Yuan Ni looked carefully and saw that it was the old woman in bed number two who was grumbling.
Yuan Ni’s Mother, having been scolded, dared not say another word. She lay down with a look of grievance and fell silent.
Yuan Ni breathed a sigh of relief. Had it not been for that nasty old woman, no one could have reined in her mother.
The next morning, Yuan Ni was woken by the nurse coming in to draw blood. After helping her mother to the bathroom, she headed to the cafeteria.
The cafeteria had porridge and steamed buns, but there were no lunchboxes—you had to use their bowls, which required a deposit.
Yuan Ni bought several large steamed buns. Old Captain and the driver had apparently made do somewhere for the night, and she couldn’t let them leave on empty stomachs.
The buns were made of wheat flour, still steaming and soft when handed over. Old Captain sighed. “Child, why are you so sincere? Your own family is struggling so much, and you still think of us?”
Yuan Ni smiled. A drop of kindness should be repaid with a gushing spring. She had no money now, but if she did, she would treat Old Captain to wine and meat.
After Yuan Ni left, the tractor driver said to Old Captain, “I think this girl from the Yuan family has real potential—she’s better than her father.”
Old Captain nodded. He hadn’t paid much attention to Yuan Ni before, only seeing her as an ordinary village girl. But from that day on, Old Captain was genuinely resolved to help Yuan Ni.
She went back to the cafeteria for a bowl of porridge and returned to the ward. The moment she pushed open the door, she saw the old woman from bed two holding a large enamel mug, pouring water from the thermos Yuan Ni had brought.
This hot water had been fetched by Yuan Ni early that morning from the boiler room. The boiler worker had said hot water was only supplied once a day, so she should use it sparingly.
So the old woman from bed two was helping herself to what she hadn’t earned?
If the old woman had been polite, Yuan Ni wouldn’t have minded pouring her a cup of hot water. But this old woman wasn’t friendly at all—why should Yuan Ni indulge her?
Seeing Yuan Ni, the old woman showed not a trace of guilt. “What are you staring at? Don’t you know to respect your elders?”
Yuan Ni set down the porridge bowl, snatched the enamel mug, and poured the water back into the thermos, not a drop left. “Respect my elders? You don’t deserve it.”
Yuan Ni’s Mother was woken by the commotion and hurriedly urged, “Ni, don’t be like that. Talk to her nicely.”
Seeing her hot water gone, the old woman stamped her foot in fury. “You’ve got some nerve. Do you know who I am?”
Yuan Ni laughed. If she were truly someone important, would she need to steal hot water?
Just then, a nurse came in. “Why haven’t you left yet? Your daughter-in-law is a patient in the maternity ward. During the day, you should stay over there. This is a surgical ward—patients could be admitted at any time.”
The old woman deflated like a punctured balloon. “Ah, I’m going, I’m going.”
Yuan Ni was surprised. “She’s not a patient in this ward?”
“No, she’s a family member from obstetrics. The maternity ward is completely full, and she had nowhere to sleep while caring for her daughter-in-law, so we let her lie down in our ward. You’ve just come from the countryside—be careful, and watch out for thieves.”
The nurse’s kind warning earned her quick thanks from Yuan Ni.
Now Yuan Ni’s Mother had nothing more to say about being kind to others.
She was groggy from illness, yet still fretted over the hospital costs. Unfortunately, every time she asked, Yuan Ni managed to change the subject.
In the morning, Yuan Ni administered the IV drip for Yuan Ni’s Mother. The fierce old woman didn’t show up again, but a woman wearing a green headscarf pushed the door open. Seeing Yuan Ni sitting by the bed, she smiled and said, “Wrong room, my mistake.”
Hospitals aren’t like one’s own home—walking into the wrong room is a common occurrence, so Yuan Ni didn’t think much of it.
At noon, the cafeteria had noodles. Yuan Ni ate a bowl there and brought another bowl back for her mother. As she was walking toward the ward, she saw the woman in the green headscarf again.
Only this time, the woman was carrying a baby in her arms and holding a little boy by the hand.
The little boy was crying loudly, “Let me go! I want my mom!”
“Come on, come with Auntie—Auntie will buy you candy,” the green-scarfed woman coaxed casually while quickening her pace.
Yuan Ni froze. That green-scarfed woman—could she be a child trafficker?
