Chapter 67 The Good Life
Twenty-three, the sugar melon is sticky.
There is a saying in the folks that “after Laba Festival it is the New Year”, and indeed, happy things happen.
The tumor in Wei Qian's lung was eventually determined to be benign and was removed surgically. Afterwards, in order to show off his wisdom and foresight, this old man acted like a wise man after the event. Even when he was lying weakly on the hospital bed, he still took the opportunity to show off and said shamelessly: "I said it's okay, so it's okay. Did I ever talk nonsense? It's just you people, jumping up and down..."
Sanpang’s face looked like his gums were bleeding.
Fortunately, at this moment, Wei Zhiyuan came in with a thermos bucket in his hand.
He greeted Sanpang, put the thermos aside, then squatted on the ground, lifted up one of Wei Qian's sleeves - the stitches on Wei Qian's hand that was injured by the knife had been removed - and Wei Zhiyuan took out the string of wooden beads that he had sharpened for him from his pocket and wrapped them around his sleeves.
Wei Qian blinked and asked curiously, "Why did you think of bringing it?"
Wei Zhiyuan said without raising his head, "You asked for it when you were still dazed after the operation and the anesthesia had just worn off. Don't you remember? When you woke up, the first thing you said was to ask someone incoherently, 'Where are my beads?'"
Wei Qian felt quite embarrassed and kept silent.
Sanpang laughed so hard that wrinkles appeared on his face: "Hahahaha, 'where are my beads', why do you want them so badly? I say, Qian'er, do you want a red hair string? It's two feet long. It's New Year's time, and daddy will buy it for you later. Daddy has money, so I can give you a few inches more, and you can use it as a belt when you're free."
Wei Qian was lying in bed and unable to get down, so he could only use his eyes to express the somewhat complicated message of "I'm going to beat you to death".
“Oh, you’re glaring at me,” Sanpang patted his belly and said with a smile, “If you glare at me, I’ll leave. I don’t like to see your face. You two, that… that, hehe, I won’t bother you anymore.”
What does this have to do with anything?
Wei Qian: “Get lost.”
Sanpang laughed out loud and went out.
Wei Qian then secretly looked at Wei Zhiyuan, only to find that Wei Zhiyuan was looking down at him. He immediately coughed dryly and said awkwardly, "Well, is there anything going on with your... company?"
Wei Zhiyuan: “No.”
Wei Qian asked again: "Where is Xiaobao?"
Wei Zhiyuan: "She just called me and had a big fight with me. She cried until her voice was hoarse. She said she booked a flight in the afternoon and would arrive in the evening."
Wei Qian was really at a loss for words this time, so Wei Zhiyuan sat down beside his bed and asked, "Anything else you want to ask?"
Wei Qian was silent for a moment, then held out his hand to him: "Come here."
Wei Zhiyuan took his hand and sat closer.
Wei Qian raised his hand and touched his head, then moved it slightly downwards, and rubbed Wei Zhiyuan's face with his palm, which looked a little rough due to the wound. He said, "It's really okay this time. I'm not lying to you. Don't be angry."
Wei Zhiyuan closed his eyes: "I didn't."
"Okay, you've always had a bad temper since you were little." Wei Qian laughed, "I had a fight with Xiaobao and never entered her house until we moved."
"You still remember." Wei Zhiyuan's eyes suddenly lit up, and there seemed to be two small lights in his pupils, flickering brightly. "What do you remember?"
"I remember a lot of things. When you were a kid, you didn't want to go to school. You jumped and yelled at me at the school gate and bit me. As a result, you broke one of your teeth and thought you were going to die. You wrote the first masterpiece of your life." Wei Qian said slowly, "And Xiaobao, you two were like a pair of fighting cocks at that time, fighting from morning to night, and I don't know why."
"I don't know why she did that, but I did it to make you happy."
Wei Qian: "Nonsense, why should I be happy about you two fighting?"
Wei Zhiyuan leaned over and touched the corner of his mouth with his hand: "Who knows? Anyway, you are still smiling now."
Wei Qian awkwardly raised the corners of his mouth that were involuntarily raised. After thinking for a while, he complained, "But after a few years, you grew up and didn't kiss me that often anymore."
Wei Zhiyuan looked at him meaningfully.
Wei Qian asked in confusion: "What are you looking at?"
"It's not that I don't want to kiss you, it's that I no longer dare to kiss you." Wei Zhiyuan said as he took out his wallet from his trouser pocket - his wallet had been stuffed in his trouser pocket for a long time and was quickly worn out by the various hard materials of jeans. He has changed seven or eight wallets so far, but when he opened it, the photo in the photo folder was always the same one.
