A hundred flavors of life

Chapter 1291 Zhao's Mother: I'll have your three children get matched for their uncle's bone marrow transplant! (Please subscribe!)
March 15, 2005, the Zhao family!

Ever since Zhao Meilan started squeezing living expenses from her two sons, the Zhao family's life has become much better. Thinking that they could squeeze even more money out of Su Daqiang, their lives became more and more hopeful. Even Zhao Meilan's father, who was paralyzed in bed, seemed much more energetic than usual.

But today was different; the atmosphere in the Zhao family was inexplicably shrouded in sadness.

The reason is simple: today is Zhao Dali's birthday.

Thinking back to the years before Zhao Dali disappeared, the whole family would sit together, laughing and chatting, gossiping and talking behind each other's backs. What happy moments those were! But all of that has turned into memories since the only male member of the Zhao family left without saying goodbye.

Today, Zhao's father sighed all day long, and didn't stop until dark. Zhao's mother silently shed tears. Zhao Meilan didn't want to provoke her parents. In the evening, she cooked some good dishes and celebrated her missing younger brother Yun's birthday with her parents.

Zhao Meilan fed her paralyzed father first before sitting down at the table to eat by herself. In just a short while, Zhao's mother had almost finished all the dishes on the table.

Her eyes reddened, and she looked somewhat aggrieved, but Zhao's mother ignored her and instead gave instructions:
"Pour your brother a glass of wine. He loves it. Even though he's not home, he can't miss this drink!"

As Zhao Meilan got up to get the wine, Zhao's mother put the last two pieces of braised pork into her own bowl and began to eat heartily.

Even Zhao's father, lying in bed, couldn't bear to watch any longer. He mumbled to his wife, asking her to leave some for their daughter. Zhao's mother scoffed.

"Why should a loser like me eat meat? I've worked hard my whole life, shouldn't I be able to enjoy myself a bit!"

Zhao Meilan wiped away her tears in the kitchen, but she didn't complain, because she was used to it. Besides, she had treated Su Mingyu the same way back in the Su family.

Just as she composed herself and was about to go inside, the door slammed shut with a loud bang, as if something had hit it.

Zhao Meilan was startled and quickly put down the bottle. She reached out and opened the door, only to be shocked to find that what had hit the door was not an object, but a person.

The person was lying on the ground. By the light from the room, he was thin as a bamboo pole; it was clear he was a man. Zhao Meilan quickly called out:
"Mom, there's a man at our door!"

Zhao's mother also heard the commotion. When her daughter told her that the person banging on the door was a man, she assumed it was some man from the village who had come to bully the Zhao family because they didn't have any capable men.

The old woman ran to the kitchen, grabbed a rolling pin, rushed out, and started hitting the man on the ground, shouting as she did so:

"Help! Someone is bullying us, a widow and her child!"

Lying in bed, Mr. Zhao felt very upset listening to his wife's absurd remarks.

The man on the ground didn't move at first, but when the stick struck him, he immediately screamed in pain. He couldn't figure out who was hitting him, and could only weakly call out:

"Stop hitting! Stop hitting!"

His voice was dry and hoarse, as if he hadn't drunk water in a long time.

Unfortunately, after only two shouts, Zhao's mother struck him on the forehead with a stick, causing him to go black and fall silent.

Hearing the commotion, many neighbors rushed over to help. They saw Zhao's mother frantically beating a man on the ground with a rolling pin, but the man showed no sign of fighting back and didn't move at all.

Someone shouted, "Grandma Zhao, stop hitting him! He's not moving, don't kill him!"

Upon hearing that someone had been beaten to death, Zhao Meilan rushed to stop her. Zhao's mother dropped the rolling pin from her hand, and began to tremble, but still managed a fierce yet weak shout:

"If someone breaks down the door at night, they're definitely a thief. They deserve to be beaten to death!"

Someone came out with a flashlight and went up to him, saying:

"Turn the person over and check if they're from the village!"

When the photo was taken, no one recognized the person; the person's cheeks were sunken, and he was as thin as a praying mantis.

Someone suggested calling the police, but at that moment the man was flashed by the light and regained consciousness. Hearing the familiar local accents around him, he cried out for help.
"My name is Zhao Dali, and I live at [address]."

His words stunned everyone. Zhao's mother quickly stepped forward to examine him closely, and finally found a bluish birthmark under the man's armpit, confirming her suspicions: "My son!"

Zhao Meilan also came up and hugged her younger brother, then started crying.

Zhao Dali remained silent. Someone noticed that he was bleeding from his forehead and had fainted, and reminded Zhao's mother:
"Auntie, you've knocked your son Dali unconscious! Hurry and get him to the hospital!"

The crowd rushed Zhao Dali to the town hospital. After a preliminary examination, it was found that his head was fine, just some superficial injuries, but his collarbone and arm were broken.

