abnabooks Chapter 20 Taking Mother to the Hospital for Treatment
Chapter 20 Taking Mother to the Hospital for Treatment
The rickshaw sped through the streets and alleys, and Li Xiao sat in the rickshaw, looking at the scenery along the roadside.
This was the first time he had observed the city so closely.
Wuling City is located in the Yangtze River basin, a place with convenient transportation in all directions and a crossroads of three provinces, and its economy can be considered developed.
The streets are lined with traditional Chinese shops, as well as Western shops such as eyeglasses stores and bakeries, and you can even see izakayas (Japanese pubs) run by Japanese people.
The young driver pulled the cart swiftly, making the cart move steadily and smoothly.
About half an hour later, the car arrived at the gate of Renji Hospital.
"Sir, we've arrived."
Thanks.
Li Xiao gave her a dime and then took her mother into the large hospital run by foreigners.
This is not a purely Western-style high-rise building, but a gray three-story building that combines Chinese and Western styles.
The main building features a minimalist Western modern style with straight lines and numerous glass windows.
People of all kinds, dressed in long gowns, suits, and draped in padded jackets, entered and exited through the white-painted arched gate. The faint smell of disinfectant in the air masked the dusty smell of the street outside.
Li Xiao, dressed in cloth shoes and with his trousers rolled up, looked out of place walking around the hospital.
After asking a nurse, I paid the fee, registered, and waited in line at the entrance of the respiratory department.
Even now, my mother is still full of worry, thinking that medical treatment here must be expensive.
After waiting in line for half an hour, I finally saw the doctor.
The doctor was a foreigner, blond with blue eyes, and wearing glasses.
He inquired about the cause of the illness, listened to her heart and lungs, and suggested that his mother have an X-ray.
Li Xiao took his mother to the radiology room to queue up. After waiting for another half hour, Fang Shuhui entered the radiology room with some fear. After all, how could a rural woman have ever seen these foreign gadgets?
However, with Li Xiao comforting her the whole time, she wasn't so scared.
Finally, it was my mother's turn, and I sent her inside...
The door to the radiation room is closed.
Li Xiao immediately walked to the spot at the bottom of the stairs next to him.
"Why are you two still following us?"
"Young Master..."
The two men in suits were squatting on the stairs smoking when they saw Li Xiao arrive, and they quickly got up.
Li Xiao asked curiously, "You two practice martial arts, right? Aren't you afraid of harming your health by smoking?"
Both of them were taken aback, and surprise flashed in their eyes.
The two of them were with someone, and in theory they shouldn't have been discovered, but the young master found them directly.
Secondly, how did the eldest young master know they practiced martial arts?
One of the men in a suit laughed and said, "This little bit of impurity is easily expelled by someone who practices martial arts."
"Oh, I see..."
Li Xiao seemed to understand something, then said, "Here's what we'll do: go tell Li Hanhai to wire 10,000 silver dollars over so he can spend it and see if he's sincere."
One of the men in the suit's eyes lit up. "Then you wait here, I'll be right back!"
He turned and left as fast as he could.
Li Xiao turned and left, returning to the entrance of the radiology room to wait. After a while, his mother came out with the films, and he took her back to the department to inquire about the situation from the foreign doctor.
The doctor in the white coat stared at the X-ray film under the white light.
A moment later, he turned to Li Xiao, his expression grave, and said in broken Chinese, "Sir, your mother is very ill, extremely ill. She needs to be hospitalized immediately for continuous medication and injections, understand?"
"Understood." Li Xiao nodded and said, "Then I'll admit you to the hospital."
He knew his mother was very ill; she coughed incessantly every day, sometimes even coughing up blood...
If treatment is not initiated promptly, the consequences could be dire.
The foreign doctor glanced at Li Xiao's attire and then said, "Sir, this is quite expensive; our hospital doesn't offer credit..."
Li Xiao asked, "Approximately how much?"
The fees at this foreign hospital are really expensive. The registration fee alone cost one dollar, and the X-ray cost ten dollars. I guess being hospitalized will be a money pit...
The foreign doctor adjusted his glasses and said, "The cost of a third-class ward is fifty cents a day, plus the necessary medication... that's about two dollars a day. Given your mother's condition, she'll need to stay for at least a month..."
Two yuan is two silver dollars.
That's sixty silver dollars a month.
Upon hearing this number, Fang Shuhui, the mother, turned pale and pulled Li Xiao away, saying she wanted to leave.
However, Li Xiao stood as still as an iron tower, unmoved.
I just had an X-ray taken, which cost ten yuan.
Li Xiao felt that the hospitalization costs might exceed his expectations.
Fortunately, after listening to it, I felt that it was within my tolerance range.
