22.022 Full of concerns
Su Yu thought about Jianshe waiting downstairs, and how Xiao Yuan's mud had soiled the hospital sheets. Ping An was the only one at home, and she was worried something might happen. So she said to her father, "Dad, I'll go back and cook first, and then I'll bring it to you. Brother, you and Jianshe come to my house for dinner. They've been working so hard today."
"Okay, I'm hungry too. I rushed to town without even having breakfast, and the car was stuck in the mud, so I had to lift it." He still looked exhausted as he said this, and was about to leave.
If it weren't for Jianshe, given his current state, Su Yu would have made him eat shit. "Dad, why don't you go to the toilet first? Let my brother carry you there."
"Okay, that works too."
After the old man was settled in bed, Su Yu took Xiao Yuan downstairs and went out to call Jianshe to come to her house.
"Isn't the old village chief going back today?" Jianshe asked, then said, "If he's not going back, I'll take the oxcart back first. I won't come to your house for dinner. We're all from the same village. The old village chief has helped my family before. He's in the hospital and you're all busy. You have to go to work, take care of the elderly, and have children at home. Let's not be polite. It makes me feel bad."
"It won't make a difference if you wait a little longer. The muddy road to town is a mess, and you've been busy all day. I can't let you go back hungry. I'll just make something simple, and don't complain about how bland it is." Su Yu stopped him from leaving. This person had rushed her father to the hospital in a panic, and her brother hadn't even bought her a bowl of porridge. If she let her go back on an empty stomach, it would be a terrible thing to do, and who would want to help her in the future?
"Let's save this meal for now. I'll eat it when the old village chief is better. No one will mind. Su Yu, don't bother with anything. The old village chief probably needs someone. You two siblings are busy. I'll head back first. Rongbing, do you want me to pass on a message to your family?" Jianshe asked.
Seeing that Jianshe insisted on leaving, Su Yu stopped trying to stop him. "I'm sorry, Jianshe, for taking up half a day of your time. Thank you for your help. I'll treat you to a meal when my father is better, and I'll bring my man to have a good drink with you."
"Okay, I've got it. I'll let Aunt Yu know what's going on with the old village chief when I get back, so she won't worry." Su Yu was very polite, and Jianshe was also willing to help out.
“My dad needs an IV drip, so I’m having him stay in the hospital for a couple of days. Tell my mom to pack some clothes and come to town by oxcart in a couple of days to stay with him at my house for a while. He’s getting old, and his bones heal slowly. I’m worried he might develop other health problems. It’s closer to the hospital, so we can come see him promptly if anything happens.” Su Yu didn’t discuss it with his father; he made the decision directly. Once he brought the man home in a couple of days, could he possibly run away?
Jianshe glanced at Rongbing subconsciously. He seemed relieved; if he weren't standing at the hospital entrance, he would look like he was at a market. Suppressing his disdain, Jianshe smiled at Su Yu: "Then the old village chief must be very happy. He's going to enjoy the girl's good fortune."
After Jianshe left, Su Yu said to her brother, "Since Jianshe isn't going, you don't need to stay with him. You go upstairs and look after Dad. I'll bring you both the food when it's ready."
As long as there's food, it doesn't matter where you are. The hospital is even more lively. The soldier nodded and turned to enter the hospital.
After everyone left, Su Yu pulled Xiao Yuan toward the supply and marketing cooperative. Remembering that she didn't have any meat coupons, she stopped and said to Xiao Yuan, "Go back and change into some clean clothes first. Mom will go and borrow some meat coupons. Your grandpa has a bone injury, so he needs to drink more bone broth."
Xu Yuan witnessed his mother's tireless busyness and his uncle's indifference. He held her hand and said, "When I grow up, I will help you with your work and won't let you worry about me."
"Good girl." Su Yu turned and left before she could even feel touched. She was used to being independent and didn't feel that this little thing was too busy for her to handle, even though she couldn't find anyone to borrow a hostage right now.
She took a chance and went to the black market first, but there was no one there. The black market would close up when the sun came out. Then she went to the factory and went to find Uncle Wang. She asked him to lend her meat coupons and said she would pay him back next month.
“I have other coupons, but I’m really out of meat coupons. I have a lot of grandchildren at home, and those few meat coupons won’t last until the end of the month.” He looked around to make sure no one was watching, and said in a low voice, “You can go to the countryside to buy chickens and ducks and maybe buy a couple. It’s almost the end of the month, and I guess all the meat coupons will be used up.”
"Thank you, Uncle Wang. I'll go take a look tomorrow." Su Yu left the canteen empty-handed and stopped wandering around. She went back and cooked a pot of noodles with lard, eggs, and cabbage. She let the two children eat first, and then she took most of the bowl of noodles to the hospital. She could only be thankful that the old man had sprained his left hand, otherwise he would have needed to be fed.
"Brother, you stay at the hospital with Dad for the next couple of days. Once he's discharged, carry him to my house before you go back," Su Yu told the old man directly while carrying him on her back.
“Okay.” His younger brother-in-law wasn’t home, and his other brothers-in-law didn’t live in town either. He didn’t have any other brothers, so he was the only one who could do this. He knew that much.
Jianshe drove the oxcart back home on an empty stomach. The muddy road was a mess, and when he got on the oxcart, it would roll and he would get stuck in the mud. He had to take off his shoes and walk barefoot. The first thing he did when he got home, dragging his muddy legs, was to beg for food.
"Have you been starving all this time?" Jianshe's mother couldn't believe it. Seeing her son nod, she felt sorry for him but didn't know who to scold. The old village chief was a good man; no one could refuse to help him after he fell like that, especially since his family had an oxcart. She sighed, thinking that the younger generation was incompetent, but she could only think it to herself. If she said it out loud, it would sound like she was starving, especially since he was taking care of a sick person.
