Wei Qian arrived home at 3:30 in the morning.
He pinched the bridge of his nose at the door, first took a deep breath towards the door, and then let it out slowly. On the long journey home, his anxiety along the way gradually subsided, replaced by a heartfelt reluctance to push the door open and enter the house.
Of course, it is impossible not to go in.
Gently opened the door, but the soft light in the living room was on. Wei Qian was taken aback, then poked his head in, and saw Wei Zhiyuan sitting on the sofa and flipping through a fat book like a modern Chinese dictionary. With dark circles under his eyes, he raised his head and smiled at him.
Wei Qian lowered his voice and asked, "Why aren't you asleep yet?"
"Waiting for you," Wei Zhiyuan said, "Have you eaten yet? Nothing else, there is nothing else at home. Shall I cook you a bowl of quick-frozen dumplings?"
Wei Qian: "Why wait for me, I want to eat but can't cook?"
Wei Zhiyuan boiled water without looking back: "I'm afraid you're in a hurry."
Wei Qian sat on a red-eye flight for more than four hours, and then rushed home from the airport. It was another nearly an hour's drive, and every muscle in his body was sore. It is reasonable to say that he should be extremely exhausted, but he did not understand the situation. I'm used to it, and I hardly think about "tired or not".
But in the dead of night, the fact that someone was waiting for him at home seemed to shake his spine.
Wei Qian sat down on the small stool in the dining room, his arched back pressed against the cold wall, his shirt was wrinkled, and his open neckline exposed his increasingly abrupt collarbone and obvious neck tendons.
Wei Zhiyuan put the quick-frozen dumplings into the boiling water, turned around and got into a glass of water, pinched a small handful of lotus seed hearts, soaked them in it, and handed them to Wei Qian: "It's the fire."
Wei Qian leaned boneless between the corner between the locker and the wall, and asked with a dull expression, "What's going on?"
"I'm in the ICU. I just had an operation today, so I can't visit you for the time being." Wei Zhiyuan pulled a chair and sat down next to him. "I talked to the doctor today. Arrange half an hour of family visit time, don't worry, it's useless."
Wei Qian understood what he meant—yes, it's useless to be anxious, this is a matter of life and death.
He fell silent, drinking lotus seed heart soaked water, the bitterness made his tongue numb.
He always thought that Mrs. Song was a dynamite bag ready to blow up the bunker at any time, but he forgot that the dynamite bag was over seventy years old.
A few years ago, she accidentally slipped and fell, but apart from startling passers-by, nothing happened, and she got up again by herself. After that incident, she still smugly boasted that a fall is not a big deal. When she was young, she could throw a 200-jin sack into the car by herself, but she didn't know if it was true or a bragging.
In order to save the few dollars, she walked ten miles a week to the morning market and brought home the vegetables they had to eat for a week. Ten or even twenty catties was common, and young lads felt overwhelming when they picked them up. Walk all the way back with your back on your back, never take a bus.
Her famous saying is: They don't even try to take a dime out of my pocket.
Even if they have no shortage of money.
Her behavior has been rude for decades, and she has not changed in the slightest when she moved to a relatively high-end neighborhood. There is no old lady here who scolds her all day long, and she soon found a new brother who made them Three ways to lose face—running a red light, spitting everywhere, blowing your nose on the side of the road, and wiping your hand on the street lamp or electric pole next to it.
For a while, the neighborhood committee advocated a civilized community, cracked down on spitting, and fined her five yuan once she was caught. Mrs. Song followed others to sell her old age, and did everything she could.
Although Wei Qian himself was reluctant to buy any good things, he was not reluctant to spend money on her. He bought royal jelly, American ginseng, and cordyceps for her. Unfortunately, the old things were ungrateful, and he not only wanted to scold him for being full. , Changed hands behind the scenes and would be sold—it was ungrateful from the inside to the outside.
She thinks that those are for the wives of officials and landowners, and the things she shouldn't use will shorten her life if she uses them.
Wei Qian gradually became richer, and gave her 5,000 yuan in petty cash every month. She was happy to see her teeth, but she just held the money in her hand, counted a dozen times, and then locked it up.
She holds her head up every day, thinking that she is now an old woman from a rich family, but this "old woman from a rich family" still gets up early every day and sells boiled corn and tea eggs at a roadside stall.
What a worthless, uneducated and unqualified bastard old "no wife".
She wanted to make him feel uncomfortable every day and every day, as if it was not a day without a few words. But they have made do with each other for so many years, Wei Qian can hardly imagine how they will live without her in the future.
