The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 469: Chapter 469: Winning People’s Hearts

Wang Danian was deeply moved by his junior brother’s help.

After eating, the two apprentice brothers grabbed the money from home, took the pastries Han Xiaorui had bought earlier, and headed straight for the hospital.

Sister-in-law Wang wore a miserable expression as she watched her child lying in the hospital bed, hoping her husband could borrow the money for his treatment.

When Sun Dayong arrived, he immediately paid one thousand yuan and said to the doctor, ”Doctor, my little nephew’s health is the priority. Use good medicine, the best treatment available. You must cure him.”

Seeing that the fee had been paid, the doctor felt comfortable prescribing the medication. After all, they were imported drugs that were quite expensive but also very effective.

Their hospital had extensive international connections, which was how they were able to acquire such effective drugs.

”Rest assured, we’re doctors. It’s our duty to do everything we can to save our patients.” The doctor was relieved. It pained them when families couldn’t afford treatment, but their own abilities were limited and their salaries modest. They were powerless to help in those situations.

The two apprentice brothers entered the hospital room. Sun Dayong saw Sister-in-law Wang and asked, ”Sister-in-law, how is Huzi?”

Seeing Sun Dayong, Sister-in-law Wang’s eyes reddened. ”Huzi’s sleeping right now,” she answered, ”but he needs treatment as soon as possible.”

”Sister-in-law, please don’t worry,” Sun Dayong reassured her. ”I’ve already paid one thousand yuan and told the doctor to do everything he can for Huzi. I’m making good money now, so you don’t need to worry.”

Hearing this, Sister-in-law Wang was filled with resentment for her husband’s master and mistress. They wouldn’t help at such a critical time, and they wouldn’t even give him a raise.

”Dayong, once Huzi is better, your senior brother and I will work to pay you back.”

Sun Dayong smiled. ”Sister-in-law, don’t worry. I’m short-staffed at my place. Once Huzi is stable, my senior brother can come work with me. He can make anywhere from several hundred to a thousand yuan a month. You won’t have to worry about the medical bills.”

Hearing this, Sister-in-law Wang turned to her husband. ”Wang Danian, I don’t care how much you feel you owe your master. I didn’t complain when your wages were low before, but now I’m going to count every single penny. Tomorrow, when my parents come to watch our son, I’m going to quit that job for you.”

”First thing tomorrow morning, you’re going home to pack your things, and then you’re going with Dayong to work at Jinshan Bay. Don’t even go near Antique Street. You’re too tongue-tied. Your mistress will just scold you with a few words and you’ll cower and not dare to fight back. This is my child’s life on the line. If you don’t listen to me, and something happens to Huzi... I’ll divorce you. I won’t live with you anymore. You can go live with your precious master and mistress.”

Wang Danian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but he understood his wife’s pain. He resented his master and mistress just as much, if not more.

”Fine, I’ll listen to you this time, okay? Don’t be so angry. You’ll wake Huzi, and he’ll start fussing again,” Wang Danian urged. ”But when you go over there, please don’t get into a fight with the master and mistress. Don’t make us a laughingstock.”

”A laughingstock? I think you’re the biggest joke of all,” Sister-in-law Wang sneered, utterly loathing her husband’s obsession with saving face.

’Five years of free labor wasn’t enough for them, and his salary is still this low.’

’If our son hadn’t gotten sick, who knows how many more years this blockhead, Wang Danian, would have kept slaving away like a workhorse!’

After checking on Huzi, Sun Dayong said his goodbyes and left.

Outside, Song Sixth’s van was still waiting.

Thinking of his senior brother, Sun Dayong felt a tangle of emotions, and he was deeply disappointed in his master and mistress.

He was starting to believe what his mom had said: that his master and mistress were playing good cop, bad cop to exploit their apprentices.

Since they felt no loyalty toward their apprentices, only a desire to exploit them, he felt the debt had been paid. He had worked for them for free for four years, and his senior brother for five.

