On Monday morning, Wu Chunmei arrived at the market, intending to check on Li Su'e's stall first.
To her surprise, Li Su'e's stall was a mess, with a pile of things haphazardly placed.
Based on Wu Chunmei's understanding of Li Su'e, this was completely out of character.
Li Su'e was a meticulous person, always tidying her stall neatly before closing each day.
In her own words, a clean stall made for a better mood the next day.
What could have happened for Li Su'e to not even have time to tidy her stall?
With this question in mind, Wu Chunmei walked over to the stall owner next door.
"What? Sister E hasn't set up her stall for two days?"
"Then, do you happen to know where Sister E lives?"
"Thank you, thank you so much."
Hearing that Li Su'e hadn't been at her stall for two days, Wu Chunmei suddenly felt a bad premonition.
After asking for Li Su'e's address, she bought her vegetables and left the market immediately.
An hour later, Wu Chunmei arrived at a shantytown.
Low self-built houses were everywhere, and they looked very old. Many had long cracks, and garbage and sewage flowed freely, making the environment extremely dirty and chaotic.
Since the stall owner next to Li Su'e had only given Wu Chunmei a general address and not a specific house number, she had to search aimlessly like a headless fly.
After a while, she realized she should ask people for directions.
Then, Wu Chunmei walked and asked along the way.
She asked seven or eight people before finally meeting an older woman who knew Li Su'e.
The woman looked at Wu Chunmei with suspicion, "Who are you, and why are you looking for Su'e?"
"Sister, Sister E and I are from the same hometown. Today at the market, I heard people say she hadn't set up her stall for two days. I don't know what happened to her, so I came to see her. Do you know where she lives?"
Wu Chunmei explained her intentions to the woman truthfully.
Upon hearing that Wu Chunmei was a fellow villager of Li Su'e, the woman's wary demeanor eased.
Then, she sighed, "Ah, younger sister, Su'e is such a good person. Heaven is blind, giving her cancer. How will she and her daughter live?"
Cancer?
The woman's words were like a bolt from the blue, leaving Wu Chunmei frozen on the spot, unable to react for a long time.
No wonder Sister E often felt tired, and no wonder she always thought her complexion was off.
So, Sister E had cancer.
Wu Chunmei's eyes instantly welled up.
"Su'e's house is at the end of the alley ahead, then turn left."
"Sister, thank you."
"No need, no need. Go see Su'e."
After thanking her, Wu Chunmei walked on with faltering steps, as if walking on clouds.
How could this be? How could Sister E have cancer? She was still young, and she had a daughter in school to take care of.
As Wu Chunmei walked, she thought about what Li Su'e had told her before.
Li Su'e had a daughter who was studying at university in Rongcheng.
Originally, with her grades, she could have gone to a better university, but to save money and be closer to Li Su'e, her daughter resolutely chose Rongcheng University.
And whenever Li Su'e spoke of her daughter, her face would light up with a genuine smile.
In her words, having such a daughter was a blessing from her previous life.
Soon, a small courtyard enclosed by a low cement wall appeared before Wu Chunmei.
Wu Chunmei sniffled, wiped her eyes with her hand, and then stepped forward to knock.
A moment later, the door creaked open.
"Hello, who are you looking for?"
The door was opened from the inside.
A girl with a simple appearance, delicate features, and a long ponytail, revealed half of her body and looked at Wu Chunmei.
"You must be Jingjing, right? My name is Wu Chunmei, and I'm Sister E's fellow villager."
Seeing the girl at the door, who bore a strong resemblance to Li Su'e, Wu Chunmei immediately guessed that she must be Li Su'e's daughter.
"Oh, so it's Aunt Wu. Please come in quickly. My mom always mentions you, saying you often help her sell fish."
Li Su'e's daughter, Li Jing, after hearing Wu Chunmei's introduction, opened the door wide and invited her in.
"Aunt Wu, my mom went out for something and will be back shortly. Please have a seat and wait."
After inviting Wu Chunmei inside, Li Jing quickly found clean cups and poured her a glass of water.
Wu Chunmei looked around Li Su'e's home. There were quite a few vegetables planted in the yard, and they were well-maintained.
Although there were few items in the house, and most of them looked old, they were neatly arranged and wiped clean.
Saying thank you, Wu Chunmei took a sip of water and then put it down.
Wu Chunmei didn't have to wait long before the main door of Li Su'e's house made a sound again.
"That should be my mom coming back."
Li Jing said, standing up and walking out. Wu Chunmei followed.
Indeed, when they reached the courtyard, they saw Li Su'e closing the gate.
"Chunmei, why are you here?"
As Li Su'e turned around, she saw Wu Chunmei behind her daughter and was immediately surprised.
Wu Chunmei quickly stepped forward, "Sister E, how is your health..."
"I'm fine. I was just too tired a couple of days ago, so I decided to rest. Look, you even came to see me."
Before Wu Chunmei could finish her sentence, Li Su'e deliberately interrupted her.
Then she said to Li Jing, "Jingjing, it's rare for Aunt Wu to visit. Go buy some ingredients."
"You don't have to be so formal, Sister E, I..."
"How can that be? You've come all the way to my house. I can't neglect you. Jingjing, go buy the groceries."
Wu Chunmei wanted to say that she had come to find out about Li Su'e's condition, but to her surprise, she was interrupted by Li Su'e twice in succession.
Li Jing obediently nodded and went out to buy groceries.
"Chunmei, I know what you want to ask, but Jingjing doesn't know about my situation yet, which is why I didn't let you ask in front of her."
After Li Jing left, Li Su'e finally explained why she had interrupted Wu Chunmei twice.
Wu Chunmei followed Li Su'e into the house. After they sat down, she hesitated for a moment before asking, "Sister E, on the way here, I heard people say that you are sick..."
The word "cancer," Wu Chunmei couldn't bring herself to say it.
"Yes, I have bone cancer, and it's in the late stage."
Li Su'e's tone was exceptionally calm, as if she were talking about someone else.
Hearing this, Wu Chunmei could no longer hold back her tears, which streamed down her face.
"Sister E! What exactly is going on? You said before that you were fine, just overworked. How could it be cancer, sob sob."
Li Su'e looked at Wu Chunmei, who was crying for her, and a bitter smile appeared on her face, "I wish it was just a joke from heaven, but it's not."