Xiao Mandong’s good mood was completely ruined by the Wang family.
“The hospital has its rules. Can’t you just discharge them according to procedure?”
“The patient is throwing a fit in bed. Who would dare touch her? Her incision hasn’t even fully healed, and if she gets bumped, she could end up staying here until the New Year. Doctor Xiao, please help us think of a solution. We really don’t know what else to do.”
The young nurse’s face was full of pleading. She had worked at the hospital for more than three years, and this was honestly the first time she had encountered a postpartum woman who intended to spend her confinement in the hospital. In the past, whenever they came across unreasonable patients, they could simply call the police.
But even calling the police wouldn’t help with this one. The baby had only just been moved out of the neonatal observation room, and the mother’s incision had already torn once. She was still recovering. If things weren’t handled properly, someone might even lose their life. The department director had sent her to find Xiao Mandong because they truly had no other options.
Xiao Mandong was speechless as well. What could she do? She really didn’t want to get involved. However, the village would be announcing the quota for the Worker-Peasant-Soldier University in the next few days. Even though everything was supposed to follow procedure, she couldn’t afford to give anyone an excuse to make trouble for her.
Suddenly, inspiration struck.
“Come on. I’ll go take a look with you.”
Inside the obstetrics ward, Wang Meixia was lying on the hospital bed while Old Lady Wang sat on a bench with drooping eyelids. Two doctors stood nearby, trying their best to persuade them.
Xiao Zhenyu was standing beside the bed. When he saw Xiao Mandong arrive, his face lit up.
“Mom, my sister is here to take you home. Hurry up and pack your things. We’re going home.”
Old Lady Wang wore a smug expression. She had known the hospital would eventually look for Xiao Mandong if they refused to leave. See? In the end, Xiao Mandong still had to take responsibility. So what if they had cut ties? Filial piety could crush her completely.
“Mandong, I knew you wouldn’t abandon me once you came. Thank you for forgiving your mother. I swear I’ll make it up to you from now on.”
Wang Meixia’s eyes were full of expectation as well. Ever since giving birth this time, she had felt uncomfortable everywhere. She didn’t know whether it was because she had cried too much during her confinement or because the cesarean section had weakened her.
If she went to Xiao Mandong’s place to recuperate, Xiao Mandong would surely help her nurse her health back to normal.
More importantly, she could find a way to get the ring back and put it on her son. Perhaps his health would gradually improve.
Xiao Mandong walked up to the bed and looked down at Wang Meixia.
Wang Meixia put on a loving expression. “Mandong, this is your little brother. Look how pitiful he is. He’s not even as healthy as you were when you were little.”
Xiao Mandong cast a glance at the child. He was pale and frail, without the slightest bit of energy. Who knew how many wicked things this child had done in his previous life to be reborn into a family like this?
She immediately looked away and said to Wang Meixia, “Don’t try to use that barely existent family bond to manipulate me. It won’t work. And put your mind at ease—I’m not taking you home. But there is something I can tell you…”
Before Xiao Mandong could finish, Old Lady Wang exploded.
“If you won’t take her, then who will? She’s your mother!”
“Shut that filthy mouth of yours.” Xiao Mandong didn’t show her the slightest bit of respect. “You even scheme against your own granddaughter. What kind of person are you? Don’t talk to me. Just hearing your voice makes me feel dirty.”
“You ungrateful little bitch! Who do you think you’re talking to?” Old Lady Wang shouted angrily, pointing at Xiao Mandong’s nose.
Xiao Mandong turned around at once and said to the obstetrics staff, “Call the police. Let them deal with this shameless woman. I’d like to see whether even the police can do anything about a scoundrel like this.”
The Wang family had truly lowered the standards of shamelessness to a new level. Xiao Mandong had no intention of indulging them.
Xiao Zhenyu hurried over and held Old Lady Wang back.
