Even a hero can be brought down by a penny

Chapter 74 Even a hero can be brought down by a penny

Ji Xiang hadn't seen cash in a long time, let alone those old-fashioned small bills. He'd been using QR code payments for at least a decade, and he couldn't even remember the last time he'd used cash.

So he was somewhat surprised.

The bills were covered in a layer of greasy grease, reflecting the light of the setting sun, and Ji Xiang felt a slight unease.

"Dad, stand here and wait for me." The young man pushed hard on his back from behind and forced a smile.

After saying that, he didn't take the small bill, turned around and ran away quickly.

"Where are you going?" the middle-aged man asked loudly.

"I'll go to the cafeteria and buy you some steamed buns. They're cheaper than outside! And they have more meat, and they're delicious!" the young man shouted as he ran off quickly.

Ji Xiang looked back at the middle-aged man standing in the sunset, noticing his withered hands and the greasy bills on them.

Electronic payments have been around for years, but seeing cash is still a real daunting task.

This scene seemed to take Ji Xiang back to his childhood.

The boy ran like a rabbit, turned a corner, looked back, but the middle-aged man was nowhere to be seen. Finally, the boy couldn't bear it any longer and squatted down, clenching his fist and pounding his left waist.

The relentless hammering did him no relief whatsoever; the stone lodged in the narrow part of his ureter caused him excruciating pain.

Ji Xiang was very familiar with this kind of pain; he had experienced it before.

The little boy was in so much pain that he raised his head and roared silently like a little beast.

Even without looking at Ji Xiang, one could tell that the little boy's face was contorted with pain as he battled his illness.

The pain did not subside, but the little boy stood up and jumped twice with great effort.

As my heels hit the ground, a strong jolt came through, and the pain seemed to subside a little.

It seems he has seen a doctor, otherwise ordinary people would hardly know the method of using the heel to dislodge stones.

He ran quickly to the cafeteria and swiped his card to buy a steamer of freshly steamed buns.

In that instant, Ji Xiang felt saliva secreting from the little boy's mouth, and at the same time, his stomach rumbled with pain.

Ugh.

The feeling of hunger was unfamiliar to Ji Xiang, and the steamed buns in the basket didn't look appetizing. But in Ji Xiang's world now, these were the most delicious delicacies in the world.

The young man swallowed hard, packed the xiaolongbao into a plastic bag, and ran away.

The sunset was beautiful, like chili oil, and the aroma wafting from the plastic bag made my mouth water.

A group of boys walked towards us, carrying basketballs and shirtless. Their world was completely different from that of the little boy.

A sharp pain shot through him, and the boy's legs buckled, causing him to kneel on the ground.

My knee was burning with pain, but this level of pain was nothing compared to the pain from urinary tract stones.

In the chaos, the steamed buns in the boy's hand scattered on the ground.

He endured the intense pain and hurriedly picked up the bun.

Even covered in dust, the buns still smelled delicious. The boy hesitated for a moment, then carefully wrapped up the buns that hadn't fallen out, picked up a bun that had fallen to the ground, wiped it haphazardly on his clothes, and stuffed it into his mouth.

"I knew he'd eat it." A handsome boy holding a basketball sneered.

"A poor man has little ambition, and a thin horse has long hair."

"Let's go, let's go." One person pulled the others along, not wanting the boy to feel awkward.

The beautiful campus life seemed to have nothing to do with the young boy; he was so out of place compared to his peers who were carrying basketballs.

Pick up the steamed bun that fell on the ground and eat it; even the scalding heat seemed to become part of the deliciousness.

The boy felt a pang of regret, but his regret was interrupted by the pain.

At the corner, he jumped up and down, then rubbed his face with his hands, trying to force a smile.

"Dad, here's a steamed bun for you." The boy handed over the steamed bun.

The middle-aged man rubbed his hands, unsure of what to say.

"Don't worry, Mom and I, I'm fine," the boy said with a forced smile. "I have enough money, and you don't need to come see me. I'll go back to help out during my holidays."

"No need, no need, everything's fine at home. We've leased another fifteen mu of rice paddies this year, and the oxen are doing great, giving birth to three pairs of piglets in a row!"

At this point, the middle-aged man smiled from the bottom of his heart.

"Dad, let's go back, let's go back." The young man pushed his left waist hard with his left hand again, his smile unchanged. He stepped forward, hugged the middle-aged man, and then waved.

The middle-aged man looked somewhat regretful. He moved his lips but didn't say anything. He nodded and turned away.

The young man held back his tears and ran away quickly. When the middle-aged man turned back, he could no longer see him.

Back in the dorm, the young man carefully collected a pile of small bills, picked up his teacup and gulped it down in one go, then started jumping around.

The tremor traveled up my spine as my heels touched the ground.

"Hey, Fifth Brother, are you still not done?" A roommate came back and saw the boy jumping around, so he asked.

"It'll be soon, it'll be soon!"

"This is really tough," the boy sighed. "Keep going."

The little boy waved his arm and, enduring the excruciating pain, ran downstairs.

Unfortunately, no matter how much he jumped, it was no use; the kidney stone was stuck to his ureter as if it had been welded shut.

I urinated twice, and the urine was bright red, but the pain did not lessen at all.

