nycdaug Chapter 134 "Life and Death" in the Hospital
Chapter 134 "Life and Death" in the Hospital
The matter was quickly settled.
After returning home, Shu Yun told Gu's parents about the news. "Director Huang and the hospital director have already spoken with him and found out that Dr. Wang Mingli is an expert in the Department of Gastroenterology. He has studied abroad and has over forty years of medical experience. He sees patients at the hospital every Wednesday. We can just look for him then."
Upon hearing this, Wang Xiuwen immediately felt that the doctor was very reliable and nodded quickly. Then, remembering something, she asked, "Did you give a thank-you gift when you asked your Director Huang to help you? He helped you by using our relationship, so we should thank him."
Shu Yun: "Don't worry, Mom, I thank you. Just stay home these next few days and don't worry about anything. That way, your test results will be better."
Wang Xiuwen readily agreed, but the next day, as Shu Yun was about to leave for work, Wang Xiuwen ran over with a bag of eggs, saying, "Take these to your Director Huang. I cooked them this morning as a thank you gift."
Shu Yun glanced at the eggs in the bag. Each one was large and plump, soaked in milk. The reddish-brown color of soy sauce, along with the faint aroma of fennel and tea, clearly indicated that Wang Xiuwen had gotten up early to boil them.
Shu Yun: "Mom, you."
Shu Yun wanted to tell Wang Xiuwen not to work too hard, but Wang Xiuwen misunderstood her meaning and stuffed another lunchbox into Shu Yun's hand, saying, "Here, this is for you. I've saved it all."
Shu Yun then took a large bag of eggs to Huang Ju's office.
Huang Ju laughed and said, "You keep bringing me big bags and small packages to my office every day. People will probably think you're trying to bribe me."
Shu Yun said, "It's the old lady's thoughtfulness after all. She got up early this morning to cook it. Please accept it, Director."
Huang Ju looked at it and said, "This is too much. Our family can't possibly finish it all." She took out a lunchbox and picked out a few eggs from the bag and put them into the box. "Alright, I'll just take these back. You can take the rest to the office and distribute them to everyone. Everyone has worked hard these past few days, so consider this a reward."
Shu Yun readily agreed, "Okay."
Wednesday arrived quickly, and the family, all dressed neatly, went to the hospital. They arrived early and didn't have to wait in line to register; it was their turn very soon.
Wang Mingli was an elderly doctor with somewhat gray hair. He was wearing a mask, but he was still very energetic. When he saw them come in, he smiled and said, "Wang Xiuwen, right?"
Her voice was gentle, instantly easing Wang Xiuwen's tension. "Yes, yes."
"Please have a seat. I've heard about your condition from Director Niu. The hospital diagnosed it as a colonic adenoma, right? Do you have any symptoms?"
Wang Xiuwen briefly explained her situation. After the doctor touched her, he said, "Hmm, let's do an examination first, and then we'll see the results."
Wang Xiuwen was a little nervous, and Shu Yun spoke first, asking, "Dr. Wang, does my mother-in-law have a colon adenoma?"
Dr. Wang glanced at her. "It's very likely."
Wang Xiuwen couldn't sit still any longer. "Doctor, is this illness serious? Does it require surgery?"
The doctor's tone was as calm as ever, and his voice, though not loud, inexplicably calmed the patient down. He said, "Auntie, don't worry. This is a very common minor surgery. I just looked at your symptoms, and it's not a big problem, not serious."
After Wang Xiuwen completed a series of examinations, Shu Yun took out the tea eggs and steamed buns she had brought from home. "Mom, please eat some first. The report will take a while."
"I'm not hungry, I don't want to eat." Wang Xiuwen was practically staring longingly at the laboratory, so she had no appetite. But her father persuaded her, and she ate a tea egg to stave off her hunger.
……
After the report came out, the family rushed to Dr. Wang's office. "Doctor, what do you think of the results?"
Wang Xiuwen couldn't understand the indicators, but seeing so many arrows made her dizzy and her legs felt weak. It was only after her father helped her recover that she regained her strength.
After carefully reviewing the report, Dr. Wang looked up at the expectant eyes of the women and smiled, "Don't worry, Auntie, it's nothing serious. The test results are fine. It's just a colon adenoma. It was discovered early and isn't very big. Once it's removed, everything will be fine."
The conclusion dashed Wang Xiuwen's last glimmer of hope. "So, surgery is really necessary?"
Dr. Wang has seen many patients and understands their mindset, so he comforted them, saying, "It's just a minor surgery. When you're lying in bed and the anesthesia is administered, you won't feel anything at all. It'll just feel like you've taken a nap. You'll be fine when you wake up."
Wang Xiuwen hesitated for a moment, then Dr. Wang said, "It's a minor surgery, don't worry. I just had surgery yesterday on a similar case, even one with a larger tumor. I'm lying comfortably in bed now and have woken up. I'll be able to go home after some rest. There shouldn't be any problems."
With the truth confirmed by someone, Wang Xiuwen felt much more at ease, as if she had made up her mind, "Then when can I have the surgery? I'll do it now."
Wang Xiuwen thought that since she had to do it anyway, she might as well do it sooner rather than later, otherwise she would definitely suffer from insomnia!
Dr. Wang: "It won't be that quick. I looked at your routine check-up and there's some inflammation. We can only operate after the inflammation subsides. I'll prescribe some medication for you. Come back in a week after taking it."
This dampened Wang Xiuwen's hard-won courage, but she kept the doctor's words in mind and was no longer afraid of the surgery. Instead, she hoped it would start soon. With her worries gone, the old lady was in good spirits and hadn't been idle at home these past few days. She helped Shu Yun clean the house inside and out and even saved a few dying bean sprouts.
Her demeanor put everyone at ease, but the old lady's courage seemed to last only until the eve of the surgery. The moment she lay in the hospital bed and smelled the disinfectant in the ward, her original courage vanished completely, and she lay listless in bed.
As the nurse was about to wheel him onto the operating table, Wang Xiuwen's eyes were red as she said, "Gu Minsheng, you're so lucky! You have a great chance to get married again."
Gu Minsheng's old face twitched as he listened. "Say less. How can you curse yourself?"
"Look, he's already getting impatient." After saying that, Wang Xiuwen ignored him and turned to look at Gu Yuanyuan, "Yuanyuan."
Gu Yuanyuan had never seen such a scene before. It sounded like a dying wish. Her tears immediately welled up, and she leaned close to her mother in a trembling voice, "Mom, don't scare me, I'm scared."
Wang Xiuwen sighed, "Oh, Yuanyuan, you've grown up. You should be more sensible now."
Gu Yuanyuan choked out a sob, and her cry of "Mom!" became even more piercing and sorrowful, making it seem as if she were dying.
She listened as Wang Xiuwen continued, "Sigh, you must study hard in the future. Have you finished all the homework you brought this time? You want to go to high school. As the saying goes, once you have a stepmother, you'll have a stepfather. If your father stops supporting you, go find your eldest brother or your second brother. Girls must study more and not be illiterate like me."
These words immediately darkened the faces of the two men.
Gu Minsheng: You can't get over the hurdle of getting married, right?
Gu Yuanyuan: Why did you have to bring up studying and the atmosphere of a perfectly good separation of life and death?
Shu Yun stood to the side, feeling both sad and amused, but soon it was her turn to be the next target.