NOVPUB
Chapter 391: Chapter 381: Why Not Play By the Rules?
Li Hongjun didn’t know where his wife was, but he knew where Ma Liguo worked, so as he asked his way there, he happened just to see Ma Liguo, who had just started his afternoon shift.
"Ma Liguo."
When Ma Liguo heard someone calling him, he looked up, froze, and then exclaimed with delight, "Li Hongjun, you old rascal, didn’t you say you weren’t coming to the Capital again? What brings you back, can’t stop worrying about your wife? Don’t be embarrassed to say it, but I’ve been taking good care of her for you."
The two men approached each other and bumped fists.
"I came with my older sister and her children. My niece is ill, and she has to be treated in the Capital," Li Hongjun briefly repeated Jiajia’s condition to him.
Ma Liguo also sighed deeply upon hearing this.
"Let’s go, are you here to find your wife? I’ll take you to her now."
By the time Ma Liguo led Li Hongjun to the purchasing station in the Capital Suburbs, Shen Yunfang was struggling with a pile of broken porcelain pieces.
Ma Liguo gestured to Li Hongjun with his eyes, look at what your wife is doing.
Li Hongjun was quite calm; this was nothing—he and his wife had done this together in the past.
"Hongjun? Why are you here?" Shen Yunfang had keen senses. As soon as the two men got close, she sensed their presence, originally thinking they were people coming to sell scrap, but when she looked up, she saw Li Hongjun.
Li Hongjun didn’t speak; he simply walked over and pulled a handkerchief from his wife’s pocket to wipe the sweat from her forehead.
In the scorching sun, she was sorting through broken porcelain outdoors, so of course, she would be sweating.
Shen Yunfang was not used to Li Hongjun making such intimate gestures in public. They had been married for three years, and Li Hongjun would only touch and kiss her when they were at home or when no one was around. If others were present, he always acted like the tall, cool, and reserved soldier he was.
"Hold still, look at you, not even wearing a hat in this sun. Aren’t you afraid of damaging your skin?" Li Hongjun frowned.
"It’s okay, I’m resilient," Shen Yunfang glanced at Ma Liguo who was unabashedly staring at them and felt a bit embarrassed as she took the handkerchief to wipe her face herself.
Li Hongjun didn’t try to take it back; he was aware of the third wheel behind them.
"How come you got here so quickly? Everything okay back home?" Shen Yunfang hadn’t expected Li Hongjun to come back so soon. From her experience, Qiu Shuping wouldn’t have let Li Hongjun leave early without good reason.
"There’s nothing serious with my dad; he just got his leg chopped a bit by a shovel. When I got back, it was a bit infected, so I took him to the hospital. After two days of penicillin and some anti-inflammatory medication, as long as he takes care of his injury, there shouldn’t be any problems. I came with our older sister and Jiajia this time," Li Hongjun naturally recounted everything that had happened back at home.
Shen Yunfang raised an eyebrow, he brought the older sister and Jiajia with him?
"What’s wrong with eldest sister and Jiajia?" Shen Yunfang’s only thought was that something must have happened to Li Hongjun’s eldest sister’s family, for Li Xianglian, such a diligent woman, would never leave her home otherwise.
"It’s Jiajia, she has meningitis," Li Hongjun looked at his wife after saying this.
Shen Yunfang showed no expression upon hearing this; in fact, she didn’t understand the severity of meningitis. In her previous life, she had never suffered from it, nor had anyone around her, so she simply lacked the knowledge of the condition.
"When I was taking my dad to the hospital, I just happened to run into Jiajia being admitted there. Her condition had already become very serious..." Li Hongjun explained everything exactly as it was, including how he had paid for Jiajia’s expensive imported injection, recounting each detail to his wife.
Shen Yunfang’s frown deepened the more she listened.
"I heard that there are hospitals in the Capital that are better at treating this disease, so I brought eldest sister and Jiajia here. We arrived this morning, and Jiajia has already been admitted to the hospital. Eldest sister is taking care of the child there," Li Hongjun finished explaining everything.
Ma Liguo was anxious listening in the background, thinking why doesn’t Li Hongjun, who is usually so cunning and smart, turn his brain on now? Why didn’t he know how to embellish the story a bit when talking to his wife? At the very least, make it more moving, more serious, to touch Xiaoshen’s heart. That way, when it came to asking Xiaoshen for money, wouldn’t it be easier to open her mouth? Xiaoshen might give more to his eldest sister’s child out of sympathy, scold him less, and contribute a bit more.
Although Ma Liguo had seen over the past few days that Xiaoshen wasn’t the type to haggle over every little thing, all women are naturally meticulous, especially when it comes to spending money on their husband’s family, and it’s definitely not a small amount. It would be strange if she were happy and willing.
He wanted to interject several times but found no opportunity to do so.
"How much of the money I gave you is left?" Shen Yunfan asked Li Hongjun.
There you have it, starting to settle accounts now, right? Ma Liguo couldn’t bear to watch, wondering if he should move away a bit. Would Li Hongjun take it out on him later for embarrassing him in front of his own face?
"I spent one hundred and fifty on Jiajia, left fifty for my dad when I left. Including the cost of the train tickets and other expenses during the trip, I had a total of one hundred and eighty left. When we got to the hospital, I paid a deposit of one hundred and thirty, and the rest I gave to eldest sister," Li Hongjun honestly reported.
Ma Liguo mumbled in the back that it was all over now as he followed along with the calculations while Li Hongjun spoke. Li Hongjun’s trip back home had cost almost five hundred. That wasn’t a small sum; it was as much as he could earn in a year.
Since Shen Yunfang had bought two properties, Ma Liguo knew Li Hongjun’s family must have some savings. But as much as a woman doesn’t mind spending on her own family, spending money on others is like cutting flesh from her own body—it’s painful.
These five hundred could easily lead to a major conflict.
"Is that money enough? I hear Jiajia’s stay in the hospital might not be just for a day or two. No, we should go visit the hospital ourselves. I’ll have a good talk with your sister. She shouldn’t worry about the money and should just take good care of the child. We can’t stand by and watch Jiajia not have enough money for treatment," Shen Yunfang empathized deeply.
If it were her own relatives who had fallen ill and needed treatment, the first thing she would worry about would be whether there was enough money for their care. Like Li Xianglian now, she must be tormented, worried the child won’t recover, or worse, that the child might have hope but no funds to pursue treatment.
Having been married to Li Hongjun for three years, Shen Yunfang had seen Li Xianglian, her eldest sister-in-law, no more than two or three times, and had only seen the child Jiajia once. But Shen Yunfang knew that Li Xianglian was not like Qiu Shuping or Li Xianghe—she was a kind, reliable woman, so her impression of her was quite positive.
Li Hongjun gave his wife a gentle smile. He knew, despite how tough she seemed when she spoke, she was actually the kindest and most tender-hearted.
Ma Liguo couldn’t quite catch up with what was happening. Watching the couple who, before leaving, had instructed him to take back the bric-a-brac Xiaoshen had singled out, he was truly at a loss for words. Why weren’t they following the script? What happened to the anger, the fights?
