Call Me Daddy

When Deng Caihua first arrived at the hospital and got registered, she thought her son was overreacting. She felt a bit unwell, possibly due to heatstroke. A little Huoxiang Zhengqi liquid and a nap should have sufficed. It seemed like a waste of money to visit the hospital. Just registering for a specialist appointment cost over 30 yuan, which made Deng Caihua feel the cost of the treatment more than the pain in her chest.

(T/N: Huoxiang Zhengqi liquid = Herbal medicine for common illnesses.)

However, this sting of expense turned into relief once all the test results were out.

It turned out that the night sweats and chest pain she had been experiencing were early signs of a myocardial infarction. If her eldest son hadn’t suddenly returned and noticed her poor condition, dragging her to the hospital, she might have had a heart attack at home, and it would have been a long time before anyone found out.

A heart attack was such a condition that even if it was treated immediately, it wasn’t always survivable. By the time others discovered her, her body might have already gone cold.

As for her granddaughter Su Su, such a young child might have thought that Grandma had just fallen asleep. It would have been impossible for her to run out and call for help. Even when she got older, looking back on this event, how heartbroken and guilty she would have felt.

Deng Caihua was shaken but no longer worried about the money. She obediently followed the doctor’s advice and chose to stay in the hospital for observation and treatment.

After such an incident, Su Aobai made sure all the hospitalization procedures were arranged and watched her settle into the hospital bed, waiting for the nurse to take blood samples and perform a series of tests. He stepped outside the ward to call his elder brother.

As soon as Su Yiqing heard the news, he was immediately alarmed. However, he needed some time to take leave. Fortunately, his wife, Kong Yao, was a primary school teacher, and the summer vacation happened to be underway. After receiving her husband’s call, she rushed to the hospital.

Deng Caihua had a reputation for being tough, but at home, she was the best mother and mother-in-law. She had a characteristic of being protective.

According to Deng Caihua, once the daughter-in-law married in, she became family. The time spent scheming against the daughter-in-law was better spent arguing with Ma Aifang another eight hundred times.

So, despite being married to Su Yiqing for many years, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had developed a good relationship. When Kong Yao learned that her mother-in-law was hospitalized and she happened to be on vacation, she offered to take care of Deng Caihua without needing Su Yiqing to ask.

Perhaps due to their long-standing relationship, Kong Yao had picked up some of Deng Caihua’s assertiveness.

The gentle girl who had dated Su Yiqing was now assertive and decisive. When the family went out, people often mistook Kong Yao for Deng Caihua’s daughter, and Su Yiqing for her son-in-law.

For example, upon arriving at the hospital, Kong Yao immediately bombarded Su Aobai with questions, worried that he might have overlooked something.

It wasn’t that Kong Yao didn’t trust her younger brother-in-law, but the family had protected him so well in the past that in any emergency, his first reaction was to call their mother or seek their help.

Seeing that he managed everything so calmly and efficiently this time, her urgency began to subside.

“Er Bai, you take care of things at home. I’ll stay here with Mom. Also, please pack some of Mom’s change of clothes and make sure that Aunt Fu and the others take care of the melons and vegetables she’s so concerned about.”

The old lady was restless. Besides tending to the two vegetable plots in her front and back yards, she had also rented two acres of land in the village. Instead of planting grains, she grew seasonal vegetables, melons, and fruits.

At the foot of the mountain, she had rented a small piece of land to grow common fruit trees like grapes, oranges, and winter jujubes.

She didn’t grow a lot of any one thing; just enough to feed her family and sell a bit to supplement their income.

This way, not only did the old lady not need to rely on her children for support, but she also helped reduce their food expenses.

The land was one of the old lady’s most cherished possessions after her children and grandchildren. If she found her precious fruits and vegetables wilted or spoiled due to neglect after she was discharged from the hospital, she would likely be heartbroken and might even fall ill again.

“Take Su Su back too. She’s so young; it’s not good for her to stay in the hospital.”

Kong Yao had only one son. Su Su, her niece, had been raised in the countryside since she was small. As her aunt, Kong Yao spent more time with her than even Su Su’s father did, almost like she was her own daughter.

Hospitals are full of germs; she didn’t want the child to get sick.

At that moment, a nurse arrived with a pile of instruments to draw blood from the old lady.

Kong Yao couldn’t think of anything else to remind her brother-in-law about. She waved at him and followed the nurse into the ward.

***

“Daddy, needle, needle poke.”

Chubby Su Su had been picked up by her father, who was taking her home to sort out things for his mother. The little girl, peeking through the open ward door, saw the frightening nurse holding a needle and about to poke it into Grandma’s arm. Her eyes widened in alarm.

Clutched in her father’s arms, she nervously patted his shoulder with her tiny hands, showing an anxious desire to go home.

“Grandma is crying. Su Su wants to comfort Grandma.”

She thought that Grandma’s needle was as painful as her own shots and that Grandma might cry and wail, as she herself did.

Su Aobai couldn’t help but laugh and explain, “Adults getting injections is different from kids. Adults don’t cry when they get a shot.”

The little girl’s eyes widened even more. She couldn’t understand how adults weren’t afraid of what looked like a 10-meter-long needle to her. Adults were truly amazing and formidable.

“Grandma needs to take medicine. Daddy, buy Grandma a lollipop. If Grandma has a lollipop, she won’t think the medicine is so bitter.”

Children don’t grasp the concept of life and death; they think that Grandma, who was ill like she had been before, would get better just with a shot and some bitter medicine.

Seeing that her father was already walking away with her, Su Su reluctantly withdrew her gaze and looked up at him with a hint of shyness.

“It would be nice if Daddy could buy Su Su a lollipop too while buying one for Grandma. Su Su feels so sad seeing Grandma sick. If Su Su has a lollipop, she’ll get better quickly just like Grandma.”

Two chubby fingers were raised, showing a mix of determination and shyness, as if wanting to demand candy but feeling a bit guilty.

“Alright, I’ll buy some candy for Grandma and Su Su later.”

Facing such a cute daughter, Su Aobai couldn’t bring himself to refuse.

“Daddy is really the best Daddy in the world.”

The little girl cheered joyfully in his arms, and Su Aobai nearly lost his grip on his chubby daughter.

“Daddy is so good.”

As if realizing she had made a mistake and fearing her candy might be taken away, the little girl clung tightly to her father’s neck, her soft, plump cheek rubbing against his face. The sensation was like the softest jelly.

Although Su Su had been raised by Grandma Deng Caihua since she was little, she had never felt distant from her father. Since Su Su started to remember things, the old lady had shown her pictures of her father every day. Regardless of whether the little girl understood, Grandma would tirelessly explain that her father loved her the most in the world. The reason he wasn’t always with Su Su was to earn money to buy her beautiful clothes, the best snacks, and the most fun toys.

Moreover, Deng Caihua had insisted that her son, no matter how busy, should call or video chat with home every day, so that the child wouldn’t become unfamiliar with his voice or face. When he finally had a rare break and came home, he had to bring back beautiful clothes, tasty snacks, and fun toys for his daughter.

Thus, in Su Su’s little mind, her father represented everything she loved. Under these circumstances, how could they not be close?

***

“Oh, stay away from me. So much sweat; it’s making things messy.”

There was a small incident when they got on the bus back to the village.