C5 Golden Earrings!

The villagers said Auntie ran away, leaving him and Grandpa behind.

“Auntie... Grandpa’s head is burning up, and he’s really sick.”

Shen Shuling placed what she was holding in the yard and turned to glance at the middle-aged villagers gathered outside. After a long pause, she sighed.

The saying goes, "A distant relative is not as helpful as a close neighbor," but not all neighbors are kind-hearted. These folks were just here for the spectacle, and if something happened to Lim Shan today, they’d probably blame her for it. They’d say she didn’t take good care of him or that she was unlucky.

Shuling had seen plenty of this when she was younger, but times had changed, and such things happened less often now.

With a sharp snap, Shuling shut the gate. The villagers outside were visibly annoyed, their faces showing they hadn’t had enough of the drama. They shrugged it off and continued chatting.

People died in the village every year; it was nothing new. Old folks were bound to pass away; who could stop the inevitable?

Shuling and Taiyang set up the cart, both panting from the effort, and finally managed to lift Lim Shan, who was as thin as a rail, along with the bedding. The sun was blazing, yet Lim Shan shivered under the covers, breaking out in cold sweat.

His eyes were distant, as if he might drift away at any moment, and he kept mumbling incoherently.

"My luck's just terrible... lost my wife, and now I can't even take care of my son..."

"Sell it... use the money to take care of Tianyang and get by..."

Shen Shuling felt her eyes well up as she dragged the cart step by step toward the small clinic at the edge of the village.

By the time she reached the clinic, half an hour had passed. Her hair was damp, and she looked like she'd just been pulled out of water.

The clinic doctor, seeing the symptoms, was hesitant to treat and quickly picked up the phone to call someone.

"I can't handle this case, but my nephew is home today. He has a car and can take the elderly man to the hospital."

Shuling quickly expressed her gratitude.

Ten minutes later, a somewhat old Santana pulled up in front of the clinic. Having a car was quite a spectacle, and soon enough, a crowd gathered as if a big event was about to happen.

Among them was Liu Xue, watching Shuling in a fluster, feeling a sense of satisfaction.

Shuling carefully moved Lim Shan to the back seat, then swiftly got into the passenger seat with Lim Tianyang in her arms, closing the door in one smooth motion.

Her practiced movements caught the attention of the young driver, Xu Qian.

"Please, get my father-in-law to the hospital quickly. I'll cover the gas," she said.

Xu Qian responded promptly, starting the car and heading straight for the hospital. Lim Shan was saved just in time; two more hours and it might have been too late.

Shen Shuling, with her little nephew in tow, ran around the area near the hospital. She visited several jewelry stores, trying to sell the gold earrings Lim Fuqing had given her at their wedding. They were heirlooms, passed down through generations, but she had no choice. As precious as they were, they couldn't compare to a human life. She carefully examined the intricate patterns on the earrings one last time before handing them over. Hopefully, she could buy them back someday.

The earrings weighed about a third of an ounce, and she managed to get $500 for them, which was enough to cover immediate expenses. The hospital stay was costing over $30 a day, and if things didn’t improve, she’d have to find some other way to come up with more money. Saving a life was the priority; she could handle the financial side of things.

Shuling adjusted her coat, bracing against the wind as she walked back to the hospital, her mind clear and focused. Lim Shan was resting after receiving an IV, with Tianyang watching over him. Shuling asked Xu Qian to take her home to grab some fresh clothes.

The familiar car brought Shuling back to the village in just half an hour, and then Xu Qian was off again. Liu Xue watched Xu Qian’s handsome, composed face, noting the admiration in his eyes when he looked at Shuling, her gaze deepening with thought.