In the clean and tidy room, the light from the ceiling was soft, and the air was filled with the scent of soda water. Faint, blurry figures appeared in his eyes.
A face wearing a mask approached Zhongshi, shining a flashlight into his pupils. The intense stimulation made Zhongshi quickly close his eyes.
"It's fine, just rest for a few more days, and you'll be better in a few days." Seeing the patient react naturally, the doctor put away the flashlight he had brought and said to Zhong Jianjun and Liu Lan, who were standing by the bedside.
"Doctor, will there be any aftereffects?" Liu Lan was still a bit worried.
"No, don't let TV shows influence you. People with head injuries often have some bruising and a bit of concussion, but they will get better after a while, and the bruising inside the skull will gradually dissipate. Your son just got hit on the head, and he basically didn't damage any nerves. He can be discharged once the wound heals." The doctor in a white coat patiently answered.
"Thank you, doctor, thank you, doctor." Zhong Jianjun and his wife hurriedly thanked him.
"If there's nothing else, I'll leave first. Pay attention to nutrition these two days and eat more good food." The doctor gave a few more instructions and then left with the nurse.
"Where am I? Why am I here?" Zhongshi, who had just opened his eyes slightly, asked in a low voice.
"Son, don't scare me! Look carefully, who am I?" Liu Lan, with her sharp ears, quickly leaned in and asked loudly. Immediately, Zhong Jianjun also leaned in, his eyes full of anxiety.
"Dad, Mom, why are you here? Where am I?" Zhongshi blinked hard, indicating that he recognized them. He wanted to raise his hand to signal, but he had no strength at all.
"Son, you scared me to death!" Liu Lan's eyes turned red, and two streams of hot tears couldn't help but flow out. Zhong Jianjun, who was behind her, was also very agitated, his lips moving for a long time, but he didn't say a word.
"..." Zhongshi was deeply moved, his eyes also feeling wet. Since he had been reborn, he had been focused on making money and had been indifferent to family ties. He had never thought that Zhong Jianjun and his wife were his real parents, but seeing this scene, he realized that he had unconsciously become a part of this family.
Zhongshi suddenly felt very guilty.
After a long while, Liu Lan and Zhong Jianjun's emotions calmed down. They sat close to Zhongshi on the bed and began to explain what had happened.
It turned out that after Zhongshi was knocked down by a sudden blow from a wooden stick, the many thugs, seeing blood, thought they had killed someone. They didn't care about the fate of this unknown person and fled in all directions. A kind-hearted person on night shift happened to see Zhongshi, who was bleeding profusely, and carried him for more than five miles to the emergency room, where his condition had already become quite serious.
According to the emergency room doctor, if he had been brought in half an hour later, it would have been difficult to save him.
Fortunately, there was a phone number for the family on Zhongshi's body, and the kind-hearted person was able to notify Zhong Jianjun and his wife immediately. The two, who were at home, rushed to the hospital as soon as they received the call, and it had been three days since then.
"I was unconscious for that long?" Zhongshi muttered to himself, learning the reason.
"Son, don't think too much, just rest and get better. Your dad and I are here! If you get bored, watch TV, don't study those packages anymore!" Liu Lan, seeing Zhongshi looking lost again, gently consoled him.
She was naturally meticulous and had noticed that since receiving the package from Hong Kong, her son had been deep in thought. She had secretly looked inside the package and found it full of strange things she didn't understand.
Seeing Liu Lan's expression, Zhongshi nodded subconsciously and was about to say some comforting words when the door to the ward suddenly opened, and a middle-aged woman in her forties walked in, holding a thermos.
"Is Little Stone awake?"
The woman asked first, then placed the thermos on the bedside table. This was Zhong Yi's mother, Fu Hongzhuang, Zhongshi's aunt.
"Aunt, I'm fine."
Looking at Fu Hongzhuang, Zhongshi felt that even people he didn't often contact now seemed very close.
"It's good that you're awake! It's good that you're awake! Don't run around recklessly in the future!" Fu Hongzhuang was also very excited. After carefully examining Zhongshi for a while, she realized she had brought something and hurriedly opened the thermos, took a bowl, and poured steaming hot chicken soup into it. "This is the chicken soup your aunt made for you, it's very nourishing. Drink it while it's hot."
"Thank you, Aunt!" Zhongshi felt a warm feeling in his heart. He had never felt the warmth of family like this before.
Zhongshi, who had lived in the United States for a long time, had long been accustomed to the Western way of life. In the West, children usually leave the family after adulthood and only return home a few times a year for important holidays.
