The driver for the team is none other than Zhang Zhenlian’s father, a sincere man who seldom speaks. No matter who he ets, he always bows with a smile. When you speak to him, he just replies with a ’hmm’ or an ’ah,’ or simply smiles. Though he’s not talkative, his honest disposition is naturally likable.
Therefore, in the village, or rather the team, Old Man Zhang is well-liked by everyone.
Sending Old Mrs. Ye to the town to see a doctor, the villagers were also heading to work and naturally saw it. Thinking about how Old Mrs. Ye, despite her age, was still working in the fields yesterday, it beca sowhat understandable. This made Wang Changjiang, sitting on the horse cart, increasingly uneasy. Having been the team leader for years, it was the first ti he had encountered such a situation. He didn’t even know how he managed to force a smile. By the ti they reached the town, his face had gone stiff.
The town’s hospital isn’t much; it’s basically a health clinic with few people inside. The combined staff of doctors and nurses barely totals three, and they lack examination equipnt. All they did was listen to Old Mrs. Ye’s chest and ask where she felt unwell, then told her to rest well at ho, ending the visit.
Old Mrs. Ye felt embarrassed, "I told you there was nothing wrong; look, I wasted your ti coming with ."
"It’s good there’s nothing wrong; otherwise, I wouldn’t be at ease." Wang Changjiang truly breathed a sigh of relief. "Aunt, since we’re here anyway, I’ll accompany you to buy so sugar. When you get ho, just rest. If there’s anything, let Lingzi co find at ho."
"No need, no need. I’m not ill; sugar’s so expensive, what’s the point of buying it? Let’s just go ho." Old Mrs. Ye didn’t want to take advantage, which was sothing Wang Changjiang had anticipated.
Having done his duty, Wang Changjiang didn’t insist further, "Since that’s the case, let’s go ho then."
Ye Ling couldn’t be bothered by Wang Changjiang’s deanor. As long as grandma was okay and they had given Wang Changjiang a scare, the matter was over. As they passed by the post office, they happened to see soone coming out, who recognized Wang Changjiang and waved.
"Changjiang, what a coincidence running into you. Ye He Ping from your team sent a telegram ho; this must be urgent. Are you heading back to the village? You can take it with you." This person often delivered letters and telegrams and was familiar with the team leaders.
Upon hearing this, Wang Changjiang promptly accepted the telegram, "Perfect timing, his family is on the cart with ."
After thanking him, Wang Changjiang walked over to the cart, "Aunt, there’s a telegram from He Ping, it seems urgent."
As he walked, he looked at the telegram, but the outside was covered by a yellow envelope, so he couldn’t see what was written inside.
Old Mrs. Ye was illiterate, so the telegram naturally went to Ye Ling’s hands. Ye Ling tore open the envelope and saw the words: Qian is sick, hurry back.
A few words clearly conveyed everything: Ye Qian was ill, and they needed to return to the city imdiately.
In those days, phones weren’t convenient, so families with urgent matters sent telegrams. At fourteen cents per telegram, it was considered expensive; it wasn’t possible unless it was urgent.
Old Mrs. Ye was anxious too, "What did your dad say?"
Grandma was not muddle-headed; sending a telegram ant sothing major had happened, especially since they had just received a letter from the city half a month ago. It was clear sothing significant had occurred.
"Ye Qian is ill, and Dad told us to go back to the city imdiately." Ye Ling frowned, as in her previous life, she didn’t recall Ye Qian being ill.
Old Mrs. Ye anxiously took the telegram, and although she couldn’t read, she looked at it, "Did it ntion what illness? How did she suddenly get sick? When we went back during the New Year, she had a nosebleed, and I said she should get it checked. How could a healthy person have a nosebleed for no reason?"
"Aunt, don’t worry. Being anxious here won’t help. Since they asked you to return urgently, I think there’s no ti to lose. Let’s head back to the village now so we can catch the train." Wang Changjiang advised.
