The moment she pushed the door open, the room felt icy cold. Her heart sank.
“Auntie Wang? Auntie Wang, what’s wrong?”
A lump under the quilt showed that someone was there.
Yang Yufen reached out and touched her. The body inside was burning hot, but the quilt itself was ice-cold.
“Auntie Wang, hold on. I’ll take you to the hospital!”
Without hesitation, Yang Yufen wrapped the quilt together with the person inside and lifted her up, rushing out the door and placing her directly onto the tricycle.
She sped all the way to the security office.
“Quick—ah, I forgot to ask my nephew’s name!”
She only remembered halfway through shouting. Fortunately, the security guards had already rushed over when they saw something was wrong.
“Call her son quickly! She’s sick. I’m taking her to the hospital first—Third People’s Hospital! Remember that!”
After finding someone familiar and confirming Aunt Wang’s condition, Yang Yufen immediately rode off again on her tricycle.
She was very familiar with the Third People’s Hospital—it was the closest one.
She pedaled full speed and arrived at the outpatient building entrance.
“Doctor! Nurse! Help! Someone needs help!”
She shouted as she ran inside, then immediately ran back out and carried the patient in again.
The nurses reacted quickly, pushing over a stretcher. Just in time, they received the patient from Yang Yufen and placed her onto it.
The doctor examined her and sent her to a ward, asking questions along the way.
“I went to call her in the morning. When she didn’t respond, I went inside and saw her like this. She still had a pulse, so I brought her here immediately. Her son is a professor at the Academy of Agricultural Sciences. I’ve already called him, but he may not arrive quickly.”
“The patient is elderly and has a high fever. Admit her and proceed with payment.”
After a flurry of activity, Yang Yufen was relieved that her daughter-in-law had stuffed money into her pocket that morning—otherwise she wouldn’t have brought any at all.
She didn’t understand all the tests and procedures, but seeing how tense the doctors were, she became very worried. She ended up paying all of the 100 yuan Qin Nian had given her.
After receiving the call, Wang Shuo from the Academy of Agricultural Sciences was extremely anxious. He ignored his students, ran so fast he fell twice on the way to the bicycle shed, and rushed straight to the hospital.
He didn’t even park his bicycle properly, just left it in the snow and ran inside.
“An elderly woman was sent in this morning, surname Wang. I’m her son. Where is she now?”
By the time he arrived, she had just returned from tests and was receiving an IV drip.
“Nephew, here, here! The doctor checked her, gave her a fever-reducing shot and an IV drip. Here’s the payment receipt—I paid 100 yuan. I need to go back and cook for my daughter-in-law. You take care of her. I’ll come back later.”
Seeing Wang Shuo arrive, Yang Yufen finally felt relieved.
“Thank you so much, Auntie.”
Wang Shuo didn’t know what else to say. Yang Yufen didn’t stay long, and Wang Shuo was also eager to check his mother’s condition.
She rode her tricycle home quickly, cooked the meal, then went back to Aunt Wang’s house, took the keys from the door, locked everything up properly, and closed the gate.
Fortunately, there were enough lunch boxes at home. She packed one for Qin Nian, another for Aunt Wang and her son, and ate a simple meal herself before heading back to the hospital.
When she returned, Aunt Wang had already woken up.
“Sister, thank you so much this time. If it weren’t for you, I might have…”
Aunt Wang was still shaken. She had only caught a slight cold at first, but it turned into a fever. Then last night it snowed, and when she became weak all over, she couldn’t even call for help. She vaguely heard someone calling her, but she couldn’t respond.
“It’s good you’re awake, it’s good you’re awake. Eat something first. Nephew, you should eat too—I brought plenty.”
“Alright.”
Wang Shuo took the food. He had already owed so much; he no longer insisted on refusing a meal from her.
“What did the doctor say?”
Yang Yufen helped feed Aunt Wang. After eating a little, she grew sleepy and fell asleep again.
“The fever has gone down. Fortunately, she was sent in time. She’ll need IV fluids for two days. Once she stabilizes, she can go home.”
“That’s good, that’s good. This weather is really too cold. Yesterday I bought two electric blankets. I’ll bring one over for her later.”
She thought of the spare electric blanket at home.
“What will you use then, Auntie?”
“That blanket is big enough. I’ll share one with my daughter-in-law. You’re too busy to go to the department store right now. The important thing is the patient.”
Yang Yufen could bring someone to the hospital, but she couldn’t possibly stay and take care of them every day. A fever patient could relapse easily and needed constant care.
And Wang Shuo was a professor—he had students to teach and experiments to run. He would also be very busy.
“I’ll buy it at full price. Consider it as you helping me. Thank you so much, Auntie. Here’s the money you advanced for medical fees.”
“Alright. One electric blanket is twenty-five yuan.”
“Twenty-five? That cheap?”
“Yes, it’s quite warm. If the hospital allows electricity, you can take it and use it right away.”
“I’ll ask the nurse.”
Wang Shuo went to inquire and paid some electricity fee, which was approved.
When he got the electric blanket, he still couldn’t believe it—could something really be this cheap? If so, he had been far too careless with his mother’s suffering.
After seeing the purchase receipt, he finally believed it and felt deep regret.
He hurried back to the ward with the blanket.
At that time, Aunt Wang had woken up—woken by the cold. She felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave.
Even though she was covered with three layers of quilts, she was still shivering.
Wang Shuo quickly lifted his mother and asked the nurse to spread the electric blanket he brought.
He personally covered her properly and stayed by her bedside, heartbroken.
Other patients in the ward were envious of how filial he was.
The doctor came by, saw that the electric blanket worked, and instructed the nurse to wrap the patient more fully with it for better effect.
At the department store:
Li Xueguo had only sold two electric blankets all day with no further customers, and was thinking of closing early and changing locations tomorrow.
Then a supply cooperative director arrived and placed an order for 300 units. Though the profit per unit was small, the volume made it worthwhile.
With no other business at the department store, Li Xueguo personally delivered the goods to the supply cooperative.
After a snowy night, he brought his team to the textile factory gate. They noticed street vendors selling roasted sweet potatoes nearby and bought two.
While eating, they gathered information about the factory workers’ off-work time and prepared accordingly.
They chose the textile factory because its workers understood fabric quality better. Just by looking at the material, they wouldn’t think the price was too high.