Game within game: chess player

The old lady selling tea eggs was named Xu. She had no children. Her husband had been dead for many years. She usually made a living by selling tea eggs. Her life was very difficult. Ye Fang only learned this information after asking around. Mrs. Xu's home is in a public house in a relatively remote part of the alley. The house is not big, only about [-] square meters. It is a large courtyard.

What is different from Ye Fang's courtyard house is that the courtyard house that Mrs. Xu lives in is a public housing estate. To put it bluntly, it belongs to the state. The monthly rent is only a few dozen yuan, and some are even only a dozen yuan, which is very cheap. The courtyard house that Gu Yuanqing left to Ye Fang was a personal property, but Ye Fang did not expect that the courtyard house worth tens of thousands of yuan now would become an asset of over [-] million yuan in more than ten years.

After a lot of effort, Ye Fang finally found the public housing where Mrs. Xu lived. Before entering the house, he heard the old man coughing continuously. Ye Fang knocked on the door and asked, "Is Grandma Xu at home?"

"At home. Who is it?" After saying this, Mrs. Xu coughed again.

Ye Fang opened the door and walked into the room. He saw the old lady lying on the bed alone with a lot of medicine on the bedside. Even though the old lady was sick, the whole room was still kept clean by the old lady.

"It's you, young man." Mrs. Xu looked up and saw Ye Fang, and was very surprised.

"I went to the securities company today. I heard that you were sick, so I wanted to come over and see you. How are you feeling now?" Ye Fang asked with concern.

"It's just a fever and a cough. You should be fine after just two days of rest." Old Mrs. Xu forced herself to sit up and was about to pour water for Ye Fang. Ye Fang quickly stepped forward to signal the old lady not to move, and then gave him and the old lady water respectively. Pour two glasses of water.

Concerned, Ye Fang stepped forward and touched the old lady's forehead. It was extremely hot. Ye Fang guessed that it didn't look like a common cold and said, "Grandma Xu, your forehead is very hot. If it goes on like this, there's no other way. I'll take you to the hospital."

"Don't bother, young man, I'll just take some medicine and I'll be fine." Mrs. Xu said stubbornly.

"You listen to me, I will carry you now." Ye Fang couldn't help but help the old lady clean up briefly, then he picked up the old lady and walked towards the hospital.

When he arrived at the main street, Ye Fang stopped a taxi and went straight to the nearest Military General Hospital. The old lady kept saying that medical treatment was too expensive, but Ye Fang said that he had everything under his control. In the car, Mrs. Xu finally learned Ye Fang's name. It happened that Ye Fang had the same surname as his deceased wife, which made the relationship between the two even closer.

When they arrived at the hospital, Ye Fang took the old lady to register and check him. Finally, he was diagnosed with pneumonia at the hospital and needed to be hospitalized immediately. Ye Fang immediately went through the hospitalization procedures for the old lady, and then paid the hospitalization fee of [-] yuan. By the time the old lady's arrangements were made in the hospital, it was already dark.

The hospital gave the old lady a fever-reducing injection and anti-inflammatory drugs. The old lady had not had a good rest in the past two days because of her fever. After the fever subsided, the old lady fell into a deep sleep.

"Who are the family members of Xu Guizhi in bed 32? The director is looking for her." The nurse came in and shouted.

"I am." Ye Fang quickly agreed, and then followed the nurse to the director's office.

"What is your relationship with Xu Guizhi?" Director Li in the ward, who was in his 50s, looked at Ye Fang and asked in a deep voice.

"Grandgrandson, she is my grandma." Ye Fang replied.

Director Li nodded and continued, "The latest test results are out. Xu Guizhi does not have simple pneumonia, but lung cancer, which is still in the advanced stage."

"Lung cancer?!" Ye Fang was shocked and lost his voice.

Director Li continued, "Xu Guizhi is 77 this year. If you go to the operating table at such an old age, there are too many uncertainties, and subsequent radiotherapy and chemotherapy are expensive, so I suggest conservative treatment for the elderly. You should consider it."

Ye Fang took a deep breath and continued to ask, "If treated conservatively, how long will she have left?"

"Six months." Director Li confirmed.

"Only six months?" Even though Ye Fang and Mrs. Xu were not related by blood, he also felt that life was impermanent.

"This is still a situation where conservative treatment is better. I will prescribe some maintenance medicines for you after discharge. You can also try traditional Chinese medicine. In short, it is a true filial piety for the children to let the old man spend the last six months happily." Director Li said.

When Ye Fang returned to the ward, the old lady was still asleep. Ye Fang grew up in an orphanage and had no relatives in his life. Over the past year or so, he had become friends with Xu Guizhi. For a moment, Ye Fang really regarded Xu Guizhi as his grandmother.

Ye Fang sighed heavily and sat down. At this time, the old lady woke up leisurely, looked at the frowning Ye Fang beside the bed and said with a smile, "Why are you sighing? Is it because my disease is lung cancer?"

"You know?" Ye Fang didn't know that the old lady had known about his illness for a long time.

"It's been several years. Every time the doctor said I had a few months to live, but every time I lived well, don't worry." Xu Guizhi sat up as he spoke, and Ye Fang picked up the porridge brought back from the canteen. Feed the old lady to eat. After the old lady finished eating, she asked Ye Fang, "Have you eaten?"

"I've eaten it," Ye Fang said with a smile.

"Tell me about you. I only know your name is Ye Fang." Xu Guizhi seems to be in good spirits now and is very chatty.

"I am a very simple person." Then Ye Fang told Xu Guizhi everything about his situation, without hiding the fact that he had been in prison in the past.

Xu Guizhi listened attentively, inserting a question from time to time, and Ye Fang also answered it carefully.

"As the old saying goes, you can correct your mistakes and do good. It doesn't matter if you have been in jail. Your friend named Gu can entrust you with all his wealth, which proves that you are a trustworthy person. It is already difficult to be trusted now. ." Xu Guizhi said earnestly.

"Grandma Xu, after you are discharged from the hospital, please move in with me. On the one hand, I can take care of you, and on the other hand, you can help me look after the supermarket. You don't have to sell tea eggs. I will pay you a salary. Do you think it’s okay if I hire you?” Ye Fang asked.

"Isn't this... inconvenient?" Xu Guizhi looked hesitant.

"I usually live alone in that courtyard. Wang Kai either goes on business or lives in a dormitory and rarely comes back to live in the courtyard. Gu Zhuoyi only comes back during the winter and summer vacations, so there is no inconvenience. This way we have company. What do you think?" Ye Fang said.

"Okay, but I don't want your salary. I have my own pension, a place to live, something to do, and someone to talk to me. This is good." Apparently Xu Guizhi did not refuse Ye Fang’s proposal.

"That's great." Ye Fang said happily.

"Xiaoye, I have no children in my life, and you have no father or mother. From now on, we will be like grandparents, do you think so?" Xu Guizhi asked kindly.

"This is great. I finally have a grandma. It's not too late for me to be happy. I will kneel down and kowtow to you." After saying that, Ye Fang respectfully knelt down and kowtowed to Xu Guizhi three times. Xu Guizhi was so excited by this scene. The corners of his eyes immediately became moist. Xu Guizhi felt that all his hard work over the years had been worth it to have a sincere grandson like Ye Fang in his later years.

"Get up, kid!" Xu Guizhi said happily, "I haven't prepared any gifts. When you are discharged from the hospital, grandma will give you a gift."

"Grandma, I don't want any gifts. As long as you are healthy," Ye Fang said with a smile.

"No, you must accept this gift, and you will definitely like it." Xu Guizhi insisted.