Next day
Pei Hejun is sober, and this is something worth celebrating.
But in the 1970s, there was no special way to celebrate, and even fresh meat was hard to buy at home, so early in the morning, Pei's mother put two eggs in everyone's bowl.
One poached egg and one fried egg.
After a bit of extravagance, Pei's mother went to the captain to borrow the team's tractor to send Pei Hejun to the county, and then asked one of Pei Hejun's comrades in the county to help send him to the military hospital in the city.
He was hospitalized in this hospital before.
This time the two of them couldn't come back for a while, but there were two little kids at home to look after the house, and they were afraid of danger. It was well known that the Pei family was in good condition in the surrounding area. Although they were strictly controlled these days, there were still many cases of stealing. So Pei's mother didn't go, but stayed at home and let Jiang Xi go.
Jiang Xi was completely clueless about the city. Fortunately, the man driving the tractor was from the brigade. After hearing the location from Pei's mother, he knew the location and sent them all the way there. He then went to the county hospital and reported the news to Pei Zhong and the others.
When Jiang Xi found Pei Hejun's comrade-in-arms that Pei's mother had mentioned, he was also very enthusiastic. When he heard that Pei Hejun had really woken up, he was so excited that he ran out and almost fell.
Pei Hejun was still able to speak with difficulty. He was very happy to see his former comrade-in-arms who had retired. He forced himself to talk to him all the way before he got on the hospital stretcher and entered the ward.
Jiang Xi doesn't need to do anything from now on.
The troops did a good job of following up on the seriously injured soldiers, and as a family member, all she had to do was wait.
All the inspections were not completed until that evening.
Most of the results showed very good results. The nasal feeding tube has been removed and the cat can eat liquid food, but a small number of results need to wait for two days.
So Jiang Xi stayed here to accompany me.
"Sister-in-law, there is a guesthouse here. You go and rest first. I will keep watch at night and you can come over during the day." Pei Hejun's comrade-in-arms Chai Ming saw that it was getting late and urged Jiang Xi to go and rest.
Jiang Xi did not delay. It was obvious that the relationship between these two people was very good, much better than that between the original owner and Pei Hejun. There was nothing wrong with letting him take care of Pei Hejun. She nodded: "Okay, thank you."
After saying that, she packed up her things and left gracefully.
In the ward, everyone left. Chai Ming turned around and saw his former comrade-in-arms staring at the disappearing figure at the door. He laughed dumbly and said teasingly, "Everyone has left, why are you still looking? Your sister-in-law didn't even look at you. Hey..."
Pei Hejun looked at him silently without saying a word.
Chai Ming was laughing when he felt a little embarrassed and coughed lightly: "I heard that your sister-in-law is quite different in age from you?"
Pei Hejun's eyes became even colder.
Chai Ming scratched his head and said in bewilderment, "What's wrong? Did I say something wrong? I envy you. Your sister-in-law is so infatuated that she insisted on marrying you even though you were a vegetable."
As soon as the words fell, the penetrating sight disappeared.
Safe?
Pei Hejun nodded slightly: "It's all thanks to her."
Chai Ming clicked his tongue twice, pulled a chair over and sat down, curiously asking, "Will you return to the army when you get better?"
Pei Hejun's expression immediately became serious, and he said earnestly: "Of course, I was seriously injured this time, and I have been cured. I must not waste it."
Chai Ming touched his chin and said, "So, are you going to follow the army? You were the battalion commander before. If you survive this time, your merits in the last mission will also be counted. You should be able to move up, right? You will be able to choose a good place when you follow the army. The battalion commander can only choose a two-bedroom and one-living room apartment, but you should be able to have a three-bedroom and one-living room apartment, right?"
He was quite envious: "If I had been able to join the army, I wouldn't have had to retire early."
Chai Ming is actually the same age as Pei Hejun, a few months older than him. They joined the army together, but he got married early, and they were rarely together during his military service. His wife didn't have any children, and his parents didn't get along well with him. They had been suppressing his wife in both open and covert ways, causing her to suffer a lot of grievances.
But he did not have a high enough position at the time and could not allow his family to accompany him in the army, so he had no choice but to apply for a demobilization in advance.
If he could have joined the army and taken his wife with him, he might have been a mighty battalion commander now.
Just when this was mentioned, Pei Hejun frowned and did not respond.
There was actually no affection between the two. Three years ago, when Pei Hejun knew that he had a fiancée, he did not have any thoughts. He just thought that she was too young and too introverted and timid to be a military wife.
