"Appendicitis! If you had come any later, he would have died!"
The doctor came out of the operating room and said to Sister Zaohua and her husband Yan Guodong who came to greet him.
"Doctor, was my son's surgery successful? Is he alright? When will he be out?"
Sister-in-law Zaohua gripped the doctor's hand tightly and asked anxiously.
Yan Guodong is only about 1.6 meters tall, and he looks very honest, even dull.
He followed behind his wife, Zaohua, muttering, "Yes, yes, is my son alright, doctor?"
"It's alright, you'll see him when he's moved to a regular ward."
The doctor left after giving instructions.
Sister-in-law Zaohua turned around and knelt down before Li Xiangdong with a "thump," kowtowing three times with a "bang bang bang."
Li Xiangdong was startled by her and quickly hid to the side. Then he bent down to help Zaohua, saying, "Oh dear, what are you doing!"
Zao Hua's face showed a look of relief, as if she had survived a disaster.
"Xiang Dong, if it weren't for you, Xiao Lei would be dead today. You are Xiao Lei's savior, and you are also my savior, Wang Zaohua's savior!"
Yan Guodong also knelt down, "Brother, from now on, our whole family will serve you like cattle and horses to repay you!"
These words touched Li Xiangdong, but he also felt a mix of amusement and exasperation.
Just then, Yan Guohui arrived in a hurry with seven or eight of his relatives.
He went to a meeting in the county today and came back late.
When he got back, his wife told him about what had happened at his cousin's house, which made him furious.
He didn't have time to argue with his cousin's wife; he quickly led several of his cousins to the hospital.
Yan Guodong and Yan Guohui are cousins of the same great-grandfather, and their relationship is within the fifth degree of kinship; they are a legitimate family.
With the Yan family there, Xiao Leizi's condition stabilized again. Li Xiangdong gave a few instructions and went home.
He still has a lot of important things to do!
Li Xiangdong rode his bicycle directly to the brigade headquarters in Lijiapo and made a phone call to Xu Yunfeng.
As expected, Xu Yunfeng was not there. The other party promised to notify Xu Yunfeng immediately and then call him back in a while.
Li Xiangdong sat in the brigade headquarters, chatting with Wang Zhenbo, who had just recovered from a serious illness and was reviewing the accounts of the past few months.
“Uncle Zhenbo, take a break before you work again. Don’t overwork yourself, or my aunt will force you to quit.”
Wang Zhenbo had lost a lot of weight. He pushed up his glasses, which had become wider due to the weight loss, and smiled gently, "I'm fine now, it's not that serious."
"I think you should go to a major hospital for a checkup. Why are you getting sick all the time for no apparent reason?"
Wang Zhenbo stopped fiddling with the abacus beads. "It's nothing. As Dr. Gu said, it's just that life has suddenly become too comfortable, and with this frail body, I can't enjoy it."
It's like a bowstring that's been taut all the time; when it's suddenly loosened, it feels strange.
Wang Zhenbo spent most of his early life living in anxiety, fear, and poverty. Recently, his life has improved, and he has straightened his back, but his body is finding it hard to accept.
In the words of the ancient doctor, take it slow, you'll get used to it.
The two chatted for about ten minutes when the landline on the table started ringing.
Li Xiangdong quickly answered the phone. On the other end was Xu Yunfeng, who was panting heavily and seemed to have rushed over.
"Brother Yunfeng, how's the ginseng harvest going?"
"We harvested 800 jin of third-grade ginseng, 600 jin of fourth-grade ginseng, and 450 jin of red ginseng. We've used all the 5,000 yuan you gave me, and now we still owe quite a bit..."
"I'll transfer 10,000 yuan to you right now. You can continue buying! Then send all the goods you have now to Yanjing, the sooner the better!"
"...How should we send it? Should we send a truck, or should I charter a train car?"
"Let's use train cars, that'll be faster!"
The two briefly agreed on what to do next and then hung up the phone.
After all, phone bills are still quite expensive these days.
Villagers from Lijiapo have to pay phone bills when they come to the brigade headquarters to make or receive calls; it costs one or two cents!
Li Xiangdong took out a dollar from his pocket and handed it to Wang Zhenbo, saying, "Uncle Zhenbo, please collect the phone bill."
"We haven't even played for two minutes, let's call it off!"
Wang Zhenbo declined.
Li Xiangdong insisted on giving it to him.
Without rules, nothing can be accomplished. If someone finds out that he makes phone calls without paying the bill, they will inevitably think, "He'll take advantage of every little thing, so he certainly won't let go of a big one."
Therefore, Li Xiangdong didn't want to dig a hole for himself on this issue.
However, he didn't want to suffer a loss himself.
So he called Liu Donglai again.
The phone was answered by Liu Donglai's secretary, who said that Secretary Liu had gone to the countryside for research and was not in the office.
Li Xiangdong asked him to tell Secretary Liu Donglai that Li Xiangdong and Yan Huaili would visit him in a few days.
After hanging up the phone and saying goodbye to Wang Zhenbo, Li Xiangdong went home.
He was a bit tired from running around all day, so he didn't go to Li Jin's house for dinner.
Instead, he started a fire and cooked a packet of instant noodles, poached four local eggs, cut half of his homemade spicy sausage, and added a handful of dark green bok choy.
He quickly slurped down a large bowl of hot, nutritious food with meat, vegetables, eggs, and noodles.
Wiping the thin layer of sweat from his forehead, he then noticed that the two dogs were staring at him with their big, dark eyes, making soft whimpering sounds.
"Haha, are you two hungry?"
Jasmine let out a "woof" and stood up straight, gently placing her two front paws on Li Xiangdong's knees.
Li Xiangdong chuckled and vigorously stroked the dog's head.
Not to be outdone, Lamei also put her other knee on Li Xiangdong's knee from the side.
Li Xiangdong didn't show favoritism; he petted the two dogs until they were happy, making purring noises, before going to cook for them.
Jasmine and Winter Plum eat cornmeal porridge with dried wolf meat mince, plus some other vegetables.
Li Xiangdong cooked a whole pot of food. Once the dog food had cooled down, the two dogs eagerly devoured it, leaving the food bowl sparkling clean afterward.
Two days later.
Li Xiangdong and Factory Director Yan finally managed to squeeze off the train.
Li Xiangdong was tightly clutching a ceramic jar, while Factory Director Yan was carrying two suitcases.
Their clothes were all wrinkled and crumpled, like freshly pickled vegetables, and their hair was a mess.
I took a breath of fresh air, but cough, it wasn't fresh at all.
The train station reeked of pungent tobacco and the sour smell of feet. Taking a puff was quite an experience!
The two walked briskly out of the train station and saw that the square in front of the station was full of people holding signs.
Some signs list names of people who will pick you up from the station, while others are soliciting guests for accommodation. They are very enthusiastic and will grab the arm of anyone carrying luggage, trying their best to promote their hotel.
Li Xiangdong thought to himself, "The provincial capital's economy is still the most open; they've already allowed private individuals to run hotels..."
Just then, a tall, handsome young man rushed over. "Are you Director Yan and Li Xiangdong?"
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