LAVW – Chapter 103 Chen Niu Takes the Blow

Xu Youguang tried to explain: “It wasn’t me who brought it in—it brought me in.”

“Little comrade, look, it was walking in front!”

Shi Qian: …

Well, that was indeed a very “convincing” reason.

But humans wouldn’t believe it.

“How is that possible? Still trying to argue!” The young nurse’s impression of Xu Youguang worsened as she glared at him.

Just as the argument was about to escalate, Shi Qian spotted a familiar girl—it was one of the sisters he and Chen Niu had saved that day.

Shi Qian quickly trotted over to the girl, trying to use his face as a pass: “Moo?”

Remember me?

Come help me out.

The girl, dressed in her work uniform, brightened immediately. “Qian Niuhua!” she called out, then turned to stop her coworker. “Sister Li, I know them, I know them—let me handle it.”

“Oh, it’s that cow.” Recognizing Shi Qian, the nurse hesitated. “But if it dirties the ward, you’ll be responsible for cleaning.”

“I’ll take full responsibility, Sister Li, don’t worry.”

With someone who knew them and with the roommates’ approval, Shi Qian finally managed to step into the ward.

Shi Qian walked to the bedside. He didn’t even need to lift his head—just lowered it slightly to speak to the old lady: “Moo—”

Grandma, are you feeling any better?

Zhang Peyue forced a smile but couldn’t stop coughing. “Cough, cough—nothing serious, just dizzy.”

Shi Qian didn’t believe that at all. He turned to observe Chen Niu and Lin Nanyin.

Chen Niu’s expression looked calm, but there was no sign of ease, so Shi Qian couldn’t relax either.

Then he looked at Lin Nanyin. She also forced a smile, but the worry between her brows couldn’t be hidden.

Shi Qian turned back to the old lady, eyes filled with dissatisfaction: “Moo moo.”

Liar.

The old lady laughed, wanting to reach out and pet the little yellow cow who suddenly seemed much larger.

But she barely lifted her hand before the strength left her, and she had to put it down again.

“Moo—”

Chen Niu, you tell me.

Shi Qian walked over to Chen Niu, wanting to hear the truth. Even if it wasn’t good news, he wanted to know.

Xu Youguang, having taken over the calf-sitting duty, sat on the stool beside the bed and comforted the old lady, telling her not to worry about home.

Shi Qian nudged Chen Niu, urging him to talk.

But the guy opened his mouth with no sound coming out, then glanced pitifully at Lin Nanyin.

After spending time around Qian Niuhua, Lin Nanyin increasingly felt the calf understood a lot and often behaved very human-like.

Seeing its expressive eyes, she softened and reached out to pat its head.

“Grandma Chen woke up yesterday. She got her injections, the fever has gone down, but she keeps feeling dizzy. No appetite at all, can’t eat.”

Brain injuries are unpredictable—sometimes even with an opening or hole in the skull people survive fine; other times, a small wound can become a major problem.

With the current medical standards, both drugs and equipment were crude.

Faced with such uncertain symptoms, Lin Nanyin felt helpless and deeply worried.

Chen Niu made a small “mm.”

Shi Qian’s anxiety solidified. He turned back and, like Xu Youguang, kept his spirits up in front of the old lady, keeping the lively demeanor he usually had around Zhang Peyue.

He nudged Xu Youguang to make space so he could lie down.

Lying on the side like this, the old lady could easily reach out and pet his head with just a small movement.

Zhang Peyue’s mood improved a little. She listened to Xu Youguang talk for a while, and asked whether Shi Qian had come on his own.

Xu Youguang nodded. “Yes. I left Qian Niuhua with Aigang, but as soon as I stepped out today, I ran into it sneaking out—it was waiting at the village entrance.”

“When it saw me, it seemed to remember the way and just walked over on its own. It really brought me here, I swear I didn’t lie!”

He didn’t know Shi Qian had been lying in wait like a hunter.

Shi Qian had overheard Xu Youguang mention going to the county hospital and, not wanting the Xu family to worry about a missing cow, waited for him.

Xu Youguang then retold Qian Niuhua’s sneaky maneuvers earlier. After that, he gratefully thanked the little nurse for her help.

The girl shook her head instead, thanking Chen Niu and Shi Qian.

