Chapter 69

Tong Yufei settled Mo Daoyan down and had to rush back to work. Before leaving, she told him that she would help him ask for two days of leave from the company and asked him to find a caregiver if he had any problems. She had given him a red envelope to take care of it.

The ward was a double room. The bed next to mine was occupied by a middle-aged couple. The man worked in a brick kiln. While trying to save his clumsy young apprentice, he was injured by a brick. Of his four limbs, only his left hand could move. The woman was caring for him. Ever since Tong Yufei and Mo Daoyan checked in, they'd been chatting non-stop. They talked about the differences in craftsmanship between red and green bricks, whether they'd get a New Year's bonus, a coworker at the brick factory who'd borrowed money and never paid it back, and their three children: the eldest and second child's academic performance, the youngest, only three months old, nursing like a calf. The woman was grimacing over the fine for having more children than allowed, while the man took care of everything. He was there for everything, and the world wouldn't fall.

The woman brought a few bottles of canned fish, but the man was reluctant to eat them, so he coaxed his wife into eating them. Looking at the canned fish, the man recalled the embarrassing time when he was a child fishing and splashed the fishing ditch onto his father's nose, and was chased around the village by his father. The woman giggled and talked about whatever she thought of. She said that the old sow of the neighbor gave birth to eight piglets in one litter, worthy of being a pig. She also talked about the daughter-in-law who just got married last year and gave birth to quadruplets. They were even worse off than the old sow. Each child weighed more than two kilograms and was extremely thin. The mother suffered even more and suddenly looked ten years older. But mother and children were safe, and four babies were counted as one birth, so there was no fine. It was finally a happy event.

The man said with a sly face: "We can't lose, let's give birth to a guerrilla army."

"Do you really think I'm a pig?"

"How can a pig be as beautiful as you? Wife, do you know when you look your best?"

"When?"

"When?"

"What do you mean?"

“It looks good anytime.”

"Coo me again."

"I'm kidding you, my grandson. When we were in elementary school, I thought you were the prettiest girl in the class and I wanted to marry you. Old Han even said I was a toad wanting to eat swan flesh, so I would always invite him to every child's full moon banquet. I wanted to show that old man that I had married a swan and laid three swan eggs."

"Don't say that. Teacher Han is a good man. I couldn't afford the tuition at that time, so he secretly paid for it. Damao bullied me before, but he also protected me. Do you remember Damao? He was my deskmate in the first grade. He had two snotty noses hanging all day long. He bullied the weak and feared the strong. He also picked on girls. You can tell a person's character by the size of a child. When he grew up, he stole and was in jail three times..." The woman suddenly turned to Mo Daoyan, "Little brother, did I disturb you?" Without waiting for an answer, she asked, "You and your wife are both college students, right? You both speak in a very elegant way." Seeing that Mo Daoyan did not deny it, she sighed enviously, "My grades were not bad back then. I dropped out of school for my younger brothers and sisters. If I could study for two more years..."

The man chuckled and said, "Everyone has their own destiny. Who can predict the future? Even if I have to sell my blood and kidneys, I will support all three of our children to become college students. If for no other reason, then I want my wife to be the mother of a college student, even if she doesn't!"

These words seemed to curse himself and others at the same time. The woman quickly covered the man's mouth and said, "Stop talking!"

The lively conversation over there made his side seem like an extremely cold place.

Around nine o'clock in the evening, Tong Yufei came to the hospital again.

As promised when she left, she brought him a bag of clothes, including a jacket, a sweatshirt, pants and socks, and even put in two extra pairs of underwear. She also changed her clothes, replacing the brown coat with a short blue tweed coat, paired with white jeans, and she looked like a student again.

Finding he couldn't finish the pirated book, she borrowed a magazine from the security office and shoved it into his hand. She then stacked two pillows and propped them up behind his waist. When he lowered his head to flip through the magazine, she turned to the shared table, clearing a small space in a narrow corner to organize her interview notes. Mo Daoyan flipped through "Road to Wealth Through Agriculture" and felt like a child who had been given a piece of candy. With candy, they couldn't interrupt adults, but at least candy was sweet. Yet, she hadn't even glanced at the magazine before hand. The opening chapter was about sow vaccination techniques.

The lights in the ward were dim, and she used a flashlight to provide fill light. Under the light, the tiny hairs on her face were clearly visible. Mo Daoyan was uneasy, perhaps because of the occasional pain from the wound. His eyes unconsciously drifted towards her, watching her frowning in thought, and writing furiously with concentration. A spring flowed through his heart, cool and with an indescribable sweetness.

His throat felt strangely dry, and he said to the beautiful figure, "I'm thirsty."

The older woman next to me reminded me, "The hot water in the water room will be gone at 10 o'clock. You have to hurry if you want to get some water."

Tong Yufei went out to get some hot water and poured it cold on him: "Do you want a sponge bath?"

"I asked the nurse to get some water and wipe it. Are you done?"

"not yet."

Mo Daoyan took the water cup, his fingertips accidentally touching hers. She pulled her hand back, and the cup swayed slightly in his palm, almost spilling it. He moistened his throat and said, "When you're discharged from the hospital, I'll give you a computer. You can learn to type, so you don't have to copy manuscripts over and over again. Editing and typesetting will also be very convenient. Many people use computers for work now. Is there anyone in your company using one too?"

"I don't want it."

"Then I'll teach you how to drive. Your car is just sitting there anyway, so when you need to go to faraway places for interviews, you can just drive there."

"Being too flashy is actually not conducive to the interview."