It seems that only the X-ray is expensive; hospitalization and medication aren't as costly as I'd imagined...
"Doctor, what is the situation in a third-class ward?"
"A third-class ward has eight people and costs 50 cents a day, while a second-class ward has two people and costs one dollar a day."
"Please change my mother to a second-class ward. Oh, and by the way, could you please arrange for her to share a room with a woman? Please write up the necessary paperwork..."
"Yes, sir, that's how it's arranged in the second-class wards..."
Li Xiao immediately upgraded his mother's hospital room to a second-class ward.
Since I've already spent so much money, what's another fifteen dollars?
In foreign hospitals, wards are not separated by gender.
My mother is a woman with strong traditional values, so she might not feel comfortable living there.
After getting the bill, Li Xiao took his mother to pay it.
"Ah Si, this is way too expensive! Where did you get so much money?"
As we left the department, the mother asked in surprise.
"Mother, your son has made some money, really, you don't need to worry about the money."
Li Xiao smiled and took his mother's hand as he spoke.
Fang Shuhui sighed, "Ah Si, you earn so much money, why don't you save it for your wedding? Today's doctor's visit cost over eighty silver dollars, and the doctor isn't even sure if you'll get better. Let's not go for this treatment..."
Li Xiao laughed and said, "Mother, don't worry, I've already earned the money to get a wife."
He felt a warm glow inside when he said those words.
Perhaps this is the meaning of making money: to enable the people you protect to live a good life.
Upon hearing this, Fang Shuhui's mouth gaped open, and she looked at Li Xiao with a face full of surprise.
How much money did Ah Si actually make?
Moreover, Ah Si had never been to this hospital before, and everything here felt unfamiliar, but her son helped her register, see the doctor, and have X-rays done, and she felt quite at ease.
This put Fang Shuhui at ease.
After paying the fee, Li Xiao handed the payment slip to the nurse and led them to the second-class ward.
The second-class ward was quiet and spacious, with a retractable curtain between the two iron beds.
The room also has a toilet and a shower with hot water.
An elderly woman dressed in silk was already in the ward. She was quite kind and greeted me.
Then, Li Xiao busied himself with various tasks.
I didn't consider hospitalization when I came, so I went back to bring my mother a change of clothes.
I went to the store and bought a washbasin, toothbrush, toothpaste, towel, soap, teacup, and other daily necessities.
Finally, he even helped his mother find her way around the hospital. There was a cafeteria in the hospital, and although his mother was seriously ill, she was still able to take care of herself and could go to the cafeteria to get her food.
"Oh, you're so lucky to have such a good son. Unlike my two sons, they're too busy to take care of me. It's my daughter who helps me get these foreign hospital patients..."
An elderly woman lying on the hospital bed next to her said with a face full of envy.
When people get older, they become more open-minded about many things.
I don't envy others' vast wealth, I only envy those who have filial sons and grandsons.
"Oh, not at all. I have no one to rely on at home, he's my only son..."
As Fang Shuhui said this, she couldn't stop smiling.
She looked at Li Xiao and felt that his illness had improved a lot even before the treatment had started.
After everything was arranged, Li Xiao gave his mother another fifty silver dollars. His mother refused to accept it no matter what, but she couldn't resist Li Xiao's insistence and finally accepted thirty silver dollars.
"Mom, I'll be going out to do some freelance work for a while, so I might not have time to come see you. I'll come and keep you company as soon as I finish this job. Buy me whatever you want to eat, don't skimp on the money, take good care of yourself."
Li Xiao said to his mother with a guilty conscience.
He was going to take the rat spirit's corpse to Fragrant Hills.
It's estimated that news about the Huang family will spread in a few days.
When that time comes, that big dog Qiang will definitely pester me for money, so I might as well go out and avoid him.
As for the fact that her mother was hospitalized here, it was actually safer, as the gang members dared not cause trouble at the foreign hospital.
Besides, Big Dog Qiang wouldn't know that he brought his mother to this hospital.
"Ah Si, be careful out there. I don't want anything, I just want you to be safe..."
Fang Shuhui gently stroked Li Xiao's face and said with great heartache.
She roughly guessed that Ah Si's work must be anything but simple to earn so much money.
It might be some illegal activities like murder and arson...
But what can be done about it?
We live in a chaotic world where people prey on each other, and the poor have no choice but to fight tooth and nail to improve their lives.
My son has grown up and reached the age to work hard. As a mother, how can I stop him?
Just like his father back then, he went into battle without hesitation...
The only difference is that Ah Si is not like that heartless man who would abandon her.
"Mother, don't worry, your son will definitely be safe and sound."
Li Xiao's earnest assurance completely put his worried mother at ease.
"absolute...."