Shi Qian noticed she kept glancing at Chen Niu, but unfortunately, Chen Niu didn’t react at all.

He turned to look at the old lady with big clear eyes and blinked.

Zhang Peyue smiled and gave a small secret nod.

Smart people and smart cows could communicate with their eyes.

But Chen Niu hadn’t unlocked that skill. He could only fetch water and assure the girl that his cow was trained and wouldn’t cause trouble.

The girl relaxed and went back to work.

After a while, Zhang Peyue got sleepy again and fell asleep.

Xu Youguang had things to do and left, promising to pick up Shi Qian in the afternoon to head home together.

By noon, Shi Qian finally learned how serious the old lady’s loss of appetite was.

Anything touching her mouth made her nauseous; she had no desire to eat at all.

She could only force down a little sugar water.

But she couldn’t survive on sugar water alone.

Although she knew it wasn’t good, she tried—only to vomit even after half a bowl of plain porridge. Even the sugar water came back up, leaving her looking extremely weak and pitiful.

The county hospital doctors were worried. They spoke to the family—Chen Niu—telling him this couldn’t continue and he should be mentally prepared.

Chen Niu nodded heavily. Feeling helpless, he asked:

“Doctor, if I take my grandma to the city hospital, will they have better medicine that can help her eat?”

The doctor glanced at him. “City hospital? That’ll cost a lot.”

“That’s fine.” Thinking of the golden bowl Qian Niuhua had produced, Chen Niu felt more confident. “Please, doctor, I just want to know if there’s better medicine.”

“No problem. I’ll ask around for you. It’s good you’re so filial.”

With a kind demeanor, the doctor went to consult someone.

Grateful, Chen Niu then gathered the courage to ask Lin Nanyin if she could help him ask around—he knew her family had connections in hospitals.

Though they were in Beijing, far away, they were still the closest access to medical people he had.

He felt embarrassed but pushed the words out.

At this moment, his dignity in front of the girl he liked mattered far less than something far more important—protecting and keeping the person he cherished.

Lin Nanyin scratched her head. “I already called. My mom said she can ask her classmate. Her classmate is at the provincial hospital, and that classmate’s student is at the city hospital. But since it’s passing through so many people, we haven’t gotten a reply yet.”

Chen Niu froze.

He hadn’t expected she’d already asked.

He blinked and turned away, slightly choked up. “Comrade Lin, th-thank you.”

“You’re really a good person.”

Lin Nanyin replied, “You’re a good person too. Helping each other—that’s how it should be.”

She also kept Chen Niu’s kindness close to her heart. She’d stayed at the hospital for two days now—something completely out of character for her.

But thinking of all the quiet, thoughtful help Chen Niu had given her, especially with the Zhao Kang matter, she felt she should do more.

If it weren’t for his persistence and Qian Niuhua’s unexpected action, who would have realized that the security captain was stealing?

Otherwise, she would have lived in fear, unable to settle down.

Chen Niu shook his head. “That was nothing. Your help to me is far greater. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have known how to take care of people properly.”

And so, the two people—neither very good at expressing themselves—fell into a loop of mutual gratitude.

Until Lin Nanyin, flustered, broke the cycle by suggesting they return to the ward.

When Chen Niu stepped into the hospital room, Shi Qian—who had been lying beside the bed—twitched his ears twice.

He swore he wasn’t intentionally eavesdropping.

It was just that his ears were too good; in a quiet environment, he simply couldn’t ignore the soft conversation happening just one wall away.

To cover up the fact that he could hear everything, Shi Qian waited a moment before pulling Chen Niu away to look for the bathroom.

Lin Nanyin stayed behind to watch over the elderly lady, so she didn’t know that Shi Qian had taken out two more gold bowls to keep Chen Niu in check.

“Moo moo.”

Take these and exchange them for money.

Chen Niu still wanted to continue treating Zhang Peyue, so naturally, he needed more money.

Going back to retrieve more gold bowls would waste time, so Shi Qian simply gave him two more.

Chen Niu hurriedly stored the two gleaming golden bowls away, looking at the little cow in shock and gratitude.

This had to be Qian Niuhua’s own treasured savings.

And yet he was willing to give them up for the old lady’s treatment. It really showed that the old lady’s kindness toward him wasn’t wasted, and also reflected Qian Niuhua’s good heart.

