Chapter 208: Chapter 208

The two of them got up early the next day, tidied up the stuff at the guesthouse, went out for breakfast, and then headed to the hospital with their breakfast in tow.

Upon entering the ward, they found Li Dafu, Chunhua, and Old Mrs. Wu were already there, with Old Mrs. Wu sitting by the bed, holding Li Erfu’s hand and wiping away tears.

There was also a little girl about eight or nine years old being held by Chunhua, looking timidly at everyone.

Seeing Li Xianglu come in, everyone hurriedly greeted her. Qin Xi put the food aside and politely asked if everyone had eaten. Li Dafu said with a smile, "We’ve eaten, all at home. You go ahead and eat."

Li Dafu had some business to take care of and took his leave first.

Old Mrs. Wu, seeing her granddaughter had arrived, quickly wiped her tears and asked her to sit down, her face full of lament, "Xiang, we really owe you one this time. I heard from your second uncle that he was nearly about to have his leg amputated and that you even went to the Provincial City. Oh my, that must have cost a lot of money."

Li Xianglu sat beside the bed and took Old Mrs. Wu’s hand, saying, "It’s okay, as long as he’s fine, that’s what matters."

Upon hearing this, Old Mrs. Wu looked relieved and said, "Xiangxiang is such a good child. Sigh, I heard that wretch came to make trouble again?"

At this point, Chunhua nodded and said, "Yes, Mom, she came yesterday just after we arrived at the county hospital, crying and kneeling down, making a scene in front of a crowd, insisting that Xiangxiang forgive her."

Old Mrs. Wu scoffed, "Forgive her? What’s the use? To give her more money to squander away with that no-good man?" After saying this, Old Mrs. Wu patted Li Xianglu’s hand and added, "Xiang, you don’t need to worry about this. When I get back, I’ll deal with her myself."

Li Xianglu didn’t reply but took some money out of her purse, counted out five notes, and handed them to Old Mrs. Wu, "Grandma, keep this money for some treats. We came in such a hurry that we didn’t buy anything."

Old Mrs. Wu declined, saying, "Child, there’s no need to buy anything; we have plenty of food at home. Now that you’re married, you can’t be spending recklessly; you’ll have to save for future children."

Li Xianglu chuckled, "Just take it, Grandma. Future matters are still far off. Keep the money, buy something delicious. Old ladies in the city love to wear crimson clothes; your face is fair, so get some fabric and make something nice to wear."

Hearing her granddaughter compliment her, Old Mrs. Wu’s cheeks turned red and she playfully scolded, "You child, no respect for elders." Then she put the money away without further protest.

Turning around, Li Xianglu said to Li Erfu, "Uncle, I’m leaving soon. When I came, I stopped by the hospital. There’s still six days of IV treatment left, and the fees are all paid. If you leave early, they won’t refund the money."

As she spoke, Li Xianglu took out a sequentially numbered handwritten ticket and handed it to Chunhua, saying, "Here’s a seven-day meal ticket. I’ve already paid at the canteen and given food tickets. Take this to get your meals, and be careful not to lose it."

Hearing it was the meal ticket for the next few days, Chunhua promptly took great care to store it away.

Lastly, Li Xianglu pulled out fifty yuan along with some National Cloth Tickets and food tickets and placed them in front of Li Erfu, "This money is from Brother San, for you to buy something, maybe make some clothes." Li Erfu was still wearing the clothes that Li Jianqing brought him last year.

Li Erfu glanced at the money and tickets without wanting to take them, but then he looked at Li Xianglu’s cold expression and slowly accepted them: "Can I go to your wedding?"

Li Xianglu turned to him, her heart complex as she looked at Li Erfu, whose hair had already turned grey like an old man, and she didn’t nod but said indifferently, "We’ll talk about it when the time comes."

Finally, Li Xianglu said, "We are leaving soon. We’ll pack up in a bit and then take the long-distance bus from the county to the Provincial City to board the train."

Knowing that her granddaughter’s trip had been delayed for many days, running around busily, and with Huai Ren getting older, Old Mrs. Wu didn’t stop her. She took out a handkerchief from her pocket, unfolded it, and revealed a pair of silver bracelets polished to a shine, the hand-carved dragons and phoenixes worn to the point of being barely visible. Mrs. Wu said cheerfully, "Grandma is adding this to your dowry. You must keep it; it’s a piece of Grandma’s heart."

Li Xianglu hesitated, then, looking at Old Mrs. Wu’s expectant gaze, she sighed and accepted it: "Thank you, Grandma!"

Clearly very pleased, Mrs. Wu sent her off, saying, "Alright then, hurry up and pack. The journey is still long; remember to buy some food to eat on the way."

Li Xianglu smiled and nodded to everyone before leaving with Qin Xi.

For a moment, the hospital room was silent and no one spoke. Seeing her granddaughter leave, Elder Wu couldn’t stop the tears from flowing down as she sobbed, "Look, a biased son, but in the end, it’s the daughter who came to look after you. If it weren’t for Xiangxiang, your leg would have been done for."

Li Erfu also felt distressed. Seeing his mother cry, he crawled forward to comfort her, but Chunhua was the first to pass a handkerchief over.

Mrs. Wu wiped her tears with the handkerchief before saying, "From now on, stay away from Ge Sanmei; live your lives well. Now we only have Hehua; take good care of her and send her to school when classes start in September. Look at Xiangxiang now, attending university in the capital; I heard from your elder brother that it’s the top school there. Who knows how successful she can be after graduating. People need to appreciate their blessings."

Li Erfu and He Chunhua both sighed, each with their own thoughts.

Li Erfu resolved to work harder, to farm diligently, earn more work points, and plant good corn on his private plot to send some to his daughter.

Through her interactions these days, He Chunhua realized that this girl was someone who could be reasoned with and would not wrong someone who treated her well as long as it looked good publicly.

Just the other day in the Provincial City, seeing that she had no clean clothes to change into, Xianglu bought her a dacron short-sleeve shirt and a pair of black pants, all out of gratitude for Chunhua’s attentive care of Erfu; a child who knew gratitude deserved to be treated well. Chunhua didn’t understand; her own Hehua was timid and quiet, yet she cherished her dearly, let alone Li Xianglu who was pretty, educated, and good in every aspect, with a son-in-law who was outstanding even by the city’s standards.

Meanwhile, Li Xianglu was feeling a little down but relieved now that everything was sorted out here. They were lucky that Grandpa Lan knew they were going back to the Provincial City by train and arranged a jeep ride for them. The only catch was that there were others to pick up as well, so they had to wait.

Li Xianglu did not change the contents of the black cloth bag, and Qin Xi, sly as he was, helped with carrying the baggage without asking any questions, making Li Xianglu strongly suspect that he knew her secret.

After they got on the vehicle, they waited at the entrance of the family hospital quarters for quite a while before seeing a few people sending a woman in her twenties to take the car. Seeing the front seats empty, she twisted her body and got in. Those seeing her off stood by the car, fussing over her repeatedly, until she impatiently waved her hands: "Alright, mom, you all go back!"

ps: Everyone, just enjoy reading the book.