I Bacame the Mother of His Child-Chapter 60 - 59: Visiting Qingqing at the Hospital

Xu Xiuxiu walked down the hospital corridor holding two boxes of gifts. Originally, she had brought Zhao Nan and Song Chengguang with her, but thinking of the hospital environment, Xu Xiuxiu took a detour to drop the two kids off at Sichuan Pavilion to be looked after by Sister Cai Qiufen.

The hospital now had elevators, but not in the inpatient department.

After asking the hospital staff, Xu Xiuxiu learned that Cai Bo’s daughter was in bed 3 of room 302 in building C. She climbed three flights of stairs to the hospital room and stood at the doorway. Xu Xiuxiu did not rush in; instead, she peered through the slightly open door to see a little girl lying on bed 3 with a pale and bloodless face. A plainly dressed woman—probably Cai Bo’s wife—was seated beside her, carefully feeding the girl a liquid diet. After each small spoonful, she would gently wipe the girl’s mouth with a slightly pilled handkerchief, very meticulously and patiently.

Seeing this, Xu Xiuxiu could not bear to disturb them and stood outside the room for a good while until the girl in the bed shook her head, refusing to eat any more. Only then did Xu Xiuxiu take a deep breath, muster a smile, and push the door open, "Hello, I’m Xu Xiuxiu, Song Yuanhuan’s wife. I heard the little girl was sick, so I came for a visit." Xu Xiuxiu slowly spoke as she handed the gift boxes to the woman.

"You..." The plain woman looked somewhat surprised and after a moment’s hesitation, she set down the bowl and utensils for the liquid diet in a flurry and stood up, wiping her patched clothes with her hands, "I heard about you from my husband, Cai Bo. Thank you." She choked up as she reached out to accept the gifts from Xu Xiuxiu, her tired face showing gratitude.

People are like this; you never know if those around you will lend a hand until you need money and help; and at such times, Xu Xiuxiu did not hesitate to first help settle the final payment for the renovation and even made a special trip to the hospital to visit their Qingqing. How could Cai Bo’s wife not be grateful?

After all, since their daughter had fallen ill and been hospitalized, the couple had borrowed from every relative and friend. Everyone almost told them not to bother wasting money and to simply give up on Cai Qingqing, suggesting they have another child while they were still young. But as parents, how could they bear such a thing? Even as they watched their child grow more and more gaunt and weak by the day, they still clenched their teeth and did not give up, yet the heavy medical bills were suffocating them.

"How is the child doing?" Xu Xiuxiu looked at the little girl on the bed with eyes full of compassion. The girl, around seven or eight years old, was having a hard time breathing with a drainage tube attached. She looked like she had just undergone surgery and appeared incredibly weak, but her eyes were still bright and alert. They had not left her since Xu Xiuxiu had entered the room.

"She’s doing quite well," replied Cai Bo’s wife, forcing a smile for Xu Xiuxiu. She had to appear strong in front of her daughter.

Xu Xiuxiu returned the smile and after a moment, walked over to the bed and gently stroked the little girl’s head, "You are very brave." Xu Xiuxiu had casually inquired about the specifics when she asked the hospital staff for the room number and learned that the little girl was suffering from acute leukemia, a dreadful disease.

Such a disease would be a troublesome condition even twenty or thirty years in the future, let alone in the less advanced medical facilities of the ’80s. With this thought, Xu Xiuxiu couldn’t help feeling a bit saddened. Life was truly unpredictable; this little girl was still so young, yet she already had to learn to face life and death.

"Sister-in-law?" Cai Bo, who couldn’t afford to buy food in the hospital, would hurry back and forth from home with meals to save money. It was more economical, though he sometimes couldn’t keep up with the timing, running late for meals. Also, because of the renovation work at the Sichuan Pavilion branch, he had to take time to supervise and check on the progress. Today, he had gone to the Sichuan Pavilion branch early in the morning and only got back in time to cook around noon. So, when Cai Bo came to the hospital with food, he ran into Xu Xiuxiu. After a brief moment of stunned silence, he smiled gratefully, "How come you’re here?"

"Brother Cai, I came to see Qingqing," said Xu Xiuxiu after soothing the little girl for a while and telling her a few stories about being strong. She was just about to leave when she ran into Cai Bo, who had come to deliver the food.

"Thank you." Cai Bo, overwhelmed with gratitude, handed the lunchbox to his wife, "Hurry up and eat!" It was already one or two in the afternoon; if they delayed any longer, they would starve!

"Okay!" Cai Bo’s wife quickly agreed and reached out to take it, moving to a small table to start eating.

Xu Xiuxiu guessed Cai Bo probably hadn’t had lunch either. After arranging a time to come back and visit Xiao Qingqing, she left the hospital. After leaving the hospital, seeing that there was still enough time, Xu Xiuxiu headed to Sichuan Pavilion’s branch. Indeed, the renovation there was nearing completion.

After a cursory inspection of the first-floor hall, the second-floor hall, the private rooms on the second floor, and the kitchen design, Xu Xiuxiu expressed her great satisfaction. She exchanged pleasantries with the few decorators who were finishing up and then went back to Sichuan Pavilion to pick up the two children.

With the economic reforms, the number of wealthy people was growing, and so were the Santana cars on the road.

Xu Xiuxiu was walking cautiously on the safe side of the sidewalk when she met with misfortune. A speeding Santana brushed past her, and just as Xu Xiuxiu was coming to grips with the close call, she felt a searing pain in her left ankle. The black Santana came to a hasty stop a few dozen meters ahead.

A man dressed in a Sun Yat-sen suit hurried out of the car, "I am so sorry, miss. Are you alright?" he asked guiltily as he approached Xu Xiuxiu. When he saw the ghastly pallor of her face, he immediately realized that things were bad.

Xu Xiuxiu felt no sensation in her left ankle; she couldn’t move at all. In response to the inquiries from the man in the Sun Yat-sen suit, she fiercely glared and rolled her eyes at him several times.

"Miss, can you get up on your own? I can take you to the hospital to check if you’ve injured anything," the man in the Sun Yat-sen suit, knowing he was at fault, genuinely took responsibility. But due to cultural norms concerning contact between unrelated men and women, he dared not lift Xu Xiuxiu himself and could only stand by and ask. freёweɓnovel.com

"What happened to the young lady here?" A middle-aged woman carrying a basket of vegetables happened to pass by. Seeing Xu Xiuxiu sitting on the ground with a man in a Sun Yat-sen suit standing nearby, she stepped forward to inquire.

Unlike the future, where people might be afraid of scammers, most people nowadays still had a warm heart. Thus, as soon as she saw Xu Xiuxiu on the ground, the middle-aged woman immediately offered her a hand, "Young lady, your ankle is swollen; it looks like a sprain. Let me help you to the hospital to get some medicine," she said with concern.

"Okay!" Xu Xiuxiu did not decline the offer. After all, the pain was real.

It wasn’t until Xu Xiuxiu got to the hospital that she realized how seriously her left ankle was injured. Seeing the swollen bulge of her ankle, she almost cried.