Global Film Emperor

Chapter 417 Waiting for Me in England

At seven in the morning, just as spring begins and dawn breaks late, the golden light enters the room. If one is still half asleep, it is easy to not be able to distinguish whether this light is the afterglow of the sun or the rising sun.

The kitchen was filled with the soft splattering of oil and the aroma of cooking, but the smell actually made me feel less hungry, and even reduced my appetite.

Outside the door, park staff were handing out copies of the Beijing Morning Post. Lu Ze took one, thanked them, and returned to the restaurant. He gave the main page to Old Master Chen and started reading the colorless supplement. No one spoke; everyone was doing their own work. Although there were quite a few people, it was relatively quiet.

Breakfast consisted of a bowl of tofu pudding and a steamer of buns, with a savory sauce, a touch of chili oil, and a few sprigs of cilantro for a touch of green. Scooping up a spoonful, the steam flowed smoothly into my stomach, and the spiciness warmed my whole body instantly.

In the mornings, his teacher's wife liked to play various kinds of music, including guzheng, pipa, erhu, and guqin. She wasn't picky about music, and Lu Ze also benefited from this. He listened attentively, tapping his fingers lightly on the table to keep up with the rhythm, only to have his hand tapped with chopsticks by Old Master Chen.

"Trouble."

The puppy circled around the old man's legs under the table, but the old man ignored it. He didn't eat the tofu pudding until he finished it, and then left two small steamed buns uneaten. The crystal-clear skin was filled with yellow soup, and when he picked them up with chopsticks, the soup just flowed out of the skin as if there was no filling. When he lifted them with the tip of his chopsticks, a wisp of steam escaped.

Holding the bowl, he squeaked a few times, got up and walked out of the house. Standing in the yard, the black and yellow dog perked up, wagged its tail, and chased after him in a flash. The little silver bell tied around its neck jingled and swayed. It squatted down in front of the old man, stretched its neck and opened its mouth, and a piece of minced meat the size of a fingernail went into its belly.

After feeding the dog, she didn't go inside. Instead, she lay down on the armchair under the ginkgo tree. The nanny, Sister Huan, followed her with a food box. There was a plate of melon seeds, a plate of peanuts, and a plate of red dates. The ancient tree red tea on the small stove outside had been simmering for an hour. Sister Huan poured the teapot out, creating a half-meter-long stream of water that precisely poured into the blue-and-white porcelain bowl, without spilling a single drop.

He draped the white mink blanket over his legs, then tapped the teacup lid against the teacup, the sound crisper than the silver bell on a dog's neck. A half-centimeter gap appeared between the cup and the lid, from which steam escaped, especially noticeable in the still-warm weather. The ancient music inside the house was amplified, clearly audible in the courtyard. The old man half-closed his eyes, occasionally taking a sip of tea, finding an indescribable sense of comfort under the trees where spring was beginning to show.

Lu Ze sat down next to her, and Huan Jie poured him another cup of tea. He took a sip; it wasn't too hot. He bent down and patted the little mongrel's head before leaning back in his chair and looking at his phone.

When is Xiao Yuan coming?

"It won't be long, we're on our way."

"After you finish visiting Xiaoyuan's mother, send me your report once you get there. It's almost the season, so hurry up. It's a 30,000 to 50,000-word report; there's no need to dawdle."

"Master, I know how to write the content, but the rules for official documents are really difficult..."

"Difficult? What's so difficult about it? It's just that you don't have any knowledge. You tear your hair out when you try to write something serious."

He could only smile wryly in response to the old man's criticism. Indeed, when he submitted the first report, he had followed the official document template and sent it out by the middle of the quarter. But now, it was becoming more and more difficult to write. It was already good enough if he could submit it on time at the end of the quarter. He was thinking about whether he should buy a few books on official document examples to take a look at.

