Translator: Yunyi
They had watched the punk grow up. From a young age, he had been like a grumpy old man who barely smiled. How was he so lucky? How did he find such a lovable wife?
At that moment, there was a knock on the door.
The nurse entered and reminded the old men, “It’s time to take your medicine.”
As soon as he heard this, Elder Huo furrowed his brows.
The others did too.
“What medicine? I’m not sick! If these old punks weren’t here, I wouldn’t be staying at this hospital!”
“I’m also here to keep Old Shen company.”
“Yes, me too.”
Song Yaoyao blinked and asked curiously, “Grandfather, are you afraid of taking medicine?”
“Ahem—”
She got him with one sentence.
People often used the term, ‘old child’. These old children were usually coaxed into taking their medicine, but no one had ever pointed out the truth in front of them.
The nurse was surprised as her gaze fell upon Song Yaoyao.
“Who’s afraid? The medicine’s just useless! I’ve taken it for years and I’m still the same. I reckon I could live longer if I don’t take it.”
Elder Shen was amused. “At our age, we’ve already seen through it all…”
As soon as he said this, a sad vibe slowly filled the air.
Song Yaoyao pursed her lips and did not say anything.
Seeing this, Elder Huo patted her on the head and glared at Elder Shen. “What’s wrong with you? Can you not say such depressing things in front of a child? It will make her sad.”
Song Yaoyao licked her lips and suddenly said, “Sister, can I see what medicine they’ve been taking?”
Elder Huo was quite healthy; out of the four old men, Elder Shen was in the worst shape. Song Yaoyao did not check his pulse, but judging by his bluish lips and the way he coughed intermittently while playing mahjong, she could roughly guess that he had uremia.
Uremia was not an independent disease, but a clinical syndrome shared by various advanced kidney diseases.
As it advanced further into the later stages, it became more painful.
Hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, and kidney transplantation. These were the only three options.
But at Elder Shen’s age, getting a kidney transplant was much too risky.
Besides, Song Yaoyao was unaware of whether he had already done one in the past.
If he had already done one and his condition was still worsening, then it was a difficult situation to deal with.
“Huh?” the nurse said with interest, “Are you studying medicine?”
Song Yaoyao nodded and shook her head at the same time. “I know a little, but I actually studied Traditional Chinese Medicine.”
“Traditional Chinese Medicine…?”
The nurse’s eyes darted. “Then I guess that even if I give you the medicine, you won’t be able to determine their uses. After all, Western Medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine are different.”
She tried to maintain her smile so she wouldn’t expose her feelings of contempt.
What year was it? How could someone still be talking about Traditional Chinese Medicine?
“Just let her have a look if she wants. What’s the point of all this useless talk?”
Elder Huo glanced at her impatiently, “What? Do you look down on Traditional Chinese Medicine?”
Song Yaoyao’s grandfather was a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner, but she was aware that the world had its prejudices and many people found it troublesome to prepare. Most people went to the hospital when they fell ill; not many went to see a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner.
However, her grandfather dedicated his whole life to his passion for Traditional Chinese Medicine, and many people respected him for it. So she sat beside the old man and did not say anything when she heard the contempt in the woman’s voice. Although she was a little upset, her grandfather always said that a person couldn’t change another’s prejudice, but they could change themselves.
As long as she had a conscience, that was all that mattered.
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