The man clutched his head and screamed miserably. Chen Ge turned and pushed open the door: "Come in quickly and take a look — what's wrong with this guy?"
The two older women peered into the room. The burly Jiang Dawu was clutching both ears and rolling around on the ground.
"He was about to smash me with a beer bottle just now, and then suddenly he started doing this. Gave me quite a scare." Chen Ge sidled behind the two women. "You both know I only just walked in a few minutes ago. You don't think he's trying to scam me, do you?"
"With a guy like him, there's nothing he wouldn't pull. But don't worry — we'll back you up. We won't let someone who stood up for what's right get treated coldly." Sister Li looked down on Jiang Dawu and hated him from the bottom of her heart.
Both women stood nearby watching. It was the first time any of them had seen anything like this.
"Why don't we call an ambulance? Just letting him roll around on the ground like this isn't going to solve anything. Once the doctor gets here, we can sort everything out," Chen Ge suggested.
"You're too soft-hearted. Don't bother with someone like him — let him suffer a little longer." Sister Mei had a sharp tongue but a kind heart, and after a while she still dialed the emergency number.
The ambulance came and took Jiang Dawu away. Jiang Ming's mother walked over to Chen Ge holding that letter, her hands gesturing constantly, seeming to want to explain something.
"Don't rush." The woman couldn't hear him when he spoke, so he pulled the older woman nearby aside. "Sister Li, I've actually known about their family's situation for a while now. Could we find somewhere to sit down and talk?"
"Sure." The two sisters led Chen Ge and Jiang Ming's mother back to the neighborhood committee office, where they found paper and a pen and set them on the table.
"Take your time. Let me help you piece things together." Chen Ge picked up the pen and started writing on the paper — this was the only way the two of them could communicate. "I know you do water embroidery, and you can support yourself with it and even save up some money. Do you remember who taught you water embroidery?"
When she saw what he had written on the paper, Jiang Ming's mother was visibly stunned. She picked up the pen but didn't know what to write.
"You should remember the old woman who lived on the second floor of the apartment building. I'm her family. Before she passed away, her biggest worry was Jiang Ming — she adored that little boy." Everything Chen Ge wrote was the truth. The old woman had since been added to his comic album and would go on to live in his haunted house, so she was naturally Chen Ge's family now.
The mention of the old woman set Jiang Ming's mother's emotions surging again. This was already the second time she had broken down in tears since seeing Chen Ge.
"The unhappy times are behind you now. From now on, you're going to raise Jiang Ming and live a happy life." Chen Ge then turned to the two older women. "The cochlear implant surgery — the sooner the better. I've prepared a hundred and fifty thousand. I'll also get in touch with the doctor as soon as possible, but I've got a lot on my plate, so in the follow-up I might need the community to pitch in and help."
"That's more than enough. The community and the Women's Federation already know about her family's situation and will provide a subsidy."
"Right. Regardless, everyone just wants things to get better and better for them." Chen Ge didn't actually know how much money was on his card. He hadn't counted the haunted house's income over the past few months, but it was definitely no less than two hundred thousand.
In a few more days the Dark Fetus mission would end. If everything went smoothly, he could earn even more money. If something went wrong, then it didn't matter how much was saved in his card.
Chen Ge wasn't the stingy type — he just wanted every yuan spent where it counted.
"Give me a moment." Chen Ge pulled out his phone and dialed a number for a hospital in Xinhai.
After explaining the situation, he made an online appointment with the doctor Wei Jiuqing had recommended. The doctor's surname was Fang — Fang Ziming.