72.072 See a doctor

The night Ning Jin returned, Su Yu told her about her plan to take her father to Jincheng. "The old man's illness is more serious than the doctor said. He coughs all day long and suffers a lot. I'm taking him to see a doctor. If it can be treated, we'll treat him. If it can't be treated, we'll come back and wait it out. It's a way of doing my part."

When are you leaving?

"I'm waiting for you to come back so we can discuss it. I plan to get the letter of introduction tomorrow and buy the train tickets. We'll leave the day after tomorrow." Su Yu sat in the chair, staring at him to see if he showed any displeasure.

Ning Jin wrung out the dirty water from his clothes and said, "I'll go with you two. I'll go to the factory to ask for leave later and get the letter of introduction for you. Where should I put the address?"

"You're going too? I'll take him. You can rest at home for a couple of days and then go back to work."

Ning Jin shook his head and said with a smile, "No, I'm worried. I'm afraid you'll be sold again." He threw his clothes into the water and flicked the water off his fingertips at her. "Su Yu, I'm your man, I'm here to shoulder your burdens. Going on a long trip isn't as easy as you think, especially with an elderly person in tow. The journey isn't as safe as you think either. I'm determined to go. Money can be earned anytime. Even if we don't get paid this month, we won't lack food or drink."

His father-in-law was ill, and it was a bit inappropriate for him to be in a good mood at this time, but Su Yu's behavior satisfied him. Back when dealing with Er Ya's matter, he was just a gofer, and Su Yu never mentioned him or offered any explanation afterward. She treated him like a roommate and didn't care about his feelings at all. Now she's improved; she even knows to let him know when she's coming back before leaving.

"Alright then, I'll take you along as my bodyguard." Su Yu smiled. She was confident that she could handle it. It didn't matter whether Ning Jin went or not, but he volunteered to go with her and had no objection to her taking the old man to see the doctor. The pressure on her was halved.

The next day, Su Yu first went to the orchard to get a letter of introduction from Qiu Fuli. The address she filled in was a large hospital in Jincheng. After that, she and Ning Jin rode bicycles to Xinhe Brigade to pick up the elderly couple. As soon as they arrived, they saw that the yard was quite lively, with several people building a wall in the yard.

"What's going on?" Su Yu followed the old man into the house, leaving Ning Jin outside to help the bricklayers apply mortar.

"Why are you here again?" Old Su asked gruffly, his eyes glancing at the small pile of ash that still smelled sweet, as if he'd been burned. "You're only working three days a week and resting two. Can you keep this up for long?"

"Why are they building a wall in the yard again?" Su Yu asked again, sniffing the air. "What's that smell in your house? Why does it smell so sweet?"

"It's because we've split into two families, each living our own lives. We should have done it a long time ago; we became two families after the family split up." Old Man Su thought that his daughters would find out about this sooner or later, so he told them about what had happened a few days ago. "They ruined things. All the good things you went through so much trouble to get back were ruined." He stared at his youngest daughter, afraid that she would get angry, since there were so many people outside.

Su Yu laughed, walked around the room twice with her hands behind her back, and smacked her lips, teasing, "I thought you'd never understand until you died. It seems you didn't suffer enough before. Your grandchildren got angry and your stubbornness was broken. The strangest thing is that my mother didn't make a fuss. She abandoned her precious son for you. Old man, my mother has devoted herself entirely to you."

"Who treats her well and who treats her badly, does she not know in her heart?" Old Man Su seemed not to have heard Su Yu's previous sentence. He raised such a son, gave him a house and money, and helped him with chores when he was able to work. Now that he is old, he is causing trouble for his daughters. He even expects them to take care of his funeral arrangements. He has no shame.

"By the way, what brings you here with Xiaoning? Where are the two children?" he interrupted, not wanting her to ask any more questions.

“They’re busy planting trees outside town. Ningjin and I came to take you to Jincheng for treatment. A colleague of mine said there’s a very skilled traditional Chinese medicine doctor in his hometown who specializes in treating difficult and complicated diseases. I thought your constant coughing wasn’t a long-term solution, so we’re going to see him. We don’t need a complete cure, just some relief will do.” Su Yu planned to bring her mother home so she could take care of Ping’an and Xiao Yuan. She was in good health, could eat, drink, and sleep well, and was still capable of cooking a meal for the two children.

"I'm not going. I know my own body. I'll live as long as I can. Don't waste money. Even if I get cured, I'll only live for another two or three years. It's not worth it." The old man looked resistant and didn't say much. He went out to talk to someone, not giving Su Yu a chance to persuade him again.

"What did he say?" Ning Jin saw her face contorted with anger and knew that the old man probably didn't want to go.

"I don't want to go. I say it's not worth it. It's like my life is worth less than grass," she said angrily.

