Reborn in '77, I have a job panel!

It was late at night, and all the other patients in the ward were asleep. Only the occasional sound of nurses' footsteps could be heard in the corridor.

Zhang Mingxi was so sleepy that her eyelids were drooping, but she dared not sleep, afraid that Qian Cheng would suddenly wake up and need someone to take care of him.

Finally, unable to hold on any longer, she lay down on the edge of the hospital bed, resting her head on her arm, and closed her eyes.

Consciousness gradually faded.

She dreamt that Qian Cheng woke up and smiled at her. She dreamt that they went to the county town together, and that Qian Cheng and she both got into the same university, and that they went to university together.

I dreamt that many, many years later, they had their own home...

The dream was sweet.

Noon the next day.

Sunlight streamed in through the window and fell on Qian Cheng's face.

Qian Cheng's eyelids twitched, and he slowly opened them.

At first, everything was blurry, then it gradually became clear: a white ceiling, yellow walls, and... a face.

Zhang Mingxi's face.

She was lying on the edge of the bed, fast asleep. Her hair was a little messy, and she had faint dark circles under her eyes. She was sleeping soundly.

Qian Cheng wanted to move, but his whole body ached. His chest felt like it was being crushed by a stone, and his legs felt as heavy as lead.

He slowly turned his head and looked at Zhang Mingxi.

This girl must have stayed up all night.

Qian Cheng tried to smile, but the movement of his lips pulled at the wound on his face, causing him to gasp in pain.

"hiss."

The sound was very soft, but it was exceptionally clear in the quiet ward.

Zhang Mingxi suddenly opened his eyes.

She saw that Qian Cheng had his eyes open and was looking at her.

"Qian Cheng?" Her voice trembled slightly. "You're awake?"

"Mmm," Qian Cheng replied with difficulty.

Tears welled up in Zhang Mingxi's eyes instantly. She grabbed Qian Cheng's hand and held it tightly: "You scared me to death! Do you know how long you slept?"

"How long?" Qian Cheng asked, his voice hoarse.

Zhang Mingxi said in a tearful voice, "It took a whole day and night. The surgery lasted three hours. You didn't wake up even after the anesthesia wore off. The doctor said you might have lost too much blood..."

Qian Cheng wanted to speak, but his throat was so dry it felt like it was on fire.

"water."

"The doctor said you can't drink water right away since you just woke up from anesthesia."

Despite saying that, seeing how uncomfortable Qian Cheng looked, Zhang Mingxi quickly stood up, poured some warm water, gently dipped a spoon in the water, and then lightly touched Qian Cheng's lips to moisten them.

"My mom, my brother..."

"My aunt and Brother Qianlu came yesterday, but it was too late, so I let them go back first. I can stay here and keep watch."

"The surgery must be expensive, how much does it cost?"

Qian Cheng asked about the surgery fee, and since it involved both anesthesia and surgery, it was bound to be expensive.

Zhang Mingxi hesitated for a moment, initially not intending to say anything, but Qian Cheng's attitude was so insistent that he had to know the details, so he had no choice but to tell the truth: "It's not much, my father has already paid for the surgery."

"How much?"

"One hundred yuan."

Qian Cheng fell silent.

One hundred dollars was a huge sum of money in 1977, and Zhang Changtian just took it out like that.

He owes the Zhang family more and more, and he's afraid he won't be able to pay it back in the future.

"Where is Wang Shoujun?"

"You were taken away by the police, as were the five Sun brothers. The police said they would come to find out what happened once you woke up."

Qian Cheng nodded.

Zhang Mingxi held Qian Cheng's hand.

The warm sunlight shone on the two of them.

The ward was quiet, with only the soft snoring of other patients.

"Mingxi," Qian Cheng suddenly spoke.

"Um?"

"Thank you."

Zhang Mingxi's tears fell again: "What are you thanking me for? It's all because of my mom..."

Qian Cheng grinned shamelessly, "Of course, your mom is my mom after all..."

Zhang Mingxi blushed and lowered her head.

Qian Cheng looked at her, and a warm feeling welled up in his heart.

Although my whole body aches.

But having someone like this by my side makes it all worthwhile.

Less than half an hour later, there was a gentle knock on the ward door.

Zhang Mingxi went to open the door, where two people in police uniforms were standing.

Both of them were Officer Liu and Officer Wang, who went to Laowozi Village yesterday.

Old Wang spoke up, his voice calm: "We're from the town police station. We've come to check on Qian Cheng. Is he awake yet?"

Upon hearing that it was a call from the police, Zhang Mingxi quickly stepped aside, saying, "You're awake."

The two entered the ward.

Old Wang went to the bedside first and looked at Qian Cheng's injuries: stitches on his forehead, bruises on his face, bandages wrapped around his body, and a cast on his left leg.

"You were badly injured. How are you feeling now?"

Qian Cheng leaned against the headboard. Although he felt much better, he still had to pretend. He lowered his voice and feigned weakness: "Much better, thank you for your concern, officers."

"Of course." Old Wang nodded, pulled up a chair and sat down, while Xiao Liu took out his notebook and pen and stood aside to take notes.

Old Wang first offered a few words of comfort: "Qian Cheng, we've all heard about what happened to you. You acted bravely and protected your elders. That's commendable."

But if you encounter something like this again, you should contact the police first, and not fight back.

Qian Cheng responded weakly, then expressed that he "deeply" realized his mistake: "The situation was urgent at the time, and I didn't think that much."

"I understand, they're young, full of passion."

He paused for a moment, then got to the point: "We're here today to find out the specifics of what happened on the ice yesterday."

"Tell us slowly, don't rush, tell us everything you can remember."

Qian Cheng nodded and began to recall.

"Yesterday afternoon, I went ice fishing by the river. There were four of us: me, Zhang Mingxi, Li Jianguo, and Liu Tiedan. We were fishing until about three or four o'clock when Wang Shoujun arrived with five people."

"I didn't know any of those five people. I later found out they were the brothers of Wang Shoujun's wife."

"They surrounded us as soon as they came up. Wang Shoujun pointed at me and cursed, saying that I hit him that day and I was going to get revenge today."

"I said that I only hit him that day because he owed me money and wouldn't pay it back, and he also hit my teacher's wife."

"Wang Shoujun wouldn't listen and ordered his brothers to attack. The first one to rush up was a short, stocky man. I later learned his name was Sun Dahu. He threw a punch, which I dodged, but I kicked him in the shin, and then he fell to the ground."

Then another fat man, named Sun Erniu, pulled out a pig-slaughtering knife. I knocked him down, and the knife fell to the ground.

"But then three other people surrounded me. I dodged a few punches, but I still got kicked several times in the back, waist, and legs."

"I knew I couldn't beat all five of them, so I thought I'd capture the leader first. I stared at Wang Shoujun, pounced on him, thinking that if I caught Wang Shoujun first, I wouldn't get beaten up."

"But that didn't work. Instead of stopping, they kept kicking me from behind and punching my head. I can't remember how many times I was hit. I only remember that everything went black and I knew nothing more."

After Qian Cheng finished speaking, he deliberately gasped for breath, pretending that his wound was still hurting and that speaking made his ribs ache, and that he had to slow down after each sentence.