Qian Niuhua didn’t even consider whether he might get greedy for money.

Chen Niu felt deeply that although he was unfortunate, he was also incredibly lucky.

He had the care and help of fellow villagers like Xu Youguang, the silent support of Lin Nanyin, and the wholehearted backing of Qian Niuhua…

“Qian Niuhua, consider these as money I’m borrowing from you.” Chen Niu half-squatted and hugged Shi Qian’s neck. “I’ll definitely treat you well from now on.”

In his simple mind, this meant he had to treat Qian Niuhua like an ancestor from now on.

Pamper him more, treat him better.

Shi Qian nudged him: “Moo moo.”

Alright, alright, don’t be so mushy—go handle your business.

Shi Qian couldn’t help much with other things; only these few gold bowls could be of use.

Thank goodness he still had them—at least they could be exchanged for money to get treatment for the old lady.

Soon after, both the doctor and Lin Nanyin received the same news—there should be better medicine available in the city hospital.

On Lin Nanyin’s side, she managed to contact a doctor there.

After learning the details, she found out the medicine was imported. It was extremely expensive, and the effects weren’t guaranteed.

Considering all aspects, Chen Niu could leave Zhang Peyue at the county hospital and go to the city hospital himself to pick up the medicine and bring it back. The old lady probably couldn’t endure the bumpy journey, so it was better to wait for the medicine to come.

And so, Chen Niu—who had never been to the city—took two gold bowls and headed there.

Once he arrived, he first had to go to the black market to exchange them for cash.

If he sold them in the county’s black market, people could easily trace things back to him, which would cause serious trouble later. But an unfamiliar black market in an unfamiliar city wasn’t exactly safe either.

He had left in a hurry and hadn’t received the pooled money that Xu Youguang was sending over. Only Lin Nanyin—because she was close by—had stuffed all the money she had on her into his hands.

But after calculating carefully, it still wasn’t enough.

Not knowing how Chen Niu would handle the money issue, Lin Nanyin called home and asked to borrow some.

On the other end, her mother said in confusion: “Borrow more money? That much? What’s your relationship with this person?”

“Mom, he helped me—a whole lot.”

“Is he your boyfriend? Be honest. Mom’s not old-fashioned. As long as he’s a good person, it’s fine.”

Lin Nanyin wanted to crawl into the phone line: “Mom, he’s really not. He’s just… a very good comrade. Please, Mom, he’s really taken good care of me.”

Her mother asked a few more questions, then finally said: “Nanyin, the family can lend you half of it. But you need to be prepared to lose that money. From what I know, the clinical effect of imported medicine only lasts for a while, and sometimes it doesn’t work at all.”

“Mom, I wouldn’t ask unless I’d thought it through. Thank you for supporting me.”

After borrowing the money, Lin Nanyin slapped her forehead.

She had no idea how to reach Chen Niu.

So she gathered her courage and thickened her skin, calling the city hospital to ask that doctor—her mother’s classmate’s student—for help.

That person was straightforward: “Ah, that young man? He already took the medicine and left. But it looked like he got hurt—he wrapped himself in a big roll of bandages before coming here to pick up the medicine.”

Lin Nanyin’s imagination filled in the blanks—her dreams that night were full of bloody scenes.

She was anxious on the first day, and when Xu Youguang came with Shi Qian, she hugged the little cow—who supposedly didn’t understand anything—and vented.

Shi Qian, who understood everything: Aaaah!!

Add him to the anxiety list too.

Especially since he could guess exactly what happened—Chen Niu must’ve gone to sell the gold bowls—which made him even more worried.

Surely Chen Niu didn’t get stabbed in the black market?

On the first day, when Chen Niu returned wrapped in bandages and stuffed with cash notes, Shi Qian’s suspicions hit their peak.

After giving the medicine to the old lady and waiting for the effects, Shi Qian secretly scratched out a note: “Rob the black market.”

Lin Nanyin had gone to rest, and the other bed’s patient had been discharged.

Seeing the old lady still asleep, Chen Niu nodded.

He had been attacked by robbers. With no choice, he pulled off a reverse robbery and robbed the black market thugs instead.

The price was getting injured, but he kept the gold bowls and even got a pile of cash.

Shi Qian, receiving the returned gold bowls: …

You muscle-heads sure are strong.