Chapter 203: Chapter 203

As they arrived at the entrance of the cave dwelling, they heard Liu Aidang calling out to the inside of the fence door: "Chunhua, are you there?"

Soon a woman in her forties came out of the cave on the east side. She had a headscarf on and her face was fair but a bit yellowish, looking not very healthy. Seeing a crowd at the door, she seemed a bit nervous and tugged at the corner of her clothes before smiling and quickly stepping forward to open the wicker gate: "Mom, big brother, sister-in-law." She then looked at Li Xianglu and Qin Xi with a puzzled raised eyebrow.

Old Mrs. Wu, standing to the side, said concisely: "Alright, no need to talk at the door, everyone come into the yard."

The courtyard was very neatly tidied up, with a pergola built over the stove on the east side, covering half of the yard and offering a cool shade. The old lady glanced around and said, "Just sit in the yard for now. I find this yard rather cool."

The woman was industrious; she quickly served warm water and the porcelain bowls were especially clean.

Li Xianglu couldn’t help but look up. Although the woman’s skin was a bit yellow, she was quite pretty with long slim eyes, long curved eyelashes, a straight nose, and thick lips which were very sexy.

Seeing Li Xianglu sizing up the woman, Old Mrs. Wu introduced her: "Xiang, this is your second uncle’s wife. She’s now registered in Li Family Village and got married last year. She’s currently living with your second uncle, and they have a daughter named Hehua, who now takes your second uncle’s surname too."

Li Xianglu nodded: "Second auntie!"

Qin Xi greeted her as well.

The woman, having heard the old lady introduce her , couldn’t help but take a good look at Li Xianglu.

Old Mrs. Wu then said: "This is your Uncle Huai Ren’s granddaughter, Xiangxiang, who came back today to check on Er Fu’s leg. It was Jianqing who called to ask her to come. You go tell Er Fu about it."

As soon as the woman heard it was to treat Li Erfu, her eyes lit up. She gave a cheerful cry and quickly lifted the curtain to go inside.

Li Xianglu, somewhat baffled, watched the woman’s retreating figure. She had a genuine smile – a solid, down-to-earth type.

Seeing this, Old Mrs. Wu softly explained: "Chunhua is a good one. I didn’t expect that for Er Fu’s second marriage he would find someone good. Don’t be fooled by Chunhua’s gentle appearance, she’s actually quite fierce when it comes to handling things. When Er Fu got hurt falling down, she and Jianye’s mother had a fierce fight, even pulling out Ge Sanmei’s hair."

Li Xianglu blinked, not suspecting it at all. Turned out she was a fierce one. Well, mothers are strong, aren’t they? A widow has to be tough to survive with her daughter, or else she would have been bullied to death long ago.

While they were speaking, He Chunhua came out with tears in her eyes and said to Mrs. Wu: "Mom, Er Fu is so damn stubborn, he says he’ll be better in a few days."

Old Mrs. Wu frowned upon hearing this: "That stubborn mule!" She then got up to go inside, and Li Xianglu, sighing, followed her in.

The cave dwelling was a bit old, but it was kept very clean and tidy, even the old bamboo mat on the kang bed was wiped bright and shiny.

Li Erfu was lying near the window ledge, his leg elevated on a wooden pillow.

Li Xianglu saw that the knee of the leg was swollen, and she was startled. She hurried forward to check, gently pressing down with her hand. After a long while, seeing it didn’t spring back, she frowned and said, "Why don’t you go to the hospital and have it looked at?"

Li Erfu was just preoccupied with looking at his daughter, seeing how she had grown taller and more beautiful, with a head of black hair, even looking pretty while being upset, and couldn’t help but smile foolishly, "It’s nothing. It will be fine in a few days. What do village folks have to be afraid of?"

Li Xianglu shook her head seriously and said, "This is serious; it’s an injury to the knee. Go have it checked. It doesn’t look good to me. If there’s necrosis inside, amputation might be necessary."

What! Upon hearing her granddaughter’s words, Old Mrs. Wu felt her body shake and nearly fell, but Li Dafu by her side quickly steadied her, and hurriedly got her onto the kang bed. Li Erfu also looked nervous, "Could it really lead to amputation?"

Li Xianglu glanced at Old Mrs. Wu, who had recovered a bit, and said seriously, "It’s very likely. We can’t just look at it in the commune hospital; let’s go directly to the county hospital right now." Then, turning to Li Dafu, she said, "Uncle, can you please write a referral letter for us? We need one to go to the hospital." And then, addressing Chunhua, "Bring some spare clothes, a washbasin, and a rice container; pack up and let’s leave quickly."

Chunhua was very efficient. First, she said to Old Mrs. Wu, "Mom, Hehua has gone to weed the self-sustaining field. If we can’t come back tonight, is it okay for the children to stay over?"

Old Mrs. Wu waved her hand and said, "Okay, don’t worry about it." She then took out a handkerchief from her pocket with four or five large banknotes and handed them to Chunhua, "Take it, we’ll talk if it’s not enough."

Chunhua didn’t want to take it, but then she thought, just in case there are hospital expenses and her own family only had fifty yuan, which probably wasn’t enough. However, since Er Fu’s daughter had come, that meant she was taking charge of the medical care, so Chunhua decided not to worry.

At that time, Li Erfu also began to worry about his leg and was taken to the village entrance where they boarded a jeep. Li Erfu got into the front seat of the jeep, but his knee couldn’t bend. Even so, the pain had to be endured.

Three people sat in the back. After Li Dafu brought the proof and handed one hundred yuan to Chunhua seated in the front, he left.

During the trip, Li Xianglu’s face was as dark as the bottom of a pot, seething with anger. How could they be so ignorant? If they don’t have money, they won’t seek treatment. It’s a leg injury, for heaven’s sake. They could always take a credit; the brigade wouldn’t refuse it.

The driver didn’t dare to drive too fast, as it would cause severe jolting, and Li Erfu’s face looked washed but not dried, his sweat pouring down like a waterfall.

After some difficulty, they finally arrived at the county hospital. Qin Xi carried the patient in directly while Li Xianglu hurriedly took the proof inside.

The doctor was just about to finish work but saw people arriving. Slightly annoyed, yet someone with sharp eyes immediately recognized that one of the drivers was from the county, so they quickly arranged for someone to come and settle the patient first.

After a quick examination, both doctors furrowed their brows—this couldn’t be good. The inside was already festering, and they couldn’t treat this here; it required going to the provincial hospital. So without even the hospital admission procedures, they directly spoke to Li Xianglu about the situation.

Li Xianglu had already anticipated the bad news, so she asked if the county hospital had a car. They could pay for transportation. Only the hospital’s car could accommodate a lying patient. Earlier, a smaller car had made Li Erfu suffer so much and if they were to go to the provincial hospital, it would be unbearable.

The doctor was taken aback. The hospital did have a car, prepared for the chiefs of the retirement office. The retired chiefs all had minor ailments, and having a car was convenient for them, but it had never been used for regular patients.

Seeing the doctor’s hesitation, Li Xianglu inquired about the reason. Once she understood, she said politely, "Let me borrow the phone. I’ll call Commander Lan from the retirement office and see if he can let us use the car in his name."

The doctor immediately smiled upon hearing this, "If Commander Lan steps in, there’ll definitely be no problem. Our director will surely agree."

ps: For those friends who are still reading, don’t worry about the comments section, just enjoy the book peacefully. I will not stop updating or abandon the story.