Following Guan Jin's instructions, Jiang Ruyu went in twice a day to talk to Jiang Lin, sometimes wiping his hands and washing his face, and moistening his lips with cotton balls dipped in boiled water. She also noticed Jiang Lin's reaction; sometimes his hand would move slightly, as if responding to her.
After several acupuncture sessions, Jiang Lin woke up at noon that day while Jiang Ruyu was recounting how Jiang Hui had been tricked and almost pounced on by a woman.
"sister."
Jiang Lin's soft words made Jiang Ruyu jump up, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face. Yet she smiled and said, "You're finally awake, Jiang Lin. You scared me to death, you scared me to death."
Jiang Lin wanted to wipe away his sister's tears, but he felt unable to move. He wanted to speak, but his throat was dry and hoarse: "Sister, don't cry."
Hearing Jiang Lin's hoarse voice, Jiang Ruyu controlled herself and said, "You wait here, I'll go call the doctor."
Jiang Ruyu ran out and called to Guan Jin, "Dr. Guan, my brother is awake, he's awake."
Guan Jin suddenly stood up and ran out. Other doctors who knew about Jiang Lin's symptoms followed her. Jiang Ruyu stood outside watching the people inside examine Jiang Lin. After a long while, Guan Jin finally came out with a smile.
"Comrade Jiang, Comrade Jiang Lin is out of danger. We'll be able to remove those tubes soon and transfer him to a regular ward. He'll be discharged once his external injuries heal."
The smile on Guan Jin's face was one that Jiang Ruyu had never seen in the few days she had known her. She was also very happy that her younger brother had woken up so quickly, but Guan Jin's attitude towards her brother gave her a slightly different feeling.
"That's wonderful. Dr. Guan, you've worked so hard these past few days. Once Jiang Lin recovers, I'll definitely have her treat you to a proper meal to thank you."
Jiang Ruyu was genuinely grateful to Guan Jin. Over the past few days, she had clearly seen that Guan Jin took Jiang Lin's condition very seriously, coming to check on him several times a day and staying in the rest room at night instead of going home. She had also heard from the hospital nurses that Guan Jin's family seemed to be in the military.
Guan Jin suddenly felt a little embarrassed. Only then did she show a bit of a girlish demeanor. She smoothed the stray hairs behind her ear, glanced at Jiang Lin inside, and said, "I'm a doctor, and he's a patient. This is what I should do. A nurse will come to move him to a different room soon. You can go with her then. I'll go and get busy now."
"Okay, Dr. Guan, you can go ahead and get back to work."
Jiang Ruyu watched Guan Jin leave. Not long after, several nurses came and removed all the tubes from Jiang Lin's body. They then changed him to a different bed and wheeled him out. Jiang Ruyu followed the nurses to a regular ward.
Once everything was settled, Jiang Ruyu sat by the bed looking at Jiang Lin, tears welling up in her eyes again: "You're such a worry, making yourself look like this, causing us so much concern."
Looking at his sister's thin face and dark circles under her eyes, Jiang Lin knew that she must not have been eating or sleeping well these past few days. He had never seen his sister cry more than a few times in his life, and the two times he had seen her cry were both because of him.
"Sister, I'm sorry for making you worry." But he couldn't bring himself to say something like he wouldn't get hurt again. His profession was high-risk, and he couldn't reassure his family that he wouldn't get hurt again. He could only promise to try his best not to get hurt in the future.
"Sigh, from the day you joined the army, we knew this day would come. Jiang Lin, you need to think more about your family. We don't need you to be outstanding; we just want you to be healthy and well."
Jiang Lin turned his head away, tears streaming down his face. His family was his haven, and also his belief every time he went on a mission. No matter what, he couldn't let his family far away be sad for him. He had to go back alive. It was with this belief that he was able to survive step by step in desperate situations.
Jiang Lin woke up, and her wounds healed much faster. After asking Guan Jin what she could eat, Jiang Ruyu went out for a while.
She first called home, this time calling Zheng Yang. When Zheng Yang transferred the call, she didn't say anything, but Zheng Yang's deep voice came through: "Ruyu, are you alright?"
Jiang Ruyu felt an overwhelming urge to cry for some reason. She bit her lip and held back, but her words still came out choked with sobs: "I'm fine, Jiang Lin is awake."
Zheng Yang called Jiang Hui over as well. Jiang Hui heard the words and was immediately relieved. However, Zheng Yang heard his wife's voice trembling with tears, and his heart ached.
"Honey, it's alright, you're all right now that you've woken up. When can we get discharged?"
"I don't know yet. We'll have to see how he recovers and ask the doctor." Hearing Zheng Yang's voice, Jiang Ruyu felt as if all the anxiety she had felt these past few days had been soothed.
"Then don't worry, everything is fine at home, Grandma is fine, and Tian Tian and Huan Huan are fine too, they're just waiting for you to come back."
Zheng Yang's words greatly comforted Jiang Ruyu: "Okay, I understand. I came out to buy things for Jiang Lin to replenish his nutrition, so I won't talk to you anymore. Please tell my grandma and Jiang Hui that I'm hanging up now."
"Okay, take good care of yourself over there, don't overwork yourself, it will worry me."
"Okay, I understand."
Jiang Hui was caught off guard by his brother-in-law's public display of affection. Although he didn't know what public display of affection was, he felt so full that he hadn't eaten anything.
Jiang Ruyu looked around the nearby supply and marketing cooperative to see what she could buy. In the end, she bought half a pound of lean meat, ginger, goji berries, scallions, a piece of yam, and a small handful of green vegetables. Turning her head, she saw that they were even selling pigeons.
"Comrade, how much are these pigeons?" Jiang Ruyu asked quickly.
"This thing is all bones and no meat. It's the only one left, and it doesn't even weigh a pound. I'll give you 50 cents. Someone else originally ordered it, but she didn't come, so I'll give it to you."
"Okay, thank you, comrade."
Jiang Ruyu walked out of the supply and marketing cooperative, put a bag of millet, about two pounds, and a few eggs into a cloth bag, and then returned to the hospital.
When she arrived at the hospital cafeteria, she asked the chef if she could use the stove. The chef asked her what she did for a living, and when he learned that she was there to take care of her injured soldier brother, he readily agreed.
“Sigh, these young people are risking their lives for the safety of us ordinary people. My son is also in the army, so I can understand you.”
The head chef empathized with them: "Go ahead and use it. The patients need nutrition right now. It would be even better if you could have good ingredients yourself. They've suffered so much."
Jiang Ruyu thanked the master chef, cleaned the pigeon, chopped it into pieces, blanched it in water, and then put it into a clay pot with ginger slices, scallion segments, goji berries, and a little salt, and stewed it on the stove.
I cooked another pot of millet, yam, and lean pork porridge, and also added chopped green vegetables.
While she was making soup, she bought food at the cafeteria and ate her fill. Jiang Lin woke up and his condition was improving. He might be able to be discharged from the hospital soon, which put her at ease. She was able to eat again.
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