Unexpected Incident
By the end of April, Su Mu’s twenty-acre vegetable field had turned into a lush green expanse. Truly green. With the grass seeds sown earlier and her spiritual power assisting, the plants had begun to grow vigorously.
She hired Grandma Li and another efficient elder to help with weeding, and she herself also worked in the field. Even though she had enough money now to hire workers, it would be seen as ridiculous in the countryside if she didn’t contribute herself. After all, farmers relied on both the heavens and their own efforts. As a farmer’s daughter, being lazy wasn’t acceptable.
Though they were called weeds, they were actually interspersed with wild vegetables full of moisture, such as lamb’s quarters, pigweed, and wild mustard. These were commonly found in rural areas and were usually used as feed for poultry.
Su Mu wasn’t one to waste resources. She wanted to make mustard greens dumplings.
When they finished work and returned home, Su Mu told the two grandmothers to take the wild vegetables with them. After all, leaving them in the field would just result in them rotting away.
“Mu Mu, why don’t you clean up these wild vegetables and take them to the county to sell? You could earn some pocket money. People from the city really like rural vegetables these days.” Having come from hard times themselves, they didn’t want to waste anything edible. If this were the 60s or 70s, everyone would’ve been fighting over these vegetables.
Grandma Li truly treated Su Mu as a junior, which was why she suggested this.
Su Mu thought for a moment. After finishing the weeding today and tomorrow, the field would be ready for fertilization. This task would take at most a day. She could work in the morning and then head into town to sell vegetables in the evening.
“Grandma Li makes a good point, but if I’m going to sell the vegetables, it will be hard on you in the field.”
“It’s not a problem. In the past, we used to chop wood in the mountains, which was even tougher. You can leave it to us.” Grandma Li was genuinely satisfied with her work. These days, she had saved up quite a bit. When the younger generation returned, she could give it to them as pocket money. Just thinking about their smiling faces filled her with endless energy.
Another elder, Grandma Chen, also encouraged her to do her own thing and assured that the field’s wild plants would be completely cleared.
Her family was even more financially strained than Grandma Li’s. Her daughter-in-law had a difficult childbirth and required constant nourishment to recover. They lived frugally, so she cherished this hard-earned job.
“Alright, I’ll take these wild vegetables into town to sell.”
Su Mu finished work earlier than her parents in the morning. They had gone to the rice paddy to plant seedlings; the seedlings were growing quickly this year, so the planting season started a few days earlier than usual.
After returning home, Su Mu quickly freshened up and then entered the kitchen.
The weather was getting hotter outside. She didn’t prepare elaborate dishes, only boiling a couple of handfuls of rice noodles. Dry rice noodles needed to be boiled for quite some time to soften and expand. During this time, she prepared the toppings.
The two large chicken thighs her parents had left her from last night’s meal were still untouched. She decided to shred them into chicken strips. The wild vegetables she had brought home were blanched, and she mixed them with the chicken strips, minced garlic, chili, and sesame oil. This created a simple and refreshing topping.
After finishing all of this, the rice noodles still weren’t cooked. She lifted the lid and let them continue boiling. Through the kitchen window, she could see lush trees in the distance. She had also cleared an area near the kitchen.
Last time, along with the seeds, there were also a few rose bushes that arrived. She planted them here, and new shoots had already sprouted by now.
After she pruned the branches, Su Mu planned to create a flower wall. This way, when her mother was busy in the kitchen, she could lift her head and see a wall full of blossoms.
Taking note of this plan in her mind, the rice noodles were cooked, and she rinsed them several times with cold water. Finally, she soaked them in clean water until it was time to eat.
As the sun rose higher in the sky, Su Mu glanced outside but didn’t see her parents yet. She took out her phone, intending to call them to come back sooner. Planting seedlings was exhausting work, constantly bending over and being exposed to the sun could be tiring.
Before she could dial the number, she heard a commotion getting closer. Stepping outside the yard, she saw a group of people heading towards her, with her parents among them.
Instinctively, she walked a few steps forward and noticed her father carrying a frail elderly person in his arms, eyes tightly shut. “What happened?”
Her father didn’t answer, saying urgently, “Mu Mu, go get the car.”
Caught up in the tense atmosphere, Su Mu hurried back to her room, grabbed the keys, and drove the car out.
After her father placed the elderly person in the car, he told the people who were helping, “I’m taking him to the hospital now, you can go back.”
During the drive to the county town, she learned the sequence of events.
The Su family’s rice paddies were located by the roadside at the village entrance. After her parents finished planting the seedlings and were about to head home, an elderly man who appeared out of nowhere stumbled and collapsed right in front of them. Nearby villagers who were also working rushed to help.
Having spent their whole lives in Huayuan Village, they were familiar with most of the neighboring villagers. However, this elderly man was a stranger, and they didn’t even know where to send him back to.
Her father didn’t overthink it. After checking the elderly man’s condition and deducing that it wasn’t a sudden illness, he couldn’t determine what exactly was wrong with him. So, he decided to send him to the hospital for treatment.
Amid the confusion, the thought of using a phone didn’t even cross their minds; they directly carried the man.
