Chapter 11.1 “Changes”

Zhuang Jie was negotiating a purchase and sales contract with the hospital, as well as detailed services and after-sales, when she received a call from home. She hung up quickly, excused herself apologizing deeply and rushed out, for a second time.

Liao Tao told her on the phone that He Zhanghua was being rushed by ambulance to the hospital.

Zhuang Jie returned to the headquarters office and apologized to the dean, saying that someone would follow up on the sale later and that they could contact her if there were any questions in the future. Then she hurriedly grabbed her coat and headed for the hospital.

The intern that was with her all day, followed her outside and asked her anxiously what was wrong. She could see that the contract was basically as good as signed. Zhuang Jie called her good salesperson and asked her to come to the hospital to help her finish up with the details.

This hospital was the one that had frequent equipment failures and today they had called her to bring the information for the new equipment. They were planning to finally get another piece of equipment.

This had been a big surprise to Zhuang Jie.

While she was booking tickets online, she went back to her place to pack her luggage, and then went straight to the high-speed rail station. As soon as she found a seat to sit down, she received another call from Liao Tao. There was silence for a while and she said, “Just come straight home.”

Zhuang Jie realized that this was her way of saying he had passed away.

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After Chen Maidong completed the reparations, he bowed slightly to the deceased, then glanced over at them to express his condolences.

Liao Tao went over and touched He Zhanghua’s forehead, and then thanked Chen Maidong. Chen Maidong originally wanted to stop her from touching the deceased directly, but he saw the look in Liao Tao’s eyes and did not say anything.

Liao Tao glanced at He Zhanghua for the last time, turned around, and said to Zhuang Jie: “Let’s get back. There are still a lot of issues to deal with.”

The funeral parlor arranged the wake area, and Zhuang Jie went back to pick up Zhuang Yan and Niao Niao. They were going to keep vigil in the auditorium together. In the second half of the night, the two of them snuggled up to Liao Tao and dozed off one after another. They had finished crying during the day, and their energy was exhausted. Liao Tao looked at her with a pale face, “You go on outside and rest for a while.”

Zhuang Jie couldn’t kneel because of her disabled leg, and it was unsightly to sit. She had been standing for five or six hours. She moved her legs first, then moved out step by step, finding a random step and sitting down.

She began to think about what to do next at home. What would Liao Tao do? What would Zhuang Yan and Niao Niao do? There was still a seriously injured person lying in the hospital, and the compensation will be a large sum of money.

When she heard the voice and looked back, Chen Maidong handed her a cigarette. She took it and lit it, then fell into deeper thought.

Chen Maidong glanced at the prosthetic leg she had taken off on one side and asked her, “I have a restroom. Do you want to take a rest?”

“No, I want to be alone for a while.” Zhuang Jie replied softly to him.

Chen Maidong said: “My condolences.” Then he rode his motorcycle back home.

*

On the third day after the funeral, Zhuang Jie sent Zhuang Yan back to school. Zhuang Yan leaned on the door and looked out the window, and asked slowly: “Sister, when will you go back to Shanghai?”

“Let’s finish the first seven days.”

“Sister, I feel like these past few days have been a dream. I’m talking to you in my dream right now.”

Zhuang Jie rubbed his head and said, “Don’t think too much.”

She sent Zhuang Yan back to school, and then went to the hospital to visit her seriously injured relative, who was still in the ICU. After she apologized to her family, they chatted for a while, deposited 80,000 yuan on the card, and said she would contact her anytime if the medicine money was not enough.

No one would have thought of such a thing, and since she was their relative, her family members did not embarrass her too much.

When Liao Tao got home in the evening, she was sitting in the yard. There were five or six cigarette butts on the ground. On the table next to her was an opened express package, which contained the plaster patch she sent for Uncle He.

Zhuang Jie also pulled up a chair and sat down. She wanted to comfort her but didn’t know where to start, so she simply remained silent.

“There are quick-frozen dumplings in the refrigerator. You and Niao Niao can cook them and eat them.” Liao Tao said.

“Where’s Nia Niao?” Zhuang Jie asked.

“Upstairs playing on the tablet.”

