Three or Two Things about Rebirth

Lin Haiying took over the conversation, "It's like this, Sister Han caught a cold, and her brother-in-law prescribed cold medicine for her, but her mother-in-law wouldn't let her take it, saying that the baby was still breastfeeding and that the medicine wouldn't be good for the baby. Sister Han thought it was right, so for the sake of the baby she didn't take the medicine, thinking she'd just hold out. As a result, she had a fever until midnight and was talking nonsense. Her brother-in-law rushed her to the hospital, and when he took her temperature, it was 41 degrees. The doctor said it was easy to get crazy with a fever. Sister Han was too thin and malnourished, and breastfeeding her baby consumed her energy and blood, so a little cold knocked her down."

Oh, malnutrition, what era is it, malnutrition is still possible! Qiu Luming asked, "Is she in the hospital?"

"She should still be living there. Her mother-in-law wanted to discharge her from the hospital yesterday, but the doctor refused, saying she was too weak and suggested weaning the child. She took the child to the hospital and started a scene. Later, the doctor said that the medicine had been used and she should go home and feed the child some milk powder or goat's milk. She could continue breastfeeding after a few days after being discharged from the hospital. Then she went back swearing. The injection my cousin gave her almost scratched her. It was really painful!"

Qiu Luming nodded. She had known that Han Meifen's mother-in-law was not a good person. Just by looking at Han Meifen's thin appearance after giving birth, she knew that she must have been bullied.

Ma Mingjun looked at everyone and said, "We just received the letter this afternoon, so we were thinking of buying some things and going to see her tomorrow morning!"

"I'll go too." said Qiu Luming.

Zheng Wei said, "Yes, yes."

"Why don't we go after dinner!" Lin Haiying said, "Sister Han is so pitiful."

"No one goes to see patients at night. They go in the morning."

"Oh." Lin Haiying stuck out her tongue.

Ma Mingjun scooped out a piece of the middle of the fish for her and said, "Try it and see if it's tasty. Look at the bones!"

Zheng Wei waited for him to finish fishing, then took the spoon and scooped up the fish head, "Yo Yo, come here!"

Qiu Luming shuddered, "I don't want it! And you should just call me Old Qiu!"

Zheng Wei held the spoon innocently, "What's wrong?"

Ma Mingjun laughed, "Stop pretending! We've known each other for 20 years and you've always called me Lao Qiu. How come you're calling me Yo Yo now? Even I feel sick when I hear that!"

Zheng Wei ignored them and put the fish head on Qiu Luming's plate. "You eat the fish eyes and face, and the fish brain. I'll eat the rest, so you don't get full after eating the fish head."

Ma Mingjun pouted and made some clicking sounds.

Qiu Luming asked, "Do you know that I like to eat fish eyes?"

"of course!"

"There are so many people here, don't give me the food, everyone else needs to eat!"

"We don't want to eat!" Ma Mingjun and Lin Haiying said loudly in unison, causing the diners who had just come in to look at them.

Qiu Luming smiled and shook his head, "Okay, I won't be polite then!"

The fish head was already on her plate. She didn't hesitate and skillfully picked out two fish eyes and ate them. She then dipped them in the sauce and ate the fish face and brain. Zheng Wei smiled unconsciously as he watched her finish eating. When he saw her put down her chopsticks, he put the fish head on his plate again and said, "You have to eat this while it's hot. Otherwise, it won't taste good when it gets cold."

"Old Zheng, why are you so mean today!" Ma Mingjun said with his nose wrinkled, unable to bear it any longer.

"I have been thinking about this day for many years." Zheng Wei said without raising his head.

"You're just starting out like this. Your life is ruined. You're going to be crushed to death by Qiu Luming!"

"I'm happy to!" Zheng Wei said toughly, his face flushed, and he just focused on eating the fish head.

Qiu Luming picked up the colander, put a piece of mutton in it, and then put the colander into the hot pot. After a few seconds, the mutton changed color. She scooped it out and rinsed it for a few more seconds, then poured it into Zheng Wei's plate, "Try this!"

Zheng Wei immediately dipped it in the sauce and ate it, "Mm! So tender! This is delicious!"

Ma Mingjun leaned closer to Lin Haiying and said in a loud voice, "Wife, we are newlyweds, but they look like an old married couple!"

Lin Haiying chuckled.

Later, Zheng Wei returned to normal and stopped being so attentive to Qiu Luming, and Qiu Luming also felt at ease.

The four of them ate happily and couldn't help but order another catfish and two plates of mutton. The two men had good appetites, so they ate most of the mutton and fish. After eating, they also ordered two pieces of hot pot noodles to go into the soup. Qiu Luming followed suit and ate a chopstick of noodles, mixed with sesame paste, which was so fragrant that it made people dizzy.

When she got home, it was already eight o'clock. As soon as Qiu Luming entered the door, her parents and second sister-in-law looked at her expression first. Seeing her smiling and her face flushed, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

***

The next day at work, Qiu Luming checked in and left early at 9:30 to go to the hospital.

To be honest, this way of working makes her feel ashamed to receive that salary, but now, everyone does it this way, and her mother also said that there is no need to mind it, and that she should not be a maverick and should just do her job well.

Zheng Wei had already bought the gift and was waiting for her at the intersection. He happened to see Director Wu's car coming back from outside. He lowered the window and asked, "Xiao Qiu, where are you going?"

