Chapter 167: Chapter 160: "You are dead, and your child will fight with wild dogs for food!
Xia Xue and Xiao Lin didn’t go to see Niu Niu’s mother during working hours. After all, because of Niu Niu’s matter yesterday, the emergency room was practically supported by colleagues from the surgical department, and it’s not sustainable to keep doing that. So they spent the entire morning diagnosing patients in the emergency room and, after work, they skipped eating and rushed to the First Hospital to see Niu Niu’s mother.
As soon as they entered the gates of the First Hospital, it looked like a marketplace inside. This was truly a sea of people, with an estimated several hundred thousand patients seeking treatment daily. Seeing this scene, Xiao Lin was quite taken aback, exclaiming, "Why are there so many patients? Don’t they expand the hospital?"
"Expand? In a place like Yanjing, every inch of land is as valuable as gold, even more expensive than gold. The hospital’s surroundings are all developed properties, how could they possibly expand? It’s actually considered pretty decent now; you’ve probably never seen a real sea of people, have you?" Xia Xue was quite used to the sight.
She specifically took Xiao Lin to the outpatient hall for a look. Xiao Lin was speechless; this was what truly looked like a sea of people, with no space even to set foot, people pressed shoulder to shoulder.
Uncomfortable as it was to merely take a look, Xia Xue then led Xiao Lin to change direction towards the inpatient department. The small path on the way wasn’t as exaggerated, but when they arrived in front of the inpatient building, there were more than double the number of people compared to last night. It was practically like a peak hour market, with the sole difference being there were no loud cars here.
Xia Xue, having worked as a doctor in the university hospital for five or six years, frequently came to the First Hospital here to collect medicine or handle official business, so she was quite familiar with this place. Especially when taking the elevator, there were always plenty of people waiting at the ordinary elevator doors. Xia Xue took Xiao Lin to the staff elevator, which was busier only during shift changes. By the time Xia Xue and Xiao Lin arrived, the doctors and nurses’ shifts had mostly ended, and there were far fewer people in the staff passage, not as excessively crowded as at the ordinary elevator entrance, comparable to waiting for a bus.
The corridor in front of Niu Niu’s mother’s ward was very quiet, as this was a high-level ward, where only patients above a certain position or hospital family patients could enter. Furthermore, even for hospital families, staying here required paying the full medical costs.
When Xiao Lin and Xia Xue arrived at the small lounge outside Niu Niu’s mother’s ward, a young doctor in his thirties was doing a routine check-up on Niu Niu’s mother, accompanied by two nurses. Upon seeing Xia Xue, his eyes lit up, and he stared intently at her beautiful face for two seconds before greeting her with a smile, "Dr. Xia, off work so early?!" At this moment, he just completed the routine check-up for Niu Niu’s mother and came out to the small lounge.
Xia Xue wasn’t too fond of this young doctor, merely nodding and acknowledging him, but still introduced him to Xiao Lin, "This is Dr. Tang, who is Niu Niu’s mother’s attending doctor." Then she said to Dr. Tang, "This is our hospital’s new emergency doctor, in the same department as me!"
Even though Xiao Lin didn’t like the way this young doctor looked at Xia Xue, he thought of Xia Xue’s beauty and figured it was normal for men to look. Not anticipating him to be fully devoted to treating Niu Niu’s mother, he hoped just to prevent any major issues with Niu Niu’s mother. Xiao Lin smiled and extended his hand to Dr. Tang, "Hello, Dr. Tang!"
Dr. Tang, however, looked Xiao Lin up and down, instantly feeling a bit resentful, as Xiao Lin was taller, better-looking, and appeared much younger than him. Standing next to Xia Xue, they looked like a perfect match, but Dr. Tang never considered Xiao Lin might be Xia Xue’s boyfriend. After all, the First Hospital doctors were aware that Fatty Wang and Qu Haobo were both pursuing Xia Xue. Dr. Tang himself had once suffered at the hands of Fatty Wang because of Xia Xue, and though he had some improper thoughts about her, he never dared to act.
Seeing Xiao Lin extending his hand, Dr. Tang was somewhat dismissive of shaking hands, merely nodding and saying blandly, "Hello!" Could a university hospital’s incompetent doctor compare with a First Hospital attending physician? Even if given a university hospital director’s position, Dr. Tang wasn’t interested. Although his current position at the First Hospital was a level below a university hospital director’s, the future prospects at the First Hospital could not be matched by a university hospital, let alone a newcomer doctor.
Xiao Lin frowned slightly but didn’t get angry, merely drawing back his hand, feeling not the least upset by such a petty person.
After casually greeting Xiao Lin, Dr. Tang turned to Xia Xue with a completely different demeanor, beaming with a smile, "Dr. Xia, your relative’s condition seems quite severe, but coming to our First Hospital certainly isn’t like those rural university hospitals. Our director checked this morning and plans to arrange a specialist consultation for your relative next week, with all costs waived!"
