Chapter 43: Rain Throb II

Looking at the old woman's reddened eyes, Li Tian'er suddenly thought of her own maternal grandmother, and involuntarily shifted her body forward.

Without needing to ask, the old woman before her was the original owner's mother.

"It's all Mother's fault for coming to see you so late."

"I'm fine."

Although she felt a certain fondness for the old woman and didn't want her to worry, calling her "Mother" was something she simply could not bring herself to do, no matter what.

"As long as you're fine, as long as you're fine. Since Songyuan arranged such a fine hospital for you, I knew for certain every ailment could be cured."

Fan Lihua straightened her posture, leaned back naturally, released Li Tian'er's hand, and pressed the corner of her shirt to her eyes. Her cloud-cast face smoothed out as she raised her eyes to survey the ward, letting out exclamations of admiration.

Located by Bailu Lake in the center of Rongcheng, Anhe Gynecological Hospital consisted of two connected six-story buildings made of red bricks and grey tiles. Covering over a hundred mu of land, it was nestled amidst lush woods and blooming flowers. Every window framed a scenic view, and the hardware and software facilities within the ward were of cutting-edge, high-tech standards.

It was said that the founding patriarch of Anhe Hospital bore the surname An and had served as an imperial physician in the royal court. Starting from a small medical clinic and enduring over two hundred years of ups and downs, through the efforts of several generations of the An family, it had grown into a prestigious specialty hospital renowned throughout the province and even the entire country.

"This room must be twenty or thirty square meters, right? It looks bigger than your younger brother's new apartment. How much does it cost to stay here for a single night? Look at this bed, this wardrobe, the sofa, and these curtains..."

Fan Lihua felt her eyes were not enough to take it all in, clutching the curtains and reluctant to let go. She rolled the mist-blue silk curtain into a ball and then smoothed it out, staring at the restored flatness and luster as she exclaimed in wonder:

"This must be brocade material. I remember seeing people use this kind of fabric for quilt covers when I was a little girl. When that quilt was placed in the sun, it had a water-ripple sheen, and it was so pretty."

The hospital's curtain fabric was indeed fine, but it certainly wasn't bedding material from decades ago.

Li Tian'er was left speechless and amused by this provincial old woman. Turning her head to glance at the hanging IV bottle, she saw that it was already empty, so she quickly clamped the infusion tube and pressed the call button.

Nurse Li Ya swiftly replaced it with a new bag of medication, cast a glance at Fan Lihua who was still fingering the curtains by the window, and hurried out, holding back her words.

Fan Lihua finally let go of the curtains and sat down on the sofa, pressing down hard on the cushion with both hands before leaning back with a look of satisfaction.

"Li Tian'er, your younger brother wants to partner with friends to open an art training school. Do you think you could scrape together two hundred thousand yuan?"

"Open an art training school?"

"That's right. Tao Xin wants to start a business and be his own boss; as his elder sister, you have to support him."

Only then did Fan Lihua carefully observe Li Tian'er's expression. Li Tian'er's lukewarm demeanor made her feel somewhat guilty.

"I know that when your younger brother got married, you gave him one million yuan to buy a house, and a million is a large sum even for you. It's only been half a year, so we definitely need to give you some time to catch your breath. But you also know that your sister-in-law comes from such a good background; it's a blessing cultivated over lifetimes in our family that she could fancy your brother.

It certainly won't do for your brother to lack a proper livelihood. Now that he finally has the determination to do something practical, how can we not help him? Discuss it with Songyuan and have him take out two hundred thousand from his factory, treating it as a loan from you and Tao Xin. Your brother says an art training school can recoup its costs in just a year, and he'll pay you back principal and interest in full by then."

"Oh, you should go discuss this matter with Songyuan."

After listening for a while, Li Tian'er understood that the old woman before her had not come to check on her daughter's illness at all...

"It's better if you talk to Songyuan. You two are husband and wife, surely you're closer than I am as his mother-in-law."

Fan Lihua stood up from the sofa with some delight and walked over to the bedside to take Li Tian'er's hand. Unwilling to be grasped by Fan Lihua's withered hand, Li Tian'er slid her hand under the blanket and offered an apologetic smile.

"You should look for Songyuan."

Calling him by the name Songyuan felt much smoother this time.

"That's fine too, but you must help put in a good word. Songyuan dotes on you the most and is completely obedient to you; whatever you say, he will surely arrange for you."

Good grief, there was no such thing as unconditional love in this world. Even the most affectionate couple could never reach the point of absolute obedience!

Li Tian'er thought to herself that even a twenty-year-old girl like her understood this principle, yet a woman in her sixties failed to see through something so obvious.

Talking about money harms relationships!

Li Tian'er laughed inwardly, unwilling to waste any more words with this mother of hers. She closed her eyes slightly and began to ponder once again the miracle of her transmigrated arrival last night—under what circumstances had it occurred? As long as the same conditions were met, transmigrating back would be no problem at all.

Could it have been because of the moon?

Thinking of that eerie, orange-red full moon from the previous night, the more she pondered, the more she felt that the portal of time and space was connected to that moon. She could try it again tonight...

"Li Tian'er, are you listening to me?"

Fan Lihua patted the top of Li Tian'er's blanket.

"Oh, go on."

Li Tian'er looked out the window. Although there was a bit of a spring chill remaining in the early March air, the sunlight was still quite pleasant.

"I'm saying you need to give me my living expenses for this month. It's already been two days past due."

"Oh, you can go ask Songyuan for it."

Passing everything off onto that uncle-like husband of hers was the most suitable approach.

Li Tian'er continued to gaze out the window. The edge of the blanket was abruptly yanked open, revealing Fan Lihua's displeased face, forcing Li Tian'er to pretend to look at her attentively.

"That three-thousand-yuan monthly living allowance is what you take from the household budget to give me; Songyuan must not know about this."

"Oh?"

"What do you mean 'oh'? You need to give it to me right away today; I have an urgent use for it. I went to your house last night to get it and was left out in the cold, which almost delayed my affairs."

A look of grievance appeared on Fan Lihua's long, thin cheeks.

Unaware of the situation, Li Tian'er didn't know how to respond. Seeing her daughter remain silent, Fan Lihua grew anxious. She had come today specifically for the three thousand yuan; if she couldn't get the money, she would lose face in front of that person, and how would she be able to get along in the future...

"You must have brought money with you when you were hospitalized; just take out three thousand for my urgent use."

"I don't have any money on me. Why don't you look for it?"

"You—you ungrateful wretch! Are you holding a grudge because I didn't come to the hospital in time?! You didn't even tell me, how was I supposed to know you were hospitalized for surgery?"

Fan Lihua grew angry out of shame. Whenever she asked her daughter for money in the past, Li Tian'er would obediently hand it over before she even finished extending her hand. Today, not only was she stalling and refusing to give the money, but from the moment she walked through the door, she hadn't even called her "Mother" once.

"I really don't have any money. Why don't you wait for Songyuan to come over, and I'll ask him where my money is."

"Don't put on an act with me! Your money comes from Songyuan anyway, so ask him for it directly. I'll come back again this afternoon, and you better have the money ready. If I can't get the money this afternoon, I'm not leaving."

Fan Lihua stormed out imposingly. Li Tian'er stared blankly at the empty doorway; what kind of mother was this? She was simply a tiger that devoured people without spitting out their bones!

Long after Fan Lihua had left, An Changlin still had not returned. After the three bags of IV fluids finished dripping, a warm traditional Chinese medicine pouch was placed over her navel. Li Tian'er drifted off into a drowsy sleep.