Despite the excruciating pain, the young man hopped and jumped around downstairs, his strange posture attracting some glances and whispers.

"Ji Xiang, are you not done yet?" The bespectacled man arrived as promised.

Ji Xiang was speechless at the system's perfunctory attitude. Couldn't they come up with a name? They could have called him Er Gouzi, why Ji Xiang?

This is an immersive viewing experience; it even calls out its own name.

"Advisor, I'm still in pain."

"Didn't we already break a stone once?" The bespectacled man adjusted his glasses, looking somewhat troubled.

"After the lithotripsy, I followed the doctor's advice and kept drinking lots of water and jumping as much as I could," the boy said breathlessly. "Don't worry, counselor, I'll definitely get better."

Just as I was saying this, a sharp pain shot through my lower back, like a knife was being plunged in and constantly twisted around.

"Ah~~~"

The young man could no longer bear the excruciating pain, knelt on the ground, and screamed in agony.

Ji Xiang watched silently, searching his memory for the relevant details.

Three days ago, the boy suddenly experienced pain in his left lower back and went to see a doctor at a nearby Class II Grade A hospital after being persuaded by his counselor.

An ultrasound examination revealed a stone in the lower segment of the left ureter, with a diameter of approximately 9 mm. The patient immediately underwent extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy at a district-level Grade II hospital.

Unfortunately, no stones were expelled after the lithotripsy procedure.

It cost a "lot" of money, nearly a thousand dollars, which was just as painful for the young boy as the pain of a urinary tract stone stuck in his ureter.

So the little boy followed the doctor's orders very well after the lithotripsy, and didn't miss out on things like drinking lots of water and jumping around.

However, things didn't go as planned, and the damned gallstones never came out.

"Ugh~"

The boy started feeling nauseous and dry heaving.

The counselor was terrified to see him kneeling on the ground, pale-faced and covered in sweat.

Ordinary people have never seen anything like this before. He thought the little boy was going to die at any moment and panicked terribly.

He called a few male classmates for help, and despite the young man's refusal, he took him to a nearby Class II hospital once again.

"Hasn't it come out yet?"

Today's doctor is the same one from three days ago. It seems they work a three-day shift, so it's quite a coincidence that we bumped into each other again.

"Doctor, not yet, what should we do? It's just a kidney stone, why does Xiao Ji look like he's in shock? Could it be that he has some other problem?" the counselor said somewhat anxiously.

"This is what kidney stones hurt like. If they don't pass after lithotripsy, it'll be difficult. You should go to the Second Affiliated Hospital." The doctor sighed. "Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy has requirements; the density and hardness of the stones can't be too high. Right now, I estimate his stones are quite severe, and he'll need laser lithotripsy."

"Okay, okay," the counselor said repeatedly.

"Doctor, how much does laser lithotripsy cost?" the little boy asked, struggling to answer.

His focus was on how to get rid of this hellish pain, and even more so on how much money it would cost.

"10,000 to 30,000," the doctor said. "After you get there, explain your situation to the doctors at the Second Affiliated Hospital. I estimate it should be around 10,000."

The counselor hesitated, but the boy said firmly, "No, doctor, I want to try extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy again."

"Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy has specific indications." The doctor shook his head, "At most one week..."

"Doctor, I'll sign!" The little boy was covered in sweat, his face was pale, and his lips were trembling.

The doctor could tell from his appearance that he couldn't afford the 1-3 yuan cost of laser lithotripsy. Extracorporeal ultrasound lithotripsy was much cheaper than laser lithotripsy and should be the best option.

If he could expel it himself, he definitely wouldn't want to spend the money.

Having seen too many people in dire straits, even a hero can be brought down by a mere penny. The doctor knew this was a last resort.

However, frequent lithotripsy has too many side effects, which puts doctors in a difficult position.

After repeated instructions, the boy finally signed the consent form, and the doctor carefully had him put his fingerprint on it before he was admitted to the hospital to prepare for lithotripsy.

Ji Xiang watched all this silently. He knew that the little boy understood everything and knew that laser lithotripsy was the best way, but because he had no money, he could only make the worst choice and try his luck.

I was initially a bit skeptical, thinking that the more trouble they caused, the more money they would spend.

But when Ji Xiang thought of the steamed buns that had fallen to the ground, he understood that this was a last resort.

"I'll try to save you some money," the doctor said with a sigh. "It's normally over 800, but it's not convenient for you, so I estimate this treatment will only cost around 400."

"Thank you, doctor," the young boy said tremblingly.

"Sigh." The doctor sighed deeply and took the signed form to his office.

But a few seconds later, Ji Xiang saw him come out again with the signed form and go to the duty room.

This is because they felt uneasy, afraid of losing the signed form, and wanted to lock it in their locker.

Ji Xiang knew that doing this would be very risky, whether it was for a doctor or a young boy.

What he did was the greatest act of kindness.

After completing the relevant examinations, Ji Xiang was put on the stone crusher.

Lying on the examination bed, there is a fluorescent screen above it, similar to an X-ray machine, and a lithotripter underneath.

The moment he lay down, Ji Xiang felt the boy let out a sigh of relief, as if he would be fine once it was over.

"Ready?" The doctor patted the little boy on the shoulder. "Hopefully, it will work this time."

"It can definitely work!"

(End of this chapter)