The heavens set sail from the courtyard

On the eve of Christmas in 95, Wang Gang suddenly received a call from Zhuang Chaoying, saying that his father and grandmother were hospitalized due to food poisoning and were dying.

Zhuang Chaoying hopes that Wang Gang and Zhuang Xiaoting can return to Suzhou to see their father and grandmother for the last time.

Wang Gang did not agree rashly, but first informed Huang Ling and Zhuang Xiaoting.

Huang Ling was magnanimous and thought that death was the greatest thing, so she advised Wang Gang and Zhuang Xiaoting to return to Suzhou.

Finally, Wang Gang and Zhuang Xiaoting drove back to Suzhou and went directly to the First People's Hospital.

Zhuang Chaoying and Zhuang Hualin had been in the hospital all the time. They were very relieved to see Wang Gang and Zhuang Xiaoting coming.

"Tuanan, Xiaoting, please go in and see dad and grandma!" Zhuang Chaoying said with red eyes and a sad tone.

Wang Gang and Zhuang Xiaoting walked into the ward and found that both the father and the grandmother were lying on the hospital beds. They were not only on ventilators, but also connected to a bunch of equipment.

I haven't seen Mr. and Mrs. Zhuang for many years. They have become very thin, almost just a bag of bones. Now they are lying on the hospital bed, and it seems that they will pass away at any moment.

"Dad, what's going on with grandma and dad?" Zhuang Xiaoting asked Zhuang Chaoying.

Zhuang Chaoying sighed, lowered his head and said: "This is also my fault. Your father and grandmother like to pick up some expired food and take it home. I told them several times but they just wouldn't listen."

Zhuang Hualin said: "My father and grandmother were hospitalized with food poisoning because they ate expired food. Because they are old, they may not survive this."

Wang Gang frowned and said, "Generally, food poisoning shouldn't be this serious! Where is Third Uncle? He lives with my father and grandmother, is he okay?"

Zhuang Chaoying explained: "Your third uncle was also poisoned, and he had diarrhea and vomiting, but he is young and can handle it."

Wang Gang turned to Zhuang Hualin and said, "The doctor can't save him anymore?"

Zhuang Hualin shook his head regretfully and said, "My father and grandmother have been malnourished for a long time and are weak to begin with. The doctor has issued a critical illness notice."

Zhuang Chaoying cried, "It's all my fault. I didn't care enough about my parents. I didn't even know they were malnourished. I am such an unfilial son."

Zhuang Hualin advised: "Brother, how can you be blamed for this? Both my parents have pensions, and they are actually living well. It's just that they are too frugal, which is why they are malnourished."

Zhuang Chaoying cried, "If I had brought my parents here to live with me earlier, this wouldn't have happened."

Zhuang Hualin said unhappily: "Brother, you don't even have a house and you're still renting a house. How can you invite my parents to live with you? Besides, you have to support your wife and children too."

Zhuang Chaoying kept blaming herself, Zhuang Hualin kept trying to persuade her, and Wang Gang took the opportunity to check on his father and grandmother's pulses.

Judging from their pulses, the two were indeed at the end of their rope, but their condition was definitely not caused by food poisoning, but real poisoning.

Wang Gang calmly withdrew his hand. He was not sure what kind of poison his father and grandmother had been poisoned by, but he was sure that it was not just food poisoning.

"Where is Third Uncle? Can I meet him?" Wang Gang said with a cold face.

"Your third uncle has gone home and your aunt Du is taking care of him." Zhuang Chaoying said.

"I'll go take a look." Wang Gang said.

"Okay, you guys go back to your dad and grandma's house."

Zhuang Chaoying and Zhuang Hualin thought that Wang Gang cared about his uncle, but Zhuang Xiaoting noticed something but didn't ask.

After getting in the car, Zhuang Xiaoting asked, "Brother, is there something wrong with my father and grandmother?"

Wang Gang asked back: "Why do you ask that?"

Zhuang Xiaoting said: "I just saw you taking their pulses."