Old Mrs. Ye collected herself, "Right, right, let’s head back to the village imdiately."
The train had a small stop not far from the village, so they needed to return to the village to catch it.
Old Mrs. Ye tucked the telegram into her bosom, her expression grew heavier, and Ye Ling sat in the back, silent. Could it be sothing dire calling them to see Ye Qian one last ti? For so reason, though, Ye Ling had a feeling it wasn’t that severe, so she wasn’t too worried about how serious Ye Qian’s illness was.
After getting back ho and quickly grabbing so money without packing anything, the grandmother and granddaughter hurriedly left the village toward the small station. Old Mrs. Ye kept sighing along the way, "I wonder what illness it is, urging us to return so urgently. I’m afraid things aren’t good."
"Grandma, don’t worry, it isn’t." Ye Ling reassured her.
"You’ve never gotten along with your sister since you were young. Now that she’s sick, it may be fine if you’re not worried in front of , but you shouldn’t appear indifferent in front of your parents. Otherwise, they’ll be unhappy." After all, Old Mrs. Ye was biased toward the eldest granddaughter.
Ye Ling nodded and didn’t think much of it. Because they boarded midway, there were originally no seats on the train. However, since it was spring plowing ti, not many people were traveling. Ye Ling and grandma each had a whole row to themselves. At night, they wrapped up in big quilts to sleep on the seats, which was much better than when they traveled to the city during the New Year.
When they got off the train, no one was there to pick them up, which made Old Mrs. Ye anxious, "Lingzi, do you rember the way?"
Having traveled it twice in her life, how could she not rember?
Ye Ling didn’t give too firm a reply, "I’ll give it a try."
They took the bus with grandma, and after getting off at the final stop, they had to walk another ten minutes before they saw the compound. Seeing that they hadn’t gotten lost, Old Mrs. Ye breathed a sigh of relief. When the two entered the compound and knocked on their ho’s door, their daughter-in-law ca to open it. From the doorway, they could see Ye Qian sitting on a chair, finally easing Mrs. Ye’s worried heart.
"Isn’t Ye Qian doing just fine? Why did you send a telegram telling us to co back right away? That really frightened us." Old Mrs. Ye said after entering and sitting down, examining her granddaughter, she was relieved to see she was truly alright.
Bai Xue sighed and sat across from her, "I sent the telegram in a hurry at that ti and worried it might scare you. I didn’t explain it clearly, but we still needed you and Lingzi to co over, so I didn’t send a follow-up."
Saying this, Bai Xue glanced at her mother-in-law, "Xiaoqian has been diagnosed with allergic purpura."
"What kind of illness is that?" Old Mrs. Ye was stunned and looked at her granddaughter again; she didn’t look sick.
Ye Ling, knowing what the illness was, also looked over at Ye Qian. She seed listless, and when Bai Xue turned her gaze, Ye Qian slowly rolled up her sleeve, revealing needle-like small purplish spots on her white arm. There weren’t many, but the spots made one feel uneasy.
"What’s the cause of this illness?" Old Mrs. Ye, a rural woman, had never seen such a thing.
"It’s a type of skin vasculitis. If it gets worse, it could affect the kidneys," Bai Xue could not help but lower her head and wipe her tears. "It’s still mild now. The doctor said it needs early treatnt. If treated thoroughly, it’s fine; if not, it will last forever."
Upon hearing it involved the blood vessels, Old Mrs. Ye fell silent. After a long pause, she finally spoke, "Then let’s treat it."
"Exactly, even He Ping’s company said they’d raise so money. But the doctor also said Xiaoqian’s body can’t afford to get sick, and nutrition is important. I need to take her to the hospital, and can’t manage the house; after discussing it with He Ping, we think Dad and Lingzi need to co back." Bai Xue didn’t directly say it, but the aning was clear.
This implied Old Mrs. Ye had to return to manage the household and cook, allowing Bai Xue to focus entirely on taking care of her daughter.
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