Chapter 14

Following what her husband said, Su Wan took an umbrella and went to the market.

Even though it was raining, the place was packed with people shopping for the New Year—adults and children alike, creating a lively atmosphere.

Su Wan squeezed through the crowd, her backpack worn on her front and hidden under a military coat, so she wasn’t worried about theft.

The clothes in Ming Province were actually quite stylish—cashmere sweaters, padded jackets, little leather boots—so many options that it was dizzying.

She bought herself two cashmere sweaters, a woolen coat, two pairs of jeans, two sets of thermal underwear, two pairs of lambskin boots, two pairs of underwear, and five pairs of socks. For Chen Yuan, she bought two sets of thermal underwear, two cashmere sweaters, two pairs of black casual pants, two pairs of sneakers, three pairs of underwear, and five pairs of socks.

Altogether, the clothes cost her over 340 yuan.

She packed everything into a nylon bag and then stopped by a few other shops to buy essentials like a washbasin, a bucket, toothpaste, toothbrushes, towels, and so on—those cost a bit more than ten yuan.

Passing by a roasted goods store, she bought three jin of sugar-roasted chestnuts, two jin of sunflower seeds, two jin of White Rabbit milk candies, and some biscuits, then carried everything back.

She hadn’t noticed when the rain had stopped, but as she rushed back to the guesthouse, the skies suddenly opened up again, rain pouring down as if trying to punch holes in the ground.

Back in the room, she washed all the clothes and hung them in the bathroom to dry.

With this kind of weather, who knew when they’d actually dry?

Su Wan sighed, stashed the snacks into her luggage bag, removed her backpack, and took out a hundred yuan to keep in the outer pocket.

She had a simple lunch at the guesthouse cafeteria, then headed to the hospital.

As soon as she entered the hospital, she saw Xiao Wang waving at her excitedly. “Sister-in-law, Company Commander Chen is awake!”

Su Wan quickened her pace. “Where is he now?”

“The doctor’s examining him. He’ll be transferred to a regular room shortly.”

The anxiety that had been weighing on her finally lifted.

“Can we go to the ICU now?”

“I think so?”

Just as they were talking, a nurse walked over and said to Su Wan, “Are you Chen Yuan’s family? He’s been moved to a regular ward on the fourth floor—you can go up now.”

Hearing this, the two of them hurried up the stairs to the fourth floor.

Once there, they looked around and spotted Chen Yuan lying in a bed among the many white-coated patients. A team of specialists was conducting a consultation, so they could only wait outside.

About ten minutes later, the lead doctor turned around, looked at Su Wan and Xiao Wang, and asked, “Are you family of Comrade Chen Yuan?”

“I’m his wife,” Su Wan stepped forward immediately and asked anxiously, “Doctor, how is my husband?”

“The patient has strong willpower and good physical fitness. You, as the family member, need to take good care of him. Make sure to prepare nutritious soups for him…”

The doctor continued listing care instructions, and once he finished, he left with the other medical staff.

A nurse walked over carrying some supplies and said, “Family of Bed 28, Chen Yuan—the patient’s urine bag is full. You need to replace it. I’ll show you how.”

Su Wan immediately went over and learned how to change the urine bag.

After demonstrating, the nurse gave detailed instructions: “You’ll need to turn the patient over daily, wipe down his lower body, and clean him properly if he defecates. Don’t slack off. If not cleaned properly, he could develop bedsores.”

“I understand. Thank you!”

“If you have any questions, just ask us. For now, let him drink rice water or thin porridge—keep it light.”

With those reminders, the nurse finally left.

Once she was gone, Su Wan turned to look at Chen Yuan, who was lying in bed with his head still wrapped in gauze. She said, “How are you feeling? Don’t speak if it’s uncomfortable. I’ll talk to Xiao Wang.”

“You…” Chen Yuan opened his mouth, wanting to speak, but it was obviously painful for him.

“If it hurts, don’t try to talk. I need to go back to the guesthouse and bring our things. I’ll ask Xiao Wang to stay with you for a bit.”

With that, Su Wan walked toward the door.

“Comrade Xiao Wang, could you please stay with Chen Yuan while I go get our belongings from the guesthouse?”

“Of course, Sister-in-law. Go ahead—I’ll keep an eye on the Company Commander.”

Su Wan didn’t waste time. After speaking with Xiao Wang, she hurried back to the guesthouse.

Not knowing how to formally check out, she simply stuffed the wet clothes into a bag, packed the rest of her things, and was about to leave when she bumped into the political commissar.

He seemed to be looking for her, and when he saw her, he immediately stopped. “Comrade Su Wan, I was just looking for you!”

“Sir, is something the matter?”

“Chen Yuan is awake and still needs your care. The department has decided that once his condition stabilizes, he’ll return to Guangdong. For now, both of you need to stay at the hospital. His six months’ worth of wages hasn’t been paid yet. We’re also issuing next month’s salary in advance—so that’s seven months total, amounting to 784 yuan. Plus, we’ve applied for a 200-yuan subsidy for him. You’ll also receive seven months’ worth of ration tickets: 140 jin of grain, 21 jin of meat, and 14 jin of oil. I’ve brought everything for you—please take it.”

The commissar handed her a cloth bag containing all the wages and subsidies.

Su Wan took it and said, “Thank you, Sir. I’ll stay at the hospital tonight. I’ll go ahead and check out of the guesthouse—no need to waste money.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Comrade Su Wan. We’ve already asked the specialists and department heads here to look after Chen Yuan. He’ll return to the unit once he fully recovers.”

The commissar came quickly and left just as fast. Su Wan stuffed the cloth bag into her backpack and carried all her bags to the hospital.

Because of the severity of Chen Yuan’s injuries, he had been assigned a private room with a bedroom, living room, kitchen, and bathroom—meaning Su Wan could cook there.

She put everything in place and hung the wet clothes up again.

Seeing this, Xiao Wang reminded her, “Sister-in-law, your clothes won’t dry like that. The hospital has a sterilizing dryer—you can ask a nurse to help.”

“I’ll go ask one in a bit.”

Su Wan left the room and found a nurse to ask about drying the clothes.

Apparently, the hospital had already been briefed. The nurse noticed the military coat Su Wan was wearing and nodded, “Put them in a bucket and bring them here—I’ll take them to be dried and bring them back when they’re ready.”

Back then, nurses weren’t as concerned about being bothered. They took pride in their profession and respected heroes like Chen Yuan.

If they could help, they were happy to do so.

Su Wan returned to the ward, packed the clothes into a bucket, handed them to the nurse, thanked her, and went back to the room.

“Xiao Wang, I’m all set now. Thanks for staying so long—you should get back to your duties.”

“Sister-in-law, I’ll head off then.”

Xiao Wang stood up and turned to Chen Yuan. “Company Commander, get some rest. I’ll visit again when I have time.”