Back at Jinshan Bay, Sun Dayong told his parents what was happening with his senior brother’s family.

Wu Yulian sighed. ”Huzi is such a good boy. How could he get so sick? We don’t have overtime tomorrow afternoon, so I’ll go to the hospital to visit him.”

”Okay. Just be careful,” Sun Dayong replied.

The next day, when Sun Dayong arrived at the craft shop, he saw his senior brother squatting by the entrance.

”Senior Brother, didn’t I tell you to wait until Huzi was doing better?” Sun Dayong’s heart ached seeing him. He likely hadn’t gotten any proper rest all night.

Wang Danian managed a smile. ”Huzi’s on his medication now. My parents and your sister-in-law are there helping out. I can’t do much at the hospital anyway, so I figured I might as well come here to work and start earning money sooner.”

Sun Dayong nodded. ”Senior Brother, come on in. I’ll go get you some breakfast.”

”No, don’t. I’m not hungry,” Wang Danian said, not wanting his junior brother to spend money on him.

”Well, I’m hungry and I’m eating. We used to skip meals because we were poor, but we’re earning money now. We can’t neglect ourselves. It’s fine when you’re young, but when you get older, all sorts of health problems start cropping up.” With that, Sun Dayong went to a breakfast stall and bought them both something to eat.

After they finished eating, the two brothers got to work.

The two apprentice brothers set to work extracting the Conch Jade. In just over an hour, they had processed five or six hundred yuan worth of material.

The two brothers worked in perfect sync, one handling the rough grinding and the other doing the fine polishing.

Wang Danian’s skill was even greater than Sun Dayong’s; the pieces he crafted had more life to them.

When Han Xiaorui came by that afternoon to check on things, she hired Wang Danian on the spot to work there.

”Your craftsmanship is excellent. You can relax and just focus on your work here. I heard your family is in urgent need of money. Here is one thousand yuan; I’ll advance it to you. You can pay me back from your salary and commission at the end of the month.”

Hearing this, Wang Danian’s eyes reddened with gratitude. ”Thank you so much, President Han! This money will save my child’s life!”

Han Xiaorui had four children of her own; she knew they were your very flesh and blood.

She would rather suffer any hardship herself than see her children wronged.

”Focus on getting your son the best treatment. If you run into any more trouble, don’t hesitate to tell me. However, we’re pretty far from the city center here. If you want to get more rest, you’ll need to rent a place nearby.”

Sun Dayong smiled. ”President Han, don’t worry! My mom has already rented a house for my senior brother! Once Huzi is stable and the doctor says he can be discharged, his wife can bring Huzi over and work here too.”

”She could weave ribbon tassels or Chinese knots. Even without a formal job, she could earn a good eighty or ninety yuan a month doing piecework. Plus, the family of three could all be together.”

Hearing that everything was already arranged, Han Xiaorui nodded with a smile. ”Excellent! Since you’ve already thought it all through, I have nothing more to add!”

After Han Xiaorui left, Wang Danian stared at the 1,000 yuan in his hands, which were trembling slightly.

”Junior Brother, President Han is such a good person!”

Sun Dayong smiled. ”Since you feel that way, then just focus on doing good, steady work here. Things aren’t complicated on our end. This is all there is to it.”

Wang Danian nodded. ”Okay! I can still catch the last bus. I’m going to take this money to the hospital and tell your sister-in-law not to hesitate to spend it. You’ve had a long day too, you should stop working.”

Sun Dayong nodded. ”Alright, Senior Brother, you go on ahead! I’ll clean up here. Don’t rush in so early again tomorrow. You’ll run yourself into the ground!”

Wang Danian grinned. ”As long as I have the money to treat my son, a little hardship and exhaustion are nothing! My heart isn’t weary!”

When Wang Danian rushed to the hospital, he saw two long scratches on his wife’s face. ”Did the mistress hit you?”

Sister-in-law Wang shook her head, not wanting to upset her husband. ”She didn’t hit me. When the mistress heard you were quitting, she got furious and just scratched me.”