Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 525 Chapter 524 Getting Beaten
When Tang Zhitong walked home in the dark, Lao Kou was lying in the hospital because he was beaten today...

As the saying goes: The speaker may not mean it, but the listener may take it seriously.

Ever since Tang Zhitong joked about exchanging tickets to make a profit, Lao Kou has taken it seriously.

I let the matter go that night, but the next day the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. As soon as I got to work on Monday, I took the opportunity to ask my colleagues where I could buy food coupons.

The supply of vegetables in winter is already scarce, and other side dishes are also less than in previous years. Everyone’s ration is not enough to eat. If there are two half-grown boys in the family, it would be a death sentence.

Lao Kou's colleague just thought that his family was short of food and didn't think anything else about it, so he told Lao Kou what he knew.

Lao Kou was a scheming man. After work, he went to Dongdan Park and walked around it twice, hoping to see if anyone was buying food coupons and who they were buying them from.

Since it was his first time here, he didn't find the right way, and after two rounds he didn't see any results and went home hungry.

The next morning, Lao Kou went to complain to his colleague at work: "I went there right after get off work, how could there be a ticket seller? Are you kidding me?"

"Okay, just think that I lied to you." When Lao Kou's colleague heard this, he became angry. It seemed that he had told him with good intentions, but in turn he was blamed for it?
"Oh~ Look at my broken mouth, I'm just too impatient. Please be magnanimous and don't bother with me. I went there and froze for half a night, but I didn't see anyone selling tickets." Old Kou had to ask for help, and his attitude immediately softened, and he looked stubborn.

"That shouldn't be the case. There are many people at the end of the day, so ticket scalpers are reluctant to leave. How did you find that person?" Seeing that Lao Kou had given in, his colleagues did not embarrass him and finally asked.

We are all in the same unit and we see each other every day. If I don't explain everything to Lao Kou, he might plot against me behind my back.

"I just want to take a walk in. It's so cold and there aren't many people around." said Lao Kou.

"Okay, next time you go there, look left and right after you enter the park entrance, as if you are looking for someone." The colleague knew the crux of the problem, gave Lao Kou some advice, and then went about his own business.

So, Lao Kou went to Dongdan Park again after get off work.

This time someone finally came up to talk to him: "Hey, man, do you want food coupons?"

Old Kou took a look and was surprised to see that this was the young man who was smoking in the corner yesterday.

It was not until this moment that Lao Kou realized that it was so cold in the winter. Who would sit in the park if there was nothing to do?
"What's the price?" Old Kou asked in a low voice, tucking his hands into his sleeves.

"One dollar for coarse grains and one dollar and fifty cents for fine grains," the ticket seller quoted.

"It's too expensive." Old Kou shook his head. He really thought it was too expensive and he really had no intention of buying it.

"Hey, man, you can go to other places to check, the price is the same in our city." The young man selling tickets used the same excuse.

"Do you accept food coupons?" Lao Kou asked tentatively.

"No, sir, are you here to sell food coupons?" The ticket seller looked Lao Kou up and down carefully and asked.

"No, I just want to ask. My family is short of money, and I want to exchange fine grain coupons for coarse grain coupons and make a profit from the difference." Seeing the look in the ticket scalper's eyes, Lao Kou got scared and told him his purpose.

"You look like you don't have much money, so go back and stop making yourself uncomfortable here, or we might have a falling out." After hearing what Lao Kou was going to do, the ticket seller patted him on the shoulder and threatened him to leave.

They really don't need to exchange tickets. Most of the people who come here to buy tickets buy coarse grain tickets. Coarse grain tickets are not only inconspicuous, but they can also be used to buy white flour buns in some restaurants at a more cost-effective price.

Old Kou nodded timidly, turned around and walked towards the park entrance.

The ticket seller made a "tsk" sound, stopped paying attention to Lao Kou, and went back to squat in the corner, waiting for the next customer to come.

Lao Kou is somewhat of an intellectual. He has read Lu Shuren's The True Story of Ah Q, in which Zhao Agui once said: The monk can touch it, but I can't?
Lao Kou’s idea is similar to Zhao Agui’s. Ticket scalpers can do it, so why can’t I?
So, Lao Kou stood outside the park gate, refusing to leave, planning to take a chance. Even if he could exchange a pound of food coupons for three cents, his trip today would not be in vain.

To be honest, Lao Kou was a little uneasy, but he would comfort himself: he was only exchanging food coupons, not selling them, and he had no conflict with the ticket scalpers.

Because of the angle, the ticket sellers in the park couldn't see Lao Kou.

"Have you added a new ticket exchange service?" An old customer came to the ticket seller to buy food coupons and asked while waiting to pick up the tickets.

"Look at what you said, we only issue tickets, we don't exchange them." Due to the poor lighting, the ticket scalper put the money close to his face to count it.

"Hey, I thought the old man at the door was in cahoots with you guys. He stopped me and asked me if I wanted to change the ticket." The old customer did the same thing. He brought the ticket closer to count it, and after confirming that it was correct, he left after saying a word.

When the ticket scalper heard this, he immediately thought of the old man.

From the perspective of ticket scalpers, this is obviously coming to cause trouble for them, so naturally they are unwilling to just leave it alone.

I quietly reached the gate. Lao Kou was squatting in the corner with his hands in his pockets, observing the pedestrians on the street. Whenever someone stopped at the park gate, he would go over and say a few words.

The ticket scalper just watched and waited until there was no one around before he went over to grab Lao Kou and pulled him up, making him stand up from a squatting position.

