Reborn in 1966

Chapter 448 Recovering from Injuries

Du Mingjun finally woke up in the afternoon. Looking at Pei Yin sitting by the hospital bed, he grinned and said weakly, "I'm so sorry, I didn't protect myself well and made you worry."

Hearing this, Pei Yin felt even more heartbroken. She took Du Mingjun's hand and said, "Then you must be careful in the future. I'm still waiting for you to come back home."

Du Mingjun's injury was truly unexpected. After the mission was over, he was heading back with the equipment. The mountain road was difficult to traverse, and halfway there, rocks began to fall. The equipment was purchased from abroad using foreign exchange. Du Mingjun and his colleagues quickly protected the equipment when the rocks fell. The equipment was safely placed in a cave halfway through the road, but a bag containing the data fell outside. When Du Mingjun went to retrieve it, he was hit on the head by a falling rock.

Du Mingjun woke up, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Shen's father called home to explain the situation. After Tian Xiaomin returned home, he told Pei Hua and his brothers about Du Mingjun's injury, but he didn't dare tell the elders in the family. Pei Yin was newly married, and it would be bad if word got out that Pei Yin was unlucky and would bring misfortune to her husband. Although his family didn't believe in such things, it would be very bad for the newlywed couple to be said to be like that.

When Du Mingjun woke up, his family breathed a sigh of relief after Shen's father called home. Ma's mother even packed her bags to go to Beijing to visit him. When his grandparents found out, they kept complaining that he hadn't told them sooner. His grandmother said, "Your father called Peiyin out early this morning. I was wondering why he was taking Peiyin to visit a friend. Turns out he was going to see Mingjun. Such a big thing, and he didn't even tell us."

Peihua said, "Grandma, I was just worried that you and Grandpa would get anxious if you heard this. You and Grandpa are so old, what if something happens if one of you gets anxious?"

Grandma said, "Grandpa and Grandma are both so old, what haven't we been through? It's only natural that we're worried about Mingjun's injury. Your grandpa and I can't really help you much, but we can't just stay completely in the dark. You've kept it from us, and it makes us uneasy."

Peihua said, "Okay, okay, Grandma, from now on, I'll tell you everything that happens in our family, no matter how big or small, okay?"

Grandma said, "That's more like it. Peihua, your grandpa and I can't help much. Why don't you send some money over for us, so that Peiyin can buy some nutritious food for Mingjun to help him recover properly?"

Peihua looked at the stack of money his grandmother handed him, all ten-yuan notes, which he guessed were his grandmother's savings over the years. He quickly said, "Grandma, how can we take your money? Don't worry, Peijun, Peitian, and I have it with us."

Grandma said, "Yours is yours, and what your grandpa and I have is ours. How can they be the same? Listen to Grandma, take this money with you, and give it to Peiyin. Tell her it's a token of our love from Grandpa and Grandma."

Peihua had no choice but to accept the money. All three brothers were going to Beijing. This was a big deal for their brother-in-law. Peijun was going to start school, Peitian would go to Beijing and then return to his unit, and Peihua would go and then come back. They would take their grandmother back to Beijing. Ma Heng said that they would have to prepare to return to China after staying for a while. Ma Heng and Jenny both had their own jobs, and it wouldn't be good to be away for too long.

Not to mention that the Shen family was packing their bags to prepare for their long journey, after Du Mingjun woke up, Du Kunpeng took Du Qianqian back to the province. Pei Yin began to take care of Du Mingjun at the hospital, while Shen's parents returned home to buy groceries, cook, and deliver meals. This way, Pei Yin only had to take care of the patient, which made things much easier for her.

Du Mingjun's health improved day by day. When Peiyin's school started, she immediately asked for leave to continue taking care of Du Mingjun. The school was very understanding and readily granted her leave. When Peiyin returned to the hospital, she told Du Mingjun about it. Du Mingjun said, "You've just started working. It's not good to take such a long leave."

Pei-Yin said, "I don't trust anyone else to take care of you. I want to stay by your side. Ming-Jun, we've been together for so many years and finally got married. From now on, let's take good care of our little family. Put work aside for now. I'm sure I can do even better in the future."

Du Mingjun was able to lie down against the blankets placed at the head of the bed. The ward was decorated very warmly by Pei Yin. Pei Yin even went home to get two pots of orchid grass and placed them on the windowsill of the ward. The long, emerald green leaves of the orchid grass spread out and brought vitality to the white ward. Even the doctors and nurses felt that this small ward was different from before because of these two pots of green plants.

