The bonfire in the brazier reignited, and Lin Fan poured out the remaining ginger soup from his kettle, refilling it with water and placing it on the rack.
"Uncle and Aunt, please eat something first. When the water boils, I'll make tea for you," Lin Fan said warmly.
"No need for such trouble." Xia Xiangqian, uncharacteristically, didn't argue today. His gaze darted away, as if he had something on his mind.
Xia Cui'e looked around at the simple surroundings with a worried expression. "Xiao Fan, why haven't you tidied this place up a bit? At least put up a ceiling, and scrape the walls for plaster. My old man knows how to do this kind of work; perhaps he could do it for you."
"No need," Lin Fan replied, shaking his head. "This is a clinic, where I treat patients. Fancy decorations are useless. Patients care about our skill."
"I see your old house was torn down and a two-story building was built. That must have cost a lot of money?" Xia Cui'e asked.
"Not much," Lin Fan said modestly.
He suddenly froze. Were these old folks here about money?
"Uncle and Aunt, have you encountered any difficulties?"
Lin Fan brought over a small stool and sat down opposite the elderly couple.
At once, their faces changed, and they immediately denied it.
"No, no, we're old. What difficulties could we possibly have?"
"That's right. The earth is already up to our necks; we've seen it all."
The couple shook their heads like rattlers.
Lin Fan understood.
This old couple definitely had something going on!
They just weren't comfortable or willing to tell him.
Never mind, he'd wait until his sister-in-law arrived.
The three of them chatted about family matters, and Lin Fan took the opportunity to check Xia Cui'e's health.
He found that apart from common chronic ailments for the elderly, her body was otherwise healthy.
The only issues were recent loss of appetite, insomnia, night sweats, and mental confusion.
Creak!
The clinic door was pushed open forcefully, and Xia Xue ran in, braving the light rain.
"Dad, Mom, why didn't you let me know you were coming?"
Not having visited her parents for a long time, Xia Xue's face lit up with joy.
"Xue'er..."
The elderly couple's eyes were filled with loving affection as they saw their daughter.
"Sister-in-law, please entertain them. I'll go prepare medicine for Aunt." With that, Lin Fan walked behind the counter and began to sort out herbs.
"Mom, are you sick?" Xia Xue looked at her mother with concern.
"It's nothing serious, dear. Don't worry. I've just been sleeping poorly lately." Xia Cui'e smiled.
"Mom, is something bothering you?" Xia Xue sat down between her parents.
Seeing Lin Fan carrying the medicinal herbs to the back courtyard, the elderly couple finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Dad, Mom, what's going on?" Xia Xue urged them anxiously.
"Old man, you tell her," Xia Cui'e said, a hint of complaint in her voice.
"I, I..." Xia Xiangqian stammered for a long time, then shook his head. "Old woman, you tell her."
Xia Cui'e huffed, "That's your family's business. Why should I tell her? I can't bring myself to say it."
"Dad!" Xia Xue glared at her father, annoyed.
The couple had come out in the rain, yet they were beating around the bush, refusing to say anything, which was infuriating.
Xia Xiangqian took out his pipe from his pocket, then took tobacco from a small cloth pouch hanging from the top, filling the bowl tightly and pressing it down with his thumb.
He tilted the pipe towards the bonfire and took two deep puffs, exhaling plumes of white smoke.
"Dad, did you come all the way here just to smoke?" Xia Xue asked displeased.
Seeing her husband's difficulty, Xia Cui'e couldn't bear it and spoke. "Xue'er, do you remember your eldest uncle?"
"Of course, I remember." Xia Xue nodded gently.
In truth, she didn't have a strong impression of her eldest uncle, only remembering her eldest aunt's perpetually stern face.
Especially after she got married. Once, when she happened to meet her eldest aunt in town, her eldest aunt, carrying a pile of fruit, stood and chatted for a long time, but never offered her any of the fruit or invited her home.
"It's all because of this old donkey!"
Xia Cui'e pointed at her husband, her fingers trembling with anger. "He doesn't work, he doesn't laze around, he goes drinking, and when he's drunk, he doesn't know who he is."
Xia Xue frowned. "Mom, what exactly is wrong with Dad?"
"Your eldest uncle's son's first wife ran off with someone else. Now he's found a new one, who's from the city and has high demands. She wants your eldest uncle's family to buy a house in the city."
Xia Cui'e became angrier as she spoke, her face growing increasingly grim.
"They didn't know what to say, so they brought up Xiao Fan, saying he's rich now. They spoke freely, and the other party took it to heart. They got your father drunk and he blurted out about borrowing money..."
"My father agreed." Xia Xue guessed the outcome.
Xia Cui'e slapped her thigh in anger. "They asked for two hundred thousand yuan! Your father and I have been poor our whole lives; where are we supposed to get so much money?"
"If it doesn't work out, the two of us might as well drink poison and hang ourselves. This life is unbearable!" Xia Cui'e said, her eyes welling up with tears.
"Dad, why did you agree to lend them money? Don't you know we don't have any?" Xia Xue echoed her mother's helplessness.
"I..." Xia Xiangqian only managed one word before falling silent. He took another deep puff of his pipe, exhaling a long stream of smoke.
With a bitter expression, he explained, "I was drunk, and besides, your cousin is the only male heir of the old Xia family. When his ex-wife left, she took the child with her. I couldn't just watch him become heirless."
"Being heirless is what your family deserves!" Xia Cui'e snorted coldly. "Hmph, anyway, I have Xue'er. If she has a few more children later, we can have one of them adopted into your family."
"..." Xia Xue was speechless.
After a moment, she said gravely, "Dad, how much money do we have left?"
"Your mother and I actually saved some money over the years. Two years ago, your mother had a bad stomach and spent over twenty thousand yuan for treatment in the city hospital. We have thirty thousand left at home now," Xia Xiangqian sighed.
"Your uncle's family wants to borrow two hundred thousand. That's a huge shortfall," Xia Xue said.
"Daughter, if you have spare money, lend it to your cousin first. If their family doesn't repay, I'll repay you this amount."
Xia Xiangqian thought for a moment, then added, "If you don't have enough money, then forget it."
When Lin Fan had asked earlier, he hadn't been able to bring himself to say it.
He felt ashamed!
When the Lin family was poor, he had adamantly refused to let his daughter marry into it.
Now, coming to borrow money, and such a large sum of two hundred thousand, how could he have the nerve?
"Dad." Xia Xue stood up and pointed towards their home, her expression serious. "All the money our family has was used to build the house. It's a two-story building, not a simple flat."
Xia Xiangqian lowered his head deeply.
He distinctly remembered his own harsh words back then: "Your family can't even afford to build a new house; your old house is like a dog kennel. How can you possibly marry my daughter?"
Whether his daughter had done it intentionally or not, he felt terrible.
"The house isn't even renovated yet. Every penny I have is accounted for." Xia Xue showed no leniency to her father.
Xia Xiangqian nodded repeatedly, muttering, "Forget it, forget it..."
"Don't talk about not having money. Even if I did, I wouldn't lend it."
Xia Xue said earnestly, "If you two elders encounter any difficulties, I will spare no effort to help you. But I can't concern myself with your eldest uncle's family, and I have nothing to do with my cousin."
"Daughter, we didn't really plan to borrow your money. Just saying it is enough to tell your eldest uncle. We don't owe them anything," Xia Cui'e said.
"Sister-in-law, what's wrong?" At this moment, Lin Fan walked in with several packets of herbs. Seeing the tense atmosphere, he asked with concern.