Chapter 705: Benefiting

Chapter 705: Chapter 705: Benefiting

After work that afternoon.

Li Xu walked out of the hospital gate and immediately spotted a black Maybach parked on the side of the road.

Its hazard lights were flashing, making it particularly conspicuous.

"Brother Li!"

Cui Guanghui was standing by the Maybach, dressed in casual clothes. He greeted Li Xu enthusiastically as he walked over.

"Guanghui, I told you I could just take a taxi over."

Li Xu helplessly held up his empty hands. "Besides, it’s my first time formally visiting your elders. How can I go empty-handed? You should at least let me buy some fruit. You’re making it look like I’m just coming over to freeload."

"Oh, Brother Li, there’s no need to be so formal!"

Cui Guanghui smiled and ushered Li Xu into the car. "Your presence is the best gift you could give our family. You’re our most honored guest today. My parents specifically instructed me not to let you spend a single cent on anything. Just having you here is enough."

After settling into the spacious back seat, the car started smoothly.

Li Xu asked, "Guanghui, Aunt Shen... she wasn’t angry, was she?"

After all, while their intentions were good, the fact of the matter was that they had worked together to set up a scheme, keeping Shen Wen in the dark and "tricking" her.

Given Shen Wen’s personality, it would have been normal for her to get a little angry after finding out the truth.

"Haha, my mom wasn’t angry at all."

Cui Guanghui laughed. "This morning, she saw the news online and found out the Dharma assembly was your idea. She was stunned for a long while, and then she did complain a bit, but she was complaining about my dad and me."

"She scolded us, saying we shouldn’t have hidden it from her. She felt like a fool, not knowing that you, Brother Li, were the one secretly helping to cure her all along, and she hadn’t even said thank you."

Although Shen Wen was born into wealth and could be a bit proud, even prejudiced against traditional Chinese medicine, she wasn’t the type of person to be unreasonable or ungrateful.

Lately, she had been tortured to the point where life felt worse than death. Now that she could sleep soundly and felt revitalized, she truly felt the tangible benefits.

She knew perfectly well who had her best interests at heart and who her savior was.

Whether it was the secrecy from Cui Guanghui and his father or Li Xu’s "Zhuyou" scheme, everything was done to cure her illness.

Though things were hidden from her, it was definitely a white lie.

Moreover, it was just as Li Xu had analyzed for Cui Guanghui before.

Shen Wen’s ignorance of the situation had preserved her dignity as an elder.

Even if she found out afterward, what was done was done, and her illness was already cured.

She had been kept in the dark as an "unwitting party" and a "beneficiary," so her pride wasn’t wounded.

So, after learning the truth and confirming that her illness was indeed cured by this miraculous "Dharma assembly," Shen Wen not only didn’t get angry, but instead immediately had Cui Guanghui come and personally invite Li Xu over.

To express her gratitude, Shen Wen was personally cooking two of her signature dishes tonight and had specially prepared a banquet at home to entertain Li Xu.

When Li Xu and Cui Guanghui arrived at the mountainside villa, the sight before him left Li Xu feeling a bit overwhelmed by the honor.

Cui Jianmin, the chairman of Guangshun Group, and his wife, Shen Wen, were both standing on the steps at the villa’s entrance, eagerly awaiting their arrival.

In Feng City, it was a level of treatment that probably not even the mayor would receive.

"Uncle Cui, Aunt Shen, I’m sorry to have kept you waiting."

Li Xu quickly got out of the car and greeted them politely.

"Li Xu..."

Cui Jianmin laughed heartily as he came forward and shook Li Xu’s hand, his eyes full of admiration. "A true hero emerges from the young. Since you and our Guanghui are good friends, we old folks will take the liberty of calling you Xiao Li. Let’s not be strangers from now on. Treat this place as your own home and come visit anytime."

Shen Wen had also shed her previous cold demeanor, her face wreathed in smiles. "Xiao Li, I really don’t know how to thank you enough. If it weren’t for your brilliant method, this old life of mine would have likely been lost to those endless nightmares. Quick, come inside. It’s chilly out here."

As they spoke, Cui Jianmin and Shen Wen flanked Li Xu, one on each side, and enthusiastically ushered him into the villa.

In the dining room, beneath a massive crystal chandelier, a large round table was laden with a sumptuous feast.

A housekeeper was methodically ladling out the final soup course.

The meal was a joyous affair for both hosts and guest, and the atmosphere was exceptionally harmonious.

After dinner and a bit of tea, Cui Guanghui had the driver take Li Xu home.

...

「The next day.」

Li Xu didn’t go to the City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine; instead, he held consultations at his own clinic.

He had been seeing patients and sharing case studies at the Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine for the past few days, so his own clinic had been closed for two days.

As soon as he opened the doors, he saw a long line had already formed outside, with some of his regular patients waiting eagerly.

Li Xu put on his white coat and began seeing patients with Song Sisi.

Most were there for chronic conditions or for treatments to rebalance their systems, so Li Xu took his time with each of them.

Just then, an emergency case arrived.

Han Weimin from the neighboring "Weimin Clinic" ran in, drenched in sweat. He was pulling a middle-aged man along, his expression anxious as he asked Li Xu to make a house call.

The patient was at home, unable to get out of bed.

"Doctor Li, my mother’s in a bad way. She’s not going to make it!"

The middle-aged man, named Xu Yuancai, called out urgently as soon as he saw Li Xu.

Han Weimin also looked frantic.

He was a doctor of Western medicine, fine for handling common colds and fevers, but when faced with such a severe case, he was completely out of his depth.

Li Xu didn’t hesitate. He grabbed his medical kit and followed closely behind them.

The group arrived at a somewhat dilapidated, single-story house.

Before he even reached the inner bedroom, Li Xu heard a violent coughing sound.

It didn’t sound like it was coming from a throat, but more like a broken bellows being desperately worked, carrying a suffocating sense of despair.

"Mom!"

Xu Yuancai rushed into the inner room in just a few strides.

Li Xu followed him in, his gaze immediately locking onto the old woman propped up against the headboard.

"How is she now?"

Xu Yuancai anxiously asked his wife, who was by the bedside.

Xu Yuancai’s wife hurriedly replied, "She’s gotten worse in the time you were out getting the doctor. Mom said it feels like a heavy stone slab is crushing her chest, and she can’t breathe at all. And whenever she takes even a small breath, it feels like countless needles are stabbing the inside of her chest. The pain makes her break out in a cold sweat, and now she can’t even speak."

Xu Yuancai’s face was a mask of anxiety, and he paced around in a panic.

Li Xu stepped forward and carefully observed the old woman’s condition.

The old woman looked to be in her sixties, but her face was extremely haggard. Her eyes were sunken, and she was as gaunt as a dried-up tree.

She was half-reclined against the quilts, her clothes soaked through with cold sweat.

At that moment, she was gasping for air with her mouth wide open. With every breath, the veins in her neck bulged prominently.

Speaking and breathing had become exceedingly difficult. She clutched the clothes at her chest tightly with both hands, as if an invisible hand were squeezing her throat, ready to snatch her life away at any moment.

"What illness does she have? How did it get this bad?"

Li Xu frowned and quickly questioned the family.