Chronicle of the 70s-Chapter 345 - 332: Death at the Hospital (Part 2)

The next day, not only Qin Zhen and his wife but also Qin Xi’s family of four and Li Jianqing’s couple were invited to have dinner at Mr. Qin’s place. Reluctant to move, the old man was persuaded by Li Xianglu to go out with them.

After breakfast, they changed the two little ones into new clothes and then, under the excited blabbering of Ba’er, the five of them set off in the car.

Qin Shouren is now a dean, and Yang Huan became the chief physician of gynecology and obstetrics after her advanced studies. Both are very busy these days, so they hired an aunt to look after the naughty kid Xiong Youxin who is in junior high this year. His temperament has improved a lot, but he still doesn’t get along with Qin Zhen. Almost as soon as he entered the door, the two started to bicker.

Qin Shouren said helplessly, "Qin Zhen, you’re the older brother, can’t you be a little more accommodating to your sister?"

Qin Zhen really wanted to say that she wasn’t his sister, but that would be too hurtful. After all, his dad is now living with Aunt Yang, and legally speaking, Xiong Youxin really is their sister. So he just sat there eating sunflower seeds with a sullen face.

Although Xiong Youxin doesn’t get along with Qin Zhen, she’s always been on good terms with Minmin, liking the three kids and taking out her little toys for Minmin to play with.

Lu Anna gave Qin Zhen a look to draw his attention, and he saw Minmin happily calling Xiong Youxin auntie, looking as close as if they were one big family. His sullen face then turned a bit awkward.

Qin Xi’s family had also arrived, and so the four kids gathered together again. Fortunately, the house where Qin Shouren now lived was large, a 200 square meter large suite provided by the hospital, so it didn’t feel crowded with a big family over for a meal.

Before coming over, Li Xianglu brought a sesame oil chicken, four soy-braised pork knuckles, and also brought fifty pounds of refined rice. Even though it was now eighty-three, and food was a bit more plentiful, government employees were still eating rationed grains.

Yang Huan felt a bit embarrassed when she saw Li Xianglu’s group bringing so much stuff. Since their return, Qin Xi had sent them food several times, good rice and good flour. Normally, it should be them, the couple, taking care of the younger generation, but they didn’t have the means to get good food, instead, they were eating what the younger ones sent them.

Li Xianglu, seeing that Yang Huan was hesitant, smiled and told her not to overthink it, they’re all family, aren’t they?

Yang Huan’s cooking skills were good, and knowing that the kids all loved meat, she had traded a lot of meat tickets to fry, boil, and stew seven or eight dishes early on. In addition to the two main dishes brought by Li Xianglu, they had a big table full of food.

Li Jianqing and his wife arrived a little late, and Li Xianglu understood as soon as she saw the carry bags in his hand that they had gone to the Overseas Chinese Store to buy things before coming.

This was the first time Li Jianqing and his wife were visiting Qin Shouren’s place as guests, bringing two bottles of wine, two pieces of fabric, and some croissant bread.

Lu Anna poked Qin Zhen, who was busy feeding chicken to the three kids, somewhat embarrassedly. Qin Zhen was having a good time with the three little ones, but then saw his wife with an embarrassed face and hurriedly asked what was wrong.

Lu Anna whispered that they were the only ones who came empty-handed, and it was really embarrassing, even though Anna had already met Mr. Qin before. But this time, as a couple coming over to visit for the first time, coming empty-handed was truly embarrassing.

Upon hearing this, Qin Zhen frowned and said, "Why bring stuff? Technically, you’re the new bride, and my dad should be giving you a welcoming gift."

Lu Anna was suddenly at a loss for words.

Li Xianglu was speaking to the old man aside, and ended up overhearing the conversation between the two men. She couldn’t help but mimic what they said to the old man, who nodded in agreement: "Qin Zhen really has a straightforward nature, not bothered by trivialities."

Li Xianglu shook her head helplessly, even grandfather was singing his praises.

By eleven o’clock, a big table of dishes was laid out, and everyone took their seats. The three little ones were held in the adults’ arms, staring at the dishes on the table with curiosity.

Qin Shouren was very happy about the children’s visit, and after a brief talk, he started drinking with the old man.

Seeing that each person was only served just a bit more than a small cup, Li Xianglu did not bother to intervene. Drinking a little was fine.

Qin Zhen visited Lu Anna’s family, and his mother-in-law cooked him delicious food, but she was from Shandong and her dishes weren’t quite the same as those from the Northwest. He always felt they lacked something, as if the taste wasn’t quite right and he hadn’t enjoyed the meals at home as much as he would have liked. Now at his dad’s place, his appetite suddenly surged and he couldn’t stop himself. The rice was the refined rice Li Xianglu brought, bought before she escaped in her previous life from Wuchang, each grain sparkling and translucent. When steamed, the room filled with the aroma of rice.

Qin Zhen ate two big bowls of rice before he stopped to eat other dishes. He finished off a knuckle of pork but showed maturity as he did not only focus on his own meal, busily serving food to his wife and occasionally tearing some meat and spoon-feeding soup to Minmin, which caught Qin Shouren’s attention frequently.

Qin Shouren and the old man both had small appetites and were not strangers to each other, so after they had their fill, they went on to set up a game of chess and said, "Thank you for taking care of things the past two years, Qin Zhen has grown up a lot."

The old man felt the same and glanced at Qin Zhen who was holding a child, helping his wife eat, and nodded, "Indeed, the boy has grown up, he’s developed a sense of responsibility."

Just as the two of them were about to start their game, there was a knock at the door which startled everyone. Yang Huan stood up to open it and since the dining table wasn’t far away, everyone could clearly hear the conversation outside.

"Dean Qin, the patient who had surgery yesterday has died. Now, the patient’s family is causing a commotion at the hospital entrance."

Qin Zhen abruptly stood up, incredulously asking the person at the door, "Dead? How is that possible? Wasn’t he fine this morning?"

The visitor was a young man in his late twenties, seemingly having run all the way here, panting. Seeing Qin Shouren ask, he quickly steadied his breath and said, "He was indeed fine before you left this morning, but a nurse found him not breathing when changing his dressings before noon."

Qin Shouren shook his head: "Impossible, the surgery yesterday was very successful."

Qin Xi had already stood up and approached Qin Shouren, saying, "Dad, go change first, we’ll go to the hospital together."

Qin Shouren nodded and went in to change clothes, and Yang Huan followed him quickly.

When they came out again, Yang Huan had also changed into outdoor clothes and was ready to go together, but Li Xianglu timely held her back: "Aunt Yang, the emotions of the patient’s family must be unstable right now, and you going there won’t solve the issue. It would be better to let Qin Xi and Mr. Qin go see what the situation is."

Yang Huan looked worriedly at Qin Shouren, while Qin Zhen also stood up, having put on his shoes, "I’ll go too."

Seeing this, Qin Xi did not stop him, intending to see whether his brother had truly matured. Dealing with these kinds of situations required skill, not to anger the people involved, nor to be rash, otherwise even if you are in the right it’s impossible to explain clearly.