Reborn: Back to the 1980s Chapter 61

Chapter 61: Third Grandma Passes Away 

"Hey—" The door nearly hit Guan Mancang's nose as he tried to step into the courtyard.

Guan Mancang was furious at being treated this way by Zhao Shenggu and Guan Yuan, and shouted at the door, "I'm telling you, if you don't give me money, you'll regret it..." He was only tough with his words. He knew there was nothing he could do to Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu. He stomped his foot hatefully and slunk away.

The next day, Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu went to the garment factory. They looked around and reviewed the financial situation. Everything was in good shape overall, and Zhao Shenggu and Guan Yuan felt reassured.

After Guan Mancang failed to get anything from Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu that night, he didn't come back to bother them in the following days. Half a month passed. After Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu finished up at the garment factory and the braised spice workshop, they planned to return to the capital.

But then something happened that delayed their plans.

Third Grandma was gravely ill.

When Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu got the news and went to visit, Third Grandma was already lying in bed, unconscious. Guan Mandi and Zhao Juan hadn't even taken her to the hospital. They just let her suffer.

Since no one was taking care of her, and it was the middle of summer, a smell hit them before they even entered the room.

When they walked in and took a look, Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu were furious. Third Grandma's face was ashen, her clothes looked like they hadn't been changed in who knows how long, and there were dried feces stains on the blanket.

Zhao Shenggu's face was dark. "Guan Mandi, Zhao Juan!"

Guan Mandi and Zhao Juan were already afraid of Zhao Shenggu, and now his presence was even more intimidating than before. When they heard him shout, they couldn't help but tremble.

Guan Mandi shuffled forward reluctantly. "Shenggu, you can't blame me. I didn't want my mother to get sick either!"

Zhao Juan stood by the door and didn't come in. She just echoed Guan Mandi. "Exactly, exactly. We've been so good to Mother..."

Zhao Shenggu grabbed a stool nearby and slammed it on the ground with a bang. "Good to Third Grandma? Let me ask you: Third Grandma is sick, why didn't you take her to the hospital? And look at her—how long has it been since her clothes were changed? How long since her blanket was changed? Have you ever bathed her? What has she been eating?!"

The more Zhao Shenggu asked, the more he couldn't contain his anger. His voice grew louder and louder.

Under Zhao Shenggu's barrage of questions, Guan Mandi's face turned bright red. Zhao Juan did try to argue back. "We wanted to take Mother to the hospital too, but we don't have money!"

"No money? So you just let Third Grandma lie in bed waiting to die? Even if you don't have money for the hospital, don't you know how to take care of Third Grandma properly? Don't you even have hands?! Guan Mandi, are you even human? Third Grandma protected you so much, and now look—look! The person lying in that bed is your mother, not your enemy!" Guan Yuan couldn't hold back anymore and unleashed his fury on Guan Mandi.

"Xiao Yuan, don't waste words on them. Let's get Third Grandma to the hospital quickly." Zhao Shenggu said as he crouched down to carry Third Grandma on his back. Guan Yuan quickly helped from the side.

The smell on Third Grandma was terrible, but Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu acted as if they couldn't smell it at all. Along the way, many people from Guanjia Village saw Third Grandma in such a pitiful state and cursed Guan Mandi and Zhao Juan to no end.

They soon arrived at the clinic. One look was all the doctor needed to say there was no hope. The two rushed Third Grandma to the county hospital. The hospital did arrange a bed for her, but they also said she had been brought in too late. The chances were slim. They should prepare for the worst.

In the previous life, Third Grandma had already passed away by this time. These past few years were borrowed time that Guan Yuan had given her with spiritual spring water. Guan Yuan fed Third Grandma the spiritual spring water as usual, but it was like dropping a stone into the ocean—there was no reaction at all.

Guan Yuan knew that this time, Third Grandma's chances were very slim.

He and Zhao Shenggu took turns keeping watch at her bedside, but Third Grandma showed no response at all.

"Brother, do you think things would have been different if we had paid attention that time Third Grandma wanted to drink pesticide?" Guan Yuan leaned against Zhao Shenggu and asked softly.

