1952: Walking through Nantongluo Alley

Yi Zhonghai saw that it was Sha Zhu who brought Jia Zhang over.

He said with tears in his eyes.

"Sister-in-law, Dongxu... Dongxu..."

As he spoke, Yi Zhonghai's voice began to choke.

Jia Zhang watched Yi Zhonghai weep heartbreakingly, his heartbroken expression shattered. It was as if the whole world had collapsed upon him. Somehow, her heart felt as if it were being tugged at by an invisible hand, and she felt an indescribable pain and bitterness.

Soon, Jia Zhang could no longer control her emotions, and tears burst forth like a flood. Sobbing, she inched her way toward Yi Zhonghai. Eventually, the two embraced each other tightly, then knelt on the ground, cuddling each other, their sobs rising and falling in a heartbreaking chorus of sorrow.

If passersby who didn't know the truth saw this scene, they would probably mistake them for a couple who had been together for many years! Liu Haizhong accidentally caught a glimpse of Sha Zhu holding a lunch box. At that moment, his eyes were like two lightning bolts across the night sky, instantly shining with greed.

Back then, he had to work incredibly hard to push Jia Dongxu and Yi Zhonghai from the steel mill all the way to the hospital on a cart! Not only had it been a long journey, but he was also exhausted, panting, and sweating profusely. Now, he was starving, his stomach growling non-stop, as if a group of little monsters were making a fuss inside.

So, he couldn't wait to come forward and asked Sha Zhu with a smile on his face: "Hey, Sha Zhu, is there any delicious food in your lunch box?" As he spoke, his saliva almost flowed down the corners of his mouth.

Seeing this, Sha Zhu was stunned for a moment, then nodded and replied with a smile: "Haha, Second Uncle, you are really sharp-eyed! Yes, there is indeed food in here. I brought it back from the steel mill and planned to have it for dinner tonight."

Upon hearing this, his eyes rolled around, and he immediately revealed a pitiful look. He stuck out his tongue to lick his cracked lips and begged, "Oh, Shazhu, I'm really hungry, why don't you give me this lunch box?"

Sha Zhu was quite generous. Without saying anything, he handed over the lunch box and said cheerfully, "Hey, look at what you're talking about. It's just a lunch box. Why bother giving it up? Uncle, if you want to eat it, just take it and eat it."

Before he finished speaking, Liu Haizhong grabbed the lunch box as if it were a treasure. He didn't even bother looking for a pair of chopsticks and directly reached into the lunch box. He looked like a starving wolf, gobbling it up in big mouthfuls, his mouth full of greasy food and his cheeks puffed up like two balloons.

After Liu Haizhong wolfed down the food in the lunch box, he burped loudly with satisfaction, and the sound seemed to be able to break through the sky.

He slowly stood up and walked to the door of the ward with heavy steps. He tried hard to look inside through the small glass window on the door, but unfortunately, no matter how he adjusted his angle and sight, he could not see the specific situation inside the ward.

At that moment, Jia Dongxu's lifesaving efforts were being carried out frantically in the ward. A full afternoon had already passed since noon. Medical staff busily and methodically shuttled between the beds, the beeps from various medical equipment blending together to form a heart-wrenching melody.

Liu Haizhong became more and more anxious, and he kept praying silently in his heart: "Jia Dongxu, Jia Dongxu, you must hold on! Nothing must happen to you..." However, although his heart was full of expectations and worries, he still could not know what the final rescue result would be.

Several people waited anxiously outside the ward for a long time. The doctor slowly pushed open the heavy door, as if it held the weight of life, death, and hope. At this moment, the doctors' faces were all filled with deep fatigue, their eyes revealing a hint of helplessness and compassion.

Jia Zhang, who had been waiting outside the door, was instantly filled with anxiety when she saw the doctor finally emerge. She rushed forward impatiently, anxiously inquiring about Jia Dongxu's condition. "Doctor! Doctor! How is my Dongxu? Please tell me the truth!" her voice was filled with fear and uneasiness.

