Chapter 90: The Old Smoker's Choice, a Life-or-Death Verdict at the County Hospital

Lu Qingshan returned to the village, but his family still didn't know he had actually received the great honor of being issued a firearm.

"Qing Shan, you're back from training!"

At the village entrance, Zhao Dazhi saw him from afar, raised his hand to greet, but was suddenly cut off by a violent coughing fit.

Lu Qingshan hurried over and saw Captain Zhao's face pale, coughing so hard he couldn't straighten his waist, his chest heaving irregularly.

"Uncle Zhao, your cough is getting worse; you need to see a doctor."

Lu Qingshan supported him, frowning at the blood streaks on Zhao Dazhi's lips.

"It's fine, fine, this fickle weather—hot one moment, cold the next—is choking me."

Zhao Dazhi waved his hand, coughed hard a few times, barely straightened his waist, and said, "I heard you got an award in this training?"

"Just a certificate, nothing big."

Lu Qingshan didn't mention the gun, his eyes fixed on Zhao Dazhi's rising and falling chest; Mountain Wild Heart let him sense the abnormality.

"Captain, how long have you had this cough?"

"Ah, it's been on and off for over a year; it got bad last winter, improved a bit, then flared up again."

Zhao Dazhi spoke while pulling out his smoke pipe bowl, just about to pack tobacco, when another violent cough hit.

Lu Qingshan snatched his dry tobacco pipe: "Captain, I'll take you to the county hospital tomorrow."

"What hospital? Just a minor ailment, it'll pass on its own!" Zhao Dazhi tried to grab back his pipe.

"This is fate!" Lu Qingshan's voice suddenly rose, "I recently chatted with a wandering herbalist who supplies goods; he said your symptoms likely indicate a lung problem, and the longer you drag it out, the more dangerous it gets!"

Zhao Dazhi stared, then shook his head: "Nonsense, how could that be so spooky!"

"Uncle Zhao, think about it—if something really happens, who in the village can hold the fort? Who will manage the production team? What about your wife and kids?"

Lu Qingshan locked eyes with him, refusing to back down.

Zhao Dazhi opened his mouth, suddenly at a loss for words.

"I'll come pick you up tomorrow morning—settled."

Lu Qingshan allowed no argument, took the pipe and turned to leave.

Zhao Dazhi stood where he was, sighed, and suddenly felt a tightness in his chest.

Returning home, Xiao Xue was the first to rush out, throwing herself into Lu Qingshan's arms: "Daddy's back!"

Jin Hu followed closely, happily circling Lu Qingshan, his size larger than before by a notch, his muscle definition more pronounced.

"How did the training go?" Lin Yue'e walked out holding a rice bowl, a light smile on her face.

"Not bad, I got an outstanding militia certificate."

Lu Qingshan kissed his daughter's cheek, reached out to ruffle Jin Hu's head: "This little guy's growing fast."

"Indeed, these days it's been eating nothing but meat, all caught by itself."

Lin Yue'e looked at Jin Hu, eyes full of approval: "The day before yesterday I took him for a stroll at the village edge; he ran a loop and came back with a fat rabbit in his mouth—villagers all say they've never seen a dog so good at hunting."

Lu Qingshan crouched down, carefully examining Jin Hu: "He's grown strong and sturdy, his coat also gleaming."

Jin Hu affectionately rubbed his head against his master's hand, as if begging for praise and showing off.

"These days when you go out, it keeps looking toward the mountains, as if it knows you're in that direction."

Lin Yue'e finished speaking, then handed her husband a bundle: "Hot water's ready, change into clean clothes."

Lu Qingshan took the bundle, his heart warmed; he hadn't expected that in this second life, his wife would treat him better and better.

"Tomorrow I have to accompany the captain to the county hospital."

Lu Qingshan changed clothes, sat down, and ate.

"What's wrong with the captain?" Lin Yue'e asked anxiously.

"His cough is getting worse; I'm afraid it's a lung ailment."

Lu Qingshan frowned, thinking: In his previous life, Captain Zhao died early from cardiopulmonary disease; this lifetime I can't stand by and let him come to harm again.

Lin Yue'e nodded: "He's the village's mainstay; you're doing the right thing."

Lu Qingshan added: "I handed his firearm over to Village Chief Yongnian Uncle, used the village phone to contact Captain Chen, who helped connect with a respiratory specialist at the county hospital; tomorrow the captain can get a full checkup."

After finishing the meal, Lu Qingshan took Jin Hu to the small grove at the village edge, deliberately coughing twice as a signal.

Jin Hu immediately perked up his ears, tensed his body, and sharply scanned the surroundings.

"Go, find!" Lu Qingshan whispered the command.

Jin Hu shot like an arrow into the thickets, vanishing into the night.

Lu Qingshan closed his eyes, using Mountain Wild Heart to sense the movements in the forest.

Thirty meters away, there was the breath of small animal activity—likely a hare or a pheasant.

Less than five minutes later, Jin Hu returned carrying a plump hare, proudly dropping it at his master's feet.

"Well done!" Lu Qingshan patted its neck, pulled out a piece of jerky from his pocket as a reward: "This rabbit is yours."

Jin Hu wagged his tail, enjoying the spoils with relish.

