Chapter 7: Sent to County Hospital

At noon, Qin Zhan came again to deliver lunch. He was on leave now, and with nothing to do at the guesthouse, he delivered meals to Widow Ji three times a day.

Widow Ji felt quite embarrassed. She hadn’t eaten the meat buns from the morning yet, wanting to save them for when her eldest daughter-in-law woke up to nourish her body. But before she even had breakfast, lunch had already arrived.

Widow Ji, a widow raising three sons and a daughter on her own, had a straightforward personality. She also knew Qin Zhan was still blaming himself for her eldest son’s death. Widow Ji sighed and didn’t refuse the lunch.

And so, once she had lunch, she couldn’t refuse dinner either. Widow Ji simply accepted it.

If on the first day the eldest daughter-in-law hadn’t woken up, but the doctor’s words were like a reassurance that comforted her, by the second day, when the daughter-in-law still hadn’t woken up, the doctor’s words no longer helped.

Early in the morning, Widow Ji looked worried. Since the caesarean in the afternoon the day before yesterday until now in the morning, her eldest daughter-in-law still hadn’t woken up. But she had peed twice.

If not for the fact that she could still urinate, Widow Ji would have suspected her daughter-in-law was already dead.

So when Qin Zhan came to deliver breakfast, Widow Ji expressed her concern: “Comrade Qin, my eldest daughter-in-law has not woken up since the caesarean the afternoon before yesterday. The doctor came yesterday morning and afternoon and said her body was fine, but… but how can a healthy person still be asleep after two days?”

Qin Zhan was shocked when he heard this. He had come three times yesterday—morning, noon, and night—and had seen her asleep each time, thinking she had woken up and fallen back asleep. He hadn’t realized she had been unconscious since the difficult birth.

This indeed seemed like a problem.

Qin Zhan said, “Auntie, eat your breakfast first. When the doctor starts rounds, we’ll ask him again. Or, if needed, we’ll arrange for discharge and transfer her to the county hospital.”

“Alright… alright…” Hearing Qin Zhan say this, Widow Ji felt like she had found her backbone. Honestly, while she appeared to be the pillar of the Ji family, that was only in front of her family. Outside, she was still hesitant and unsure. When encountering things she didn’t understand, she didn’t know what to do.

But with Qin Zhan around, she felt much more at ease.

Widow Ji hadn’t finished breakfast when Second Brother Ji came to deliver today’s meals. Yesterday, Zhang Caihua had come, but Second Brother Ji was also concerned about the situation at the hospital, so he came himself today.

Second Brother Ji didn’t stay long. He dropped off the food, stood around for a few minutes, noted Zhang Caihua’s instructions, and left again to rush back to work.

Finally, when the doctors started their shifts, before they could come for rounds, Qin Zhan went to find them.

“You’re saying the mother still hasn’t woken up?” The doctor was stunned upon hearing Qin Zhan’s words. Although during the afternoon check yesterday the patient hadn’t yet woken up, he hadn’t expected her to still be unconscious by today.

“Yes.” Qin Zhan confirmed.

The doctor dared not delay, fearing a medical mishap due to negligence. He immediately went with Qin Zhan to the ward. Upon arrival, the doctor performed a full examination on Ning Xin.

He checked the pulse, heart rate, and all possible aspects within his capacity.

After the examination, the doctor began calling out, “Comrade Ning… Comrade Ning…” Not only did he call out, he also pushed Ning Xin’s shoulder. “Comrade Ning…”

However, there was no response at all.

“This is strange. Her body is fine. All her physiological functions are operating normally. The glucose drips over the past two days have also improved her overall condition. But how could she not wake up? If she were simply sleeping from fatigue, with us calling and pushing her, she should have responded.” The doctor was at a loss.

There was no such concept as a vegetative state in this era. The term “vegetative state” wasn’t proposed until 1972 by a foreign medical professor. Therefore, the doctor had no idea.

The patient’s current condition exceeded the scope of his medical knowledge.

The doctor did not dare to delay. “Maybe my knowledge is limited. You better hurry and take her to the county hospital.”

Upon hearing the doctor say this, Widow Ji was greatly shaken. Her body swayed, and she quickly grabbed the bed rail, breathing heavily, feeling as though her heart was about to leap out of her chest.

Eldest daughter-in-law, you must be alright. Eldest, you unfortunate soul, even if your life was short, you must bless your wife to be safe and sound.