Jianshe only recovered after finishing a bowl of rice. He didn't hide anything from his mother and said with a sneer, "Rongbing is already in his thirties or forties and is a father of several children. He's heartless. When my uncle was being set up, he was screaming in pain, but he acted like he didn't hear a thing. He's not even as good as an outsider like me."
"We had to ask Su Yu to pay the medical bills. He said he didn't have any money with him. Before Su Yu arrived, he was squatting outside the hospital, leaving his father on the hospital bed unattended. I asked him, 'You just got off like that?' He said the bone was already set, and there was no use for him staying in the ward." Jianshe is about the same age as the old village chief, and I haven't seen him do anything wrong to him. I can't understand how he could be so heartless.
“He’s the kind of person who doesn’t remember the good or the bad. He’s an only son, spoiled by his grandma and mom. He has many sisters, so he’s never suffered. After getting married, he listens to his wife. The old village chief isn’t a fool; he had a lot of money saved up when the family divided the property. I guess he’s holding a grudge about this.” Jianshe’s mother guessed that Rongbing was lazy and stubborn. The old village chief was a principled and reasonable man who couldn’t stand his son. When he was young, he used to chase Rongbing all over the village with a cow whip. Only now that he’s old has his temper become a little milder.
The next two days were sunny, and the road surface dried a bit. Yu Anxiu packed her clothes, picked a basket of vegetables, tied the wings of her three hens and threw them into the basket, then hitched a ride on the village's oxcart to her little girl's house.
In the hospital, Su Changguo scolded his unfilial son with a stern face, "You sent your immobile father to your sister's house and you're not even ashamed? Have you no shame? I wanted to go back to live with you because of your reputation, but you're not afraid of being ridiculed. You're such a coward. How did I raise such a useless son?"
“Like father, like son. If the father is a coward, the son will be a coward. They are all your children. What’s wrong with Xiaoyu taking care of you? You usually live with me. If something happens, let your sisters do their part too.” The soldier didn’t give in to the old man either. When he was young, if he didn’t do something to his liking, the old man would kick and shove him. Now that he’s old, he’s too weak to hit him anymore. Even if he shouts himself hoarse, it won’t work.
He wasn't in a hurry to carry the old man out of the hospital, afraid that the old man might take the opportunity to beat him while he was still angry. He waited until Su Yu finished paying the bill and came upstairs to find him before carrying the old man downstairs, taking him to Su Yu's house, and leaving only when his mother arrived.
"Dad, you and Mom will sleep in Xiaoyuan's bed, I'll sleep in Ping'an's room, and the two boys will sleep in my and their dad's room. If you need anything at night, just call me and I'll hear you." Su Yu carried the old couple's things into the inner room. Ping'an and Xiaoyuan's room was divided into two, with a wall and a door in between. The space was relatively small, and even a 1.4-meter bed couldn't fit much stuff in it.
"Mom, this bucket will serve as a chamber pot. If Dad needs to pee at night, just call me and I'll help him up before we go out. Don't try to move him yourself, or if you both fall, my brother will blame me," Su Yu joked.
“Nonsense! Your brother isn’t that kind of person. He’d let your dad recuperate here, but he wouldn’t expect you to support us in our old age.” Yu Anxiu immediately defended her son.
"Hmph." Su Changguo snorted coldly while lying on the bed, rolling his eyes at his wife. Su Yu found it amusing. "Alright, don't worry, I'm not going to take you away from me to beg you to stay here and take care of yourself. I won't let you leave your son for too long."
"Xiaoyu, how much did my hospital bill cost?" Su Changguo interrupted his wife before she could finish speaking.
"It's not much, don't worry about it."
"No way. Not only do I have my own retirement savings, but even if I didn't, your brother would still pay for it. How can I use your money? Don't worry, your father has enough money to support your mother and me. Hurry up, don't dawdle," Old Man Su urged her.
"Oh dear, I'm your daughter. I paid for your hospital bills and you still want to pay me back? You can care about your son's reputation but not mine? If Jianshe goes back and tells everyone that I paid for your medical expenses as a filial act, and then people ask again, 'Oh, Su Yu took back the money for her father's medical treatment,' my reputation will be ruined." Su Yu firmly refused to accept her parents' retirement money, then opened the door and left, ignoring her father calling her.
Su Changguo sighed. He had four daughters; if even one of them had given birth to a son, he wouldn't be in this situation. He told his wife to leave thirty yuan under their youngest daughter's pillow when she left. She was a stepmother, raising a son herself, so she had to be careful about money. She wasn't as good to her husband's family as she was to her own. No matter how well she treated them, some people would still say she was subsidizing her own family.
The two boys were sleeping in the same bed for the first time, and Su Yu was afraid they would fight, so she had a special talk with them: "While Grandpa and Grandma are staying at home, you two are not allowed to quarrel or fight. If you behave, I will cook meat for you every day."
Even the most sensible child has a sweet tooth; thinking of the three hens that Grandma brought, they all swallowed their saliva and agreed.
Actually, with Yu Anxiu around, Su Yu's life was a bit easier. She went to work on time every day, her mother cooked at home, and Su Yu only had to half-carry and half-lift her father out to get some fresh air and chat with him. She smashed a chair, and the old man would sit on it to defecate without needing anyone's help. He wouldn't even let Su Yu empty the chamber pot.
The most convenient thing about his place is that there are lights, making it easy to get up at night. Su Yu always responds when he calls her and never complains, which makes Su Changguo feel much more at ease, as the old man is more afraid of having to read other people's faces.
But he was still worried about going back, afraid that his son-in-law would have objections when he returned. After all, he had a son, and it would be embarrassing for him to live in his son-in-law's house now.
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