"Brother, eat it while it's hot." Wei Zhiyuan's words called back Wei Qian's soul.
Looking at the steaming bowl of quick-frozen dumplings, Wei Qian lost his appetite. The bitterness of the lotus seeds made him lose his appetite, but he reluctantly took it and mechanically forced himself to eat it.
"Where's Xiaobao?" Wei Qian asked.
Wei Zhiyuan said softly: "I'm tired from crying, I'm asleep."
Wei Qian involuntarily slowed down the speed of eating, and it became more and more difficult to swallow.
Wei Zhiyuan continued from the side: "The worst possible situation is of course, I'd better tell you about the best situation. If grandma can be rescued, the ideal is that she can walk on her own, and she can barely take care of herself—return to the way it was before. It’s impossible, even so, her brain cells will accelerate aging and shrinking, and it can be delayed by medication, but it can only maintain the status quo or get worse and worse, and it is impossible to repair.”
Wei Qian is not a medical student, but he has a biological background, and there are some overlapping majors. Hearing this, he immediately understood.
If it goes on like that, the end result is nothing more than dementia.
He didn't want to eat at all, and put the bowl and chopsticks aside.
Wei Zhiyuan analyzed in detail: "In that case, she may need someone to take care of her personally. I can do other things, but some are too close to me. It's not convenient for me. I can't count on Xiaobao. I may need to hire a nanny at that time. Brother , do you think it’s okay to do this?”
Wei Qian was silent for a long time, then nodded: "Don't tell Xiaobao these words."
Wei Zhiyuan: "I know, she was terrified."
In this way, Wei Zhiyuan told him the current situation bit by bit, analyzed and discussed how to deal with different situations, and what to do in the future. His steady tone and attitude made Wei Qian's confusion gradually settle down.
Wei Qian finally transitioned from "unimaginable" to accepting this reality, and had a clear idea - she can't die, no matter what happens in the future, he will give her a pension; if she is lucky enough to die without suffering, Then he will give her a happy ending.
Wei Qian suddenly raised his head to look at Wei Zhiyuan, and asked him: "You said Xiaobao was frightened, if something happens to grandma, aren't you afraid?"
Wei Zhiyuan took one of his hands, squeezed it gently, and before Wei Qian felt something strange, he quickly let go, and got up: "If I'm also scared, what should you do?"
Wei Qian froze for a moment, Wei Zhiyuan's shadow when he got up was bigger and bigger by the lamp, as if he was engulfed in it. He thought, why is this kid's words more and more poignant
During the first period of time, Wei Qian went to the hospital all day long to check on Mrs. Song's condition. Old Xiong and the others took a very long time for this investigation, which made Wei Qian have to take care of the company's work.
Fortunately, Wei Zhiyuan moved back from school completely, and Wei Qian felt that things were not as stretched as he imagined.
Wei Zhiyuan is like a brain he has grown out, thinking about more than half of the things and doing more than half of the things for him every day.
He was like a sapling that gradually grew taller, supporting half of the crumbling roof for him.
Fortunately, Mrs. Song did not die after all. She was rescued and came back, and after about ten days, she left the intensive care unit.
Her words were unclear, but she was not stupid.
After being admitted to the general ward, the family members will start to be busy. Xiaobao is still in high school, and she has to rush all the way to come to the hospital to deliver a meal every day. Such a large amount of activity seems to stimulate her growth. Two months later, she was a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl, her trousers were actually a lot shorter, and the length of puberty challenged the limits of human beings.
Wei Zhiyuan has a lot of homework - not only in school, he may still be studying other things, every time Wei Qian sees him, there is at least one or two brick-like books beside him.
Wei Zhiyuan ran at both ends, and the time was shortened a lot. Wei Qian saw him several times at two or three in the middle of the night, yawning and sitting in front of the computer to do homework, and sometimes fell asleep while doing it.
Wei Qian never let him come over to work the night shift anymore. He set up a camp bed in Mrs. Song's ward, and the company had to take a long vacation. After two full months, Mrs. Song was discharged from the hospital.
There was no way, ever since Mrs. Song regained her wits, she had resolutely rejected the nurse.
And when Wei Qian tried to communicate with her about "find a nanny to take care of her", she was severely protested by Mrs. Song. She made Wei Qian understand with gestures and yelling in a vague voice with a piece of tofu in her mouth. Her thoughts, she was saying: "I'm an old farmer, not the sort to call people."
