Chapter 7: I Cannot Accept This Money

"No, Doctor, that's not what I meant. Can we speak privately?" the mother of the parturient woman said anxiously.

The woman's husband was guarding her here, and his eyes were also filled with gratitude toward Xu Qinghuan.

Xu Qinghuan was pulled to the end of the corridor by the mother. Seeing that no one was around, the woman stuffed a thick red envelope into Xu Qinghuan's hand. "Comrade, this is just a little token of our appreciation!"

In this era, the largest denomination of currency was ten yuan, commonly known as a "Big Unity."

Xu Qinghuan gave it a squeeze; it was approximately two hundred yuan, nearly half a year's salary for an ordinary worker. She pushed it back, "I'm sorry, Auntie, I cannot accept this!"

She never accepted money from patients. Once she put on her white coat, saving lives and healing the wounded was her mission. She loved money, but she would never tarnish her profession.

Even though at this moment, she was so poor that she only had twenty-seven cents on her entire person.

The mother insisted on giving it no matter what. Xu Qinghuan kept a grim face and resolutely refused. Later, when someone approached, the mother didn't dare to persist any longer and returned to the ward. Just then, the parturient woman woke up and asked, "Mom, did you thank that benefactor?"

During the delivery, the woman had received a spinal block. She knew the attending physician's skill level was poor; they had been struggling to proceed for half a day. She had been so terrified at the time that she thought she would never make it off the operating table.

It was that young doctor who performed the surgery on her. For some reason, the moment the scalpel was held in that young doctor's hand, she felt she was in safe hands.

"She wouldn't take it, she refused no matter what, saying she wasn't a doctor. If she wasn't a doctor, could she have performed surgery on you? If it weren't for her, our little treasure wouldn't have been so safe and successful." The mother felt a sense of regret, and her admiration for Xu Qinghuan grew even deeper.

"I wonder if there is anything we can do to help her."

The woman's husband stood up. "I'll go ask Uncle Wu, and then I'll pick up some things to go thank her."

"That works too!"

After settling her work matters, Xu Qinghuan went to find Lin Xialan. She worked at the supply and marketing cooperative near her home, and it happened to be lunchtime. Taking her clothes, she said, "Let's go, my treat—I'll take you to a state-run restaurant for a meal."

"Really? That good?"

Xu Qinghuan didn't stand on ceremony, and the two of them headed toward the state-run restaurant together. "You know, I learned a few things from an old doctor in our courtyard before. Today I happened to run into a pregnant woman with a massive hemorrhage, so I stepped in to help. The hospital director took notice of me and insisted I stay to work at the hospital, but I politely declined."

Lin Xialan was shocked. "Not bad, Huan-zi! You actually have that kind of skill. This is a good thing!"

She knew Xu Qinghuan had studied under an old doctor before and loved the medical profession, but she hadn't expected her skill level to be so high.

"It is a good thing, but I can't afford to enjoy it right now." Xu Qinghuan had two purposes for telling her this. "I gave him your contact information. After I go to the countryside, I'll write to you. If he looks for you, could you help act as a middleman?"

"Sure, no problem. Huan-zi, why don't you reconsider? Being a doctor in a hospital is so wonderful!"

Xu Qinghuan didn't tell her that if she joined, she would enter at a Level 5 position; there was no need to say such things, otherwise Xialan would feel even more regretful and sad on her behalf.

"Lanlan, has your sister-in-law still not found a job?" Xu Qinghuan asked.

"No, no, Huanhuan, my sister-in-law knows nothing about medicine. She's just an ordinary high school graduate with no special skills. Even if you gave her a doctor's position for free, she couldn't take it," Lin Xialan said.

"No, it's that the hospital offered me a position as an intern nurse. As long as I pass the assessment in the future, I can become a formal nurse," Xu Qinghuan said. "If your sister-in-law is willing, I can sell the position to her."

Years ago, Lin's mother had picked out a wife for her eldest brother—a perfect match from a similar background with a job as a waitress in a state-run restaurant. But her brother insisted on marrying his true love, the current sister-in-law.