Thinking on her feet, she reached out to block the green-scarfed woman. “Who are you? Why are you dragging my nephew along?”
The green-scarfed woman was already slow with a baby in her arms. Seeing Yuan Ni block her way, she panicked and shoved the little boy forward. “Here, take him! Don’t block my path.”
That settled it for Yuan Ni—the green-scarfed woman was indeed a trafficker. She immediately rushed forward and grabbed hold of her. “A child trafficker! Someone, come quick!”
The hospital was crowded, but unfortunately, the first person to run over was the fierce old woman from Bed No. 2. Seeing that it was Yuan Ni shouting, she didn’t help—instead, she sided with the green-scarfed woman. “You unreliable girl, what are you yelling about? Let her go!”
The green-scarfed woman was sweating profusely, thinking she was done for today. But unexpectedly, an ally had appeared out of nowhere. With the Bed No. 2 old woman’s help, she quickly ran off with the baby.
Yuan Ni stamped her foot in frustration and pointed at the Bed No. 2 old woman. “Are you an accomplice of that trafficker?”
The Bed No. 2 old woman clapped her hands, completely unconcerned. “Accomplice? Don’t you go making false accusations!”
Just then, a group of people came running out of the inpatient building. “Where’s the child? Stop that woman!”
Yuan Ni pointed toward the main entrance. “I rescued one—there’s a younger one she took off with.”
“What? After her!”
The crowd surged noisily toward the main entrance.
The Bed No. 2 old woman immediately sensed something was wrong. Why was her daughter-in-law, who had just given birth, also among the crowd?
“Qiaozhi, why are you running? Why aren’t you taking care of my grandson?”
“Mom, hurry and chase after them—your grandson was taken by a woman in a green headscarf!”
“What?” The Bed No. 2 old woman’s legs went weak, and she collapsed to the ground. She had just personally let the trafficker who kidnapped her grandson get away.
Yuan Ni sighed. What a mess this was.
“Comrade, you’re the one who helped our Huzi, right? Thank you so much.”
Just then, the little boy’s parents came looking for him. The couple was refined and polite, grabbing Yuan Ni’s hands to thank her—a stark contrast to the Bed No. 2 old woman.
“You’re welcome. It was the right thing to do.”
The refined couple was still shaken. “The child’s grandmother is sick, and we just came to visit. We never imagined Huzi would be targeted in such a short time.”
“Indeed. If Huzi hadn’t cried, I wouldn’t have realized she was a trafficker either,” Yuan Ni said, patting Huzi’s head. “Remember this from now on—never go with strangers for candy.”
“Tiger, remember what your sister said. Oh, little comrade, which Dadui are you from? We really need to thank you properly for today. If it weren’t for you, Tiger would have been snatched away by those traffickers.” The refined wife held onto Yuan Ni’s arm, refusing to let go no matter what.
“Really, there’s no need to thank me. It was just something I did in passing.”
The more Yuan Ni said this, the tighter the couple held on, even following her to the hospital ward.
Upon learning that Yuan Ni was a member of Xiangyang Dadui and had come to the Gongshe specifically to bring her mother for medical treatment, the refined couple was deeply moved.
The refined wife introduced herself as Chen Wenqi and said she worked at the Gongxiaoshe. “If there’s anything you need to buy, just come find me. Even if you don’t have ration tickets, it’ll be fine.”
At the mention of the Gongxiaoshe, Yuan Ni’s eyes lit up. It wasn’t that she was greedy, but rather that things were so hard to come by these days. Knowing someone at the Gongxiaoshe could make a world of difference.
Yuan Ni’s mother lay in bed, beaming with joy. Earlier she had been reluctant to stay in the hospital, but now it seemed the money for hospitalization hadn’t been wasted—otherwise, how else would Yuan Ni have had the chance to form a connection with such important people?
Just as Yuan Ni’s mother was wondering whether she should ask Chen Wenqi to help buy two bars of soap, she heard a commotion at the door of the ward.
The old woman from Bed Two came rushing in, wailing and lunging at Yuan Ni, ready to scratch and hit her. “It’s all your fault! If you hadn’t been so useless, you could have saved my eldest grandson!”
The couple following behind the old woman also wore fierce, hateful expressions. It seemed they hadn’t managed to catch up with the traffickers, and now they were trying to pin the blame on Yuan Ni.