But when I thought about the fact that the other person had lost his father and his mother was unreliable, I didn't object.
Anyway, I can't get married for a while.
He wanted to wait until the girl finished her studies, find her a job, and then introduce her to someone.
Who would have thought that three years later, just when the other person had graduated, he became a vegetable due to the mission.
Pei Hejun thought he was doomed. All he could think about was whether his parents would eat his elder and second brothers alive with his pension. He had completely forgotten that he had a fiancée.
At this time, it is normal to cancel the engagement.
Until one day, in the dark, he was taken care of by a little girl, and then he realized that there really were such silly people in the world.
In order to repay his kindness, she would rather stay with him, a vegetative state whose life or death is unknown.
But now that he was awake, everything was different.
And Jiang Xi also has his own job.
I guess he would not be willing to join the army.
After all, when she left, she didn't even look at him, without any regrets at all.
Jiang Xi had no idea what Pei Hejun was muttering in his heart.
There was a guesthouse outside the military hospital. She checked in successfully with the letter of introduction written by the captain, took a shower and went straight to bed.
Early the next morning, she went to the cafeteria of the military hospital and bought breakfast with Pei Hejun's military ID. When she arrived at the ward, the doctor had already come and was talking about the latest test results, indicating that everything was fine and she was recovering well.
The doctor glanced at Jiang Xi who was rushing over, smiled slightly, and waved to her: "Family, come here."
Jiang Xi quickly swallowed the bun in his mouth and walked up to him: "Doctor, what's the matter?"
The doctor handed her a notebook and said, "This is a rehabilitation manual. Please read it carefully. You will need it when you help your spouse with rehabilitation at home. Remember not to rush. Take your time. His muscles have not recovered yet. I saw that his arm muscles were strained yesterday. Did you rush to exercise?"
Jiang Xi: "...I understand. I will definitely follow the instructions in the manual strictly."
The doctor smiled tolerantly and said, "Your wife is in good health and was well taken care of while in a coma, so you can go home now. Of course, if you are worried, you can stay for a few more days. What do you think?"
Jiang Xi looked at Pei Hejun, waiting for his answer.
After all, it's his business.
Pei Hejun said directly: "Go back, I'm fine."
The doctor nodded and asked Jiang Xi to go through the discharge procedures. The treatment costs in between were all free of charge, so the passbook Jiang Xi brought with him was not used at all.
After paying the money, Chai Ming carried Pei Hejun to the car again.
Jiang Xi followed behind, and the three of them went from the military hospital to the county hospital. Pei Hejun knew that his father was in trouble, so he wanted to go and see him. Chai Ming also wanted to go and see him when he heard that his good brother's father was in trouble.
So I took a detour.
After seeing this, Pei Zhong got out of bed happily and refused to stay in the hospital any longer. "I'm really fine. Let me go back. Our family is reunited. This is a good thing. How can I and my second son stay here alone?"
Pei Hejun said in a deep voice: "Your injury is quite serious. Stay in the hospital for two days first. Don't worry."
"No, no." Pei Zhong did not have the reticence of a strict father or the rebuttal of a strong son when talking to the third brother.
But seeing that his son still disagreed, he looked at Jiang Xi eagerly and begged, "Xiao Xi, please tell the third child that my case is really not a big deal. You are also a doctor, isn't it the same at home?"
Jiang Xi was also at a loss for words, and hesitated as to whether or not he should speak.
Pei Deyi was dumbfounded. He never thought his own father would be like this. He couldn't help laughing and said, "Why don't we let Dad go back? Sister-in-law, can you take care of Dad?"
"Yes!" Pei Zhong nodded repeatedly, thinking that his second son was really pleasing to the eye today.
Jiang Xi smiled helplessly and tugged at Pei Hejun's sleeve: "Why don't we let Dad go back?"
He pursed his lips, looking serious.
Pei Zhong sighed and shook his head as he sat down, then he heard his son say, "Okay, there's a car."
"Okay, okay." He was excited, stood up again, and was about to leave by hopping on one foot.
Pei Hejun immediately said, "Second brother, carry dad back."
Pei Deyi shuddered, then walked over and squatted down obediently.
He didn't even protest against the fact that his own brother didn't call him brother.
Jiang Xi raised his eyebrows.
Isn't Pei Hejun an honest soldier? Even his brother, who is a dozen years older than him, can be so obedient.