The photo was so old that it was in a tattered state, with the edges worn out and glued together with tape. It showed a young man with a crew cut but handsome features. He was wearing a school uniform and standing in front of the camera with his hands behind his back, standing straight as if he was a stiff mallet. There was no smile on his face, which was tense and had gloomy eyes, as if he had deep hostility towards the whole world.
"Who is this idiot? Why is he like a juvenile delinquent?" Wei Qian was unable to react at first, then he squinted his eyes and looked at him for a long time, and finally recognized himself from nearly 20 years ago with great effort. He immediately became Spartan, "Where on earth did you find such an idiotic photo? Wei Xiaoyuan, you are too picky, can't you pick a good one? You carry this with you all day... This guy has the words 'I am an idiot' clearly written on his face, aren't you afraid that others will see and laugh at you?"
Wei Zhiyuan: "Give it back to me, and don't insult my dream lover."
"No, I'll confiscate it and destroy all evidence." Wei Qian stuffed the old photo under his pillow to prevent his dark history from being exposed.
Wei Zhiyuan looked at him helplessly.
"Okay, at worst I'll compensate you with one." Wei Qian thought about it, and remembered that he rarely took photos. He reached into Wei Zhiyuan's trouser pocket, took out his cell phone, and activated the camera function that he had just started to play with.
What kind of photo would you like to take?
Wei Qian thought about it and struggled to get up from the hospital bed.
"What are you doing? Don't move," Wei Zhiyuan immediately held him down, "Be careful not to knock the IV needle off course."
Wei Qian turned his head slightly and followed Wei Zhiyuan's action. The hand with the IV drip moved gently a little distance, as if he was holding up Wei Zhiyuan's hand that was holding him down, and his lips gently touched the back of Wei Zhiyuan's hand.
With a "click".
Wei Zhiyuan's hand trembled as if he had received an electric shock.
After a moment, Wei Zhiyuan stared blankly at the screen of his mobile phone. The man's profile was pale, a sign of a serious illness. His drooping brows became darker and heavier. He seemed to have picked up a dewy flower in the dim morning light. He felt even more pity for it because of its tenderness, fragility, and sparkling beauty. He kissed it without hesitation, and then placed it steadily back on the branch... There was a faint, helpless smile on the corner of his mouth.
He had trampled the fate that pursued him so many times that even the cheap thing called "fate" seemed to be afraid to provoke him now. He was invincible, but he was defeated by the swaying fragrance of this "flower".
Wei Zhiyuan felt that his lonely and regretless road had finally come to an end.
I don’t know if it was because he was too tired from staying in the hospital for the past few days, or for some other reason, but not long after, Wei Zhiyuan couldn’t help but fall asleep on the head of the bed.
While he was taking a nap, the eminent monk Xiong Yingjun came.
He dressed up as a monk in an alternative way and paraded around the hospital, attracting the attention of doctors, nurses, other patients and their families. He held a string of Buddhist beads in his hand, and fiddled with them as he walked. He bowed to everyone he met and gave way to everyone he saw, so his steps seemed very slow, but he paid no attention to what others were saying about him.
At this time, a resident doctor caught up with him: "Master! Hey, that master!"
Old Bear: "Amitabha."
The doctor looked him up and down and asked uncertainly, "Are you... also here to visit the patient?"
The old bear said mysteriously, "Yes, there is a lay Buddhist who has just escaped from the sea of suffering. I came to see him."
The doctor's face changed, and he lowered his voice: "Oh, is it the one who was sent to the morgue this afternoon? That won't do. Our hospital has strict management, and we don't allow people to enter the morgue casually."
Old Bear: “…”
He felt that this was truly the Dharma Ending Age, and even the sacred medical workers could be so superficial.
"Amitabha." The old bear sighed and explained patiently, "That layman, unfortunately, is still alive."
"Ah, that's my condolences... No, no, no, that's not what I meant." The doctor saw that he looked constipated, and then he noticed the fruit basket in his hand. He quickly adjusted his glasses and said righteously, "In fact, I caught up with you just to tell you that it's best not to wear long flowing skirts and trousers in the hospital. Oh, I mean your clothes can sweep the floor. We are all patients here, and there are a lot of bacteria and viruses on the floor. If they sweep onto your clothes, it will be harmful to you and your family's health when you go back."
Then, the fussy doctor realized that it was not appropriate to refer to the monk as "family" and added, "Going back will be harmful to the health of you, the elder brother, the second brother, and the younger brother Sha."
