1031 Recalling the Past



Even when the cookhouse staff called out for everyone to go and have breakfast, there was still no news from the tent. Xia Wen decided that they should take turns to eat. Qiao Mei and Xia He would go with Sheng Dong to have their meal first and then they could come back to swap places with him.

Along the way, Qiao Mei kept thinking about an issue. She wondered who was able to hurt Xia Mao, but these were things that the higher-ups should be worried about. She had no right to ask about this.

"Let's give Mother a call after we eat. I'm worried that she'd feel very anxious while waiting at home," Xia He said worriedly.

"We should just tell her the good news and not talk about anything else for now. Let's ask Aunt to prepare a single ward in the hospital. I reckon that after Father finishes my bottle of medicinal wine, he will be almost fully recovered. Then he can be transferred back to the capital to recuperate," Qiao Mei said as she looked at Xia He and discussed the issue with her.

Xia He nodded in agreement. This place was located in the wilderness and they only had the most basic medical equipment here. The facilities and standard of care were definitely not as comprehensive and good as what they could get in the capital. It was better to make arrangements for Xia Mao to return to the capital as soon as possible to avoid any future incidents which could cause Xia Mao to suffer on the way back.

"Let's eat first. Then we can go back and discuss it with eldest brother," Xia He said.

Xia Wen sat alone outside the tent. He had put on very thick clothing and did not feel cold at all. As he sat there quietly, he was reminded of many things from the past.

Actually, when Xia Wen was young, he hated Xia Mao. He always felt that Xia Mao did not love them and that he cared more about his career than his family. Xia Mao might even feel that his career was more important than his life. Xia Wen was the one who brought up Xia He and Xia Zhe and he even had to attend the parent-teacher meetings for these two brats.

This was especially so when it came to Xia He. She was a girl, but she would always fight with the boys in school and did not have the bearing of a lady at all. At that time, he even wondered if he was the one who had led Xia He astray. However, even after Xia Fang took over the care of Xia He, there did not seem to be any changes in her behavior. He reckoned that it was just Xia He's true nature to behave like that.

Even though Xia He was mischievous, he was still proud of her. Perhaps it was because even when Xia He was up against three boys, she emerged unscathed while her three opponents ended up with bruised and swollen faces.

On the surface, Xia Wen kept his head down as he was reprimanded by the teacher. He apologized to the three kids' parents one by one, but behind everyone's back, he went to beat up these boys another time. If they did not bully Xia He first, why would Xia He beat them up? At least that was what the young Xia Wen thought at that time.

It was not until they were grown up that Xia He told Xia Wen that she was indeed the one who initiated the fight at that time. However, it was also because the three kids had kept causing trouble for Xia He for a while, so she had no choice but to start a fight. Her goal was actually to become the biggest bully among her peers. She was simply so childish then.

However, after that incident, there were no more fights among their cohort. Everyone listened to Xia He and got along well. Once Xia He found out about the possibility of a fight breaking out, she would immediately put a stop to it. This could be considered the good deed she did in school.

Just as Xia Wen was deep in thought, the doctor suddenly walked out of the tent.

"Ah! You give me such a fright! Why haven't you gone for breakfast?" the doctor yelled out as he held his chest in fear.

"I'm waiting to hear from you. How's my father?" Xia Wen asked.

"I'm actually on my way to talk to all of you. He's much better now, but there are still many instability issues. We need to observe him for another day. If his vital signs are normal today, he can be transferred to the foot of the mountain for treatment," the doctor said.

Xia Wen looked at the doctor expectantly and asked, "Then can we go in and see him now?"

"Yes you can, but not for too long. If all of you keep crowding around, it will cause delays to the treatment, so it's better not to go in too often. The three of you can take turns to go in and take a look for not more than 10 minutes each time," the doctor said in a cautious manner.

He still had not recovered from the shock he got when Zhuang Pin suddenly hung up on him yesterday. He did not even dare to go down the mountain now, and he did not know how to submit the report on his work for the past few days when he next saw Zhuang Pin. After the phone call last night, he had already started writing a self-reflection critique. It needed to be at least 5,000 words long and there must be some depth to it. Otherwise, Zhuang Pin would ask him to go through physical training with the soldiers in the team.

The medics did not need to undergo physical training with the other soldiers every day. They just needed to participate in the morning exercises and simple training at night. They could study and do research on medical treatments in the tent for the rest of the time.