“She? She can’t get pregnant anymore. Everyone in the family doesn’t care about her anymore. Only an elder sister like me still feels sorry for her. Otherwise, why would she be in the hospital by herself,” Xia He said with her hands on her hips.
“This…” Liang Lan and Liang Guo looked at each other. The worried expressions they had on their faces earlier had now disappeared.
“Why? Are you here to take care of Qiao Mei? It costs so much money every day and I still have to clean up after Qiao Mei. If you want to help out, then come in quickly,” Xia He said disdainfully.
Liang Lan’s expression instantly turned awkward. If it came down to taking care of Qiao Mei, the task would definitely fall to her. How could Liang Guo, being a man, take care of Qiao Mei? It was such a dirty and tiring chore that she was unwilling to do it!
It was better to leave such things to the Xia family. As for the matter with Qiao Qiang, they would have to think of another way to bring the old man back.
“No, we’re just here to visit her. This is a small token from us. Please accept it on behalf of Qiao Mei. We’ll come back another day.” Liang Lan smiled, handing the fruits and tonics to Xia He before turning around and leaving with Liang Guo without looking back.
Xia He placed the things on the floor and said happily, “You’re right! Didn’t I act well just now! When they heard that someone has to take care of you, they left without looking back!”
“I know they are up to no good. Let’s give the things they brought to other patients later. I saw a little girl when I went out for a walk earlier, we can give those things to her,” Qiao Mei said.
That little girl was so pitiful. She was tormented by the pain of illness at such a young age and Qiao Mei hoped that she could recover soon.
Qiao Mei got up from the bed and stood by the window, staring blankly at the grapevines in the garden downstairs. It was currently the harvest season for grapes and she wondered about the situation back in her own home.
It had already been two months since she traveled out. Her grandfather, mother and the children would have finished all the vegetables they had at home. She did not know if the newly sprouted vegetables still contained her energy. What if her grandfather ate vegetables that had no energy in them and his condition returned to normal?
Her grandfather definitely would not bear to use the ginseng and lingzhi he had. He knew that these things were precious and he would only use them when he felt especially uncomfortable. She had to practically force him to eat them previously. These two months that she was away, he definitely would not bear to eat them.
For the past two months, she could only hear her grandfather’s voice on the phone and she had never stopped being worried. Most of the time, her grandfather was not even at home and she could only get news about her family from Uncle Zhao.
She did not know whether Qiao Zhuang and the rest went to her grandfather’s house to bully him. Her younger siblings were still young and could not possibly handle all these things on their own. She had to go back and take a look as soon as possible.
“Elder sister, I want to go home,” Qiao Mei said sadly.
“Go home? Then I’ll get Xia Zhe to come pick you up? Later, I’ll talk to Aunt and see if she can let you be discharged. I wonder to what extent elder brother has repaired your courtyard house. If the repairs are not finished yet, you’ll still have to stay at mother’s place for a while,” Xia He said as she peeled an apple.
She realized that Qiao Mei especially liked to eat the apples that she prepared. Every day, she would peel and cut them for Qiao Mei. She heard from the nurses outside that pregnant women should be given more nutrition and fruits were indispensable.
“No, I want to go back to Foshan Village,” Qiao Mei turned around and said calmly.
Xia He was stunned for a moment and cut her finger with the fruit knife.
“Ah!” Xia He quickly placed the things in her hand on the table to prevent Qiao Mei from touching them and getting hurt.
Qiao Mei did not expect Xia He to have such a big reaction. It was her lack of attention that caused Xia He to get injured.
“I’m sorry, elder sister! I don’t know that you are peeling an apple. Let me take a look!” Qiao Mei said as she blamed herself.
Xia He wiped the blood clean with a piece of tissue paper. The wound was not very deep and the bleeding stopped very quickly.
“Don’t worry, it’s not your fault. I’m the careless one. I’m just surprised that you want to return to the village,” Xia He said with a smile.
Qiao Mei pulled Xia He’s hand over to carefully disinfect the wound and wrapped it in a bandage before she felt at ease.
“I’m worried about my grandfather. I’ve been away from home for so long and I want to go back and take a look,” Qiao Mei said.
“Then have you told elder brother and the others about this?” Xia He asked.
Qiao Mei shook her head. She had already discussed this matter with Xia Zhe previously. After all, Xia Zhe’s vacation was almost over and they wanted to go back and visit her grandfather.