"Should I go and try to persuade them?"

"Okay, you go tell him. I'll go find my cousin and get the letter of introduction first." Su Yu turned and went out. She returned a moment later with a piece of paper. Ning Jin still couldn't persuade his father-in-law. He had learned his stubbornness; he was impervious to reason.

"Mom, pack some clothes for Dad. I'm taking him to Jincheng for a medical checkup. Remember to bring a thick coat in case the weather changes." Su Yu went directly to the old lady.

Yu Anxiu was overjoyed and kept saying "good." She tidied up her clothes and then went to knead dough, saying she wanted to make a big pancake for them to eat on the road. Now she was counting on the old man to recover and live a few more years, so she would have a companion and someone who cared about her.

"Come on, if you don't leave, then your son-in-law will have to carry you. If he can't carry you, I'll call my three brothers-in-law. I won't let them pay anything, they'll just help carry you onto the train." Su Yu only started threatening after the wall was built and everyone who helped had left.

Seeing the old man glaring at her with a stern face, Su Yu wasn't intimidated. She handed the things in her hand to Ning Jin, walked over and tugged at him, saying, "You're not really old enough to need someone to carry you out of the village, are you? Like when you married my mother and carried her into the village, did you carry her in or did my mother walk in by herself?"

Old Su was so angry he laughed. What kind of nonsense was this? "Wait, I'm leaving. Let me go in and get something first."

"You took the money, didn't you? My mom took it." She only found out then that the elderly couple always took money with them whenever they stayed at her house, as if they were guarding against a thief in their own home.

"Are the rice and flour all locked up?" he asked, still worried.

"It's locked, it's locked, it's all locked. I watched my mom lock it with my own eyes." Su Yu tucked his clothes onto the back seat, and once he was seated, she stepped on the footrest. Ning Jin followed behind with his heavier mother-in-law.

"He's only been back a few days? And Su Yu took him away again? Rongbing has it easy being a son, his parents are being raised by his sister." People sitting in the threshing ground sifting sesame seeds in the village talked.

Su Qingguo listened without saying a word. After Su Yu opened the letter of introduction, she told him not to miss the news, lest the village gossip about it even more.

The next morning, just as dawn broke, Su Yu and Ning Jin took Old Man Su out to catch the earliest bus to the county to catch the train.

"This is my first time on a train. Even your mother has never seen such a big thing." Old Su sat near the window, watching the scenery drift by outside.

"As long as I live long enough, you can see what I can see too." Su Yu peeled an orange and gave it to her father, then asked Ning Jin if he wanted some.

It would take fourteen hours to reach the station. Gradually, Old Man Su stopped staring at the outside. He would occasionally sip water, swallowing the urge to cough, not wanting to disturb the sleeping people.

It wasn't until noon, when some people started eating, that he lowered his head and coughed. Su Yu handed him a stack of tissues, and after he calmed down, she gave him some malted milk powder to drink, along with a tea egg and a palm-sized pancake. That was all the food he could eat right now.

"Dad, why did you decide to cut ties with your son and grandson? You've always been considerate of others before," Su Yu said to him, trying to distract him.

"There aren't that many reasons. It's just that my grandchildren are so disappointing. I treat them the best, but they only listen to their mother. I'll get over it soon enough." Old Su stared blankly at the last bit of malted milk powder, looking listless and coughing terribly. The youngest son didn't go to get any more of the medicine the doctor prescribed. Even though she didn't say a word, she could easily understand his condition.

She thought she could hide the situation by not saying anything, and only she thought she had fooled everyone. Even her mother had guessed that something was wrong, but she hadn't noticed. If he hadn't seen things getting worse, how could the old woman have readily agreed to cut off all contact with her son?

They probably know they don't have much time left, so the face, descendants, and other things they used to care about are all meaningless to them. They are also unwilling to do anything for their children and grandchildren. They haven't even figured out how to live their own lives, yet they expect their children and grandchildren to suddenly become enlightened and see the old man's good intentions.

As soon as they entered Jincheng, the old man coughed terribly, even with his nose covered. Drinking water and eating fruit couldn't stop it, and despite the glares from the other passengers, they finally arrived at their destination.

After getting off the bus, Su Yu grabbed her clothes and had her father cover his mouth and nose. The air here was terrible; even she, who wasn't sick, felt uncomfortable and just wanted to sneeze.

"There are many coal miners, but the air is not as good as where we are." Ning Jin asked at the station where to catch the bus and how much the fare was. He then led Su Yu and his father-in-law straight to the bus stop. After waiting for about 20 minutes, they finally boarded the bus and transferred three times before arriving at the small town that Yu Yuan'an had mentioned in the evening.

"Let's find a guesthouse for the night, and then we'll head over tomorrow morning," Ning Jin asked.

