Chapter 02 Broken Legs
Day after day, when I opened my eyes the next day, it was still the same work, only more and less.
The whole morning was like a busy battle. Finally, the older ones went to work and the younger ones went to school, leaving only the old and the young at home. Pu Xiang's ears quieted down and she thought about what to do next.
While you're doing the laundry, wipe the stairs.
In the morning, my second grandson opened a bag of dry biscuits and ate them. When he went up and down the stairs, the cake was covered with crumbs. I couldn't bear to see them.
Pu Xiang was working with a rag when her cell phone suddenly rang.
She took a look and saw it was her second sister's number.
Before answering the phone, Pu Xiang frowned and looked at the word "Second Sister" for a few seconds before picking up the phone.
"Hey, second sister."
Her voice was calm, but Pu Xiang's second sister Pu Fen, who was sitting opposite her, was immediately excited as if a firecracker had been lit when she heard her voice.
"Little sister, you stay in the city all day long, you have to come back sometime. Shi Dafu is getting worse and worse. You don't know that he and Lin Meihua from your village are getting worse and worse. They are together every day, almost living in your house, coming in and out, and some people think she is you, asking me if you are not in the city to help your son take care of the children? What is this? I am almost mad at you, you should control him!"
Pu Fen became more and more anxious as she spoke, and she didn't even pause at the end. Only after she finished speaking, panting heavily, did Pu Xiang finally understand what she meant.
"Care? He's 66 years old this year, why should I care?"
Pu Xiang was quite calm. She had seen clearly what kind of person her husband was when she was young, so she wouldn't be angry now.
That would make you so angry that you would die.
Compared to her younger sister, Pu Fen, the older sister, was the opposite. Not only was she not calm, she was also anxious and angry.
"He just messed around like that, and you're not angry? Don't care? If that's the case, you should just divorce him!"
It seems that this is really angry.
When Pu Xiang heard the word divorce, she laughed for some reason.
When she was young, she mentioned divorce, but every time, her sister, her brother, her parents, and everyone else advised her to endure it.
For the children.
It’s hard to find a partner after divorce.
How could a woman from a good family get divorced?
She still remembers all the reasons clearly, one after another. She has already reached this age in her life, and now you are asking her for a divorce?
She no longer has that heart.
However, some people who tried to persuade her were right. She only endured this bad marriage for the sake of her children.
If she divorced, the child would still be young, and Shi Dafu, that bastard, would definitely remarry. Then the child would be in the hands of the stepmother, and she would never be willing to let him go.
Especially the example of the Mo family next door to them. The child's mother died, and the child's father remarried. The stepmother was cruel and beat and abused the child. She didn't even let the child have enough food. The little girl was so skinny that she was afraid that she would starve to death.
Pu Xiang couldn't bear to part with her own child, fearing that he would fall into the hands of such a stepmother.
You have to endure this until the child grows up and goes to school, but there are junior high school entrance exams and high school entrance exams. When the child graduates from college, he or she will be grown up and working, and can leave your parents. But you also have to consider whether he or she can get married and find a partner, which has an impact on single-parent families.
When the children get married and have children, there will be no one to take care of the babies. How can the grandmother feel at ease if she does not lend a hand?
Pu Xiang's divorce was delayed again and again. After helping out for ten years and raising three babies, she finally came to terms with it.
It doesn't matter whether this marriage ends in divorce or not. After all, living apart like this is no different from a divorce.
Shi Dafu was flirting with other women, and he was a stubborn person who would never change his nature, so she didn't care.
Pu Xiang did not accept the divorce request, which made Pu Fen even angrier. It was clearly her younger sister's business, but she was angry on her behalf, yet she herself did not react at all, making it seem as if she was the emperor who was not anxious, but the eunuch was.
"Just tell me, you still treat this man like a treasure and you are reluctant to let him go?"
Pu Xiang found her own earphones and took them out, working while talking on the phone without being disturbed at all. Her three grandsons were sitting in a small car in the living room downstairs, so she could see them just by leaning over.
