Chapter 74 Sun Meiyu, a lonely old age
Tang Jinhong served for two days, but he could no longer do it.
The old man paralyzed in bed is dirty, smelly and has a bad temper, which can make people's blood pressure soar in minutes.
After get off work, he didn't want to go home. He planned to go to the design institute's staff building several times, but after hesitating, he held back.
He could only go out to eat with friends to kill time and go home after it got dark.
Mr. Tang still had to sleep in the same bed with his wife, and could only change Mrs. Tang’s dirty pants with great reluctance, otherwise maggots would grow on the bed.
There were no clean clothes to change into, so they had to be washed.
The old man's face was long, "Why don't you die yet? You are still torturing people before you die."
Old Mrs. Tang said nothing, her face ashen.
**
It has been half a month since school started. Tang Limei is tired of eating snacks and misses hot meals very much.
"Xue Li, let me have dinner with you tonight! My mom hasn't been home for a long time, and I haven't had a hot meal yet."
Tang Xueli looked at her and said, "I'm not cooking tonight."
"Then what do you eat?" Tang Limei said pitifully, "I'll follow you, okay? I'll eat whatever you eat."
"I'll buy some steamed buns on the street." Tang Xueli put on her schoolbag and walked out of the classroom. "You can buy some steamed buns for yourself."
Tang Limei quickly followed Tang Xueli: "I don't like eating steamed buns."
"I'm not your mother, don't follow me." Tang Xueli was going to the boxing gym, and no one could follow her.
Tang Limei was shameless and pulled Tang Xueli's sleeve. "The house is messy and smelly, and there's no food to eat. I don't want to go back. Just take me with you wherever you go!"
"No." Tang Xueli pushed Tang Limei's hand away, got on her bike and left.
Tang Limei stood there, tears streaming down her face.
Yan Shouzhen overheard the conversation between the two sisters and caught up with Tang Xueli at the intersection on his bicycle.
"Student Tang Limei cried very sadly."
Tang Xueli smiled and joked, "If you feel distressed, go and comfort her."
Yan Shouzhen didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and asked seriously: "Did something happen in your family?"
Tang Xueli said: "It's okay."
Yan Shouzhen nodded and understood.
This incident did not happen in Tang Xueli's family, but in Tang Limei's family.
"Your seats will be adjusted during the class meeting on Friday. Do you want to change them?" Yan Shouzhen asked her.
Tang Xueli thought for a moment and said, "Is it okay for Liu Zhengju and I to sit in the first row?"
Yan Shouzhen: "First row?"
Tang Xueli nodded: "Yes, directly opposite the podium."
Yan Shouzhen didn't think much about it and agreed, "Okay."
Tang Xueli tilted her head and looked at him, "Thank you."
Yan Shouzhen smiled and said, "You're welcome."
"Does this count as taking the back door?" Tang Xueli slowed down her bike speed, which meant she was ready to chat.
Yan Shouzhen followed and rode slower, pedaling slowly, "Not really, no one is willing to sit in that position. The chalk dust is heavy, and it's right under the teacher's nose."
This was probably half true and half false, so Tang Xueli just listened to it.
Since Yan Shouzhen agreed, she just sat over there.
"Have you talked to Liu Zhengju about this?" Yan Shouzhen asked.
"No." Tang Xueli said, "She will agree."
Yan Shouzhen: "That's fine."
Tang Xueli parked her bicycle on the side of the road and invited Yan Shouzhen to eat a roasted sweet potato.
"Is this considered a bribe?" Yan Shouzhen laughed as he ate a hot roasted sweet potato. "You really got the seat through the back door now."
Tang Xueli followed with a smile, "You are so easy to bribe."
Yan Shouzhen did not comment.
That night, something really happened in the Tang family.
Old Mrs. Tang fell into a coma and couldn't be woken up no matter what we did.
Tang Jinhong quickly borrowed a tricycle to take his old mother to the hospital.