Faced with Jia Zhang's questioning, the doctor was silent for a moment, then he sighed deeply and said in a heavy tone: "I'm really sorry, we have tried our best, but in the end we couldn't save the situation..." This sentence was like a bolt from the blue, instantly hitting the hearts of everyone present.

Upon hearing this tragic news, everyone present shuddered, as if being yanked by an invisible hand. Jia Zhang felt as if struck by lightning. Her legs suddenly lost their strength, and she slid limply downwards, collapsing on the cold ground.

"Dongxu, Dongxu, my son..." Jia Zhang murmured her son's name, tears pouring down her cheeks like a flood. She pounded the ground with her hands, her body trembling. Her grief-stricken cries echoed throughout the corridor, leaving everyone heartbroken.

At this moment, the doctor gently reminded: "You can go in and see the patient now. He still has a little consciousness. If you have anything to say to him, hurry up." After that, he turned and left.

Yi Zhonghai, standing aside, had already grown hoarse with grief. Fighting back tears, he walked over to Jia Zhang, helped her up, and said in a choked voice, "Sister-in-law, let's go in and see Dongxu for the last time..."

Jia Dongxu had once been his most favored disciple, and he had even considered him the person he would take care of in his later years. Seeing his beloved disciple's imminent death, Yi Zhonghai was naturally filled with anguish.

"Yes, sister-in-law, please don't cry! Now is not the time to be sad and crying. We must go and see Dongxu for the last time. If we delay any longer, it will be too late!" Liu Haizhong said anxiously, and at the same time reached out to help Jia Zhang, who was sitting on the ground and crying bitterly. However, at this moment, Jia Zhang was already in deep despair and grief. She seemed to have lost all her strength. How could Liu Haizhong alone easily help her up?

Seeing that it was difficult for him to complete the task alone, Liu Haizhong quickly looked at Yi Zhonghai for help and winked at him, indicating that he should come and help.

"Uncle, please come over and give us a hand! Let's help support our sister-in-law so that she can see Dongxu for the last time!" Liu Haizhong shouted loudly.

Hearing the cry, Yi Zhonghai first raised his hand and gently wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes with his sleeve, then walked forward quickly, and together with Liu Haizhong, stretched out his hand to tightly support Jia Zhang's shaky body.

At this moment, Sha Zhu, who had been standing silently behind the others, remained completely silent. He stared blankly at everything unfolding before him, showing no sign of stepping forward to help. In reality, Sha Zhu didn't even want to set foot in that ward. He was filled with resentment towards Jia Dongxu.

Thinking back, it was because Jia Dongxu revealed the matter of the jade pendant that he and his beloved teacher Qian parted ways and their relationship was severed from then on.

Because of this, Sha Zhu hadn't been able to get married for the past six months. Whenever he recalled this past event, Sha Zhu felt a surge of anger, and his hatred for Jia Dongxu grew even stronger. Therefore, he would rather stay outside the ward and wait quietly for the others to come out than go into the room and see Jia Dongxu in person.

In the depressingly quiet ward, filled with the smell of disinfectant, Jia Dongxu lay weakly on the white bed, his face as pale as paper. Even breathing seemed difficult for him. With every inhale and exhale, his chest rose and fell violently like the surface of a storm-ravaged sea.

His once strong body was now as fragile as a candle in the wind, with all kinds of tubes and sophisticated instruments inserted all over his body. These tubes and instruments seemed to be his only channel to connect with the outside world and his last hope of survival.

Standing by, Jia Zhang's heart ached as she watched her son's miserable state. The pain in her heart surged like a tide, nearly drowning her. She couldn't understand why fate had to be so cruel to her son, Dongxu, causing him to suffer so much hardship and torture.

