At this moment, Zhao Xiuzhi, who had come in to hear the news, stumbled and stopped while holding onto the door frame. She knew that this meant her burden would become even heavier.
Hua Zhongzhi asked again, "Boss, is that enough money?"
Hua Wanjiang said, "That's enough for now. The cost at the township hospital won't be that high, but Mother will need to stay in the hospital for three or four days before she can come back for observation."
Hua Zhongzhi sighed: "Did the third brother and his wife go to the hospital?"
Hua Wanjiang said, "They've gone. I can only come back to let them know and ask my family to prepare some things for the hospital, such as a washbasin and towels. I'll ride my bike over to deliver them in a bit."
Hua Zhongzhi said, "This has troubled you again."
Hua Wanjiang said, "It's nothing. I don't need to stay there at night. It's more convenient for the second, third, and fourth brothers to take care of me personally. I'm just running errands."
Hua Zhongzhi said, "Well, you've had a hard time, after all, she's good to you..."
"Father, let's not talk about these things now. Don't worry. Let your sister-in-law pack up, and I'll take the things over as soon as possible," Hua Wanjiang said.
Zhao Xiuzhi quickly went inside to pack her things. After she finished packing, she said to Hua Wanjiang, "Brother, why don't I go? It's not right for Third Sister-in-law to be there alone taking care of Father. I'll leave Father's situation to you."
Hua Zhongzhi thought for a moment and said, "Eldest brother, what Xiuzhi said makes sense. Why don't we let her go? It's all men there, so it's not convenient. To be honest, the third brother's wife isn't a very thoughtful person either."
He said this because when he was hospitalized, his third son's wife took care of him half-heartedly, so Hua Zhongzhi was worried.
Hua Kai thought it would be better to let Zheng Shuzhen's own children go there, so she said to Hua Wanjiang, "Dad, let's stay and take care of Grandpa, and let Fourth Aunt go and check on him so she can feel at ease."
Hua Wanjiang said, "That's fine. How about we borrow a flatbed cart and take your grandpa to our house for a couple of days?"
Hua Zhongzhi quickly waved his hand: "No, no, it's more convenient and I'm used to it at home. I'm not comfortable doing anything at your house, so it won't work."
Zhao Xiuzhi placed the key on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and said to Hua Wanjiang, "Brother, I'll leave the house to you and sister-in-law for the next few days. I've figured out who I can really trust now. If you don't mind, stay here with Dad for a couple of days. It's the Little New Year today, so you can have a reunion dinner with Dad here. I'll leave the children to you. Thank you for your hard work, brother."
For the first time, Hua Wanjiang felt that there was still some affection between these brothers, a feeling that was hard to explain.
He nodded and said, "Don't worry, sister-in-law, we'll take good care of things at home."
Zhao Xiuzhi said to Huakai, "Huakai, there are apples and pears in the cupboard, and hazelnuts and peanuts in the downstairs room. Help yourself to eat. Tell your mother that the meat is frozen in the big vat in the yard, and let her find it herself. I'm leaving."
Hua Kai said, "I know, Fourth Aunt. Be careful on your way."
Zhao Xiuzhi took the things out, tied them to the back of her bicycle, and then rode to the village.
Hua Wanjiang said to Hua Kai, "Kai Kai, go home and have your mother bring over all the dishes we're going to make tonight. Let's celebrate the Little New Year together."
Since it's not the Lunar New Year, it doesn't matter if we stay here on the eve of the Lunar New Year. Hua Kai agreed and went home.
On the way, I still went to tell my second aunt, Huo Yanping, whether or not she went to the village to see the old lady was her business, and I had already told her what I needed to tell.
As Hua Kai entered Huo Yanping's house, she heard Hua Lin's voice: "Mom, if my grandma becomes paralyzed, won't you have to help take care of her?"
Huo Yanping said, "I don't care. The family has separated. Your grandparents are with your fourth uncle. What does that have to do with me?"
Hua Lin said, "Even so, we can't let the villagers laugh at us."
Huo Yanping said, "Haven't we had enough of our family being laughed at by the villagers? Let them say what they want."
"Mom, you have to think about me too. If you do things that are not decent and make outsiders laugh at you, then my in-laws will also ostracize me, and then my brother won't be able to stay as his wife anymore."
"All you do is pressure me. Why don't you learn from Huakai? I told you to study hard, but you didn't listen. Look at her, and then look at yourself. You have no ambition at all."
"Is it because she's good at studying? She's just lucky. If I had succeeded in my scheme that time, she would be living the life she deserves now. But I'm just bad at Yunqi."
"Hey, why are we so unlucky? Linlin, do you think there's still a chance for us? I heard that Li Jing got a year-end bonus of over a thousand yuan because she was with Huakai and worked for her. You two were pretty good friends when you were young, can't you go and say something nice to her again?"
"Hua Kai is not as simple as you think, and she is no longer the same person she was when she was a child. She now wishes she could kill me."
Hua Kai didn't intentionally listen; she just happened to come in when they were talking about her, so she overheard a couple of sentences.
Just then, someone pushed open the door and came in: "Second Aunt, my dad is back. My grandma had a stroke and is now paralyzed on one side. My second uncle will probably have to take care of her there. I just came to let you know." After saying that, she turned around and walked out, not needing to go in and say anything.
Huo Yanping jogged out and said, "Huakai, you're all here. Come in and sit for a while. Your second aunt wants to say a few words to you."
Hua Kai said, "I don't have time. It's almost the Lunar New Year, Auntie. Everyone's busy." After saying that, she continued walking outside.
Hua Lin stood at the door watching Hua Kai's retreating figure. She knew it was useless, but she was still unwilling to give up. What should she do?
Huo Yanping couldn't stop the flowers from blooming, so she could only sigh and go back inside.
However, she had no intention of going to the hospital to take care of her mother-in-law, so she didn't even think about going to the township hospital. It was just that her husband wasn't home today, making this Lunar New Year a difficult one.
Hua Kai returned home and told Gu Lanyan about Zheng Shuzhen's situation. Gu Lanyan said, "Your fourth aunt will be working hard from now on."
Hua Kai said, "Indeed, even if my grandfather recovers, he won't be the same as before. My grandmother will probably only be able to walk with crutches at best, and won't be able to do anything else."
Gu Lanyan continued, "Recently, I've discovered that your fourth uncle and fourth aunt aren't actually as bad as I thought. They were led astray by your grandmother before, but now that your grandfather has had this accident, they're not the same as before."
Hua Kai also said, "I've noticed that too, but who knows if it's just a temporary change or if things have really changed? We should just keep the appropriate distance. We've done enough for the elderly, and there's no need to get too involved in other matters."
Gu Lanyan said, "That's true. Now that we're doing well, we should send more food and drink to the elderly. That will help ease the burden on your fourth uncle."
"Yes, Mom, from now on, our family can't use my uncles for anything, to avoid trouble."
"I know, don't worry."
"Then let's take the food to Uncle Si's place. We can't let Grandpa eat by himself on the eve of the Lunar New Year."
"Okay, bring plenty of food. I'll have to go over and cook for you these next couple of days."
"Okay, we have plenty of stuff at home."
As they were talking, Gu Lanyan led the children and packed a lot of food, then went to Hua Wanhai's house.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
