Sheng Xia

The lineup for the ward rounds on the second day was different from usual. Director Lin and Deputy Director Li were both absent, and the person who presided over the rounds was Cheng Liang.

Cheng Liang had been on night duty the whole night. His mouth was filled with the taste of lemon lollipops mixed with coffee. Although he had buttoned up his white coat for fear of getting caught by the disciplinary inspectors, it was still loose. However, his hair was surprisingly neat today, and it looked like he had specially combed it.

“The directors are attending a symposium today, so it’s just us for the morning rounds.” He spoke, still using his lazy tone.

“Pay attention to the patients in these beds.” He pointed to the beds marked on the form, and meticulously followed the hospital’s established ward round preparation process. Then waved his hand, leading a dozen or so people to start the rounds.

If Director Lin found out, he would probably nag him again, Cheng Liang thought as he pushed open the door of the first ward.

In Director Lin’s standards, strictly following procedures without engaging one’s mind was considered perfunctory, and Cheng Liang loved this kind of perfunctory the most.

It saves time, and effort, and is safe.

Just like today’s rounds, there were no mistakes or accidents.

Except for bed 15.

Aunt Liu, who was in bed 15, was in particularly good spirits today. She had gotten out of bed early, changed into a clean hospital gown, and combed her hair neatly.

“Dr. Cheng,” her complexion didn’t look as pale and haggard as the past two days, “I’ve made up my mind. I’ll have the surgery.”

The ward instantly fell silent.

None of the doctors spoke right away, and even Sheng Xia, who was sitting by the bed memorizing vocabulary, looked at Aunt Liu.

“The money for the surgery can be arranged,” Aunt Liu said, “My family has started selling the house. Once it’s sold, I’ll hand the money over to the hospital, and then I can have the surgery.”

“Has your family agreed?” Cheng Liang asked.

Bed 15 was Director Lin’s patient, and he had consulted experts several times for this patient. He should be very pleased to hear this news.

“I will talk to them.” Aunt Liu seemed to have really thought it through, and she didn’t hesitate at all. She even analyzed for the doctors, “They say that after marriage, the property is divided equally. If the house is sold, I’ll only take my half, which should be enough for the surgery.”

“That’s my money. Even if they don’t agree, it doesn’t matter. If it doesn’t work out, I can still get a divorce. After a divorce, the property will have to be divided equally.” Aunt Liu hurriedly looked into Cheng Liang’s eyes, “I always have to live. I’ll live first then figure out the rest.”

“Director Lin will return to Lucheng tomorrow afternoon. He will call your family to talk with you about the cost and risks of the surgery.” Cheng Liang didn’t waste words. “If everything is confirmed to be okay, we can proceed with the surgery.”

“Your physical condition……” Cheng Liang flipped through Aunt Liu’s medical records. “The sooner the surgery, the better.”

“Okay, okay, okay.” Aunt Liu nodded vigorously.

Aunt Liu, who had decided to seize the last chance to live, was immersed in the exuberance of finally figuring things out. However, Sheng Xia, who had watched the whole thing from the sidelines, saw the subtle looks that had been exchanged among the interns.

There was hesitation.

There was an ambiguous meaning.

The most obvious sign of disapproval was from Dr. Sun, who had been severely cut down by Director Lin before.

“And you.” Cheng Liang suddenly looked up and walked straight to Sheng Xia, “Your test results from this morning are out. You can have the surgery. It’s scheduled for the day after tomorrow, Thursday.”

“I’ll talk to you about the surgery process and risks to you tomorrow night. Have your friend come along too.” He gave instructions as he walked, followed by a group of doctors.

Sheng Xia was frightened by this formation and nodded nervously.

“If I’m quick, can I catch up with Xiao Xia’s surgery?” Aunt Liu, who had decided on a major event, felt more relaxed and even looked forward to it.

“Maybe we can be discharged together.” She grinned, her yellowed eye corners filled with smile lines.

Cheng Liang didn’t answer. Sheng Xia saw his hand holding the medical record pause, then he put it into the pocket of his white coat.

The ward rounds were over.

Doctors never revealed unnecessary emotions and words in front of patients, but Sheng Xia perceived a subtle emotion in the expressions of the interns.

It probably wasn’t a surgery with a very high success rate, and that was why doctors like Dr. Sun would disagree. Patients like Aunt Liu were too prone to disputes.

However, looking at Aunt Liu, who looked so elated, Sheng Xia suppressed the slight hesitation in her heart.

Life is the most important.

One must always live on, and then think about other things later.

***

Sheng Xia didn’t know how Aunt Liu specifically told her family about her decision to undergo surgery. No matter how calm and composed she was, she was only in her early twenties after all, and the fact that she was about to have surgery and have her gallbladder removed and was finally about to enter the final preparation stage, affected her mental state—at least she didn’t finish memorizing her English words today.

On Wednesday, the last day of the countdown to Sheng Xia’s surgery, two things happened on the 18th floor of the inpatient department.

The first thing was about Aunt Liu.

This time, many people from her family came. Sheng Xia saw Aunt Liu’s husband, who had been kicked out by the security guard before, her son, and her daughter-in-law, who was pregnant but not yet showing. The three of them had very ugly expressions.

“There’s no way I’m going to agree to this.” Aunt Liu’s husband said with a dark face even before entering the ward. “You know that surgery has risks, right? Why did the doctors advise you to have surgery? It’s because their hospital wants to make money! Your ears are soft, you believe whatever anyone says to you.”

His voice was very loud, especially the part about the hospital wanting to make money, which was practically shouted out, and the entire floor of the hospital building should have heard it.

Aunt Liu was both angry and anxious. Her body was weak, so she didn’t have the strength to stand up and pull her husband in. She could only slap the bed board hard while suppressing her voice, “You come in! Come in and close the door, and speak more quietly!”

