Chapter 61: Chapter 13: Gan Tieshan’s Concerns
Chen Wen didn’t understand the situation of several people as clearly as the netizens did.
He thought for a moment and sat directly next to Gan Tieshan.
Lu Heng had some health issues, no need to bother about.
But Gan Tieshan obviously had something on his mind.
As soon as Chen Wen sat down, he cheerfully picked up the pot over the campfire and poured the boiling tea into a coconut shell.
"Have some tea, Shan."
Hearing the voice, Gan Tieshan reluctantly lifted his head and smiled at Chen Wen: "You drink it, I’m not thirsty."
Chen Wen slightly nodded and didn’t say more.
After a moment of silence, Chen Wen said, "Shan, you made that bed pretty well, I noticed there weren’t any nails on the island, how did you make it?"
Gan Tieshan hesitated for a moment and said, "Mortise and tenon structure."
Before Chen Wen could speak, Zhuo Hongnian, sitting on one side, suddenly perked up: "Wow, is that our traditional craft? I heard it’s even intangible cultural heritage!"
Gan Tieshan shook his head: "I’m not that skilled, I just learned it from the carpenter in the town."
"It’s much rougher than those intangible cultural heritage mortise and tenon structures."
"That’s still impressive!"
Chen Wen remarked, "To be honest, Shan, if it weren’t for your skills, we wouldn’t have made it this far."
Gan Tieshan shook his head in response to those words.
But Chen Wen analyzed earnestly: "Look, our catch, Lv holds up half the sky by himself, right?"
"His back isn’t in good shape; if you hadn’t made that bed early on, allowing him to rest at night, he’d have been unable to do heavy work by now because of the pain, right?"
"So, without your skill, we’d have collapsed long ago!"
Hearing Chen Wen’s words, Gan Tieshan seemed to feel a bit better.
But he still said, "Captain, just say what you want to say."
Chen Wen hesitated for a moment and then said, "Okay, I’ll be direct, this morning I noticed you seemed a bit sluggish, why is that? Dissatisfied with the task assignments?"
Regarding this question, Gan Tieshan seemed to have anticipated it.
He didn’t hesitate, directly saying, "I’m planning to quit."
Quit!
Hearing those two words, the others who were pretending not to hear couldn’t help but sit up straight.
"Why suddenly... is it because your body can’t take it?"
Chen Wen asked in surprise.
He hadn’t expected that only on the third day, a member would want to quit.
"The body is fine."
Gan Tieshan’s face looked a little off: "It’s about the money."
Before Chen Wen could ask further, Gan Tieshan directly said, "We, who came in the first batch, the program team didn’t give much money at that time."
"The monthly money, plus the share from gifts, all together is just about ten thousand, that’s for the regular members."
"If you can become a captain or make a special contribution to the team, you can earn a bit more."
Saying that, Gan Tieshan glanced at Chen Wen with a complicated look: "I... I really need money!"
"At the beginning, I questioned your qualification to be the captain, actually out of selfish reasons, from our entire perspective, I actually hoped you would be the captain, especially after yesterday."
"I could feel that you are very good at survival, you are born for this, but I’m not, I can’t hold on."
"When I signed up for the program team, I was there for the money, if I became a captain, I could earn more than usual, but if I couldn’t become one, it wouldn’t be better than usual."
"After yesterday, I realized clearly; you are the most suitable to be the captain! I can’t let everyone suffer because of my selfishness!"
Hearing Gan Tieshan’s words, everyone fell silent.
Zhuo Hongnian hesitated and asked, "Shan, even if you’re not the captain, the money you earn is still a lot, why is it not as good as usual?"
Gan Tieshan gave a bitter smile and explained, "I mean normally, it’s working at the construction site during the day and delivering meals at night."
Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked.
Working at the site all day, and delivering meals at night.
Can one endure this?!
Seemingly aware of their thoughts, Gan Tieshan said, "I’m not doing heavy work, the contractor is also a hometown friend, the workload isn’t that large."
"Shan, what do you need money for? No matter how short of money, you can’t push this hard!"
Wang Zhi asked puzzled.
"Oh, nothing, my son is sick, needs money for treatment."
Gan Tieshan said pretending to be relaxed: "Don’t worry, I won’t be like this forever, once he’s healed, I’ll stop pushing myself this hard."
At this point, Chen Wen, who had been silent, suddenly said, "Shan, your son is..."
"Spinal muscular atrophy, can’t be cured, but can be relieved, relief requires injections, one injection... seven hundred thousand."
(Note: The special medication for this disease is Nusinersen sodium, which before being included in medical insurance, each injection costs 700 thousand, currently reduced to 33 thousand per injection after being included in insurance)
Gan Tieshan’s words left everyone utterly silent.
One injection costing seven hundred thousand, for many people, that price is astronomical!
Not to mention for Gan Tieshan, coming from a migrant worker background.
Gan Tieshan said no more, lowering his head, and walking out.
After Gan Tieshan walked some distance away.
Lu Heng suddenly said, "The special medication Shan mentioned is called Nusinersen sodium, in the country, it really is seven hundred thousand per injection."
Chen Wen glanced up at Lu Heng, puzzled.
How did he know so much about this stuff?
Lu Heng looked at Chen Wen and said, "I mentioned during my self-introduction, I’m a second-generation rich kid, my family is in the pharmaceutical business."
"The problem now is, even if Shan goes back, he can’t earn that much money!"
Wang Zhi was a bit anxious: "Lu Heng, it may not be appropriate for me to say this, but could you help Shan?"
"It’s hard, I don’t have that much money either."
Lu Heng looked down: "My dad has money, but if I can’t get it, I myself have a bit of savings, just enough for one injection."
"The problem is, the medication requires six injections in the first year! Continued injections are needed afterwards, though fewer."
This completely stunned everyone.
Six injections, four million two hundred thousand! And that’s per year!
Where would anyone get that kind of money!
The people, who had initially planned to help Gan Tieshan, stopped speaking.
They didn’t have that kind of money either.
Even if they did, Gan Tieshan isn’t closely related to them, why help him?
Chen Wen looked towards the woods at Gan Tieshan, who was fiddling with the satellite phone, planning to withdraw.
It was hard to imagine.
This silent, reticent man carried such a heavy burden.
As everyone was in a daze, at a loss.
Chen Wen suddenly said, "Everyone, although we can’t completely solve this for Shan, we have to offer some help within our capabilities."
Hearing this, everyone lifted their heads and looked at Chen Wen, with confusion in their eyes.
How to help? Donations?
Chen Wen continued, "Shan is honest, he won’t earn that much even if he works hard upon returning, but here, if we fully support Shan, at least he can earn more than usual!"
"Earlier I noticed, Lu Heng’s stomach can’t handle seafood, so I had an idea, to establish a new group, responsible for exploring the island, seeking resources on the island."
"Taking this opportunity, I’ll just say it directly: First, I’ll give up my position as the internal team captain, let Shan take it, while I go to this new exploration group."
"Second, when everyone is back, let’s ask around, we all come from different industries, maybe someone else works in a related field and can help Shan."
"Third, Lu, since your family is in this line of business, could you ask your father if there are trial medications..."
Chen Wen didn’t finish, but Lu Heng understood, "I will ask!"
"In short, everyone, don’t be discouraged, we still have time!"
Chen Wen stood up and encouraged them: "I really like a saying, which is to do good deeds without seeking future returns! As long as we try, no matter the result, we won’t regret it, having a clear conscience, that’s what matters!"