CHAPTER 66: CHAPTER 66 WARM BRAND BROTHER (1)

The weather is scorchingly hot, and business at the hotpot restaurant is utterly cold.

Qu Chaozong sat at the table sweating without dripping, faced with a table full of steaming lamb slices, feeling like he’s closely observing Huoyan Mountain.

Qu Chaozong drooped his face, staring at Zhao Meimei who’s eating so much that oil drips from her mouth, sweating profusely, and asked, "My dear sister! Eating like this, don’t you feel miserable?"

Zhao Meimei ate deliciously, chewing forcefully while pulling a napkin to wipe sweat, "It’s a bit hot, but it’s too tasty!"

Listening to this, Qu Chaozong felt distressed, turned his head, and said to Shi Yang, "Shi Yang! We truly can’t spoil the child like this; indulging is a disguised harm!"

Shi Yang and Qu Chaozong were facing the steaming hot pot, eating cold noodles ordered from the restaurant next door, slurping hastily facing each other.

A whole pot of lamb was all eaten by Zhao Meimei, she’s in a growth period right now, and her appetite is enormous.

Watching in horror, Qu Chaozong asked Zhao Meimei, "Sis, are you full?"

Zhao Meimei rubbed her belly, "It’s alright, a bit too hot, otherwise I could drink some soup."

Qu Chaozong was stupefied, with a face like he’d just been abducted by aliens, "You ate three plates of lamb, a basket of vegetables, a plate of beef marrow, half a plate of mushrooms, sis! Quickly, let Brother Chao see, where did you put all this food? Did it pierce through your back and spill on the ground?"

Shi Yang tapped Qu Chaozong’s hand with the chopsticks, "Stop touching my sis with your smelly hands!"

Qu Chaozong swiftly pulled back his hand, looked under the table at Zhao Meimei’s feet, "No wonder our sister can eat so much, look at these big feet, she surely won’t be short in the future."

Zhao Meimei burped, stunned a bit by her Brother Chao’s unclear remarks, not knowing how to react.

Leaving the hotpot restaurant, the weather that was sunny and bright suddenly turned cloudy, with a chilly wind blowing.

Zhao Meimei sat on her Brother Yangyang’s bicycle, and soon felt cold; she shrank back, leaning against Shi Yang’s chest.

Shi Yang noticed and stopped the bike, letting Zhao Meimei sit on the back seat.

Zhao Meimei stretched her arms to hug Shi Yang’s waist, pressing her face against it, feeling both wind-blocking and warm.

That evening, Zhao Meimei was lying in bed, tossing and turning, experiencing an upset stomach, went to the toilet several times, nearly fainting.

Liu Xiue gave her some diarrhea pills, she lay down again, soon her throat started hurting, sneezed, tossed and turned for a while before drowsily falling asleep.

In the middle of the night, Zhao Meimei got a fever, her throat burning like fire, she struggled to go to the big room to call her mom and dad.

Getting up, she felt dizzy, her head buzzing, limbs aching, her legs gave out, and she fell to the ground, making quite a noise.

From the master bedroom quickly came Liu Xiue’s puzzled inquiry, "Meimei?"

Zhao Meimei croaked a low "Mom."

Without knowing whether her mom heard or not, soon there was the sound of the light being turned on in the master bedroom, her mom quickly came over in slippers, saw her fallen, hurriedly shouted for her dad.

Liu Xiue picked up Zhao Meimei, placed her back on the bed, touched her forehead, skipping the step to check the temperature, directly called out to Zhao Dazhuang, who stood barefoot in a panic, "Quickly, her dad, Meimei has a fever, we need to go to the hospital immediately."

Zhao Meimei was carried on her dad’s back, taking two or three steps downstairs at a time, her throat burning, leaning on her dad’s back, trembling.

Zhao Dazhuang called with concern, "Meimei, hang in there, Dad will take you to the hospital." His pace swift, probably could make the top three if he joined the factory’s sports event right now.

In the middle of the night, it was hard to catch a cab, Zhao Dazhuang and Liu Xiue anxiously ran towards the city, keeping an eye on passing cars, running for about ten minutes before they managed to hail a taxi. Once in the cab, they realized they had been too rushed to bring money.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Zhao Dazhuang found six yuan in change in his pocket, fortunately, the taxi driver was kind-hearted, understanding their urgent need to treat their child, accepted the money and drove off.

Carrying Zhao Meimei into the hospital, Zhao Dazhuang frantically searched for a doctor to administer fever-reducing injections, but when paying, was dumbfounded.

With smooth talking and persuasion, he persuaded the doctor to give the medicine first, promising to find someone to pay soon.

Having no other choice, Zhao Dazhuang thickened his skin and called Shi Yang’s house in the middle of the night. Mainly thinking Shi Yang’s house was in the city, close to the hospital, unlike the distant family apartment neighbors, also didn’t want to lose face.

Only during critical moments can one see who truly holds the highest place in their heart. After many years of interactions, not only did Shi Yang’s family develop strong feelings towards them, but they also felt extreme trust toward Shi Yang’s family.

Zhao Dazhuang stood at the hospital’s grocery store window, calling Shi Yang’s house. The phone rang for a long time before being answered, inside came Shi Yang’s father’s groggy voice, "Hello?"

Hearing this sleepy voice, Zhao Dazhuang suddenly felt enlightened and stabilized, quickly saying, "Yangyang’s dad, it’s me, Zhao Dazhuang!"

Shi Yang’s dad’s voice became distinctly clear, asking, "What happened? Has something happened?"

Listening to his concerned tone, Zhao Dazhuang felt a warmth in his heart, his eyes ending up a bit wet and heated.

Zhao Dazhuang: "Meimei has a fever late at night, her mom and I brought her to the hospital for injections, rushed out, and forgot the money."

Shi Yang’s dad: "Which hospital are you at?"

Zhao Dazhuang gave his address.

Shi Yang’s dad said decisively over the phone, "Don’t worry, I’ll head over right away."

Zhao Dazhuang didn’t even have money for the phone fee, explained his situation to the public phone owner, who probably understood having seen this situation many times, empathetically waved his hand, "Bring it over when you have money, same."

Zhao Dazhuang expressed his gratitude repeatedly, his heart which had been anxious all night suddenly got soothed significantly by this warmth, he hurried back to the ward.

Zhao Meimei had already started infusion.

Liu Xiue asked him, "How? Did you manage to contact them?"

Zhao Dazhuang exhaled a deep breath, "Shi Yang’s dad answered, said he’s coming over immediately."

Liu Xiue was moved to tears, "You didn’t thank them properly!"

Zhao Dazhuang then remembered, shook his head, "At that time I couldn’t think of that, I even owe the public phone fee, you remind me to give it when Shi Yang’s dad arrives."