Chapter 176: Talk About Disease

“So I came here to pass the time. This place is run by a relative of one of my disciples. I gave all the bait to him.”

“Sit, sit. The farmhouse food here is good. I already had them prepare it. It’s all pure natural. Later you can taste some fresh things.”

Only then did the three sit on bamboo chairs as high as stools. On the stone table beside them, an old kettle was boiling on a charcoal stove, very charming.

Professor Arnold enthusiastically called someone to bring cups. After pouring tea for the three, he said with a smile, “Abigail, why did you think of asking me about these things again today?”

Meher quickly apologized, “Sorry Professor Arnold. This dead girl is so thoughtless. She disturbed your rest.”

“No, no. Anyway, my classes are also three days of fishing and two days of drying nets. Having someone to chat with is quite nice.”

Professor Arnold said magnanimously.

“Arnold, can the dishes be served?”

“Serve them. Let’s chat while eating. I was just praising your food for being delicious.”

Ryan looked at the lotus pond and praised, “The water quality here is really good. I haven’t seen so many dragonflies in a long time.”

“Hehe, this place draws water from the mountain, and the pond is living water. It’s natural ecology, not a professional breeding operation. The fish, shrimp, crabs, and soft-shelled turtles inside are not many in number, but they are pure wild.”

When this was mentioned, Professor Arnold became energetic, but then sighed, “The fish are quite delicious, but they are a bit small. When you catch them, there’s no way to show off.”

Ryan said with a smile, “That’s still better than returning empty-handed. Besides, it’s not sunny here and it’s quite cool. It’s original ecology. This breeze feels more comfortable than being in an air-conditioned room.”

“Haha, young people have taste. This really is a good place.”

Professor Arnold said with a smile, “When I rest, I like coming here. Once I arrive in the morning, I don’t want to leave. The dishes we’re about to eat, they were all delivered by others. This old man personally picked the wild vegetables.”

On Ryan’s emotional intelligence line, he did not know the height of the heavens and the depth of the earth, and he did not have a clear understanding of this person’s status.

So he appeared very easygoing. On the contrary, the two women were a bit nervous and restrained, smiling and not daring to say much.

The dishes at this kind of farmhouse restaurant were all simple. As long as the ingredients were fresh, simple cooking made them especially delicious. This was also why farmhouse meals were attractive.

The dishes came quickly. One plate was sweet potato leaves stir-fried with lard and garlic. The farmhouse earth stove used big fire, full of wok breath and very tasty.

Another plate was crisp wild vegetables, which should be called mountain cabbage. It was also simply stir-fried with lard and very fragrant.

“This chicken was chosen by me this morning in the neighboring fruit forest. Natural free-range chicken. Try it.”

The chicken was directly white-cut. It tasted good and even had a jelly layer. What it competed on was the quality of the chicken. This was a flavor pure farmed chicken could not produce.

Wild chives stir-fried with small river shrimp, deep-fried freshwater small fish with salt and pepper, farmhouse cured meat stir-fried with snow peas, and finally a soup stewed from wild soft-shelled turtle from the pond and pork bones.

The whole table smelled delicious. Ryan also ate with great appetite.

While eating, Ryan and Professor Arnold chatted and laughed. Talking about rural topics clearly interested him a lot.

Eating the large-pot rice, with the burnt crust aroma, after the meal all four felt their stomachs were very full and stretched.

When clearing the table, there were still some leftovers. Chicken bones were directly thrown into the pond to feed the fish. The food was taken next door to feed the chickens. Truly nothing was wasted.

“Ecological circulation!”

Professor Arnold said with emotion, “This is right. Rural areas are not only agriculture. Rural areas should have all kinds of trades.”

“There are people building houses, cutting hair, selling salted duck eggs, selling rice, selling all sorts of things. That is what you call the smoke and fire of life.”

It could be seen that the old man was in a very good mood today and very talkative, mainly because talking with Ryan matched his interests.

After the meal, the tea set was brought out again. Professor Arnold made gongfu tea and said with a smile, “Abigail, what did you ask this old man here for today?”

Only then did Abigail speak up and ask, “Arnold, you said my mom’s underlying illness and mild leukemia can be completely cured as long as there are enough funds.”

“Yes. There are many successful cases abroad, and I also know quite a few resources in this area.”

Professor Arnold nodded and said, “Our country’s equipment imports, including drug imports, are still relatively behind.”

“Now this category has already shifted from drug treatment to gene therapy, so in this mild situation there is almost no difficulty.”

Ryan spoke up and asked, “Arnold, two million dollars should be a minimum number. According to your estimate, to achieve the best treatment effect, how much money is needed, and what kind of cycle?”

Professor Arnold almost did not need to think and said, “If in here, even if you are given a gene disease plan, there are no corresponding drugs and equipment.”

“Just leukemia alone, with chronic treatment, means long-term medication, and severe cases need other auxiliary treatment.”

“I contacted several classmates in Switzerland and discussed it with them. If the cost can reach three million, then about one month can solve both illnesses together.”

After a pause, Professor Arnold said softly, “That genetic disease, it’s not necessarily going to flare up.”

When he said this, he carried hesitation. It was clearly a comforting statement. Genetic defect diseases have a probability of flaring up, and it is not low.

But once it flares up, the mortality rate is also especially high. Some are even the kind where you have money but do not have time to treat it.

So being able to treat it when it is mild and discovered early is the most ideal.

As he spoke, he thought of Meher’s economic situation. A contract worker who currently did not even own a house and rented.

Like rootless duckweed, being able to pay for leukemia treatment in here was already good. Three million dollars was completely unrealistic.

Ryan said with a smile, “Professor Arnold, is it troublesome to handle the procedures to go abroad now?”

“Normally it takes time, but if it is for medical treatment, it can be accelerated.”

Professor Arnold said with a smile, “My disciple has plenty of experience with this. If you really want to do it, he can help contact people. About one week and all the procedures can be completed.”

As a top expert and flying knife, this field unfamiliar to ordinary people was daily routine for Professor Arnold.

Ryan asked, “Arnold, then who should this fee be paid to??”

Professor Arnold was stunned for a moment, then asked uncertainly, “You mean the cost of going abroad for treatment???”

“Yes!”

Ryan nodded to confirm.