SFS Chapter 25 Your mother has been waiting for you so long.
Chapter 25 Your mother has been waiting for you so long.
"Who will pay the fees and complete the hospital admission procedures?" The nurse's words interrupted Deng Xiuzhen's random thoughts.
She quickly said, "I'll go, I'll take care of it."
Looking at the 500 yuan on the hospital admission certificate, she touched the few dozen yuan in her pocket.
Turning around, he looked at the mother and son sitting on the bench and said, "I don't have enough money on me. You should go to the hospital first, and I'll go back and get some, okay?"
The woman glanced at her and said, "Okay."
The boy panicked and cried out, "Mom!"
The woman patted his hand and said to Deng Xiuzhen, "It's alright, you can go ahead."
Deng Xiuzhen looked at the nurse and said, "I don't have enough money on me right now. Could you pay some first so they can complete the paperwork, and I can go back and get the rest of the money?"
The nurse looked at the woman, who said, "Let her go first. If she doesn't have enough money when she's discharged, she can come to me."
The boy opened his mouth, as if to say something, but in the end he didn't.
Deng Xiuzhen paid some fees at the cashier and returned to find that the mother and son had been settled into a ward before leaving.
I had just left the hospital when I realized it was lunchtime and the mother and son should be eating. I thought I could bring them food so they wouldn't have to buy it outside and incur additional expenses.
Thinking of asking them what dietary restrictions they had, I returned.
Just as I reached the ward door, I heard the boy say, "What if she runs away?"
The woman said, "It's alright if you ran away. You're not seriously injured; you can recover on your own. Hurry up and take the clothes out of the suitcase so we can change and avoid catching a cold."
The boy agreed, then sighed heavily and said nothing more.
Deng Xiuzhen hesitated for a moment, then didn't go in. She turned around, went out, and drove home.
"Why are you covered in mud?" Qin Yanlin, who was looking out from the doorway, hurriedly came up to ask.
"Yanlin, I hurt someone. They're in the hospital now." Seeing Qin Yanlin, Deng Xiuzhen finally felt cold and aggrieved.
"It's alright, it's alright, we'll treat the patient. How are you? Are you hurt anywhere?" Qin Yanlin quickly checked on him.
"Mommy, Mommy, what's wrong? Are you hurt?" the three children asked, crowding around them.
"Go eat, then go to school. I'll get hot water for your mom to take a bath and change her clothes," Qin Yanlin said as he went to the kitchen to fetch water.
Deng Xiuzhen went to get clean clothes.
"Yanlin, is there any food left at home? Cook two more dishes, I'll take them to the hospital later," Deng Xiuzhen instructed as she went into the bathroom.
When she came out after washing up and changing into clean clothes, Qin Yanlin was busy in the kitchen, with a bowl of hot ginger water on the table.
After finishing his meal and preparing food for the mother and son, Qin Yanlin took Deng Xiuzhen to the hospital entrance.
As soon as Deng Xiuzhen got off the bus, someone shouted: "Numb, numb!"
Qin Yanlin ran off to the numb place, and Deng Xiuzhen went to the ward.
As soon as they entered the room, they heard the boy say, "He hasn't come for so long, he must have run away!"
The young man felt a little embarrassed when he saw Deng Xiuzhen come in. The woman smiled but didn't say anything.
"Are you feeling better?" Deng Xiuzhen asked as she put the food on the table.
“Much better,” the woman replied.
"I thought you hadn't eaten, so I cooked two simple dishes at home. It took a little longer than expected, so I'm sorry I'm late. Please make do with this," Deng Xiuzhen said, helping the woman to her feet.
The woman waved her hand and said, "I can do it myself."
After tasting the food, the woman said, "You cooked this food very well."
"I didn't know your tastes, so I just made it the way we usually do it at home," Deng Xiuzhen said as she stood at the door, brushing the water droplets off her clothes.