Qiu Luming quickly apologized with a smile, "Director, I want to go to the hospital to see a friend, is that okay?"

"Ah, go ahead. Who is this?"

"This is Zheng Wei from the Electricity Bureau. Zheng Wei, this is our Director Wu."

Zheng Wei quickly asked someone to say hello.

Wu Guanzhang had a sharp eye and asked, "Xiao Qiu, is this your girlfriend?"

Zheng Wei nodded repeatedly.

"Go ahead, go ahead. If you're going to a wedding, tell me in advance so I can prepare gifts for you!"

"Of course!" Zheng Wei nodded.

The car had already driven away, but he was still looking, "Your officer is so nice! Hey, wait for me!"

At the entrance of the county hospital, Qiu Luming and his companions met Ma Mingjun and his wife, and the four of them went up to the second floor.

The nurses all recognized Qiu Luming and came to greet her. When they learned that they were going to see Han Meifen, they reminded them, "Don't go now. Her mother-in-law is making a fuss in the ward!"

"Ah? Why don't you care?"

"Oh my god, we dare not intervene. I have never seen such a vicious old woman. She looks so mean. She even scratched our head nurse's neck. Tsk tsk!"

"Call the police!"

"The police came and the old lady rolled on the ground. When the police touched her, she said she was a hooligan and took off her clothes..."

Qiu Luming rushed to Ward 205 before she finished listening. She heard a voice shouting angrily, "Police are performing their duties. Hurry and put on your clothes!"

Han Meifen's sobbing voice was heard again, and Fu Xinyang helplessly persuaded Fu's mother, "Mom, please give me some face!"

Qiu Luming rushed to the door and saw Fu's mother sitting on the ground, slapping her thighs and singing, "Why is my life so miserable! My husband died early, and I raised my son with all my heart, but he forgot about his mother after he got married. My poor little grandson is so hungry that he can't even cry, and his mother didn't even bother to give him a sip of milk..."

A cotton jacket and a cotton waistcoat were thrown on the ground. Fu's mother was only wearing an old-fashioned blue autumn coat. One of the left sleeves had been taken off, revealing a waistcoat with a white background and blue flowers underneath. The white and loose skin on her upper arms swayed with her movements. She sat with one leg under her buttocks and the other leg stretched forward. From time to time, she patted the leg in front of her with both hands. In the morning ward, sunlight shone in, and with the patting, bursts of dust flew around in the light and shadow.

Fu Xinyang was the first to notice Qiu Luming, and called out in embarrassment and surprise, "Qiu Luming."

Han Meifen also stopped sobbing and looked back at her.

"Qiu Luming!" The loudest voice came from Officer Xiao Zhang, who was in charge of the hospital area. When a nurse called the police, he, as the chief of police, led a young man who had just graduated to the scene. Unexpectedly, he ran into an old lady who was throwing a tantrum. "Come on, come on, give me a hand. This old lady insisted that I was a hooligan. Look how she scratched my face!"

Qiu Luming didn't know how to help, but for Han Meifen's sake, she half-knelt down and said, "Aunt Fu, the ground is cold, you should get up quickly! Where is your grandson? If you all come out, who will take care of the child?"

"None of your business!" Fu's mother suddenly attacked and stretched out her hands to grab forward. Fortunately, Zheng Wei was quick to pull her back and avoid the attack.

"Fuck your mother!" Zheng Wei got furious. He put Qiu Luming behind him, rushed forward, clamped Fu's mother's right hand, and when she howled and scratched him, he clamped her left hand and handcuffed them together. Officer Zhang saw the opportunity and quickly took the handcuffs from his waist and handcuffed Fu's mother with two clicks.

Ma Mingjun sighed, "Every time Old Zheng gets angry, it's almost always because of Qiu Luming. There's no cure for him in this life."

Fu's mother's hands were handcuffed, and she was lifted up by two policemen. She shook her head wildly and cursed. Zheng Wei rolled up his sleeves and walked forward, pointing at her nose, "You are so stupid! She cares about you, but you go and scratch her? Don't think I won't hit you just because you are old. Just try and touch her hair!"

Fu Xinyang was so frightened that he was not good at speaking, so he could only beg for mercy from Officer Xiao Zhang and another young officer.

Fu's mother was frightened by Zheng Wei's appearance. She really thought that this fierce boy would really dare to hit the old lady, so she decisively shut up and hid behind Officer Zhang.

Qiu Luming held Zheng Wei back and said, "Hey, please be careful about the impact. She is an old lady after all."

Zheng Wei took two steps back and pointed at Fu Xinyang warningly, "If I don't beat you, I'll beat your son!"

Han Meifen suddenly burst into tears. She sat up with great effort, "Please, police comrade, don't arrest my mother-in-law. I'm sick and my child is too young to be left alone. She was just too worried about the child, so she had an argument with the nurse." Then she turned around and apologized to the head nurse, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Sister Yu, please be magnanimous and let us go. I beg you!"

Head nurse Yu laughed angrily, "Why did we call the police? It's because she came to force you out of the hospital. We, the little nurses, came to protect you and were beaten by your mother-in-law. I was also scratched by her. If you are so ungrateful, why should we be the bad guys!"

"I'm discharged from the hospital, I'm discharged right away!"

"Okay! I'll go ask Doctor Li now. If he agrees to discharge you, you can leave immediately!" Head Nurse Yu turned around and left.