After hearing this, Su Mu couldn’t help but say, “Dad, please don’t do this again. It’s not that I don’t want you to help, but moving a patient without proper care could cause secondary harm. What if something goes wrong?”
Father Su wasn’t knowledgeable about these things. When he saw a living person collapse right in front of him, he naturally rushed to help immediately. Nobody had ever told him that what he did was wrong. However, his daughter was someone who had acquired a lot of knowledge. Listening to her was definitely right.
“I understand. So, what should I do if I encounter a similar situation in the future?” He wanted to scratch his head, but his hands were dirty from planting rice seedlings earlier. He had set them down and forgotten to wash them.
“Call 120, let the professional doctors and nurses handle it.”
The village wasn’t far from the county town, just about a ten-minute drive away.
While in the car, Su Mu had already called the hospital in advance, explaining the current situation. As a result, when her car arrived at the hospital entrance, there were already doctors and nurses waiting.
They transferred the elderly man onto a stretcher and pushed him inside, with Father Su following closely behind while she drove away to go find a parking spot.
The hospital wasn’t just short on patient rooms; parking spaces were also scarce. Eventually, she found an available spot at a private parking lot outside.
By the time Su Mu returned to the hospital, the examination results for the elderly man had already come out.
He had mild Alzheimer’s disease. It was estimated that he had walked out of his home and forgotten the way back. Exhausted from walking and without replenishing his body’s energy in time, he fainted due to hunger and fatigue.
Fortunately, a doctor found a name and a contact number in his pocket. Su Mu dialed the number based on the information.
The call was quickly answered.
“Hello, are you Mr. Fu Da?” Su Mu inquired.
Fu Da lifted his head from a pile of documents, his brows slightly furrowed. This was his private number, and very few outsiders knew it.
“Yes, I am. What’s the matter?” Fu Da replied.
“Well, my father encountered an elderly man today… We found your contact information in his pocket. Can you please come to the hospital as soon as possible?” Su Mu explained.
Fu Da’s tone turned cold. “My father is perfectly fine at home. You’ve got the wrong person.”
Su Mu was taken aback by his cold response. In general, who would carry a stranger’s contact information on them? Given the elderly man’s current condition, it was likely a means of contact that his family used in case he got lost.
Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.
Gathering her composure, she continued, “Regardless, you should still confirm. Please hurry to Taoyuan County People’s Hospital.”
After Fu Da hung up the phone, he continued to immerse himself in his work. However, he suddenly remembered the call he made to Aunt Wang yesterday, inquiring about his father’s condition. Her tone seemed a bit peculiar, hesitant.
His expression grew sharp, and he picked up his coat before leaving the office in long strides.
On his way home, he recalled the times he had spent with his father. They were not only father and son but also friends. Because of his father’s presence as a solid pillar, he dared to venture boldly.
Later on, there were times when his father couldn’t recognize him anymore. He hired the best doctors and used the best medicines, but the beautiful memories they once shared slowly faded away.
Fu Da’s eyes grew slightly red, and his hands gripping the steering wheel trembled slightly.
He sped all the way back home, only to find the place eerily empty. He searched every corner but couldn’t find his father’s presence. Eventually, he kicked open Aunt Wang’s door, finding her still deeply asleep. Overcome with frustration, he kicked the bed in his anger.
Aunt Wang woke up startled from her dream, and upon seeing Fu Da, she stammered, “Mr. Fu?”
“Where’s my father?”
Aunt Wang exclaimed in surprise, “Isn’t the old master still sleeping?” She was clearly flustered, unable to control her trembling.
Fu Da’s gaze was icy, like frozen steel. “I’ll ask again, where’s my father?”
Given the situation, Aunt Wang knew the truth had come to light. Her eyes turned defeated as she trembled, tears and mucus streaming down her face. “Yesterday afternoon, I accompanied the old master for a walk in the park. I looked away for a moment, and when I turned back, he was gone. Sir, I didn’t mean to keep it from you. I already sent people to look for him.”
Fu Da’s anger surged within him. He had always assumed that his father was safe and sound at home, never imagining that he had been missing for a whole night. He didn’t know how his father had endured that night.
Ignoring Aunt Wang’s pleas, he immediately called the police. When the police arrived and took Aunt Wang away for investigation, he quickly drove to Taoyuan County.
On the other side, the elderly man woke up shortly after receiving an IV drip.
Perhaps due to the unfamiliar environment, he appeared restless and kept shouting. No matter how they tried to console him, it was ineffective and drew the irritated stares of other patients.
Several complaints were lodged against him by fellow patients.
Su Mu and her father felt somewhat helpless in the face of this situation.
“Miss Su, I suggest you process the discharge formalities as soon as possible. Apart from Alzheimer’s disease and some frailty, the old man doesn’t have any major health issues. There’s no need for him to stay in the hospital,” the doctor advised.
By this point, the hospital’s stance was clear. Even though Su Mu was reluctant, she eventually went ahead and processed the discharge paperwork.
Originally, she had thought about involving the police, but upon learning that the elderly man’s family could be contacted, the police simply instructed her to take him home. They didn’t seem inclined to intervene.
True to her kind nature, Su Mu brought the elderly man back home.
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