Aunt Fang went to the mountain to pick some ferns in the afternoon, and brought them to Lin Tao after she returned home.
"Those that have just grown on the mountain are best used for salad dressing. The pine mushrooms are also about to grow. When I went there today, I found a large cluster of them. It would be great if it could rain for a couple of times, so we can go up the mountain to pick pine mushrooms." Aunt Fang said with a smile.
As the saying goes, "live by the mountain, eat from the mountain; live by the water, eat from the water." There are many mountains in Xiangcheng, and the mountains can always give them rewards.
There are all kinds of mushrooms, ferns, hairy bamboo shoots, wild bubbles, tea peach cakes, August fried cakes, prickly fruits, hairy roots... too many to count.
Lin Tao also liked to go to the mountains to pick these, so she nodded and said, "Okay, then next time Aunt Fang, call me."
"Okay." Aunt Fang nodded. "Aunt Fang wants to ask you, how do you get along with that boy?"
Last time when Lin Tao went to see Zhou Meifang, she told Aunt Fang that she wanted to find Li Chengxi, and she was very supportive. She also knew that Lin Tao was going to see Li Chengxi today.
Lin Tao grew up in her own eyes, just like her own daughter. She must be concerned about her, so she couldn't help but ask.
Lin Tao pursed her lips and smiled: "Very good."
"That's good. You two can get along well and bring him home in a couple of days for your dad to see. Have you told your dad about this?"
Lin Tao shook her head: "No, I wanted to tell you yesterday, but we hadn't made it clear at the time. I was afraid it would be too early to tell you, so I planned to tell my dad tonight."
"Well, your dad will be so happy that he'll have a couple more drinks." Aunt Fang smiled from ear to ear.
Because of Lin Tao's identity as a coffin boy, no one in her family had ever proposed marriage to her after she reached a certain age.
Even the most naive girl in the village has married off. Why can't their girl, A Tao, get married? She is pretty and educated.
Aunt Fang had been worried about this before, and even specifically asked someone to introduce a partner to Tao, but the person she introduced either had a wife who had died, which made Aunt Fang so angry that she wanted to curse.
This time it’s finally done.
Lin Tao was not anxious about her marriage. She thought that the most she could do was not get married in her lifetime. What was there to be afraid of? She had hands and feet. Could it be that she couldn't live without getting married?
After Aunt Fang left, Lin Tao started cooking dinner as usual.
She was ready to tell her father about her and Li Chengxi today.
According to what Aunt Fang said, if her father heard it, he would be so happy that he would drink a few more glasses, so he would have to cook more dishes today.
I took out the leftover sausage from the Chinese New Year, washed it, cut it into slices and steamed it, stir-fried some minced meat and sour beans, and washed and tore the fresh fern that Aunt Fang had just delivered today, tore it into shreds and mixed it with homemade oil and chili peppers. I also fried some peanuts with dried chilies, which was perfect for going with wine.
After preparing dinner, Lin Tao waited for Lin Changhai to come back.
But for some reason, Lin Changhai, who should have returned home long ago, was nowhere to be seen today.
Just when Lin Tao couldn't help but feel anxious, the brigade secretary sent someone to call her.
"Lin Tao, Lin Tao, hurry up and get ready. The hospital just called and said your dad was injured while unloading the goods and was sent to the hospital. You should go over and take a look."
It was already this late and Lin Changhai hadn't come back yet. Lin Tao was already feeling uneasy, and when she heard these words, she became even more unsteady and nearly fell.
The auntie hurriedly supported her: "Are you okay?"
Lin Tao calmed down and thanked her aunt: "I'm fine, thank you aunt."
She returned to her room, opened the closet and took out an iron box, which contained the money her family had saved over the years. She had been obedient and steady since she was a child. After she turned fifteen, her father gave her his monthly salary and let her manage the household.
She managed her household in an orderly manner, keeping a record of how much she set aside for food expenses and how much she saved each month.
