Chapter 52 Where is Hu La Tang?

Just as Ning Jia boarded the train to her hometown with mixed feelings, the little people in the courtyard were... pooping in a group because they had eaten way too much for lunch.

In light of this, Canglan decisively announced:

"To ensure smooth digestion, I can only eat some fruit and yogurt tonight; I'll store the rest of the food for later."

The little people were all groaning in despair, and He Meng was sighing and lamenting:

Sigh! I wonder when I'll be able to eat those incredibly delicious popcorn that she craves...

...

Before He Meng could even taste the popcorn she had been longing for, Ning Jia had already taken the train back to her long-lost hometown.

On a dark and windy night, a traveler returns home.

Ning Jia's original plan was to arrive home that evening, rest briefly, discuss business with Ms. Ning the next day, help Ms. Ning tidy up the house on the third day, and then set off for home on the fourth day at the latest.

Unexpectedly, plans changed.

When she quietly returned to her long-missed home and quietly took out her keys to open the door, she was suddenly dumbfounded to find that the lock had been replaced with an electronic lock.

Just as she was racking her brains for a password and was about to try entering someone's birthday, the door suddenly opened by itself.

"Ahhh!" "Ahhh!"

Both the person inside and the person outside the door were startled at the same time.

Ning Fang subtly (?) put the kitchen knife away, while Ning Jia, to avoid embarrassment, preemptively struck:

"Why would you open the door so late at night? It's very unsafe."

Ning Fang calmly said, "I looked through the peephole, and the person at the door is you."

"Then why are you carrying a kitchen knife?"

"I'm afraid I'm dreaming again, so it's safer to open the door with a knife."

Upon hearing this, both Ning Jia and Ning Fang fell silent for a moment.

“This isn’t a dream,” Ning Jia said, stretching out an arm. “If you don’t believe me, pinch me.”

"...Ouch, ouch, ouch!"

The quiet stairwell was once again filled with pig-like screams.

"Mom, be gentle... Ouch..."

"Hmm, you seem to have gained quite a bit of weight since before."

Ning Fang smiled and let go of his hand, then turned and went into the living room. Ning Jia quickly followed and closed the door behind her.

On the train, Ning Jia had already planned how to persuade Ning Fang step by step, and her notebook was filled with detailed notes.

But once she saw the person and collapsed onto her own sofa, within minutes her body automatically reverted to the relaxed state she had as a child.

While eating fruit on the coffee table, they chatted about random things, and before they knew it, they were spilling the beans, saying whatever came to mind, even about their resignation, without hiding anything.

After Ning Jia finished babbling on and on, he realized: Oh no, I couldn't hold it in!

She glanced at Ning Fang's much rosier cheeks and was suddenly asked, "Have you been paying your social security contributions on time?"

Huh? Ning Jia nodded subconsciously, "I've paid it every month."

"And that sachet you sold, did you bring it back? Let me see it."

How did we suddenly get onto the topic of sachets? Ning Jia was a little confused. "...Aren't you worried about me resigning?"

Ning Fang laughed, "If you don't want to go, you don't have to. I've never worked in my life either."

Ning Jia was stunned for a moment. Yes, from childhood to adulthood, Ms. Ning had never asked anything of herself, let alone just resigning.

She suddenly felt relieved, and the hard work and busyness of the past few days turned into a real fatigue. She opened her mouth and let out a big yawn.

Ning Fang seemed to be infected as well, and she also opened her mouth and yawned.

"Go to sleep," Ning Fang said. "We can talk about it tomorrow."

"Hmm," Ning Jia replied, then suddenly asked, "My room hasn't been lived in for years, is it still safe to sleep in?"

Ning Fang shook her head decisively, "It hasn't been cleaned in a long time, the dust inside is probably a meter thick."

Ning Jia: ...

Well, she thought that even if she was away from home for years, Ning Fang would keep her room clean and welcome her back anytime.

Isn't that how it's often portrayed in TV dramas?

It seems I was overthinking things...

"You can sleep with me tonight."

Ning Fang said casually, then urged, "Go take a shower quickly, I'm really sleepy."

"……oh."

Ning Jia responded, suppressing the wildly upturned corners of her mouth, took out a change of clothes and a towel from her bag, and walked towards the bathroom.

...

The next morning, as soon as Ning Jia opened her eyes, she saw a square Chinese-style ceiling lamp painted with flowers and birds. Turning her head, she saw a Chinese-style floor lamp decorated with lotus flowers and leaves standing beside the bed...

She was momentarily dazed before realizing that she was lying in her own home, on her mother's Simmons bed.

Ning Fang pushed open the door. "Awake? Do you want to get up and have breakfast?"

Seeing Ning Jia looking at her disapprovingly, she explained:

"I bought breakfast at the breakfast shop near the entrance, Jinxiang's. Didn't you used to love eating there the most?"

Ning Jia didn't answer, squinting at the sunlight streaming through the curtains:

"Mom, do you remember? When I was in fifth grade, my classmates and I were watching a horror movie at home. We were so scared that we couldn't sleep at night, so we came to sleep with you."

"You fell asleep first, and I was so scared that I shook you awake to make you stay with me. You had no choice but to find a hammer and put it on the bedside table, saying that if a monster came, you could hit it with the hammer..."

She slowly sat up and touched a small dent on the bedside table. "Who knew I wasn't strong enough and I didn't hold the hammer properly, so I smashed this dent."

"You even comforted me by saying, 'Luckily, you didn't hurt your foot.'"

Ning Fang smiled slightly, "I remember, every time I see that little pit, I think of this."

"Then why did you sell the house?"

Ning Jia lay on the soft bed, letting countless memories wash over her.

