A century of poverty

Chapter 82 Another Illness!

October 1st in 1982 was also the Mid-Autumn Festival.

It was a sunny day with a strong southwest wind blowing.

The carriage belonging to Team Seven stopped in the courtyard of "Jinhai Hospital." I struggled to get off the carriage and steadied myself by holding onto my fourth sister. The wind whipped my disheveled hair, and the wide trouser legs and hem whipped against my stiff and aching body. I held onto my fourth sister's hands, and she took steps backward to support me as I staggered and inching my way into the outpatient building. My knees had been swollen and I couldn't straighten them for over half a month.

There were fewer medical staff on duty during the holiday, and given my limited mobility, it was almost dark before I was finally admitted to the hospital and the examination was over. My second brother was worried and helped me up and down the stairs. We went up and down four floors several times, and he was panting heavily from exhaustion. Finally, before the lights came on, we got me admitted to the hospital and into the ward. My fourth sister stayed with me, and he and the team of carriages went home.

I was admitted to bed two in surgical ward one. This time, Dad was determined to cure me and not leave the hospital.

Two bottles of liquid medicine a day and three oral medications a day have reduced the pain, increased appetite, and I can now eat a whole lunchbox of rice in one meal. My spirits have also improved a lot.

That morning, after the doctor finished his rounds and started an IV drip, my fourth sister sat by the bed watching the person in the opposite bed knit. A slightly plump middle-aged woman carrying a cloth bag entered the ward and walked towards my bed. My fourth sister quickly stood up: "Second sister-in-law, why did you come when you're so busy?"

Su Zhe said slowly, "No rush, I just came to see how my little sister is doing."

Fourth Sister: "She can get out of bed and walk around now, but she eats way too much, much more than she did at home!"

Su Zhe: "So what if we can't eat it? It's because they're using hormone medication." He then took two cans of fruit from his cloth bag and placed them on the windowsill. After standing there for a moment, he said, "I have to go." His fourth sister saw him out.

Upon returning, the person in bed number three said, "This is our director's wife. Do you know her?"

Fourth Sister: "We're somewhat related."

Just as I was relaxing and looking forward to recovering and being discharged from the hospital, around 10 p.m., I suddenly heard a commotion of footsteps and voices in the corridor. After a while, it quieted down. Everyone in the ward had just fallen asleep when a long, chilling, and extremely piercing scream woke them up. They sat up, looked at each other, and no one knew what had happened.

The next morning, the caregiver of the patient in the first bed went out and came back saying, "A patient came to ward number ten, and the strange screaming was her shouting."

Oh? I wondered, what kind of patient could have such strength to let out that chilling scream that pierced the night sky? After washing my face and combing my hair, I carefully walked past wards two through nine and headed towards ward ten, standing at the door and peering inside. I couldn't see the patient lying in the bed, but I could see a girl standing at the head of the bed. Wasn't that Xia's third sister, Xiao Qiu? That body wrapped in a tattered cotton-padded jacket, sitting on the head of the bed with her legs dangling and looking up at the IV drip—was that Xiao Qian? Could it be that Xia's mother was sick?

I was still shaken by the terrifying screams from last night, so I didn't go over and turned back to my hospital bed.

When the doctor came for rounds in the morning, Xiuzhi asked, "Dr. Ma, what's wrong with the new patient on the 10th? Her screams are so scary; she woke up everyone in the room last night."

Dr. Ma replied with two words: "Brain disease."

The occasional shouts from patient number ten were unsettling. Xiuzhi's younger sister, Xiuqi, who was in the same bed, recovered quickly after her fever subsided. She yelled at her sister, "Give me my money! That's my money, I was saving it to buy a watch."

Xiuzhi comforted her gently, "Don't be silly, little sister. The money isn't in my hands; it's at home."

Xiuqi: "No, I want it, I want it. Go home and get it for me."

Xiuzhi: "I can't leave. What will you do if I leave?"

Xiuqi: "I don't need you. Get out! Get out!"

Xiuzhi: "Little sister, stop fooling around. Tonight, I'll take you to see 'Attack No. 1'."

Xiuqi: "Alright then!"

"Sigh—" My heart stirred again. These past few days, I've seen Xiuqi and Xiuzhi, sisters, also from the countryside. Xiuqi can buy watches, be willful, and act spoiled, always getting comforted by her older sister. Me? —My fourth sister is also here to take care of me. She always comes to "ask for leave" to go out with some "acquaintances." Once, she didn't come back for half a day, and I didn't know where she'd gone. I was very worried and didn't return until dark. The food delivery truck had gone back, and she went to the canteen herself to get some leftover food and soup. I asked, "Where did you go for half a day?"

