Meng Tao went directly to the county hospital. At the door, she met Zhang Fu, who had come out to smoke. Seeing Meng Tao riding a shiny bicycle, Zhang Fu was surprised and asked, "Whose bicycle did you borrow?"

Meng Tao said: "It's not borrowed, I asked a friend to help me buy it before, and now it's delivered to me."

You need an invoice when you buy a bicycle, and Shen Yu should have put it in those two wooden boxes.

Zhang Fu patted his new bicycle and said, "It's Fei Ge brand. It's really good!"

He told Meng Tao to push the bicycle to the bicycle shed and lock it. The advantage of this era is that the control is strict and the social atmosphere is upright. Petty thefts are very rare and no one would dare to be so brazen as to run into the unit to steal bicycles.

Meng Tao gave the keys to the winery's small warehouse and back door to Zhang Fu, asking him to take them back to his uncle, as the rent had already been paid.

Zhang Fu put away the key and smiled as he told Meng Tao: "I just got some hot water and helped my dad and your cousin clean up."

Meng Tao expressed her gratitude: "Thank you for your hard work. It's really thanks to you that we brothers and sisters are here to help."

"It's not hard, it's just a piece of cake." Zhang Fu waved his hand, "I thought you wouldn't come tonight, you... you don't know, right? You have two more brothers coming from the countryside."

"What brothers?" Meng Tao asked in surprise.

Zhang Fu said, "They are the brothers of your Meng family. Jinniu told me that one is called Meng Jingui and the other is called Meng Jingang. They probably walked here and arrived in the evening. They just sat there and talked. They didn't help Jinniu with anything, nor did they go to buy food. They were so hungry that they took out the biscuits and apples you bought for Jinniu from the drawer of the bedside table and ate them all. They also drank up a pot of hot water that I just refilled."

Meng Tao frowned. The old Meng family of Liuzhuang? What were they doing here? Visiting, taking care of? According to Zhang Fu's description, it didn't seem like that. If they had that intention, they should have come a long time ago.

When she walked into the ward, she saw two men sitting beside Meng Jinniu's bed. Meng Tao thought that they were Meng Jingui and Meng Jingang, three brothers born to the same father and three mothers, but their facial features did not look similar at all. If it wasn't for explanation, you wouldn't know they were brothers.

Meng Jinniu looked up and saw Meng Tao following Zhang Fu in, and hurriedly asked, "Taohua, why are you here again?"

Meng Tao: "We had dinner early today, so I came to see if you were hungry. Do you want a midnight snack?"

"I'm not hungry, not hungry, no need to eat midnight snack." said Meng Jinniu.

The brother next to him interrupted: "Why don't you eat supper? Let's eat something."

"Yeah, yeah, we're all hungry."

Meng Jinniu had no choice but to point to the two people next to him and told Meng Tao: "This is the second brother Jingui, and this is the fourth brother Jin Gang. They have been here for a while."

Meng Jingui wore an old felt hat with holes in it, a patched blue cotton jacket, a cloth rope tied around his waist, and a pair of cloth shoes with thousand-layer soles. He had his hands in his sleeves and was hunched over, looking very cold. He didn't say anything, but just smiled and nodded at Meng Taohua.

Meng Jingang was much more fashionable, with a side-parted hairstyle, a four-pocket imitation military jacket with two pens in the upper left pocket, a grey sweater showing at his cuffs, and a pair of leather shoes. With this look, if he walked down the street people would definitely mistake him for a state official or a factory worker.

He stood up and said, "You are Meng Taohua? I heard that you are the same age as Sanwa, so I have to call you sister?"

Meng Tao: "Whatever, you can call me by my name."

"That's right. We are all in the same class. A one or two year age difference is nothing."

Meng Jingang smiled and asked, "This ward is full. There is no bed for accompanying patients. Where will you stay, Taohua?"

"I'm staying in a hotel."

"I see. You can take my second brother to stay at the hotel later. I don't need that. I can stay at my classmate's house."

Meng Tao looked at Meng Jingang, then at Meng Jinniu.

Jinniu said: "No, Taohua is a girl, how can she control you?"

"Then isn't she in charge of you? Why can't she be in charge of me if she can be in charge of you?" Meng Jingui said.

"Yes, we are all brothers. We should treat each other equally without any distinction." Meng Jingang said while looking at Meng Tao. Meng Tao, haha, is a cultured guy, and words pop out of his mouth one after another.

"This...I...this..." Meng Jinniu was too tongue-tied to answer.

"That's different," Meng Tao continued, "I know Meng Jinniu, so I am willing to manage Meng Jinniu. Who are you? I am not willing to manage you, and I can't manage you."

Meng Jingang: “…”

Meng Jingui: "Taohua, how can you talk like that? Lao San is your cousin, and I am also your cousin, why do you care about him and not me?"

"That's right. You came here first and are familiar with the place. I came here in a hurry today and didn't know the hospital wouldn't let me stay. I didn't have time to get a certificate. You've been staying at that hotel for a few days and you're familiar with it. Can't you bring someone to stay with you?"

"no."

Taurus also said: "You are a man, and Peach Blossom is a woman, how can I take you?"

Meng Jingui glared at Jinniu and said, "You... isn't it for you? I'm here to take care of you. Since I can't stay in a hotel, I'll squeeze in with you at night."

Meng Tao: "Taurus is seriously injured. The doctor said he can't be squeezed or touched. If you injure him again, can you bear the responsibility?"

"I'll just sleep next to him and not touch him. I can also take care of him at night."