She cleaned up her things quickly and said calmly, "Second sister, do you remember what you said when I wanted a divorce? Divorce has a bad impact. It's okay for me to have a son, but you have a daughter, and having a divorced aunt will affect the child's future mate-hunting."
Pu Fen choked. She had said this before. On the phone, her voice paused for a moment, then rose again.
"The past was the past, and the present is the present. Times have changed. How can it be the same? Are you saying this because you hate me as your sister? But don't you think that when we got divorced decades ago, I didn't do it because I was afraid that someone would break your spine! It was all for your own good!"
These words are not surprising. Pu Xiang has lived to the age of 65 and knows her sister quite well.
"Okay, you're doing this for my own good. Now you should also do this for my own good. Stop mentioning Shi Dafu and Lin Meihua in front of me. I won't divorce you. Even if they live to be old, they will still be an adulterous couple, a pair of adulterers, and a pair of shameless old people."
Pu Fen was so stunned by the words that came out of his sister's mouth so casually that he couldn't say a word.
The call was quickly hung up.
Pu Xiang's mood was not affected at all. She shook her head and continued to clean her stairs.
What she hates most now is receiving calls from her second sister. Every time she does so, she would talk to her about Shi Dafu's internal affairs. Not only does she not want to care, she doesn't even want to listen.
Feel like a malicious person.
I don't know what happened today, these people seemed to have agreed to call her at this time.
Shi Wenya was a younger sister with whom Pu Xiang got along well after she married into the Shilin Brigade.
"Third sister, I will return the money you borrowed from me today. I will use the same bank card you transferred the money to last time. Please check and see if the money has been credited to your account."
Pu Xiang is the third of three siblings. When she was little, everyone called her the Third Sister. Even when she got older, people got used to calling her that and didn't change their way of addressing her.
"Why are you in such a hurry? I don't need the money urgently. It's fine if you pay me back later. Didn't you say your son is remarrying and your daughter-in-law is pregnant? There are many places to spend the money."
Shi Wenya sighed and said, "That's right, but I'll pay you back first. If I have any difficulties, I'll come to you for help. I hope Chengcheng will stay with his wife and children and not cause trouble again. Sigh... You're still living a comfortable life, your son is promising, and even you have moved to Haishi with him and become a big city dweller. Which old lady in our village is as prosperous as you?"
Pu Xiang was blessed to hear this and was enjoying a good life. After hanging up the phone, she had almost finished cleaning the stairs and her waist was almost done with the pain.
With one hand on his waist and the other on his knees, he straightened up little by little.
Fortunately, her son and daughter-in-law said they would not have a fourth child. If they did, she would not be able to take care of another one... She thinks this sweeping robot is great. Even if the machine doesn't do the job cleanly, it would be easier for a person to follow behind and check for omissions and make up for them than to do the whole process, right?
Her son and daughter-in-law are still young, but their thinking is more conservative than that of an old lady like her. They are always cheating people out of money and taxing their IQ.
Pu Xiang climbed the stairs from top to bottom and back up several times, and finally finished cleaning up and was ready to go downstairs. Perhaps because he had been squatting for too long, his waist was stiff and painful. When he raised his legs to go downstairs, he somehow couldn't lift them up. Without moving his legs, he fell forward. Pu Xiang's head buzzed, and he felt that it was all over.
I'm going to die from the fall. I can't live in this house anymore and I can't sell it for a high price.
Pu Xiang could no longer remember the process of falling from the building.
She finally fell down at the bottom of the stairs, looked at the ceiling and realized that she was not dead yet, so she felt lucky.
The cell phone fell beside her. Pu Xiang reached out to grab it. Fortunately, her hand could still move. She called 120 to report her address and situation. She made a second call to her mother-in-law, asking her to come and take her third grandson away.
Finally, he called his son Shi Jiajie.
Pu Xiang was lucky. He was not killed or disabled after falling down the stairs. However, both his legs were broken. The calf of his left leg was severely fractured, and the thighbone of his right leg was slightly fractured.
The injury was not serious. After two or three days of observation and the swelling subsided, I underwent surgery. The doctor said it would heal in about three months and fully recover within half a year.