 

Zhao Shenggu shook his head. "It's all fate."

The next day, Guan Mandi finally showed up at the hospital. Looking at Third Grandma lying in the hospital bed, barely breathing, he seemed to finally realize that she was his mother. He cried bitterly. Anyone who didn't know better would think he was such a filial son.

"Alright, stop putting on a show here." Guan Yuan said in disgust.

Guan Mandi ignored him, immersing himself in the role of the "filial son," crying even harder.

Zhao Shenggu grabbed him by the collar and said in a hoarse voice, "Stop pretending. Look at who's lying there. That's your mother. She raised you through unimaginable hardship. How much did she suffer for you? And how did you treat her? Huh?!" He punched him hard, and Guan Mandi fell to the ground.

Zhao Shenggu pointed at him. "Your mother is dying, and it's all your fault..."

When Guan Mandi heard Zhao Shenggu's words, it hit him like a thunderbolt. He stared blankly toward Third Grandma. "I caused this? It's all my fault..."

Suddenly, he got up and threw himself onto Third Grandma's bed, slapping himself left and right. "I'm not human. I was unfilial. It's all my fault..."

Zhao Shenggu took a deep breath and left the hospital room with Guan Yuan.

In the end, Third Grandma couldn't be saved. She passed away in the hospital in the early hours of the third day.

For a time, Guan Mandi cried uncontrollably.

Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu gave Third Grandma a proper send-off, arranging her funeral affairs. Watching the lively funeral proceedings, Guan Yuan only felt a deep sense of irony.

After Third Grandma was buried, Guan Mandi suddenly seemed like a different person. He no longer obeyed Zhao Juan's every word. Guan Yuan even heard that Guan Mandi and Zhao Juan had a terrible fight.

The people in the village all said Guan Mandi had finally grown some backbone as a man. Guan Yuan found it deeply ironic. Because of Zhao Juan, Guan Mandi had ignored Third Grandma completely. Now that Third Grandma had passed away, something seemed to strike a nerve, and he suddenly started missing her. Instead of reflecting on himself, he put all the blame on Zhao Juan.

A man like that—Guan Yuan felt that even looking at him for one more second would dirty his eyes.

After handling Third Grandma's affairs, Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu naturally had to return to the capital.

This time, because the people of Guanjia Village all knew they were leaving, many came to see them off on the day they left.

"Xiao Yuan, Shenggu, these are eggs from our own chickens. They're delicious. Take them with you on the train. They're already boiled..."

"These are steamed buns we made ourselves..."

Since Guan Yuan had his space, he just accepted everything. The two ate all the things the Guanjia Village people gave them on the train.

As soon as they got off the train and reached the station exit, Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu spotted the person who had come to pick them up.

Zhang Zixing had said that to match Zhao Shenggu's status and for convenience, it would be best to buy a car, and Zhao Shenggu had taken his advice for future convenience as well.

The person who came to pick them up was the newly hired driver.

"Boss." As soon as the driver saw them, he took their luggage and opened the car door. After Zhao Shenggu and Guan Yuan got in, he closed the door.

The people at the station watched the car drive away with envy.

The driver drove to the entrance of the courtyard house, carried their things inside, and didn't leave immediately. He stood there waiting for Zhao Shenggu and Guan Yuan's instructions.

Zhao Shenggu said quickly, "That's all for today. You can go back now. We'll go to the company at 9 tomorrow morning."

"Okay, Boss." The driver bowed slightly and then left.

Guan Yuan found it amusing watching from the side. After the driver left, he said, "Brother, you really put on quite the boss act!"

Zhao Shenggu grabbed Guan Yuan and ruffled his head. "You dare laugh at me? When Zhang Zixing said he wanted to buy a car, who was the one egging him on?"

"Hahaha, I just wanted to make things easier for you. When people see you driving such a nice car, they won't dare to treat you lightly!"

Although the two were joking, that was the reality. Especially in business, if you put on a impressive front, people will take you much more seriously at first glance.

They had eaten their fill on the train and weren't hungry yet. Just as they were about to rest, Old Master Li arrived.