Chapter 56: Seeing Mother Off to the Capital (Part 1)

  After talking with Wu Zhonghe, Lu Zhengdong returned to his own office. The heads of various departments under the township came to find Wu Zhonghe and report on their work one after another. In fact, the Spring Festival was about to arrive, and all the necessary work had been done, so there was basically nothing to report. They just came to his office to show their attitude.

  Luojinming, and even Lin Dawu and other village cadres who were relatively familiar with him, urged him to put on a good show to celebrate. It was clear that they were genuinely happy for his promotion. However, Lu Zhengdong politely declined, as doing so would only give people the impression of being petty and shallow.

  In the following days, several party committee members looked at him with some unnatural expressions. Although the county had officially announced that he was the deputy secretary and acting township head, it is estimated that everyone still couldn't overlap this young man with the position of township head. For someone who was originally far below them, suddenly surpassing their heads, they felt uncomfortable in their hearts.

  As for the two deputy township heads, their attitude made him even more amused. They often ran to Wu Zhonghe's office, and rarely came to his own office, and when they did come, it was just a perfunctory visit.

  These two deputy township heads thought that originally, the young man who was supposed to be on an equal footing with them had risen above their heads, and no matter how they thought about it, they didn't feel comfortable, and in their hearts, they probably weren't convinced either. They would rather let Wu Zhonghe lead than let this young man take charge.

  He and Wu Zhonghe are getting closer, Wu Zhonghe will not push away those who take the initiative to approach him. All of this requires him to think of a way to solve it and complete the tasks assigned by the county. Compared to the upcoming village head election, this is the real test of his wisdom.

  However, with Chinese New Year approaching, these matters will have to be dealt with after the holiday when we return to work.

  Although the county announced the appointment of two people, work is still proceeding in accordance with the original deployment, and as the Spring Festival approaches, everyone's thoughts are on celebrating the New Year. There aren't many things to do in the countryside, so after Lu Zhengdong and other township leaders visited and consoled the families of soldiers and the elderly who live alone, and publicized fire prevention and anti-theft work for the Spring Festival, there wasn't much else to do.

  Lu Zhengdong called out to Wu Zhonghe and left early for the city. He planned to take advantage of this brief break before the Spring Festival to accompany his mother to the provincial capital for a check-up. Otherwise, after the Spring Festival, they would be busy again, and he didn't know when it would end.

  Yun Jiangtong had long known about Lu Zhengdong's agency as the township head, and he was also quite proud and proud of it. He knew that Lu Zhengdong would become busier and busier, and wouldn't take good care of his illness. Lu Zhengdong wouldn't be at peace in the countryside either, so he didn't decline again.

  The mother and son arrived in the provincial capital and went to Xihua Medical University Affiliated Hospital, which is one of the best hospitals in the province.

  Lu Zhengdong not only examined his mother according to her symptoms but also gave her a thorough examination from head to toe.

  Lu Zhengdong had his mother stay in a hotel near the hospital and he went to check the test results.

  "Is Yun Jiangtong's family here?"

  Lu Zhengdong sat there for a short while before hearing the doctor call out to him. He hastily responded and walked over. The doctor took a look at him:

  "You're a relative of Yun Jiangtong, right? Come with me to the side, I have something to tell you."

  Lu Zhengdong saw that the doctor's face was a bit heavy and his movements were unusual, so he felt a sudden surge of anxiety and quickly asked:

  "How is my mom's test result?"

  The doctor looked at him with a hint of pity in his eyes and said:

  "Young man, you need to be mentally prepared. This Spring Festival might not be a peaceful one for you. A tumor has been found in your mother's brain, and her current discomfort is mainly caused by the tumor pressing on her brain..."

  What is a tumor, Lu Zhengdong naturally understood very clearly, that was almost linked to cancer. Lu Zhengdong only felt a sudden explosion on his head, which made him dizzy, his mother's body had always been poor, which had always made him very worried, and he also had some mental preparation, but he never thought it would be a tumor!

  Lu Zhengdong quickly came back to his senses and hastily said:

  "My mother never said anything about headaches and dizziness, those doctors back then all said it was a physical problem, didn't take care of herself after giving birth... could they have misdiagnosed her?"

  The doctor shook his head:

  "From what you described, it can basically be proven that your mother has a brain tumor. Your mother is not suffering from physical weakness or blood deficiency, but rather the decline of limb and body sensation function. This is precisely the symptom unique to tumors occurring in the parietal lobe, which is responsible for sensory function..."

  Lu Zhengdong hastily asked:

  "Is it benign?......"

  "This still needs further examination, your mother has some test results that have not come out yet, the final conclusion will take some time to come out, it's estimated to be after the Spring Festival. However, whether it's benign or malignant, the tumor is very large and surgery is needed as soon as possible. You and your family should discuss and think of a way to raise money to let your mother come to the hospital for treatment."

  Lu Zhengdong walked out of the hospital gate, his whole body felt numb. He didn't dare to believe that this was true, but he had to accept this reality. He knew very well that now was not the time for pain and sorrow. As long as his mother had a glimmer of hope, he would have to make 120% effort, and do his best. At this moment, he must stand strong!

  Lu Zhengdong almost didn't consider anything and ran to the public phone booth, then ran to the post office, looked up the phone number in the yellow pages of the post office, and then dialed Beijing. However, long-distance calls were really hard to make at that time, either there was no sound or a busy tone, it took more than half a day to finally get through.

  "Hello, who is that?"

  The voice on the phone carried a calm and majestic tone, listening to this voice Lu Zhengdong found that familiar touch in the unfamiliarity, hurriedly saying:

  "Little uncle, I am Zheng Dong, Lu Zheng Dong."

  The mother is in this situation, and it's hard to predict the outcome. This matter should be notified to the maternal grandparents' family from both emotional and rational perspectives, so as not to leave everyone with regret. So he decided to hurry up and inform the maternal grandparents' family of this news.

  It's been so many years that he doesn't even remember the phone number, and it's impossible for Grandpa's home phone to be listed in the yellow pages. Xiao Shu Yun Jiangmin is about the same age as my mother, and their relationship is also the closest. After he fell into trouble in Shanhe, it was Yun Jiangmin who transferred him to Beijing. Lu Zhengdong is most familiar with Xiao Shu, knows his work unit and position, so after finding Yun Jiangmin's work unit phone number, he calls his work unit directly.

  "Zhèng dōng? …… nǐ hái hǎo ba? Nǐ mā de shēntǐ hǎoxiē le ba?"

  Translation: "Is that right? ...... Are you okay? Has your mom's body gotten better?"

  Yun Jiangmin was also somewhat surprised that he had called him proactively, but after being stunned for a moment, he still asked about his and his mother's situation.

  Lu Zhengdong also calmed down and slowly said:

  "I just accompanied my mom to the provincial city for a physical examination, and the situation is very bad... A large tumor was found in her brain..."

  "What? What did you say?"

  The phone call quality was really poor, it was hard to speak and listen, but Xiao Shu was clearly not because of this, but rather he didn't dare to believe the news.

  "Does your mom know about it herself? What's going on exactly, tell me properly."

  Yun Jiangmin's tone was no longer as calm as it had been earlier, and he was clearly also worried sick, which warmed Lu Zhengdong's heart.

  "Alright, no matter what method you use, mobilize your mother to come to Beijing for treatment. The medical conditions here are much better than in your province. Don't worry about the rest, this is my family's phone number, if there's any situation call my home..."