Of course, if you recover well, this time can be shortened.
Pu Xiang was lying in the hospital. After receiving the call, her son came to the hospital, completed the hospitalization procedures, paid the bills, and followed her throughout the whole process.
My daughter-in-law didn't come. There are three children at home, and she has to go back to help her parents take care of the children. I called to ask about the situation, and I felt relieved when I heard that the matter was not too serious.
After confirming that the situation was not serious and that the child would just need to follow the doctor's treatment plan, Shi Jiajie arranged for a nurse and went back home. He had already taken a day off and had to go to work tomorrow. He was also worried that his wife and his father-in-law and mother-in-law would not be able to take care of the child, so he had to go back to help.
Pu Xiang is awake now. She just had a minor injury and she just needs to be healed and taken care of. She doesn't need her son to stay by her bedside. She doesn't think it's a big deal when her son says he wants to go back.
"Aunt Pu, your son just left like that? He didn't even stay with you? And your daughter-in-law didn't even come to see you. Both of his legs were broken. It's such a big deal!"
The bed next to Pu Xiang was occupied by an elderly couple. The old man fell off his electric scooter and broke one of his legs. He was admitted to the hospital a day earlier than Pu Xiang, and the old lady was staying by his bedside to take care of him.
Pu Xiang smiled and said, "The person is already in the hospital, so it's okay for him to stay with her. The house is still in chaos, so he won't be able to rest if he goes back."
After hearing what Pu Xiang said, even though they were fellow patients, it was not appropriate for them to say anything unpleasant, so they changed the subject.
"Aunt Pu's husband, why doesn't he come to the hospital to take care of you? If your spouse is around, you can save money on nursing care, right? Your spouse, your spouse, only becomes useful at this time."
Pu Xiang said "hmm" and didn't say anything else. Perhaps it was because of her cold attitude that no matter what the other party said, she didn't really respond. She just said "hmm" and "ahh" in a perfunctory manner, and finally she stopped talking.
After staying in the hospital for ten days, Pu Xiang was finally discharged.
It happened to be the weekend, so Shi Jiajie didn't have to take time off to pick her up. After packing her things, Shi Jiajie and the nurse carried her into the car.
Pu Xiang couldn't move her legs, and could only use her hands to move herself.
I was sweating as soon as I got on the car. I lay in the back seat, panting, waiting for Shi Jiajie to get on the car and go back.
"Jiajie, I don't think I'll be able to move for the next two or three months. I'll have to ask your father-in-law and mother-in-law to help take care of the child."
Shi Jiajie was driving the car and said, "Yes, they are taking care of it. They have been working on it for the past few days."
Pu Xiang added, "I can't walk now. I need to lie down for a while. I can't let your mother-in-law take care of me. I can ask a nurse to come back, but it's not convenient at home. I'm thinking, isn't there a small private hospital next to our community? I'll live there, and you can save a lot of trouble."
During the few days in the hospital, Pu Xiang had been thinking about this matter. Her son and daughter-in-law both had to go to work, and there were three children in the family, one of whom could not be separated from the adults. It would be fine if her in-laws could help take care of the child, but she had to stay at home and it was impossible to trouble her in-laws to take care of her. She had to find someone else, and the family would be too crowded.
She was not short of money, so she went to a small private hospital. No matter how good the medical skills were, her care would always be fine.
As for money, she has worked hard all her life to buy a house and a car for her son, and she has already prepared her own retirement money, so she will not be a financial burden to her son.
Shi Jiajie didn't respond immediately after hearing his mother's arrangements. Pu Xiang didn't care whether it was good or bad. When asked about the situation of the three children at home in the past few days, he answered them one by one.
When they were almost home, Shi Jiajie pursed his lips and said, "Mom, staying in the hospital or hiring someone to take care of you is a big expense and will take several months. The environment in the small private hospital you mentioned is not good. I've thought about it. I'll send you back to your hometown. My dad is at home and can take care of you. Living at home not only saves money, but you will also live comfortably. Relatives and neighbors can also come to visit and talk to you, so you won't be bored."