After a whole night of tossing and turning, it was already dawn.

Qiao Huizhen only learned of Ding Haotian's injury after returning home and rushed back to the hospital. She had taken her child to her parents' house the night before and missed the news.

Seeing Ding Haotian lying on the hospital bed, she burst into tears, and even her son, Xiaohuzi, wiped away tears beside her.

"Sister-in-law, Lao Ding just had surgery, and the nurses said he needs to rest. If you do this, Lao Ding will only be more upset."

Qiao Huizhen covered her mouth and went to the hospital corridor. She didn't know how long it would take for Ding Haotian to recover. If his health didn't improve, it would not only affect his life, but also bring his career to a sudden halt.

She had always hoped that Ding Haotian's position could surpass Gu Shaoxuan's, but this injury completely shattered that idea, and she was truly unwilling to accept it.

“Yuan Qiang, why is my husband Ding so unlucky to run into something like this? Will this affect his future work? Will his boss look down on him?”

Hearing Qiao Huizhen say this, Yuan Qiang felt somewhat displeased. Her husband was injured and lying in a hospital bed, and as his wife, her first concern wasn't his work, but his health—she was far inferior to Xia Enruo.

"Sister-in-law, let's not think about these things now. Let's take care of Lao Ding's health first, and we can talk about work later."

"Such a major surgery, the medical expenses must be very high! Old Ding was injured while serving in the military, the military cannot shirk its responsibility."

Qiao Huizhen started worrying about money again. She was extremely unwilling to spend money again because of her work-related injury.

"No, the military will cover all medical expenses this time. You won't have to pay a single penny. The organization won't treat Lao Ding unfairly."

"Of course the military should cover the medical expenses, and what about the nutrition expenses? Old Ding will need a long time to recover, and his food, drink, and toileting expenses will be higher than usual. Your military has to take care of him to the end. After all, he was injured for the sake of the military."

Qiao Huizhen's words surprised Yuan Qiang. She wasn't usually like this. What was wrong with her today? The military would definitely provide nutrition subsidies, but forcing him to pay like this sounded really strange and uncomfortable.

"Sister-in-law, the army will definitely provide subsidies, don't worry."

When Qiao Huizhen heard that the army would take care of all the money, she immediately became excited.

“How can I rest easy? If I take care of him, my work will be delayed, and my salary will be deducted. Your army also has to take responsibility for this loss, otherwise how will my family survive?”

Yuan Qiang was furious. She had only been there a few minutes, and all she talked about was money. She hadn't asked a single question about Ding Haotian's condition or how the surgery went.

“Sister-in-law, I can’t make these decisions myself. You have to talk to Commander Lu. As for whether he will agree or not, that depends on the leadership.”

Yuan Qiang replied irritably.

Xia Enruo came up from the first floor with a washbasin and a thermos, just in time to see the two talking in the hallway. Qiao Huizhen glanced at her, somewhat surprised.

Xia, what are you doing here?

Xia Enruo walked up to Qiao Huizhen.

"Gu Shaoxuan, like Brother Ding, got injured on a mission, so I came to take care of him."

"Chief of Staff Gu was also injured?"

Qiao Huizhen said with some surprise.

"That's right, Old Gu's injuries are much more serious than Hao Tian's, with multiple fractures."

Yuan Qiang explained:

Upon hearing this, Qiao Huizhen was secretly delighted. It was good that things were serious, as long as she wasn't as bad as her husband. Why didn't she die? That way, Ding Haotian could become the chief of staff.

"Oh dear, Xia. You're so young, do you even know how to take care of people? You don't even comb your hair or wash your face at home, and you can't even cook. Don't let Chief of Staff's request for you to take care of her get worse over the next couple of days. If it really comes down to it, we should find a housekeeper to help us."

Xia Enruo already disliked Qiao Huizhen's way of speaking, knowing that she was never going to say anything good.

“No need for you to trouble yourself, sister-in-law. I have always upheld the spirit of hard work and frugality taught by Chairman Mao. Hiring an aunt to help is such a capitalist and landlord thing. You can keep it for yourself.”

"By the way, I heard you work at this hospital, sister-in-law. You seem to have nothing to do all day, but you're always so busy taking care of your husband. Don't you love Brother Ding anymore? Did you have other ideas after seeing him injured?"

"You...you're spouting nonsense."

Qiao Huizhen was so angry that she pointed her finger at Xia Enruo, but since all the doctors and nurses around her workplace knew her, she didn't dare to lash out too much, and her face turned red with anger.

Yuan Qiang turned his back and covered his mouth, laughing. Serves you right, who told you to provoke them first?

Xia Enruo ignored her and turned to walk into the ward. She filled a kettle with hot water, poured it into a basin, and used a damp towel to wipe Gu Shaoxuan's face and hands. After such a long ordeal, he was covered in yellow disinfectant alcohol.

She then used a cotton swab dipped in water to wipe his lips to prevent them from drying out and peeling.

When Yuan Qiang entered the ward and saw Xia Enruo taking such good care of Gu Shaoxuan, he felt like he should find a wife as soon as possible.

"Yuan Qiang, you've been following us all night, you must be tired. Go home and get some rest."

Xia Enruo saw the tired look in Yuan Qiang's eyes and said.

"It's alright, sister-in-law. This little bit of staying up late is nothing compared to when we were training. Back in the army, we trained at night and were busy all night long. It was nothing at all."

"Are you really okay? Your eyes are all red."

"It's alright. I'm used to it. Sister-in-law, why don't you lie down over there for a while? I'll keep an eye on Lao Gu. You haven't slept all night and donated blood, can your body handle it?"

Xia Enruo was so busy that she forgot she had donated blood, but she felt much better after drinking brown sugar water.

"Yuan Qiang, could you take me home? I'd like to make some millet porridge and fish soup for Gu Shaoxuan."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!