Chapter 118 1/2

The old lady has seven living children, a bunch of grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, but Yan Xiang is still seeing her for the first time.

This child is different from the children at home. Not only does he look exactly like the second son when he was a child, but his eyes are also particularly clean and clear.

The “grandma” he called out was extremely natural, coming from the heart, bursting with joy at the first meeting due to blood ties.

Yan Lei’s mother’s heart softened instantly.

“Ah—” she responded, “Xiang Xiang, right, come… let grandma have a look.”

She bent down and reached out her arms.

Without Qiao Wei needing to say anything, Yan Xiang happily pounced over, naturally without any sense of unfamiliarity or wariness towards his own grandmother.

Yan Lei’s mother quickly squatted down to hug him, expressing indescribable joy, “Good child, good child.”

Yan Xiang called out “grandma” happily a few times, then suddenly paused, sniffled, and his expression changed slightly.

Qiao Wei had told Yan Xiang long ago that when he noticed something unusual about someone else, he shouldn’t shout out in public; he could say it quietly or not at all.

To be more specific, she told Yan Xiang not to shout out that Junjun smells bad.

This advice could be applied to anyone else.

Yan Xiang didn’t say anything as a result. But Yan Lei’s mother still immediately noticed the anomaly; she let go of this clean and tidy, snow-white-shirted child in embarrassment, and stood up awkwardly and said, “Xiang Xiang’s mother, let’s go, let’s go inside.”

“Mom, I’m called Qiao Wei.” Qiao Wei went over, took her arm, and greeted the village party secretary, “Second Uncle, please sit inside our house!”

A group of people then entered the house, and many others followed in to watch the excitement.

These people simply do not exist in the memories inherited by Qiao Wei, and she doesn’t know who they are. Nonetheless, they all followed in with a commotion.

There’s no such thing as privacy in rural areas.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, an old man was being supported by his sons as he came out.

The old man looked a bit inexperienced, somewhat constrained as he asked, “You’ve come?”

This one Qiao Wei recognized.

She continued to support her mother-in-law as she called out, “Dad, I’m Qiao Wei, do you remember me?”

This old man is Yan Lei’s father, Qiao Wei’s father-in-law.

Probably because of his illness, he didn’t look well, seemed a bit distressed: “Ah, ah.”

“Xiang Xiang,” Yan Lei’s mother said, “This is your grandfather. This is your dad, Xiang Xiang, Lei’s son.”

It was also the first time in his life that the old man had seen this grandson, his eyes even had a hint of tears: “Good, good, it’s good that you’ve come back, I can still see my grandson alive…”

Yan Zhu hurriedly said, “Dad, don’t talk nonsense!”

He directed his brothers to help their father inside.

Qiao Wei observed that Yan Lei’s father hadn’t lost his ability to take care of himself; it’s just that the pain from his body made him uncomfortable. This kind of pain had been there all along, making him almost lose his ability to work.

The arrangement in the main hall was typical of a rural household but was cleaned up very neatly.

In this rural society with clear division of labor between men and women, this situation showed that the women in the family were diligent and clean. Qiao Wei was very clear that this was the result of Yan Lei’s mother’s hard work.

Everyone rushed into the main hall, causing a commotion. Various stools, benches, and mats were all set out in a circle.

Finally, Yan Lei’s father sat at the head of the table, and everyone else wanted the village party secretary to sit on the other side. Whether it was now or in the future, the village party secretary was like the god of the village. The party secretary didn’t refuse, just sat down, but beckoned to Qiao Wei, “Qiao Wei, come, sit here.”

He directed Qiao Wei to sit in the first position below Yan Lei’s father, and then everyone else took their seats in order.

“Lei’s father, don’t worry. Lei has told me everything on the phone,” the party secretary said, “Qiao Wei’s return this time is specifically to take care of your illness.”

Qiao Wei asked, “Dad, how are you feeling now?”

Yan Lei’s father didn’t speak, but sighed deeply first, with a distressed expression on his face, obviously suffering from the torment of illness, “I’ve taken several doses of medicine, but it hasn’t improved. Even after injections, it’s still useless. I’m afraid… I’m afraid it’s time…”

“Pffft, don’t talk so pessimistically,” the party secretary interrupted him.

The disappeared women reappeared, bringing out water.

When Yan Lei’s mother appeared, Qiao Wei was about to get up to give her seat to her. Both Yan Zhu and the village party secretary reached out at the same time, “You sit, you sit!”

The party secretary said, “Zhu, find a stool for your mother.”

So someone got up to fetch a stool, and Yan Lei’s mother found a place to sit, looking uncomfortable. She quietly pulled the stool a little farther away from the crowd.

Qiao Wei said, “Dad, I’ve read the situation mentioned in the letter. Let me ask you, do you have pain in your waist, back, and ribs? Sometimes do you have sudden cramps in your stomach? Does it also hurt from the lower abdomen down to the inside of the thigh?”

Yan Lei’s father hurriedly nodded, “Yes, it all hurts.”

“Sometimes do you break out in a cold sweat?”

“Yes, yes!”

Qiao Wei asked, “Do you have blood or pus in your urine?”

When the daughter-in-law asked this, the father-in-law felt a bit embarrassed.

The party secretary said, “This is for medical purposes. Answer truthfully. Concealing illness won’t do any good.”

Yan Zhu answered for his father, “At first it was blood in the urine, later there was also pus. It got serious, that’s why we wrote to Second Brother.”

Qiao Wei nodded, saying, “Before I came, I consulted with comrades from the Health Bureau. They said, if there’s blood or pus in the urine, you can’t delay anymore, you need to have surgery.”

Yan Lei’s father fell silent, and Yan Lei’s mother was even more frightened. Normally, she wouldn’t speak out in so many men’s presence, but this involved her man’s life, so she had to ask, “Lei’s wife… then do we have to go to the county?”

“Mom, just call me Qiao Wei.” Qiao Wei said, looking at Yan Lei’s father, “Dad, can you walk by yourself now? Can you still walk normally?”

Yan Lei’s father said, “I can walk, it’s just uncomfortable.”

The pain in the body may not immediately be life-threatening, but continuous suffering can indeed be life-threatening.

Qiao Wei then asked the village party secretary, “Second Uncle, how far are we from the provincial capital? What transportation do we use to get there? How long does it take?”

The village party secretary was slightly surprised, “We need to go to the provincial capital? Can’t the county hospital handle it? If not, can’t we go to the city?”

But Qiao Wei said, “The medical resources at the provincial-level hospital are far beyond what the county can compare with, and the same goes for the city. If something goes wrong and we have to transfer again, it’s better to go directly to the provincial capital.”

“And besides, I don’t know the progress of the Revolutionary Committee’s establishment here. But generally, it starts from the provincial capital and radiates out to the surrounding areas. Just now, when we got off the train in the county, I saw that the streets were a bit chaotic, indicating that the Revolutionary Committee hasn’t stabilized yet. In such a situation, I’m worried about whether the county hospital can guarantee effective medical conditions.”

“If it’s the provincial capital, if the Revolutionary Committee has stabilized, all systems should have resumed normal operation. Even if there’s a situation, there will be more medical resources available, and the safety rate is much higher than in the county. Instead of going to the county or the city, it’s better to go directly to the provincial capital and use the provincial-level medical resources.”