Chapter 12: Not Hard, But Life is Hard
After the construction team arrived, the machines roared and ran from morning to night. Li Wenjing was always outside the village, and Gu Weiyi hardly met her all day.
At dinnertime, he found some free time and went to see her with a basket of freshly ripened bananas. Li Wenjing was eating a box lunch, wearing a dusty blue work suit. She had just taken off her hard hat, leaving a red mark on her forehead. The acacia tree above her head provided her with a large umbrella.
She took the fruit and asked everyone to eat bananas together. She reached out and the basket was empty in an instant.
"Boss, are you here to supervise? It will only be done in two days." Her voice was a little hoarse.
"You guys are working so hard, I came over to see if I could help you. Why is your voice hoarse?"
"It's not hard work, it's just a hard life!" Li Wenjing said, "When you're done, take out those two bottles of Moutai and let everyone have a sip. Then you won't have to help out anymore. We'll all think you're a good person."
"You don't have to work, so why are you guarding here?"
Gu Weiyi was picking up banana peels on the ground while talking to her. He accidentally fell and his hands were covered with sand. Li Wenjing covered her mouth and laughed, "The leader told you to finish it in a week, and he just said it. Anyway, he is not the one working on the site. I am the person in charge and have to keep an eye on the progress. I can't let the workers cut corners."
"You don't trust them so much?"
"The Chinese are easy to talk to, just give them a few packs of cigarettes, but the African guys are really hard to talk to, they're always lazy and slacking off, so you have to keep an eye on them."
"Then come down and get some throat syrup."
After dinner, she just stood up and staggered two steps. Gu Weiyi helped her to avoid falling and advised her to rest for a while, but she pushed his hand away.
"I just stood up and my vision is a little dark. It's just an old problem. It's nothing." She said, "I had malaria last time, and everything seems to be wrong with me. I get tired easily and I get out of breath after walking a few steps."
"He's so seriously ill, so he should be taken care of slowly and not overworked."
"Isn't it all because of you? I shouldn't have taken on your project if I wanted to rest."
Li Wenjing smiled at him and walked along the red circle of the setting sun. The setting sun on the grassland was particularly large, and her figure walked into the purple clouds.
Two days later, the foreman escorted her to the clinic, saying she'd fainted from feeling unwell. Her face was pale, and her lips were chapped. The clinic was too noisy, so he asked Engineer Wang to take her to the back bedroom to rest. After getting her medicine, he found Li Wenjing lying in bed, still on the phone. The next day was the inspection, and she was giving them instructions from her notebook.
After the call, Li Wenjing realized that Gu Weiyi was also in the bedroom, leaning against the desk and looking at her.
"Doctor Gu, is there anything else?"
"How come I'm fine?" His tone was a little anxious. "Take these medicines. Lie down and take off your underwear. I'll come back in five minutes."
After saying that, he felt something was wrong. His face became hot and he gestured twice with the stethoscope on his chest. "I need to check again."
After waiting a while, he went back in. She'd finished the pills. The cup sat on the bedside table, a drop of water running down the rim, leaving behind a few tiny fingerprints. Gu Weiyi wiped them clean, still feeling warm. Li Wenjing fell asleep as soon as she touched the pillow, her chest rising and falling slightly. He couldn't bear to wake her, so he gently unbuttoned two buttons. There was a line dividing her collarbone and neck, one white, the other dark. He put on his stethoscope, his fingers pressing the tip over her heart and lungs, carefully avoiding contact with her body.
After putting down the stethoscope, he covered her with a blanket and whispered, "Good night, Wenjing."
She slept exceptionally soundly, without even dreaming. It was as if her whole body sank into a bottomless pit with deep fatigue. She fell and fell, and her world suddenly turned upside down. Li Wenjing woke up.
Aside from the melodious chirping of birds, there was no other noise. The room was dim, with only a few rays of light filtering in through the gaps in the curtains. Li Wenjing's eyes ached when she woke up, squinting as she tossed and turned on the bed, searching for her phone. Her hand accidentally touched the wind chime overhead, and she realized where she was. Her fragmented memories came back together. Gu Weiyi had said he wanted to get checked, but then he fell asleep. She wondered if he'd done it.
