Chapter 35

Xu Wen asked Li Yun to ask for leave from the teacher for him, and then he rode his bicycle back.

It took Xu Wen only an hour and a half to ride the thirty-kilometer distance. He pedaled so hard that his chest felt like it was on fire.

She had never worked so hard in her two lives.

On a cool autumn night, my clothes were soaked through as if I had just taken a shower.

For the first time in my life, I realized how painful it was to feel anxious.

This road, which I have walked for a year, seemed so long for the first time.

I hope nothing happens to Dongsheng. Xu Wen prayed silently.

Finally arriving at the bathroom, Xu Wen threw his bicycle to the side of the road and ran inside without even catching his breath.

The production team's clinic is not big, with two connected rooms, one used as a clinic, and the other with several beds and two rows of chairs for patients to receive infusions and rest.

There was an argument going on in the clinic.

"It's normal for children to catch a cold and have diarrhea during the change of seasons! Diarrhea can also relieve inflammation! Why do we have to go to the hospital for such a small matter?" The aunt protested to the doctor dissatisfiedly.

"This child is dehydrated and has a bad temper! If he is not taken to the hospital, he will die!" The clinic doctor frowned and suggested.

"All of us rural kids are tough! Why are we so delicate? It's already this late and I still have to go back to cook! Give him an injection first, and then take him to the hospital tomorrow when his mother comes back!"

"I told you, I can't cure this. The child's condition is already very serious..."

"Oh my! How serious can it be that the child doesn't have a fever but has diarrhea and is weak?" Auntie interrupted the doctor impatiently, "My stove is still burning! How can I have time to go to the hospital?"

Xu Wen pushed his aunt aside and asked the doctor at the clinic, "Where is the nearest hospital?"

The doctor was stunned and asked him, "Who are you?"

"I am the child's mother. Doctor, can we go to the commune hospital?"

The doctor shook his head and said, "The hospital in the commune is actually a large toilet. Your child is seriously dehydrated. I suggest you send him directly to the county hospital. If you delay, something bad might happen to him."

Xu Wen didn't say anything, picked up Dongsheng, who was placed on the infusion chair with his eyes closed and pale lips, and turned away.

Dongsheng was in a very bad condition. When she picked him up, he could only glance at her with difficulty and called out "Mom" in a listless voice.

Xu Wen burst into tears and hugged Dongsheng tightly: "Don't be afraid! Mom is here."

There was no 120 in 1977, so Xu Wen had to rely on himself.

But Dongsheng was almost unconscious and he couldn't sit in the back seat by himself.

Xu Wen untied the rope that he usually used to secure things from the back seat, tied Dongsheng to his back, and went riding a bicycle.

The 28-bar bicycle was quite large, with a crossbar in front. With a child weighing more than 30 kilograms on his back, Xu Wen, who was already exhausted, was unable to get on the bicycle smoothly, and fell to the side with the bicycle.

Xu Wen leaned to the side, preferring to fall face down rather than let Dongsheng fall.

She closed her eyes and screamed, but the pain she had imagined did not come.

Xu Wen opened her eyes and saw that the doctor from the bathroom and another passerby were holding her and the bicycle together, preventing her from falling.

Xu Wen thanked him quickly and got off the bicycle.

"I saw that you looked pale and trembling, so I was worried and chased you out," the doctor said. "Besides, it's so far from the county town and you ride too slowly on a bicycle, which will delay things. The commune's health room has an emergency ambulance. I'll take you to borrow it."

"Thank you! Thank you!" Xu Wen thanked repeatedly.

He took Dongsheng off his back and held him in his arms.

The doctor carried Xu Wen, and Xu Wen held Dongsheng.

The production team was not far from the commune health center and only took ten minutes to get there.

With the help of the doctor, the commune quickly lent them a car.

It was most likely an old ambulance that had been discarded by the hospital. It was too shabby.

For Xu Wen, this is the best arrangement.

Besides, no matter how broken the car was, it was still a car, and it was much faster than a bicycle. We arrived at the hospital in half an hour.

Xu Wen thanked the driver, paid the car fee, and gave him two extra dollars: "Master, thank you! You can see my situation and I really can't afford it. Please buy yourself a pack of cigarettes."

After saying this, Xu Wen ran to the emergency room carrying the child.

The doctor said that the car was not applied for through the formal process, which would be too slow. The driver is his uncle.

Xu Wen can't be so ignorant.

Xu Wen hurriedly registered while holding Dongsheng, and queued up to enter the clinic.

The doctor frowned as soon as he saw Dongsheng, looked at his eyelids, and then listened to Dongsheng's chest with a stethoscope and asked, "Does this child have diarrhea? How many days has this condition lasted?"

"I don't know." Xu Wen shook his head, remembering the argument between his aunt and the doctor, "It seems like he has had diarrhea for several days."

"How can you be a mother? You don't even know this?" The doctor frowned.

Xu Wenli was asked about the injustice, but he didn't say anything back.

"This child must have severe dehydration caused by diarrhea. He is now in a coma due to electrolyte imbalance caused by dehydration. It may also cause respiratory failure and death! You should go through the hospitalization procedures first! You need to give him an IV as soon as possible."

Xu Wen quickly completed the hospitalization procedures.

It wasn't until Dongsheng received an IV that she breathed a sigh of relief.

The cute and well-behaved Dongsheng now has pale lips and closed eyes.

Xu Wen gently held his hand where the IV was being delivered and warmed the area where the IV was being delivered, his eyes revealing self-blame and a bit of confusion.

Lu Yuanzheng married her, gave her money, a house and freedom, and his only requirement was that she take good care of Dongsheng.

But she didn't.

