Chapter 33

The county hospital was well-equipped with basic facilities. The white walls and smell of disinfectant made people feel at ease.

Pei Deyi carried his father inside quickly.

The delay in driving had made Pei’s father’s face even paler. When Pei’s mother saw this, she cried again.

In the hospital, people made way for them and gave up their seats. Pei’s father was admitted to the emergency room and then to the treatment room.

Jiang Xi took care of the paperwork and fees with Pei’s mother and Shi Zhonghua.

The doctor treating Pei’s father saw the large cut and the small amount of blood, noting the area was clean and smelled of disinfectant.

She commented, “This barefoot doctor did a good job stopping the bleeding.”

Pei Zhong, though not very lively, nodded when he heard this.

Most village doctors use acupuncture, so the doctor wasn’t surprised. She skillfully removed the two needles and handed them to Pei Deyi, who gave them to Jiang Xi.

Jiang Xi reinserted the needles into the acupuncture bag.

The hospital doctor began treating the wound, and the nurse asked them to leave to avoid disturbing the treatment.

Mother Pei leaned on Jiang Xi, feeling weak. She found a place to rest and said, “The old man scared me to death.”

“It’s okay. The doctor isn’t worried, so it must not be too serious,” Jiang Xi comforted her.

Mother Pei nodded with tears in her eyes: “Thanks to you, otherwise, an old woman like me would be lost.”

Jiang Xi smiled and said, “Second brother is here too. He must have been tired from carrying me all the way.”

When Pei’s mother mentioned the second child, she looked very unhappy and just nodded without saying anything.

An hour later, Pei Zhong’s wound was treated, and the doctor came out to tell them: “Go to the hospital. The bones are not injured, but the muscles on the leg are injured. Be very careful when changing the dressing. It is easy to have a fever in the next two days. And you can’t use force on this leg for at least three months. It’s best to come for a checkup every two weeks. If there is any special situation, such as the stitches falling off…”

Several people listened carefully and discussed what to do after listening.

Mother Pei looked at her son and Jiang Xi. Naturally, they were the ones to make the decision on this matter. She was old and didn’t know anything.

Jiang Xi said: “You still have to stay in the hospital. We’ll see how Dad recovers.”

She is also a doctor, but her conditions are definitely different from those of doctors in the hospital. It is better to feel more at ease in the hospital.

Seeing this, Pei Deyi also nodded: “Yes!”

Xiang Yiyang took the initiative to say: “We have something else to do. We estimate that we will leave in five days. We will stay in the hospital for five days first and see if we can be discharged after five days. If we can, we can send him back.”

“Thank you for your help, comrade!” Pei’s mother was overjoyed and shook his hand vigorously.

Xiang Yiyang smiled and shook his head.

Jiang Xi said, “Then my second brother will take care of it here. Let’s go to the ward first. Mom, you take care of Dad for the time being. Second brother and I will go get some money and buy some things. We need some things to live here.”

“Okay.” Mother Pei nodded and looked at the second child, a little hesitant and embarrassed: “Thank you for your hard work these two days.”

Pei Deyi glanced at her and shook his head: “It should be.”

Only he can do this kind of thing.

_

The group went to the ward first and settled Pei Zhong down.

It was already one o’clock in the afternoon. The ward was a triple room, which was more expensive, so there were not many people, but the room was filled with the aroma of food.

The other two patients and their families had just finished their meal.

Only these few people were so busy that they hadn’t had lunch yet and their stomachs were growling with hunger.

Jiang Xi said, “I’ll go buy some things first. Comrade Xiang, Comrade Shi, thank you for your hard work. Let’s go to the state-owned restaurant for a meal first?”

At this point, I guess there might still be something left.

Otherwise, it would be not good to ask others for help and then go hungry.

Mother Pei also said: “Yes, let’s go eat first, I’ll just watch over here.”

Xiang Yiyang waved his hand: “No, no, I can’t eat at this time, but Uncle Pei still wants to eat something, I’ll go buy some and bring it back.”

Shi Zhonghua immediately said, “Yes, I’ll go buy food. You guys go do what you need to do. We’ll take care of the food.”

“Okay then.” Seeing that they really didn’t want to, Jiang Xi didn’t say much. She smiled, gave a few instructions, and called Pei Deyi to go out together: “When we just came here, I saw a post office not far away. Let’s go and get some money first.”

Pei Deyi was not familiar with Jiang Xi, so he nodded sullenly and followed behind.

Jiang Xi walked up to her familiarly and took out five hundred yuan in one go, which made Pei Deyi dumbfounded. He looked around in fear and took the initiative to walk to her side, as if he was afraid of being robbed: “Why did you take out so much?!”

Jiang Xi said: “I don’t know how much the medical expenses are yet. I also need to buy some blood supplements for Dad. The more money the better.”

Pei Deyi looked at her deeply.

Jiang Xi handed over ten yuan.

He was stunned: “What?”

“This is for you. This is the food and care expenses for your five days of hospitalization.” Jiang Xi said.

Pei Deyi: “?”

Pei Deyi felt that Jiang Xi was insulting him.

A wave of shame and anger surged up his cheeks. He was shocked and angry: “This is my biological father. I take care of my biological father, and you want to give me money?”

When he saw her withdrawing the money just now, he was thinking that it was no wonder that his parents had always been on her side. She was really willing to spend money to take care of his parents. You have to know that even if they received the pension, they might not be so generous in spending it on their parents.

It’s nothing else, I just simply can’t bear to let go.

I learned to be frugal almost since I was born, and I rarely spend money casually.

You have to know that even factory workers only make 20 to 30 yuan a month, and temporary workers make a dozen or even less. At least half of the ten yuan she gave him could be saved. For five days, this is more than one yuan a day for his care!