The master and apprentice didn't chat for long before Song Guiyuan's car pulled into the yard. He had lost some weight, though not obviously, but he was still thinner. However, he looked quite energetic, though it was probably because he had lost weight.

"Master, are you drinking?"

He was still acting like a rascal, waving his hand at the old man with a grin, sitting opposite Lu Ze, ignoring the old man's eye-rolling, winking at Lu Ze, and grabbing a handful of sunflower seeds.

Not to mention that Old Master Chen was furious at his behavior, even Lu Ze was somewhat amused and exasperated. He picked up his teacup to hide his expression and chuckled softly behind it.

"You ignorant and incompetent fellow, you're over forty and still can't settle down. I get angry just looking at you first thing in the morning."

"I was wrong, Master. Sister Huan, let me do it. You rest. I'm not like that kid Lu Ze, who has no sense of propriety."

"Hey Lao Song, Master can scold you all he wants, but why are you dragging me into this?"

"My pleasure!"

After saying that, she snatched the teapot and reheated it on the stove. When the teapot made a soft sound, she poured a cup for Old Master Chen with a fawning smile. Only then did she obediently sit down and quickly crack the handful of melon seeds in her hand like a squirrel.

"Get lost! I don't want to see either of you. It's already time to go to the airport. Get out of here."

"Master, how about I help you water the flowers before I leave?"

He glanced at his watch; his flight was at 3 p.m. that afternoon. After deducting travel time, he still had four hours to do his activities. Leaving now was indeed a bit too early.

"Let's go. If one of you is here, I can still have some fun. But if you get involved together, it'll be chaos and there won't be a moment of peace. Let's go."

This is the truth, but it's not that he's really trying to kick people out. The master's house is the disciple's house. No matter how noisy it is, it just makes the house more lively and adds some life to the place. The old couple is happy with that. But he is old and has a leisurely life, while his disciple is busy with his own things. He can't keep him any longer, so he has to go all out and adopt this attitude of kicking people out, which also helps him to give up his own thoughts.

Lu Ze understood, so he didn't say anything more. He went back into the house, took his luggage, said goodbye to his teacher's wife, and stood in the courtyard again. He wrapped the old man in the white mink blanket again, set a date for their next meeting, and then got into Song Guiyuan's car and left in a hurry.

In the car, the two quieted down, their playful banter from the old man's house vanished. They opened the window and lit a cigarette.

"This is from your master. He said this morning that he didn't want to talk to you about these things, so he asked me to give it to you." There was a green brocade box in the bag. Taking advantage of a red light, Lu Ze picked it up and handed it to Song Guiyuan. He opened it, glanced at it, and put it in the refrigerator in the armrest box without saying a word.

Tongrentang's Angong Niuhuang Wan from the 1980s was a life-saving medicine. Lu Ze had looked into the market price before. In 2016, ten pills were auctioned for 3.5 million. Now, the price of one pill would definitely not be less than 800,000. Moreover, it was not something that could be bought just because you had money. And there were three pills in this brocade box.

Song Guiyuan was not short of money, so he naturally knew about this kind of thing. Perhaps he was already looking for it himself. He took a deep drag of his cigarette, but felt no joy.

Lu Ze and Grandpa Chen were well aware that Song's mother's condition could no longer be cured by medication. After all, she had multiple complications and might not come out of the operating room. They could only rely on medication to keep her alive, spending money on it. Even if she took all three pills, they could at most make her a little more lucid, but it would be difficult for them to have any greater effect.

"Or... I could go to England and ask around for you?"

"Forget it... Don't bother with it anymore. She can't stand flying anyway. Let's just make do for now. It'll probably only last until this year."

This is the most helpless situation for children. Few people can make such a big decision to let their parents take the risk of going to the operating table under such circumstances. So Lu Ze didn't say anything, not wanting to rub salt into his wounds. He quietly looked at the scenery outside the window until the two arrived at the hospital entrance. Ignoring Song Guiyuan's obstruction, Lu Ze bought two of the most expensive fruit baskets before entering the hospital.