As Widow Ji prayed in her heart, she quickly said, “To the county hospital. We’re going to the county hospital right away… I… Comrade Qin, please look after the ward. I’ll go to the team leader to borrow an ox cart.”

Qin Zhan said, “Auntie, you wait here. I’ll go ask at the supply and marketing cooperative next door to see if there’s an ox cart. If not, I’ll go to your brigade. I’ll be faster than you.”

Widow Ji thought it made sense and let Qin Zhan go.

Qin Zhan went straight to the town’s police station and showed his military ID to explain the situation. The town police station had just handled Ji Aihua’s cancellation of registration the day before. Hearing that his wife now needed to borrow an ox cart to go to the county hospital, they naturally offered help without hesitation.

The supply and marketing cooperative had an ox cart. In this era with inconvenient transportation, the ox cart was the most important mode of transportation for people in the countryside. The supply and marketing cooperative also needed the ox cart to transport goods on a regular basis.

Therefore, when the police took Qin Zhan to the supply and marketing cooperative to borrow the ox cart, the person in charge of the cooperative agreed without hesitation and even asked the cart driver to take them to the county hospital.

In the hospital ward

Widow Ji was overjoyed when she heard Qin Zhan say that he borrowed the ox cart from the supply and marketing cooperative. This was much faster than going to the brigade to borrow one.

However: “Comrade Qin, my daughter-in-law is in such a condition, and I, an old woman, can’t carry her. Could I trouble you to carry her onto the ox cart?”

“No problem,” Qin Zhan said. Even if the woman giving birth wasn’t someone he knew, if he encountered a female comrade who had collapsed on the ground, he would definitely carry her to the hospital as well.

So, Qin Zhan carried Ning Xin, Widow Ji carried a bundle and the baby, and they all went to the ox cart. Accompanying them was the police officer from the township police station who had come to borrow the ox cart with them.

The road from the township to the county, although bumpy and made of mud, was much smoother than the roads in the countryside.

After about an hour, the ox cart arrived at the county hospital. Although in this era, people wouldn’t go to the hospital for minor illnesses or pains, the county hospital was far from as deserted as the commune hospital.

Once the ox cart stopped, the police officer went ahead to notify the hospital. Qin Zhan followed behind carrying Ning Xin. Behind him was Widow Ji carrying the baby.

It had to be said that with a police comrade helping at the front, Ning Xin was quickly arranged into a ward.

While reviewing the case file provided by the commune hospital, the doctor asked, “Who is the family member? What is the patient’s condition?”

Widow Ji spoke up hurriedly, “It’s me, it’s me. I’m the patient’s mother-in-law. My daughter-in-law was stimulated and gave birth prematurely the afternoon before last. She was unconscious when we sent her to the commune hospital… and until this morning, she hasn’t woken up. Both I and the nurse at the commune hospital called her, pushed her, but she had no reaction.”

Widow Ji spoke without any hesitation, explaining everything clearly in just a few words.

The doctor was shocked after hearing her explanation. “When you called her and pushed her, did the patient have any other reactions? For example, did her fingers move, did her breathing become quicker, and so on? The patient might be using such subtle actions to express consciousness.”

“This… I didn’t notice,” Widow Ji hadn’t paid attention to that. She just saw that her eldest daughter-in-law was unresponsive.

Doctor: “Call her now and push her so I can observe.”

“Alright…” Widow Ji immediately called out, “Eldest daughter-in-law, eldest daughter-in-law, open your eyes and take a look. You gave your husband a big healthy boy. The child looks like you, very handsome. Eldest daughter-in-law…”

“No reaction, push her,” the doctor instructed.

Widow Ji, with one arm holding the baby, used her other hand to push her eldest daughter-in-law’s shoulder hard.

“Still no reaction,” the doctor frowned. “From the afternoon before last until this morning, did the patient show any other conditions?”

Other conditions?

Widow Ji didn’t understand.

Doctor: “She hasn’t eaten for so long. Her stomach would be hungry. A hungry person might make sounds. Are there any such physiological responses?”

“Ah…” Widow Ji remembered. “She urinated. She did it twice. Does that count?”

Ning Xin, who had always been conscious, already had a bad feeling when she heard the doctor mention physiological responses. Now that she heard what Widow Ji said, she was so furious that she fainted on the spot.