Chapter 143: What is your perspective?

With Liu Pandi taking the lead in suggesting they continue the discussion in the evening, the other educated youths chimed in with their agreement.

They also felt that talking it over later was more appropriate, as it would give them time to confer privately.

Hearing about Du Yong's situation, it sounded quite miserable; thirty or fifty yuan probably wouldn't even be enough to fix it.

This matter needed a thorough discussion.

Wu Qi scratched his head in exasperation. If they waited until evening to discuss it, what would happen to Du Yong today? Would he continue sleeping on the hospital floor?

He wanted to say a few more words, but the educated youths had already turned to leave, needing time to think things through carefully.

No one's money blew in with the wind; they had to figure out exactly how much they could spare to pitch in.

Giving too much was out of the question, but giving too little would look petty. It was best to hash out a reasonable amount.

Faced with the empty courtyard, Wu Qi scratched his head once more, realizing that his own weight carried little and no one respected him all that much.

He felt a surge of anger, though he had no idea where to direct it.

His eyes drifted back to Xu Lin. Remembering what Du Yong had said at the hospital, he felt it was necessary to have a talk with her.

After all, they were all educated youths together—bound by a shared destiny, where one's honor was everyone's honor, and one's loss was everyone's loss.

After taking a few steps, Wu Qi remembered that the female educated youths weren't under his direct purview, so he turned back to find Liu Pandi, hoping she would accompany him.

Qian Li quickly ran over to Xu Lin's side, nervously tugging at her sleeve and asking pitifully:

"Am I going to become the next Du Yong?"

"As long as your willpower is strong enough and your vigilance is high, you won't become the next Du Yong."

Xu Lin stirred the medicine pot, sniffed the aroma, and decided it was almost ready.

"Really? I will definitely be very vigilant. I am determined not to develop any favorable feelings toward Qin Fang, and I will absolutely never agree to lend away my fortune."

This time, Qian Li was genuinely terrified; she had no desire to turn into a bad-luck charm.

"Having determination is a good thing. From now on, don't walk alone with Qin Fang either. That one hides deep."

Hearing Xu Lin's words, Qian Li nodded repeatedly in agreement. Indeed, Qin Fang hid deep—she had personally witnessed Qin Fang kick a boulder flying with a single strike.

That was certainly not something an ordinary person could do.

After a brief exchange, Xu Lin urged Qian Li to hurry back and cook, reminding her that she needed to rest after eating.

Xu Lin figured the medicine was nearly ready and planned to make another trip to the thatched shed in the evening.

She still needed to go to the county town tomorrow, so she should ask the production team leader for leave after knocking off work tonight.

Tsk, how lucky she was to be assigned to this production brigade where asking for leave was so easy—truly liberating.

Xu Lin was feeling quite pleased when she saw Wu Qi and Liu Pandi walking toward her side by side. Observing their expressions, neither looked particularly pleasant.

Were they here to pick a fight?

Xu Lin frowned, feeling a mild annoyance. Tsk, it seemed that even living alone couldn't completely shield one from trouble, unless she moved out of the educated youth compound.

Moving out—now that wasn't entirely out of the question.

Trouble hadn't even arrived at her doorstep yet, and Xu Lin was already contemplating moving out. She simply didn't want to be entangled in endless hassles; she just wanted to lie flat and live the life of a salted fish.

"Educated Youth Xu, is the medicine ready?" Liu Pandi called out as she approached.

"Not yet, it needs another ten minutes or so. Do you two need something?" Xu Lin asked, her gaze not lingering on either of them.

"Educated Youth Wu wants to talk to you," Liu Pandi said, taking a step back and pushing Wu Qi forward, which left him glaring at her in frustration.

Hadn't they agreed that Pandi would do the questioning?

"Oh, does Educated Youth Wu have business with me?" Xu Lin asked, finally raising her eyes to look at Wu Qi.

Her gaze was so clear and piercing that it made Wu Qi rather embarrassed. Subconsciously, he pushed up his glasses before replying.

"I just wanted to ask why you didn't stop to help Educated Youth Du yesterday when you saw him get injured and fall."

