Chapter 98 A knock on the door late at night!

While every household was having dinner at home, in Qinjia Village, Changping, at Qin Huairu’s mother’s home, Qin’s mother looked at Qin’s father lying on the bed with tears in her eyes, and said to him in a choked voice: “Boss! It’s not a solution for you to endure it like this, why don’t we go to the city to borrow some money from Huairu, and then go to the hospital?”

Qin’s father, who was lying on the bed, heard what Qin’s mother said. He endured the pain in his abdomen and said in a very weak tone: “Mother! You know what kind of character Huairu’s mother-in-law is. If we go to find Huairu, won’t that embarrass Huairu?”

When Mother Qin heard what Father Qin said and saw that he was sweating from the pain, she said to him distressedly, “Master! Doctor Xiao at the entrance of the village said that if his medicine doesn’t work after you take it, you must go to a big hospital in the city for treatment. It’s no use dragging it on like this.”

“Mom! My second uncle is here!” Just as Qin’s mother was trying to persuade Qin’s father to go to the city for medical treatment, Qin Huairu’s eldest brother hurriedly walked into the house from outside and shouted to Qin’s mother.

Upon hearing the news, Qin Huairu’s second uncle walked into Qin’s father’s room. After seeing Qin’s father lying on the bed with a painful look on his face, he asked Qin’s mother with concern: “Sister-in-law! What happened to my eldest brother!”

When Mother Qin heard her brother-in-law’s question and looked at her husband with a face full of pain, she said with a heavy heart, “Second brother! Your eldest brother came back from work and said he had a stomachache. I asked Huairen to go to the village entrance to invite Doctor Xiao to come to our house for a checkup. Doctor Xiao prescribed some medicine for your eldest brother and said that if the symptoms could not be relieved after taking the medicine, he must be sent to a large hospital in the city for treatment.”

“We don’t have much money at home right now. I want to go to the city to borrow some from Huairu, but your eldest brother would rather stay at home and endure it than let me go to Huairu. What do you think I should do?”

When the second son of the Qin family heard what Qin’s mother had said, he immediately became furious and complained to Qin’s father in dissatisfaction: “Brother! Your illness is so serious, and you still want to embarrass Huairu!”

The second son of the Qin family said this and immediately ordered Qin Huairu’s eldest brother: “Huairen! Go to the village chief’s house and borrow the ox cart from the team. We will send your father to the city for treatment overnight.”

When Qin Huairen heard the second son of the Qin family’s order, he immediately nodded and replied: “Second uncle! I will go to the village chief’s house to borrow an ox cart now.”

“Bang bang bang! Bang bang bang! Bang bang bang!”

At around nine o’clock in the evening, when all the residents of the courtyard had fallen asleep, a hurried knock on the door suddenly broke the silence of the front yard.

Yan Bugui, who was sleeping at home, heard a hurried knock on the door. He subconsciously opened his eyes, sat up from the bed, and complained while getting dressed: “It’s so late, who is knocking on the door?”

Yan Bugui put on his clothes, opened the door, walked to the courtyard gate, and asked outside the gate: “Who is it? Why are you knocking on the door so late?”

Qin Huairu’s second uncle heard the dissatisfied inquiries coming from the courtyard and immediately shouted to the courtyard: “Comrade! We are from Qin Huairu’s mother’s family. I am Qin Huairu’s second uncle. Something happened at Qin Huairu’s home. Please help me call Qin Huairu.”

Yan Bugui learned that the person knocking on the door was Qin Huairu’s maternal family, so he took out the key and opened the door. When he saw the second son of the Qin family standing outside the door, he asked curiously, “Huairu’s second uncle! You came to see Qin Huairu so late, what’s the matter?”

When the second son of the Qin family heard what Yan Bugui said, he quickly introduced to Yan Bugui: “Comrade! Huairu’s father is seriously ill. We are sending him to the city for treatment overnight. Can you please call Huairu for me?”

When Yan Bugui learned that Qin Huairu’s father was ill, he did not hesitate and said to Qin Huairu’s second uncle: “Huairu’s second uncle, it’s this time, Huairu should have fallen asleep, come with me, I will take you to call her.”

As Yan Bugui said this, he led Qin Huairu’s uncle through the moon gate and came to the gate of Jia’s house in the middle courtyard. He knocked on the door and shouted to the inside: “Huairu! Wake up, your uncle has something important to talk to you about.”

“Bang bang bang! Bang bang bang! Bang bang bang!”

