91. Mom, rest in peace
On the day of the operation, Xu Yanmei was pushed into the operating room at nine in the morning and was pushed out at five in the afternoon.
Before Xu Wenqiang could even take a look at her, she was pushed back into the intensive care unit.
The doctor told Xu Wenqiang, "We have done our best in the operation. Whether the patient can wake up depends on herself."
Xu Wenqiang said without hesitation, "Xu Yanmei will definitely wake up."
The doctor didn't say anything else and called Xiao Cheng, who was beside Xu Wenqiang, aside.
"Although you're not an adult, I still need to explain a few things to you. The patient's condition isn't good, and the family needs to be mentally prepared. Please take extra care of him."
"Thank you, doctor. I will take good care of her. You have worked hard, doctor. On behalf of the patient and her family, I would like to express my gratitude to you and the hospital."
Seeing that Xiao Cheng behaved more maturely than an ordinary adult, the doctor nodded, patted him on the shoulder, and left.
When Xiao Cheng returned to Xu Wenqiang, Xu Wenqiang asked him, "What did the doctor say?"
Xiao Cheng said: "Nothing."
"You don't have to hide it from me. I can guess what the doctor will say," said Xu Wenqiang.
Xiao Cheng looked at Xu Wenqiang and whispered, "Xu Wenqiang, you have to think about what you will do if your aunt really can't wake up."
Xu Wenqiang remained silent for a long time.
After a while, she said, "Actually, I did think about it. The doctor was so pessimistic, how could I not think about it? It's just—"
Xu Wenqiang paused, raised her head, and tried to hold back her tears. "Even if I thought about it, it doesn't count."
"Okay, then it doesn't count." Xiao Cheng resisted the urge to wipe Xu Wenqiang's tears.
"Xu Yanmei will definitely get better." Xu Wenqiang told herself again.
But the day after the surgery, doctors and nurses suddenly rushed into the intensive care unit. Xu Wenqiang hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed a nurse and asked, "What happened to Xu Yanmei?"
"They are rescuing the patient!" The nurse pushed Xu Wenqiang away and left.
Xu Wenqiang took two steps back until her body was against the cold wall.
After an unknown amount of time, the doctor walked out of the intensive care unit. He whispered to Xu Wenqiang, "The patient has passed away. Please accept my condolences."
Xu Wenqiang didn't understand for a moment, so she asked, "Is Xu Yanmei dead?"
The doctor said again, "Please accept my condolences." He looked at Xu Wenqiang with pity, then hurried away.
Before Xu Wenqiang could even cry, another nurse came over and asked, "Are there any other adults in your family?"
Xu Wenqiang said, "There is no one else but me."
The nurse was just here to explain the procedure as a routine matter. After all, she was used to seeing life and death. But when she saw Xu Wenqiang was alone, she softened her voice unconsciously.
"Listen carefully, you go in first and say goodbye to your loved ones. Then you can choose to take the body home and contact the funeral home for cremation, or you can contact the funeral home directly for cremation without going home. We will send the body to the morgue."
"You need to get a death certificate."
"You need shrouds for the deceased."
Xu Wenqiang listened to all the things that needed to be done by her personally. She didn't even have time to cry.
"Go say goodbye to your family first." The nurse reminded and then left.
Xu Wenqiang stood at the door of the intensive care unit, looking at Xu Yanmei who seemed to be asleep inside, thinking the words "Xu Yanmei is dead" in her mind, but her feet could not move at all.
"Aren't the family members coming in yet?" the medical staff asked while packing up the medical equipment.
Xu Wenqiang thought, she needs to get a death certificate, she needs to buy burial clothes for Xu Yanmei, she needs to contact the funeral home...
She had no time to be sad.
She had to go and say goodbye to Xu Yanmei.
Xu Wenqiang walked into the ward, came to Xu Yanmei's side, stood aside and looked at her quietly.
The medical staff nearby looked at Xu Wenqiang suspiciously, wondering why she was so quiet. She didn't cry or make a fuss, as if it wasn't her mother who had died.
Xu Wenqiang reached out and tidied Xu Yanmei's hair, but she didn't react. She touched her face again, but she still didn't react. Finally, she held her hand.
Xu Yanmei's body was still warm, but she was no longer breathing.
"Mom..." Xu Wenqiang called out.
"Mom..." Xu Wenqiang called again.
Xu Yanmei would always reply impatiently, "What do you want me to do?"
"Mom..." Xu Wenqiang finally burst into tears and shouted at the top of her lungs.
As Xiao Cheng walked near the intensive care unit, he heard Xu Wenqiang's heart-wrenching cry.
He ran into the ward quickly and saw Xu Wenqiang wiping the tears from her face.
The last time Xiao Cheng saw Xu Wenqiang cry was when she learned Xu Yanmei might die. That time, Xu Wenqiang cried until she was exhausted. This time, she remained silent, and even though she was crying, she refused to let the tears remain on her face.
Xiao Cheng turned and left the ward. This was the last time Xu Wenqiang and Xu Yanmei spent together, and he shouldn't disturb them anymore.
After Xu Wenqiang screamed, she made no further sound. She just stared at Xu Yanmei, silent and motionless. The medical staff routinely and emotionlessly advised, "The dead cannot be brought back to life. Please accept my condolences..."
"I understand." Xu Wenqiang wiped away her tears for the last time, took one last look at Xu Yanmei, then walked forward and lifted the white sheet covering her body, covering her face.
Mom, rest in peace.
After watching the medical staff send Xu Yanmei away, Xu Wenqiang cheered up and walked out of the ward. She really still had a lot of things to do.
Xiao Cheng, who had been waiting outside the door, walked up to Xu Wenqiang, looked at her and said, "What do you need me to do?"
Looking at Xiao Cheng, Xu Wenqiang suppressed the sadness in her eyes and said as calmly as possible, "I'm going to handle the death..." The forced calmness almost fell apart when she encountered the word "death".
"I'm going to get Xu Yanmei's death certificate. Can you come with me?" Xu Wenqiang gritted her teeth and told Xiao Cheng what she was going to say next, also to herself, "Xu Yanmei is dead."
Xiao Cheng looked at the fierce Xu Wenqiang and said, "Xu Wenqiang, remember what you said. We must survive together."
Xu Wenqiang's empty heart finally felt a sense of peace. She took a step forward and said, "Let's go now. I don't want Xu Yanmei to stay in the cold morgue for too long."
Xiao Cheng didn't say anything more and followed.
After obtaining the death certificate, Xu Wenqiang and Xiao Cheng went to the funeral clothing store outside the hospital to buy funeral clothes for Xu Yanmei, and finally contacted the funeral home.
The funeral home's car took Xu Yanmei away first. Xu Wenqiang said to Xiao Cheng, "I can go to the funeral home by myself. You don't have to go."
But Xiao Cheng said, "I'll go with you."
Xu Wenqiang shook her head: "That's not a place for living people to go."
"Aren't you a living person? Aren't the staff at the funeral home living people?" Xiao Cheng asked back.
"I am a family member, and the staff are here for work."
"Xu Wenqiang, no matter where you are, I will be with you."
There was a deep meaning in Xiao Cheng's words. Xu Wenqiang stopped talking, and the two finally went to the funeral home together.
"It turns out that after a person dies, only a box like this is left behind." Xu Wenqiang murmured while holding Xu Yanmei's urn.
"Yes, nothing can be left behind and nothing can be taken away." Xiao Cheng said, looking up at the chimney emitting white smoke.
"Xiao Cheng, I don't want to hold a funeral." Xu Wenqiang said, "My mother and I depend on each other for survival, and we don't have many relatives or friends in Qingshi City, so let's forget about the funeral."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Cheng looked at Xu Wenqiang. The girl holding the urn had a look of sadness and indifference on her face.
"Xu Wenqiang, funerals aren't just for the dead; they're also for the living."
“Why do living people need funerals?”
"Because the living use this ceremony to vent their pain and bid farewell to the deceased completely."
Xu Wenqiang lowered her head and hugged the urn tightly in her hands, "But..."
"You're not without relatives or friends," Xiao Cheng said. "If you don't believe me, just look up."
Hearing this, Xu Wenqiang looked up and saw Su Xiaoshan, Lin Tong, Gao Zhe, Ning Yi, and even Xing Jiaqi...
Xu Wenqiang's tears, which had already dried up, burst out again like a spring. She looked at Xiao Cheng beside her, and Xiao Cheng nodded at her, "You have friends."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
