There were quite a few people gathered at the door of Wang Meixia's hospital ward. The head of the obstetrics department quickly drove them all away, entered the ward, and closed the door.
Old Lady Wang sat on the ground, slapping her thighs and wailing, "The hospital is killing people! My daughter has given birth to three children, all through normal deliveries. I said why this time there was an episiotomy and a cesarean section. It turns out that the doctor deliberately harmed us. So what if we cursed when we had a stomachache? Should we be cut twice just for cursing? That episiotomy is so painful. Just thinking about that scissors going down makes my heart ache. It's a sin! I'm going to sue your hospital for murder and extortion."
Cold sweat broke out on the back of the head of the obstetrics department. "Auntie, stop crying. Can we talk about how to solve this problem?"
Wang Meixia also wiped her tears on the hospital bed. "Doctor, tell me how to solve it. I could have been discharged earlier and returned to Jingshi. Now I'm forced to stay here. My body is suffering, and the expenses are high. Aren't you just ripping people off?"
The veins on the forehead of the obstetrician throbbed violently.
If this matter got out of hand, she would definitely be held jointly responsible, and she would surely lose her position as the department head.
"Stop crying. Crying won't solve the problem. Tell me what you want."
Old Lady Wang achieved her goal. She rolled up from the ground, patted the dirt off her body, and said, "We want compensation, and you have to arrange a place for us to have the postpartum confinement."
The head of the obstetrics department sighed deeply. She really regretted it. Why did she have to go to Xiao Mandong? She could have solved this problem by herself. She shouldn't have provoked her.
"Tell me how much compensation you want."
Old Lady Wang thought for a while. They had already spent more than 300 yuan on hospitalization and meals. They couldn't suffer for nothing. She licked her dry lips and held out one hand. "Five hundred. Give me five hundred yuan, and we'll leave the hospital immediately."
The head of the obstetrics department almost fell over. "Auntie, regarding Dr. Liu's matter, we admit that there was a problem with our supervision. But she has already been detained, and she can't escape the legal responsibility. Your demands should be reasonable. This is clearly extortion."
Wang Meixia cried so hard that she could hardly catch her breath. "What's unreasonable about it? Try lying in bed for half a month! I didn't need a cesarean section at all. Why should I have to endure that knife for no reason, which has left me so weak that I can hardly walk."
The head of the obstetrics department's face turned ashen. "Comrade Wang Meixia, your cesarean section was due to premature birth caused by a fall. The baby had the umbilical cord around its neck and was in a breech position. It was a difficult delivery. There was nothing wrong with the cesarean section. What we're discussing now is the issue of your episiotomy."
Hearing what the head of the obstetrics department said, Old Lady Wang immediately sat back on the ground. "At this point, you can say whatever you want. We don't know if it was a breech position or not. It's so hard for us ordinary people. Who knows if you're just saying it was an umbilical cord around the neck and a breech position to make money from our operation fees? Oh, my God! You're not letting us live!"
"Stop crying. Even if you cry yourself to death, you won't get that much compensation. If you can't negotiate properly, we'll call the police. You can go to the police station and ask Dr. Liu for the money."
Old Lady Wang's crying suddenly stopped. She was afraid that if Dr. Liu's family had no money, they wouldn't get a single cent. She rolled her eyes and thought that crying and making a scene was useless. She got up from the ground again and talked to the head of the obstetrics department about the compensation.
After an hour of negotiation, the hospital finally compensated the Wang family 200 yuan, and the hospital was responsible for finding a place for them to have the postpartum confinement.
The head of the obstetrics department reported this matter to the hospital director, who agreed to the solution and made it clear that the hospital would fully recover the compensation amount from Dr. Liu later.
After a busy day, Xiao Mandong and her sister were just about to leave the hospital when they were stopped by a young nurse. "Doctor Xiao, wait a minute."
Xiao Mandong stopped and turned around to see the young nurse who had come to her today.
