The Game of Life

Chapter 591: Chapter 589: Wait for Me to Come Over

Jiang Feng hadn’t expected his one phone call to not only summon the entire Jiang family but also half of the staff from the kitchen of Taifeng Building.

Almost 20 people crowded the ordinary four-person hospital room, making it impossible to get in. Early arrivals like Jiang Feng and Jiang Zaidi, due to their junior status, couldn’t even squeeze through to the doorway and had to wander the hallways.

Jiang Shoucheng, on the other hand, could squeeze into the hospital room. He needed to explain Jiang Weiming’s condition to every visitor.

All Jiang Feng could do was to pull aside Zhang Weiyu, who similarly couldn’t get near the doorway, and ask him why so many people had suddenly arrived.

“When you called your mom, she was in the kitchen eating beef with her phone on the table on speakerphone. We all heard what you said,” Zhang Weiyu said. “If it weren’t for the fact that too many people showed up at once and disrupted the noon service, I bet everyone would be here.”

Zhang Weiyu glanced toward the crowded hospital room entrance. “Master Jiang has fallen seriously ill; everyone is very worried.”

Zhang Weiyu’s words were without exaggeration. Jiang Weiming was probably the most respected and beloved person in the entire Taifeng Building kitchen staff.

He was always good-tempered, never angry, always smiling when he spoke, which made people feel comfortable. Most importantly, he never held back his knowledge. Whenever asked, he would answer, and sometimes, he would even take the initiative to guide the chopping block chefs with tremendous patience.

In some ways, Jiang Weiming was a person completely opposite to Xia Mushi.

He was an elder and a good mentor. Although he wasn’t adept at handling household affairs, he was highly respected.

“So now in the kitchen…”

“It must be in chaos. Both head chefs are absent, the staff isn’t complete, and on top of that, no one’s really in the mood to cook,” Zhang Weiyu said. “I just wanted to come and see for myself. Only after seeing can I be at ease, and then I can go back.”

Jiang Feng understood Zhang Weiyu’s sentiment to ‘just come and see for oneself’; a thousand reassurances from others are worth less than one’s own eyes witnessing.

Jiang Weiming still hadn’t awoken. The Jiang family members were still listening to Jiang Shoucheng explaining what myocarditis was, collectively undergoing a training session on myocarditis and learning about subsequent treatments. Jiang Feng and Jiang Zaidi had already learned this training content earlier, so they decided to find Jiang Jianshe to get the keys to the house and bring over some basic living supplies needed for Jiang Weiming’s upcoming hospital stay.

Thus, Jiang Feng made his way through shouting, “Make way, let me in!” and successfully squeezed into the hospital room, found Jiang Jianshe, and got the keys from him. Then he once more raised his voice, “Make way, let me out!” and successfully squeezed his way out of the room.

During this process, Jiang Feng noticed something odd.

He didn’t see Jiang Weisheng.

Zhang Weiyu, a chopping block chef who occasionally received tips from Jiang Weiming and had an average relationship with him, managed to seize the chance to visit first. As Jiang Weiming’s sole direct apprentice, it was unimaginable that Jiang Weisheng couldn’t have done the same.

But where was Jiang Weisheng?

Jiang Zaidi had gone to the parking lot to get the car. Jiang Feng, holding the keys, couldn’t delay because parking was troublesome at the hospital entrance. So he had no choice but to grab Zhang Weiyu again and ask, “Mr. Jiang didn’t come?”

Zhang Weiyu had intended to try to squeeze toward the hospital room entrance, positioning himself to enter as soon as someone left.

“Ah? Mr. Jiang was the first to arrive. He ran out without even changing his clothes. Isn’t he inside?” Zhang Weiyu, who hadn’t made it into the room, looked utterly confused.

Jiang Feng: …

He really wanted to discuss this matter further with Zhang Weiyu, but time waits for no one, so he could only leave a message saying he might be in the bar before departing.

After exiting the elevator, Jiang Feng saw the WeChat message from Jiang Zaidi telling him the car was parked diagonally across from the hospital’s main entrance and urging him to come out quickly. Upon seeing the message, Jiang Feng picked up his pace, clutched the keys, wrapped his down jacket tightly around him, and walked out of the inpatient building. But before he had taken two steps, he heard a familiar voice.

A familiar voice tinged with a cry.

Jiang Feng turned his head and saw Jiang Weisheng, looking plump and bundled up in Taifeng Building’s staff uniform, crouching beside the flower bed at the entrance of the inpatient building.

