42 Pajama Party
Zhang Chenling carefully lifted the waterproof patch on Uncle Qian's back, checked the bedsores, and found that they had improved.
I couldn't help but wonder, patients with bedsores need to turn over frequently, and his son is now delivering takeout every day, so where does he find the time to help him turn over?
"He's a good guy."
Uncle Qian leaned sideways and had been singing, but suddenly stopped and said something.
"Who?" Zhang Chenling was stunned.
"My son Xiaohu is a good man."
“…”
"He just couldn't find a job, and he was mentally traumatized. I also have a problem, which is a burden to him."
"...But he was very aggressive last time and almost hit someone."
"You don't understand him. He's very thin-skinned. He's only aggressive because he cares about his reputation. After you scolded him last time, he reflected for two days and expressed remorse for not taking good care of me. Later, the neighborhood committee came to his house and advised him not to play games at home, saying it disturbed my rest. And a neighbor complained about his loud voice... so he ran out to deliver food."
"...He still has some conscience."
"He has an interview today, working for a legitimate company. He said he wants to earn more money to send me to a nursing home."
"...That's a huge expense. I wish him immediate success!"
Zhang Chenling answered with a smile, and then she and Xu Zhiqian laid Uncle Qian's body flat on the stretcher.
His eyes sparkled, his lips trembled, and he hadn't finished speaking yet, "Xiao Hu has a hard time. He delivers food every day, and he has to run back several times to help me turn over and change diapers. I don't want to delay him and become a burden to him..."
Zhang Chenling winked at him, "I understand, it's not easy for both of you!"
"We're all family, let's understand each other. What else can we do?!" Xu Zhiqian took over the conversation. "Life is full of suffering, and everyone is carrying a heavy burden."
Zhang Chenling clicked her tongue, "You quite resonate with me!"
"Every family has its own problems," Xu Zhiqian shrugged, covering Uncle Qian with a bath towel and then helping him remove his underwear from underneath it. "My childhood friend, whom I told you about last time, was laid off and diagnosed with terminal cancer the day after. Now he's lying at home, waiting to die. His wife has to go to work, so only his parents can take care of him. Don't you think it's hard?"
"Right!" Zhang Chenling suddenly remembered, "Didn't you say before that you wanted to take a leave to go back to your hometown to see him? Remember to tell me in advance when you choose a date, and try to go as early as possible. Once our show is broadcast, we'll be busy!"
"Oh, sorry, I was busy and forgot," Xu Zhiqian apologized repeatedly, "I'll tell you later today."
"What's your show?" Uncle Qian suddenly interrupted. He had been listening to the two people in front of him chatting.
"One of our interview programs will be broadcast on CCTV this weekend."
"That's what I want to see!" Uncle Qian's eyes lit up.
Zhang Chenling and Xu Zhiqian looked around but did not see any sign of a TV in his messy room.
"I'm watching it on Xiaohu's phone! Tell me the name and time of the show later, and I'll watch it with him inside..."
This time, Uncle Qian was much more relaxed. He squinted his eyes almost the entire time and kept humming songs, such as "Unity is Strength," "The East is Red," "Singing the Motherland," and "On the Golden Mountain of Beijing." It was a whole patriotic song string...
Inspired by him, the three people sang along.
However, Xu Zhiqian was out of tune the entire time, Ni Yue kept forgetting the lyrics, and only Zhang Chenling sang from beginning to end.
When the last song ended, Uncle Qian clapped his hands, splashing water everywhere.
After bathing, Xu Zhiqian was responsible for applying body lotion, trimming nails, measuring body indicators and other care work. He also threw away Uncle Qian's old pajamas, sheets, quilt covers, etc., and changed into a new set of pajamas and a complete set of cotton four-piece suits - which Ni Yue specially went out to buy last night.
Xu Zhiqian was busy in the house, and the two sisters were chatting in the living room while cleaning the bathtub. They talked about Miss Zhuang who lived in 403 across the street, wondering how she was doing now.
Zhang Chenling sent a WeChat message to her, asking her if she wanted to take a bath again. Miss Zhuang replied: Thank you, I won’t take a bath today, I’ll take a bath in a few days.
Then he replied: I put some lychees at the door of Uncle Qian's house, please eat them together, and moisten your throat if you are tired from singing :)
Ni Yue opened the door and saw a paper bag on the ground at the door, with a lot of lychees in it.