Pei Hejun noticed Jiang Xi's gaze and tilted his head uncomfortably. According to his principles, he would not give in easily, but he really didn't want to refute her opinion just now.
I just hope that when dad's leg returns, there won't be any problem.
Two patients came back from the same family.
The Pei family happily set off firecrackers, and people from the village came to congratulate them, as happy as if some happy event had taken place.
Although Pei's mother was surprised that the old man also came back, she was still very happy. She didn't say much and took out all the snacks at home to share: "Thank you very much, come and have some."
"There's nothing good at home, so just make do with it. I'll buy a basket of candies tomorrow and give them out to everyone!"
"It's time to give out candy!" Auntie Lanhua was also very happy. She took a handful of biscuits and stuffed them into her daughter-in-law's arms. She then put the basket on her arm into Pei's mother's hands and said, "This is the meat I just bought this morning. I'll lend it to you first. It's a rare good thing, so we have to eat something good to celebrate."
"That's great." Pei's mother was not polite either. She took the meat and put it in the kitchen, then came out and distributed it to the guests.
Pei Hejun was supported and sat in the main hall, accepting the gazes of the villagers. His face remained wooden and his ears were red throughout.
He glanced at the closed door with a somewhat resentful look.
He wanted to go into the house, but was chased out. Jiang Xi was afraid that there were too many people and the room would be messy, so he asked him to stay outside and talk with everyone. As a result, he was treated like a monkey and watched by everyone.
The noise lasted for more than an hour before the guests left feeling unsatisfied.
The house was a mess.
Jiang Xi heard no movement and came out to take a look. She felt at a loss as to what to do. She asked Chai Ming to help move Pei Hejun into the house and turned around and shouted, "Jiang Yu, Jiang Mi!"
Two little girls who had been playing outside heard the shouting from a distance and shouted back, "Hey!"
Jiang Xi crossed his arms and waited for a while. When he saw the man coming back, he immediately said, "Hurry up and sweep the floor. Jiang Yu, you wipe the table."
Jiang Mi picked up the broom and said reluctantly: "Sister, I want to clean the table!"
Jiang Xi smiled and said, "You want to be lazy, right? You also wiped the table last time, don't think I don't remember."
Jiang Mi smiled awkwardly, shut up, and started to clean up with a broom. Pei's mother had just returned a relative's meal and washed the dishes. When she came back and saw the two kids busying around, she stopped them and said, "Hey, there will be a mess later. Why are you cleaning now?"
The ground inside the rural house is also made of earth, but it is compacted, but it is still bumpy and difficult to sweep. It is not easy to sweep the ground. Not only is there a lot of dust, but there are also always dead corners. Jiang Mi was squatting in the corner struggling with the dead corners. When he heard this, his eyes lit up and he wanted Pei's mother to take over the broom.
Ever since Jiang Xi started letting her learn, Jiang Mi realized the joy of playing, and she wanted to go out and play with her friends all day long.
But overall, she is still obedient. She moves when called and runs away when let go.
So when Jiang Xi looked over, she immediately held the broom tightly: "Auntie, sweep it clean, there are guests at home."
Mother Pei had never tried to snatch it, and she noticed Jiang Xi's expression, so she smiled dumbly and stopped trying. Her daughter-in-law was very tidy in this regard, and that was why she took very good care of her son. She said softly, "What are you having for lunch? Your Aunt Lanhua took a piece of pork belly, so it's definitely too late to make dumplings. Do you want to eat anything else?"
Jiang Xi thought for a moment and said, "Braised pork!"
"Okay, we're out of soy sauce at home. I'll go borrow some from someone." Mother Pei nodded and left in a hurry.
Pei Zhong hadn't entered the house yet. He was holding the cane passed down from his father, and he could walk on his own with it. No one cared about him. He was drinking tea, feeling happy. Suddenly he remembered something and called out, "Xiaoxi."
Jiang Xi smiled and asked, "What's wrong?"
Pei Zhong felt a little embarrassed and asked in a low voice: "The second brother has been performing quite well these past two days. How about inviting them over for lunch?"
Jiang Xi nodded readily: "Okay, I'll go call."
"Okay." Pei Zhong smiled happily. He was still thinking about the eldest sister, but he was too embarrassed to speak up. When he just got home in the morning, before there were any guests, the old woman complained to him. He knew what the eldest sister did.
Even though he was his biological father, he couldn't help but feel heartbroken because he had never thought about what he would get from these two people in the future.