After the first month of the lunar calendar, the temperature had risen slightly. Having stayed in the hospital for over twenty days, Pei Yin would push Du Mingjun in a wheelchair for walks in the courtyard when the midday temperature was high. Over time, the hospital staff and many other soldiers admitted for treatment knew that a young couple lived in the hospital. The groom had gone on a mission before their wedding was over and was injured in an accident. His wife had taken a long leave to care for him. Their love touched many people. Some unfamiliar comrades from other places would bring them local specialties. Pei Yin didn't want to accept these gifts so readily, so she made a list and asked her father to buy some specialties from Beijing to send to them. Later, the photo of their farewell at the wedding was published in the People's Liberation Army Daily. When a photojournalist arrived at the hospital, he saw two positive and energetic young people. He took two photos of their daily life over the past few days. One photo showed two pots of lush green orchids on the windowsill. Because it was late and the outside was somewhat dark, this background made the orchids in the photo convey a more direct sense of vibrant hope. The other photo was taken at noon, showing Pei Yin pushing Du Mingjun downstairs. Pei Yin was pushing the wheelchair behind, and Du Mingjun turned his head and smiled at her. Pei Yin lowered her head and gave her lover a gentle smile. After the photos were developed, the photojournalist was moved to tears by the hope, warmth, and love shown in the photos. The next morning, he went to the editor-in-chief, who, after hearing the story, immediately published both photos.

This is an era that idolizes heroes. As the photos came, more people came to visit Du Mingjun. As Du Mingjun's newlywed wife who silently supported him behind the scenes, there were also many people who came to visit Pei Yin. Everyone was moved by Du Mingjun's bravery and Pei Yin's dedication. The small ward was filled with praise every day.

Pei Yin is a very low-key person. After a while, she got a little tired of dealing with it. After discussing it with Du Mingjun, she went to the hospital leaders and explained that too many visitors were not good for Du Mingjun's recovery. With the hospital's intervention, the two of them finally calmed down.

Du Mingjun felt he had recovered enough and asked to be discharged to go home to recuperate. After the doctor examined him, he agreed to Du Mingjun's request to be discharged. So, in the gentle breeze of the willow trees, Du Mingjun and Pei Yin went back to their new house.

The new house had been thoroughly cleaned inside and out by Shen's mother. Since Shen's father was still teaching a graduating class of senior high school students this year, he went back home after the Lantern Festival. Shen's mother was left alone in Beijing. Fortunately, after Peizhi and her family of three returned to Beijing for the New Year, they did not go back to their own apartment but stayed with Shen's parents in the courtyard house. After Shen's father went back, Shen's mother had Peizhi and Su Liqing helping her with grocery shopping, which made things much easier for her.

When Du Mingjun was about to be discharged from the hospital, Shen's mother cleaned their new house inside and out. When Pei Yin helped Du Mingjun home, there were already some new green shoots in the flower bed in the front yard, the trees planted in the yard looked lush and green from a distance, and new buds had sprouted on the grapevines in the back yard. It was a sight that made people feel much better.

Because of the surgery, Du Mingjun's hair was shaved clean. His hair was allowed to grow back after the wound healed, and it was already more than an inch long. However, he still had to wear a hat when he went out. Pei Yin specially bought Du Mingjun a hat, which made him look particularly stylish.

The red bedding was still on the bed in the new house, and even the red double happiness paper-cuts pasted on the windows were still there.

Du Mingjun slowly sat on the wedding bed. He had been preparing the wood for this bed for years – top-quality mahogany, meticulously crafted by a master craftsman. The bedding was made by his mother-in-law, and the duvet cover was something he and Pei Yin had carefully selected at the department store. After Pei Yin arrived home, she tidied up everything she had brought back. When she finished, she saw Du Mingjun sitting on the bed, seemingly lost in thought. Pei Yin sighed inwardly. This boy, all he wanted was to marry her, but they hadn't even consummated their marriage before he went on a mission. He was injured, and three months had passed. It had been almost a hundred days since she and Du Mingjun had married. Pei Yin sat beside Du Mingjun and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Du Mingjun saw Pei Yin sitting next to him, reached out and pulled her into his arms, saying...

"I'm thinking that I'm such a bad husband. We've been married for so long, but I haven't been able to consummate our marriage with my wife because of an accident. Luckily, I'm fine now. What would have happened to my wife if something had happened to me?"

Pei Yin thought about Du Mingjun's health. Although he had woken up and his thinking was not affected, his movements were still somewhat uncoordinated due to the pressure from the blood clot. However, she was sure that he could recover through rehabilitation. When he was discharged from the hospital, the doctor repeatedly told her to follow the doctor's instructions and train properly. When Pei Yin came back, she thought about adding some fitness equipment to the house to help Du Mingjun with his rehabilitation.

Hearing Du Mingjun say this to her, Pei Yin said, "You are my great hero, nothing will happen to you."

Du Mingjun kissed Pei Yin's head and said, "I actually regretted it the moment I was hit. If there hadn't been a wedding, you could have found someone who loves you to live with. Later, when I could hear you, I thought, thank goodness I married you early and brought you into my family. Where can you find such a good wife? Pei Yin, I think we should have a son in the future. With the two of us protecting you, I can feel at ease when I'm not home."