"Alright, old man, I'll be waiting for your good news."
Grandpa Chen nodded slightly, a hint of relief flashing in his eyes, but it was fleeting and went unnoticed by Chen Dongxu.
About half an hour later, Chen Dongxu went to the main room to sit with the still-sleeping Old Mrs. Chen for a while. Then, he said goodbye to Old Mr. Chen and returned to the compound alone.
How long did I sleep?
After watching Chen Dongxu leave the courtyard, Old Master Chen returned to his room and heard Old Madam Chen's voice.
"Less than an hour."
Grandpa Chen walked to the bedside, helped Grandma Chen sit up against the headboard, and thoughtfully placed a large soft pillow behind her back. He then said, "Xiao Xu is back. His leg has fully recovered, just as he said on the phone."
Where are they?
Grandma Chen smiled, but her gaze was fixed on the doorway.
"They went back to the compound and said they'd come back tomorrow."
After a pause, Grandpa Chen continued, "However, before Xiaoxu returned to the compound, he came into the house to see you and even suggested that I ask that Dr. Song to examine you. It's clear that no matter where he is, the child still thinks about you, his grandma!"
"Doesn't my grandson miss you, you old geezer?"
Staring at Old Master Chen, Old Madam Chen said, "Honestly, now that Xiao Xu is back, why didn't you think of waking me up?"
With a hint of resentment in his tone, Old Master Chen felt wronged upon hearing this. He said, "You had just fallen asleep when Xiao Xu arrived at the courtyard house. When he left, it wasn't that I didn't want to wake you, but your precious little grandson wouldn't allow it, worried that you hadn't rested well and that it would affect your recovery."
"You know what's wrong with my body. If I could recover just by sleeping more, would I have needed to take such good care of myself for so many years?" Putting aside everything else, the money spent on precious medicinal herbs alone is no small sum.
Add to that the expenses of frequent hospitalizations and various tests, and to be honest, Mrs. Chen often felt sorry for her family, feeling like she was a burden. Sometimes she couldn't help but think how wonderful it would be if she could just fall asleep and never wake up again... that way, at least her husband and children and grandchildren could live a more comfortable life in the future.
There's no need to constantly worry about her frail health.
But when she thought of that child, that… that child she had never properly held after giving birth, and who had been entrusted to the care of a fellow villager, she couldn’t bear to let him fall asleep forever.
She wanted to find him, to find him while she was still alive, even if it was just to see him once, so that... so that she could die in peace!
Seeing that Mrs. Chen was lost in her own thoughts, Mr. Chen knew what she was thinking without having to think too much. He said, "Don't say discouraging things. Think about our second son. If you can get better, maybe one day we will see him come back to us."
Hearing Grandpa Chen's voice, Grandma Chen was undoubtedly pulled back to her senses. She was initially slightly disappointed, but hope quickly appeared in her eyes: "Old man, are you sure we can wait until that day?"
"As long as you're okay, you definitely can!"
Old Master Chen's tone was unusually certain, but only he knew that this was merely to reassure his wife, so that she could hold onto hope and rest well.
After all, decades have passed, and finding a single person is no easy feat!
Besides, the person they were looking for was just a newborn baby back then. Now, many years have passed, and even if he is lucky enough to be alive, they don't know what he looks like now. Furthermore, they don't even have a photo of the child when he was a baby. If they want to reunite as a family in their lifetime, they would have to be blessed by God and have the child delivered directly to them.
Thinking this to himself, Old Master Chen continued, "Back then, when you entrusted your infant second child to that fellow villager's care, you left behind half a jade pendant as a token for future recognition."
Besides, our second son is our own flesh and blood. He bears some resemblance to us in appearance, and he might even come to Beijing to look for us later.
"But I left in a hurry, only telling Sister Huaihua to call me Xiao He, without leaving my name or my military unit number..." Old Mrs. Chen's eyes filled with sadness:
"Even if Sister-in-law Huaihua reveals the truth about the second son's background after he is old enough to remember things, and gives him the half of the jade pendant I left him, he probably still won't be able to find us."
Although the surname He is not as common as the four major surnames Zhang, Wang, Li, and Zhao, there are still quite a few people with the surname He throughout the country. Even if it is just a matter of age, there are probably quite a few female comrades who have served in the military.
Ordinary farmers naturally don't have many connections, so how could they find people in the army?
"How about we publish another missing person notice in the newspaper?"
Grandpa Chen offered his advice.
Grandma Chen smiled bitterly: "Is it useful?" Since the founding of the country, they have placed missing person notices in the newspaper for more than ten years. As a result, many people came to claim their relatives, but more than half of them came with the intention of taking advantage of others.
Although the few who came to her door without any ulterior motives were not her second son, whom she had carried for ten months.
Over the years, her emotions went from surprise to disappointment repeatedly, which made her already poor health even weaker. In the end, the old man had no choice but to stop posting missing person notices to prevent her body from experiencing such extreme highs and lows and causing serious problems.
"Whether it works or not, we've stopped for many years. If we repost the missing person notice now, what if that child or his children see it? Wouldn't that give us a chance to reunite?"
After listening to what Mr. Chen had to say, Mrs. Chen thought for a moment and said, "Alright, let's do it your way."
The compound.
Zhang Hua and Wen Mei, Fu Jinheng's mother, were chatting in the living room when they suddenly saw Chen Dongxu walk in from outside. Her expression was one of utter shock.
"Was Aunt Zhang surprised when she saw me walk into the house?"
Chen Dongxu curled the corners of his lips, his expression somewhat cynical, and stared directly at his stepmother Zhang Hua. However, before she could respond, he shifted his gaze to Wen Mei and politely greeted her.
Sensing the awkward atmosphere between Chen Dongxu and Zhang Hua, Wen Mei stood up, congratulated Chen Dongxu (undoubtedly), and then greeted Zhang Hua before returning home.
To be honest, Wen Mei was equally shocked that Chen Dongxu walked in by himself. After all, almost everyone in the compound knew that Chen Dongxu was disabled in both legs and would be a cripple for the rest of his life.
However, only a few months have passed since Chen Dongxu became disabled in both legs, and the boy, who was predicted by experts from a major hospital to have little chance of standing up again, has recovered to the state he was in before his legs were broken.
This is simply a miracle!
However, Wen Mei was certain that she had not heard of any famous doctor being hired by the Chen family to treat Chen Dongxu's legs in the past few months. She only learned from Zhang Hua that Chen Dongxu had been living in a courtyard house outside the city for a period of time before the Lunar New Year and until now, accompanying the old man and woman of the Chen family.
Could it be that the Chen family intentionally kept it from Zhang Hua and hired a renowned doctor to treat Chen Dongxu's legs?
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