"Okay, I'll do as you say." Su Yu was already dizzy from being squeezed in the car.

"This comrade is coughing so badly, what's wrong with him?" The receptionist at the registration desk stared warily at Old Man Su.

"Don't worry, comrade, it's not a contagious disease caused by smoking. Otherwise, my wife and I wouldn't have been walking around with him so casually," Su Yu explained.

"Not the best, here, the keys to two rooms." The receptionist handed the keys to Su Yu and pointed out which two rooms they were.

It's been two days since we boarded the train, and all three of us are covered in sweat. There's hot water and a public bathhouse here, so we can shower from head to toe. After dinner, we go back to our rooms to sleep.

The next day, they went straight to the address on the note.

"Doctor, we were referred by Yu Min'an." Su Yu knocked on the door and immediately mentioned Yu Yuan'an's name, having heard that Yu Yuan'an's home was nearby.

"Oh, he mentioned it to me. Come in." The old doctor's expression relaxed, and he called into the house, "Old woman, we have guests. Go buy some groceries."

Su Yu was surprised and quickly refused, "No, you're too kind. We won't stay for dinner, so you don't need to prepare anything."

The old doctor didn't speak until he went into the inner room, then he glanced at her and said with a smile, "I didn't ask you to stay. I just wanted to let my family know to be careful of strangers."

Su Yu: "...You're quite careful." She gave a dry laugh and didn't dare to say anything more.

While the old man was inside taking her pulse, Su Yu came out with Ning Jin. She glared at the man who had just laughed, pinched his hand, and said angrily, "Why didn't you stop me? It's so embarrassing!"

"I didn't know you could respond so quickly. Where did your usual quick wit go?" Ning Jin couldn't help but laugh as she recalled the scene just now.

"This is the first time I've seen such a well-maintained elderly person. I was momentarily stunned." The old doctor's hair was completely white, but he looked energetic and vigorous. His face didn't have the sallow complexion of an elderly person in the countryside, and his eyes were bright. He looked healthy.

"Come in, I want to tell you about the patient's condition," came the old doctor's voice from inside. Su Yu and Ning Jin hurriedly went in.

"He has a serious lung problem, and his stomach isn't very good either. He needs to be taken care of. If you're not in a hurry to leave, I'll give him acupuncture for a few days and give him some traditional Chinese medicine to drink. Then I'll get some more medicine for you to take with you."

"Okay." This time, Su Yu didn't rush to ask about the old man's condition or whether he could be cured.

Old Man Su sat in a chair, his chest and back covered in needles. Su Yu felt a pang of pain at the sight and dared not look any longer. She moved closer to the old doctor and learned how to prepare the medicine from him.

"Are you his daughter? And that's your husband?" the old doctor asked.

“Yes, my husband and I brought my dad here for treatment. We were lucky; one of my colleagues works here and said his dad was cured here, so we came.” Su Yu secretly took a breath. The smell of the Chinese medicine was quite pleasant; it was bitter but not fishy.

"Your father's illness isn't good. He needs to take good care of himself and can't stop taking his medicine. He has to take his medicine three times a day, like food. Do you understand?"

"I understand. We consulted other doctors before coming, so we have a better understanding of the situation." Su Yu asked how often she would need to come for a follow-up appointment and if she could have her medication sent to her when she ran out.

"Take three months' worth of medicine with you when you leave. If you can, come back in three months. If not, come once every six months. The medicine can be mailed, but you have to pay for it first, and you will also have to pay for the postage."

Su Yu could tell he was very skilled at this job, indicating he had seen many patients from out of town.

"Okay, we'll do it your way." Since she was already here, Su Yu had no other choice but to trust them.

"By the way, Uncle, do you know how to massage acupoints and loosen bones? My husband drives a car all year round, and his cervical spine isn't very good. Could you give him a massage?" Su Yu leaned closer, turning the old doctor into an uncle.

"It costs money."

“We’ll pay,” Su Yu replied crisply.

"Young man, come here. Your wife says you have a bad neck. Let me loosen your bones." He called his family to prepare medicine, then went back to have Ning Jin take off his clothes so he could loosen his bones.

Su Yu followed along eagerly, watching from the side. She was a little annoyed by Ning Jin's cries of "ouch, ouch," and patted him, saying, "Stop making those noises, they're disturbing my learning."

"Uncle, please don't leave yet. Please check if I'm pressing the right spot!" Su Yu stood in the old doctor's seat, pressing her hand on the back of Ning Jin's neck as she asked.

"I won't teach you. If you want to learn, figure it out yourself. You've already read it all once."

"Then let's come back tomorrow to get our bones loosened." She handed the clothes to the man, deciding to come for a massage every day from now on, and to give Ningjin a massage whenever she felt uncomfortable.