The sister-in-law had a rural household registration, not a commodity grain household, meaning she didn't have a grain and oil booklet.

After marrying into the family, the whole family lived frugally just to buy her high-priced grain to eat.

In the book, Lin Xialan's sister-in-law suffered from long-term emotional suppression. Half a year later, she hanged herself in the small woods of the residential compound, leaving behind a suicide note saying the family had treated her very well and never looked down on her, but she truly didn't want to be a burden to them anymore.

However, her maternal family did not accept this explanation. They reported the Lin family for abusing their daughter-in-law. Lin's father and mother were investigated; although the neighbors all came forward to testify that nothing of the sort had happened, the public outcry was too great. Lin's father could no longer hold his position as factory director, and Lin's mother could no longer serve as the director of the Youth Educated Office.

Her eldest brother had his legs broken by several of his brothers-in-law, leaving him permanently disabled and without a job.

Lin Xialan was overjoyed. "Are you serious?"

"Yes. If you guys need it, I'll save it for you." Xu Qinghuan did not hide anything from her friend. "You know my situation. My mother won't give me a single cent, and neither will my second uncle and the others. I'm going to the countryside, so I must have some money in hand to prepare supplies and to have for emergencies in the future."

"I know, I know, Huanhuan. I should be thanking you. Don't worry, I will definitely try to get more money for you."

Nowadays, let alone a job position, even news regarding a job position could be sold for several yuan. By telling her this news immediately instead of using it for a bidding war, Xu Qinghuan had already provided a huge help.

After returning, Lin Xialan told her mother about this. "Mom, you must give her more money. Oh, and coupons too. Huanhuan has done a huge favor for our family."

It wasn't just about the job; with a job, her sister-in-law could convert to a commodity grain household registration.

"Do you even need to say that?" Lin's mother gave Lin Xialan a look. She also quite liked the girl, Xu Qinghuan.

Sure enough, when the family returned in the evening and heard the news, they were all overjoyed. Lin Xialan's sister-in-law secretly breathed a sigh of relief; for a moment, her emotions ran high, and her eyes actually grew moist.

No matter how deep the true affection, it could not withstand the long-term grind of daily life and chores. She had been married into the Lin family for three years, and her son was already two years old. Without a job, she had no confidence, and she couldn't even hold her head high.

Even though she did all the housework every day, when it came time to eat, the better the food was, the less she could stomach it.

If she could do it all over again, she didn't know if she would still have the courage to stick to her original choice.

Fortunately, fate had taken a turn.

When Xu Qinghuan returned home, Xu Manman had already come back. A ring of white gauze was wrapped around her head, and her delicate face was a pale white. Seeing Xu Qinghuan push the door open, she gave a weak smile. "Sister, where did you go? Why are you only just back?"

Jiang Chengxu was sitting on the edge of the bed with his back to the door. He hurriedly stood up and turned around. "Qinghuan, you're back?"

He picked up his coat and said to Xu Manman, "Get some good rest. I'll come see you again tomorrow."

Xu Manman gave an "Mm" and closed her eyes, looking lonely.

Xu Qinghuan couldn't bear to watch.

Jiang Chengxu's eyes were fixed only on her. "Qinghuan, I have something to say to you. Can we go outside to talk?"

Xu Qinghuan thought for a moment, nodded, and turned to enter the living room.

Jiang Chengxu closed the bedroom door and hesitated. "Qinghuan, are you eating? I'll treat you to a meal outside."

"No need, just say what you have to say!"

"Then, shall we talk downstairs?" There was a hint of pleading in Jiang Chengxu's eyes, so Xu Qinghuan had no choice but to nod and follow him toward the door.

An "Ouch!" came from the room, followed by Xu Manman's cry, "Brother Chengxu, woo woo woo, my head, it hurts so much!"

Standing at the doorway, Jiang Chengxu frowned and looked toward the room. Xu Qinghuan clearly saw the struggle in his eyes, tinged with a hint of impatience.

"I'll wait for you downstairs then!" Xu Qinghuan suddenly felt it was pointless and squeezed past him to head out.

(End of Chapter)