuse to treat his mother.

Shang Wende nodded silently. He understood the child's feelings and naturally wouldn't stop his filial act.

The three of them stopped in front of a breakfast stall.

Li Xiaohu looked at the steaming and fragrant meat buns in the steamer, couldn't help but swallow his saliva, and then went up to the breakfast seller and said, "Boss, give me four meat buns and a serving of porridge to go."

"Sure, little brother. Just wait a moment."

The breakfast seller smiled warmly.

Lu Feng frowned slightly and asked in confusion, "Why are you only buying four? Is that enough for you and your mother?"

At this moment, Li Xiaohu's face no longer had the miserable look of crying before. A beaming smile and a look of happiness appeared on his thin face as he said, "I'm not hungry. These are for my mother. She loves eating buns the most. She will definitely be very happy when she sees that I've bought them for her!"

"You're not hungry?"

A wave of sadness welled up in Lu Feng's heart. Was he really not hungry?

If he wasn't hungry, how could he have fainted outside the medical clinic?

These four meat buns were very small. At this size, Lu Feng himself could eat a dozen of them.

Holding back the soreness in his nose, Lu Feng directly said to the boss, "Boss, not four. Give me twenty meat buns and two servings of porridge to go."