Before Zhao Tianhai received the telegram, he had already gone to the post office to check, waiting and hoping. At last, the money finally arrived the next day. He quickly took it out and sent it to the city. These past few days, he had not gone on any long trips.
Aside from staying at home overseeing his two sons doing their homework, he was just going to the store to buy things.
"Mother, Brother, I’m here," he said.
Mrs. Zhao burst into excitement upon seeing Zhao Tianhai.
The nurse had been coming by every day to ask about the money, as had the doctor.
They were afraid they would run without paying.
In her decades of life, she had never felt so embarrassed.
She even had to force a smile.
Owing the hospital a large sum of money, it was only natural for people to come asking about it.
"Mother, I’ll pay back the money I borrowed from you first, now I only owe Laosan," he said.
Looking at the stack of money, Brother Zhao planned to repay his mother’s retirement savings. It had been several years since they divided the family money, and at that time, they didn’t get much. He feared that most of the food they gave in the past two years might have mostly come from Laosan’s family.
Life’s hard without money in hand.
Laosan had sent over one thousand five hundred, and the elder brother himself had a little over two hundred. After paying off the medical bills, there would be some left over.
"Big brother, I’ll go with you to pay the medical fees," Sister-in-law Zhao said.
Sister-in-law Zhao knew the money Zhao Tianhai brought was sent by Laosan’s family. She never thought she would fall ill and need to spend thousands on medical expenses which deeply troubled her. Also, once discharged, she wouldn’t be able to do heavy labor.
What about the children’s future schooling?
What about Xiao Mao’s father?
How could one man bear the burden of the entire family?
The two brothers went off to pay the fees.
Mrs. Zhao, seeing Sister-in-law Zhao’s gloomy face, said, "You think it’s too expensive? Or should the eldest have not borrowed money for your treatment? Wait until you die, and he remarries. Once there’s a stepmother, there’ll be a stepfather, and then Daya and the others will be left to face a stepmother’s beatings. Can you bear that thought?"
"The money’s spent, but we can earn it back. Even though you won’t be able to do heavy work after being discharged, you can still take care of the house, raise chickens, rabbits, pigs—these are easier tasks. Can’t you make money from them?" Mrs. Zhao argued.
With her head lowered, Sister-in-law Zhao replied softly, "Mother, having such a big debt, what about the children?"
It wasn’t just a few tens, but over a thousand.
Nowadays, how much does a worker earn a month?
Last year, through selling crops and pigs, the couple only saved a bit over three hundred. Back then, they thought earning that much in a year meant the good days had come with the household responsibility system.
But they had not expected her to fall ill and now have to spend so much money.
"What to do? We used to work collectively and earn just a few tens for the whole year, but we managed to live well. Now we have fields and livestock, and we can’t make do?" Mrs. Zhao chided.
"You just worry. Now that the money’s all spent, the doctor has said that with proper care she can live another ten or twenty years. But without it, she may die within a few years, then the eldest would be left with a mountain of debt and the kids might have to drop out of school. Think about what you would do then?"
"Mother, I won’t think too much. I won’t think too much anymore," Sister-in-law Zhao said, startled by Mrs. Zhao’s words.
Mrs. Zhao wasn’t trying to scare her son’s wife on purpose. It was just her nature to be curt and stubborn, to hold a grudge. At the time of birthing three daughters in a row, she hardly dared to speak loudly at home.
She was not the kind of mother-in-law who would abuse her daughter-in-law for giving birth to granddaughters.
It was about swallowing her pride.
Only after the birth of Xiao Mao did she begin to speak up more confidently.
She no longer felt like the least favored in the household.
The staff at the payment office brightened up when they saw Brother Zhao coming in.