Chapter 968

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Protagonist:

Li Xiulan

Li Xiulan killed three roosters, blanched them to set the shape, and then went with Wang Zhanggen to worship their ancestors.

After worshiping the ancestors, they returned home, and looking at the two roosters, Li Xiulan felt a bit troubled.

Because there were only the two of them, elderly people, at home, one rooster would take them several days to finish, let alone three?

What to do about this?

Li Xiulan finally decided to call Wang Erhai to see if he wanted them.

"Erhai, are you off work yet?"

"Not yet, but soon, Mom, what's the matter?"

"Still not off work this late, it's already dark... actually it's nothing, just that we killed three roosters at home to worship the gods, your dad and I can't finish them, do you want them? If you do, I'll take the bus tomorrow morning and bring two down to you."

Hearing this, Wang Erhai didn't know whether to cry or laugh.

Just two roosters, going back and forth like this was clearly not worth it.

But in his heart he was also deeply moved.

This attachment of his mother's might seem trivial, but it happened to be the embodiment of a mother's love.

So Wang Erhai did not refuse Li Xiulan's kindness, but said:

"Mom, I'm quite busy here, if you come tomorrow, who knows if you'll even catch me, how about this: you bring the roosters to the New Era Restaurant in town tomorrow morning, have the head chef put them in the freezer, and when I have time I'll go pick them up. That way you won't have to trouble yourself running all the way to the county town."

Li Xiulan listened, nodding happily:

"Good, good, then I'll bring them to the town restaurant tomorrow morning, that works too, saves some bus fare! I'm getting old too, my memory's bad, I forgot the New Era Restaurant in town is yours now!"

Li Xiulan asked again:

"Do you want me to chop the roosters into pieces for you in advance?"

Wang Erhai thought for a moment:

"No need, just bring them whole."

Li Xiulan hung up Wang Erhai's call, and immediately went to pack the two chickens she would give Wang Erhai tomorrow, wrapping them tightly in plastic bags.

Then she took them to Zhong Jianguo's home next door, not far away.

Zhong Jianguo's home had a refrigerator, so she asked him to help freeze them, only that way could the chicken meat's freshness be preserved.

For what they ate themselves it didn't matter, but for what was given to her son, it absolutely had to be kept fresh.

Zhong Jianguo was originally the village doctor at the Shanggou Village Health Station.

Before, when Li Xiulan had an accident giving birth to Wang Xiaohua, it was Zhong Jianguo who helped send her to the Town Health Center.

Now Zhong Jianguo is already old and frail, over seventy, but his health station is still open.

Even though there aren't many people left in Shanggou Village now, and his health station's business has withered along with it, he still persists.

The village elderly, if they have a headache or foot pain, can go to him for treatment at the first moment.

He charges much less than in town for treating villagers, so many middle-aged and elderly villagers like to go to him for IV drips.

"Doctor Zhong, can I put these two chickens in your fridge to freeze first? I'll take them down to Erhai tomorrow morning!"

Li Xiulan found Zhong Jianguo.

Zhong Jianguo was very agreeable, laughing:

"No problem, my fridge still has plenty of space!"

Zhong Jianguo helped Li Xiulan put the roosters in the fridge, and Li Xiulan casually said:

"You're already of such advanced age, why not retire and enjoy your later years? This health station should be handed over to your son to manage by now!"

Zhong Jianguo laughed:

"My son doesn't know this trade, doesn't have a practice license, can't do it. You don't know, opening a health clinic now isn't as casual as before, now you need a certificate to work. My clinic opened early, the town people know me inside and out, so they let me continue operating!"

Li Xiulan was stunned:

"Then when you retire, won't Shanggou Village have no health station? My husband needs a lot of medicine, and we'd still have to trouble you to help restock!"

Wang Zhanggen has to take medicine every day, the several kinds he takes, every time they're about to run out he tells Zhong Jianguo, and Zhong Jianguo goes to get the medicine for him.

And the medicine Zhong Jianguo brings back isn't more expensive than the town or county town pharmacies, it's even a bit cheaper.

Hearing this, Zhong Jianguo couldn't help but feel a bit gloomy and sad, he also didn't know what would become of this health station when he retired.

Actually many villagers come to him for treatment every few days.

If this health station closes, what will those people do?

But he still laughed and replied:

"Rest assured, my health is still very good, I won't be retiring that soon!"

He didn't want to continue this sad topic, so he changed the subject:

"By the way, when is your new house having its housewarming?"

Li Xiulan said:

"Soon, probably around Spring Festival we'll move in. It's just been renovated, needs to air out for a while first. When we move in, you come have a meal!"

Zhong Jianguo nodded laughing:

"Alright, let me know when the time comes!"

Li Xiulan then said:

"When we move into the new home, I'll have my husband buy a big refrigerator, that way I won't have to trouble you anymore!"

Zhong Jianguo laughed heartily and said:

"Your three sons are so promising, just have them help buy it. Not only a big refrigerator, but also a big color TV, a big air conditioner!"

Li Xiulan laughed heartily; every time she heard someone praise her sons as promising, she felt incomparably happy.

She even felt that the suffering and exhaustion she had endured in the first half of her life were all worth it.

"Big refrigerator, big color TV, those are definitely needed. But the air conditioner can be skipped, right? We rural people aren't used to that thing!" Li Xiulan laughed as she replied.

Zhong Jianguo then said:

"You've already bought a big refrigerator and big color TV, why save that bit of air conditioner money! Have your sons arrange it all!"

Li Xiulan then said:

"It's not a matter of saving money; I truly can't get used to it. If we buy it and don't turn it on, leaving it there is a waste too!"

This was Li Xiulan's sincere words.

She and Wang Changgen both couldn't get used to air conditioning.

Before, when they stayed a few days at Wang Dashan and Du Xiaojuan's big villa in Guangzhou, they slept with the air conditioner on at night, and in the morning both of them had sore waists and aching backs.

This might be related to their elderly constitutions.

When people get old, air conditioning easily lets cold qi invade.

Resulting in joint soreness and pain.

Li Xiulan chatted with Zhong Jianguo for a while, then went home.

Because it was not early, she had to go home and make dinner.

Otherwise if dinner was late, Wang Changgen would give her a cold face again.

Returning home, she chopped the remaining rooster into pieces, half for stewing soup, half for braising.

For dinner, just the two of them, her and Wang Changgen, ate this rooster.

The rooster had been raised too long; the meat was very firm. The stewed portion was fine, but the braised portion, whether for Li Xiulan or Wang Changgen, was somewhat too tough to bite through.

The two of them ate with heads bowed.

At this moment, a "click" sound came from Li Xiulan's mouth.

"Oh no, my tooth fell out!"

Li Xiulan hurriedly spat out the chicken piece.

Along with the chicken piece, a bloody tooth was also spat out.

"Can't you be a little more careful, you ate until you broke a tooth!"

Wang Changgen, with a dark face, scolded, but at the same time he took the initiative to ladle a spoonful of cool water and let Li Xiulan rinse her mouth.

After Li Xiulan finished rinsing, she came to the mirror in the room, opened her mouth, and looked at the teeth in her oral cavity.

She saw that the position of a big molar in the lower left cavity was empty.

She used her hand to touch the surrounding teeth; they could clearly be wiggled — the teeth were all loose.

Li Xiulan looked at her own face in the mirror, old like tree bark, and sighed:

"Alas, when a person gets old, not only does the face get old, but teeth start falling out too."

Wang Changgen's voice came from outside:

"When you go to town tomorrow, remember to get your tooth fitted while you're at it!"