“Grandma—no, Grandma-in-law, please watch what you say. Why do you keep cursing at people? If cursing worked, we would’ve been discharged long ago.”
He kept winking at Old Lady Wang.
Only then did Old Lady Wang realize that she had lost her temper again. That wretched girl only responded to gentleness, not force. Why had she failed to control herself once again?
Seeing that Xiao Mandong was about to leave the ward, Xiao Zhenyu hurried forward and blocked her path with an ingratiating smile.
“Get out of the way.” Xiao Mandong brusquely brushed aside the arm he reached toward her.
Xiao Zhenyu clenched his fists and forced a smile. “Sis, you came here because of Mom. You don’t have to pay attention to Grandma-in-law. What do you think we should do about Mom’s situation? Please help us come up with a solution. We really don’t know what else to do.”
The obstetrics nurse was afraid that Xiao Mandong would leave and no one would deal with the problem, so she joined in, trying to persuade her.
“Doctor Xiao, don’t mind that old lady. She’s old and not right in the head.”
“That’s right. Just consider it a favor to the hospital. Look, the mother is still lying in the corridor.”
Xiao Mandong followed their lead and sighed. Then she walked back to the bed.
“The doctor who delivered your baby deliberately performed an episiotomy to get revenge on you because you used such foul language. That was an illegal act.”
“What did you say?” Old Lady Wang’s eyes widened as she stared at Xiao Mandong.
Wang Meixia’s lips trembled with anger. “No wonder! I’ve given birth to so many children, and every one of them was delivered smoothly. Why did this one require a cesarean section? So that doctor deliberately harmed me?”
“I’m going to make her pay! I won’t let her off! I suffered so much and spent so much money…” she wailed.
“Stop crying. Listen to me first.” Xiao Mandong interrupted her.
Only then did Old Lady Wang recover from her shock.
Xiao Mandong continued, “That doctor is currently at the police station and hasn’t been released. Her family lives in the doctors’ residential compound behind this hospital. You can go to her home to spend your confinement there and demand compensation for your nutritional expenses.”
The nurses and doctors around them stared at Xiao Mandong in disbelief. They all knew that Doctor Liu’s actions had indeed been disgraceful, but this seemed a little too…
Seeing the looks on their faces, Xiao Mandong knew exactly what they were thinking.
“The family has the right to know. Why didn’t you tell the patient? If you think this is unfair to Doctor Liu, you can bear the consequences on her behalf. I have something to do, so I’ll be leaving first.”
Xiao Mandong reached the ward entrance, then turned back and said to Old Lady Wang, “You can ask the doctors here for Dr. Liu’s exact address. If they refuse to tell you, you can simply keep staying in the hospital.”
The obstetrics department was afraid of being held responsible and wanted to push the problem onto her. How amusing. Doctor Liu had behaved so despicably, and Xiao Mandong hadn’t even exposed the whole matter. What more did they want?
When it came to the Wang family, shouldn’t they be the ones figuring out how to resolve things properly? And yet they actually wanted her to step in. Had she spoiled them too much?
She wasn’t stupid. She had already made it clear countless times that she had cut ties with them, yet they still kept pulling this stunt. What, did they think the words “easy mark” were written on her forehead?
After Xiao Mandong left, Old Lady Wang acted as though she had been injected with adrenaline. She sat down on the floor and began making a scene, demanding that the hospital give her an explanation. Even if it had been the doctor’s personal decision, she insisted, the hospital should still be held responsible.
The head of obstetrics and gynecology heard about what had happened and hurried to the ward. She was at a loss. She had thought that since Xiao Mandong had kept this from the Wang family for so long, the matter would simply blow over. Who could have imagined that something like this would happen today? She deeply regretted it—if only she had known, she never would have sent someone to fetch Xiao Mandong.
This was a disaster. If they couldn’t keep the matter under wraps and word got out, what would they do if all the patients who had previously undergone episiotomies came back to confront them?