She said, "Xie and Zhao asked me to feed their chickens. They told me there were fourteen, but I could only find thirteen. It was getting dark, and I was in a hurry to get back, so I put them in a pen and came back."

I said, "You can't just listen to what they say and believe everything they say. You 'get to know' them here without understanding them at all. You can't just be kind to them blindly."

Xiuqi recovered, and the two sisters were discharged from the hospital. My condition improved to the point where I could get out of bed and walk around, but there was no further progress for several days. After a consultation, a female traditional Chinese medicine doctor came every three days to take my pulse and prescribed oral Chinese medicine, but it didn't work either.

One day, Wang Yuhai came to the hospital to see my fourth sister. I knew that my fourth sister would get married after I was discharged from the hospital. My father wanted to wait until my second brother got married before my fourth sister got married, but Liu Huaxin disagreed, so my father had no choice but to agree.

Back home, Dad was trying to figure out a solution for his second brother's situation. Xia's mother was sick, and his second brother asked Dad for money to lend to Xia's family for her mother's medical treatment.

Father asked, "How much?"

The second brother replied, "Two thousand."

Father: "I have the dowry money for the fourth son. The Xu family brigade hasn't given us the thousand yuan from selling bricks yet. I'll go ask for it. We're still short seven hundred. We'll sell these three pigs to make up the difference, and send the rest to Qinglian in the hospital."

My second brother and Xia happily arrived at the inpatient department of Jinhai Hospital. Xia went to pay her mother's bill, while my second brother came to give me the money. My fourth sister asked, "Where did the money come from?"

Second brother: "Did you sell those three pigs?"

Fourth Sister: "How much will you sell the three pigs for?"

Second Brother: "Over eight hundred, plus a 'bean' pig, otherwise we could have sold a little more."

Fourth Sister: "Hmm, it's the fattest one, with broad shoulders, and it's always purring. I was afraid it was a piglet, and sure enough..."

Xia's mother was hospitalized for three weeks and passed away despite all efforts to save her.

By the end of December, I had been hospitalized for over two months. Although I wasn't fully recovered, there was no more effective treatment. My father came to visit; I couldn't stay any longer, so he came to take me home.

My fourth sister happily packed her things. I was worried, as my health hadn't improved at all.

My father looked at me and said, "You can't go to the bus station to take the bus. It'll be so crowded that you'll be pushed over and fall."

I asked, "So, which way do we get there?"

Since my father didn't answer, I didn't press him further.

After completing the discharge procedures, I dressed and walked out of the ward. The "special car" waiting to pick me up was a small cart used for gathering firewood. My head buzzed. Thirty miles from home, and they wanted me to "ride" in this? Are they kidding me? I really can't believe they thought of that.

After staying here for two months, I've gotten to know the doctors, nurses, and many staff members. If I were to "ride" this "vehicle" home from the hospital, I would become a laughing stock worldwide.

A bearing the size of a fist, with a long wooden stick about the size of a palm running through its inner diameter. Two long wooden sticks, each as thick as a shovel handle, are nailed to each end of the stick to bear weight and also serve as handlebars. Several wooden sticks about the size of walnuts are nailed in the middle as crossbars. Using it to push freshly cut, wet firewood on a paved road is much easier than carrying it on your shoulders. Using it as a "vehicle" to pick someone up from the hospital is absolutely bizarre.

Even though a quilt was laid on top, it still didn't look right; it was a complete mismatch.

There was no other way; once Dad made a decision, I had to go through fire and water to make it happen.

I tried sitting on the second crossbar. Even though it was covered with a blanket, it was still painfully uncomfortable, and I didn't dare make a sound. Dad lifted the handlebars with both hands, and I almost fell off, but thankfully my fourth sister caught me from the side. Dad pulled hard, and my body still lurched backward. I quickly grabbed both sides with my hands. I didn't dare let go, partly to prevent falling, and partly to reduce the pressure on my ischial tuberosities, which were hurting terribly. I stretched my legs out, pressing them against the headboard, also for safety and to reduce the weight on my ischial tuberosities.

My eyes were fixed on the bearings below, stretching out in circles on the ground. I dared not look around, afraid of attracting strange glances. My ears were filled with the "clattering" sound of the bearings rubbing against the ground, like a mocking song.

Once outside the city, the north wind picked up.

