NOVPUB
Chapter 169: Chapter 158: Don’t Let Life Bend You Over_2
"The five compounds grouped together, this is the largest one."
"Wow, this is an eye-opener for me!" Feng Biao exclaimed in amazement.
Chen Cheng smiled and said, "I had originally planned to invite you guys over last weekend, but I had a sudden trip to Shanghai, so it got delayed. How about this weekend? I’ll call them over."
"That’d be great!" Feng Biao took another look at the Huali wood furniture all around, "Cheng, you are now the most successful among us guys."
At that moment, Xiao Meier came in with a tray, on it a pot of freshly brewed tea, and said with a smile, "Come, try this tea."
The transparent glass cup contained standing tea buds.
Feng Biao took the cup, took a sip, and praised, "Sister-in-law, this tea really tastes good!"
"Glad you like it." Xiao Meier smiled, taking a seat next to Chen Cheng.
Chen Cheng also picked up his tea cup, "So, what’s the matter?"
Feng Biao quickly put down his cup, and his usually playful expression became serious, "Xia Bao’s mother, Aunt Hui, is hospitalized."
Chen Cheng frowned, "How long has it been? Why haven’t I heard him say anything?"
"It was the day you went to Shanghai." Feng Biao replied, "You know how Xia Gaoqiang is, so proud, always bearing things on his own and reluctant to speak up." 𝓷ℴ𝓿𝓹𝓾𝒷.𝓬𝓸𝓂
"If I hadn’t run into her at the hospital the day before yesterday when I was there for a client’s check-up, he might have kept it a secret."
Chen Cheng asked further, "What happened?"
"Seems like she fell while handling some fabric."
Feng Biao didn’t know much, only able to share succinctly, "Xia Bao is a PE teacher, how much money can he have? I even tried to give him three thousand on the spot, but he didn’t accept it."
Chen Cheng, "That’s just like him."
"Cheng, I was thinking, why don’t we get Li Dinger to join us, and the three of us visit Aunt Hui." Feng Biao suggested, "Back in the day, we didn’t hold back from mooching off Aunt Hui’s meals."
"Of course we should go," Chen Cheng agreed, "I’ll call Li Dinger."
Xiao Meier chimed in, "Then we need to prepare some things quickly, we can’t go empty-handed."
Chen Cheng nodded, "Right, buy some fruits, nutritional products and such."
He looked at Xiao Meier hurrying out, "Call Xiao Hai to arrange it, that will be fine."
Xiao Meier nodded, "Okay."
Chen Cheng then dialed Li Dinger’s cell phone, "Dude, where are you?"
"At work, what’s up?"
Chen Cheng checked the time, "Working overtime today?"
"How often do I have overtime! Are you cursing me?" Ding Er joked with a laugh.
"Then it’s settled, I’ll wait for you at the entrance of your office later." Chen Cheng replied, "Aunt Hui is hospitalized."
Ding Er too dropped his playful tone, "Okay, I’ll be down on time."
...
...
Jishuitan Hospital.
Chen Cheng, Xiao Meier, Ding Er, and Feng Biao, carrying big and small packages, were looking for Wang Hui’s bed.
Finally, in the hallway, they saw Aunt Hui who looked uncomfortable even while lying down.
"Aunt Hui," Chen Cheng called out.
Wang Hui opened her eyes and saw the people in front of her, a surprised and joyful smile appearing on her weak face, "Why are all of you here?"
Chen Cheng quickly walked to the side of the bed, put down the things, and said, "Aunt Hui, how could we not visit when you’re in the hospital."
Xiao Meier also came forward and held Wang Hui’s hand, "Aunt Hui, how are you feeling now?"
Wang Hui said with a smile, "Much better, seeing you guys come warms my heart."
Ding Er said from the side, "Aunt Hui, just focus on recovering, if you need anything, just let us know."
Feng Biao also nodded, "Yeah, Aunt Hui, we are all here for you."
Touched, Wang Hui’s eyes reddened, "You kids are so considerate. It’s just a fall, nothing serious."
Chen Cheng said, "Aunt Hui, don’t say that, Xia Bao has also been working hard taking care of you these past days, it’s good if we can help a little."
Everyone gathered around the bed, chatting with Wang Hui in turn, not noticing Xia Gaoqiang who had rushed over after school.
"Why are all of you here?" He put down his backpack, equally surprised to see Iron Porcelain.
"Xia Bao, this is where you went wrong," Ding Er said sternly, "Aunt Hui is hospitalized, and you didn’t say a word, what do you mean by that?"
"I didn’t want to trouble everyone, I thought I could handle it on my own."
Feng Biao frowned, "What are you talking about? With our many years of friendship, how can this be a bother? Aunt Hui has always been so good to us, now that she is sick, how can we not care?"
Xia Gaoqiang was visibly moved, "Got it, thank you guys."
Chen Cheng saw the helplessness on his face and gestured to him, "Xia Bao."
The two walked to the side, understanding each other.
Chen Cheng asked, "No hospital room? It’s not good for Aunt Xia to sleep here."
With black circles under his eyes, Xia Gaoqiang had been running back and forth between school and hospital, utterly overwhelmed these past days.
"There’s a shortage of rooms, I’m trying to find a way," he said. "The nurses said once there’s an available space, they’ll make arrangements for us."
"How long for an orthopedic ward?" Chen Cheng’s eyes twinkled, "Don’t rush too much, I’ll think of something."
With that, Chen Cheng took out his cell phone and walked down the corridor, dialing Chen Jin’s number.
Before long, he came back, "Done, she’ll be moved to a private room by tomorrow."
Xia Gaoqiang’s face lit up with surprise, "Really? Thank you so much, Cheng."
"Don’t mention it. And about the follow-up treatment costs for Aunt Hui, do you have enough?"
Xia Gaoqiang confessed his difficulty, "My mother’s employee medical insurance can cover a part, and I have some money saved up too. It would have been enough, but recently the shop stocked a new batch of materials and paid for the goods."
"Don’t worry, we’ll figure it out together," Chen Cheng reassured.
Tears glossed Xia Gaoqiang’s eyes, "Cheng, I really don’t know how to thank you enough."