In a hospital, there are always many people. Lu Ze wore a mask and hat to avoid being recognized and causing trouble in such a place. It wasn't until he arrived at the ward that he took off his coverings and entered the ward, revealing his face.

Inside the room, the old lady was asleep, and Song Guiyuan's father was resting beside her. When Lu Ze arrived, he got up and shook hands with him. Even though they were speaking very softly, the old lady still heard them. She opened her sallow eyes and looked at Lu Ze and the other two with a sense of unfamiliarity in her eyes, as if she no longer recognized them.

"Mom, Lu Ze has come to see you. Do you still recognize him? He came to our house to wish you a Happy New Year a few years ago."

No answer...

"She doesn't even recognize Xiao Liang anymore."

Song Guiyuan remained relatively calm, managing an awkward smile as she sat down beside her mother and fed her some water. However, Lu Ze, who had experienced countless similar situations, understood just how painful it was to be forgotten by one's parents for the first time.

The door was pushed open again, and Zhuang Xue walked in carrying a thermos. After seeing Lu Ze, she nodded, said nothing, and sat down next to Song Guiyuan, gently rubbing her mother-in-law's feet.

She didn't look well either, with heavy dark circles under her eyes, and it was clear that she had been quite tired these past few days.

Lu Ze's phone vibrated twice. It was a message from Wang Pushen. He had arrived at the hospital entrance. Lu Ze sent him the room number and then didn't reply. About five minutes later, there was a soft knock on the door. Lu Ze got up and opened the door.

Wang Pushen and Song Guiyuan had known each other for a long time and had a very close relationship. Although their contact had gradually decreased in recent years, they were exceptionally warm and embraced each other when they met again.

"You came all this way, and you brought so much stuff, just like Lu Ze. Look at this room, it's practically a fruit supermarket. I really don't know what to say to you."

"It's my fault for not coming sooner. And you too, you didn't even tell me about such a big thing. Don't you consider me a brother anymore? Auntie, it's me, Xiao Wang, who's come to see you."

Unfortunately, she couldn't even remember Wang Pushen.

In this situation, it was not appropriate for them to stay any longer. After standing there for about half an hour, the two got up to say goodbye, which made Song Guiyuan feel a little embarrassed. These two brothers had come all the way here, and he hadn't even had a chance to entertain them. As a man of principle, he was indeed a little embarrassed.

"We can have this drink later, once Auntie is feeling better. Alright, we're leaving now."

After declining the family's offer to see him off, Lu Ze and his companion turned and left. But as they stood in front of the ward and looked at the old lady through the glass, Lu Ze wondered if it was just his imagination, but he seemed to see a childlike smile on the old lady's face.

……

Lu Ze had plenty of time, while Wang Pushen had flights from Beijing to Shanghai every few tens of minutes, more frequent than trains, so the concept of catching a flight was nonexistent. Coincidentally, both of them were hungry at noon, so they went to Donglaishun for a hot pot. However, compared to when Lu Ze ate there in previous years, the taste didn't seem as good as before, and even Wang Pushen felt the same way.

After having a good meal, it took them nearly two hours to reach Beijing Capital International Airport. Lu Ze's flight was not in the same terminal as Wang Pushen's, so the two could only say goodbye and part ways.

Before he could even turn around, Lu Ze heard Wang Pushen's next words.

"Wait for me in England."

He was stunned for a moment, then realized what he meant, and Lu Ze smiled and nodded in response.

"must."

"..."

I started off in good spirits today and was fairly satisfied with what I wrote, but then I suddenly got sleepy and dozed off at my desk for an hour. When I woke up, I was completely out of sorts and started struggling to write. I could only force myself to finish the second half of the chapter in a rushed manner. That's all for today. Sorry, I'll be back to normal tomorrow.

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(End of this chapter)