Neighborhood Hospital.
Dong Xuebing had a constant stream of visitors until afternoon.
Dong Xuebing lays on his bed and made a few calls.
“Huilan, I heard you had visited me several times.”
“You are finally awake!”
“Why didn’t you wake me when you visited? You must be busy in Yan Tai County.”
“I feel assured after I see you. Why should I wake you?”
“Err…. Did you miss me? Tell me the truth.”
“Haha…. What do you think?”
“How do I know? That’s why I am asking you.”
“Haha……”
“Stop laughing. Why can’t you say you miss me?”
“Fine…. I missed you until I lost my appetite. Are you happy?”
“How come you sound so insincere? Forget it.”
“Haha…. I still have work to do. Let’s stop here, ok?”
“Alright. Bye.”
“I will visit you in a few days. Take care of yourself, and don’t go anywhere.”
“I know…. Don’t worry.”
“Hello, Aunt Xuan. It’s me.”
“Xiao Bing, you are awake!”
“I had just woke up, and I am calling you to tell you.”
“Stay at your Subdistrict. I had finished packing my luggage and will be going over now.”
Dong Xuebing got a fright. “No…. don’t come. You are still under confinement. How can you come here?”
“It will be fine.” Qu Yunxuan replied. “I just want to see you now.”
“You cannot come. Your parents will kill me. Please don’t. Just stay at home under your confinement is over. You must listen to me.”
“Fine.”
“That’s right.” Dong Xuebing is relieved. “How is our baby?”
Qu Yunxuan laughed. “That little thing is doing fine. Oh, my Mum had named her Qu Qian.”
Dong Xuebing is shocked. “Why is her surname Qu?”
“I told my Mum that we will get married fine years later, and she said our daughter can change her surname then.”
Dong Xuebing felt guilty and agreed. “Then let’s listen to her. I don’t mind her having the same surname as you.”
“Ok. That’s settled then.”
“Qu Qian…. Qu Qian…. It’s a nice name. Oh, what is she doing now?”
“She cried the whole morning and just fell asleep. She is a little troublemaker.”
“Move your phone closer to her and let me hear her.”
“She is asleep. What do you want to hear?”
“Wake her up. Hurry up.”
“Which father would wake his baby up? She will not sleep after she wakes up.”
“Ah, just let me listen to her.”
“No. Don’t be naughty. You can see her when you return to Beijing.”
“Hmph! I am hanging up now!”
“Don’t talk to me like this! Fine! Wait a while.”
Dong Xuebing heard a soft breathing sound over the phone a while later.
Qu Yunxuan asked softly. “Did you hear that?”
“Yes! She is sleeping so soundly.”
This is a beautiful feeling, and Dong Xuebing can’t forget the soft breathing sounds of his daughter after they hung up. It made him smile to himself the whole afternoon, and he wondered what she looked like. Is she chubby? Are her eyes big?
Afternoon, 4 pm.
Dong Xuebing got bored in his ward and called the doctor over.
“Doctor, where are my clothes and belongings?”
The doctor is shocked. “You are….”
“I had been sleeping here for two days, and it’s time to be discharged. I still have lots of work.”
“This….” The doctor suggested. “You should remain here for observation for a few more days. After all, you had been trapped for so long underground.”
Dong Xuebing sat up and put on his shoes. “I know my body well. I am fine. I will come back if I feel unwell.”
The doctor rechecked Dong Xuebing’s vitals before allowing him to be discharged.
By 5 pm, Dong Xuebing had taken a bath, got dressed, and left his ward. News of him getting discharged had spread.
Geng Xinke, Zhou Yanru, and the rest had come to the hospital.
“Director.”
“Director Dong.”
Dong Xuebing laughed. “Why are you all here?”
“We are here to fetch you from the hospital.” Geng Xinke reached over to carry Dong Xuebing’s stuff. “Let me carry this for you.”
Dong Xuebing stopped him. “No need. I can still carry this myself.”
“Let me carry it.” Geng Xinke insisted. “We have found your Cayenne at Liu Xiang Hu Tong. But it is damaged in the earthquake, and…. We drove it back to the Subdistrict Family Quarters. The earthquake does not damage the Quarter, and we still live there. If you want, you can return there.”
Dong Xuebing nodded. “Ok. Sorry for troubling all of you.”
Dong Xuebing, Geng Xinke, and the rest walked out of the hospital after settling the discharge papers.
The moment they stepped out of the neighborhood hospital, they were shocked by what they saw.
More than ten thousand people had gathered in the open space outside the hospital, and more were joining from different directions.
Zhou Yanru was stunned. “They are….”
“These people….” Geng Xinke couldn’t believe his eyes.
Pang Gang, Qu Yiqiang, and the rest had never seen so many people gathering. They froze and wondered what was going on.
The next moment, a few young men lifted a red banner above their heads. ‘A good man will have a good life!’ is written on it. Other young men in the crowd lifted their banners with their blessings. All of the banners thank Dong Xuebing.
‘A good man will have a good life! Thank you!’
These people are here to fetch Dong Xuebing from the hospital.
The Subdistrict Office staff immediately knew what was happening.
Dong Xuebing was surprised.
A man walked out from the crowd. “Director Dong, we are from Dong Hai District. We rushed over when we heard you were getting discharged from the hospital. Thanks to your article in Fen Zhou Daily, we managed to leave with our families before the earthquake hit. Our apartments collapsed when we returned. You had saved my family and me. Thank you.”
A few people on the other side shouted. “Director Dong, do you still remember us? Everyone was running for their lives. You had risked yourself and dug us out from the debris.”
An old lady said with tears in her eyes. “You are a good man and will live a long life. I am thanking you on behalf of my son and grandson.”
“Director Dong, you are the best Leader I have ever met.”
“Thank you for what you did for us. Thank you!”
“We will remember you for the rest of our lives!”
Dong Xuebing realized these people are not only from Guang Ming Subdistrict and Nan Shan District. Some had come from Dong Hai District, and some from Xi Ping District. Their ages ranged from small children to elderly in their eighties. All of them are standing there looking at him.
Dong Xuebing is touched. Even Geng Xinke, Zhou Yanru, and the rest of the Subdistrict Office Leaders were tearing up. None of them had expected so many people to turn up to thank Director Dong.
Dong Xuebing stepped forward and shouted. “This is my duty and what I should do. You all don’t need to thank me. I should be the one thanking you all for coming to visit me.”
Reporters rushed to the hospital and took pictures of the crowd. “We are telecasting live from the hospital. More than ten thousand people had come to fetch hero Dong Xuebing from the hospital. This is a touching sight.”
The crowd made a one-meter path for Dong Xuebing to pass through.
Dong Xuebing walked through the crowd and said. “Please go back. Thank you, everyone…. Thank you.” He is worried for the children and elderlies among the crowd.
Zhou Yanru also helped to persuade those people. “Everyone, please go back.”
Pang Gang shouted. “That’s right. Please go back.”
The crowd refused to listen and remained there.
After Dong Xuebing and his staff left the hospital, the crowd followed behind them. They raised their banners and followed them. A few elderlies followed with the help of their walking sticks.
Dong Xuebing tried to ask them to go back, but they refused.
The walk from the hospital to the Subdistrict Quarters is around one kilometer, and more people joined the procession. In the end, tens of thousands of people walked Dong Xuebing back, and they stood outside for a while before leaving.
Tens of thousand people had walked Dong Xuebing home.
Dong Xuebing is touched and feels that his sufferings were worth it during these few days. He doesn’t regret even if he died when the hospital collapsed.
Postpartum confinement
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postpartum_confinement
