Witty Wife, Better Life-Chapter 588 - 578: Sawing Wood All Night

Shen Yunfang went to the nurse’s station, found that surly young nurse, filled out a form, and paid ten yuan to rent a bed for ten days.

The process in between isn’t worth mentioning; that nurse was prematurely menopausal, and Shen Yunfang didn’t feel like dealing with her. Fortunately, the bed was a good one, and the nurse directly took her to a storeroom-like place and let Shen Yunfang push a hospital bed out.

Inside, it wasn’t like the nurse had said that there were only a few beds left; by Shen Yunfang’s estimate, there were at least a dozen or more, though they were all stacked up, with only a few beds by themselves.

It was understandable that the bed-renting business here probably wasn’t going too smoothly. With a bed cost of one yuan a day, which couldn’t be reimbursed as part of the hospitalization fee, you had to wonder how many families could afford it at this time. The cost of renting a bed alone was reaching the level of people’s salaries; how could they afford to eat or drink then? It seemed everyone would rather make do in the hospital than spend this money.

There wasn’t much to pick from, and Shen Yunfang directly chose the outermost bed. The beds didn’t have wheels yet, so it was somewhat difficult to move, but since the bed-renting business might be under the nurses’ management, and they likely received a large part of the money, the nurse proactively helped Shen Yunfang carry the bed to Li Hongjun’s ward.

The ward wasn’t very big. After tidying up a bit, Shen Yunfang placed her rented bed against Li Hongjun’s bed foot, with one side of the head of the bed against the window and leaving a narrow corridor between it and Li Hongjun’s hospital bed.

After everything was arranged, the ward quieted down. The other patient was an old man who, it was said, didn’t have any serious illness, so his wife didn’t stay overnight. When she had taken Ma Liguo and the others out just now, the old lady had packed up her bundle and went home on her own.

Older people all have a common problem – early to bed and early to rise. So, by a little past eight, there was a chorus of snoring sounds echoing in the ward.

Shen Yunfang frowned upon listening; her own husband, Li Hongjun, didn’t snore. Under such conditions, could the two of them get a good night’s sleep? She was somewhat worried.

Li Hongjun saw his wife looking over at him and smiled reassuringly. That’s how it was in public places, not like at home. Just endure it.

Not wanting to affect others’ sleep, they couldn’t chat either, so Shen Yunfang simply helped Li Hongjun with his toiletries and toilet needs before coming back to turn off the light and go to sleep as well.

That whole night, Shen Yunfang felt as if she were sawing logs in her dreams, sawing the entire night. The noise circled around her, a veritable auditory curse.

The next morning, not even five o’clock yet, the old man in the same ward woke up. He clattered out of bed to open the door and go to the toilet and soon returned with a cup of hot water. A little later, he went out again for who knows what. Counting through squinted eyes, Shen Yunfang noted that the old man had gotten up five times early that morning.

Shen Yunfang got up early too, feeling resigned. In truth, she wasn’t one to oversleep, but she hadn’t slept well the night before and felt unenergetic early in the morning.

"Old man, you seem to be in fine fettle. You’ll probably be discharged in a day or two, right?" Shen Yunfang asked the old man, who had just returned, with a smile, seeing that Li Hongjun had already opened his eyes and was staring at the ceiling.

"Hmm, it wasn’t anything serious to begin with; it’s just my worrywart wife who insisted I stay here for a few days. I’ve already let the nurse know, I’m getting discharged today. There’s no point staying here without an illness, it all costs money, and it’s more comfortable at home." The old man wasn’t in the best of moods, and his words came out rather brusque, as if he were about to go to war with someone.

Shen Yunfang was very pleased with his response and didn’t mind his attitude at all, "That’s for sure, nowhere is as comfortable as one’s own home." But she was internally figuring out whom to approach to ensure this room wouldn’t have any new patients for a while. "Come on, I’ll help you up to freshen up; the nurse will probably be here to draw your blood for testing soon."

Li Hongjun was helped by Shen Yunfang to go to the bathroom for a wash. After that, they didn’t return to the ward but started to wander in the corridor until a nurse with a tray approached them.

Seeing that it wasn’t the stern-faced nurse from the day before, Shen Yunfang quickly asked, "Nurse, are you here to draw blood from Li Hongjun?"

"Yes, it’s you, right? Hurry back to the ward and lie down." The nurse was more approachable than the one from yesterday and wasn’t harsh in her speech.

Shen Yunfang then supported Li Hongjun back into the room to have his blood drawn. As the nurse was leaving, she mentioned that around eight o’clock, he would need to get a brain CT scan to check on his brain again.

After the nurse left, Shen Yunfang quickly took the food container and went to the canteen to get some food.

The cafeteria at Capital Hospital was significantly better than other hospitals. Shen Yunfang got two bowls of thick millet porridge, six pork buns, and two plates of cold dishes. When she returned to the ward, the lady in the next bed had also arrived to deliver food.

While serving Hongjun his meal, Yunfang learned from the elderly couple across the bed that they would only be discharged in the afternoon, meaning they would not leave the hospital until around two or three o’clock at the earliest.

Moreover, she deduced from the old lady’s comments that the reason for the afternoon discharge was to not waste the bed fee already paid for a full day, which left Yunfang speechless.

A little past eight, Shen Yunfang helped Li Hongjun to get a brain CT. The results wouldn’t be available until the afternoon, so after making sure everything was in order, she took the opportunity to visit a department store and then swung by the doctors’ office and the nurses’ station. Satisfied with the answers she got, she returned to the ward carrying the remaining items.

"Oh my, did you go shopping?" The elder lady noticed that she had been out for quite some time and had returned with items, deducing that Yunfang had been out browsing the shops.

"Mhm, the doctor said my husband Hongjun needs to nourish himself well, so I went to buy some milk powder and other things. When he feels like it, he can mix a cup to get some extra nutrients," Shen Yunfang said, and without opening her pocket, she directly placed the items into the cabinet beside the bed.

Upon hearing it was milk powder that had been purchased, the old lady looked on enviously, "Young lady, where do you work?" Nowadays, those who can buy milk powder are considered capable people.

"Big sister, I’m not working yet; I’m still a student," Shen Yunfang replied with a smile, without revealing which school she was from.

"Oh, you are quite something then. Milk powder isn’t something you can buy just anywhere. You bought it from the Chinese Store, didn’t you?" the elder lady inquired, trying to probe further. It wasn’t just about today’s milk powder; even the sweets her child had brought the previous day were not items readily available everywhere.

"Mhm, one of my classmates has some overseas connections, and I exchanged some Remittance Coupons with her," Yunfang explained, shedding light on how she was able to shop at the Chinese Store.

The old lady looked at her, seemingly hesitant to speak, and then said somewhat embarrassedly, "My girl, I had no idea you had such a capable classmate. Here’s the thing, your uncle isn’t in good health, and I always wanted to buy him some nutritional supplements to help him recover. But your uncle is just a worker, and our family can’t get hold of any Remittance Coupons. My girl, I have a favor to ask of you; could you please ask your classmate if she has any extra Remittance Coupons to exchange with us?"