One day, Xue Xingjun suddenly received a phone call. It was from Liu Hongxing.
"Little Jun, it’s Mom."
"I recognized your voice. What’s wrong?"
"Little Jun, Mom is dying."
"What?"
Xue Xingjun jumped in fright at her words, his voice growing urgent. "What’s going on? How are you dying?"
Liu Hongxing sounded pitiful over the phone. "My stomach has been hurting for months, and that heartless father of yours won’t do anything for ."
Xue Xingjun frowned. "A stomachache? Didn’t you go to the hospital? Are you out of money at ho?"
"I went to the hospital. The doctor said there was nothing wrong, but the dicine didn’t work. My stomach hurts so much I could die. Your dad is so cruel! I told him I wanted to go to Beijing Hospital to get checked out, but he refuses to take . He just watches suffer in agony."
Liu Hongxing’s voice was tinged with tears. "Little Jun, you can’t abandon . I only have you for a son. If I die, you won’t have a mother anymore."
Xue Xingjun was skeptical. "Maybe you took the wrong dicine? Why don’t you go back to the hospital and see a different doctor?"
Liu Hongxing said, "It’s no use. The doctors in our town are all quacks. They just want to take our money and can’t actually treat anything. I’m really in so much pain I’m about to die. Little Jun, please co back and see one last ti."
It didn’t sound like his mother was lying. "Why are you talking about a last ti? Alright, buy a ticket and co to Beijing City. I’ll take you to a hospital here for a checkup."
Liu Hongxing’s mood instantly brightened. "Okay! Okay! I’ll go pack my things right now and buy a ticket to Beijing City to find you."
After hanging up, Xue Xingjun went to ask He Lang which hospitals in Beijing City were the best.
"Your mother says her stomach hurts?"
Xue Xingjun nodded. "She said it’s been hurting for a few months. I don’t know what’s going on, so I told her to co to Beijing City. I want to take her to a hospital here to get it checked out. If there’s really sothing wrong, it’s better to treat it early."
Of course, He Lang wouldn’t try to stop him. Liu Hongxing was Xue Xingjun’s mother; he couldn’t just ignore sothing like this.
"Any hospital in Beijing City can handle a stomachache. Let’s just wait until she gets here."
Xue Xingjun nodded.
Back at the Xue family ho, the mont Xue Changlin heard Liu Hongxing was going to Beijing City, he slamd down his water mug and snapped, "You are not going."
"What business is it of yours if I go see my son? My stomach hurts so much I’m about to die! You won’t help , and you won’t even let my son help . How can you be so heartless, just watching suffer like this?"
Xue Changlin said helplessly, "The doctor said there’s nothing wrong with you. Why won’t you listen?"
Liu Hongxing was so angry tears welled up in her eyes. "He said there’s nothing wrong with ? Then why does my stomach hurt? You tell !"
Xue Changlin fell silent. He didn’t understand the situation either. They had gone to the town hospital, and the doctor said there was nothing serious. It might have been a chill or perhaps indigestion from overeating. They even prescribed so dicine. But after Liu Hongxing ca back and took it, she still said it hurt. He thought they should wait and see if it would get better in a few days, but it ended up dragging on for over three months. Liu Hongxing’s stomach still ached. Last night, the pain kept her awake all night, and the first thing she did this morning was call Little Jun.
Now she was saying she was going to Beijing City to find Xue Xingjun. In his heart, Xue Changlin didn’t want her to go, but given the circumstances, he probably couldn’t stop her.
Liu Hongxing had already packed her bag. She picked it up and started to walk out, ignoring Xue Changlin.
Xue Changlin had no choice but to call out to her.
"Co back here. You’ve never been to Beijing City. How are you going to find your way?"
Liu Hongxing looked at him. "I haven’t. Have you?"
Xue Changlin froze. Of course he had been. He had lived in Beijing City for decades, but he didn’t say that out loud.
"Wait. I’ll go with you. But before we go, I have to make one thing clear: you are not to bother the children. We’ll see the doctor and co straight back."
Liu Hongxing rolled her eyes. "Isn’t that obvious? What else would I do after seeing the doctor, move in? I don’t have a house in Beijing City. Besides—"
Liu Hongxing didn’t say the rest. It would only make Xue Changlin angry again. She wanted to say that even if she went, Xue Yue and Xue Xingzhou wouldn’t want to see her.
The two of them went to the production brigade leader to get a letter of introduction, then set off for the train station.
Xue Changlin hadn’t traveled in many years. Ever since they boarded the train, he remained silent, looking weighed down with worries. Liu Hongxing tried to talk to him, but he wouldn’t respond. Feeling snubbed, she decided to ignore him too.
It was Liu Hongxing’s first ti on a train and her first ti traveling so far from ho. She was so excited, looking at and touching everything, like a country bumpkin seeing the big city for the first ti.
They were on the train for two days. By the ti their bodies were stiff and aching, they had finally arrived in Beijing City.
Getting off the train, Liu Hongxing finally felt alive again. ’What a nightmare,’ she thought. ’Cramd into such a tight seat, I couldn’t even stretch my legs. I couldn’t sleep at night, and my stomach was still hurting.’ Liu Hongxing decided she would never envy anyone for getting to ride a train again.
They left the train station, but since they hadn’t contacted anyone in Beijing City, no one knew they were arriving today. They also didn’t have Xue Xingjun’s address.
Liu Hongxing started complaining to Xue Changlin, "This is all your fault! Why didn’t we tell Little Jun we were coming? We should have let him know when we’d arrive so he could pick us up. What do we do now? Where are we supposed to find him?"
Xue Changlin stared at the Beijing City train station, a dazed look on his face. He didn’t even hear what Liu Hongxing was saying.
Liu Hongxing prattled on for a while without getting a response. She was so angry she was on the verge of exploding. If she weren’t afraid of getting lost, she wouldn’t have bothered speaking to him at all.
"Hey, are you mute or stupid? Can’t you give a single response? Living with you is so miserable. You’ve never treated like a human being your whole life."
As she spoke, her eyes turned red.
Xue Changlin slowly ca back to his senses and glanced at Liu Hongxing. "Alright. I was just thinking about the address Yue’er left us. I can find it. I’ll take you."
Liu Hongxing was stunned for a mont. "You can find it?"
Xue Changlin didn’t answer and just started walking forward. Liu Hongxing quickly followed.
They didn’t take a bus; they just walked.
By the ti they reached Xue Yue’s house, it was already past seven in the evening. Liu Hongxing’s feet ached, her legs hurt, and her stomach was upset. She felt she had never suffered so much in her entire life.
Liu Hongxing had developed a new definition of a "big city."
’Good heavens,’ she thought. They had been walking since noon, and the skin on the soles of her feet was raw. Liu Hongxing looked at her new shoes, her heart aching. She had just bought them and hadn’t even worn them once. She had saved them for this trip, and now they were ruined.
"Can you actually find it or not? You’re not just trying to drag all over Beijing City, are you?"
When they reached a hutong, Xue Changlin walked up to a door and knocked.
Liu Hongxing looked up at the main gate, surprised. "We’re here?"
A minute later, the door opened from the inside.
The person who ca out was Mr. He.
"Who are you looking for?"
Liu Hongxing was about to complain when she heard Xue Changlin call out, "In-law! It’s , Xue Changlin, Yue’er’s father."
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