Volume One, Chapter 16: Two Hundred Dollars, Do You Have It?

When Tang Guanguan and her family arrived at the county health clinic, pulling their cart behind them, the sky was just beginning to brighten. Each of them was utterly exhausted.

Without even wiping the sweat from her brow, Tang Guanguan’s face pale, she rushed straight through the hospital doors.

“Is anyone here? Please, come quickly! My husband has had a high fever and has lost consciousness!” she called out desperately.

The bumpy mountain road had caused Lu Hang not to open his eyes even once during the journey, and he had even started babbling incoherently, which made Tang Guanguan’s throat burn from shouting. If it weren’t for the sheer willpower that carried her through the trip, she might have broken down in tears.

Having been given a second chance at life, she had sworn to cherish her parents and Lu Hang, to live well with them—without losing even one of them. But now, just as she was about to make amends, one of them was slipping away! How was she supposed to face the days ahead?

“Is anyone here? Doctor? Nurse?” Her voice cracked with tears, but after calling out twice, the on-duty doctor and nurse appeared.

“Doctor! Please save my husband!” Tang Guanguan disregarded any formalities and grabbed an elderly doctor in a white coat, trying to pull him outside.

“Wait! You should at least bring him inside first!” The old doctor sighed helplessly. Even in a life-or-death situation, it was no good to keep a patient out in the cold.

Before he could finish, Tang Guanguan’s father arrived, carrying Lu Hang on his back, panting heavily as he said, “He’s here, he’s here!”

He parked the cart and carried Lu Hang inside. The son-in-law was a big man, but even just a few steps had exhausted him to the point he could barely stand upright.

Seeing Lu Hang, the doctor immediately instructed the nurse to fetch a medical trolley, and together they lifted him onto it.

“Quick, take him to emergency. If this fever continues, he might suffer brain damage,” the doctor warned, glancing over Lu Hang’s condition. The county emergency room in the ’80s was simply two ordinary wards joined together. The door was a plain wooden one, painted green, the paint chipped and peeling, reflecting the poor conditions of the clinic.

Behind the glass door hung a white curtain, obscuring the view from outside.

Tang Guanguan and the others watched anxiously as Lu Hang was wheeled inside, their hearts heavy with worry.

Tang Guanguan’s father and Wang Xiuying sat on the floor in a corner, gasping for breath. Tang Jing, her younger sister, wiped sweat from her forehead. Tang Guanguan’s legs felt weak from exhaustion, but she couldn’t sit still, pacing the corridor anxiously.

Minutes slowly ticked by.

After about fifteen minutes, the old doctor emerged, his expression grave.

“Doctor, how is my husband?” Tang Guanguan rushed forward, Tang Guanguan’s father and the others looking on anxiously.

The doctor sighed, “He can be saved, but surgery is necessary.”

He glanced hesitantly at their worn clothes and then added, “The surgery costs are quite high. Can you afford it?”

“No matter the cost, we’ll pay!” Tang Guanguan said firmly.

The doctor nodded with relief and handed over a bill. Tang Guanguan took it and was stunned. Two hundred yuan? So much?

Just as she was reeling from the shock, the doctor continued, “You should be prepared. There’s a bullet lodged in his leg that hasn’t been removed. That’s why the wound won’t heal and has become infected. Surgery is essential. Besides this operation, there will be ongoing costs. Can you manage?”

Tang Guanguan’s father craned his neck to look at the bill. Though illiterate, he recognized the numbers. The bright red “200” made him panic, and hearing there would be more fees to come nearly took his breath away.

“How? How can it be this much?” he muttered, nearly losing his balance.

He hadn’t expected such a large sum. A year of hard work in the fields barely brought in enough to save 200 yuan. In those days, even a steady government job in the county paid only thirty to fifty yuan a month.

“How much?” Wang Xiuying moved closer, her voice tense.

Tang Guanguan’s father held up two fingers.

“Twenty?” she guessed.

“No, two hundred!” he corrected.

“What??”

Seeing their expressions, the doctor’s mood darkened. He understood the plight of the poor but hated to see families give up on treatment. He thought this family might abandon hope. Inside was a young life at stake—it would be a tragedy.

But just as he was losing hope, the fairest, brightest-faced young woman in front of him declared firmly, “We’ll pay whatever it takes! Use the best medicine—no complications!”

Then the rugged farmer, clearly troubled but resolute, stomped his foot.

“Yes! Whatever it costs, we’ll pay! Doctor, please save him first. I’ll go home right away to get the money!”

Tang Guanguan added, “Doctor, we don’t have all the money now. We can pay a hundred first. Please operate on my husband. We’ll go home immediately and bring back the rest!”

The doctor nodded and warned, “Make sure the full amount is paid before nightfall tomorrow.”

Though kind-hearted, the doctor could only extend the payment deadline so far before risking punishment himself.

Tang Guanguan thanked the doctor profusely, then took out a hundred yuan she had brought with her—the pocket money she had secretly saved back when she lived with the Zhao family. When she was driven away, that money was still on her person. Thankfully so.

Wrapped in a blue handkerchief, it was a collection of scattered bills and coins, the largest being a ten-yuan note bearing the emblem of unity.

At the payment desk, Wang Xiuying caught up.

“Here, I still have some. Add this.”

She removed the blue scarf from her head, wiped her sweat, and pulled out a package wrapped in oil paper from the inner pocket of her padded jacket. It was still warm to the touch.

Tang Guanguan carefully opened it, revealing fifty yuan in small bills and coins.

She didn’t hesitate to accept the money, saying softly, “Thank you,” and tucked ten yuan in her pocket.

She handed the remaining forty yuan along with her initial hundred to the nurse at the payment window.

To ease her daughter’s worries, Wang Xiuying reassured her, “Don’t worry. I’ll have your father go home soon to get more. We have enough.”

Tang Guanguan’s eyes stung, her heart burning with emotion. The woman before her bore the marks of hardship—the cracked lips, wind-chapped, reddened cheeks. Their family was struggling, yet she still comforted her daughter.

Wiping her eyes, Tang Guanguan whispered, “Mother, after Lu Hang comes out of surgery, I’ll go home with father for a moment. Please take care of things here.”

“No trouble at all. Hangzi is my son-in-law. It’s only right to look after him.”

The surgery went smoothly. An hour later, Lu Hang was wheeled out of the operating room and into the ward, still under anesthesia and not yet awake.

The old doctor brought a metal tray into the room to show Tang Guanguan and the others. Inside was indeed a bloodied bullet, entwined with strands of flesh, a sight that made their hearts tremble.

“Luckily, we didn’t wait any longer. Even if he had survived, his leg might have been ruined,” the doctor sighed, his voice heavy with relief.