"I'm cold," I said to my fourth sister, who was walking beside the "cart" carrying a bundle of hospital supplies. She didn't say anything, but pulled the blanket that I was sitting on and wrapped around myself with.

I tried my best to maintain my balance and dared not change my posture, persevering with sheer willpower. I dared not complain; if it weren't for my illness, how could I enjoy such treatment? I sat in the car while my father pushed me.

More than an hour later, I felt the car was a little unstable, heard my father panting heavily, and seemed to see his gloomy and terrifying face.

"Dad, let's take a break. We've walked for so long, and we're already halfway there," said Fourth Sister.

"Hmm." The car stopped.

I called to my fourth sister, "Help me up, my legs are numb."

My fourth sister put down the bundle, helped me up, and we strolled around the roadside for a while. My limbs felt more at ease.

They got back into the "car" and continued their journey.

After nearly four hours of arduous trekking, we finally reached the southern county road near our home. Father asked, "Get off, can you walk home?"

"Yes!" I answered readily, thinking to myself, "Hurry up and get down, I'm going to choke."

My fourth sister folded the quilt, put the bundle on the cart, and helped me down the county road. We walked on the main road, turned east at the intersection, and got off at the main street. I'd never felt that distance of 180 meters was so long, or that it took so long to walk. Actually, she was afraid someone would see us in this disheveled state.

When we arrived at Wang Fa's house, Zhang Hua, speaking with her hometown accent, unintentionally called out loudly, "Little sister, are you all better?" I replied, "Yes! I'm all better." She walked alongside me, looked at my face, and said, "Little sister, you've gained weight, you even have a double chin." I didn't explain to her that it was due to hormones.

They came to my house together. After entering the house, I saw Grandma still sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) leaning against the pile of quilts, which brought me some comfort. Finally, we were home. Ever since my mother passed away, every time I came home and saw Grandma sitting on the kang, I felt comforted.

I hurriedly lay down on the kang (a heated brick bed), the journey had been exhausting, practically torture. I couldn't understand why my father would come up with such an unusual way to bring me home, just to save a few yuan on the bus fare? How could he be so generous to his son and "daughter-in-law"? He was stingier than Eugénie Grandet to us.

Little did they know, the reason other daughters were unwilling to marry into the family was because of his and his grandmother's oppression, even abuse, of their mothers, earning them a notorious reputation. The key issue was the lingering feudal patriarchal ideology.

A few days after arriving home, Liu Huaxin, a fellow villager from Xiao Liu's family, came to pick up the bride with her son, Wang Yuhai. My older brother and younger brother escorted the bride to three dilapidated rooms in Xiao Liu's youth settlement, which was what the Wang family called their "new house."

This house is in terrible condition; it was built in 68 when the first group of young people came. Because of the low elevation, the lower part of the brick walls is deeply eroded by the wind, and sparrows chirp and roost under the eaves. The floor inside is a bumpy, muddy surface; even wearing high heels would cause an ankle sprain. The stove in the outer room, about knee-high, was something Wang Yuhai built on the spot. The east room has a thin layer of white paper pasted on it, and the west room is dilapidated, like an old, neglected temple, reeking of mildew.

After lunch, when her eldest and youngest brothers returned, Liu Huaxin said to her fourth sister, "You all live on your own. You'll have to cook for yourselves tomorrow morning. Yuhai will go over and bring some rice later. The work points Yuhai earns will be yours. This house cost seven hundred yuan, so you'll have to famine on your own. We won't help you with famine."

After saying that, he got off the kang (a heated brick bed), stood on the ground, patted his pants, and left.

Fourth Sister asked Wang Yuhai, "You only made two sets of clothes for the wedding, gave us ninety-nine yuan for the engagement, and this dilapidated house is still leaving us struggling to make ends meet. It's like your family got a wife for free."

Wang Yuhai: "You don't want to? We still gave your dad four hundred yuan, and these two suitcases cost eighty yuan, plus all the groceries and other miscellaneous expenses that amounted to several hundred!"

Fourth Sister: "My dad wants two hundred, and your mom is giving four hundred? That's not fair! Let's ask your mom!"

Wang Yuhai: "Is two hundred or four hundred the same? If you don't want to do it, go back home, I won't stop you!"

Fourth Sister fell silent. Who told her to have agreed in the first place? Her family didn't approve, but she insisted. Going back now would only invite criticism, wouldn't it? And it's not just about being criticized; the marriage is already done, so she should just live a good life!