sjar Chapter 633 Let's prepare for the worst!
Chapter 633 Let's prepare for the worst!
“My son and daughter-in-law passed away early, leaving behind a grandson who is frail and sickly.”
As Grandma Sun spoke, tears welled up in her eyes again, and she quickly wiped them away with her rough sleeve.
"My old bones are failing me, and my eyesight is failing; I can't weave much cloth in a day. If it weren't for getting medicine for my grandson, I wouldn't be here today..."
She didn't finish her sentence, but Chu Ruohan understood everything.
If he hadn't been driven to desperation, how could an old man who earns his living with his skills have endured such humiliation?
Chu Ruohan gently unfolded the cloud-patterned brocade she had bought from Jinxiu Pavilion on the table.
Under the soft light of the teahouse, the moon-white brocade shimmered with a watery sheen, and the clouds woven with subtle patterns seemed to float gently on the fabric.
“Grandma,” Chu Ruohan looked at Grandma Sun with a serious and sincere look in her eyes, “it would be such a pity if your craft were to be lost.”
Grandma Sun gave a bitter smile: "What can I do? I'm too old to teach anymore, and no one wants to learn this. It's exhausting and doesn't even make any money."
"I would like to invite you to the capital," Chu Ruohan said clearly, word by word.
Grandma Sun was stunned, thinking she had misheard: "Go...go to the capital?"
"Yes." Chu Ruohan nodded.
She looked at Gu Junze, who gave her a supportive look, which strengthened her resolve.
“I do not want you to weave cloth and make clothes for me, to live such a hard and tiring life.”
"I will find you a quiet courtyard to settle you and your grandson in, and then I will hire the best doctor to treat the child."
“I will find some talented and hardworking young women. You don’t need to do anything. Just teach them this ‘underglaze pattern’ technique in its original form so that it can be passed down.”
“I will take care of all your and your grandson’s living expenses. You are no longer a weaver who worries about making a living, but a respected master.”
The teahouse was quiet, with only the occasional boatman's chant coming from outside the window.
Grandma Sun stared blankly at Chu Ruohan, her lips trembling slightly, unable to utter a single word.
She had lived most of her life and never imagined that her proudest skill, which she relied on for a living, would one day be treated with such solemnity.
This is not charity, it is respect.
This is how a craftsman retains the last and most important decency.
Seeing that she did not react for a long time, Gu Junze, who had been silent, finally spoke up, "What my wife says, of course stands."
This simple sentence, like a stabilizing force, completely shattered the last trace of doubt and unease in Grandma Sun's heart.
She burst into tears, this time not from sorrow and grievance, but from immense surprise and emotion.
She slid off the chair, about to kowtow to the two men.
Chu Ruohan and Gu Junze stood up at the same time and helped her up from both sides.
"Mother-in-law, what are you doing?" Chu Ruohan asked anxiously. "If you agree, you will be doing me a great favor. I should be thanking you."
"I promise, I promise!" Granny Sun clutched Chu Ruohan's hand, crying like a child. "In this life, to have met such a good person as you, Madam, is truly... truly a blessing from our ancestors!"
She is willing to pass on this craft, so that it can shine with new brilliance in a wider world.
Instead of being trampled and crushed by those greedy people in this city of Chengdu, and finally buried in the dust.
The route home for Grandma Sun was completely different from the way we came.
Just moments ago, the main street was bustling with traffic and adorned with beautiful decorations; but after turning a corner, it felt like stepping into another world.
The alley was narrow and deep, with the eaves of the houses on both sides almost touching, cutting the skylight down to just a thin slit.
The air was filled with a damp, musty smell, mixed with an indescribable sour, rotten odor.
The bluestone path underfoot was full of potholes and sewage, and moss grew at the base of the wall.
The smile on Chu Ruohan's face had long since vanished, and her brows furrowed slightly.
This is the "Weaver Girl Lane" that Granny Sun mentioned, a world apart from the dazzling lights just across the street.
Grandma Sun's house is at the very end of the alley.
A wooden door with peeling paint, propped open from the inside by a wooden stick, made a creaking, ear-piercing sound when pushed open.
It was darker inside than outside, with dim lighting.
The walls were blackened by smoke, cobwebs covered the corners of the roof, and broken earthenware jars were used to catch the leaks, each half full of murky rainwater.
The only furniture in the room was a table with a missing leg and two long benches.
"Cough...cough..."
A suppressed, weak cough came from the bed in the inner room.
Chu Ruohan followed Granny Sun over.
Lying on the bed was a boy of about seven or eight years old, so thin that he was just skin and bones, with a sallow and bloodless face.
Hearing the noise, he struggled to open his eyes and saw Granny Sun. His chapped lips moved as if he wanted to call for help, but then he coughed violently and curled up into a ball.
"Xiao Bao, Grandma's back!" Grandma Sun rushed over, patting his back, tears streaming down her face.
As Chu Ruohan watched this scene, she felt as if something was blocking her chest, making her feel both suffocated and aching.
From time to time, coughs similar to Xiao Bao's could be heard echoing through the alley...
The people living here are all weavers, driven to desperation, just like Granny Sun.
They preserved their ancestral skills, yet they couldn't even feed their family.
Without saying a word, Gu Junze stepped forward, bent down, and picked up the thin child along with the tattered blanket.
"Go to the clinic."
Grandma Sun was stunned, looking at him, somewhat at a loss.
"My benefactor, this..."
"Let's go." Gu Junze didn't offer any further explanation. He picked up the child and turned to leave.
Chu Ruohan immediately followed and helped Grandma Sun, who was staggering.
The largest medical clinic in the city was called "Baicaotang". It had three stories with flying eaves and an impressive facade. The people who came in and out were all well-dressed and wealthy.
Gu Junze, holding the child, was dressed in ordinary clothes, followed by Granny Sun, who was dressed in worn clothes, looking completely out of place in this magnificent place.
The waiter at the door wanted to stop them, but Gu Junze's look made him shrink back.
That gaze was so cold, like a knife.
The doctor sitting in the clinic was an old man with a goatee, who was stroking his beard as he examined a lady. When he saw them, his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
After he leisurely saw the lady off, he raised his eyelids and lazily asked, "Seeing a doctor?"
"The child is very sick," Chu Ruohan said.
The old doctor's gaze fell on the child's sallow face, then glanced at Granny Sun. When he heard that they came from Weaver Girl Lane, his patience vanished.
He casually took her pulse, then withdrew his hand, shaking his head and saying, "She's been ill for a long time, her condition is terminal, and there's no cure. Prepare for the worst."