Lao Xiong was speechless for a moment and could only bow his head to express his gratitude. At the same time, he felt that Wei Qian must have been blessed by the Buddha to be able to survive in such a dangerous medical environment.
An old doctor wearing a mask passed by and said to the young resident doctor with disapproval: "Xiao Liu, you should be a decent person. Why are you talking so much nonsense? If you don't have any prestige, how can patients trust you in the future?"
Doctor Liu came over with a playful smile and patted his shoulders and back: "Teacher, I practice medicine to help the world, and he saves all living things. We have a lot in common. What's wrong with chatting a little more?"
The four words "save all sentient beings" made Lao Xiong pause, then he shook his head and laughed, and walked towards the ward.
When he pushed open the door of Wei Qian's ward, Lao Xiong was stunned at the door.
He saw Wei Zhiyuan sleeping soundly on the head of Wei Qian's bed, with most of his face buried in his arms, only a little bit exposed, and there seemed to be a smile on the corner of his mouth.
Wei Qian still had various tubes inserted into his body. He was flipping through a magazine, occasionally lowering his head to glance at the young man who was sleeping peacefully. His eyes were indescribably gentle.
Wei Qian's eyes accidentally swept towards the door and saw Lao Xiong. He immediately raised his index finger to his lips and made a gesture to him to be quiet.
Old Bear walked in quietly and put the fruit basket aside. He felt that he was blinded by the gay couple. In order to express his dissatisfaction, he took a banana from the gift, peeled it without hesitation, and started eating.
Wei Zhiyuan had no habit of sleeping during the day, and he took a nap because he was extremely tired. He only lay there for about twenty minutes. The old bear used these short twenty minutes to eat up half of the fruit basket. Wei Zhiyuan woke up to a series of "crunching" sounds, and for a moment he thought there were mice in the ward.
As soon as he opened his eyes, Wei Qian finally spoke.
"Xiong Yingjun," Wei Qian said, "are you here for a picnic?"
The old bear said without hesitation: "It's not convenient for you to eat these things right away. They will go bad in two days. I'll help you get rid of some of them. Don't waste them."
Wei Qian smiled wryly: "Thank you so much - what are you doing here? You can't have come all the way to see me, right?"
"You, the benefactor, are so sarcastic. It's fine if you underestimate yourself, but you always think the worst of others," Old Bear said earnestly, and then spread his hands, "I really came to visit you and wish you a happy new year."
Wei Qian gave him a suspicious look: "A weasel wishing a happy new year to a chicken?"
"Amitabha," Old Bear was silent for a while, "Sometimes I really can't understand your speaking style...you often attack yourself indiscriminately. You are too indifferent."
Perhaps because he had been lying there for too long, Wei Qian felt a little pain in the wound. He frowned and moved slightly. Wei Zhiyuan immediately came over and stuffed a pillow behind him: "Be careful."
Wei Qian nodded, and then turned to Lao Xiong: "I have no money now, and I have half my life. What do you want to discuss with me? Don't beat around the bush, just tell me."
"Amitabha, how can you talk about such worldly things with a monk? Is it your place to talk about Brother Kong Fang's affairs? How hurtful!" Lao Xiong lowered his head and posed in a compassionate manner. Then he suddenly raised his persimmon-cake face, showing a sly smile like Garfield, and stretched out five fingers to Wei Qian, "It's enough for you to sponsor me this amount."
Wei Qian was furious: "I knew you wouldn't come all the way to see me!"
The old bear said with a smile: "Don't be angry, benefactor, you are still seriously ill, you need to nourish your energy and strengthen your body, so stay calm."
Wei Qian: "Impossible. I have several projects in the early stages of development. My funding chain is almost broken. I am planning to sell myself soon. Where can I get the extra money?"
Lao Xiong: "It's only 500,000 yuan, which is not even as high as the interest you get in the blink of an eye. Can you please not give me a penny?"
"Five hundred thousand? That's easy." Wei Qian tilted his head back and said, "Xiao Yuan, do you have any change? Give him ten yuan. There's a lottery ticket seller at the door. Tell him to tell the Buddha that he'll win a prize of one or eight hundred thousand and the problem will be solved."
Old Bear: "This donor who only wears white shirts all his life, is your name Poor? You are really stingy to a certain extent."
Wei Qian: "I'm still driving a junky car worth 100,000 yuan, and you're asking me to donate 500,000 yuan for the threshold? Tell me, where is the door?"
