Chapter 87: Chapter 87: Real Island Life

Lu Xiao rushed over to pat Su Tang on the back, but she waved her hand, signaling she was fine.

The island sun was scorching, making one’s skin ache.

Even the salty, fishy sea breeze failed to cut through the oppressive heat.

The cart swayed slowly along the pockmarked dirt road, and Su Tang’s heart was in her throat, tumbling violently with every jolt.

She clutched the packet of medicine and ginseng to her chest, her palms slick with sweat.

Finally, the cart stopped at the entrance of a large courtyard enclosed by a low stone wall.

A wooden sign with peeling paint hung by the gate. The words “Production and Construction Corps Company” were barely legible.

A few rows of low, tiled brick houses stood there, clearly showing their age.

“This is it.”

The old man driving the cart pointed with a coarse hand. “Third row, second house from the end. That’s Technician Su’s place.”

“Thank you!”

Lu Xiao jumped nimbly from the cart and helped Su Tang down. He then turned to untie their luggage from the back.

Su Tang paid no mind to anything else, her eyes glued to the door the old man had indicated.

The door was ajar. Near it sat a coal-briquette stove, and on the stove, a blackened aluminum pot gave off a faint, wispy trail of white steam.

Su Tang’s heart leaped into her throat, and her legs felt weak.

She took a deep breath. Ignoring Lu Xiao, who was still unloading their luggage, she dashed forward in a few quick strides, practically lunging for the door.

“Mom! Dad!”

Her voice trembled, thick with all the worry and urgency of her journey, as she threw the door open.

The room was much darker than outside. A wave of damp, musty air, mingled with the faint, medicinal scent peculiar to the chronically ill, washed over her.

It took a moment for Su Tang’s eyes to adjust to the dim light before she could make out the scene inside.

The tiny room’s furnishings were so sparse they were heartbreaking.

A wooden plank bed rested against the wall. Someone lay on it, covered by a thin blanket, only a head of graying hair visible. Their face was turned away, obscuring their features.

Beside the bed sat another person, listlessly waving a cattail fan over the one lying down.

Hearing the door and the shout, the person whipped their head around.

It was Mrs. Su.

’How long has it been?’

Su Tang simply couldn’t believe her eyes!

The mother she remembered—slender but always impeccably neat—was now so gaunt her cheekbones jutted out.

Her eyes were sunken, and her hair was messily pulled back. Her complexion was sallow, and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes were etched as deep as knife cuts.

The old blouse she wore hung loosely on her frame.

When Mrs. Su finally recognized the person at the door, her vacant expression gave way to wide-eyed shock. The cattail fan slipped from her hand and fell to the floor.

“Tang… Tangtang?”

Her voice was dry and raspy, trembling with disbelief.

“Mom!”

Tears instantly streamed down Su Tang’s face. She rushed forward and threw her arms around Mrs. Su.

The woman in her embrace was so thin she felt like nothing but a bag of bones, the sharp angles painful to hold. An even sharper pain seized Su Tang’s heart, as if it were being squeezed in a vise.

“Mom! How… how did you get so thin?!”

Su Tang choked out the words, her voice breaking into sobs.

It was as if Mrs. Su had only just processed what was happening. Her withered hand gripped Su Tang’s arm with surprising strength, and her own voice cracked with tears.

“You foolish girl! Why did you really come? It’s such a long way! So difficult… How could you…”

Her words trailed off into stifled sobs. Tears streamed down her face, falling hot on Su Tang’s shoulder.

“What about Dad? How is he?”

Su Tang asked, her anxious gaze fixed on the still figure in the bed.

Mrs. Su wiped away her tears and clutched Su Tang’s hand, her voice shaking even more violently. “Your father… he…”

Just then, the person in the bed seemed to have been roused by the commotion and turned his head toward them.

’Was that Mr. Su?’

The father she remembered—stern, but with clear eyes and an upright posture—was now lying there, so emaciated he was almost unrecognizable.

“Dad…”

Su Tang’s voice caught in her throat, coming out as a shattered whisper.

She let go of Mrs. Su and reached out, wanting to touch her father’s face but afraid she might hurt him.

“Dad… It’s Tangtang.”

She took his withered hand, which lay outside the blanket. It was ice-cold, just skin stretched over bone, with almost no flesh left.

“Ah, it’s Tangtang.”

Mr. Su replied with a weak smile and asked Mrs. Su to open the window.

“This is all your mother’s fault, writing to you and making you rush all this way.”

’He was so terribly sick, yet he was still trying to put on a brave front.’ Su Tang’s tears splattered onto the bed.

“Dad… I’m sorry… I’m late… Dad…”

She sobbed, gasping for breath, like a child who, after being lost for a long time, finally finds their way home only to discover it in ruins.

Just then, Lu Xiao, laden with bags of all sizes and dripping with sweat, squeezed into the cramped room.

His heart sank at the sight before him.

He set down the luggage and hurried to the bedside. He first looked at the barely breathing form of his father-in-law, then at Su Tang, who was a mess of tears, and his mother-in-law, who looked utterly haggard.

He took a deep breath, pushing down the heavy feeling in his chest. Crouching down, he gently patted Su Tang’s back.

“Tangtang, don’t cry. You’ll worry Dad. He’s happy we’re here.”

He then looked up at Mrs. Su, his gaze firm. “Mom, don’t worry. We brought medicine! Good medicine! Dad is going to get better!”

“Medicine?”

Mrs. Su clung to his words as if to a lifeline. A spark of hope ignited in her clouded eyes. “What medicine? Can it really save your father?”

Su Tang wiped her tears and quickly brought out the medicine. She asked Mrs. Su, “Do you have the doctor’s prescription? Let me see it.”

Mrs. Su froze for a second at her words, only then remembering that her daughter had studied medicine abroad.

“Mom, let Tangtang take a look. She’s a well-known doctor at her hospital now.”

Lu Xiao quickly chimed in. Mrs. Su got up to find the prescription.

When she brought it over, Su Tang eagerly took it and read it.

After reading it, she finally let out a thorough sigh of relief.

“It’s nothing serious. Dad’s sickness was minor, but it dragged on for too long without proper medication and nutrition. That’s why he’s in this state.”

’Thankfully, she had come prepared with all sorts of nutritional supplements and medicine.’

With Su Tang’s diagnosis, Mrs. Su’s heart was finally put at ease.

“Good, good. Hearing you say that finally sets my mind at ease.”

“To be honest, your father’s sickness wasn’t serious at first, just a little cough. But then there were storms, and the supply boats couldn’t get through, so the medicine ran out.”

And so, what was originally a minor ailment for Mr. Su was dragged out until it nearly became a fatal illness.

“Tangtang, by the way, how did you get here?”

As she finished speaking, the thought suddenly occurred to Mrs. Su.

’They had to ask someone to buy Su Tang’s ticket to the Northwest for her. It must have been incredibly difficult for her to leave there now, right?’

At Mrs. Su’s question, Su Tang glanced at Lu Xiao and said, “It was all thanks to Lu Xiao. He’s the one who got the necessary documents.”

“He took great care of me in the Northwest. Mom, if it weren’t for Lu Xiao, I might not have survived.”

Su Tang spoke with heartfelt sincerity, and Mrs. Su felt gratified.

She started to rise, intending to thank Lu Xiao, which startled him into quickly helping her back down.

“Mom, please don’t. If you do this, what kind of person does that make me?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep