Along the way, Lu Jiefang also learned a fairly good deal about Zhong Zhiping's situation.
Her father was Zhong Quanyong's youngest cousin.
Strictly speaking, Zhong Quanyong is her second great-uncle, while Zhong Yanling's grandfather is her great-uncle.
However, Zhong Zhiping's father passed away when she was very young, leaving her and her mother as orphans with no one to rely on. They also had a bad relationship with the Zhong family, so she didn't acknowledge any of them except for Zhong Quanyong.
Since they only recognize Zhong Quanyong, they don't care whether he's called "Grandpa" or "Second Grandpa," they'll just call him "Grandpa."
Although her father and Zhong Quanyong were cousins, there was a difference of more than ten years between them. Her father was about the same age as Zhong Zhidong, so she was about the same age as Zhong Yanling, only one year younger than Zhong Yanling.
However, in terms of seniority, Zhong Yanling is still her junior and has to call her aunt.
“So you have to call me aunt too,” Zhong Zhiping said.
Lu Jiefang glanced at her sideways; her eyes were red, she looked like she was about to cry, and her brows clearly showed anxiety and unease.
She just talked a lot about her own situation, probably trying to distract herself by talking, but it was obviously not effective.
"I'm afraid I won't be able to call her 'Auntie' anymore, because Comrade Zhong Yanling and I have broken up."
Zhong Zhiping's attention wasn't on him at all; she was preoccupied with worrying about her mother. She listened to him without really paying attention, and even nodded subconsciously, "Oh, you broke up!"
Several seconds passed before she realized what she had heard, and she turned around abruptly to look at him in disbelief.
"What? You two broke up?"
Lu Jiefang nodded and hummed in agreement.
"Didn't you two just get engaged not long ago? How come you broke up? When did this happen?"
"We just broke up yesterday. We were incompatible and couldn't get along, so we broke up."
Zhong Zhiping moved her lips a couple of times, but ultimately said nothing more. As an outsider, she felt it was inappropriate to comment on such matters.
They changed the subject and started chatting about other things.
She's usually not very talkative, but today she was so nervous and worried that she wanted to relieve her tension and stress by talking.
Lu Jiefang also clearly sensed it; he saw her secretly wiping away tears several times out of the corner of his eye.
He didn't want to bring up his mother's illness, but considering Lu Yuan's wife's pharmaceutical expertise and Dr. Gao's superb medical skills, he still asked, "What illness does your mother have?"
Zhong Zhiping burst into tears immediately.
"The doctor said it was a stroke."
Lu Jiefang frowned. Strokes are difficult to treat, and the hospital had issued a critical condition notice, so the prognosis was probably grim.
No wonder she was worried the whole way.
At this moment, Lu Jiefang regretted that he hadn't considered things carefully enough.
He should go back to the village first, take Doctor Gao with him, and borrow a car from A Yuan. That way, even if going back would take longer, driving a car to the county town would probably be faster than them driving a tractor.
For now, we can only go to the county town to see how things are going.
"Don't worry, we have a very skilled doctor in our brigade. If the county hospital can't cure your mother, let Dr. Gao take a look. Maybe he can cure her."
"Really? Is Dr. Gao's medical skills really that good?"
She was desperate and would try anything, even if it was a good doctor.
"Yes, Uncle Gao is from the provincial capital. He is the director of the provincial military hospital. You should have heard about our brigade's sanatorium. He is now the director of the sanatorium, specializing in recuperating and treating the leaders."
Upon hearing this, Zhong Zhiping truly felt a glimmer of hope, but...
"My mother isn't a leader, so will Dean Gao treat her?"
Lu Jiefang assured him, "Don't worry about that. Uncle Gao can treat all kinds of people. Many people in our brigade go to him for treatment and medicine when they have a headache or fever."
"That's good!"
Zhong Zhiping was so moved that tears welled up in her eyes again, but this time she smiled as she cried.
Lu Jiefang realized for the first time that women really are made of water; they cry when they are happy and they cry when they are unhappy.
Three and a half hours later, the two finally arrived at the county hospital. Ignoring her sore buttocks from being jostled around like crazy, Zhong Zhiping jumped off the tractor and ran into the hospital.
Lu Jiefang hurriedly followed.
Upon arriving at the ward, the patient remained unconscious.
"Mother?"
"Doctor, doctor, how is my mother?"
The doctor shook his head and sighed, "The patient's condition is not optimistic. It looks like he could die at any moment... Please be prepared, family members."
The unspoken words are clear to everyone.
Zhong Zhiping didn't believe it and shook her head while crying, "No, my mom will be fine."
Thinking of something, he quickly turned around and grabbed Lu Jiefang.
"Could you help me take my mother to your brigade so that Director Gao can take a look at her?"
Lu Jiefang was about to agree when the doctor stopped him.
"No, the patient should not be moved now; it's easy for something to happen on the road."
"What should I do? What should I do? Waaaaah..."
Zhong Zhiping felt utterly hopeless!
After her father died, the Zhong family kicked her and her mother out of the Zhong family. Her maternal grandparents also disliked them. The mother and daughter had depended on each other for so many years. If her mother also passed away, she would really have no relatives left.
Seeing her like this, Lu Jiefang felt a pang of sadness.
"Don't worry, I'll call the brigade now and see if Uncle Gao can come over."
Hope rekindled in Zhong Zhiping's eyes, and she grabbed his hand.
"Please, you must help me invite Dean Gao over. I'm begging you."
The girl's hands were not soft; Lu Jiefang could clearly feel the calluses on her palms as she exerted force.
Her ears were slightly red.
"Don't worry, I'll make the call right now."
Lu Jiefang ran to the post office to call the brigade, but he didn't know what day it was, and there were many people queuing up to make the call.
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