Chapter 3

Liang Yuan tried hard to open his eyes, but unfortunately, not a single muscle in his body responded to his command. After a futile struggle, he resigned himself to lying still. A clear voice echoed in his ears, but he couldn't make out what it was saying. His head buzzed, and a soft, smooth piece of skin brushed against his face. Liang Yuan thought to himself, "Thank goodness I'm still alive. It seems the saying 'a scoundrel lives a thousand years' is quite true." He felt relieved.

Worried that his lustful thoughts would return, he tried to feel the smooth skin on his face, thinking, "Which hospital nurse has such good skin? Just this little hand is enough to keep me entertained for a whole night. Damn, I'll definitely get her when I'm discharged." A wave of fatigue washed over him, and Liang Yuan fainted again.

When he woke up again, it was deep into the night. He struggled to open his eyes, and the room was dim. Yellow light from a small window on the door cast a glow on the floor. Across from Liang Yuan was an iron-framed single bed, empty except for the pale sheets. The walls were covered with yellow wallpaper, which, under the yellow light, reminded Liang Yuan of something disgusting. The floor was old-fashioned wooden planks, and the smell of disinfectant permeated the room. "Where the hell am I?" Liang Yuan felt his hair stand on end. He slowly extended his arm to pull back the blanket, but as his thin arm came into view, his mind went blank. "Who am I? Where am I?" He reached down to check between his legs, and let out a long sigh of relief. "Thank goodness, thank goodness. At least my equipment is still intact."

He tried to control his emotions, calming the trembling muscles caused by his agitation. Liang Yuan took deep breaths, and after three minutes, he regained control of his muscles. He moved his toes, fingers, shoulders, and waist, except for that damned spongy part. He moved each part of his body, took a deep breath, and concluded that he wasn't disabled. Liang Yuan tried to make a sound, and the bed beneath his feet moved. A click sounded, and the hum of electricity from the ceiling grew louder. The fluorescent light flickered a few times before illuminating the entire room. Liang Yuan squinted, and a familiar figure came into view. It was his mother, Li Yuanling, who still exuded the charm of a young woman. Liang Yuan was dumbfounded.

"Xiao Yuan, you're awake," Li Yuanling said with evident joy. "Tell Mom where you still feel unwell." Liang Yuan stared at his mother, completely stunned. Li Yuanling touched his forehead and said, "Xiao Yuan, don't be afraid. I'll go get Doctor He and be right back." She hurried out, her high heels clacking down the corridor.

Liang Yuan took deep breaths to control his emotions. The bed moved again, and a small figure sat up. Big eyes half-closed, she struggled to adjust to the bright light. Her left cheek was slightly red, probably from the hard pillow, and her pink lips pouted slightly. Her face still had a hint of baby fat, and her black, shoulder-length hair fell onto her light yellow cartoon rabbit-patterned underwear, making her look very young. Liang Yuan's head spun. It was Jiajia, whom he had decided to visit yesterday and was seeing today.

Ning Wanjia, the daughter of Ning Lei, who was a soldier under Liang Yuan's father, Liang Jiangping, when he was a squad leader in the army. During the 1969 Zhenbao Island conflict, Ning Lei was only 16, and the bullet that hit his father's shoulder was meant to protect Ning Lei. After his father was wrongfully accused, he was still able to serve as the director of the multiple economy office and the manager of the three industries company, maintaining his rank, all thanks to Ning Lei. In ** year, Ning Lei was transferred from the 30th Air Division to the 42nd Air Division in the south, and the two families gradually lost touch.

Liang Yuan's mind was in turmoil as he panted heavily. Ning Wanjia shook her head, finally waking up from her drowsiness. Seeing Liang Yuan breathing heavily, she jumped off the bed and started touching his head with her small, white hands. Her eyes instantly reddened, and she stammered, "Xiao Yuan, what's wrong? What's wrong with you?" Liang Yuan grabbed her slightly cool little hand and pressed it to his cheek, feeling the soft skin. His emotions, which were about to explode, gradually subsided, and his breathing became steady. He brushed the hair from his face and said to Ning Wanjia, "Jiajia, put on your shoes first. I'm fine." Ning Wanjia responded with a crisp "Mm-hm" but didn't move. Instead, she pulled her hand out of Liang Yuan's and jumped back onto the bed. Liang Yuan moved further into the bed and asked cautiously, "Jiajia, what's the date today?"

