Lu Shouyi's death brought about a psychological transformation in Cheng Yong.
He made another trip to India, gathering the old crew to buy medicine again.
In the eyes of the patients, Cheng Yong and Zhang Changlin were no different; they were both businessmen.
However, to everyone's surprise, Cheng Yong's approach to selling medicine this time was completely different from before.
He set the selling price at five hundred.
The purchase price was also five hundred.
This meant he wasn't making a single penny of profit.
He was atoning for his sins. Although Lu Shouyi's death wasn't entirely his fault, Cheng Yong still felt immense guilt.
This character's growth began with Lu Shouyi's death.
The first time was about making money; this time it was about atonement.
"Holy crap, I finally understand the meaning of the movie title!"
"Five hundred doesn't even cover transportation costs, he's practically losing money!"
"Is this the Cheng Yong who is synonymous with making money?"
"This plot is so compelling, it perfectly captures the essence of humanity and law!"
"Not selling medicine means people die, but selling medicine is illegal!"
The latter half of the movie was a highlight for the entire audience!
As Cheng Yong began selling medicine again, the police also launched their investigation.
Following police inquiries, many patients who had bought fake medicine were arrested. However, they all knew that without the street vendors, there would be no affordable medicine, and everyone would die. In this life-or-death situation, they all remained silent.
Just then, an old woman stepped forward.
"I... I just want to beg you, please, don't investigate the Indian medicine anymore, okay?"
"I've been sick for three years. I took the genuine medicine, which cost forty thousand yuan a bottle, for three years. My house is gone, my family is financially ruined by me. Now that we finally have affordable medicine, you insist on calling it fake. Do we not know if the medicine is fake?"
"That medicine only costs five hundred a bottle, and the street vendors aren't making any profit. Who doesn't have a sick person in their family? Can you guarantee you won't get sick in your lifetime?"
"If you arrest him, we will all have to wait for death. I don't want to die, I want to live, okay?"
The old woman's words, which pierced the heart, brought the audience to tears.
Regardless of who they were, or whether they were an emotional person!
Upon hearing the old woman's heartfelt words and relating them to the despair of those patients, countless viewers felt a lump in their throats, their noses stung, and tears flowed uncontrollably!
From a legal and a moral standpoint, it was a dilemma.
This predicament wasn't just for Officer Cao, but for countless viewers watching the movie!
Is there truly no solution?
...
Zhang Changlin also heard the news.
Seizing the opportunity, he went to Cheng Yong's place intending to extort money. Cheng Yong had no choice but to give him money.
However, Zhang Changlin was somewhat moved by Cheng Yong's spirit.
He uttered a profoundly realistic statement:
"I've been selling medicine for so many years, and I've realized there's only one disease in this world: the disease of poverty."
"You can't cure this disease, and you can't possibly cure everyone. Just give up."
Cheng Yong had witnessed too many human tragedies in the past two years, and he deeply resonated with Zhang Changlin's words.
However, the biggest difference between him and Zhang Changlin was that Cheng Yong had his own bottom line.
Yet, Zhang Changlin's part in the story was somewhat unexpected for the audience.
After being arrested by the police, he didn't betray Cheng Yong.
Although he was a complete con artist throughout the entire movie, his final actions once again showcased Jiangnan's unparalleled control over his characters as a screenwriter!
...
After Zhang Changlin's character concluded,
It was then Huang Mao's turn.
The plot transitioned seamlessly, with one impactful scene after another.
Huang Mao was hit by a truck while trying to ram through a roadblock!
Officer Cao rushed the bloodied Huang Mao to the hospital, but it looked grim.
Shortly after, Cheng Yong also arrived. This scene was a demonstration of an acting masterclass!
"Where is he?"
"He's gone..."
"He's only twenty years old! He wanted to live, what crime did he commit?!"
"What crime did he commit!!"
Cheng Yong desperately and despairingly questioned Officer Cao!
Pinned down by the police, he screamed at the top of his lungs!
"Jiangnan, you old scoundrel, I'm numb..."
"Why, why did you have to kill Huang Mao?"
"Damn it, it was an unexpected blow, straight to the heart!!"
"I'm shattered, it's too heartbreaking, it's brutally heart-wrenching!!"
"Jiangnan, you old scoundrel, do you have a heart?!"
"I swear I'll knife that old scoundrel one day!!"
They were going crazy!
The audience felt an immense pressure they needed to release!
Lu Shouyi's death.
And then Huang Mao's death.
That deep sense of powerlessness left countless people feeling suffocated!
It was too despairing!
...
However.
The subsequent plot continued to escalate this pressure.
The Indian pharmaceutical factory was sealed.
Cheng Yong lost his supply source and bought retail at the market price of two thousand per bottle. He still sold it to patients at five hundred per bottle, covering the difference with his own money.
He also expanded his distribution, asking Sihui to contact patients in other provinces, accepting anyone who needed it.
Those chat logs filled with hope
also foreshadowed the impending end of their good fortune.
Cheng Yong was eventually arrested.
He was sentenced to five years by the court.
On this day.
The leukemia patients voluntarily lined the roads to bid farewell to Cheng Yong.
They all removed their masks, their eyes filled with gratitude.
Cheng Yong smiled.
He wasn't a god, but he did his utmost.
He had once sold medicine for money, and later, he used that money to subsidize the patients.
He was saving lives!
He wasn't selling medicine; he was selling hope!
The movie ended three years later with Cheng Yong's release from prison.
Officer Cao mentioned that the genuine medicine had been included in medical insurance.
At that moment, the audience, who had been wiping away tears, breathed a collective sigh of relief.
When the movie ended, the audience did not leave.
A poignant piece of music began, followed by an introduction to chronic myeloid leukemia.
In this world, the special medicines were not yet covered by medical insurance, but the country was working towards it. The filming of this movie was intended to leverage Jiangnan's fame to raise societal awareness of patients with this condition, generate public opinion, and thus gain more confidence and leverage when negotiating with pharmaceutical companies for inclusion in medical insurance.
"Perhaps far away or yesterday,
Here or on the opposite shore,
The long road turns, separations and reunions, joys and sorrows,
People gather and people part,
Letting go of right and wrong, then the answer is known,
The bravery of living,
Without the halo of a god,
You and I are born ordinary..."
As the end credit song "Just Ordinary" played, the audience in the cinema burst into tears!
On New Year's Day, they had wanted to watch a lighthearted comedy, but instead, they were devastated by the "blades" from that old scoundrel Jiangnan!
However, not a single person complained or cursed the movie.
Even after the song finished, some people remained seated, lingering for a long time.
They were moved by the story, moved by the characters in the film.
Whether it was the protagonist Cheng Yong's growth, Lu Shouyi's tragic life, Sihui who was willing to abandon her dignity and sell her body to treat her daughter, or Huang Mao who initially looked down on Cheng Yong but later risked his life for him, or the old grandmother who tearfully pleaded that she just wanted to live.
In the hearts of the audience, these were not just movie characters; they were like vivid, living people!