Wang Gang said with a serious face: "You have good observation skills now. Dad and grandma's condition was not just food poisoning. They were really poisoned, but the dose of the poison was very light and not fatal. But Dad and grandma were too weak and didn't survive." Zhuang Xiaoting opened her mouth in shock and quickly stopped the car on the side of the road.

"Who would poison my father and my grandmother?!" Zhuang Xiaoting seemed to have thought of something and asked in surprise: "Could it be my third uncle?"

Wang Gang nodded silently and said, "There must be something wrong if Third Uncle lives with Grandma and Grandpa."

Zhuang Xiaoting said in disbelief: "No way! Dad and grandma love Uncle the most and have been taking care of him all these years. How could this happen?!"

Wang Gang stroked his chin and said, "I need to see Uncle San to know the details. He has been pretending to be mentally ill for so many years. Maybe he has started to believe it himself."

"Ah, Uncle San has been pretending to be sick! Why?" Zhuang Xiaoting asked in surprise.

"Living off their parents! They don't have to work, and someone will take care of their food, clothing, shelter and transportation. Some people would rather pretend to be sick all the time." Wang Gang snorted coldly.

Zhuang Xiaoting always felt that Wang Gang’s speculation was a bit shocking, but she still drove the car to her father and grandmother’s house.

Because the alley was too narrow to enter, Zhuang Xiaoting parked the car at the entrance of the alley.

Not many people can drive cars in this day and age. As soon as Zhuang Xiaoting parked the car, she immediately attracted the attention of her neighbors.

"You are Xiaoting and Tunan."

Some neighbors recognized Wang Gang and Zhuang Xiaoting.

"Are your father and grandmother okay?" the neighbor asked with concern.

"They are still in the hospital, so we came back to see Uncle San." Wang Gang explained.

"People! You never know what will happen tomorrow. Just two days ago, your grandpa and grandma were still quarreling with each other, but I didn't expect that they would be admitted to the hospital in the blink of an eye!" the neighbor sighed.

"Fight? Who are Dad and Grandma fighting with?" Wang Gang asked puzzledly.

"I don't know about that. They were arguing at home, and the noise was so loud that we could hear it, but we don't know what they were arguing about." The neighbor said:
"But I guess they were quarreling with your third uncle! Your third uncle has been giving grandma and dad a hard time these past few years. All of our retirement savings have gone into his medical treatment alone."

Wang Gang and Zhuang Xiaoting looked at each other and knew what was going on.

After saying goodbye to their neighbors, the two went directly to their grandparents' house, where they happened to meet Du Juan who was about to go to the hospital to deliver food to Zhuang Chaoying and Zhuang Hualin.

"Tunan, Xiaoting, you're back! Have you visited your father and grandmother in the hospital?" Dujuan said enthusiastically.

"We've seen it. Let's come and visit Uncle San." Wang Gang said.

"Your third uncle finally stopped vomiting and just fell asleep." Du Juan said with a little disdain.

"Aunt Du, thank you for your hard work. I will find a nanny to take care of Uncle San later." Wang Gang suggested.

"We are all family, why be polite?" Du Juan said, "You haven't eaten yet, right? There's still some on the stove."

"We've already eaten." Wang Gang said, "I'll go in and see Uncle San."

Wang Gang walked into the inner room and found that there were a lot of miscellaneous items piled up in his grandparents' house. It looked very messy and the environment was very bad.

I heard from Zhuang Chaoying that his father liked to pick up scraps to supplement the family income in recent years, and now it seems to be true.

Zhuang Ganmei was sleeping in the inner room, lying on the bed with a pale face. Compared with his skinny father and grandmother, Zhuang Ganmei seemed a little plump.

"Uncle San, this is Tuanan. Are you feeling better?" Wang Gang took the opportunity to hold Zhuang Ganmei's wrist and check her pulse.

Zhuang Ganmei woke up in a daze and was slightly panicked when she saw Wang Gang. (End of this chapter)