The thought that this house held so many memories for her and Ning Fang, yet Ning Fang wanted to sell it, filled her with resentment, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Ning Fang walked to the bedside and touched her face. "Get up and eat first. We can't talk on an empty stomach."

...

I didn't eat much last night, so I'm really hungry now.

Ning Jia sat at the dining table, her stomach rumbling. Looking at the familiar steamed dumplings, sesame balls, fried dough sticks, tea eggs, and spicy soup, she forgot everything else and started eating voraciously. Once she was full, her mood calmed down considerably.

As Ning Jia slumped onto the sofa, supporting her pregnant belly, Ning Fang also sat down.

"My Aunt Lin accompanied me to the follow-up checkup a while ago—"

Seeing Ning Jia's tense expression, she waved her hand, "The test results are okay, the indicators are all quite stable, there's no change."

"But the medication I've been taking seems to have developed into a drug resistance, and it's not as effective anymore. Director Li suggested I try a new treatment, saying that there's a newly launched special drug that, if all goes well, has a very high probability of curing me."

"It was a rare opportunity, so I agreed immediately. Director Li also found a way to reserve a bed for me in advance, and I'll be admitted to the hospital in the next few days..."

Ning Jia suddenly realized, "Was this expense quite large?"

“Yes,” Ning Fang didn’t hide anything from her, “Imported drugs, all out-of-pocket, one treatment costs 150,000 yuan, plus hospitalization fees, various liver-protecting and heart-protecting drugs, and nutritional supplements, etc., one round of chemotherapy in the hospital costs at least 180,000 yuan…”

As Ning Fang spoke, Ning Jia was both surprised and delighted, her mind already automatically calculating:

A course of treatment takes about a week, plus the rest period in between, so it's about a month. That means the monthly medical expenses have increased from less than 10,000 to 180,000. To be on the safe side, you need to prepare 200,000 per month.

This type of chemotherapy usually requires at least four cycles, which means it costs around 800,000 yuan over four months.

She fell silent after she finished calculating.

No wonder Ning Fang was in a hurry to sell the house. With such a huge expense, given their current situation, they had no other choice but to sell the house.

But—she said, somewhat speechlessly:

"Why didn't you tell me about something this big beforehand?"

Ning Fang shook her head. "You've already suffered enough by having to pay for my medical expenses before. I don't want to add to your burden this time."

"What do you mean by increasing the burden?"

Ning Jia raised her voice, "Isn't it a child's duty to support their parents? Don't you really consider me your daughter anymore?"

“How could that be?” Ning Fang’s voice rose a little. “Of course you’re my daughter. It’s written on the household registration.”

Ning Jia was waiting for this sentence:

"Then this house can't be sold. It must be left to me, and I'll pay for the medical expenses!"

Ning Fang was taken aback: "What are you talking about, child?"

I said I have money!

Ning Jia snorted, picked up her phone, and showed her her China Construction Bank account:

"This is 200,000 yuan, which is my annual year-end bonus and the money I earn from part-time jobs."

She then opened her ICBC account. "There's 100,000 here. It's the money you used to buy me insurance. I added some more and deposited it."

"And this..."

Ning Jia listed out the amounts from card to card, revealing all her family's wealth. The more Ning Fang listened, the more her brows furrowed.

"Jiajia, how did you save so much money?"

Ning Jia laughed nonchalantly, "I saved it up slowly. You don't know, saving money is really popular now. There's even a crazy money-saving group online, full of netizens who love saving money..."

Ning Fang couldn't bear to listen anymore. Suddenly, her eyes welled up with tears, and she reached out to hug Ning Jia.

“You’ve never suffered since you were a child, how come you are now… I always thought you were doing quite well out there.”

“It’s great,” Ning Jia gently patted her back. “Does living paycheck to paycheck mean you’re doing well?”

Don't try to twist my words.

Ning Fang let go of his hand, sat back down, wiped her eyes with a tissue, and calmed down a bit. "But I didn't ask you to be this frugal."

Ning Jia didn't find being frugal particularly difficult, and laughed:

"I can't predict the future, so how would I know I'd need to spend money now? I'm saving up to buy a house in H City. Having my own house will make things much more convenient in the future."

Ning Fang paused, then suddenly remembered that the XX department of the People's Hospital in H City was the most authoritative in the country. Could it be that this child was doing this for…

“In short,” Ning Jia said, “you don’t need to worry too much about money. I have over 400,000 yuan on hand right now. We can find someone to help us raise the rest, and I’ll work harder to earn more. It will definitely be enough.”

Seeing Ning Fang hesitate, Ning Jia suddenly whispered:

"Mom, this is our home. If it's sold, I won't have a home anymore."

Ning Fang sighed, a hint of hesitation appearing in her eyes. If it weren't for the urgent need for money, who would be willing to sell their own home?

“Besides,” Ning Jia changed the subject, “I’ve already asked the real estate agents, and house prices have dropped drastically. If we sell this house now, we’ll lose a lot of money. Just thinking about it makes my heart ache!”

"You've never made a losing deal in your life, don't ruin your reputation by selling a house!"

Ning Fang was crying when she heard Ning Jia's serious nonsense and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

...

A few days later.

Ning Fang was lying on the hospital bed with her eyes closed, receiving an IV drip. Ning Jia, who was sitting on the cot next to her, glanced at the still full medicine bottles, picked up her phone, and tiptoed out.

She left the ward and walked all the way to the main corridor outside the ward before furtively taking out her phone and opening the surveillance camera app.

A familiar corner of the living room quickly appeared on the screen, and Ning Jia looked closely:

Strange, why is there no one here?

"Is anyone there?" "Is anyone home?" "Someone come here!" "Chief Canglan?"...

She called into her phone for a long time, but no one showed up.

Although the camera was positioned a bit off-center, given the way the Dwarfs roam around, surely they could hear something from everyone?