On the way here, Xu Wen was particularly annoyed with his aunt and wanted to tear her apart.

Now that Dongsheng has been settled, the worry has dissipated a lot.

My aunt and my eldest uncle's wife all helped to take care of Dongsheng. Now Dongsheng is her duty and no one else's.

No matter what, her aunt's responsibility is second only to hers, and she is the one who should be held most responsible.

You can't keep silent when you are doing good things for others and then push the responsibility onto others when something goes wrong.

As the old saying goes, "It's a favor if you help someone, and it's your duty if you don't help someone."

Just be grateful.

Xu Wen sniffed and whispered to the unconscious Dongsheng: "You must get better!"

Xu Wen didn't dare close his eyes the whole night, for fear that what the doctor said would happen.

Fortunately, Dongsheng has such great parents and has strong blood.

The next day, the doctor told Xu Wen that Dongsheng was temporarily out of danger, but severe dehydration would be slow to treat, and it was hard to say whether there would be other consequences, so Xu Wen was told to be mentally prepared.

Before Xu Wen could even express his joy that Dongsheng was out of danger, his face turned pale again.

Xu Wen buried his head in the hospital bed and sobbed softly: "Dongsheng, I'm sorry!"

"Mom!"

Xu Wen raised his head and saw Dongsheng had opened his eyes, looking much more energetic than yesterday.

"Are you awake? Does your stomach still hurt? Are you still feeling uncomfortable?"

"A little bit. Mom, why are you crying?" Dongsheng's voice was still a little weak.

Xu Wen shook his head and wiped away his tears, "I'm fine. Sorry, Mom is late!"

"How's Dongsheng?"

Xu Wen turned his head and saw his uncle and younger uncle entered the ward, and it was his uncle who asked the questions.

He must have come in a hurry, as he hadn't even changed his clothes. He was wearing farm clothes, and there were some corn silks in his hair.

The younger uncle lowered his head and followed behind the older uncle.

"The doctor said it's severe dehydration and his life is temporarily in danger!" Xu Wen said calmly.

When the eldest uncle heard this, he turned around and pointed at the younger uncle and scolded him: "Look at what you have done! If anything happens to Dongsheng, I wonder how you will explain it to the second brother!"

The uncle lowered his head and rubbed his hands, "It's my fault! The child had diarrhea a few days ago. We thought he caught a cold. We even cooked an egg for him, thinking that eggs can cure diarrhea. It's a change of seasons! It's not normal for a child to have diarrhea and get angry? The kindergarten teacher asked him to rest at home, but we were busy these two days and didn't take care of him... Alas! It's all our fault! Xu Wen, uncle will apologize to you."

"Uncle, don't say that! It's me and Dongsheng who have caused you trouble." Xu Wen said in a calm voice.

The uncle frowned and said, "You are being too polite. We are all family, why should we talk about any troubles?"

Xu Wen curled his lips and said nothing.

"Don't be angry. Your uncle and aunt didn't mean it. They were busy with the autumn season and neglected to take care of the child. The main thing is that the children in our village are not as delicate as Dongsheng. They would not take diarrhea so seriously!"

"Dongsheng is not a spoiled child!" Xu Wen retorted, "He has never been a spoiled child! You always say he is spoiled. Has he really caused you trouble? Did he cry when his father left? Did he make a scene when he went to one of your houses? Did he say no when you locked him up at home while you were working? Did he cry when he had diarrhea and you didn't take him to see a doctor? Is this still spoiled? What does it mean to be not spoiled?"

The uncle opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word in rebuttal.

Dongsheng has lived in both of their homes. He is indeed a very well-behaved child. He eats whatever he is given and listens to whatever he is told.

Such a child really cannot be described as spoiled.

"He's not spoiled!" Xu Wen chuckled, "He just doesn't have the love of his parents. We were the ones who caused you trouble before! We won't do that again in the future!"

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, I will take care of Dongsheng myself from now on, and I won't bother you anymore. I'm very grateful for your help in taking care of him before. Now it's time to go, so you can go now!"

"The child's illness was just an accident. Why do you still hold a grudge against him?" the uncle protested.

"I'm not holding a grudge. Uncle, I've already said thank you for helping me take care of the child. But the child is my responsibility, not yours. So I won't bother you anymore in the future."

The younger uncle wanted to speak, but the older uncle pulled him back and stopped him with a look.

"Xu Wen, Dongsheng is also our grandson, and we don't want him to get sick. I know you are angry now, but it is too tiring for you to take care of the child by yourself. Why don't you go back and have a rest first, and let your uncle take over for a day?"

Xu Wen shook his head, "No, I can do it myself. Thank you, uncle."

No matter how his uncle persuaded Xu Wen, he refused to give in. There were still many things waiting for him in the team, so he had no choice but to leave. Before leaving, he said, "I'll let your mother take your place tonight."

Xu Wen didn't say anything.

After sending his uncle and his friends away, Dongsheng called out to Xu Wen, "Mom, I want to pee."

Xu asked: "..."

Fortunately, it is easier for little boys to go to the toilet, and a bottle can do the job.

When Xu Wen was lifting Dongsheng's pants, Dongsheng asked her, "Mom, do I not have to go to grandpa and grandma's house anymore?"

He heard Xu Wen say that he would take him.

Xu Wen hummed, "From now on, we will never be separated."

"Really?" Dongsheng sat up happily and wanted to clap his hands, but he pulled the needle and hissed again.

Xu Wen quickly checked the needle hole and luckily there was no puncture. "Be careful. What if you hurt yourself?"

"Hehe." Dongsheng laughed happily, "Mom, I'm so happy!"

Xu Wen patted his head and said, "My dear Dongsheng, I am happy to be with you too!"