"Today is the 15th."

"Which year, which month?"

Ning Wanjia looked at Liang Yuan with wide, puzzled eyes, repeatedly touching his forehead. Her eyes reddened again. "It's all my fault. I made Xiao Yuan fall into the river too." Liang Yuan's heart tightened, and he blurted out, "It's 1987, February." Ning Wanjia looked at Liang Yuan, raised her small fist, and lightly hit him, saying, "Xiao Yuan, you're so bad. You're still scaring me."

Liang Yuan felt relieved. "No wonder I don't have this memory. On February 14th, it was the school's return day. As the class monitor, Ning Wanjia naturally had to set an example. Since Liang Yuan was very playful during his elementary school days, he was forced by Ning Wanjia to go back to school that day. The family compound and the school were separated by a river, and the bridge was far downstream. In February, the ice was still solid. Ning Wanjia decided to cross the river on the ice. She ran ahead, throwing snowballs at Liang Yuan, and they played and laughed as they reached the middle of the river. Unfortunately, someone had broken the ice early in the morning to fish and hadn't marked it. (Normally, after breaking the ice to fish, a small pile of ice would be left on the ice to prevent people from stepping into the hole, which would freeze over in 8-9 hours.) With snow falling, Ning Wanjia didn't notice and stepped on the thin ice, falling into the river. Without thinking, Liang Yuan jumped into the ice hole after her. Fortunately, they both survived, but Liang Yuan couldn't remember how he got Jiajia to safety.

After they got home, the adults were terrified. Ning Wanjia was fine, but Liang Yuan had a high fever. Ning Lei arranged for a helicopter to take him to the Shengjing Military Region General Hospital, where he stayed for nearly half a month before recovering. According to his past experience, he should have been unconscious for another day before being flown to the hospital and waking up. Now, he didn't have to suffer for another half a month. Liang Yuan touched his forehead, which was only slightly warm. He grabbed Ning Wanjia's small fist and said, "If you hit me again, you'll kill me." Ning Wanjia quickly rubbed the spot she had hit, her soft hands moving over his body, making Liang Yuan almost moan with comfort. Just as he was about to tease the little girl, the sound of high heels approached, and the door suddenly opened. Li Yuanling, looking at her son with squinted eyes, let out a long breath and walked to the bed. She touched her son's head and said to Doctor He, who was following, "Old He, check if Xiao Yuan has a fever."

Doctor He touched Liang Yuan's forehead, took out a thermometer and stethoscope from his medical bag, shook the thermometer twice, and held it up to the light. He inserted it under Liang Yuan's armpit, lifted Liang Yuan's hospital gown, and moved the stethoscope over his chest and abdomen. He asked Liang Yuan to take deep breaths and examined his stomach for 2-3 minutes before saying to Li Yuanling, "He should be fine. There are no abnormal sounds in his heart and lungs. Observe him for a few more hours, and take an X-ray in the morning. If there are no problems, he can go home."

"Thank you, Old He," Li Yuanling said. "It's nothing, it's nothing. It's my duty." Doctor He smiled, knowing that Liang Jiangping was about to be promoted to section chief in May, a position that had been a public secret for a while. This wasn't 2012, when the promotion of young officials was already a common practice. In 1987, a 39-year-old section chief was one of the youngest in the railway bureau. For the railway hospital, the father of the patient in bed was not only the future top boss but also had a bright future. Otherwise, the deputy director and pediatric chief, Doctor He, wouldn't be on night duty.

Li Yuanling looked at her son's pale face with deep pain, her lips trembling, but she couldn't say anything. Ning Wanjia and Ning Wanfei were like her own daughters, receiving much more affection than Liang Yuan. Li Yuanling sat by the bed, touched her son's forehead, and Ning Wanjia buried her head in Li Yuanling's chest, hugging her waist and sobbing.

"Aunt Li, it's all my fault, it's all my fault," Ning Wanjia said. Li Yuanling held Ning Wanjia in her arms, stroking her long hair and comforting her, "It's okay, it's okay. Xiao Yuan is fine now."

