Chapter 37: Shazhu Lowers His Head to Seek Medical Help, Chen Mo Makes an Outrageous Demand

"Sure."

Chen Mo said this word with such nonchalance that it left Sha Zhu completely stunned.

He had prepared a bellyful of arguments—speeches about how "enemies should be reconciled rather than knotted," appeals to the "benevolent heart of a doctor," and he had even readied five yuan, planning to shove it into Chen Mo's hand if he refused.

In the end, not a single word was needed.

Chen Mo had just... agreed?

"You... you really agreed?" Sha Zhu asked, unable to believe his ears.

"When did I say I wouldn't?" Chen Mo countered. "I am a doctor; saving the dying and healing the wounded is my duty. Regardless of who the patient is, as long as the family comes to ask, I have no reason to refuse."

His words were delivered with such high-minded, righteous, and impeccable tone that Sha Zhu felt a momentary sense of bewilderment.

Could it be that he had truly misunderstood him all this time? Was he actually a good person?

Just as a flicker of gratitude arose in Sha Zhu's heart, Chen Mo’s next sentence pulled him straight back to reality.

"However, I can treat him, but it must be on my terms."

Chen Mo held up one finger.

"First, I do not make house calls. If you want him treated, have Qin Huairu carry Bang Geng to my house. I have no desire to set foot inside your Jias' unlucky threshold again."

Sha Zhu opened his mouth, wanting to explain that Bang Geng’s condition was poor and to ask if there could be any flexibility. But seeing the unwavering expression on Chen Mo's face, he swallowed his words.

"Second," Chen Mo raised a second finger, "the consultation fee. When I treated Factory Manager Yang’s son, the fee was one hundred yuan per visit. Considering that we are neighbors, I’ll give you a discount."

Sha Zhu felt a surge of hope and quickly asked, "How much of a discount?"

Chen Mo smiled faintly.

"No discount. It’s also one hundred yuan."

"What?!" Sha Zhu’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. "One hundred yuan?! Why don't you just rob me!"

One hundred yuan!

In this day and age, for an ordinary worker's family, that was an astronomical figure!

As a cafeteria chef, his monthly salary was only thirty-seven yuan and fifty cents. Qin Huairu’s was even less, at twenty-seven yuan and fifty cents. They would have to go without food or drink for three months just to scrape that amount together.

"Rob you?" Chen Mo chuckled.

"He Yuzhu, get your situation straight. Right now, it is you begging me, not the other way around. My medical expertise is worth this price. If you think it’s too expensive, you don’t have to get him treated. It’s not my son who’s the fool, anyway."

He picked up his teacup and slowly blew away the steam, looking entirely indifferent as to whether they chose to proceed or not.

Sha Zhu’s face flushed red, his fists clenching until they cracked. He wanted to curse, he wanted to lash out, but he knew it was useless. Chen Mo was right; they were the ones begging for help.

"Furthermore," Chen Mo added, as if remembering something, "that one hundred yuan is just the consultation fee. The medicinal herbs needed during the treatment—things like century-old ginseng or millennium-old lingzhi—are priced separately. And those herbs are incredibly rare; you can’t buy them on the market, you can only buy them from me."

Sha Zhu felt his scalp go numb. This wasn't medical treatment; this was stripping the flesh from the bone!

He finally understood why Chen Mo had agreed so readily. He wasn't a good person; he was waiting right here! He intended to use this method to completely drain the Jia family and Qin Huairu dry.

"Chen Mo, you... you are too ruthless!" Sha Zhu squeezed the words through his teeth.

"Ruthless?" Chen Mo set down his teacup and looked at him. "When Bang Geng used an awl to try and stab me to death, why didn't you call him ruthless? When Qin Huairu plotted to frame me and ruin my reputation, why didn't you call her ruthless?"

"I am simply taking back what I am owed, and collecting a bit of interest along the way."

"I am a man who has always been fair. An eye for an eye."

Sha Zhu was rendered speechless by his retort. He knew that everything Chen Mo said was the truth. But where were they supposed to get one hundred yuan?

"If you have no money, go scrape it together," Chen Mo said, as if reading his mind. "Isn't Qin Huairu good at calculating? Doesn't the Jia matriarch have a lot of private savings? Aren't you, He Yuzhu, very generous? If you pool the money from the three of you, it should be just about enough."

"If that fails, you can always borrow. I’m sure that with Qin Huairu’s popularity in the courtyard, borrowing a hundred yuan or so shouldn't be difficult, right?"

Every word from Chen Mo was like a knife stabbing into Sha Zhu’s heart. He knew Chen Mo was intentionally humiliating them.

Sha Zhu walked out of the infirmary, feeling hollow. He didn't know how he was going to face Qin Huairu.

When he returned to the courtyard, he saw Qin Huairu sitting by the door, waiting for him with anxious eyes. Seeing him return, she immediately rushed over, her face filled with hope.

"How was it? Zhuzi, did he... did he agree?"

Sha Zhu looked at her haggard face and her hopeful eyes, and for a moment, he didn't know how to begin. After a long silence, he said with great difficulty: "He agreed. But..."

He recounted all of the conditions Chen Mo had set.

After hearing them, the color drained from Qin Huairu’s face completely. One hundred yuan? And extra for the medicine? She let out a miserable, hollow laugh, as if she had just heard the most absurd joke in the world.

"Heh... hehehe..."

As she laughed, tears began to stream down her face.

"He is trying to force us to our deaths... he is trying to force our Jia family to die..."

She collapsed onto the ground, letting out a wail of despair. Seeing her like this, Sha Zhu felt as if his heart were being sliced. He knelt down, gripped her shoulders, and gritted his teeth. "Sister Qin, don't cry! I'll figure out the money!"

"I... I still have some savings, and I can go to the factory and ask for an advance on two months' salary! If that's not enough, I'll borrow from my sister! If all else fails, I'll sell the old furniture in my house! I will scrape together that one hundred yuan for you!"

Sha Zhu’s words gradually quieted her sobbing. She looked up at him, her eyes clouded with tears.

"Zhuzi... you..."

"Sister Qin, say no more." Sha Zhu wiped his face, his voice raspy. "I cannot just stand by and watch Bang Geng be ruined. As long as I can save him, I'll do anything!"

In that moment, Sha Zhu seemed to radiate that old "God of War of the Courtyard" glow once again. Although, that glow was so foolish, so blind.

Qin Huairu looked at him, her heart filled with complex emotions—gratitude, guilt, and a trace of subtle, manipulative opportunism. She knew that Sha Zhu was the only life-saving straw she had left to grasp.

"Zhuzi, thank you," she said, choking back sobs. "I will never be able to repay your kindness in this lifetime..."

"Sister Qin, we're family," Sha Zhu said with an honest, simple smile.

He did not know what a heavy price he would pay to scrape together that one hundred yuan.

And Chen Mo had already anticipated all of this. He wanted to make Sha Zhu go bankrupt and be abandoned by everyone for the sake of Qin Huairu. He wanted this pathetic, mindless sycophant to pay the heaviest price for everything he had done in the past.