What does she take herself for?!

At the same time, he was surprised again in his heart. Her generosity was really beyond his imagination. He seemed to completely understand his parents’ choice.

Jiang Xi smiled apologetically: “I said that I have taken over the care of my parents, so naturally I am responsible for this time. There should be another day of autumn harvest and threshing next. I am sorry for delaying you; this is my compensation.”

Pei Deyi took a deep breath and wiped his face to calm himself down.

If Jiang Xi had not scolded him like that before, and if his son had not fallen ill in the middle of the night, he might have really accepted it, thinking out of spite that it was what he deserved. He was so angry that he even said that he would not provide for his parents in their old age.

But now he said with a straight face: “No, I am taking care of my own father and I am still charging money. If people tell others, they will laugh at me. As for Dad’s medical expenses, we… we three brothers will share it equally. You pay for it first, and we will talk about it later.”

He left in a hurry this time and didn’t bring any money.

Seeing him say this, Jiang Xi did not stop him and stuffed the money into his pocket: “Okay, you should take the money first, and don’t save on food and drink.”

Pei Deyi’s complexion looked better. He took the money, said nothing more, and followed her silently.

Jiang Xi was actually quite familiar with this county town. The original owner had attended high school here for two years. Although she seldom went out shopping, she was still familiar with the streets. She even attended classes here four months ago.

So she thought about what she wanted to buy and went straight to her destination.

When Jiang Xi went out, she knew she’d have to spend money, so she took her passbook and tickets with her. Instead of going to the supply and marketing cooperative, she went to the mall and used her tickets to buy items at different counters.

She bought a basin, a towel, a toothbrush, and other things. Although many items were already at home, Jiang Xi decided to replace the old toothbrush because Pei’s parents had been reluctant to get a new one. The toothbrushes sold at the supply and marketing cooperative weren’t very good, so Jiang Xi was generous with her purchases at the mall.

Pei Deyi observed Jiang Xi’s generosity and was surprised by her spending. He noticed that what she was holding seemed like paper money rather than real money, and it seemed she wanted to use as many tickets as possible.

Jiang Xi even bought a set of clothes for Pei’s parents. Pei Deyi, seeing the eight-yuan clothing, felt a bit envious and thought about how nice it would be if Jiang Xi were his daughter-in-law. But he quickly realized that he couldn’t afford a daughter-in-law like her.

Fortunately, Pei’s parents were kind-hearted. If they were stingy, there might have been conflicts over this matter.

After buying everything, the two returned to the hospital. Pei’s parents were astonished: “Did you buy all these goods?!”

“Oh my God, Xiaoxi, have you run out of money?” Father Pei, who was almost asleep on the IV drip, became alert at the sight of the items.

Jiang Xi organized the items and gave the clothes to Pei’s parents with a smile: “Don’t worry, Mom. I know my limits. Dad has been through a lot and needs good care. All these things are to make sure he’s comfortable and doesn’t lose weight while in the hospital. These new clothes will be for Dad when he is discharged because his old ones are worn out…”

Mother Pei was deeply touched and sad, but she couldn’t complain since the items were for her husband. She felt a mix of sadness and appreciation.

When Pei’s mother noticed an extra piece of clothing, she was surprised: “Why do I have one too?”

Jiang Xi smiled and said, “Since you’re feeling sad today, I wanted to give you a gift to cheer you up.”

Mother Pei was stunned. She had never received such a valuable gift for just feeling sad. She might have kept it to avoid wasting money if she had known.

Xiang Yiyang and Shi Zhonghua were happy and reassured. Xiang Yiyang comforted them, saying, “This is a sign of a daughter-in-law’s respect. Even though their home was in disarray before, Jiang Xi remembered to bring tickets and money. She won’t spend recklessly.”

Mother Pei felt a bit better. Despite her husband’s injury, he was in a good hospital, receiving excellent care, and the way Jiang Xi treated them made it hard to stay sad.

She told her husband, “You need to take good care of yourself and make sure this money isn’t wasted.”

Pei Zhong nodded and muttered, “Good child.”

Mother Pei then quickly asked everyone to have lunch: “Eat quickly, it’s already two o’clock. We have to hurry, or you’ll get sick from hunger.”

Jiang Xi always reminded her patients to eat on time, so she took note.

Xiang Yiyang and Shi Zhonghua brought lunch, including three meat dishes, one vegetable dish, and a soup. Even though Pei’s father had a leg injury, he was in good spirits and joined everyone for the meal.

After lunch, Pei’s mother wanted to go home because they had things to do. She felt the need to earn back the money spent.

Xiang Yiyang offered to take them back and handed the remaining gifts from the car to Jiang Xi. The four of them hurriedly left. Jiang Xi left receipts for the meals and instructed Pei Deyi to buy a bowl of meat soup every day. She made sure he listened before leaving.

Once they were gone, the ward fell quiet.

An old man in the next bed said enviously: “You really have a good daughter.”

The old man and another patient looked at the new patient, noticing mud and straw on his trouser legs, realizing he was not from the city. They were curious why he lived in a triple room, then observed these events and understood that the family was quite generous.

Pei Zhong’s wrinkled face showed a smile as he explained: “She’s not a daughter, but a daughter-in-law.”

The old man was surprised. The middle-aged man in the other bed commented, “Then your son must be quite capable, right?”

Pei Zhong shook his head and said, “What ability? He was a soldier. I just had good judgment and chose him for my son early on.”

The two patients were amazed and a bit envious. They thought it was good to be a soldier these days and praised Pei Zhong’s luck.

Pei Deyi, who was cleaning up, reflected on the generosity of Jiang Xi. He realized that his own level of filial piety couldn’t compare.

If he were his father, he would prefer the third child, Pei Hejun, who had shown similar generosity.