Liang Yuan grimaced, thinking, "This was Jiajia's idea to cross the ice. If it had been my idea, even if I had saved Jiajia, I would have been beaten up." Given that his father had no authority in children's education, Li Yuanling strictly followed the principle of raising her son with hardship and her daughter with luxury. Liang Yuan had his own room since he could remember, and he had no memories of his parents dressing him. Ning Wanjia and Ning Wanfei, who were 11 years old, still often hugged Aunt Li and even stayed overnight, with Li Yuanling helping them get dressed in the morning.

"If I put my head on her chest now, will my mother kick me out of bed?" Liang Yuan thought angrily.

Li Yuanling looked at her son's angry eyes, feeling both amused and helpless. She gently patted his cheek, leaned down, and kissed his forehead, saying, "You scared me to death."

Liang Yuan smiled bitterly, thinking, "What's wrong with me? I'm in my thirties, and I'm not much older than this young mother. Why am I jealous of a little girl?" He looked at his small arms and legs, then at his mother's embrace, feeling the strange sense of time and space. Adjusting his exhausted emotions, he really wanted to snuggle into his mother's calm embrace. He looked at Ning Wanjia, who was nuzzling her head against his mother's chest, and rolled his eyes, sighing deeply.

Seeing Liang Yuan roll his eyes and sigh like a little adult, Li Yuanling smiled and pinched his cheek. In her eyes, her son's simple thoughts were very interesting and adorable, but she didn't realize that her son was no longer a child but a seasoned old soul.

Doctor He looked at his watch and said it was time to check. Liang Yuan took the thermometer from under his armpit, held it level, and looked at the light, saying, "36.5 degrees, nothing to worry about." No one responded, and seeing the surprised looks on his mother and Doctor He's faces, Liang Yuan thought, "Oh no, in 1987, mercury thermometers were definitely hospital equipment. Non-medical people rarely saw them unless they were sick. This isn't the information age. In 1987, a simple medical microscope was high-tech. A person who hadn't used a triangular thermometer shouldn't be able to read it so easily." Doctor He didn't think much of it, took the thermometer, and said, "You're truly our section's little prodigy." Seeing his mother still looking surprised, Liang Yuan thought he needed to nip this in the bud. His mother was observant and meticulous, and his actions and demeanor from the 21st century were different from those of a child. He didn't want to be seen as a changed person after the fever.

"In 'Ten Thousand Whys,' it says the normal body temperature is between 36 and 37.3 degrees. A temperature between 37.4 and 38 degrees is considered a low fever. This thermometer is interesting, using light refraction to magnify the mercury column. Just as the book says," Liang Yuan said, looking at Li Yuanling with a pleading expression, as if asking for praise. Seeing her son's cute appearance, Li Yuanling laughed and pinched his cheek. She turned to Doctor He and said, "I'm sorry for waking you up so late and keeping you from resting." Doctor He said it was his duty and packed his medical bag. Li Yuanling got up to see him out, and Liang Yuan felt a soft hand holding his. Looking at Ning Wanjia's starry eyes, he was both amused and exasperated, thinking, "An old soul selling cuteness actually has a fan."

"You're so amazing, Xiao Yuan. I've read 'Ten Thousand Whys' too, but I can't remember anything," Ning Wanjia said, her big, watery eyes and smooth face bringing back childhood memories. Liang Yuan couldn't resist reaching out to pinch her cheek. Li Yuanling saw her son pinching Ning Wanjia's cheek as she closed the door after Doctor He. She pinched Liang Yuan's cheek and said, "You're feeling better and already bullying people, aren't you?"

"Aunt Li, no, I'm not," Ning Wanjia said, defending Liang Yuan before he could speak.

Liang Yuan pouted and yawned. Li Yuanling quickly covered him with the blanket, tucking it in. Feeling his mother's familiar scent and seeing her busy around him, his exhausted nerves finally relaxed, and he fell asleep.

Note 1: In some parts of Northeast China, during winter, people would break the ice on the river, place a sunken net (shaped like a large iron pot) with fish food, and let it sink into the river. After a while, many fish would come to feed, and they could be caught. This method was only used in the 1980s. In the new century, there are no fish or living creatures in the rivers.

{Piaotian Literature}