In South City Hospital, after a busy round of tests, Ji Ying met with the attending physician, Dr. Li.
Dr. Li used many professional terms that she didn’t understand, so Xu Nian’an took the initiative to explain them in simpler words.
"Young man, not bad," Dr. Li praised. Xu Nian’an appeared to have some medical knowledge.
Proud that her own son was receiving praise, Ji Ying felt delighted as she explained, "My son has just been admitted to the Medical University in Ningbei. He’s currently learning some basics with a doctor in our county."
Dr. Li looked at Xu Nian’an with surprise. Barely in his twenties, the doctor hadn’t expected that he was a fresh college student who had completed the entrance exams, and not only that, he’d been accepted into a Medical University outside the province – the one in Ningbei.
It was well known that Ningbei’s Medical University was prestigious among medical universities nationwide. His admission there meant his future was bound to be promising.
"The young man has potential," Dr. Li said approvingly, looking at Xu Nian’an. Clever and hardworking, studying the basics during the summer break, the doctor didn’t dwell on this subject and instead brought the conversation back to the matter of surgery, informing them of the risks involved as well.
Just hearing about the potential risks of surgery made Ji Ying’s heart beat like a drum.
"Mom, grandpa is old, so there will definitely be risks with the surgery, but doctors tend to overstate these risks. You need to trust them—if they weren’t reasonably confident, they wouldn’t recommend the surgery," Xu Nian’an said, holding Ji Ying’s hand for comfort.
On her other side, Xu Nianhua added his reassurance, "Elder brother is right. What we need to do now is go and make the payment as soon as possible and then set the date for the surgery. Grandpa must be in a lot of pain when it flares up. Getting the surgery done sooner will help him recover faster, and we’ll all feel more at ease, right?"
"Right," Ji Ying, who had been flustered and anxious, now felt gradually calmer with her children comforting her. Then she said to Ji Shan, "Third brother, we must get dad the surgery, or he could literally be in so much pain that he dies."
"Shouldn’t we wait for Qinghe to come back?" Ji Shan hesitated a bit; what if Xu Qinghe was unable to borrow the thousand yuan they needed?
What would they use to fill this thousand-yuan gap?
"No need to wait, I have faith in Qinghe," Ji Ying said, only adding, "Dad needs surgery; should we inform our eldest brother and second brother?"
"Of course," Ji Shan replied, instructing, "You two just wait here, I will go make a phone call to our eldest brother, and then speak with the second brother."
Deng Juan used the excuse of needing to go back home and left, taking Ji Shuyuan with her.
"Mom, I’m fine; I want to stay here with grandpa," Ji Shuyuan said, pressing his lips together, looking displeased at Deng Juan.
Deng Juan prodded Ji Shuyuan’s head with her finger, angrily saying, "You’re still a student, and now you’ve learned how to borrow money!"
Back at home, Deng Juan had held back, but now, with no one else around, she said directly, "Tell me, how are you, a student, supposed to repay the money you borrowed?"
"Mom, I’ve thought it all through. Doesn’t your factory often hire movers? I’m young; I have the strength; I can do the work during vacation," Ji Shuyuan had already planned out his approach when he borrowed the money. It was the beginning of August, and there was nearly a month left before school started, during which he could earn money by moving goods.
He had inquired about it: a mover could earn two yuan a day!
If he worked for a month, he could make sixty yuan.