Capítulo 8: Using Food to Pay for Medical Fees
Editor: Henyee Translations
On the way to the hospital, Bai Daliang woke up and vomited a few times. The wound had stopped bleeding but was oozing blood again. Bai Xue knew he had a concussion. She asked An Quanzi to drive the ox cart slower and try to go more smoothly.
"Xue… I'm fine! You don't have to take me to the hospital!" Bai Daliang said with difficulty as he lay on the ox cart.
The pain from the back of his head made his breathing quicken several times.
"Enough, Dad! Don't move! The wound on the back of your head is bleeding again!" Bai Xue comforted Bai Daliang, who wanted to get up.
"How could your third uncle be so… so cruel…" Bai Daliang said in pain. Bai Xue's face was full of pain and disappointment.
"Dad, don't think so much! Do you know Second Uncle gave me $10 for your treatment? You still have a good brother! Who cares about our third uncle? We can just treat him as a stranger in the future!" Bai Xue did not mean to agitate her father, but she could not suppress it.
"Xue, I've $2 in my pocket!" When Bai Daliang heard his second brother had sent him $10, he knew that he must have borrowed it from somewhere, so he told Bai Xue, "Let's just disinfect the wound at the hospital. Don't spend your second uncle's money! He might have borrowed it from somewhere, so he still has to return it!"
"Okay!" Bai Xue was freezing, but she did not dare to show it and make Bai Daliang worry. She could only suppress her trembling chin as she spoke. For now, she would agree no matter what he said. When they reached the hospital, he would have no choice but and accept proper treatment.
"Daliang, don't talk anymore. Just go to the town hospital and get treatment!" An Quanzi was leading the ox cart as he turned around and said.
Bai Xue and the others sent them to the Pingyang Town Hospital. The hospital was especially old-fashioned with red brick and wooden windows. The lower half of the wall was painted with blue paint. They parked the ox cart at the entrance of the hospital. When the old man at the entrance saw that the back of Bai Daliang's head was covered in blood, he immediately ran in and called for a doctor.
A woman in her early forties and two nurses came out. There were only a few people in the hospital. As long as they could survive in this era, no one was willing to come to the hospital to see a doctor. The main reason was that they did not have money.
An Quanzi helped carry him in and brought him to the operating theater to treat Bai Daliang's wound.
Bai Xue and An Quanzi's hands and feet were already freezing. They stood outside the operating theater and waited.
"Xue, there's hot water in the hospital. I'll get you some to warm you up!" An Quanzi looked at Bai Xue, who was pale and trembling. He really could not bear to see her like this.
"Uncle Quanzi, we didn't bring any cups or anything!" Bai Xue knew that in this era, she had to bring her own resources when she went out. When she went out, she had to look for the captain to ask for recommendation letters, bring dry rations, water bottles, and so on. Without food stamps, she would not be able to eat in the state-run restaurant. The supplies were very scarce.
"It's fine. There's a canteen in the hospital. I will go and take a look!" As he spoke, he turned around and went to find hot water.
Taking advantage of the fact no one was around, Bai Xue sneakily took out a piece of bread from the interspatial supermarket and finished it in one gulp, and choked uncontrollably. She could not eat steamed cornbread and other coarse grains since they made her throat scratchy.
There was also a cooked food area in the interspatial supermarket with all kinds of ready-made food. However, she could only drool when she saw it. If she took it out, the taste would be too strong. In this era where she could only eat meat a few times a year, she would definitely draw unwanted attention when she took out a roasted chicken.
Only bread could be eaten discreetly since it did not smell too strong, and it would not leave traces of oil around her mouth.
Just as she finished a loaf of bread and her stomach felt better, the door to the operating theater opened.
"Young lady, are you related to the injured man?"
Bai Xue looked over. It turned out to be the female doctor from before. The nurse seemed to have called her Doctor Zhao.
"Doctor, it's my father inside. Is my father alright?" Bai Xue wiped her mouth and face with her sleeve and asked in a childish tone typical of a 15-year-old.
"Although the wound on the back of your father's head isn't deep, he still needs a few stitches! He also has a slight concussion, so it's not suitable for him to move. He has to be hospitalized! How did he get injured?" The nurse inside was treating Bai Daliang's wound, and Dr. Zhao came out to understand the situation.
"He… He accidentally fell!" Bai Xue hesitated and did not tell the truth.
Doctor Zhao looked at Bai Xue and did not expose her lie. She said, "Do you have enough money on you? Go and pay $20 first! You'll make up for the difference if necessary!" After saying that, she wanted to turn around and enter the operating theater.
"Um… Doctor, I only brought $10 with me when I came out. Can I pay $10 first?" Bai Xue stopped Doctor Zhao, who was about to enter. She touched her head and asked in embarrassment. It turned out that it was the same in this era and entering the hospital was like burning money.
One work credit was only $0.05, so $20 was almost two months' worth of work credits. If the family lost so many work credits, they would definitely not have enough to eat at the end of the year. They would have to borrow money or food supplies sooner or later.
This was the first time in her two lifetimes that she had been so embarrassed. She had never put anything on credit in her life. To be precise, she was never short of money.
Doctor Zhao turned around and sized up Bai Xue. She thought about the clothes the casualty was wearing and knew that their family was definitely not rich. However, she was only a doctor. She could treat illnesses and save people, but she could not stop poverty.
She said, "$10 is definitely not enough. Go and pay first! If it's not enough, then you should borrow it asap. Your father has to be hospitalized, so it will cost at least $20!"
With that, she entered the operating theater.
Bai Xue had no choice but to hand over the $10 her second uncle had given her to the cashier. She looked around and went into deep thought.
Although she had supplies in her hands, she did not know how to turn them into money.
She walked back to the cashier. It was a young lady in her early twenties.
"Miss, I have a question for you?" Bai Xue leaned against the glass window and looked in to talk to the nurse at the cashier.
"Go ahead! What's the matter?" The nurse replied indifferently, but Bai Xue did not take it to heart.
"You see, my father is injured and hospitalized, but my family is in a difficult financial situation. We can't fork out much money to pay the medical fees. Can I use food to cover it?" Bai Xue voiced her thoughts.
She really had no other choice now. In the past, when her father told her about this era, he would always mention the black market. However, it was cold and snowing. She had no idea where to find the black market.
"Hang on. Give me a minute!" The nurse's eyes lit up when she heard Bai Xue say that she would pay for the medical fees with food. She stood up and walked out, not forgetting to remind Bai Xue to wait for her.
When Bai Xue saw the expression on her face, she understood how important food was to people in this era. The nurse probably wanted to buy the food supplies from Bai Xue with her cash.
Even though the nurse did not even know what food supplies Bai Xue possessed, she seemed excited.
Soon, the nurse came out and grabbed Bai Xue's hand anxiously. She deliberately lowered her voice as she spoke and pulled Bai Xue to an empty spot. "Let's talk over there!"
Bai Xue followed without saying anything, waiting for the nurse to speak.
"You just mentioned you want to use food to pay for the medical fees, right? How much food do you have? It's the same if I buy it from you! I can pay you money for it!" The nurse pulled Bai Xue to a corner and asked.
"Miss, I have 10… 10 catties of corn flour and sorghum rice each. Those are my family's rations. Dad is injured, and he is the pillar of the family. Our family doesn't have money to treat his illness, so we can only trade with our rations!" Bai Xue lowered her head and said sadly.
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