Chapter 7 Chapter 7 There is a problem with my family's background. They say I...
Su Yan came out. The doctor's office was not on this floor. She went downstairs and asked someone. She found Doctor Liu's office and knocked on the door. "Doctor Liu, I'm Ge Hongmei's daughter. I want to ask about my mother's illness. What is it and is it curable?"
Doctor Liu was a woman in her fifties, wearing glasses, writing a medical record. "Please sit down!" She poured her a glass of water and said, "I heard from the people at the machinery factory that you're a college student. Since you're a college student and you're reasonable, I'll be frank. Currently, almost all mental illnesses are medically unexplained, and we can only treat the symptoms. Your mother's case is quite special. We suspect the death of a family member was a huge blow to her, leading to her behavioral disorders. As for whether she'll recover, no one can say for sure. Maybe she'll get better in a month or two, or maybe never."
Su Yan nodded: "After my mother's condition stabilizes, can I take the medicine home for treatment? I think my mother might be able to remember it at home."
Doctor Liu shook his head. "We'll have to see how things go in the future. Right now, it's not an option. Your mother has a tendency to be violent and bit a nurse a few days ago. The leaders of your Jiangzhou Machinery Factory are also in favor of temporary hospitalization. Your mother's situation is relatively fortunate; at least the machinery factory will cover her medical expenses..."
Su Yan thanked the doctor and walked out, feeling a surge of depression. Although she wasn't the real Lu Yingzi, she still felt deeply distressed after witnessing such a tragedy. Furthermore, based on what Su Yan and her teacher had said about Lu Yingzi's mother, it was likely that Ge Hongmei would never become a healthy person.
Uncle Xu was waiting at the door. Seeing this, he comforted her, "Yingzi, there's nothing we can do. It's all fate. Your father wasn't supposed to be on duty that day. He had a fight with your mother, but he still went to work. Who knew something would happen? Your brother was standing next to him. The high voltage electricity instantly killed him, even his face was burnt. Now that you're back, your mother is in the hospital and you don't have to worry about her. Your two nephews and nieces finally have someone to rely on!"
Su Yan bowed to Uncle Xu, and it was obvious that he was truly warm-hearted: "Thank you, Uncle Xu!"
Uncle Xu sighed: "There's nothing to thank me for. We are neighbors and co-workers. No one would ignore such a big thing happening in your family." Su Yan didn't need to worry about the hospital. Uncle Xu rode his bicycle and took Su Yan back to the machinery factory. This time, no one stopped Su Yan.
Arriving at the family building, he took out a key from under the flower bed nearby and opened the door. "Yingzi, please get things ready first. Your family's situation is special. The factory sends the two children to the cafeteria for meals. I guess you don't have rice, flour, or anything like that at home. When it's time for dinner, go to the cafeteria to get some food..." Just as he was saying this, the inner room opened and two children, about five or six years old, walked out. The collars of their gray cloth clothes were worn out, and their hair was a mess. They rubbed their eyes and seemed to have just woken up. "Grandpa Xu, why are you here? I can take my sister to get food later."
Uncle Xu was shocked: "Hey, why are you two at home? Aren't you at school at this time?"
The younger girl said, "It's vacation time. The teacher said we don't need to go."
Uncle Xu shook his head: "Don't fool me, the primary school is on holiday, so the kindergarten is also on holiday? The kindergarten at our workplace is never closed except during Chinese New Year holidays and weekends. Come on, Grandpa Xu will take you to the kindergarten."
The little girl burst into tears: "I don't want to go to kindergarten, I don't want to go to kindergarten, I want to be with my brother."
Su Yan hurriedly said, "Uncle Xu, I just got back today, so let them both stay at home. I'll send the younger one to kindergarten tomorrow."
As he was speaking, someone outside the tube building called out, "Master Xu, Master Xu, there's something wrong with the mold, Section Chief Guan wants you over!"
Uncle Xu agreed and left in a hurry, only asking Su Yan to remember to go to the cafeteria a few minutes before mealtime to get her food, and to tell the chef in the cafeteria that it was from Lu Dayong's family.
Su Yan put the package on the table. The table was missing a leg and was cushioned with red bricks that someone had picked up from outside. She shook the thermos on the table, but there was no water in it. Instead, her hands were covered in dust.
The two children looked at Su Yan for a while before speaking: "Are you my aunt?"
Su Yan squatted down. The two children's hair was messy like a bird's nest, and their faces and hands were covered with black stains. The older one was better, but the little girl even had dried snot on her face and clothes. Both of them were wearing a pair of cloth shoes with holes in them, and both looked at her with hope.
Su Yan nodded: "I am your aunt!"
The boy asked, "Will you take care of us? My mother said she doesn't care about us anymore. Our surname is Lu, so we want someone with the surname Lu to take care of us."