Old Mrs. Tang woke up halfway through the journey and hummed, "Go home, go home..."
She didn't want to go to the hospital.
I don't want to die in the hospital.
Tang Jinhong didn't hear clearly, and he wouldn't listen to the old lady.
When they arrived at the hospital, the doctor gave him treatment and he was temporarily out of danger.
However, the doctor said that the old man is not dying and asked us to prepare for his funeral.
Old Mrs. Tang was admitted to the ward.
"What's that smell? It stinks."
"What's wrong with this old lady? She stinks of shit and piss."
"It's so annoying. I'm about to faint from the fumes. Can we change wards? We can't live in the same room with her."
…
Tang Jinhong went to complete the hospitalization procedures. When Old Mrs. Tang regained consciousness, she heard everyone's discussions and scolding.
She clutched the bed sheets tightly, angry and furious, but she could only listen and could do nothing.
Tang Jincai and Bai Lianxin rushed over after hearing the news.
When they arrived, Old Mrs. Tang had her eyes closed, as if she was asleep.
Tang Jincai covered his nose and took two steps towards the window. "That's good. Now I don't have to pay back the money."
"Have you ever thought about paying it back? Where will you get the money to pay it back?" Bai Lianxin said disdainfully, "Why are you paying back your mother's money? You never intended to pay it back anyway. You didn't have to pay back the money that Guan Xia Jinhua borrowed, but you insisted on paying it back. You're crazy."
Tang Jincai: "If you can't talk, just shut up! It's annoying to hear you talk."
Bai Lianxin rolled her eyes at him and asked, "Can we share anything now that your mother is gone?"
"My mom is gone, but my dad is still here." Tang Jincai said unhappily, "All he thinks about all day is money."
Bai Lianxin: "Without money, you and your children will starve!"
"Okay, just be quiet for a while!" Tang Jincai glanced at his old mother on the bed, unable to tell what he felt.
After a while, Bai Lianxin said slowly: "The old lady is gone, and the old man won't live long either. It's always been like this."
Old Mrs. Tang was awake, and she heard everything they said, not missing a single word.
I'm almost dying, but my ears are still so good. This must be a punishment.
It’s better to be unconscious. If you faint, you won’t know anything.
Xia Jinhua came the next morning.
The old lady suddenly wanted to eat wontons, so Tang Jinhong went out to buy some.
The others had already left, and there was no one else by the bed.
Xia Jinhua brought some clean clothes over, filled a basin with hot water, and wiped the old man's body.
Old Mrs. Tang opened her eyes and stared at Xia Jinhua in a daze.
Xia Jinhua didn't look up at anyone and slowly wiped the old lady's skinny arms.
"I know you don't like me and don't want your son to marry me."
"I should have listened to the advice at that time. If I hadn't married into the Tang family, I might have had a better life."
"But who can say for sure?"
"It's not easy to be a woman. It's not easy to run a family. Your life is not easy."
"The past is the past. Whether it is right or wrong, it is all written off when you die."
"No matter what, you still have to leave cleanly."
Xia Jinhua talked a lot in a disjointed manner.
She no longer has any resentment.
The whole process was very peaceful.
Xia Jinhua is a kind-hearted person after all, and she can't bear to see the old man die in such a smelly state.
It wouldn't be too bad to say goodbye to him/her.
I changed five or six basins of water and finally cleaned my whole body.
When changing into new clothes, Xia Jinhua saw that Old Mrs. Tang had her eyes tightly closed and her face was full of tears.
Was there regret or self-reflection in Mrs. Tang's last tears?
Nobody knows.
It doesn’t matter anymore.
Wearing clean clothes and eating a full bowl of wontons, Old Mrs. Tang stayed awake for several hours, but she didn't talk to anyone. She just looked out the window quietly.
At sunset, Sun Meiyu, who had lost her name for decades, closed her eyes as if she was asleep.
When she passed away, there was no one by her side.
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