Wei Qian said: "Oh, my old ancestor, you are still living in the old feudal society?"
Granny Song stared, chattering and groaning again.
She won't think about wasting the family's time, delaying their work and study, and may lose more money. Although she is not stupid, her mind can't make so many turns, and she is more stubborn than before she was sick.
Wei Qian smiled wryly: "You are really bullying me, I'm too embarrassed to scold you, and you've been relying on me for a while, right?"
Mrs. Song had the upper hand on him once in a while, and she was extremely proud.
Wei Zhiyuan carefully cut her severely deformed nails, and asked Mrs. Song in a soft voice: "No nanny, will you let Xiaobao wait for you to wipe your body, take a shower and go to the toilet?"
This sentence hit the heart of the heart, and Mrs. Song fell silent.
Xiao Bao happened to come in from the outside, and she was panting, carrying two food thermos buckets, only vaguely heard a sound, and didn't understand the context, so she said recklessly: "I can, I will Grandma, it's okay, I'll take care of you."
Granny Song didn't respond, but she didn't let go of the matter of "hiring a nanny".
As her body collapsed, she was at a loss as to what to do, so she had no choice but to be more conservative. In her opinion, this was a matter of principle.
But how could she be willing to let Xiaobao take care of her
Little Treasure grew up pampered. For the little girl, the heaviest labor was nothing more than washing the dishes and mopping the floor.
Taking care of the sick is one of the most difficult things in the world. Mrs. Song knows better than anyone else that she will wait for the retirement of her parents-in-law and wife.
In the end, relying on her perseverance to "throw a 200-jin sack into the car", she exercised whenever she found a gap every day. Miraculously, she was able to move slowly while leaning on the wall with a cane.
In terms of inner strength, no one is as powerful as this old thing who has lived for three quarters of a century.
On the day Mrs. Song was discharged from the hospital, Wei Qian was going to pick her up, but he received a phone call from their company's administrative office that night, saying that there was an important project in progress, and now there will be "three meetings and one floor"[Note], please be sure Attend.
This important decision has to go through the rules of "three meetings and one level". It is the content of the company's articles of association that was recently revised. The company has improved and scaled, and finally reached the stage of standardization and rapid development.
Wei Qian walked out of the ward, and in the corridor, he frowned and asked, "Which important project should we push?"
The other end told him: "It's the health and recuperation sea view resort project in city c last time."
Wei Qian asked unceremoniously: "Who pushed it, is there something in the brain?"
The other party heard his bad tone, hesitated for a moment, and said tremblingly, "It's Dong Xiong."
Wei Qian: "Then you transfer him to me now."
Administration: "He's already home"
Wei Qian: "What about talking about fish?"
Administration: "Maybe still on the plane, he said he should hurry back before tomorrow's meeting."
Wei Qian cursed in a low voice, usually San Pang was in charge of administration, Wei Qian didn't have much contact with them, he came and went in a hurry every day, and didn't talk much, and the newly recruited employees were basically afraid of him.
The little administrative girl was even more uncertain, and asked cautiously: "Then can I ask, are you sure you can come tomorrow?"
Wei Qian sighed: "I have something at home, this"
"Brother, you have something to do." Wei Zhiyuan appeared behind him at some point, stretching out his hand to support the door of the ward, as if he was half hugging him, "I'm here, don't worry."
Wei Qian glanced at him, then remained silent for two seconds, and finally said to the person on the other end of the phone: "All right, I'll be there tomorrow."
He wasn't pretending, he was really relieved of Wei Zhiyuan.
Wei Zhiyuan happened to have no class the next morning, so he stayed in the hospital to keep vigil that night. Wei Qian called Lao Xiong twice, but the other party didn't answer, so he had to explain to Wei Zhiyuan, and went out to ask Lao Xiong Xingshi for his crime.
Old Xiong is actually at home, pretending that his grandson does not answer the phone.
The door was not locked, it was closed vaguely, and opened with a push, Wei Qian stepped in and almost choked - several sticks of high incense were burning in the old bear's house, making the surroundings surrounded by clouds, mountains and mists, and the fairy air was misty, Almost catching up with Yaochi.
The fat-headed fish did not know what was wrong. He put the sofa cushion on the ground as a futon, sat cross-legged on it, and held a string of wooden rosary beads in his hand. He sat facing the wall. Hanging on the wall is a copy of the full text of the Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra in large letters.
Wei Qian didn't figure out what rhythm this was, but he knew at a glance that Mrs. Xiong was not at home.