So Xu Zhiqian was temporarily given a new task: peel the lychees for Uncle Qian to eat, and separate the cores so that no one would get stuck.
After cleaning the bathtub, the two sisters were out of breath. Looking at the mess in the room, they smiled at each other in tacit understanding.
"I know what you are thinking!" Ni Yue winked.
"You guessed it!" Zhang Chenling put her hands on her hips. "So what are you waiting for? Let's get started!"
Ni Yue hesitated for once, "Don't you need to greet him first?"
"Let's start with this. This room is full of rubbish. If you throw it to a dog, it will bite you back." Zhang Chenling waved her hand. "I'm the boss. Let's get started!"
…
When Xu Zhiqian opened the door, he was almost shocked by the scene in front of him: Ni Yue and Zhang Chenling were bending over, helping to tie up a bulging black garbage bag.
Looking again, the living room was no longer a mess. The dirty bottles and jars were all gone. The boxes of all sizes were neatly stacked in the corner. The sofa cover that was already covered with starch was also removed, and the washing machine in the bathroom was rumbling.
Ignoring Xu Zhiqian's bewildered expression, Ni Yue assigned him another task. "Let's go help Uncle Qian clean up his room. You're responsible for shoveling away the old mud on the living room floor!"
"Shovel?" Xu Zhiqian frowned. "Where did you get the shovel? Are you using your hands?"
Ni Yue smiled and said, "You are so powerful, figure out a way yourself!"
…
Uncle Qian's room was much easier to tidy up. He just had to move all the sundries, old shoes, and express boxes that didn't belong to him to his son's room... After cleaning up, Ni Yue took a picture of Uncle Qian lying on the bed. The latter cooperated by raising his fingers and making a "yeah" gesture.
I sent money to Qian to ask for the balance, and he paid it readily.
After saying goodbye to Uncle Qian, the three of them pushed the bathtub to the door. Zhang Chenling accidentally glanced at the kitchen and immediately couldn't move her feet.
Occupational disease strikes again.
Turning around and exchanging glances with his two teammates, Xu Zhiqian understood and curled his lips, "Since we're here, let's do it!"
So, Uncle Qian's kitchen also underwent some renovation.
Finally, they found cockroaches' nest in a corner of the kitchen. Xu Zhiqian ran downstairs to buy cockroach medicine and a cockroach house. After they arranged everything, the three of them finally walked out of Uncle Qian's house.
Carrying the bathtub out of the corridor, everyone's clothes were dirty and there was a complex smell on their bodies that was hard to describe.
At this time, the sun had already set, and red fires were burning among the scattered residential buildings.
Ni Yue's eyes were reddened by the sunset glow, and he murmured softly, "If I didn't stink so much, I really want to go to Xiaosheng BB right now and have a drink - sea salt lychee!"
"Me too..." Zhang Chenling and Xu Zhiqian echoed in unison.
"Hey, I have a suggestion!" Ni Yue suddenly widened his eyes with excitement.
"..." Zhang Chenling had a bad feeling, "Don't tell me you want to drink at home."
"Why not? Why not?" Ni Yue was very excited about his own crazy idea. "Let's invite Xu Zhiqian to our house for a drink!"
"...Wouldn't you still stink if you drank at our house? You might as well be out there causing trouble for others!"
"Let's take a shower first!"
"Huh?" Xu Zhiqian's face suddenly turned red. "You mean—I go to your house to take a shower? This...isn't appropriate!"
Zhang Chenling also shook her head like a rattle, repeatedly saying: "No, no, no..."
"Why not? Go to our house, take a shower, and change into my mom's pajamas. She wears XXXL, so I'm sure you can wear them!"
The last time Wu Xia left, whether intentionally or unintentionally, she forgot to take her pajamas with her. Ni Yue washed and packed them up for her to wear next time she came to Shanghai.
"...This isn't very appropriate," Xu Zhiqian said, embarrassed. He had never worn women's clothes before. "I'd better go home and take a shower before coming back to meet you. We're close anyway, so we can get there in no time!"
"No!" Ni Yue was firm in his attitude, his tone brooking no argument. "You've ruined the atmosphere by making such a fuss! It's my treat today, and I have the final say! Let's go to Xiaosheng BB to buy some wine first, then go back to Xiangyang North Road. Everyone will take turns showering. Tonight, we're having a pajama party!"
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