Going to the hospital definitely costs money, so she had to bring enough money. After taking a small stack of medicine, Lin Tao locked the cabinet, locked the door, and hurried out.
There was quite a commotion here, so naturally the people in the big house on the other side also heard it.
Not to mention that Lin Hui had something on her mind, so she paid more attention to the situation here. When the aunt just came in, Lin Hui heard it, and learned that Lin Changhai was admitted to the hospital, and she didn't know whether the injury was serious, so she couldn't help feeling uneasy.
While listening to the noise outside, she thought to herself that it was not her fault. If anyone was to be blamed, it was her second uncle's bad luck. He deserved this disaster.
Old Mrs. Lin cursed and said with a mean look: "It must be that evil person who gave it to Fang. If he had been strangled to death earlier, there wouldn't have been so many problems!"
The auntie who came to report the news couldn't stand it any longer: "Auntie, it's already this late, and you didn't even say you were going to go and take a look. What's the point of scolding? Lin Tao's life is miserable enough. She lost her mother when she was born. If something happens to Chang Hai, how will she, a little girl, survive?"
Old Mrs. Lin was a little annoyed by what she said, and turned her head away: "She brought this misery upon herself, why should I go to see him? Does he still have me as his mother in his heart? He won't pay me, so I won't go."
The aunt shook her head, thinking that Old Lady Lin always said that Lin Changhai was unfilial, but she never looked at how she treated others.
Lin Tao naturally heard these words, but she didn't have much hope for Old Lady Lin and her people, and she was even more lazy to argue with them. The most important thing now was to go to the hospital to see her father.
Although she looked fine on the surface, she was the only one who knew that her legs felt a little weak when she walked.
She has depended on her father since she was a child. God has taken her mother away, and she can no longer compete with her for her father!
Before leaving the village, Lin Tao heard Aunt Fang's anxious voice behind her: "A Tao, A Tao, wait for me."
When Lin Tao turned around, she saw Aunt Fang pushing a 28-inch bicycle and panting towards her. When she saw her turn around, she said without taking a breath, "Come on, Aunt Fang will take you there on her bicycle."
Aunt Fang went for a walk outside with Lin Manman after dinner to help digest the food, and she heard what happened.
So she hurried to the captain to borrow the 28-inch bicycle. She knew Lin Tao couldn't ride it, but she could, so she could take Lin Tao with her.
Lin Tao was so moved that she didn't know what to say, but she didn't hesitate and quickly got on the 28-inch bicycle.
Aunt Fang said "Sit tight" and started pedaling.
The wind whistled past my ears. Aunt Fang asked, "If I don't come, how are you going to get to the county town?"
Lin Tao pursed her lips and said, "I want to go to Uncle Liu and borrow his ox cart."
"Ox carts are not as fast as this. The sooner we see your father, the sooner we can feel at ease."
When Aunt Fang was talking, her foot movements were clear. She looked quite frail, but at this moment she seemed to have endless strength as she pedaled such a huge 28-inch bicycle.
However, Aunt Fang's physical strength was limited, and she began to slow down halfway through the journey.
Lin Tao could only say that it was okay to go slower, and at the same time she blamed herself for not wanting to learn how to ride a bike after falling twice.
Fortunately, they finally made it to the hospital. The aunt who brought the news only said that the person had arrived at the hospital, but she was in a hurry and didn't specify which ward he was in, so Lin Tao went to ask the nurse.
The nurse happened to know the answer, so she told her, "It's in the last ward on the second floor. The stairs are on the right."
"Thank you." After saying thank you, Lin Tao quickly followed Aunt Fang upstairs.
There were only Lin Changhai and another patient in the ward. Lin Changhai's foot was bandaged, but he didn't look seriously injured.
In other words, it was not what Lin Tao and Aunt Fang imagined. When they heard that something happened to Lin Changhai, they had all kinds of bad thoughts in their minds, fearing that something big would happen.
