The car arrived, but Li Erfu couldn’t be sent over like this. Li Xianglu spoke with the doctor, who promptly hung up bags of antibiotics, as well as two bags each of glucose and saline to be alternated, for fear that his knee wouldn’t withstand the bumps along the way.
Without any ti to eat, Qin Xi bought thirty buns to bring along. The hospital’s vehicle was a modified minivan, with seating at the back and on the sides, and a tal fra bed in the middle, flanked by long benches.
The hospital had already made arrangents via phone call with the hospital in the province; they could go directly there.
Li Xianglu first sat at the back, with Qin Xi at the front, both not speaking a word during the journey. Li Xianglu took out a Dian Nan Bai dicine spray from her Storage Ring and sprayed Li Erfu’s knee, then gave him two anti-inflammatory and blood-activating pills to swallow.
The white dicine was initially for pain relief. After an hour into the journey, Li Erfu astonishingly found that the pain had ceased, which made him feel like he didn’t need to go to the provincial hospital anymore.
Li Xianglu said coldly, "That dicine is for pain relief, effective temporarily. Once it wears off, it won’t work, and without going to the hospital, your knee will definitely need to be amputated."
Upon hearing this, Li Erfu dared not say another word, knowing his daughter was looking out for his best interest. He nodded and quietly watched the IV drip.
Chunhua hesitated for a mont, then said, "Actually, your uncle was pushed over by Jianwen; he hit a rock. It hurt when he got back, and later it swelled. After arguing too much, he went to the commune for a checkup and just applied so dicine, but it didn’t get better. I was so scared that I secretly sent a telegram to Jianqing, and that’s why you had to co from so far away." After finishing, she twisted her fingers sowhat helplessly.
Li Xianglu wasn’t sure whether the woman in front of her was acting or genuinely feeling guilty, but her concern for Li Erfu was real. She smiled and said, "It’s okay, luckily you sent the telegram. Otherwise, any delay might have been life-threatening."
Both were stunned. Li Erfu asked incredulously, "Xiangxiang, could it really have been fatal?"
Li Xianglu sighed, "Yes, if the necrosis from the pus spread in the knee, delaying it could impact the entire body. I rember Granny saying you at least went to elentary school; how can you handle things this way? What are you going to do if your leg gets amputated?"
Li Erfu’s face turned red with the reprimand from his daughter and after a long mont, he said, "Jianqing, even hitting his own father. All the good food and drink at ho are given to him, and Ge Sani, for his sake, even you... I can’t wrap my head around it, it just makes furious."
Li Xianglu sighed, feeling like her son had been raised in vain, getting so angry that he simply refused to seek dical treatnt. But she knew even if people found out, they wouldn’t feel sorry for him.
However, Li Xianglu wouldn’t say all this out loud; instead, she leaned against the van, watching the drip of the IV bag. She only changed seats with Qin Xi after a large bottle was hung up, so she could go to the front and sleep for a while.
Seeing Qin Xi, Li Erfu was even less inclined to speak, only asking if the two were married and when they were planning the wedding banquet. Upon learning the answer, he just nodded and didn’t say another word.
Finally, at eight in the evening, they arrived at the hospital, got a number, and were admitted. Several doctors consulted and concluded that surgery to drain the pus had to be perford that night, as any delay would be too late.
So, they paid, and the surgery was carried out that evening.
Li Xianglu sat outside the operating room until Qin Xi returned with two boxes of food. She then realized she had only eaten a little in the morning and, without appetite, skipped lunch. Now, she was ravenous.
She wolfed down a bowl of Saozi Noodles which had been prepared. Li Xianglu checked with Qin Xi who had already eaten, and thus she started eating hungrily.
Chunhua couldn’t bring herself to eat; the Saozi Noodles looked so good, topped with juicy at cubes. She swallowed her saliva and tried to close the food container lid.
Li Xianglu guessed that Ge Sani wanted to save so food for Li Erfu and said with a smile, "You go ahead and eat. Uncle Er Fu will probably have to eat lighter foods after his surgery."
Chunhua felt a bit at a loss, as the young woman’s face had been stern all this ti, and it had only just now lightened up with a smile. So she nodded her head and buried herself in eating.
Li Xianglu was also starving. After finishing a big bowl of noodles and drinking up the remaining sour soup, she finally felt rejuvenated.
An hour or so later, the surgery was done. With local anesthesia administered, when Li Erfu ca out, his entire leg was wrapped in gauze, and there were still traces of blood on other parts of his body. The doctor instructed to only wipe it down simply and to avoid water contact, and then had the patient wheeled to the ward, where soone quickly ca to set up an IV.
Qin Xi said she would go buy food since the hospital provided als for patients that didn’t require food tickets.
After Qin Xi left, Li Xianglu and Chunhua went in and asked the patient how he felt. He said he didn’t feel pain, but Li Xianglu shook her head and said, "Eat more quickly once the food arrives. Once the anesthesia wears off, it will definitely hurt, and I’m afraid you’ll run a high fever tonight."
Li Xianglu turned to speak to Chunhua who was helping wipe off the blood, but instead saw her promptly say, "Xiangxiang, don’t worry, I will stay in the hospital with him. If he gets a fever at night, I’ll use cold water to wipe him down."
Li Xianglu didn’t know what to say; this woman indeed seed great.
So she nodded and said, "Later, I’ll buy a bottle of alcohol. Diluting it with water before wiping will have a better effect."
anwhile, Qin Xi ca back holding two al containers, one with bone soup, the other with stir-fried white pork with cabbage and tofu slices, accompanied by two oily, fragrant scallion pancakes.
Li Erfu, seeing the food, hurriedly urged Li Xianglu to eat first. Qin Xi laughed and said, "Uncle, you should eat quickly. We’ve already eaten Saozi Noodles, which are even better than these. This is your patient al, it should be light."
Li Erfu looked at the at, soup, and scallion pancakes, thinking how this could count as light—it was excellent sustenance.
Chunhua ca in with water and also urged, "Hurry up and eat. If you recover, everything will be better. We’ve co from far just to take care of your leg. If you eat more, won’t you heal faster?"
Li Erfu listened, found it reasonable, nodded, and started eating furiously.
With everything under control, Li Xianglu arranged a bed for Chunhua and then took her leave.
By the ti she left, it was already past ten o’clock. With her referral letter, she found a nearby guesthouse with decent conditions, including a public bath. Li Xianglu, who had been traveling all the way and was sweaty, quickly took a shower. While showering, she suddenly felt sothing warm flowing down her legs. Touching it with her hand, she sighed; her nstruation could not have co at a worse ti.
One mustn’t stimulate during nstruation, so after a quick rinse, she found a sanitary pad in her Storage Ring and put it on. Searching again, she realized she was out. She had used up all the ones bought in Shanghai, and though she had bought so at the Overseas Chinese Store, she hadn’t brought them with her.
What to do now? She’d have to make do for the night and buy more first thing in the morning.
After exiting her room, Qin Xi was waiting by the door. It was one of those communal bathhouses, and by that ti, only Li Xianglu went to bathe. He was a bit worried and asked her to make sure her hair was dry before going to bed and then he went to the other side.
Li Xianglu quickly dried her hair with a hairdryer. By the ti Qin Xi ca back from his bath, he saw a person with dry hair already lying on the bed, about to fall asleep.
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