NOVPUB
Chapter 144: Chapter 138 Taking Care of the Sick
The two chatted for quite a while before Li Hongjun pulled out a box from under his pillow and handed it to Shen Yunfang.
Shen Yunfang received it with a puzzled look. The last time Li Hongjun gave her a box, it contained a bunch of jade pieces. She had no idea what was in this box.
"I noticed you don’t have a watch; it’s inconvenient, so I asked a comrade from Shanghai to buy you one. Open it and see if you like it?"
Shen Yunfang opened the box, and inside, a delicate ladies’ watch lay. She took it out and compared it on her wrist—hmm, not bad.
"How much?" She couldn’t tell the brand, but it must be expensive, right?
"Two hundred and sixty. I borrowed the money from a comrade, and I’ll have to pay it back monthly," Li Hongjun said, slightly embarrassed.
Having bought the watch, he’d have to use his salary to pay the debt, meaning he’d have to give her less money each month.
"Hmm, that’s really not cheap—more expensive than the bicycle I bought," Shen Yunfang remarked, a bit surprised.
"It’s imported, with a Swiss movement." But when he had asked someone to buy it, he had instructed them to pick the best one.
"Hmm, it’s really nice," Shen Yunfang offered her appraisal, then jokingly added, "This isn’t your betrothal gift, is it?"
At that time, the popular gift set for a bride was the "three rounds and one sound": a bicycle, a watch, a sewing machine, and a radio.
These items were expensive and not something you could buy whenever you wanted, so having one or two of them at a wedding was considered quite decent at the time.
"How could this count? The gift is me, the whole person," he joked.
"Behave yourself." 𝓷ℴ𝓿𝓹𝓾𝒷.𝓬𝓸𝓂
Shen Yunfang went to the living room to adjust the watch. Seeing that it was getting late and knowing Li Hongjun needed plenty of rest, she stopped chatting with him, letting him sleep while she sat on a stool beside the bed.
Li Hongjun thought about how his wife would have to sit there stiffly all night while he slept, which made it impossible for him to close his eyes.
"Wife, why don’t you ask the nurse to see if we could get another bed here, or you could join me in mine," Li Hongjun suggested.
It was already late, and the nurses would also be resting. Even if she wanted to ask, she’d have to wait until the next morning. As for squeezing in with Li Hongjun... better not. It had barely been three days since his surgery, and it wouldn’t be good if she accidentally touched his wounds. Besides, he was lying there naked.
"No need, I slept all day, so I’m not sleepy now. You go to sleep. Do you need to use the bathroom?"
"Cough cough, that would work," Li Hongjun coughed awkwardly.
So, Shen Yunfang awkwardly helped him to the bathroom. Seeing there was hot water in the washroom, she went back to the room to get a basin and towel, brought back some hot water, and helped Li Hongjun clean his face and the skin around his bandages, allowing him to sleep comfortably.
"Don’t worry about me, go to sleep. I’m not sleepy at all right now. When I feel sleepy, I’ll catch a bit of sleep on the side. I have all day tomorrow to sleep," she reassured him.
Li Hongjun saw her insistence and also felt weak from battling wits with his mother all day and whispering with his wife for such a long time. He really felt he couldn’t keep up anymore.
The hospital ward soon became quiet.
Shen Yunfang woke up early the next morning, sat up, and stretched fiercely. She had felt sleepy not long after Li Hongjun had fallen asleep the previous night and ended up dozing off beside the bed, which left her old back aching all night.
Yunfang instinctively checked the sky outside before suddenly remembering that she now owned a watch. She quickly looked at the watch on her wrist through the dim light in the room—it was already six o’clock. This city was in the north, where the daylight came even later.
Yunfang tiptoed out of bed, took her toiletries from her bag, and went out to the washroom to freshen up.
By the time she returned to the ward, Li Hongjun was already awake.
"Awake? Need to use the bathroom?" Yunfang kindly asked.
She projected her own needs onto others, since the first thing she wanted to do after getting up was to go to the bathroom.
Li Hongjun grunted in response. As Yunfang bent down to get the urinal, she quickly cracked a smile, but by the time she straightened up, her face had regained its composure.
After the first and second times, it seemed there was nothing to it anymore. Yunfang handled the situation with calm, helping him with his physiological needs, then wiped his face and hands with a warm, damp cloth.
She figured the Li Family couple wouldn’t be coming in early today, so after getting Hongjun settled, she went to the canteen with a freshly washed thermos. She got a serving of porridge, a bun, and a bowl of noodles. After a thought, she took a salted duck egg from her space and headed back to the ward.
Today, Li Hongjun should be able to eat something solid. It had been days since he had a proper meal, and he must be feeling weak. She decided to let him adapt to eating solid food today and planned to cook something delicious for him to replenish his strength the next day.
For breakfast, Hongjun ate noodles, while the bun and porridge were for Yunfang. They shared the salted duck egg, making the meal especially sweet and warm.
The hospital canteen was really cheap—a bowl of porridge, a bun, and a bowl of noodles cost her just 13 cents. The porridge was two cents, the bun four cents, and the noodles seven cents, but they required food coupons. The meal used up half a pound of her food coupons.
After breakfast, Yunfang remembered to ask how the Li Family couple managed their meals.
Li Hongjun mentioned that when his parents came the other day, a comrade had given them ten pounds of food coupons and twenty yuan, which he planned to repay slowly once he recovered.
Yunfang nodded upon hearing this; as long as they had a solution, she wouldn’t worry. She wanted to help Hongjun repay the money and food coupons, but her trip had been rushed, and she hadn’t had time to exchange for food coupons at the supply station. So with only twenty pounds of food coupons left over from last year in her pocket, she didn’t dare to give them away easily, not knowing how long she would stay there.
The Li Family elders didn’t arrive until it was fully light outside, and as expected, they were too late for breakfast. They needn’t have worried about it.
Before the elders arrived, Yunfang had helped Hongjun with another physiological need. With nothing else to worry about, she told Hongjun she was heading out and took the thermos back to the guesthouse.
However, instead of sleeping when she returned, she changed her clothes, altered her hairstyle, and disguised herself a bit before heading to the train station by car.
She wanted to take advantage of the time when someone was looking after Hongjun to make another round in the provincial capital. After all, she had a year’s worth of harvest stored in her space, and it all needed to be sold.
First, she thought of Sun, the bank manager, hoping she could find that woman again after a year had passed.
As it turned out, her luck was still quite good. She entered the bank and immediately saw Sun, who also recognized her at first glance. Sun was particularly surprised but still mindful of their surroundings; they went into an office before warmly catching up.
When Yunfang walked out of the bank, she had already sold a quarter of the inventory from her space. Manager Sun’s influence and buying power were indeed impressive.
