Transmigrated as the Stepmother of a Rebellious Heir-Chapter 174 - 109 Pharmacy

Shu Wan wasn’t one to meddle, but she couldn’t just stand by in such a situation.

She stepped back, turned the corner, and saw a man cursing at the people below the steps.

Below the steps were two women, one of whom was older with a pale, waxen complexion and half-white hair, clearly in poor health. The other looked younger but, judging by her clothes and appearance, she also seemed to be living a hard life.

In sharp contrast to the women’s plight, the man looked much more respectable.

Dressed in a suit, his hair neatly combed, and carrying a briefcase, he seemed to belong to a different world than the women before him.

"If she hadn’t picked me up back then, maybe a rich family would have, and I wouldn’t have had to suffer like this," the man complained resentfully. "And she has the nerve to come to me for help? I finally got a good job, and now you’re here to drag me down. Get lost!!"

With that, the man pulled a stack of money from his wallet and threw it in front of the elderly woman. "You’re so poor, you’ve never given me a good life. Consider this money as living expenses for all these years, and don’t come looking for me again."

After saying this, the man walked up, snatched the woman’s cellphone when they weren’t looking, completely deleted his number from it, and left.

The younger woman wanted to say something but was held back by the elder one, who was panting slightly with her words, "Forget it, he’s right. I’m about to die; there’s no need to burden anyone else."

"Sister Wang, you’re too kind. If it wasn’t for you, he would have frozen to death in a trash can long ago. You worked hard to put him through school; if it were me, I would say you never should have saved such an ungrateful wretch. Ugh!"

"Alright," the older woman seemed reluctant to dwell on it, "please take me there, but you have work too, you should go back."

"I’ll take you home first, then go back to work."

As they prepared to leave, someone behind them called out, "Wait a minute."

They turned around and were startled.

Perhaps it was Shu Wan’s stunning appearance and demeanor that was particularly shocking, especially for those who lived under constant oppression. The moment they saw Shu Wan, it felt as if the world became brighter.

"You dropped something." Shu Wan handed them a set of keys.

The older woman looked down and indeed, a key that had been tied to her waist was missing.

She reached out to take the keys, "Thank you, young lady."

Shu Wan didn’t reply right away. She lowered her head slightly, her gaze falling on the woman’s hands.

Those hands, dark and yellowed with underlying purple, showed black and purple beneath the nails that could not be hidden, signs of organs pushed to their limits.

"It’s nothing," Shu Wan looked up, softening her expression appropriately.

If she wished, she could adjust her demeanor to any state.

At that moment, she aimed to bridge the distance with these two, and although her facial features hardly changed, the impression she gave was altogether different.

She seemed like a great listener, tender and reliable, disarming any potential wariness.

"I see you’re wearing a hospital wristband. Are you ill?"

"Yes," the younger woman was more talkative and chimed in right away, "She’s not well; I’m taking her home."

"I just got off work, let me give you a ride for part of the way."

Ordinarily, people wouldn’t trouble a stranger.

But Shu Wan seemed so trustworthy that the two women instinctively believed her, "Then we’ll trouble you, thank you."

"My pleasure."

Shu Wan sent a message to her driver to have him take the car back, and then she hailed a taxi from the roadside.

During the roughly twenty-minute ride, under Shu Wan’s gentle guidance, the two women ended up spilling almost everything about themselves.

The elder’s name was Liu Zhaodi and the younger’s, Zhang Fang.

Liu Zhaodi had been diagnosed with a terminal illness two years earlier and didn’t have much time left.

Actually, today’s visit wasn’t about asking her adopted son for money; she just wanted to see the child she had raised before she died.

Liu Zhaodi originally lived in a small southern town and had never left it in her life.

She sent her adopted son to university in Imperial City, paying his tuition and living expenses every month.

But since her son went to university until now, having worked for seven years, he had never returned home.

Liu Zhaodi missed her son terribly, so she took a train lasting dozens of hours to Imperial City by herself.

After searching for days, she finally found where her adopted son worked, only to be scornfully turned away by him.

"Ungrateful wretch!" Zhang Fang grew more and more angry as she spoke, "If he’s ashamed of Sister Liu, he shouldn’t use her money. Disgusting."

"Let it be." Perhaps facing the end, Liu Zhaodi had come to terms with it all, "I’m not capable enough, and it’s my luck to have met kind-hearted people like you here in Imperial City."

"Give me your hand," Shu Wan asked Liu Zhaodi.

Liu Zhaodi obediently raised her hand and gave it to Shu Wan, who placed her hand on Liu’s wrist and checked it carefully.

Liu Zhaodi’s illness wasn’t terminal to begin with.

It had just been neglected for too long, so long that her organs had begun to fail.

Seeing Shu Wan’s pulse-taking gesture, Zhang Fang exclaimed in surprise, "Oh, miss, are you a doctor?"

"A little," Shu Wan withdrew her hand, "Your illness is indeed serious. I can give you some treatment for free, and there shouldn’t be any problem in holding on for a few more years."

Liu Zhaodi’s organ damage was too severe; if diagnosed earlier, there might have been hope for recovery, but now, not even deities could help.

"I..." Liu Zhaodi wasn’t particularly happy, "Living one more day or one less day makes no difference; you needn’t trouble yourself."

"Sister Liu, don’t say that," Zhang Fang disagreed with Liu Zhaodi, "Being alive is precious, and who knows if a cure might be found later on?"

During their conversation, the taxi arrived at Liu Zhaodi’s accommodation, a grimy and dilapidated urban village inn.

In the costly Imperial City, the fact that it was only 30 yuan a night indicated the poor living conditions.

Just as Liu Zhaodi was about to get out, Shu Wan closed the car door, "I’ll find you a better place to stay. The surroundings here are too poor, and staying here will only worsen your condition."

With that, Shu Wan provided an address, asking the driver to take them to another location.

By the time they had settled in, the sky was completely dark.

Catching sight of a traditional medicine shop nearby, Shu Wan went in to grab some herbs.

However, when it came time to pay, the attendant informed her that her purchase was free of charge.

Shu Wan asked, puzzled, "Why?"

"Our boss has already taken care of it for you," the attendant bowed respectfully towards Shu Wan, "Our boss is upstairs and would like to have a word with you."