It took my grandpa less than half an hour to get on well with the other patients in the big ward. His silver tongue seemed to be born for winning people's hearts.
When I walked into the ward, I happened to see him pointing and commenting on the ambulance downstairs. On the bed near the door, a middle - aged man in his forties was looking at my grandpa with admiration. When he saw me push the door open, he immediately greeted me with a smile, "Hey, Master Du, your lovely granddaughter is here!"
I greeted the uncle with a smile. But when I turned my head, a thick black mist on his body "rushed" towards me. The substantial stench and cold air made my hair stand on end. Behind this smiling uncle, I saw a pair of bright red eyes!
"Ah?!" I couldn't help taking two steps back before I managed to calm myself down.
The uncle noticed my strange expression and quickly laughed at himself, "Am I that ugly? I've really scared the girl."
"No, I, I just slipped and got startled." I quickly smiled awkwardly and explained, "It's not your problem, uncle."
My grandpa finally withdrew his gaze. "You're such a grown - up girl, but still so clumsy! Have you fetched the water? I want to make some tea." His voice was full of energy. You couldn't tell at all that he had just come out of the ICU.
"I've fetched it. I'll make the tea now."
After several months, my grandpa could finally communicate with me normally again. I felt as if everything before had been a nightmare.
"What's wrong with the patient in Bed 1?" my grandpa asked in a low voice as he sat cross - legged on the bed, watching me pour water into his thermos.
Bed 1 was the uncle's bed near the door. My grandpa knew I had noticed something.
"There's a pair of red eyes..." I pretended to glance over casually.
The uncle in Bed 1 was chatting with his wife. I didn't know what they were talking about, but both of them looked surprised. The blood - red eyes were flickering menacingly in the black mist around the uncle, staring at the couple maliciously.
It seemed to sense my gaze. The pupils of the eyes suddenly enlarged and stared in the direction of my grandpa and me.
I quickly withdrew my gaze. "It should be looking for a substitute... It has taken a fancy to him."
"Alas, he's quite pitiful. He doesn't have any serious illness." My grandpa shook his head, picked up his cup, and took a small sip. "Since I'm here, I have to ensure the safety of my fellow patients."
"Grandpa, don't mess around." I didn't know why he was so kind to the patients he had just met. Had a serious illness changed his nature? Had he become a helpful person?
Before I could figure it out, I heard my grandpa start shouting, "Fellow patients, listen to me, old Du! Everyone in the hospital has weak yang energy. My granddaughter is very good at drawing talismans. She'll draw some for free for everyone. Keep them with you for safety."
"Grandpa!!!" I didn't expect this old guy to remain his old self. It was the same way he did business in the shop. First, give people a free sweet deal, and then wait for them to ask for more!
The free things in the world are the most expensive!
However, the uncles and aunts in the ward didn't think that much. After hearing my grandpa's words, they started to chatter about the strange things in the hospital.
"Master Du is really kind - hearted. You don't know that every night in the corridor, I feel like someone is following me!"
"Yes... I was washing dishes in the water room yesterday. Someone walked behind me. When I turned around! There was nothing!"
"Stop talking! It's so scary!"
...
The uncles and aunts were really good at telling ghost stories. Their words made my hair stand on end.
"Xiao He, hurry up. Distribute our most effective exorcism talismans to everyone." As soon as I heard my grandpa's words, I couldn't help rolling my eyes in my heart.
The so - called "most effective exorcism talismans" were actually the printed safety talismans bought from the wholesale market. Since my grandpa was hospitalized, I didn't have time to deal with those things.
"I've run out." I shrugged.
The uncles and aunts in the ward clearly showed disappointment on their faces.
"I... still have a few talismans I drew myself. I'll give them to you." With that, I took out the box with talismans from my backpack and took out five talismans.
These were the talismans I drew when I was idle in the shop. Later, after I was with Si Jiangchen, I was so busy every day that I couldn't calm down to make talismans and magic tools.
"Uh..." My grandpa didn't expect me to distribute these talismans that cost a lot of energy for free. He wanted to stop me, but for the sake of his face, he had to watch me distribute these valuable yellow - paper talismans one by one.
"Wow! Thank you, Master Du."
"Indeed. I feel much more at ease!"
...
Everyone was beaming with joy after getting the benefits. According to my instructions, they folded the small talismans into triangles and either put them under their pillows or carried them with them.
"You little spendthrift! Who told you to give your own - drawn talismans to others?!" When I returned to my grandpa's bedside, his voice was full of gritted teeth.
You know, each of my talismans was worth at least 500 yuan. These five talismans... It made my grandpa have a heartache.
"Don't promise things to others casually in the future." I pouted and said, "Your granddaughter has limited abilities. I can't always give things away for free."
My grandpa pinched my arm in anger. I cried out in pain, "Ouch!" I really wanted to pinch his hand back, but my phone rang.
I picked it up and saw that it was Si Jiangchen's call. I didn't want to answer it in front of my grandpa for fear of stimulating him... It seemed that he didn't remember the commotion he made in the ICU before!
I pressed the reject button and sent a "?" on WeChat.
[Are you in the hospital?]
[Yes. My grandpa is going to change wards.]
[Okay.]
I was a bit surprised. What did Si Jiangchen's "Okay" mean? Did it mean he knew about it? Or did he agree to the ward change? Or...
I sent another "?"
This time, the WeChat message was like a stone sinking into the sea. There was no more news.
I felt a pang of panic. He wouldn't suddenly appear at the ward door now, would he...
"Whose call was it?" My grandpa hadn't recovered from the heartache of losing money and asked casually.
"No, it's okay. It was a previous customer who wants to pay the final payment." My words weren't a lie. I had saved Si Tong, and Si Jiangchen should have transferred all the money to my account!
While calculating how to ask Si Jiangchen for the money, I was also worried that he would suddenly walk in from outside the ward.
In this state of being like a startled bird, the sun gradually set below the horizon. My grandpa started to complain that he was hungry...