At night, Lu Qingshan tossed and turned, his thoughts myriad.

With a gun in hand, the mountains and forests are no longer perilous;

Jin Hu has grown up, destined to become a divine weapon of the hunting grounds;

The villagers are convinced, he has long washed away the stigma of his past life;

Wife and children grow warmer, the family returns to harmony.

But Captain Zhao's illness reminds him of those helpless regrets from his previous life——

Having been imprisoned for crime, he never saw his parents again in that life; after release he worked as a caregiver, delivered takeout, and in old age traded stocks, living poor and lonely; when friends faced trouble, he was powerless to help.

In this life, he will absolutely not allow tragedy to repeat.

The next morning, Lu Qingshan went straight to Captain Zhao's house.

Zhao Dazhi's wife had already gotten her husband ready, urging, "Hurry and go with Lu Qingshan to have a look; your cough makes my heart ache when I hear it."

Lu Qingshan found a thin cotton jacket for Zhao Dazhi and said, "Put it on; the county town is cold enough."

Zhao Dazhi, unusually without objection, looked at his wife's worried expression and silently put on the coat.

"Let's go; once we get there we'll know what's going on," Lu Qingshan encouraged.

Zhao Dazhi nodded, stepped out of the house, and glanced back at the modest courtyard, as if bidding farewell to something.

When they arrived at the county hospital, Chen Zhiguo was already waiting at the entrance; seeing them, he warmly stepped forward, "You came quite early! Director Wang is already waiting."

"Brother Chen, thank you so much," Lu Qingshan said sincerely.

"We're comrades, no need to be formal," Chen Zhiguo patted his shoulder, leading them into the hospital, "Director Wang is a doctor who returned from the province; his skill is top‑notch."

In the ward, Director Wang carefully asked Zhao Dazhi about his symptoms, and after a preliminary examination frowned slightly, "First take an X‑ray, then we'll see."

After the chest X‑ray, they also drew blood for tests, keeping busy for the whole morning.

"Comrade Lu, may I have a word?" Director Wang called Lu Qingshan to the corridor.

"Comrade Zhao's condition is not very optimistic: chronic bronchitis with an acute flare‑up, and early signs of emphysema have already appeared."

"Is it serious?" Lu Qingshan's heart sank.

"Fortunately it was caught early; it hasn't progressed to pulmonary heart disease yet. But you must quit smoking immediately; delaying further would have unimaginable consequences," Director Wang said gravely, pulling out the X‑ray and pointing it at Lu Qingshan.

In the consultation room, several doctors gathered around Zhao Dazhi, their faces solemn.

"Comrade Zhao, your lungs are already severely damaged; you must quit smoking immediately, or it will turn into pulmonary heart disease, which will be hard to treat," the attending physician said sternly.

"Is… is it that serious?" Zhao Dazhi's face turned pale.

"How many years have you been smoking?" the doctor asked.

"Over twenty years, I think, since I joined the army," Zhao Dazhi said, his voice trembling.

"If you don't quit now, you'll lose your life!" an elderly Chinese‑medicine doctor said, pointing at his X‑ray, "The lung orifice is at the nose; qi and blood are stagnant, all five organs are damaged!"

Zhao Dazhi smashed his Smoke Pipe on the spot and shouted, "Quit! Quit right now!"

The doctor prescribed medicine and explained in detail the dosage and precautions.

Lu Qingshan noted everything one by one and also asked about methods for maintenance and conditioning.

At the payment window, Zhao Dazhi reached for money, but Lu Qingshan held his hand and said, "Captain, use mine."

"How could I let you kid pay!" Zhao Dazhi struggled.

"When you're healed, the village will finally have a pillar of support."

Lu Qingshan wouldn't argue, handed the money to the cashier, "This is what I should do."

On the road back to the village, Zhao Dazhi repeatedly looked at the medicines and doctor's orders in his hand, sometimes sighing deeply, sometimes silent.

"Qing Shan, thank you," Zhao Dazhi said suddenly as they neared the village entrance, "If it weren't for you, I'd still be muddling toward death."

"Captain, you are the backbone of the village; as long as you're fine, the whole group can be at ease," Lu Qingshan said, supporting him as they walked over a muddy path.

"You kid really are different now."

Zhao Dazhi patted his shoulder, "Who could have thought last winter that you'd become like this today?"

Lu Qingshan smiled without replying, but inside he felt an indescribable emotion—he had let down too many people in his past life and now must make amends in this life.

At the village entrance, Zhao Tiezhu, Liu Fugui and others came forward, chattering, asking Captain Zhao about the examination results.

Zhao Dazhi took out the prescription and showed everyone, "The doctor said quit smoking, otherwise it's over!"

"Then we must listen to the doctor."

Liu Fugui took the prescription, studied it for a long time, and could only recognize a few characters.

"Uncle, rest assured; just take it easy these few days, we'll shoulder the production team's work," Zhao Tiezhu pounded his chest in assurance.

Everyone sent Zhao Dazhi back home to convalesce.

As the crowd gradually dispersed, Lu Qingshan finally returned home to pack his belongings, hiding the new gun in a secret compartment at the bottom of the cabinet.

This gun cannot be shown to just anyone; if word gets out, it will bring trouble.