Qin Huairu, who had just laid down for a short while, heard a knock on the door, followed by Yan Bugui’s shout. She immediately lost all sleepiness when she learned that her second uncle had come to the city to look for her. She quickly sat up from the bed and replied while getting dressed, “Uncle! Wait a moment, I’ll open the door right away.”

“Squeak!” The door opened. Qin Huairu saw Yan Bugui and her second uncle standing outside the house in the moonlight. She immediately asked the second son of the Qin family, “Second uncle! Why did you come to the city at night? Did something happen in my family?” When the second son of the Qin family heard Qin Huairu’s question, he immediately introduced her, “Huairu! Your father came back from work today and suddenly felt unwell. We sent him to the hospital in the city overnight. The doctor said your father had appendicitis and needed surgery immediately. The surgery fee is more than fifty yuan.”

“Your father didn’t allow us to come to you, but the money we have together is not enough, so Second Uncle took the initiative to come to you to borrow some money.”

When Qin Huairu learned that her father was seriously ill and needed surgery, she immediately became anxious and said to the second oldest son of the Qin family, “Uncle! Wait for me for a moment. I’ll go change my clothes and then go to the hospital with you.”

The reason why Qin Huairu’s father insisted on staying at home and was unwilling to go to the city for treatment was because he knew that Qin Huairu’s mother-in-law was not an easy person to get along with.

However, the hospital’s treatment costs were too high, and the villagers who sent Qin’s father to the city were all farmers who made a living from the land. Even if they pooled their money together, it was still not enough to cover even a fraction of the cost of the operation.

Because there was really no other way, the second son of the Qin family had to go to Qin Huairu’s house overnight to borrow money. After all, a daughter who is married off is like water spilled.

When the second son of the Qin family heard Qin Huairu’s words and thought about the cost of the operation, he reminded Qin Huairu: “Huairu! The cost of the operation is still 50 yuan short, remember to bring the money.”

Although Qin Huairu can keep her salary for the future, this month’s salary has not been paid yet, and Qin Huairu now has less than ten yuan left.

Qin Huairu, who was changing clothes, heard what the second son of the Qin family said. Her first thought was to ask Jia Zhang for money. However, when she thought of Jia Zhang’s fickle character, she quickly gave up this idea and decided to go to the other courtyard to ask Jia Dongming for money.

Jia Zhang, who was woken up, learned that Qin Huairu’s family came to borrow money so late at night. She felt very displeased with Qin Huairu. When she was about to scold Qin Huairu out loud, she suddenly remembered Jia Dongming’s warning. She could only suppress her dissatisfaction and swallow the words that were about to come out of her mouth.

After Qin Huairu put on her clothes, she immediately walked out of the Jia family and said to the anxious second son of the Qin family, “Second Uncle! Wait for me here for a while. I’ll go to my uncle to borrow some money, and then go to the hospital with you.”

Qin Huairu said as she quickly walked to the gate of the other courtyard, stretched out her hand to push open the gate, saw the house with lights still on, trotted to the door of Jia Dongming’s house, stretched out her hand to knock on the door, and shouted to the room: “Uncle! Are you asleep?”

Jia Dongming, who was leaning on the bed reading a book, heard Qin Huairu’s anxious questioning from outside the room. He immediately put down the book in his hand and asked outside: “Huairu! What do you want to talk to me about so late at night?”

Qin Huairu heard Jia Dongming’s question and asked him anxiously, “Uncle! Can you lend me some money? My father is seriously ill and needs surgery. He is now in the hospital waiting for money to save his life.”

When Jia Dongming learned that Qin Huairu’s father was ill, he immediately opened the door and asked Qin Huairu, “Huairu! What’s wrong with your father? Why does he need surgery?”

Qin Huairu, who was concerned about her father’s safety, showed a worried expression on her face when she heard Jia Dongming asking about her father’s illness. She replied nervously, “Uncle! My second uncle said it was appendicitis. I don’t know the details, but the doctor said that surgery is needed immediately.”

“The doctor said the surgery would cost more than fifty dollars, and I only have a few dollars left, so I wanted to borrow some from you. I’ll pay you back slowly after I get my salary.”

When Jia Dongming heard what Qin Huairu said, he immediately realized that Qin’s father had appendicitis. This disease would be a very common disease in later generations, but in this era when medicine was not very developed, it was a disease that could be fatal.

At this moment, Jia Dongming no longer hesitated, and immediately went back to the house to get the bicycle key, and said to Qin Huairu with a serious face: “Huairu! Let’s go! Let’s go to the hospital right away.”

(End of this chapter)