Lin Tao and Aunt Fang finally breathed a sigh of relief and their hearts settled down.
Lin Tao walked over and called out, "Dad, how did you get this? What did the doctor say? Is it serious? Are there any bone injuries?"
She was so anxious that she asked a series of questions.
Aunt Fang met Lin Changhai's eyes and explained, "A Tao was very worried when she heard that something happened to you."
Lin Changhai hurriedly said, "I'm fine, you don't have to worry. It was just that something went wrong when we were unloading the cargo today, and the cargo almost fell down and hit me, but luckily a young man saved me. I just twisted my leg, it's not that serious, the doctor said it will be fine after a few days of rest, don't look at the many bandages on my leg, it's just a lot of noise but little action, I can still move my leg, I'll show you how to move it."
Having said that, he stood up and prepared to perform for Lin Tao and Aunt Fang.
Lin Tao pouted and said in a long voice, not very supportive: "Dad——"
Aunt Fang said helplessly: "Stop moving around. Ah Tao only has you as her relative. If something happens to you, do you think she will be worried to death?"
Lin Changhai stopped moving. How could he not know that Tao was his only relative? Because he knew this, when his feet were hit by a heavy object and he couldn't walk, and something else fell from above and could kill him at any time, he kept thinking that he must not die.
His daughter A Tao is still so young, and he hasn't found someone for A Tao to entrust her life to, so how could he bear to die?
"Okay, I won't move. I'll just lie there."
"Dad, have you eaten? Are you hungry?" Lin Tao asked, "Also, where is the person who saved you? Is he still there?"
Someone else saved her father, so even if she doesn't say anything else, she has to say thank you.
Lin Changhai said, "He is such a good man. Not only did he save me, but he also bought me food even though he knew I hadn't eaten yet. I must thank him later."
As soon as he finished speaking, there was movement at the door.
Li Chengxi was holding an aluminum lunch box in his hand and immediately saw Lin Tao standing in front of the bed.
The two looked at each other, both of them were a little surprised, and then they smiled at each other.
Although Lin Tao had already planned to tell Lin Changhai that she was dating someone, she didn't have the courage to say it directly in front of Li Chengxi and with outsiders in the ward.
The two of them went to ask the doctor about Lin Changhai's condition. Lin Tao smiled and said, "I never thought that you saved my dad."
"It means we are destined to be together." Li Chengxi said.
Then he couldn't help asking, "When are you going to tell uncle about us?"
Just now in the ward, Lin Tao only told Lin Changhai that they knew each other, and he respected her and did not point out their current relationship. But in the end, he still wanted to meet the parents in the name of Lin Tao's boyfriend.
He was dating Lin Tao with the intention of getting married, and he believed that Lin Tao thought the same.
It was only a matter of time before they got married. In fact, he hoped it would be sooner.
This was not because he was old enough to get married. His unmarried status in the past few years had caused trouble for the organization and his family, but he did not take it seriously.
In his opinion, marriage is not for the sake of marriage, nor is it to just find someone to marry and start a family when you reach a certain age and are urged by outsiders.
If he gets married, it must be because he has met someone he likes.
And Lin Tao is that person.
"The ugly son-in-law will have to meet his father-in-law sooner or later." Li Chengxi said half-jokingly.
Lin Taozhang blushed, bit her lip and retorted: "Don't talk nonsense, how are you ugly?"
She felt a little embarrassed: "Actually, I was planning to tell my dad about our relationship today, but I didn't expect this to happen. There were so many people in the ward just now, I was too embarrassed to tell him."
Li Chengxi saw blushes on her fair cheeks and her eyes full of smiles.
He couldn't help but reach out and hold that slender hand. He felt Lin Tao shudder at first as if she was frightened, then she lowered her face in shame and let him hold her hand.
"Then I'll go confess to my uncle later."