The doctors were heartbroken:
"What kind of grudge is this? To hit someone on the collarbone, how is he supposed to do heavy work after this!"

Zhao Dali: Why should I do heavy work? I never want to do heavy work again in my life!
Zhao's mother: It's okay, Mom will help you. Look, the doctor says you can't do heavy work anymore. Isn't Mom being a good mother?

Zhao Dali:
The town police station quickly received the news when a person who had been missing for several years suddenly returned home. In addition, the town hospital also reported the incident to the police, since Zhao Dali was hospitalized after being beaten and his injuries were quite serious.

In addition, during the examination, the doctor also found many old injuries on Zhao Dali's body, which were horrific, so he immediately reported the case to the police.

When Uncle Hat arrived, Zhao Dali was still unconscious. Looking at the injuries all over the patient's body, Uncle Hat, who was on duty, felt that this was a big case.

They immediately commissioned the town hospital to conduct a full-body examination on Zhao Dali to see if there were any other injuries, and to see if they were considered minor injuries. If so, they were to take photos and record them.

Zhao's mother agreed immediately upon hearing this:

"As long as it's free, feel free to do any tests, just make sure nothing is left behind!"

After a thorough examination, the doctor proved that Zhao's mother's worries were unnecessary, because the baby was gone.

Seeing the doctor's serious expression, Uncle Hat immediately asked:

"What's wrong? Have you made any new discoveries?"

Doctor: "No new findings, but something is missing!"

When the doctor recounted Zhao Dali's castration, everyone was stunned. Zhao's mother's wailing nearly sent several heart patients receiving IV drips upstairs to their deaths.

Others quickly tried to persuade Zhao's mother, and the doctor also advised her:
“Now that things have come to this, please don’t be sad. Calm down first. I haven’t finished yet. In addition to these symptoms, we noticed that the patient’s breath smells of ammonia, his skin is dry, his complexion is dull, and his lower limbs are swollen. Based on the multiple fractures in his body, we suspect that he may have uremia!”

After hearing this, Zhao's mother thought to herself, "Your advice is worse than no advice at all." Her vision blurred, and she fainted.

Uncle in the hat asked the doctor, "How come a fracture is being used as a basis for diagnosing uremia?"

The doctor nodded: "Uremia patients are prone to fractures. You see, his external injuries are not serious, but he has several fractures. I suspect it is related to uremia. Because his bones are fragile, even if the force of the blow is not great, he will still suffer such injuries."

The subsequent examination results, as the doctor had predicted, confirmed through blood tests, urine tests, electrolyte and metabolic tests, and an abdominal ultrasound, that Zhao Dali had been diagnosed with severe uremia.

The next day, Zhao Dali woke up, ate a small amount of food, and seemed much more energetic. Uncle Hat took a statement from him, asking him where he had been all these years and what he had encountered.
As Zhao Dali spoke, he cried, but what he said sounded like a bizarre and fantastical tale to onlookers.

According to Zhao Dali himself, he went to sleep at home that day, but when he woke up, he found himself in a wooden house. He felt a chill down his groin, and when he touched it, he was stunned!
No other reason than the bird flew away.

Zhao Dali felt like the sky had fallen, but what happened next made him even more devastated.

Several burly white men, judging from their speech and appearance, seemed to be Russians from the north. These men rushed into the cabin, dragged him out, and forced him to go into the forest to cut wood.

They beat people if they didn't work, and this went on for several years. Summers were okay, but winters were freezing cold!

It wasn't until recently that he noticed he was getting weaker and weaker, and even fainted while working one day, that the Russians found a doctor to examine him.

Finally, I don't know how, I fell asleep again, and when I woke up, I was being beaten by my own mother.

Zhao Dali also mentioned something special: in the forest area where he was working, he met someone he knew. The two of them depended on each other for survival there. But now that he has woken up, he can't remember what that person looked like or what information he had. He only vaguely remembers that she should have been a woman.

The doctor listened from the side, glanced at Zhao Dali's lower body, and couldn't help but put all the clues together: Linchang, Lao Maozi, with your kind of appearance, it's not certain who the woman is.

After Uncle Hat finished giving his statement, he didn't know what to say. "You might as well say you were abducted by aliens, since there's no way to investigate that anyway."

In Zhao Dali's mind, these were all Russian forest farms. In the entire country of China, could you find one like this? There isn't one!

If it's overseas, then it's not under their jurisdiction!
Finally, Uncle Hat went back to report, and the director personally came over to re-take Zhao Dali's statement. Then the director fell silent, suspecting that Zhao Dali was not mentally stable.

Anyway, no case was filed when Zhao Dali went missing, and now that he's back, they might as well just let it go.

Zhao's mother didn't want the case to be closed so hastily. After all, her son was perfectly fine before he disappeared, and then he came back and entered the palace. Who could accept that?
But at this time, Zhao Dali's health was deteriorating, and she no longer had the energy to go to the police station to seek an explanation.

