Courtyard House: Initial Donation of 50 Million

Yi Zhonghai ran back to No. 95 Courtyard in a daze. As soon as he entered the front yard, he bumped into Yan Bugui, who was at home in the afternoon and was about to go out to empty the chamber pot.

"Old Yi? Why are you in such a panic? What's wrong? Your face is as white as paper." Yan Bugui pushed up his glasses and asked curiously.

"Something...something terrible has happened!" Yi Zhonghai gasped for breath. "Dongxu...Dongxu got injured at the factory! His arm got caught in a machine tool! It's...it's dangerous!"

"What?!" Yan Bugui nearly dropped the chamber pot. "How serious is it? Where is he?"

"He's been sent to Peking Union Medical College Hospital! He might... he might need an amputation!" Yi Zhonghai didn't have time to say more and stumbled into the Central Hospital.

Inside the Jia family house, Jia Zhangshi, heavily pregnant, sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) sewing shoe soles while directing Qin Huairu, also heavily pregnant, to tidy up the house. Banggeng was playing with mud in the corner of the kang.

"Huai Ru, hurry up, Dong Xu will be off work soon, hurry up and cook dinner. Why does my right eyelid keep twitching..." Jia Zhangshi muttered.

Just then, Yi Zhonghai burst through the door, crying out, "Sister-in-law! Something terrible has happened! Dongxu is in trouble!"

Jia Zhangshi paused in her needlework, looked up and saw Yi Zhonghai's pale face. Her heart skipped a beat: "Yi Zhonghai? What's with your wailing? What happened to Dongxu?"

"Dongxu's arm was ripped off by a lathe at the factory! He bled a lot! He was taken to Xiehe Hospital! The doctor said... that he might not be able to save his arm!" Yi Zhonghai said, his voice trembling with tears.

"What?!" Jia Zhangshi froze for two seconds, then, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, she jumped off the kang (a heated brick bed) with a howl. Forgetting to put on her shoes, she pounced on Yi Zhonghai and launched into a tirade of abuse: "Yi Zhonghai! You damned old man! How could you treat my Dongxu like this! Huh? I entrusted him to you as my apprentice, and this is how you take care of him? You heartless bastard! You must have had bad intentions! You deliberately harmed my Dongxu! I'll fight you to the death!"

Jia Zhangshi scratched and clawed, spitting all over Yi Zhonghai's face. Yi Zhonghai dodged awkwardly, feeling both angry and bitter: "Sister-in-law! Be reasonable! This was an accident! How did I harm Dongxu!"

Upon hearing the news, Qin Huairu dropped the rag in her hand, her face instantly turned pale, and tears streamed down her face like broken beads. She clutched her stomach, swaying precariously, "Dongxu... Dongxu..." The baby in her womb seemed to sense her grief, and a sudden movement caused her to bend over in pain.

"Mom...don't hit her anymore...we need to go to the hospital to see Dongxu first..." Qin Huairu pleaded weakly, crying.

The neighbors in the courtyard were all alarmed and gathered around, asking all sorts of questions. When they heard that Jia Dongxu might be disabled, they all sighed with pity.

After being persuaded by the crowd, and knowing that making a scene was useless, Madam Jia sat down on the ground, slapping her thigh and wailing, "My son! Why is your life so miserable! Old Jia! You damned devil! Open your eyes and look! Your son is about to be bullied to death! Our Jia family can't survive..."

Yi Zhonghai, exhausted from watching this farce, said to Qin Huairu, "Huairu, hurry up and get ready. I'll take you to the hospital. The factory leaders are all there."

With great difficulty, Yi Zhonghai and Sha Zhu, who had rushed back from the factory upon hearing the news (after all, they lived in the same compound and he was a cook, so he was strong), managed to pull and persuade the wailing Jia Zhangshi and the distraught Qin Huairu out of the compound. They then hailed a tricycle and hurriedly headed to Xiehe Hospital.

The atmosphere outside the operating room at Peking Union Medical College Hospital was tense. Director Yang, Li Huaide, and Director Liu waited anxiously in the corridor. When Yi Zhonghai and his team arrived, the surgery was still in progress.

As soon as Jia Zhangshi arrived at the hospital and saw that the factory manager was there, she started her performance again, throwing herself in front of Factory Manager Yang and crying, "Factory Manager Yang! You have to do justice for us, a widow and her orphan! Dongxu was injured while working for the factory! If he's crippled, how will our family survive..."

Factory Director Yang patiently reassured her, "Sister-in-law Jia, don't worry, the factory will take full responsibility and do everything in its power to save Comrade Dongxu."

The wait was long and agonizing. Several hours later, the operating room lights finally went out. The surgeon emerged, looking exhausted.

"Doctor, how is it? Did you manage to save your arm?" Director Yang and Li Huaide immediately stepped forward and asked.

The doctor removed his mask and sighed, "Director Yang, family members, the surgery was very complicated. The injured man was brought in in time, and his life was saved. As for the arm... we did our best to perform vascular and nerve anastomosis and bone fixation, so it's temporarily reattached."

Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, the doctor's tone shifted: "However, the injury is too severe. The nerve damage is extremely serious, especially the radial and ulnar nerves. Even if it recovers well, the function of this hand in the future... will probably be mostly lost. Fine motor skills will definitely be impossible. If it can be preserved from atrophy and have some basic grasping ability, that would be the best outcome. To do work like metalworking that requires manual dexterity... is basically impossible."

These words were like a bolt from the blue, stunning Jia's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, as well as Yi Zhonghai!

"What? He can't work as a fitter anymore?" Jia Zhangshi shrieked. "Doesn't that make him a cripple? The factory has to support him for life! Compensation! They have to pay him!"

Yi Zhonghai's vision blurred, and he swayed before Sha Zhu caught him. It was all over… completely over! Jia Dongxu was finished! His retirement plan had utterly failed! A wave of immense loss and fear washed over him; he could almost see himself old and forgotten, dying a miserable death. He slumped helplessly onto a bench in the corridor, covering his face with his hands, tears streaming silently down his cheeks. Years of scheming had come to nothing!

Qin Huairu collapsed to the ground in despair, covering her face and weeping silently. Her husband was crippled, the pillar of the family had collapsed, and there were still two children to raise... The future seemed bleak.

The doctor looked at the out-of-control family members, shook his head helplessly, and said to Director Yang, "The injured person needs to rest quietly. The observation period is very important. The family members should not be too emotional." After saying that, he turned and left.

Jia Zhangshi, however, refused to let it go and started making a scene in the hospital corridor, cursing the hospital for its poor quality, the factory for its inadequate safety measures, calling Yi Zhonghai a jinx, and cursing God for being blind... Her voice was sharp and piercing, attracting the attention of other patients and medical staff.

Finally, the hospital's security personnel couldn't stand it any longer and intervened, forcefully "inviting" the noisy Jia Zhangshi out of the hospital building. Yi Zhonghai and Sha Zhu had no choice but to help Qin Huairu, who was crying so hard she was almost fainting, to the side to rest, leaving a distraught Yi Zhonghai facing the messy reality.