CHAPTER 402: CHAPTER 397: SUDDEN ILLNESS

Fang Pingying discussed with Li Yuchun and Fang Xiu about working at the supermarket. Since even if the supermarket really opens, the preparation would probably take several months, Fang Pingying suggested that Fang Xiu and Fang Ping’an find some temporary jobs first to earn a little bit of money.

Fang Xiu and Li Yuchun also agreed that it was a good idea and asked Fang Pingying to help find them something.

Fang Pingying agreed, saying it would be easy to find temporary work for them.

After discussing these matters, Fang Pingying looked at Fang Xiu with a serious face, "Fang Xiu, have you really thought things through about you and Luo Zhiming? Don’t get swayed by a few sweet words from him when you get back home, then change your mind about getting a divorce. If that happens, I truly won’t help you anymore."

"Sister, I know," Fang Xiu pouted, looking dismissive, "Besides, isn’t he with Xu He now? He probably looks down on me by now."

Fang Pingying wasn’t very clear about the situation with Xu He and Luo Zhiming, but she could guess some of it, suspecting that they had a falling out. Otherwise, Luo Zhiming wouldn’t have attempted suicide by jumping into the river last time, so she gave Fang Xiu a few more words of caution.

Li Yuchun was a bit puzzled after hearing Fang Xiu’s words, "It is indeed strange. Xu He always had her eyes on the top of her head, always saying she looked down on country folks. How did she end up with that scumbag Luo Zhiming?"

"Mom, forget about these trivial matters," Fang Pingying didn’t want to concern herself with such trivialities and stopped Li Yuchun, "Once Xiu’er is divorced from him, you guys won’t have anything to do with him anymore."

The next day, since Fang Xiu and Fang Ping’an had to go home and Luo Zhiyong happened to be free, Fang Pingying let Luo Zhiyong go buy tickets for them.

But just as Luo Zhiyong finished changing his clothes and was about to leave the house, the phone rang.

After Fang Pingying came home, Li Aihua was sometimes too busy to come over and see her two grandchildren, so she insisted on calling every day to check in. That forced Fang Pingying to install a home phone.

Fang Pingying went to answer the phone. As soon as she picked it up, she heard Zhou Yunmei’s anxious voice on the other end, "Hello, is this Zhiyong?"

"It’s me," Fang Pingying responded.

It was obvious to Fang Pingying that Zhou Yunmei knew who she was, but still, she intentionally asked, "Who are you?"

"Fang Pingying," Fang Pingying answered with some irritation, deliberately stating her full name.

Once Zhou Yunmei heard this, she didn’t intend to engage in much conversation and directly said in a cold voice, "Oh, it’s you. Tell Zhiyong to come take the call."

Fang Pingying was also angered and she just slammed the phone down on the table, yelling into the house, "Luo Zhiyong, it’s your call. Someone’s looking for you."

From the handset she had put down, Fang Pingying could still hear Zhou Yunmei cursing, "What kind of attitude is this..."

When Luo Zhiyong heard Fang Pingying’s call, he came over to answer the phone, "Who is it?"

"Hello, Zhiyong, it’s Mom," Zhou Yunmei immediately started chattering away as soon as she heard Luo Zhiyong’s voice, "What’s wrong with your wife? I haven’t offended her recently..."

Luo Zhiyong felt a headache coming on and interrupted her, "Mom, what’s the matter?"

There was a silence on the other end, and then Zhou Yunmei’s voice came through, choked with emotion, "Your dad’s ill, the doctor said he needs to be hospitalized, but we can’t scrape together the money for the hospital fees. He’s been dragging on at home. Can you send some money back?"

Zhiyong was so anxious upon hearing the news that he immediately asked, "Dad is sick? What illness? Is it serious?"

Yun Mei replied, "The doctor said it’s quite severe. He needs to stay in the hospital in the county for a few days at least."

"Then I should take leave and come back, and take Dad to the hospital while I’m at it," said Zhiyong, ready to hang up the phone and plan his return.

But he heard Yun Mei anxiously shouting on the other end of the phone, "My son, you’re busy with work, don’t come back. We can’t afford to delay your work, just like the last time when your sister and I were at your place, you missed quite a bit of work."

After a pause, she continued, "Just send some money back. Your dad’s illness isn’t too serious; it’s just a chronic cough. With me and Zhiming at home, and if I call your second uncle and them over, we can take your dad to the hospital."

Hearing her sounding like she had really arranged everything, and considering that a cough isn’t exactly an emergency, plus the fact that he was in the middle of a job transfer and it wasn’t a good time for him to leave, Zhiyong hesitated, "Do you really not want me to come back?"

"No need, Zhiming and I can take good care of your dad," Yun Mei said. "Can you see if you can send some money back?"

Upon hearing this, Zhiyong immediately agreed, "Okay, how much approximately?"

Yun Mei thought for a moment and then cautiously said, "The doctor mentioned it might be around 40 to 50 yuan."

"Alright, I’ll figure something out and send it back tomorrow," Zhiyong reassured her, thinking Yun Mei was somewhat embarrassed to discuss money, presuming Yun Mei felt the amount was too much to ask for. He even tried to convince her, "Mom, the most important thing is to cure Dad’s illness, I’ll find a way for the money."

"Okay," Yun Mei sighed in relief and then continued to ask, "By the way, how are the two kids doing? Are they easy to take care of?"

"They’re fine, don’t worry about that," Zhiyong chatted with Yun Mei on the phone for a few more sentences, asked about Dashan’s illness, and then said, "If there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up now. I’ll send you the money as soon as possible."

While Zhiyong was on the phone, Pingying and Yuchun’s family were all in the living room and could naturally guess from Zhiyong’s conversation that something had come up over there.

Once Zhiyong hung up the phone, Pingying hurriedly asked, "Is Dad sick?"

Zhiyong nodded, appearing somewhat hesitant, "Yeah, they said it’s quite serious. He needs to be sent to the county hospital for hospitalization, and we need to send some money back."

Actually, Zhiyong felt a bit embarrassed to ask for money. His salary wasn’t that high, and although he could just about cover household expenses, the sudden need for such an amount was really Pingying’s money.

He wouldn’t ask in any other case, but he couldn’t delay when it came to his father’s illness, so he had to discuss it with Pingying.

Pingying had never been one to strictly separate the household money. As soon as she heard Dashan was sick, she urged Zhiyong, "Then you should send the money right away, don’t delay. I’ll just take Fang Xiu and my dad to the train station to buy tickets and see them off on the train."

Upon hearing this, Ping’an, who was nearby, pulled Pingying aside and said, "Silly girl, you’re all in a panic. We’re all going back anyway, why bother sending money? I can bring it back for you, isn’t that much quicker?"

"That’s right. Look at me getting all flustered." Pingying gave herself a smack and immediately took out one thousand yuan from the bedroom and handed it to Ping’an, "Dad, here’s one thousand yuan. Take it back to my dad, let him get proper treatment without worrying about the money."

Actually, Pingying was also worried that if Yun Mei was given the money, she might try to save on the medical expenses and end up leaving some money for who-knows-what, and the illness wouldn’t be properly treated.

Besides, she faintly feared that Yun Mei might hide the actual amount of money, so she repeatedly insisted that the money be given directly to Dashan. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it and give it a monthly ticket at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)