The two started chatting about cooking and everyday life. As they talked, Deng Xiuzhen learned that the woman's name was Huang Juxiang and the boy was her son, Chen Chuanjun.
The mother and son came from Yuncheng to handle some family matters.
As for what she was doing, Chen Juxiang didn't say much.
The rain stopped that night, and when Deng Xiuzhen came over the next day, Huang Juxiang was about to be discharged from the hospital. Deng Xiuzhen advised her to listen to the doctor and have her observed for a while longer.
Huang Juxiang said she felt much better and insisted on being discharged from the hospital.
Deng Xiuzhen couldn't refuse, and of course, she secretly hoped that Huang Juxiang would be discharged from the hospital as soon as possible to avoid spending too much money.
After completing the discharge procedures, Huang Juxiang didn't mention compensation, but only asked Deng Xiuzhen to take them to Chenjiawan.
"Are you here to look for someone?" Deng Xiuzhen couldn't help but ask as she watched the two walk toward Chen Guohu's dilapidated house.
She later heard from Tian Guoqiang that Chen Guohu had gone to jail, and no one had taken care of the old man's funeral arrangements. The police station had escorted Chen Guohu along with the old man to the crematorium for cremation.
Upon hearing this, the woman turned to look at Deng Xiuzhen, her expression and eyes indifferent, her whole demeanor appearing clean and serene. A sense of familiarity welled up within Deng Xiuzhen, but she couldn't pinpoint its source.
“We’ve come back to see Grandma,” the boy replied.
"Oh," Deng Xiuzhen replied, then hesitated before asking, "Is Chen Guohu your father?"
"Yes, but we haven't seen each other for several years." The boy glanced at Huang Juxiang and then answered.
The woman didn't say anything, but walked directly towards the house, which was even more dilapidated than it had been two months ago, yet the door was still half-closed.
Deng Xiuzhen didn't know how much Huang Juxiang and the others knew, nor did she know how to bring it up, so she could only silently follow behind.
She actually wanted to leave, but Huang Juxiang's injuries hadn't healed yet, and they hadn't discussed compensation. She didn't dare leave, afraid that if she left, the two people would go to the police station, and she would still have to face them.
"Juxiang, you're finally back! Your mother has been waiting for you so long!" an old woman said as she walked out of the house.
"Aunt Chen, it's been so many years! How are you?" Huang Juxiang hurried over to greet her.
"I'm fine, I'm fine, it's your mom, your mom she..."
"What's wrong with my mom?" Huang Juxiang finally asked anxiously.
"Your mother couldn't think straight and passed away," the old woman said, wiping away tears.
"Huh? Gone?" Huang Juxiang murmured, looking at the old man.
"Why did my grandma leave? Where did she go? Does she no longer live here?" the boy asked anxiously.
"Chuanjun, your grandmother has passed away." Huang Juxiang said, taking a step forward.
He pushed open the door, looked around the house, then picked up the overturned chair, slowly sat down, lowered his head, and remained silent.
Deng Xiuzhen finally understood where her sense of familiarity came from: Huang Juxiang's demeanor and movements were at least nine-tenths similar to the old woman's.
Is this the old man's daughter? Otherwise, how could she look so much like him?
If this is the old man's daughter, will she hold a grudge against him? After all, it was when they came to see Chen Guohu that they verbally offended the old man.
Regardless of whether the elderly man hanged himself because of their arrival, it must have been related to them to some extent.
The boy helped the old man inside, found a stool, wiped it clean, and let the old man sit down.
"Do you know how Chen Guohu is doing?" the woman asked, looking up.
“He went to jail. Your mother left the day he was arrested. The police found her that night.”
"Yes, it's good that he's been arrested."
“Your mother’s health has been getting worse and worse these past two years. She’s always in pain, sometimes so much so that she can’t even walk. She can only stay at home every day, and we’re the ones who bring her food. Sigh, what a good person she was, and she ended up suffering like this!” The old woman shook her head repeatedly as she spoke.