The floor of the living room was either incense ashes or tattered sofa cushions, with almost no place to put his feet on. Wei Qian walked in like thunder, and asked with tingling scalp, "What do you mean? Do you want to take refuge in my Buddha? Where is my sister?"
Old Xiong seemed to expect him to come, and he didn't even turn his head when he heard the sound: "I'm traveling abroad—I wouldn't dare to do this if she was at home. You can sit down."
Wei Qian looked at the other sofa cushion on the ground he was pointing at, ignored him resolutely, and sat on the sofa—he thought that the old bear was crazy, and he reluctantly admitted it after hearing his fear of Mrs. Xiong for ten years , he probably hasn't gone crazy yet.
"What do you want?"
The old bear raised his hand to stop his voice: "Wait a minute, ninety-nine will return to one, I still have to read the scriptures for the last time, wait for me for two minutes."
Then he actually began to bow his head and read the scriptures written in Sanskrit, which at first sounded like some kind of strange bird song.
Wei Qian waited for him to read it, and then he followed the principle of respecting other people's religious beliefs, and asked patiently, "Have you started to believe in Buddhism?"
Old Bear: "I don't believe it."
Wei Qian took out a napkin to block his nose: "Don't believe it? Don't believe it? You still make your house look like a smoky den? Are you sick? You've smoked me to death."
Old Xiong said leisurely in the same tone as Tiao Da: "I'm looking for a sustenance."
Wei Qian waved his hand: "You entrust it with whatever you like, I won't talk nonsense with you, someone called me just now and told me about the project in city C, what's going on?"
Old Xiong got up from the ground awkwardly: "Oh, that, just wait, I'll get you a project proposal—China's first ecological recuperation villa group, very attractive."
"Don't fool me with the one surnamed Zhang, you're not trying to sell it to me," Wei Qian leaned heavily on the sofa, "Did you take the wrong medicine, Comrade Xiong Yingjun? Tell me, what kind of convalescent villa is this?" , What is the core value of the Cancer Discovery and Inhibition Center?"
"I told you, as rich people start to pursue quality of life, health is"
"Fuck your health, do you know what health is?" Wei Qian interrupted him, "The health they pursue is face-saving sports, organic food that is like a psychological placebo, and can evoke childhood memories and make them feel healthy." A country farmhouse with the illusion that you are still young—how many people who are superstitious about health care do not shy away from medical treatment? They would rather practice Qigong than listen to the doctor tell you what kind of cancer you have and how you need chemotherapy! Are you planning to make this project a hospice club? ?”
Old Xiong was speechless for a moment, but he quickly calmed down: "The mountains and rivers are beautiful and there is no pollution. In such a place, the subject matter is just a gimmick. Mountain hot springs and the feeling of seclusion are what people really need. The villa is easy to sell. .”
Wei Qian said: "You are pure farting. The villa project is much more risky than other projects. Even if you really want to do it, can't you build a row in the suburbs? You have to go to the backcountry, where even local farmers are rare. Are you going to do it?" To whom?"
"Sell it to people who want to get away from the city, escape all the stress and worry, and want to live a secluded life in a place with beautiful mountains and rivers," said Old Xiong.
Wei Qian said sarcastically: "A terminally ill patient who wishes to wait for death in isolation?"
Old Xiong didn't laugh or refute. He just looked at Wei Qian quietly and replied, "Families of terminally ill patients."
Wei Qian first felt that there was no way to communicate with Old Xiong today. He just wanted to let his temper get angry at this perennially tolerant and gentle elder brother, but immediately, he sensed something was wrong.
"Wait, Brother Xiong, what do you mean?"
"She followed you and suffered countless hardships. When you finally wanted to treat her better, she ran out of time." Old Xiong's eye circles turned red without warning. On the wall covered with Buddhist scriptures, his expression gradually calmed down and returned to a kind of numb indifference. He stared at those scriptures and Buddhist altars, and said to Wei Qian as if lightly, "How do you think the family members want to make up? It can’t be made up for. You said that at this time, let this person exhaust his financial resources to build an artificial paradise for his family, and at the same time provide necessary medical services and various commercial services, which can be divorced from reality and comfortably Enjoy life, will he do it?"
Wei Qian looked at him almost in shock.
The old bear said, "If it were me, I would do it."
The author has something to say: Note three meetings and one level: refers to the shareholders meeting, board of directors, board of supervisors and senior management
Support: Please share with your friends!