The Northern Border.
A small town on the surface.
Liu Dehai dragged his exhausted body home and placed the bag of food he had bought with work points that day on the table.
His wife came over, handed him a cup of hot water, and said, "Lele's coughing terribly. If this continues, she might be left with a chronic illness."
"She can't go without medicine."
Liu Dehai held his head and said quietly, "I know."
"I'll think of something."
His wife lowered her voice. "Lele's illness can't be delayed any longer."
"I know, but you also know our situation..."
His wife lowered her voice further. "I heard Aunt Zhang say that the clinic on West Street has been buying blood recently, and the price is quite fair. I'll sell some tomorrow and use the money to treat Lele."
The moment Liu Dehai heard that, he stood up. "No. Your health is already weak. How can you sell blood?"
"If anyone's selling, it should be me."
His wife said, "You're even less suited for it. You're the pillar of our family. If you collapse, what will become of the two of us?"
Liu Dehai said forcefully, "Don't worry about this. I know what to do."
The next day, he went to the small clinic on West Street and was surprised to find that quite a few people had come to sell blood.
Everyone had to line up.
Among the people in line, he spotted someone familiar.
"Old Tian, what are you doing here too?"
A man turned around. When he saw Liu Dehai, he grinned. "The price here is fair. They give you five thousand work points for drawing 200 CC, plus nutritional supplements."
"If they didn't keep records and have a rule that donors can't give blood again within two