The young nurse ran over, out of breath, with a relaxed smile on her face. "Doctor Xiao, I have something to tell you. The department head has reached an agreement with the Wang family and given them 200 yuan as compensation."
"As for a place to stay, our department head went to Dr. Liu's home in person and explained the situation. Dr. Liu's family also understood that if they couldn't appease the Wang family and it caused other patients to file a joint lawsuit, Dr. Liu would definitely get a heavier sentence. So they agreed to vacate a room for the new mother to have her postpartum confinement there."
"Doctor Xiao, you're really amazing."
A faint smile appeared on the corner of Xiao Mandong's lips. "Isn't that great? The hospital will definitely recover this money from Dr. Liu, and you've also solved a big problem."
The young nurse nodded repeatedly. After leaving the hospital gate, she waved goodbye to Xiao Mandong and left.
The two sisters first went to the state - owned restaurant to buy ready - made meals and then took an ox - cart back to the village.
To Xiao Mandong's surprise, Dong Huimin was sitting opposite her on the ox - cart. The three of them didn't say a word. When Xiao Mandong first came to the educated youth spot, she thought Dong Huimin was a nice person. But unexpectedly, out of jealousy, she could be so vicious. She knew that Xiao Manxue was taken away by Hu Guizhen but didn't tell her. Xiao Mandong didn't want to have anything to do with such a person for the rest of her life.
Moreover, Xiao Mandong thought that Dong Huimin was not only bad but also stupid. They were just temporary workers. How could good jobs like accountant and statistician be given to educated youths? There would be a new election in the village after the autumn harvest. There was nothing to fight for.
Dong Huimin felt a bit guilty when facing Xiao Mandong. She didn't know what she was thinking at that time. She was just blinded by jealousy. In fact, she regretted it later, but what could she do now?
She even told herself that she was right. After all, whether to tell or not was her right, and it was okay not to tell.
The ox - cart wobbled back to the village, and they saw a lot of people standing at the entrance of the production brigade.
Jian Qiuyue saw Xiao Mandong and Xiao Manxue from afar and quickly ran over. "Mandong, good news! The village has been given a quota for a worker - peasant - soldier university."
Xiao Mandong pretended not to know. "Really? That's great. Do you know who the quota has been given to?"
Jian Qiuyue smiled. "I don't know yet. I heard that in previous years, several people were selected and then they drew lots. Who knows what will happen this year?"
Dong Huimin looked hopeful. She really hoped to get this quota. She was already 24 years old. Many educated youths who came to the countryside with her had either married villagers or those with capable families had already returned to the cities. Her family had no connections, so she couldn't go back, and she didn't want to marry a villager. So she was the oldest educated youth at the educated youth spot. Now, hearing about the quota for the worker - peasant - soldier university, she was more anxious than anyone else. She really wanted to seize this opportunity to return to the city.
At this time, the village broadcast sounded. The voice of the brigade leader came through the loudspeaker and spread throughout the brigade. "Attention, all villagers! Attention, all villagers! For this recommendation to the worker - peasant - soldier university, the commune has allocated one quota to our brigade. This time, there will be no lottery - drawing or voting. The commune will make a comprehensive assessment based on daily performance. Educated youths who have been sent to the countryside are included in the category of villagers and can participate in the selection equally. The result will be announced in three days. Don't worry."
Dong Huimin said, "Why isn't there a lottery this time?"
She didn't know anyone in the commune. If the lottery was held in the village, she could try to give some gifts to the secretary and the team leader, but now she didn't even have the chance to do so.
Fan Wenhai: "Yeah, in the past, it would take at least seven to fifteen days, but this time the result came out in just three days."
Fang Yuan: "I guess the commune had already made a comprehensive evaluation. Anyway, it has nothing to do with me. I won't worry about it."
Jian Qiuyue didn't say a word. She just gave Xiao Mandong a meaningful look.