"Don't be afraid, Dongxu. Mom's here..." Jia Zhang, supported by Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong, staggered and trembled to the bedside. She reached out her wrinkled, slightly trembling hands and gently stroked Jia Dongxu's cheek, trying to offer him a touch of warmth and comfort.

Jia Dongxu raised his head with great effort and looked at his mother with his eyes that had lost their luster. He wanted to say something, but as soon as he opened his mouth, a stream of scarlet blood gushed out of his mouth, splashing onto the white bed sheet, forming shocking blood flowers.

Seeing this horrific scene, Jia Zhang was so frightened that her face turned pale and her whole body went limp. She screamed in fear, "Dongxu! Don't say anything, just listen to me!" Tears flowed uncontrollably down her cheeks and dripped onto Jia Dongxu's hands.

"Don't worry, Mom will cure your illness even if she has to sell everything she has. You will definitely get better and you will get through it..." Jia Zhang held Jia Dongxu's hand tightly and said some comforting words incoherently, as if this could give him the strength to defeat the disease.

However, Jia Dongxu wasn't reassured by his mother's words. His gaze slowly drifted toward the ward door, a deep longing and yearning evident in his eyes. How he longed to see his wife, Tingting, and their children there! But that familiar figure never appeared. At this moment, his greatest wish was to see his beloved child one last time, even if it was just a fleeting glimpse...

He forced himself to stand up and spoke.

"Child... child..."

"I want... I want to see my child one last time..."

Before he could finish his words, Jia Dongxu spat out a lot of blood from his mouth.

Jia Zhang lay on the bed and pleaded in pain.

"Dongxu, stop talking, stop talking."

Yi Zhonghai knew very well that Jia Dongxu's only wish now was to see his child one last time. Thinking of this, he rushed out of the ward anxiously and shouted at Sha Zhu at the top of his voice: "Sha Zhu! Hurry back to our courtyard and bring Tingting and Dongxu's child here! Hurry!"

Deep down, Sha Zhu didn't want to do this at all. But when he looked up and met Yi Zhonghai's cold, piercing gaze, all the words of refusal instantly died in his throat. He had no choice but to nod reluctantly, then, like a frightened rabbit, he sprinted towards the courtyard.

Sha Zhu ran breathlessly all the way, not even stopping to catch his breath. When he finally reached Jia Dongxu's house, he opened his mouth to shout without thinking. But just then, the door suddenly opened. The scene before him made Sha Zhu blush and he was so embarrassed he wished he could crawl into a hole in the ground.

Tingting was sitting in the room, disheveled, intently feeding her child. Suddenly, seeing Shazhu rush in so impulsively, Tingting was stunned at first, then reacted, her face immediately flushed, and she glared at Shazhu with embarrassment and annoyance. Shazhu was also at a loss for what to do at this sudden situation, and stammered to explain, "Um... I didn't mean to... I had something urgent..."

Before Sha Zhu could finish his words, Tingting interrupted him: "What's going on? Why are you so flustered?"

Sha Zhu took a deep breath, tried to calm himself, and then said anxiously, "Oh no! Tingting, Jia Dongxu... he might not be able to hold on any longer. He wanted to see you and your mother before he left, so I rushed here to take you to the hospital."

Hearing this, Tingting's originally somewhat angry expression instantly turned into horror. She couldn't believe what she heard. She stared at Sha Zhu with wide eyes and asked in a trembling voice, "Sha Zhu, what did you say? You said my Dong Xu is about to die? How is that possible?"

This was a bolt from the blue. Tingting had already forgotten what had just happened. She didn't care that her clothes were in disarray. She grabbed Sha Zhu's collar with both hands and shook him continuously.

"What I said is true. Jia Dongxu is really dying. If I don't go over now, I will never see Jia Dongxu for the last time." At this time, Sha Zhu kept swallowing his saliva. His attention had long been on Tingting.

I thought to myself.

Jia Dongxu, you damn it, you actually found such a big Tingting as your wife