"I think we can't let this continue. In the future, Zhongshi should go to school. We can't let him do whatever he wants. Although it's a bit late to start school, it's better than idling at home all day!"
While Zhongshi was drinking the chicken soup, Fu Hongzhuang pulled Liu Lan aside and whispered.
Children of Zhongshi's age were either in school or had already gone out to make their way in the world. Few were like him, idling at home all day.
To be fair, this incident was completely unexpected, but Fu Hongzhuang had a point, and Liu Lan didn't know what to do.
Although they spoke in low voices, Zhongshi still heard them. While drinking the soup, he couldn't help but be startled. He felt it was necessary to explain his current situation to them.
"Dad, Mom, Aunt, what's the point of going to school? To find a good job after graduation?"
"Of course, do you want to go back to the village and farm?" Zhong Jianjun said irritably. He had been annoyed with Zhongshi, but hadn't said anything before.
Zhongshi smiled faintly, not caring about his father's dissatisfaction, and continued, "After finding a job, earn a lot of money and find a pretty wife?"
"Exactly, look at our Zhong Yi. He hasn't even graduated yet, but he's already making a lot of money in Hong Kong and sends a lot back every month." Fu Hongzhuang chimed in.
Zhongshi smiled, "Dad, Mom, Aunt, didn't I sell a bowl a few years ago? You know how much it sold for. If I worked, how many years would it take to earn that much?"
This left Zhong Jianjun and Liu Lan speechless. At the current wage level of a few hundred yuan per person, even if they saved all their money without spending, a couple would only earn about 5,000 to 6,000 yuan a year. Three million yuan would take several hundred years to save.
"You can't say that. There are many benefits to going to school. For example, the classmates you meet can be valuable connections in the future..."
Zhong Jianjun was silent for a while before saying weakly. He himself didn't feel very confident about this. After all, going to school was mainly to get a good job, earn money to support the family, and then get married and have children to live a good life.
Great figures were few in this world. The people who appeared on TV during holidays had jobs and responsibilities that were incomparable to ordinary people.
As for the grand slogans of "each taking what they need" and "distribution according to need," few people believed them anymore. Even Zhong Jianjun, who had been the most patriotic as a child, had long scoffed at them after visiting Hong Kong a few times.
"Zhongshi, you're wrong. Look at your brother Zhong Yi. Isn't he a good example?" Seeing Zhong Jianjun speechless, Fu Hongzhuang couldn't help but speak up.
"Brother Zhong Yi? Ha ha, Aunt, you don't know, but Zhong Yi and I are partners in Hong Kong. The money he earns is from the shares I gave him..."
In fact, Zhongshi had already made a comprehensive plan for going to school, but he didn't want to say it now. After all, it was unimaginable for ordinary people to take the American college entrance exam in this era. As for friends, he would make many in the future.
"What? Zhong Yi's money is yours?" Fu Hongzhuang was shocked at first, then fell silent.
"Alright, do as you wish. After all, you have to walk your own path in the future." Liu Lan didn't care about anything else, only about Zhongshi's health.
Zhong Jianjun felt a sense of helplessness. With such a doting mother and a very independent son, he felt like he had aged a lot and couldn't keep up with the pace of the world.
"How much money do you have now?" Zhong Jianjun couldn't resist his curiosity and asked.
This question immediately caught the attention of Liu Lan and Fu Hongzhuang. They also wanted to know what this ordinary-looking child had been up to.
"A lot! You can spend it freely, and you might never run out. If it were in hundred-yuan bills, it would probably fill this entire ward!"
Zhongshi said this lightly, as if he were talking about something unrelated to him.
"How much is that?" The three were so shocked that they couldn't speak for a long time. After a while, Zhong Jianjun finally reacted and asked cautiously.
"In short, a lot. Dad, Mom, Aunt, don't worry about these things in the future. Zhong Yi and I will take care of making money. I promise you'll never run out."
Zhongshi didn't want to talk more about it. He didn't want his family to bear a heavy psychological burden because of money. In this era, having money wasn't always a good thing.
"Alright! Alright! I won't ask anymore!"
The three exchanged glances, clearly not believing Zhongshi. They thought he was still a bit confused and didn't know what he was saying.
As Zhongshi slowly closed his eyes, a voice kept echoing in his mind. The voice kept saying "Japan," but Zhongshi couldn't figure out why Japan was so attractive to him. (The author worked hard over the weekend to write, hoping everyone enjoys reading and supports and recommends the story.)