Jiang Weisheng squatted in the cold wind like that, wearing only a shirt and a thin employee’s uniform, huddling into a ball, crying and talking on the phone.

“Honey,” I really don’t dare to go up and look. When I went up just now, I saw Feng and Zaide both in the ward, and Master Jiang lying on the bed, his eyes closed and with a breathing machine and tubes on him, just like Dad before he passed away in the hospital bed,” Jiang Weisheng said while crying, his words slurred, sobbing louder than he was speaking.

“I really don’t dare to go up and look, I’m really scared, I…”

When Jiang Feng walked around to face Jiang Weisheng, he found his face was already smeared with tears, his crying expression twisted, snot and tears flowing freely, as ugly as it could be. He looked like a frightened and helpless child, who didn’t even dare to cry in front of everyone, and could only hide by the flower beds to make a call and cry to his spouse.

“Mr. Jiang…” Jiang Feng, seeing Jiang Weisheng in this state, didn’t know how best to speak to him.

Upon seeing Jiang Feng, Jiang Weisheng sprang up from the ground and, without taking care of his spouse on the other end of the phone, asked loudly, “How is it? Did Master Jiang wake up? How is he now, can he speak? Can he move?”

“Granduncle Weiming hasn’t woken up yet, De and I are going to Granduncle Weiming’s home now to pick up some change of clothing to bring back. Would you like to come with us?” Jiang Feng said, needing to find a reason to take Jiang Weisheng away.

He himself was an old man in his sixties, wearing so little clothing and staying outside in the Beiping weather that had not yet turned to spring. He might end up needing emergency care before Jiang Weiming even woke up.

“Yes, yes, yes, we need to pick up clothes for Master Jiang, I’ll go with you,” Jiang Weisheng nodded repeatedly like he had just woken from a dream, completely forgetting he was still on the phone with his spouse, and simply held the phone in his hand, hunched over, as he followed Jiang Feng towards the hospital entrance.

Jiang Feng grabbed Jiang Weisheng’s hand, which was as cold as an iron railing in winter, rough and icy.

After getting into the car, Jiang Feng handed Jiang Weisheng a tissue to wipe the tears and mucus off his face; with an absent mind, he wiped his face and asked worriedly, “Feng, won’t something happen to Master Jiang, will it?”

“I just checked online, and they say the mortality rate for myocarditis is very high.”

“There’s also heart failure, heart attacks, and all sorts of other complicated stuff that can easily lead to sudden death.”

Jiang Feng knew that at this moment, talking to Jiang Weisheng about medicine, science, treatment, it was all useless; only traditional beliefs could truly reassure people.

In times like these, traditional beliefs were the only thing that could comfort people.

So Jiang Feng retold the entire morning’s events to Jiang Weisheng in detail, starting from meeting Huihui, especially emphasizing how lucky they had been that morning to pull Jiang Weiming back from death’s door.

He also stressed that just based on this luck alone, Jiang Weiming wouldn’t have any problems.

After listening, Jiang Weisheng indeed felt much more at ease, repeatedly saying, “Right, Master Jiang has good luck, he definitely won’t have any problems, Master Jiang has always been lucky, even when buying drinks he’s the type to win a ‘try again’ bottle.”

Just then, a third person’s voice came from inside the car, it was Zhang Li on the other end of the phone.

She hadn’t hung up the phone and had been listening to the conversation between Jiang Feng and Jiang Weisheng.

It was also the first time Jiang Feng realized that the usually quiet and reserved Zhang Li, when she spoke, could have such a loud voice, full of vigor, so loud that even though the phone was clenched in Jiang Weisheng’s hand without speaker mode on, he could still hear clearly what Zhang Li was saying.

“Did you hear that, Jiang Weisheng, what on earth were you blindly worrying about just now? Cry, cry, cry, that’s all you know, old enough as you are, only knowing how to cry. Apart from crying, what else can you do?”

“Your master is going to live a long life, he’s only 99 now, not even a hundred yet, there’s no way anything could happen. Wipe your tears now, go home with Feng to collect the things, and then come back to the hospital to wait for Master Jiang to wake up and take care of him. I’ve had Chao book me a ticket, I’m coming to Beiping tomorrow.”

“Aren’t you always saying Master Jiang is like your father? Now, take care of your father these next few days. If you want to cry, don’t do it in front of him; go cry in the hallway or by the staircase, I’m on my way.”

Snapping to, Jiang Weisheng picked up the phone and held it to his ear, replying with an “Oh.”

Jiang Feng: (´°Δ°`)