"I don't need you to take care of me." Jinniu pointed at Zhang Fu and said, "Brother Zhang Fu, take care of his father and look after me at the same time. We will be fine in the next few days."

Zhang Fu smiled and said, "There were empty beds a few days ago, but not these past two days. I don't dare to squeeze in with my dad at night, for fear of touching his injured leg, which would cost me money to treat it again, and it would be painful. I just lay down on the long bench at the door wrapped in a quilt. There are plenty of long benches in the corridor, why don't you go and lie down on one, Brother Jin Gui?"

Meng Jingui: “…” He didn’t want to sleep in the corridor. The wind was howling and he didn’t have a quilt, so he would freeze to death.

Meng Tao said to Meng Jingang, "I will tell the doctors and nurses on duty to pay attention to this ward. No one is allowed to squeeze into the patient's bed. Your second brother can't stay in a hotel without a certificate, but he can stay at someone else's house. Take him wherever you live."

After saying that, he walked out and really went to the duty room.

Meng Jingang looked at Meng Jingui with resentment, and felt so unlucky in his heart: How could he be discovered by this person when he was walking on the street? He was tricked by him to come to see Meng Jinniu, but he had no food to eat and was hungry for a long time; since his family sent Jingui to take care of Meng Jinniu, they must have given him money, but Meng Jingui was a stingy person who only took in money and never spent it. When he got the money, he wanted to swallow it directly and would never spend it.

However, the rich and generous Meng Taohua described by Meng Jingui was not the case at all. She was a good talker and not only did she not buy food for him, she also refused to arrange for Meng Jingui to stay in a hotel, forcing him to find a solution on his own.

Meng Jingang used to study in high school in the county town and was very familiar with the county town. He had many classmates in the county town, but there were only a few who he was really good friends with. There was only one, named Wei Liang, who was very honest and kind, and valued friendship among classmates. So Meng Jingang was very good friends with him. Every time Meng Jingang came to the county town, as long as he went to find Wei Liang, he would be taken in and could stay for three to five days or even a week.

Wei's father and mother are also very kind and easy to talk to, but Wei's brother is a little stern. Meng Jingang is worried that if he brings Meng Jingui to the Wei family, Wei Liang's family will have objections, which would be bad. He wants to stay for two more days.

But there is no other way now. I can only do this for now. I will take Meng Jingui there to squeeze in for one night, and then tell him to get out and go back to Liuzhuang tomorrow morning. I will not care about him if he doesn't leave.

Shortly after Meng Tao left the hospital, doctors and nurses came to the ward to check and reiterated that accompanying family members were not allowed to occupy the patient's beds. They also asked outsiders to leave the ward and not disturb the patient's rest. Meng Jingang had no choice but to take Meng Jingui away.

I didn't have time to talk along the way and just walked hurriedly, fearing that people might have gone to bed at home and I wouldn't be able to get in, which would be terrible and I would end up on the streets.

The two brothers walked to a factory dormitory area. The old man who was guarding the gate saw Meng Jingang coming in and out every day. He recognized him as a guest of the Wei family, so he ignored them and let them in.

Arriving at a tube-shaped building and going up to the second floor, Meng Jingang stopped at the fourth room. The window light was still on, and he breathed a sigh of relief: Wei was indeed a good classmate, still waiting for him. He knocked on the door and shouted, "Wei Liang, I'm back, open the door."

Inside the room, Wei Liang was about to open the door when he was stopped by his sister.

While patting the baby in her arms, Sister Wei asked Wei Liang, "Do you still want your classmate to live in our house?"

Wei Liang: "What else can we do? He didn't go home and is still here. If we don't let him stay here, he will have nowhere to go."

Sister Wei sighed, "Brother, you are not young anymore and you are the eldest son in the family. How can you be so ignorant? Look at our family situation. Grandpa has passed away for two years, but my parents' wages from work and their frugal living have not yet paid off the debts for grandpa's medical treatment.

In order for you to take over your father's shift next year, your second sister went to the countryside to join the production team, and your younger brother was still studying. We had few meals of meat in the whole year, and there were only two thick beds, one for your parents, and one for you and your younger brother... You often brought this classmate to live at home, and stayed for four or five days at a time. He was a boy of the same age as you, and he had a lot to eat. Nowadays, which family doesn't live carefully? Who dares to keep guests like this? Only you, you see that your parents are honest and soft, and you are reluctant to say anything, right? When your classmate lives, your younger brother has to squeeze in with your parents at night, but you are already thirteen years old and not small. In this way, the three of us can't sleep well, and your mother will catch a cold, and your father will be in low spirits during work during the day. It is easy to have an accident, you know?

If I hadn't come to tell you, I wouldn't have known about this. Do you think you are being kind to him? He might think you are a fool! You have to have a conscience and be loyal to your friends, but you have to see what kind of friends they are.

As for your classmate, as I said, he ate the food first when it was served on the table, while his mother was still cleaning up in the kitchen. He left after he was full without saying a word, and he didn't help with the housework. He stayed there for a while and didn't understand the difficulties of the host family at all. Does such a person have a conscience? He is not worthy of your loyalty!

When I come back today, I will definitely send you, my classmate, away. When your brother-in-law finishes his night shift, he will bring his bedding over and we will sleep on the floor. If you still want to keep your classmate, then drive us away. Otherwise, go tell him in person and ask him to go back! Don’t come here again in the future!”

Wei Liang stammered, "But now, it's so late, he can't go back."

"So are you planning to drive your sister and your eldest nephew away overnight?"

"No."

"Then go tell him to go away!"

10,000 words updated, please vote! 　　 　 (End of this chapter)