Chapter 144: An Ambiguous Diagnosis
After leaving the internal medicine clinic, Li Yi noticed his father was in low spirits, so he helped him settle into a nearby bench to rest while he took Tang Xue to the nearby women’s health clinic.
Once they were out of earshot of his father, Tang Xue asked with some concern, “About Dad’s condition…”
“Don’t worry. Once I’ve settled things in a couple of days, I’ll take Dad to the provincial capital!” Li Yi said.
“Okay!”
The door to the examination room in the Maternal and Child Health Department was open, and there was only one female doctor inside.
Li Yi knocked on the door and walked in.
The female doctor glanced at Li Yi and said, “Gentlemen, please wait outside. You weren’t supposed to come in!”
“Got it!”
“Remember to close the door behind you!”
“Got it!”
After about fifteen or sixteen minutes, the door to the examination room finally opened, and Li Yi saw Tang Xue walk out with a dazed look on her face.
Although he already had an idea of what had happened, Li Yi asked with concern, “Honey, what’s going on?”
Tang Xue snapped out of it immediately, her face flushing as she said, “The doctor said… um… said I might be pregnant!”
“If you’re pregnant, you’re pregnant; if you’re not, you’re not. What do you mean ‘might be’?” Li Yi frowned.
To be honest, Li Yi was completely dissatisfied with this result.
He’d brought Tang Xue and his father here today, only to receive nothing but vague answers—it was truly infuriating.
It had to be said that the medical standards in this small county town were indeed quite poor.
But upon reflection, he let it go. Even decades later, this county hospital would still have blunders like misdiagnosing gout as a fracture. Getting a vague diagnosis now was actually pretty good—what more could he ask for?
“The doctor? He said I’m too early in my pregnancy to confirm anything yet, and told me to come back in two weeks, but…”
“But what?”
“But the doctor said that based on her experience, there’s a very good chance I’m pregnant!” Tang Xue said.
“Alright, then let’s come back in two weeks!”
“Okay!”
After that, the two returned to their father’s side!
When he saw his elderly father sitting blankly on the bench—looking somewhat aged and desolate, with even a hint of fear in his eyes—Li Yi couldn’t help but feel a pang of heartache.
He immediately whispered a few words in Tang Xue’s ear.
Tang Xue looked startled for a moment, but then nodded.
“Dad, we’re back!”
Upon hearing his son’s voice, Li Shankui snapped out of his daze and hurriedly asked, “What about Xiao Xue…?”
Li Yi smiled and said, “Father, I have good news for you—you’re going to be a grandfather!”
Hearing this, Li Shankui’s mouth fell open, and he said, his voice trembling slightly, “Is she really pregnant?”
“Yes, she is!”
“Good, good, good! You rascal, you’ve finally done something right!”
Then Li Shankui turned to Tang Xue and said, “Xiao Xue, from now on, you don’t have to do a single thing around the house. If that little rascal dares to mistreat you, I’ll stand up for you!”
Tang Xue immediately replied, “Thank you, Dad!”
“Dad, I’d never bully my own wife!”
“Hmph, who knows about you? Haven’t you done enough of those reckless things already?”
“Alright, I can’t win this argument with you. Let’s just go home!”
“Mm-hmm!”
On the way back, Old Man Li was in high spirits, seemingly having put the whole matter out of his mind.
But Li Yi could still tell he was under a lot of pressure; clearly, the old doctor’s words had really shaken him up.
Li Yi didn’t try to comfort him; he knew his father was a strong man who didn’t need his sympathy.
Besides, Li Yi knew that in his previous life, his father hadn’t passed away until three years later. Since they’d discovered the condition three years earlier this time, it surely couldn’t be too serious.
In short, there was still hope!
……..
By the time they returned to the village, it was already past three in the afternoon!
Since most of the villagers had already gone out to work in the fields, they hadn’t run into many people on the way back.
As soon as he got home, before Li Yi had a chance to tell his mother and sisters about his father’s illness and Tang Xue’s pregnancy, he saw Uncle Feng squatting in their courtyard, puffing away on his pipe with a “puff, puff” sound.
Seeing Li Yi return, Uncle Feng immediately walked over, pipe in hand.
“Uncle, what brings you here?” Li Yi asked right away.
“I had to come. When I was at work today, a whole bunch of villagers surrounded me asking, ‘When are you going to lead us to make some money, you rascal?’” Feng Kai said.
Li Yi replied immediately, “Uncle, when we finish work today, don’t let everyone go home just yet. I want to have a chat with them and tell them about my plan!”
“Alright, I’ll have the members wait for you at the brigade office at six o’clock!”
“Alright!”
After saying that, Feng Kai said goodbye to his dad and left!
After seeing Feng Kai off, Li Yi asked Tang Xue and his father to go inside first.
As for himself, he unloaded the car, settled the big red mule, and only then walked into the house.
Inside, little Zhang Ning was taking a nap, while the others—some sitting on the kang, others squatting on the floor—were happily discussing Tang Xue’s pregnancy.
Upon seeing Li Yi, Third Sister couldn’t help but tease, “You’re quite the stud, aren’t you? Getting Xiao Xue pregnant so fast—impressive!”
Li Yi smiled and said, “What’s the big deal? If I’m any good, we’ll have two kids in three years!”
Tang Xue shot him a disapproving look and said, “You’re always talking nonsense!”
However, Second Sister chimed in, “Having two kids in three years sounds great—they’ll grow up together, and we’ll only have to go through the exhaustion once!”
The eldest sister chimed in, “Xiao Lan’s right. After we have this baby, we should have another one as soon as possible!”
Li Yi just smiled and said, “Big Sis, whether you have a second child or not doesn’t really matter, but don’t forget we’ve got a single guy in the family!”
“What ‘single guy’?” Eldest Sister asked, puzzled.
Li Yi pointed to Li Na standing nearby, smiled, and said, “Right here. The three of us are all settled down and about to have our own kids, but my third sister doesn’t even have a boyfriend yet!”
Their mother, Zhang Guiying, nodded in agreement. “That’s right. We need to find a husband for our third daughter as soon as possible. Otherwise, when people see that Little Yi is already married but she, as his older sister, isn’t, they might start thinking there’s something wrong with our Nana!”
Father immediately suggested, “Why don’t you go see Matchmaker Li…”
Before he could finish, Li Na hurriedly interjected, “Dad, I’m only 22 this year. What’s the rush?”
“You’re 22 and not worried? Do you want to wait until you’re 30 and become an old maid?” her mother couldn’t help but scold her.
“I…”
Seeing that her brother had no qualms about dragging her into the fray, Li Na shot Li Yi a glare.
“Third child, don’t glare at Yi. You’re no spring chicken anymore; you need to find a husband soon!” Dad declared decisively.
“I… I was planning on making a fortune with Xiao Yi!”
“That doesn’t conflict with finding a husband. You can still make money with Yi after you’re married!”
“How can that be the same? I don’t want to work just to support a man…”
Li Yi immediately interjected, “Third Sister, you can learn the business while keeping an eye out for someone you like. In any case, you can’t take your future lightly!”
He knew all too well that in her previous life, Third Sister had never married. Aside from adopting that disabled child, she had truly spent her entire life alone and in poverty.
The past was now a distant memory, and in this life, he didn’t want her to go through that tragedy again!
That was exactly why Li Yi was doing everything in his power to urge her to find a partner!
“You’re such a busybody. Fine!” Li Na said helplessly.
“Heh, I’m just looking out for you!” Li Yi said.
“I’d have to be crazy to believe you!”
“Heh!”
…….