Civil Engineering in the Mortal World: Ten Years Without Knowing Today's Events

At 10 a.m., I was supervising the excavation of the soil between the piles at the construction site when my phone rang. It was my mother calling. It rang for a long time, and her voice sounded off, like something was blocking her throat.

"Xiao Mu, your dad is coughing up blood."

My mind went blank for a moment. "When? Were they taken to the hospital?"

"I vomited this morning and am currently at the county hospital. The doctor said it's liver failure and wants me to be transferred to another hospital."

"Where to?"

"provincial capital."

I stood on the construction site, my phone clutched in my hand, surrounded by the roar of excavators and the shouts of workers, but these sounds suddenly seemed distant, as if separated by a thick layer of glass.

"Mom, don't worry. I'm going to the hospital right away."

"Your dad won't let you know—"

"Mom, I'm coming right away."

After hanging up the phone, I ran into the office and told Lao Hu. Lao Hu was looking at the blueprints, looked up, and glanced at me.

"Go ahead. I'll take care of things here."

I directly ordered a car through a ride-hailing app. Liver failure, the most common cause of death in the late stages of cirrhosis.

When we arrived at the hospital, Dad was lying in bed with an oxygen mask on his face. Mom sat by the bed, her eyes red and swollen. When Dad saw me, he raised his hand, pointed to the oxygen mask, and then put it down. He wanted to speak, but couldn't.

"Dad, don't say anything."

Then I turned to find the doctor. The attending physician's surname was Zhao, he was in his thirties, wore glasses, and spoke very quickly.

"Your father's liver function indicators are very poor, his bilirubin is alarmingly high, and his blood clotting function is also poor. Our resources here are limited, so I suggest transferring him to the Third People's Hospital of the provincial capital. Their hepatology department is a provincial key hospital."

"Switch now?"

"The sooner the better."

I went back to the ward and told my mother. Her hands were shaking, but she didn't cry.

"Repost. I'll repost no matter the cost."

The ambulance arrived quickly. Two stretcher bearers lifted Dad into the ambulance, Mom followed, and I hailed a taxi to follow behind. The ambulance's lights were flashing, alternating between blue and red, which was very glaring on the national highway.

It was already afternoon when we arrived at the Third People's Hospital of the provincial capital. The emergency room was crowded. My father was wheeled into the resuscitation room, while my mother and I sat on a bench in the corridor.

There was a smell of disinfectant in the corridor, mixed with some indescribable sour smell. A nurse walked by, pushing a wheelchair. An old man sat in the wheelchair, his eyes closed and his mouth open, like a fish thrown onto the shore.

My mother sat there, her hands on her knees, motionless. I held her hands; they were ice-cold.

"Mom, Dad will be alright."

"Don't lie to me, your dad is different this time."

The door to the emergency room opened. The doctor came out; he was in his forties, with slightly gray hair, and was a liver disease specialist at the hospital, surnamed Liu.

Are you a patient's family member?

"I am his son."

"Your father's condition is very serious. He has liver failure and gastrointestinal bleeding. We will try conservative treatment first, and if that doesn't work, we will have to consider a liver transplant."

How much does a liver transplant cost?

"From 400,000 to 600,000."

Mom's hand trembled slightly.

Dr. Liu then said to me, "Go and complete the admission procedures first. Pay a deposit of 50,000 yuan."

fifty thousand.

I only have a little over ten thousand in my card.

After the doctor left, I asked, "Mom, how much do you have? I don't have enough in my account."

"There are 25,000."

Give me the card.

"This is the bride price..."

"Mom, we'll talk about that later."

I held my mother's bank card, but it still wasn't enough; we were still short over 2 yuan. Walking out of the emergency building and standing at the entrance, I took out my phone. My eldest son, Lao Hu, uncle, and other relatives called out.

I scrolled through my contacts from beginning to end, and then from end to beginning. Finally, I called Lao Hu.

"Mr. Hu, my father is hospitalized with liver failure. Could you lend me 30,000 yuan?"

There was a pause on the other end of the phone. "Send me the account number."

"Thank you, Mr. Hu."

"We'll talk about that later. Your dad's more important."

After hanging up the phone, I thought about it for a moment and then called my uncle. He said, "I'll scrape together 10,000 yuan for you first."

By the time we finished the hospital admission procedures, it was already dark.

Dad was transferred to the hepatology ward, a six-person room, very crowded. Mom sat by the bed, holding Dad's hand. Dad's eyes were closed, the mist inside the oxygen mask rising and falling.

I stood in the hallway, took out my phone, and saw that Xiao Hui had sent several messages. The last one was, "Brother Chen, why aren't you replying?"

I typed a few words: "My dad is in the hospital. In the provincial capital."

Xiao Hui replied quickly. "What's wrong, Uncle?"

"My liver isn't healthy."

"Uncle will be alright."

"Thanks."

After replying, I put my phone in my pocket.