Su Yan smiled: "Of course my last name is Lu, of course I will take care of you. Why are you two still sleeping at noon? Didn't you go to the cafeteria for breakfast?"
The little girl said, "Auntie, my brother said that if you fall asleep, you won't be hungry anymore."
Although the little boy looks only one year older, his language organization and logical abilities are stronger. He scratched his head and said, "Xiaoyan keeps crying for hunger. The chef in the cafeteria said we are children and could only give us half of the food in the cafeteria. We only had one steamed bun for the two of us, which was not enough to fill us up. But we were asleep anyway, so we weren't hungry." Su Yan was silent. In those difficult times, even the adults in the staff cafeteria could only have one steamed bun for each meal. The steamed buns at that time were only the size of a child's fist and were not enough to fill them up.
The little boy said, "It's okay, Auntie. We go to bed after dinner. We don't feel hungry when we fall asleep. When we wake up hungry, it will be noon again. We go to the cafeteria to get food at noon. But the night is harder. We wake up hungry in the middle of the night."
Su Yan rubbed his head and said, "Okay, let's wash our faces, change our clothes, and go to the cafeteria to get food."
It was obvious that no one had taken care of the house for a long time. There was dust everywhere. There was a gas stove in the kitchen, and all the pots and pans were available. It looked like this family used to cook a lot. She asked the two little ones, "Where is the kettle for boiling water?"
The boy pointed to the corner and said, "Auntie, it's okay. We all use cold water."
Su Yan cleaned the kettle inside and out. "It's not just for washing your face. It's best to drink boiled water. Tap water might contain bacteria or viruses. Boiled water is more hygienic."
The boy ran over, his eyes wide open: "Auntie, the tap water in the city is so clean, there's nothing in it. Did you live in the countryside before? Isn't the tap water in Shanghai clean?"
Su Yan lit the gas stove, which still had gas, and put some water on. "These bacteria and viruses are tiny organisms, hundreds of times smaller than a hair. They're invisible to the naked eye."
The girl asked, "What kind of eyes can see? Can the eyes of Guanyin Bodhisattva see?"
Su Yan was about to answer when she saw the boy hit his sister: "What are you talking about Guanyin Bodhisattva? This is feudal superstition."
The girl curled her lips: "I won't say anything, is that okay?"
Su Yan said to the boy, "You can't hit your sister. You can talk to her nicely, but you can't hit people. Only useless men hit women."
The boy whispered, "She's not a woman, she's a brat. Besides, if people outside hear this, they'll say there's something wrong with our family background, that we're feudal and old."
Su Yan was startled and asked quickly: "Ingredient problem? What ingredient problem is there in our family? Who said this?"
The boy hesitated, "A lot of people say that. They say my great-grandfather was a rich farmer with several farmhands. My grandmother was a farmhand in my great-grandfather's family."
Su Yan thought about it and felt that this shouldn’t be the case. If Lu Yingzi’s family had a problem with their background, how could she go to Shanghai to study at university?
What Su Yan didn't know was that the college entrance examination was not abolished until 1966. Lu Yingzi did get into university on her own in the late 1950s, but her family background almost prevented her from going to university.
It was the then Party Secretary of the Jiangzhou Machinery Factory who spoke on her behalf, saying, "Although the Lu family's ancestors were rich peasants, Lu Yingzi's father joined the revolution very early and was a seasoned soldier. When Lu Yingzi was born, her grandfather had been dead for many years. This is a historical legacy. Our Party does not solely rely on class background. We must distinguish between class composition and personal performance, with personal performance being the main consideration. Chairman Mao once said that children of landlords and rich peasants who performed well could even join the militia and the Poor People's Congress, let alone be recruited for employment and schooling."
With the secretary's words and written certification documents for Lu Yingzi, Lu Yingzi was able to go to Shanghai to study at university smoothly.
Su Yan felt that this family's situation was really complicated, but she was very satisfied as long as she could have a place to settle down here and not be arrested and sent to labor camp as a spy.
She touched the two little kids and comforted them: "It's okay, Auntie is back, you won't be hungry anymore." The boy looked unconvinced, while the younger girl cheered. Su Yan told the two to wash their faces. Although the two children were only five or six years old, they were very good at washing their faces. After the boy finished washing, he brought another basin of water: "Auntie, you should wash too, your face is covered in coal dust."
Su Yan smiled and wiped her face. Sure enough, even the towel was black. She changed the water in two basins before she could wipe her face clean.
Su Yan asked where the lunch boxes were. The two children only needed one lunch box. They had soaked the lunch boxes in the sink and had not yet washed them. Su Yan frowned and said to the two children, "Our sink is very low. You two can wash the dishes after eating. You must pay attention to hygiene, otherwise you will easily get sick."
The little girl took Su Yan's hand and said, "We will wash it next time, Auntie." The rice at this time was not very oily, so the boy turned on the faucet and splashed water a few times and it was clean.
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