The old man, wearing a hospital gown, was standing against the wall, smiling as he said, "When you have ti, co and visit . I’m the only one in the ward, and it’s so boring here."
Qu Chaozong agreed, "Sure, as long as you don’t mind bothering you."
The old man was clearly in a good mood, "Not at all, not at all, I really enjoy chatting with you, you’re quite an interesting person."
Qu Chaozong’s mouth curved into a smile, genuinely willing to chat and talk with the old man.
The old man was knowledgeable and unpretentious, and when the two of them chatted, they spoke freely without worrying about boundaries. Qu Chaozong was always chatty, and after chatting with the old man for a while, they both felt happy and compatible.
Qu Chaozong ca to the hospital today to visit Zhao Dazhuang. He packed a box of at and vegetable dumplings and bought so fruit, thinking it would be inconvenient for Liu Xiue to buy als in the hospital.
He knew the old man was likely still recuperating in the hospital, so he deliberately didn’t visit.
He thought, that he initially acted out of a sense of justice, and that’s why he brought the old man to the hospital. He never intended to seek repaynt. He helped, saved a life, and considered the matter closed.
Considering the old man lived in such a high-end community, his family probably had decent conditions and maybe so background. He didn’t want to appear as if he was trying to gain sothing by repeatedly getting close.
Since he had no intention of taking advantage or establishing connections, he kept his distance.
As Qu Chaozong was leaving the ward, he disliked the long wait for the elevator and headed to the stairwell, and as soon as he reached the third floor, he happened to see the old man coming out of the corridor.
The old man was delighted to see Qu Chaozong and warmly engaged him in conversation.
They were chatting enthusiastically when soone called out, "Brother Chao!"
Zhao ii ca over, smiling and greeting him, "Brother Chao, when did you get here?"
Qu Chaozong was surprised to see her, "You’re not in class?"
Zhao ii explained, "The teacher gave us the day off." Then she looked towards the old man across from them, politely addressing him, "Hello, Grandpa."
The old man smiled kindly, "Hello."
Qu Chaozong introduced, "This is Master Zhao’s daughter, Zhao ii, and this is the old man I told you about before, Mr. Fang."
Zhao ii imdiately greeted again, "Hello, Grandpa Fang."
The old man bead with joy, asking, "Is this the girlfriend you ntioned before?"
Both Qu Chaozong and Zhao ii were taken aback, and after exchanging glances, they burst into laughter.
Qu Chaozong clarified, "No, she’s my younger sister. Her brother and I are close friends."
The old man had a look of realization and said with a smile, "Bring your girlfriend to et soday."
Qu Chaozong smiled and agreed, "Sure."
The old man said, "Alright, I won’t take up your ti anymore. You go ahead. Chaozi, co visit when you have ti!"
Qu Chaozong nodded, "Okay."
The three of them said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.
Zhao ii rushed to the ward. When she entered, her dad was lying in bed, turning his head as her mom fed him warm water with a straw.
Zhao ii tossed her bag onto the attendant’s bed, leaned over, and sat on the round stool by the hospital bed, "Dad, how are you feeling, any better?"
Liu Xiue asked, "Why are you here? No classes this afternoon?"
Zhao ii nodded, "Yeah, no classes."
Zhao Dazhuang finished drinking the water, sighed deeply, and said, "I was almost dying of thirst."
Zhao ii asked, "How did you get so thirsty?"
Zhao Dazhuang weakly replied, "Don’t ntion it, I couldn’t pass gas before, and the doctor wouldn’t let drink water."
Zhao ii leaned against the hospital bed, tilting her body, listening to her mom explain why he couldn’t drink water without passing gas, and then listening to her dad talk about the surgery process.
Zhao Dazhuang seed in good spirits, though his face looked a bit haggard. He shifted his body, lying flat in the bed, drank a few more sips of water to quench his thirst, and said brightly, "They gave anesthesia during the surgery, but it was local anesthesia, so my mind was still clear, just couldn’t open my eyes. The doctor kept talking to , asking things. At first, I could hear noises, but then I knew nothing."
Zhao ii was amazed, "Dad, did it hurt a lot last night? My brother said when he turned you over, you were groaning in pain."
Zhao Dazhuang said, "Of course it hurt, they cut a big hole in my belly, and a section of my intestine was removed. Every ti I move, the incision hurts."
Liu Xiue was taking fruit out from the cupboard and couldn’t help but retort, "Oh, please, did it hurt as much as when I gave birth to ii?"
Bringing up this topic always made Liu Xiue upset. She took out a mango, peeling it while talking to Zhao ii, "When I gave birth to you, you were too chubby, hard to deliver. I was in labor for a whole day and night, I was in so much pain, lying on the operating table, just hearing the nurse say there were no family mbers waiting outside..."
"A nurse wheeled into the room. After everything had settled, your dad ca over, saying he fainted right outside the delivery room when I was having you."
Zhao ii laughed out loud, asking her dad, "Did you really faint then?"
Zhao Dazhuang grinned. That event from back then was still vivid in his mory.
The delivery conditions back then weren’t as good as they are now. From outside the delivery room, you could vaguely hear the heart-wrenching screams of the mothers in labor. He waited anxiously for a day and a night, without eating or drinking. From the mont Liu Xiue entered the delivery room, his heart was on edge, extrely tense. His body couldn’t take it, and he fainted.
"I was just worried about you two. It was so nerve-wracking back then."
Liu Xiue handed the peeled mango to Zhao ii, "Eat the mango. Your Brother Chao bought it when he ca over earlier."
Zhao Dazhuang asked, "None for ?"
Liu Xiue imdiately turned to glare at him, "Stick to your clear water and millet soup!"
Zhao ii was biting into the mango, curiously asking, "Mom, was it really that painful when you gave birth to ?"
Liu Xiue stuffed a napkin in her hand to prevent juice from dripping onto her clothes, "Of course it was truly painful, I nearly had a death wish. While pregnant with you, I couldn’t wait to deliver, it was too exhausting. But when it ca to actually giving birth, that’s when the real pain started, the suffering was just beginning."
Zhao ii was spooked by the story and quickly said, "I’m scared of pain. I don’t want to have kids in the future."
In the afternoon, Shi Yang left work early from the company and arrived at the hospital to switch shifts with Liu Xiue.
Liu Xiue packed up the things that needed to be taken ho and, before leaving, reminded, "Your uncle is much better now, he can turn over by himself, no need for massaging him back and forth. You and ii should get so rest earlier tonight." After saying that, she added another line out of concern, "Call if anything cos up."
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