There was no accompanying seat in the ward, only two paint-peeling wooden chairs. The older sister gave the chair to her, saying that she had brought bedding. The man insisted on not letting his wife sleep on the floor and wanted her to come and squeeze on the bed. The woman was afraid of touching the man's injuries, so she refused several times before agreeing. There was a yellow plastic curtain hanging between the two beds. When the woman lowered the curtain, the whispers suddenly disappeared a lot.

At half past ten, the lights in the hospital went out on time. Tong Yufei used a flashlight to organize the interview notes before going to wash his face and brush his teeth. After returning, he put two chairs together and took off his coat to cover himself.

Mo Daoyan didn't fall asleep and moved to the side: "You'll catch a cold if you sleep like that. Come and sleep here."

She curled up into a ball to keep warm: "I'll sleep here."

"Then just don't sleep at all. You can stay in the hospital if you're sick anyway."

Mo Daoyan pulled the quilt away, and Tong Yufei turned his back and didn't look at him, but after more than ten minutes, the stubborn figure was still sitting in the darkness, like a steadfast ice sculpture.

She finally sat up: "How old are you? Why are you still being petty?"

He had never been so humble before, and he endured it again and again: "Come and sleep."

Mo Daoyan's left hand was receiving an IV. She had wanted to sleep on her right side, but he stubbornly pulled her to the left. Only after she lay down did she understand his intention. He slightly turned sideways, and was able to embrace her from behind. His body was cold, his arms trembled slightly, and his breath was muffled in her hair: "A day of marriage is a hundred days of grace. Even if there is no grace, there is no need to become enemies. Do you hate me so much?"

"Why do I hate you?"

"I'm freezing to death, and you still don't come over. What else can I do but hate you?" He put his palm into her sweater, and through a layer of base shirt, gently rubbed her lower abdomen, saying in a naughty voice, "Warm me up."

Tong Yufei bit her lip and said nothing, and the two of them fell into silence.

The couple thought they were asleep, and gradually began to breathe. The woman scolded the man, telling him to be quiet, saying he was a vegetable and still had those dirty thoughts. The man laughed frivolously, "I'm out for at least six months, and I see you four or five times a year. How can you be a man if you don't have some thoughts? After giving birth to my third child, I've grown bigger and become a real cow. Why is it so hard?"

"Stupid, is this your first day as a father? It's swollen." The bed creaked, as if the woman was about to get up. "I have to go to the bathroom to squeeze it out. It feels like there's a rock stuck in it."

"Why are you squeezing? Your son is here, give him a couple of puffs."

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

"Don't you often say that I'm a child who never grows up? I'm your eldest son, but I can't move. You have to come here by yourself. Don't accuse me of being a hooligan. If I'm not a hooligan, won't you feel miserable?"

Then there was a rustling sound, and about a quarter of an hour later, the man asked, "Are you feeling better?"

The woman did not respond, and the two whispered for a while. Her breathing gradually became steady, and her snoring sounded alternately, but those dirty words were like sparks that could not be extinguished, exploding endlessly in the air. Tong Yufei clearly felt the heat gradually awakening behind him, and when he tried to move, he was locked by Mo Daoyan's arms.

"Don't be awkward, otherwise it will be more energetic." Mo Daoyan's voice was very hoarse, and he spoke with some effort. Fortunately, the heat did not burn her in the end, and he suppressed it back. Just by suppressing it, the sleepiness also went away, and it was a good opportunity to chat for a while. "What report are you working on recently?" Seeing that she still didn't answer, he gently bit her earlobe, "Your interview reports must be for readers. I will be your first reader and submit a review. Isn't it worth considering?"

Mo Daoyan's appreciation was more trustworthy than her words, so she said, "It's about the reform of the household registration system."

Tong Yufei discussed the context of this report. While the economic boom is driving a surge in rural migrant workers to cities, many places still adhere to the old rule of "leaving the land but not the village, entering the factory but not the city." Farmers are restricted from entering county towns. While quotas for "rural-to-urban migration" have been opened up in recent years, they are limited to a select few, such as those seeking university admission and military promotion. Ordinary people are virtually ineligible, and the opportunities available are minimal. Without an urban hukou, one is considered a second-class citizen in the city. Children must pay exorbitant tuition fees for schooling, and their hukou can only be registered with their mother. Rural women seeking to marry into the city are inherently inferior. It's a good thing their in-laws are lenient, but once the honeymoon wears off, they'll be met with cold shoulder.

Now that the purchase and sale prices of grain and oil have been liberalized, it is an inevitable trend for farmers to move to cities driven by the economic tide. There are already tens of millions of farmers working across provinces. Against this background, it is almost inevitable that the "agricultural to non-agricultural" indicators will be loosened. As a result, some local governments with far-reaching financial resources have begun to sell urban household registration privately. The policy, which was already controversial, has been plagued by chaos in its implementation, with power rent-seeking, reselling indicators, and taking money but not doing anything... He Yanjun's cousin Tan Li is just the tip of the iceberg. She spent 5,000 yuan and got nothing in return, and was also beaten by her husband.

Mo Daoyan listened, then pondered for a moment. "This man didn't help resolve the household registration issue, nor did he go to get the money back. Instead, he blamed his wife for incompetence and assaulted her. It's clear he has low character. But when you want to accuse someone, you always find a pretext. Even if it wasn't this incident, he would have found another." He glanced at Tong Yufei and said, "You did the same to me. You fulfilled your promise to Ms. Meng, then just walked away, saying it was a trial period. You never took it seriously from the beginning. You used Ye Yimo and Tong Zhaoyang to test my boundaries so you could put all the blame for the divorce on me."

After just a few words, he lumped her into the same category as the bastard who beat his wife.