Zhao Dali has been admitted to a major hospital in Suzhou for treatment, arranged by Zhao Meilan.

The expert doctors recommended a kidney transplant.

Because Zhao Dali's condition was already at a point where dialysis was no longer very effective, if a kidney transplant couldn't be done within a month, the doctor told Zhao's mother and Zhao Meilan to go home and eat and drink as usual, and just try to keep the patient happy.

Zhao's mother rolled her eyes. "The birds are all gone, how can there be any joy!"

The old woman couldn't bear to part with her son and cried, "We'll get a kidney transplant, no matter the cost!"

The doctor shook his head helplessly: "Money is a minor issue. The main problem is finding a kidney donor. There are many patients across the country waiting in line for a suitable kidney. Your situation simply cannot afford to wait!"

Zhao's mother immediately knelt down before the doctor: "Doctor, you must save my son!"

The doctor hesitated for a moment before speaking:

"In your case, you can consider having a family member donate a kidney to the patient. Because of the high genetic similarity, the success rate of HLA matching among immediate family members can reach 70%-90%, and it can also significantly reduce the risk of postoperative rejection. Parents, siblings, etc. are all suitable. However, it is important to note that the kidney donor must agree and donate voluntarily!"

Zhao's mother grabbed Zhao Meilan and said, "Doctor, give her the money, she's donating it to her brother!"

Zhao Meilan was stunned, but out of habit, she just couldn't bring herself to refuse!
Zhao's mother turned around and glared fiercely at Zhao Meilan: "Tell the doctor right now, did you donate voluntarily?"

Under her mother's intense gaze, Zhao Meilan had no choice but to nod.

The doctor noticed something was wrong and asked Zhao Meilan several times. Zhao Meilan nodded each time before the doctor took her for a tissue matching test.

However, before the matching process, the doctor kindly reminded that if someone in the family is willing to participate, it would be helpful to have more people come to be matched, as the more people involved, the higher the chances of a successful match.

The doctor stared at Zhao's mother as she spoke, because he could see how deep her maternal love for Zhao Dali was, and he felt that this old lady was definitely willing to sacrifice something for her son.

Zhao's mother clapped her hands in sudden realization and said to Zhao Meilan, "Hurry back to the village and get someone to help carry your father over!"

Zhao Meilan:
Mr. Zhao was lying at home when, out of nowhere, he was taken to the hospital for tissue matching.

Zhao's mother comforted her, saying, "It's nothing, it's just a check-up!"

Zhao Meilan didn't know what to say.

Fortunately, neither Zhao Meilan nor her father were a match, so now only Zhao's mother is left.

Zhao's mother initially objected, but Zhao Meilan questioned, "Mom, didn't you say that Dali is your lifeline?"

Zhao's mother retorted, "The root is gone, what else is there to say?"

She realized halfway through her speech that it was damaging to her image, so she stopped talking. But under the angry glares of Zhao Meilan and her father, who knew the truth, she still went ahead with the transplant.

Three days later, the results came back, and to everyone's great surprise, the match was successful!

Zhao's mother held the kitchen knife to her own neck: "I'm over sixty years old, and you want to cut my kidneys? You'll all die a horrible death!"

The doctor and the man in the hat who rushed over quickly advised, "This is voluntary. No one is forcing you if you don't want to!"

Only then was Zhao's mother relieved.

However, her son was still saved, because in Zhao's mother's heart, besides herself, her son was the most important person.

I don't know where they heard it from, but they said that the matching rate is high among three generations of blood relatives.

Zhao's mother called her older brother, who was in a wheelchair:
"Brother, it's been twenty years! How about donating a kidney to your nephew? You won't need it anyway!"

Her older brother cursed her even more rudely on the phone than she did, which nearly made the old woman die of anger.

Unable to find any relatives, Zhao's mother took her anger out on Zhao Meilan:
"It's all because you divorced Su Daqiang, otherwise it would have been so much better to bring him over for a tissue matching!"

Zhao Meilan was speechless; "He's not a blood relative either, the success rate isn't high!"

Zhao's mother's eyes lit up: "Mingzhe, Mingcheng, and that good-for-nothing Mingyu are quite something! Quickly call them over to come and get a bone marrow match for their uncle, hurry up!"

Zhao Meilan was still indignant at her mother's repeated breaches of boundaries, but she was no longer as shocked.

She said, feeling wronged, "Mom, that's my son!"

Zhao's mother angrily retorted, "You are my son, and Dali is my son and your brother. How can you bear to see him hopeless? You heartless wretch! I should have just thrown you into the water back then!"

After two days of struggle and the pleas of her parents and younger brother, Zhao Meilan finally relented and made the money to her three children.

However, she did not mention that Zhao Dali was ill; she only said that your grandfather was dying and that you should come back to see him one last time.

Zhao's father: Why am I always the one who gets hurt!
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