Song Tan’s Chronicle - Chapter 100

When they reached the town hospital, the doctor took an X-ray and said her thigh bone was broken. She needed surgery in the city.

The surgery was somewhat difficult and needed to be done at a top-tier hospital to be safe. However, the reimbursement rate at these hospitals was not high. The old lady also had some other minor health issues, so even after reimbursement, it was estimated that the total cost would be around ten to twenty thousand yuan.

While arranging to transfer her to the city, the children finally found time to call.

When the eldest son got on the phone, he started scolding his mother:

“…You don’t know how to enjoy life! We have plenty of food and drink, why did you have to go up the mountain?”

The second son also called, complaining:

“Mom, don’t you know how important my job is now? And how crucial it is for my child to go to school? Can’t you let us rest a bit?”

The daughter came in person, but she complained as well: “Mom, if you stay in the town hospital, I can bring you food every day. If you go to the city, I’ll have to stay with you in the hospital, and with the tight bed situation, I won’t even have a place to sleep at night…”

The old lady, who wasn’t much of a talker, listened silently, tears welling up in her eyes, unable to say anything.

When the children found out about the medical expenses, they were even more unwilling.

The village had a rule that daughters had to take care of their parents but didn’t have to pay.

This meant that the two sons had to come up with ten thousand yuan each.

The eldest son sighed and started a group call with his siblings. The daughter put it on speaker:

The eldest son talked about how much money he spent on his child’s tutoring classes, how tight money was at home, and how hard life was.

The second son also sighed, saying that the eldest usually took care of their parents, and he didn’t mind being filial, but the medical costs were unreasonable. He suggested finding a designated hospital for higher reimbursement.

The daughter sneered and told their parents: “Mom, you see, it’s not that I don’t want to take care of you, but if I take care of you every day and business at my store is affected, can my brothers make up for the loss?”

How big could her business be? It was just a small convenience store in the town, where the whole family ran it and sometimes had a mahjong table. Yet, they acted as if it was a grand affair.

The call ended, and the siblings didn’t mention transferring their mother to the city again.

Zhang Wang was trembling with anger. He glared at the phone and said, “The doctor said there’s a risk with surgery at her age! The central hospital is the safest. Do you three want your mother to die on the operating table?”

“You heartless scoundrels! I have money. I don’t need yours!”

As soon as he said that, the two sons exploded:

“Dad! Who said that? Who said that? Isn’t it you two at home who don’t know how to enjoy life, always causing trouble for us?”

The daughter hung up the phone, looking upset: “Dad, you didn’t even want to help pay my son’s kindergarten tuition of three thousand yuan! Now you suddenly have money?”

Everyone left, and the doctor urged them to hurry up, saying the old lady must be in pain with a broken leg.

Money was not an issue; it was just an estimate. They could apply for more reimbursement later.

Zhang Wang comforted his wife, saying they had over forty thousand yuan saved for medical expenses, which was more than enough.

The old lady didn’t say anything, just held her husband’s hand tightly, crying silently.

How could they go home in this state?

But the old lady had been stubborn her whole life, and seeing her cry like this, Zhang Wang softened and agreed.

He needed to go home to get the savings book anyway. Stumbling, he asked a fellow patient to help arrange a ride back home, negotiating the price. From the town to their home, it would cost one hundred yuan.

Zhang Wang had never been so extravagant in his life, but he didn’t expect that in the time it took him to get the savings book and some chickens and ducks, the old lady had hanged herself with her waistband from the porch beam.

At this point, everyone was cursing: “Pah! Those bastards!”

Another person sighed: “Raising three ungrateful children, and when she broke her leg, they just complained…”

Someone else said, “Enjoy life? We rural folks are destined to toil in the fields all our lives. If we don’t work at home, can we live like landlords with servants? Do rice and oil blow in with the northwest wind?”

“Exactly! Zhang Wang and his wife were hardworking. It wasn’t easy raising three kids from the soil. Now, in their old age, they get this…”

“You wonder how those kids were raised…”

“It’s not always about upbringing. Sometimes it’s just in their nature! They say a rotten bamboo can sprout good shoots, but good bamboo can also produce rotten ones!”

Song Youde took a drag from his dry cigarette and sighed: “Sancheng, their family business is theirs. Zhang Wang is stubborn; you know that. Anger aside, we can’t just leave it like this. You should still help out and make sure Zhang’s wife has a proper send-off.”

“What kind of proper send-off?”

Was Song Sancheng the type to just leave things unfinished?

“It turned into a big fight!”

“The three rascals went home to pack up the old lady’s things, and Zhang Wang dragged out a cardboard box from the storeroom. He opened it, revealing a plastic bag full of money!”

“Dad, do you remember the old bills from when we were young? The ones worth one fen, one mao, later five mao, and the biggest ones were two yuan, all neatly bundled with rubber bands!”

Some of the money was already moldy and rotting, some had been gnawed by mice, and some had stuck together, with only faint colors remaining…

But it was all money, a box full of decades of hard-earned money.

Zhang Wang opened the box and showed everyone. He had a few nearby women count it, and the children were stunned, awkwardly saying:

“Dad, why didn’t you tell us you had this money? People are buying old notes like these for a good price now.”

“If you had given them to me earlier, I could have sold them. Mom wouldn’t have been so frugal…”

As he reached for the money, Zhang Wang swung a hoe, nearly breaking his arm!

“Do you think your mom died because she was frugal? She was suffocated and angered to death by you!”

They had struggled their whole lives, and in the end, she couldn’t get over it! For the sake of two thousand yuan, she was ready to give up her life. How could she bear it?

When the eldest son got married, they had to borrow fifteen thousand yuan to buy him a co-op house in the city.

The second son married late, and they had to gather another eighty thousand yuan for a house. Housing prices had gone up.

When it was the daughter’s turn, they received ten thousand yuan in bride price, but the parents added another thirty thousand, along with new furniture, for her dowry.

The couple fell back into debt and only recently paid it off.

Their whole lives, they never shortchanged their children!