Old Xiong showed no anger on his face, and continued to speak at a leisurely pace, "I didn't ask you to donate a threshold, nor did I ask you for money to repair the Buddha statue. This time it was led by several non-profit organizations. They have their own websites and Weibo accounts, and are now quite well-known. The few dollars you contributed can all be used as advertising fees to promote the corporate brand. It's cheap enough, isn't it?"
Wei Qian looked Lao Xiong up and down and asked sincerely, "Senior, could you please give me some advice? Has our company's image become so bad that we need a monk to represent it?"
Old Bear: "Anyway, are you going to pay or not?"
Wei Qian: "I just don't have any money anyway."
Wei Zhiyuan had no choice but to use a cup of warm water to separate the two people: "Okay, let's take a break. Come on, let's stop fighting first. Brother Xiong, have a cup of water."
Lao Xiong picked it up and drank it in one gulp. After he finished, he smacked his lips and said, "I'm telling you, you have to pay this money. The thing is, recently there have been a lot of people talking about child trafficking on the Internet. The non-profit organization I'm talking about is dedicated to social welfare activities. They are now planning to take the lead in doing something about these phenomena..."
"Aren't you just stirring up trouble?" Wei Qian said, "Fighting human trafficking is the job of the police, why are you following them? It's not a public welfare, I think it's more like making trouble."
"Donor, since you're lying down, please be more virtuous." Lao Xiong continued to explain, "We are not fighting against human trafficking. We want to create something like an Internet social platform to connect parents who have lost their children with children whose origins are unknown. When the police find abducted children, they will also post information on it to find the children's guardians. In short, it is to help find abducted children. Do you understand?"
Wei Qian fell silent and his eyes fell on Wei Zhiyuan.
Old Bear looked at him with determination. Sure enough, after a moment, Wei Qian said, "Xiao Yuan, go home and get my checkbook... Well, I'll pay it in the name of the company."
Then he added, "The budget of five hundred thousand is too tight. Write him five million and bring it to me for signature."
Old Bear: "Great, great - then we'll need additional sponsorship later..."
"Okay." Wei Qian agreed immediately. "Have them give me a contract as soon as possible. I'll be the financial director. In addition to the annual external audit, you have to undergo our company's internal audit to ensure that the funds are not misused. You don't have to look for anyone else for the subsequent sponsorship money."
Wei Zhiyuan was stunned for a moment: "Brother, actually..."
He wanted to say that he actually didn't care about his childhood anymore, and didn't have any special interest in his biological parents. It didn't matter if he met them or not. But when Old Bear stared at him with a half-smile, he felt that it was not a good idea to spoil the show.
So he was stuck for a while, and then he whispered: "Actually, having you is enough for me."
The old bear looked at his nose with his eyes and his mouth with his nose, and chanted the Buddha's name, looking quite a noble person.
"Yes." Wei Qian's voice became lighter, "Go ahead."
Lao Xiong and Wei Zhiyuan walked out of the ward together.
Wei Zhiyuan: "Brother Xiong, isn't it unfair of you to use me like this?"
The old bear laughed and said, "You have grown strong now, and you can fly all over the world. He has a rare opportunity to do something for you, so I am trying to help him. Hey, yes, I will give a lecture next week, will you come?"
"Preaching? You?" Wei Zhiyuan had a strange expression on his face.
"What's wrong with me?" Old Bear glared at him.
"Why have you been so active lately?" Wei Zhiyuan asked curiously. He vaguely remembered the first time he went to Lao Xiong's meditation room. Lao Xiong was so quiet and depressed that he planned to spend his whole life in meditation. "Didn't you say that you only wanted to cultivate and save yourself?"
The old bear held the wooden Buddhist beads between his fingers, which made crisp sounds when they collided.
"It's not up to you." After a while, he said, "After floating on the river for a long time, there will always be one or two people like you who jump into the river for fun. If you take one, there will be another. When there are too many people, there will be no distinction between the Hinayana and the Mahayana."
Wei Zhiyuan seemed to be thinking about something.
The old bear raised his hand and patted his shoulder: "Don't think about it, the world is just right, it's better not to enter the illusory and illusory unique method... I'm leaving."
Wei Zhiyuan watched his broad back walking towards the bus stop, feeling a mixture of emotions.
At this moment, the old bear suddenly turned around and shouted at him, "Boy, go get the check! Don't be in a daze. It's not easy for a poor monk to get a rich man who is stingy. It will be a disaster if the rich man changes his mind. You have to strike while the iron is hot when asking for money!"
For a moment, everyone around looked at him sideways, but the old bear was very proud, as if he didn't feel anything at all.
Wei Zhiyuan was not as shameless as him, so he had to flee.