Rebirth after the college entrance examination

Chapter 216 Second Uncle

Lin Jiajia used her last bit of strength to pull Xia An up, then melted into his arms, unable to utter a single word.

"Where's grandma?"

Xia An held her and asked softly. Seeing her staring sadly at the light on the operating room door, he helped her sit down in a chair.

Lin Jiajia leaned against him, tears streaming down her face, her body trembling slightly, her eyes glazed over as if recalling scenes from her childhood.

Have you eaten?

Actually, when Xia An bumped into her at the movie theater last time, she could tell that she had lost a lot of weight.

Lin Jiajia shook her head gently. Xia An opened his palm, revealing a White Rabbit milk candy. He unwrapped the candy and held it to her lips.

Lin Jiajia didn't want to eat, and Xia An said, "Be good."

Lin Jiajia's almost bloodless lips parted slightly as she took the candy into her mouth, her mouth filled with bitterness.

An hour later, the operating room lights went out.

The attending physician came out and said that after all-out efforts to save her, the old lady was fine.

Xia An helped Lin Jiajia up and asked, "Is surgery still possible?"

The doctor shook his head: "She's too old, and..."

As he spoke, the doctor looked at Lin Jiajia and sighed, "The surgery is pointless."

Xia An felt Lin Jiajia's hand tremble and asked again, "How much longer?"

The doctor looked Xia An up and down through his glasses, seemingly recognizing him, but only said, "It could happen anytime. I'll admit you to the hospital for a few days of observation, then take the old lady home."

Lin Jiajia choked up and couldn't speak at all. Xia An thanked the doctor, saying that it was a difficult time for everyone during the New Year.

After completing the hospital admission procedures, Xia An returned to the ward. The bright yellow of the rising sun was dazzling, but it could not dispel the gloom in the room.

The old lady was still asleep. Lin Jiajia held her grandmother's hand and leaned over the edge of the hospital bed.

Xia An sat down next to her and put his arm around her from behind.

"Be good, take a nap. When you wake up, Grandma will be awake too."

Lin Jiajia leaned against him, placing all her weight on him. After a while, she murmured, "After my parents passed away, my grandma took care of me all by herself, working from dawn till dusk. When I was in school, I thought that when I grew up and had money, I would take her out to play, see the world, and enjoy life."

But later... after I started working at the hospital, all I could think about was waiting and saving more money. It was my fault.

Xia An said, "What's wrong with you? You're perfectly fine. All these years you've been traveling around, and every time I've talked to you on the phone, I could hear Grandma laughing. You've seen so much life and death, how can you still be so upset?"

Lin Jiajia shook her head, and after a while, she said:

"I'm not as carefree as Tang Wan."

"She's not exactly carefree either."

"Come here, does she know?"

"know."

Lin Jiajia paused, then closed her eyes:
"I'll just sleep for a little while."

Xia An held her and gently patted her arm. Slowly, Lin Jiajia fell asleep.

When she woke up, Xia An was gone. She was lying on the empty hospital bed next door, covered with a blanket. The sunlight outside the window was dazzling; it was just past noon.

In the backlight, Grandma sat beside the hospital bed, smiling at her.

Lin Jiajia forced a smile: "Grandma, you're fine. You can be discharged after two days of observation."

Grandma held her hand and smiled deeply.

"Are you dating Xia An?"

……

Xia An was starving. After leaving the hospital, she struggled to find an open restaurant and ate three steamed buns before heading to Nanluoguxiang.

The old Chinese medicine doctor without a medical license was still sitting at the door repairing bicycles, just like the scene Zhang Keyi had previously described.

He found it strange; what kind of bicycle needs to be repaired every day?

"Happy Chinese New Year, Master."

"Tire repair is 50 cents, chain repair is 30 cents."

"?"

After chatting for a while, I learned that the old man had honed his skills with his bicycle and now charges his neighbors for repairs, showcasing his versatility.

"I'm here to see you. I have late-stage liver cancer and could die at any moment. Can you treat me?"

The old man looked up, pushed his glasses up his nose, and scrutinized Xia An for a while. "You don't seem sick, family?"

Isn't this nonsense?

"Grandma." "Where did you see it before?"

The old man asked, his hands never stopping, turning the tire soaking in the basin of water, looking for the leak.

"Hainan, Dongshan, now at Tiantan Hospital."

The old man shook his head upon hearing this.

"Cures incurable diseases."

"Hanging him up? Hanging him up for several more months?"

"How many months?"

"Just do your best." Xia An pointed to the basin and said, "Here, there's a hole, I saw it."

The old man looked down, rubbed it with a file, applied glue, cut off a piece of leather, stuck it on, and pressed it firmly.

"Take me to see it later. Let me make this clear first, there's no guarantee. Even if it works, I don't sell the herbs. You'll have to find the genuine medicine yourself, and... life-saving is very expensive."

Xia An grinned: "Money is no object."

The old man's eyes lit up, and he looked him over a few more times: "Quite filial."

Xia An said, "It's my girlfriend's grandmother."

"Hmph," the old man clicked his tongue twice, "that's quite a lot of money."

The tires were glued on, and the old man stood up, wiping his hands on his apron.

"Wait for me a moment."

With that, he turned and went back to the cramped little courtyard.

Xia An followed her inside and looked around.

Under a square corner of the sky, there is a crooked locust tree with its crown half alive and half dead.

The shortest branch of the tree, hidden under the eaves and never seeing the sun, has a birdcage hanging inside. A black myna bird hops around, tilting its head to look at Xia An.

"Call me handsome," Xia An teased it.

"Tire repair costs 50 cents, chain failure costs 30 cents~"

Xia An exclaimed that this was the prototype of early intelligent broadcasting.

A moment later, the old man emerged from a dilapidated wooden door, wearing an old gray suit. Because of the cold weather, the collars of his red sweater and beige thermal underwear were visible, layered upon layered.

"When you get to the hospital, just say I'm your second uncle."

Xia An understood why and laughed, "Alright, Second Uncle."

The two stepped out the door one after the other, and behind them came the voice: "Can't even afford five cents, so poor~ so poor~"

The old man explained, "It's talking about me."

Xia An nodded and said, "I know, I can afford it."

Old man: (￢_￢)
……

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, only a few bus routes will be in operation, excluding route 803.

The two stood shivering in the cold by the roadside for a long time before finally hailing a taxi. They had to pay an extra fifty yuan before the driver agreed to take them.

He kept muttering to himself on the way: "If I get to the airport now, I can make a trip for 300 yuan."

Xia An got annoyed by the grumbling and promptly pressed the meter to pay when she got off the bus.

"I'll complain about you for overcharging!"

The driver chased after the car, stood beside it, and started cursing, calling the girl a brat and a poor bastard.

The old man looked at Xia An: "Quite meticulous, aren't you a rich man?"

Xia An snorted, "Even if you have money, you can't just spend it recklessly."

The old man thought for a moment and said, "I charge two hundred for a house call, and the prescription I write will vary from five hundred to five thousand depending on the condition. Don't try to renege on your payment after I've finished seeing the patient."

Xia An smiled, stood at the entrance of the hospital building, took out his wallet, and pulled out a stack of bills.

"This is all I have on me, I didn't count it. Please take it first, and I'll give it to you later. It's the New Year, so consider it a gift for your second uncle."

The old man spat on his fingers, counted them, and said, "Wait a minute."

Then he turned and ran to the fruit stand by the door, moving with lightning speed.

In the blink of an eye, he came back carrying two large bags of apples and oranges.

"They're all in season and not expensive. Let's go upstairs and see the old lady."

(End of this chapter)