Chapter 481: Chapter 481 Making a Call Chapter 481: Chapter 481 Making a Call Old Wang lay on the kang, a wet towel draped over his head; he was so feverish he was delirious, his face swollen red with a few big blisters on his lips, babbling nonsense.
It made Sanxi, who was beside him, terribly worried.
With his own wife keeping watch over her father, he hurried to call Erniu in town and then made a call to his eldest brother, Wang Yan.
He was primarily afraid that something might happen to Old Wang.
Their home was still in need of tending to.
Everything was now in disarray.
Being an honest person by nature, he was completely overwhelmed by the situation before him.
The household lacked someone to take charge, having already been scared out of his wits.
Wang Yan’s days were going smoothly; his wife had given birth to a girl, and even though she was a girl, Wang Yan cherished her immensely.
Every day when he returned home, after washing away the smell of hotpot and beef tallow, he’d happily cuddle his daughter and give her kisses. His little girl was growing even more beautiful by the day. Thanks to Bai Yue’s plentiful breastmilk, at just seven or eight months old, the little miss was plump and white, and very lively.
Now she could sit by herself and play with whatever was in her hands, already recognizing almost everyone she saw.
Each time she saw Wang Yan come in the door, the little tyke would joyfully wave her arms and legs and call out loudly. If she could talk, Wang Yan believed his daughter would surely be calling him “Daddy.”
They named the little girl Tangyuan.
She was white and round just like a tangyuan, irresistibly cute. She had two little dimples when she smiled and loved to be close to her family.
Cuddling nigh endlessly with her mom, Bai Yue, and grandma.
Her three older brothers spoiled her to the heavens.
Ever since she was born, whenever she was awake, she hardly ever lay in bed gnawing on her fingers; if it wasn’t one brother holding her, it was another, or her father, her mother, or her grandmother. Everyone adored her beyond measure.
Who could resist such an adorable child?
Little Tangyuan’s full name was Wang Keke, a name chosen after her mother consulted her aunt Bai Xiao, whom she had never met.
Wang Yan was busy in the shop. Their business was thriving, and he truly felt like a boss now. Since he was too busy to handle everything alone, they had hired several more waitstaff. There were now twelve servers in just one shop, plus four kitchen workers for washing and cutting vegetables—and that was just one location.
Bai Family’s Spicy Hotpot had opened five branches, virtually monopolizing the entire hotpot market in the provincial capital. Wang Yan was also planning to scout markets in other areas next year to open more branches. He had taken his sister-in-law’s advice and had begun deliberately training store managers so that, in time, each location could operate with a complete system, without needing someone to personally oversee it.
The phone rang.
Wang Yan picked up the phone.
“Big brother, it’s Sanxi!”
Even before hearing more, Wang Yan sensed something was wrong; Sanxi’s voice was tinged with sobs.
“Sanxi, calm down, tell me slowly what happened,”
“Big brother, you and Mom need to come back quickly. Dad’s fallen sick. We’ve had swine fever, and a whole circle of pigs has likely died. Now, he’s got a fever and is in bed talking nonsense. I… I’m afraid Dad might not make it,” Sanxi sobbed on the other end.
A chill ran through Wang Yan’s heart. Those pigs held significant meaning for his own father, representing the old man’s lifetime of glory.
It wasn’t just the pigs that were dying.
It was also the old man’s dignity and vitality.
“Don’t panic. First, find a tractor in the village to take our dad to the county hospital. Don’t go to the town hospital—take him directly to the county. Don’t delay because of his condition. Do you have money at home?” Wang Yan calmly instructed.
“Yes! Dad has some on him!”
“Alright, then. You and Er can arrange to take Dad to the hospital. Mom and I will buy tickets and head back right now. We’ll go straight to the county and meet up there. Sanxi, stop crying like a child; you’re the only man in the house now, so you need to handle things. Act like a man and do what needs to be done,”
Sanxi agreed and hung up the phone.
Now, he was the man of the house.
He had to hold up the family’s main beam.
Before his big brother and the others returned, he had to be like a man.