His expression suggested he was the one helping Niu Niu’s mother, bragging about his accomplishments before Xia Xue.
Xia Xue was initially holding back her irritation, but seeing him linger even after completing the check-up, she frowned and spoke up, "Dr. Tang, since you’ve finished examining the patient, there’s another patient waiting; let’s not interrupt your working hours any further!"
Dr. Tang couldn’t possibly miss Xia Xue’s intent to drive him away, yet he didn’t feel embarrassed, maintaining his smile, "Dr. Xia is quite right, seeing you made me almost forget. There are a few more wards to inspect, and I’ll come by later to discuss your relative’s case!" Perhaps there were indeed other wards requiring inspection, or maybe Xia Xue’s nudging him to leave. After speaking, Dr. Tang left the ward.
Only after Dr. Tang left did Xia Xue helplessly speak to Xiao Lin, "This guy is even more annoying than Fatty Wang. Back during my internship at the university hospital, he gave me a lot of trouble, but later Fatty Wang beat him up. Leveraging his connection at the health bureau, he got transferred to the First Hospital and has worked his way up to an attending physician over the years."
Listening to her, Xiao Lin responded with a smile, "So even Fatty Wang isn’t entirely useless; I wonder what expression he’d have at your grandfather’s birthday!"
"You’re still teasing, the Wang Family isn’t something the Jiangling Zhang Family can compare with. My family insists on my engagement with Fatty Wang; I’ll see what your reaction is then!" Xia Xue retorted bashfully. Of course, over the past few days, Xia Xue realized Xiao Lin surely had the status and background to rival the Wang Family; perhaps the Wang Family didn’t mean much in front of Xiao Lin. This was just some playful banter between lovers.
"I’ll definitely have a smiling expression, for sure!" Xiao Lin said with a smile.
Niu Niu’s mother lay blankly in bed, as if everything that happened yesterday seemed like a dream. When those two girls found her home, it was when her heart pain flared up recently. If not for those girls, she might not have survived last night, let alone stay in such a high-class ward, with numerous tubes inserted and various medical devices arrayed around her bed.
Niu Niu’s mother was very aware of her own condition. Despite being in such a hospital now, her condition had deteriorated beyond hope, with almost no healthy parts left in her body. Her internal organs were riddled with complications due to uremia. Her main concern was Niu Niu, just seven or eight years old—such an angel of a daughter entering this family, never having enjoyed a carefree childhood. Every day, she went to the town or county before dawn to collect bottles and cans. During school breaks, she would even take the bus to the city to collect more; she’d heard from Niu Niu that the city had many more bottles and cans than the county or town.
The door opened, and Xiao Lin and Xia Xue walked in. Because of the numerous tubes attached to her body, it was difficult for Niu Niu’s mother to rise, yet seeing Xia Xue enter, she wanted to sit up and thank her.
Xia Xue quickly pressed down on Niu Niu’s mother, saying, "Sister, don’t move, just lie down and take care of your health!"
Niu Niu’s mother’s eyes showed gratitude, though her tears had dried up over the years. Moreover, she was not used to crying in the presence of others. Her pale face barely managed a faint smile, "Xiaoxue sister, really thank you. But I know my own condition; it’s just Niu Niu’s suffering that worries me. I wonder how Niu Niu is doing now? Is she better?"
Upon hearing that little Niu Niu was hit by a car yesterday, Niu Niu’s mother fainted at one point. It was only after hearing Xia Xue say Niu Niu was fine that she recovered.
"Little Niu Niu is recovering well. Once the wound on her head heals in a few days, and the stitches are removed, she’ll be able to come out and see you. Sister, your health isn’t as bad as you think. This is one of the top five hospitals in the country; don’t give up. You’ve survived these two years; now’s the time for treatment. Stay strong just like these past two years!"
Niu Niu’s mother seemed to let go of all her burdens, her demeanor exceedingly weak. At this moment, she did not pay attention to Xia Xue’s words but rather looked at Xiao Lin beside her, smiling lightly, and asked, "Xiaoxue sister, is this your boyfriend? He’s so handsome!" At twenty-six, she actually wasn’t much older than Xiao Lin and Xia Xue. Yet, she had experienced so much, especially constantly hovering at the brink of death, speaking like an elder.
"Yes, this is my boyfriend Xiao Lin, and he’s the one who saved Niu Niu!" Xia Xue replied, then looked at Xiao Lin and said, "Xiao Lin, this is Niu Niu’s mother. I’ve already recognized her as my sister!"
However, at this moment, Xiao Lin’s expression seemed very angry, with a hint of disdain, looking at Niu Niu’s mother, he said coldly, "Since you know Niu Niu’s plight, you must live on, because if you die, there will be no one to care for Niu Niu, no one to love her. Niu Niu, at seven or eight, would be left to wander the streets, even competing with stray dogs for food. Have you thought of all this?" His tone was icy, as if implying some deep-seated grudge against Niu Niu’s mother. (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to visit Qidian () to vote with recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)