"So it's about that." Xu Lin gave the medicine pot another stir. "When I ran into him yesterday, he was already being carried carefully toward the hospital.

I actually wanted to stop my bicycle and lend a hand, but the problem was that he didn't appreciate it and outright cursed, asking what business it was of his."

Xu Lin tilted her head to look at Wu Qi. "Since it was none of my business, why should I subject myself to a cold reception? I'm not that thick-skinned."

The phrase "thick-skinned" made the muscles in Wu Qi's face twitch, as he felt it was a thinly veiled insult directed at him.

Yet, Du Yong truly hadn't mentioned that the two of them had argued.

"Perhaps he was just in a bad mood because he was injured." Wu Qi wanted to make excuses for Du Yong, but before he could finish, Xu Lin cut him off.

"His bad mood isn't something I caused, so why should he take it out on me? Besides, helping is a matter of goodwill, while not helping is a matter of course.

Whether to help or not is my freedom. Does Educated Youth Wu wish to infringe upon my freedom?"

Xu Lin raised an eyebrow and looked Wu Qi up and down. "Educated Youth Wu surely doesn't have the authority for that."

Her blunt words caused Wu Qi to flush with embarrassment. However, if it came to arguing with a woman, he suspected he wouldn't come out on top.

Most importantly, the aggressive intensity in Xu Lin's eyes made Wu Qi too intimidated to press the issue.

Standing nearby, Liu Pandi shrank her neck in amusement. True to her reputation as a ruthless individual brave enough to sever ties with her family, Xu Lin's words and actions were remarkably direct and decisive.

She truly didn't spare anyone an ounce of face.

Liu Pandi knew she could never pull that off herself, but watching it was immensely satisfying.

"Educated Youth Wu, I know you harbor no malicious intent, but I must remind you: you have no standing to question me on this matter. What do you think?"

Wu Qi: ...... What could he possibly say?

Xu Lin had managed to phrase everything—both reasonable and unreasonable points—so thoroughly that Wu Qi realized he hadn't actually spoken much at all, with Xu Lin carrying the entire conversation.

Yet, inexplicably, he felt that everything she said made complete sense. How on earth did that happen?

Unable to help himself, Wu Qi rubbed his face, readjusted his glasses, and decided to switch topics.

"Educated Youth Xu, I'll set that aside for now. What are your thoughts on the matter of raising money for Educated Youth Du's medical treatment?"

"I'll stand and watch," Xu Lin pointed at the medicine pot before her. "A single dose of medicine costs several yuan, and I have to take this kind of medicine regularly. What are your thoughts on that, Educated Youth Wu?"

Wu Qi: ...... Should he stand and watch too?

Wu Qi found himself momentarily speechless. He certainly couldn't blurt out, "Shall we raise money for you to take your medicine as well?"

Even a fool knew that conditioning one's body wasn't a short-term endeavor; it would take several months, or even years.

Some people spent half their lives conditioning their bodies without ever fully recovering.

This, too, was a bottomless pit.

Yet, could he tell Xu Lin not to take care of her health?

Wu Qi genuinely lacked the standing to say such a thing. With a stiff expression, he turned his gaze to Liu Pandi, hoping she would step in and say something.

Alas, Liu Pandi was uncooperative and ignored his signals entirely. Instead, she leaned in close to Xu Lin and asked with an exaggerated expression of shock:

"Medicine this expensive—how long do you have to take it?"
"My health was abused since I was a child and was never properly cared for. To get my body back into shape, it will take at least a few years."

"That long?" Liu Pandi was astonished. A single dose cost several yuan, and that was probably just a day's worth.

Over the course of several years, how much money would that burn through?

"Do you have to brew this medicine every single day?" Liu Pandi asked, her eyes filled with sympathy.

"It doesn't need to be brewed daily. I process it into medicinal pills for storage, so I only need to make the pills at intervals."

Xu Lin smiled and looked at Liu Pandi. "You'd better go to the hospital for a check-up yourself and get some medicine to condition your body.

Even though you're young now, your hands and feet are always cold and refuse to warm up all night long. It might look like it doesn't affect your eating and drinking, but actually..."

Xu Lin slowly shook her head. "Actually, it has a very high probability of leading to..."