“I went to the hospital in the afternoon. I went ahead and transferred 80,000 yuan to my second uncle. After chatting with the attending physician for a while, I estimate that it will cost 100,000 to 80,000 yuan in the future.” Zhuang Jie took out a cigarette and said, “In the future, he  probably won’t be able to do heavy work anymore.”

Liao Tao didn’t answer.

Zhuang Jie turned the lighter in her hand and said, “He will definitely ask for compensation when he is discharged from the hospital. It just depends on how much he wants.”

After a long time, Liao Tao took a puff of cigarette and asked her, “How much more do you have on your card?”

“Sixty thousand in cash, three hundred thousand in funds.” Zhuang Jie calculated and said, “I also have two credit cards, each with a limit of one hundred thousand.”

Liao Tao went back to the house to find the account book, slapped it on the table and said: “The family still has 70,000 yuan left. It cost tens of thousands for the funeral and we received tens of thousands in gift money, so it is almost even. Not counting the money spent on buying a house, the factory alone cost 200,000 yuan.” Then she added: “I have saved 130,000 yuan over the years.”

“Why were you saving your personal money?” Zhuang Jie looked at her.

Liao Tao didn’t elaborate. Zhuang Jie had taken all this money from her family over the years. She didn’t spend it, she just kept it privately.

“What are your plans for the family now?” Zhuang Jie asked her.

“Just do whatever you have to do. The factory has 200,000 yuan invested in it, so I will definitely continue to work. First, I will cover your second uncle’s medical expenses and compensation. Right now, I still have a monthly mortgage of 12,000 yuan, with the two houses. The payment will be divided for ten years. The bank will not refuse to charge you just because there is a death in the family.”

“I will cash out everything tomorrow and transfer all the money to you.” Zhuang Jie asked, “Have you bought all the machinery and equipment for the factory?”

“I’ve bought them all.” Liao Tao put out her cigarette and said, “Please come down and eat.”

She sluggishly walked downstairs, poking a dumpling into pieces with the tip of her chopsticks. Liao Tao scolded her, “If you don’t want to eat, go upstairs.”

He Niao clapped his chopsticks and talked back to her with a cry, “You curse all day long, and you curse others! You scold Zhuang Yan, you scold me, and you scold my dad! Grandma He Yuan said it’s because you are too powerful. You just killed my dad…”

“Niao Niao -” Zhuang Jie just started to stop him, but He Niao’s face was slapped. Liao Tao scolded her, “Go up and sleep.”

He Niao turned around and went upstairs.

“Mom, why do you have to…” Before she could finish her words, the plate of dumplings on the table was thrown away.

Zhuang Jie said no more and went outside to answer the phone.

The call was from a colleague at the company. She said that this hospital was too difficult to deal with and the details would be discussed when she came back. The hospital is not in a hurry to sign the contract, saying that it needs to communicate clearly with Zhuang Jie before signing, and the money has not been approved yet.

Zhuang Jie agreed and said she would return in three days.

When she returned to the courtyard, Liao Tao was no longer there. She cleaned up the mess with a broom, then went upstairs and knocked on He Niao Niao’s door.

He Niao was crying under the quilt. Zhuang Jie moved her quilt and let her cry and to apologize to Liao Tao. He Niao Niao had a lot of grievances, saying that Liao Tao was unreasonable and would scold people all day long. She also said that she treated He Zhanghua badly and today she acted like a normal person, not sad at all and not even a single tear shed.

Zhuang Jie asked her if these were her own opinions, or if she just listened to others’ gossip. He Niao cried and said it was the same thing.

Zhuang Jie was also tired, so she comforted her, and simply let her cry until she had enough, then went downstairs and took the electric bike for a ride. She wandered aimlessly, and somehow she came to an old cemetery. The graves were overgrown graves, and they were either dead babies or people who couldn’t enter the ancestral graves for different reasons. Not even a tombstone was erected.

Looking behind her, she didn’t know if it was an illusion, or what. She saw a woman wearing clothes from the 1990s with a very big belly. She kept circling a grave, and a baby lay behind her and followed her around too.

She was frightened and rushed back as fast as she could. Only when she was in the busy and noisy town did she dare to look back at the dark graves again.