In the corridor, a nurse pushed a medicine cart past, the wheels making a gurgling sound as they rolled across the floor. Inside the ward, someone was groaning; the sound wasn't loud, but it was deep.

I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes. Dr. Liu's words echoed in my mind: "Liver transplant, 400,000 to 600,000 yuan."

Six hundred thousand. I make 8000 a month. Even if I didn't eat or drink, it would still take me six years.

On the third day of hospitalization, Dad's condition neither improved nor worsened; it remained hanging in the balance, like a taut string that might snap at any moment.

Every morning, I go to the hospital first, then to the construction site. I go back to the hospital at noon to deliver food and stay for an hour. I go back again after get off work in the evening, until visiting hours end. I make three trips a day, and my electric scooter only needs to be charged once a day. It's getting slower and slower; the battery is aging, and like a person, it's getting weaker and weaker.

Dad sleeps most of the time. He occasionally wakes up, sees me, blinks, and then closes his eyes again.

The doctor said that the liver function indicators are still high and cannot be reduced. They need to observe for a few more days. If it still doesn't work, they will need to consider artificial liver support treatment, which costs more than 10,000 yuan per treatment and is not covered by medical insurance.

I didn't tell my mom. I looked it up myself, then turned it off. It was useless anyway; I still had to do it.

My mother has aged a lot these past few days; her temples have turned completely white during her hospital stay. She sits by the bed, not saying much, occasionally taking a towel to wipe my father's face and hands, then folding the towel and placing it on the bedside table, wiping him again a little later.

I told her to go take a nap, but she shook her head. I told her to go eat, but she said she wasn't hungry.

On the fifth day, Xiao Hui called.

It wasn't a voice message, it was a phone call.

I paused for a moment when I saw the caller ID; Xiao Hui never called, she only sent voice messages. I walked out of the ward, stood in the corridor, and answered.

"Brother Chen." Her voice trembled slightly.

"Xiao Hui, what's wrong?"

"Is Uncle feeling better?"

"Not yet. He's still in the hospital."

"Brother Chen, are you tired?"

The smell of disinfectant in the corridor hit me right in the head. I wanted to say "I'm not tired," but I didn't say it.

"Brother Chen, I want to go to the provincial capital to see you."

I was taken aback. "You came to the provincial capital? And you're alone?"

"My mom is with me."

"No need to come in, Xiao Hui. I'll go back as soon as I'm done."

"Brother Chen, I want to go." Her voice wasn't loud, but it was very stubborn.

I was silent for a few seconds. "Then come on over. Call me when you get there."

"it is good."

After hanging up the phone, I stood in the corridor, looking out the window. The sky over the provincial capital was hazy and overcast, with no clouds or sun in sight, like a piece of white cloth that hadn't been washed properly.

When Xiao Hui arrived here, it was 3 p.m.

Her mother accompanied her, and the two of them took a bus for more than two hours. I picked them up at the hospital entrance. Xiao Hui was wearing that light blue dress with a thick gray coat over it.

"Brother Chen" then walked over with her mother.

"Auntie, thank you for coming."

"Xiao Chen, you're being too polite; it makes you seem distant," Xiao Hui's mother said, looking at me. "Which floor does your dad live on?"

"Fifth floor."

In the hospital room, the mother was sitting by the bed. When she saw Xiaohui and her mother come in, she paused for a moment, then stood up.

"Hello, Auntie," Xiao Hui said.

"Okay, okay." Mom's eyes reddened.

Xiao Hui walked to the bedside and looked at her father lying on the bed. Her father's eyes were closed, he was wearing an oxygen mask, his face was sallow, and his lips were chapped. Xiao Hui looked at him for a long time, then turned her head and looked at me.

"Brother Chen, Uncle has lost weight."

I didn't say anything.

Xiao Hui placed the bag she was carrying on the bedside table. Inside were apples, oranges, bananas, and a carton of milk. Her mother said beside her, "I didn't know what to buy, so I just bought these."

"Auntie, you've gone to so much trouble," I said.

"Xiao Hui keeps talking about you and insisted on coming to see you."

Xiao Hui looked at her father lying on the bed and whispered, "Brother Chen, Uncle will be alright."

She spoke very slowly, uttering each word one by one, as if each word had been carefully considered and chosen over a long period of time.

"Yes, it will be alright," I replied.

Xiao Hui and her mother stayed for less than an hour before leaving. They needed to catch the shuttle bus back, otherwise there wouldn't be any. I took them to the hospital entrance.

"Brother Chen, please take good care of yourself."

"it is good."

Xiao Hui looked down at her shoes. They were white canvas shoes, cleaned very well, but the edges were yellowed, indicating they had been worn for a long time.

"Brother Chen, I'll be waiting for you."

She looked up at me, then turned and followed her mother. After a few steps, she turned back and waved.

I waved back at her.

I watched the shuttle bus drive away before turning around and walking into the hospital.

There was a queue at the elevator, but I didn't wait and took the stairs instead.

Fifth floor.

Climb up step by step.