"Why say such unpleasant things. I know it’s all understood," Qin Feng said. After speaking, she lifted the curtain and returned to her room.
The next day, early in the morning, Qin Ru Hai and his wife went to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought some pastries and canned goods. They also caught and slaughtered a hen they had raised, wrapped it in a big sycamore leaf and stuffed it into a school bag. The couple then went to find a neighbor’s ox cart to head for the town.
On their way, they ran into An Shuchao who had just gone to town to buy seeds. Seeing Qin Ru Hai and his wife carrying big and small bags ready to leave, he stepped forward to greet them, "In-laws, are you going out?"
"Yes," Li Junping felt a bit more comfortable at the sound of "in-laws." "Jianzi is in the hospital, and his dad and I are going to see him."
"He’s in the hospital? What’s wrong with him?" An Shuchao asked anxiously.
"We’re not quite sure ourselves, we only found out the situation yesterday, and today we’re going to the city to see him."
"Oh, then you should hurry along. I’ve got some things to drop off at home. If I have time today, I will also go to the city to see Qin Jian," An Shuchao said.
"Alright, in-laws, we will head off then."
"Okay, okay, go ahead, don’t delay any longer," he urged them on their way.
After the Qin family couple left, An Shuchao, with the seeds he had bought, returned home and upon entering saw An Ping engrossed in a book on how to grow vegetables.
"An Ping, put the book aside for now. I have something to discuss with you," An Shuchao pulled over a stool and sat opposite An Ping. "I just came back and heard from your Qin family couple that they are heading to the city to see Qin Jian. They said he is hospitalized, but weren’t clear on the details. Do you think I should also go to see him? Would it be bad if I didn’t?"
Hearing this, An Ping slammed the book shut: "Go! We must go! Absolutely must go! Dad, I support you! My brother-in-law is sick, how can we not go see him? Even if not for anyone else, we must go for the sake of my sister’s face."
"Alright, then we’ll go take a look. Let’s see what exactly is going on with Qin Jian, how serious it is! If it’s nothing serious, we can rest easy," An Shuchao said.
"Let’s go then," An Ping said, standing up as well.
An Hao had classes during the day and couldn’t visit Qin Jian.
Commander Zhang was busy with work at the military base and couldn’t stay by his son’s side all day, so Zhang Yun was nearly alone in keeping watch over Qin Jian.
Qin Jian had also been busy in the past and hadn’t had the chance to properly talk with his son. But this time, he had caught the opportunity.
She kept asking Qin Jian about his past life, each question adding to her heartache for him, and for each question, her hatred for Li Junping grew.
The two of them talked until noon, when Zhang Yun went home to prepare lunch for her son, leaving Qin Jian alone in the ward.
Qin Jian lay down for a while and soon dozed off. In a daze, he heard someone calling his name, "Jianzi! Jianzi, wake up!"
The voice was very familiar. Qin Jian opened his eyes and saw Qin Ru Hai and his wife standing at the head of his bed.
Qin Jian was momentarily stunned, then sat up, "Dad, Mom! How did you get here?"
His calling them Dad and Mom instantly brought tears to the eyes of his parents.
"Jianzi, you are willing to call us--it truly makes us very... very ashamed. We’re sorry, it was your mom and I who did something wrong thirty years ago, changing your life and causing great harm to your biological parents," Qin Ru Hai was overcome with guilt upon seeing Qin Jian.