She had been gossiping all her life, and the thing she feared most was being gossiped about.

But her man looked like he was here to trouble, standing at the door, loudly yelling: “I haven’t done anything wrong! Why should I keep my voice down?! It’s this black-hearted hospital that is doing something wrong! They can’t cure diseases! They even want to make money from dying people!”

The nurses had been on alert since the family entered the ward area, and were now planning to contact security.

Aunt Liu was so anxious that her eyes were red, and she also yelled at the top of her lungs, “Your wife is still alive, and you already found another woman to change the locks at home, do you still dare to say you haven’t done anything wrong?!”

Aunt Liu’s family froze.

Sheng Xia also froze.

Only Aunt Liu was sitting on the bed, panting heavily, her red neck covered in blue veins.

“Come in all of you!” She roared hoarsely, “I’m someone who’s about to die, I don’t care about face anymore. Those barefoot are not afraid of those with shoes^[1]an idiom suggesting that someone who has nothing to lose may be more daring or fearless in their actions.. You’re all healthy and will live for a long time. If you don’t want to be pointed at for the rest of your lives, close the door and come in and talk!”

“You……” The man hesitated at the door for a long time and actually came in. His voice was also much softer, “Which malicious dead bitch talked nonsense with you again?”

Aunt Liu breathed heavily and sneered, “I’ve gossiped about people all my life. I know everything about the white and red affairs of every family in the neighborhood. How could I not know if my own man is fooling around?”

The man fell silent.

Aunt Liu’s daughter-in-law secretly pinched Aunt Liu’s son’s arm. Her skinny son sat down next to Aunt Liu with a mumbled call, “Mom.”

Aunt Liu turned her head to look at him.

After the unhappy parting that day, her son never came to the hospital again. After not seeing each other for two or three days, Aunt Liu became even thinner. Her whole person looked emaciated, with a face showing a ghastly deathly aura.

Aunt Liu’s son stiffened his neck and couldn’t say anything after calling “Mom.”

“You want to buy a house in the school district, right?” Aunt Liu smiled instead, “You also want to buy a big one, right?”

Aunt Liu’s daughter-in-law stood there, interrupting uncomfortably, “Mom, don’t worry about these things, just get well.”

“I’m dying soon.” Aunt Liu looked at her daughter-in-law, “If I don’t worry about it now, do you plan to tell me in a dream after I’m buried?”

This daughter-in-law was brought back by her son after dating for half a year. She was actually quite obedient. Compared to her son and husband, the most her daughter-in-law did was persuade them to buy a house.

“I know why you want to buy a house.” Aunt Liu leaned over and took a sip of water from her cup. “The house you live in now was bought before you were married, and your name is not on the title deed, so it’s unreliable. The man you married is not reliable, your mother-in-law is about to die, and your father-in-law is fascinated by the vixen outside, so you’re afraid that if you don’t get something, you and your child will have to suffer in the future.”

“Buying a school district house is the right thing to do.” Aunt Liu said.

Aunt Liu’s son’s eyes lit up.

“But selling the breakfast shop and the house together to buy a bigger one is not right.” Aunt Liu continued to say, holding her daughter-in-law’s hand without looking at her son.

“Xiaoying ah, your father-in-law has someone interested in him now because he has money in his hands. After all, he’s still the boss of a breakfast shop. He doesn’t have a retirement salary. If the breakfast shop is gone, he loses his livelihood. Which vixen do you think would want such an old man?”

Aunt Liu’s daughter-in-law was stunned.

“You buy a bigger one, and he will have to live with you guys then. Have you thought about that?” Aunt Liu asked.

She tilted her head, asking slowly.

But it made the faces of several people turn pale.

A son who was not filial would naturally not want to bring his old father along to live with him. Not even the son himself wanted to, let alone the daughter-in-law.

“Your father-in-law’s wishful thinking, I know it too,” Aunt Liu half-laid on the bed. “I’ve always been managing the breakfast shop. After I became immobile, he resorted to buying and selling youtiao and soy milk. He’s not sincere in business, always thinking of taking advantage by buying cheap things that are never fresh, so the business is getting worse and worse.”

“He doesn’t want to work anymore, so he just pretends to be generous and sells everything, and in the future, he’ll rely on his son for food and shelter.”

“He can do it,” Aunt Liu looked at her husband and repeated, “He can do it.”

“What the hell are you talking about!” Aunt Liu’s husband yelled with a dark expression.

“Which of my nonsense words is wrong?” Aunt Liu asked in return.

Aunt Liu’s husband turned red but could only mutter, “You’re just confused due to illness. What you say with current condition doesn’t count, and they can’t be taken seriously.”

Aunt Liu ignored him.

She seemed like a different person. Since the night she decided to have the surgery, she appeared as if she put on armor, discarded her dignity, and brought out all the rotten things in her family, laying them out in front of them.

She just wanted to live.

“So, I’ve thought about it,” Aunt Liu looked at her family. “We’ll still buy a house in a school district, but the two of you have low wages, so it’s enough to buy a small that can accommodate a family of three. Sell the house we currently live in, and that should be enough.”

“As for the storefront of the breakfast shop, we’ll sell that too, but this money can’t go to both of you. This money, your father and I will split it evenly,” Aunt Liu continued. “My half will be used to save my life, and as for your father’s, it’ll be for his retirement. If you don’t want to take care of him, then so be it.”

“What do you think?” Aunt Liu didn’t ask her husband. She looked directly at her daughter-in-law.

Sheng Xia, who had been watching the whole time, gave Aunt Liu a thumbs-up when she looked her way.

Auntie, you really didn’t watch all those TV dramas about family gossip in vain??