The image of him standing in front of the table yesterday was just emerging in his mind. The tinkling sound of wind chimes attracted him. He wiped the sweat from his head and said, "You're awake! I was just moving things here when I heard you calling me."
"I accidentally bumped into it," she asked, "How's the medical station?"
"Everything is done now. The patients have been moved over. It was so quick. You are amazing."
"You didn't even wake me up for the inspection." She couldn't find her phone, so she asked him, "Have you seen my phone?"
"I'll keep it for you. The dean just called and I answered the phone for you. I've even asked for leave."
"What? Asking for leave?"
"I checked your body yesterday and you found you were a little anemic. Did you go to the hospital for a follow-up checkup after returning to Mombasa?"
"The doctor in Mombasa said I'm fine. What's wrong with me now?" Li Wenjing sighed. "Oxford doctors are terrible! How come you always diagnose new diseases? Since I met you, my salary has only been 10,000 yuan at most."
"Still talking about salary? You said you wanted to make a lot of money. How much is considered a lot? One million? Two million?"
"What do you care about me?"
"You're my patient, how could I ignore you? I heard abnormal sounds on my heart, which might be related to anemia. I suggest you get a cardiac ultrasound."
"I'm having a heart attack?"
"No, I'm just making sure there's no other heart pathology. Auscultation isn't always accurate," he said. "Also, your periods aren't regular, perhaps due to chronic anemia. Have you had them checked before?"
Li Wenjing shook her head. "I don't know. Growing up, the first physical exam I had was for the college entrance exam. You know the college entrance exam? It's a mandatory exam for high school students preparing for college. I don't know the results. To be honest, I still don't know what my blood type is."
"Type A." He paused, "I'm type O."
"Then you can give me a blood transfusion, junior high biology."
"No need for blood transfusion, just give me an IV first."
"Give me the phone."
"What are you doing with your phone? Are you going to work again? Finish the IV first, and I'll give it to you. I've already taken the day off anyway."
"No - give it to me first..." She raised her hand to grab the phone from his hand, but he raised his hand high and she couldn't grab it. She stood up to take it, but tripped over her slippers and fell on him, and they both fell on the bed.
Li Wenjing didn't know what to say for a moment. Her head was pounding and her face was hotter than if she had malaria. Before she could apologize, she heard an apology from the door.
"I'm sorry, I see the door isn't closed. How about I close it for you? Remember to lock the door."
Gustav had arrived at some point and was standing at the doorway, smiling at them. She quickly stood up, put on her slippers on one foot, hopped to the desk, and put on the other shoe.
"What are you doing here?" Gu Weiyi asked impatiently, his tone instantly turning cold.
"Of course I came to see you. Sorry to bother you." Gustav continued to smile as he looked him over. "Charles, you look quite energetic, you even have a girlfriend, and your haircut is nice."
Gustav walked up to him and touched his slightly curly brown hair. He turned his head away without even looking at him.
"I still have patients. You can go out and walk around. Don't disturb Wen Jing's rest. She fainted due to anemia and needs an IV."
Every family has its own problems, but at least his father still loves him.
Li Wenjing got her phone back. The message her father sent was at the top of the phone. A day had passed and she still hadn't replied to him.
"Your mother is undergoing chemotherapy for cervical cancer. She lost a bunch of her hair yesterday and is in pain every day."
"That machine, you need some physical strength to survive it."
"I didn't receive my payment this month. I went to the bank and asked, but they said there was no money. What's going on? Your mom keeps asking me about it."
"Your brother is going to college and needs to buy a computer and a cell phone. As his sister, I'll give him some money. His classmates already have them."
"Dad, I was dying of malaria last month, and I fainted yesterday." Li Wenjing typed and deleted these words, deleted and typed them again, but ultimately did not send them out.
"Dad, I'm too busy at work. I'll give you an extra 2,000 yuan this month. Buy Mom some delicious food. She might not have a good appetite lately and can't eat greasy food. Buy some fruit, like cantaloupe and grapes, which she usually can't bear to eat."
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