"You don't want to listen to me nicely, right? Why don't you look around to find out where you are and how dare you come here to cause trouble for me? Are you crazy about money?!" The ticket seller grabbed Lao Kou's collar with one hand and clenched his other hand into a fist, digging into Lao Kou's stomach again and again.

After working in this business for a long time, the ticket scalper has seen all kinds of people. Although most of them come to buy food coupons, there are also people like Lao Kou who come to make a profit from the difference, and there are also people who are in real financial difficulties at home and want to sell a few food coupons for emergency use.

In either case, most of the time they are driven away.

If there is anyone who is tactless, they don't mind having a friendly exchange with him.

Few of the people in their line of work are easy-going. They don't show mercy when they beat people up, but they also choose their spots well and know where to hit people so that it hurts without causing any harm.

"Open your eyes a little more. If I see you again, I will strip you naked and throw you in the snow in the park!" The ticket scalper had had enough of beating Lao Kou, so he pushed him to the ground, spat at the side, uttered a few cruel words like a devil, and then turned and walked away.

Old Kou held his stomach and lay on the ground for a long time before sitting up.

I hadn't eaten dinner in the first place, and after being beaten up, my stomach felt churning, but I couldn't vomit anything.

Old Kou stood up with the help of the wall, staggered and almost fell again, wiped away his tears, and then staggered home.

Dongdan Park is not far from Tielugubbe, but it is a waste of time to climb a mountain, not to mention Lao Kou's current condition.

By the time Lao Kou got home, it was already dark.

"Oh my, I'm so anxious. Why do you take so long to get back from get off work? I've almost reheated the meal three times. Hurry up and wash your hands and sit down to eat first." After the old man's wife saw Lao Kou, his words came out like a machine gun.

Lao Kou said nothing. He held his stomach, held onto the edge of the table, and slowly slid down.

"What's wrong with you? Don't scare me!" The old man's wife realized something was wrong and without caring about the pot, she immediately went forward to show concern.

"Stop shouting, pour me a glass of water, it will be fine after a while." Lao Kou said weakly. However, it didn't get better after a while, and he almost vomited out all the water he drank.

"Old man, let's go to the hospital." His wife was worried and put the back of her hand on Lao Kou's forehead to test the temperature. In her memory, he would vomit when he had a severe fever in the past.

"I have money to burn. Wouldn't it be nice to have one more bite?" Speaking of money, Lao Kou felt distressed again. He got beaten for no reason. No matter how he looked at it, he felt like he was at a loss.

"Don't stand there, bring me some food, just one bite will be enough." Although Lao Kou still felt uncomfortable in his stomach, the feeling of hunger and weakness was very clear, reminding him to replenish his energy as soon as possible.

After taking a few bites of food, Lao Kou still felt uncomfortable in his stomach and almost vomited out what he had just eaten, but he forced himself to swallow it back.

Lao Kou is not only stingy with others, but also with himself. He didn't exchange the ticket this time. If he loses it again, wouldn't that be an even bigger loss?
I feel like vomiting no matter what I eat. If I meet an ignorant person, he will not take it seriously at all. He will just lie down and take a good sleep. Maybe he will feel better tomorrow. Ignorance is fearless.

But Lao Kou is still somewhat educated after all, and in situations like this, the more educated one is, the more frightened he is.

"No, let's go to the hospital." After suppressing the urge to vomit again, Lao Kou finally let go.

Under the care of his wife and children, Lao Kou was placed on a borrowed cart and pushed out of the alley.

Since 1956, in order to give full play to the role of medical institutions, the city of Beijing has implemented a tiered and divided medical system to enable patients to receive medical treatment as close to home as possible.

The method divides the city's hospitals into three levels: central city hospitals, intermediate hospitals and grassroots clinics.

At this time, the small clinic in the flower market has closed down, and even the Fourth Hospital of Sijiu City has no one on duty.

The Fourth Hospital of Sijiucheng is located in the Choufenchang, Chongwenmenwai Street, and is a mid-level hospital.

Chongwenmen was formerly called the Tax Gate and the Wine Gate. During the Qing Dynasty, most of the goods and wine entering Beijing were transported by water, from the canal through the East Gate and into the city through Chongwenmen. In order to facilitate tax collection, the Qing Dynasty opened a tax collection factory to the west of Chongwenmen, which means a percentage of the tax.

There was no one in the Fourth Hospital, so we had to send him to Tongren Hospital.

Tongren Hospital has a long history. In 56, it was classified as the City Central Hospital, the highest level, similar to the tertiary hospitals decades later.

Fortunately, the two hospitals are not far from each other. Tongren Hospital is at the east entrance of Dongjiaomin Lane, next to Dongdan Park.

The gate of Tongren Hospital consists of three connected arches. Outside the gate is a wooden plaque with the words "Tongren Hospital" written in black characters in white paint.

During the day, the middle gate is open, and at night only the side door is opened.

Old Kou went around in circles and came here again tonight, entering the hospital through the side door.

"Where do you feel uncomfortable?" There was someone on duty at Tongren Hospital. The doctor on duty had a stethoscope around his neck. He first asked Old Kou, who was carried in, to lie down on the bed next to him before starting to examine him.

"I vomit whatever I eat, even water." Lao Kou's wife answered for him.

"How long has this situation been going on?" Upon hearing this, the doctor on duty put on the mask he had just taken off again.

"He has been like this since he came back today. Doctor, what's wrong with him?" Lao Kou's wife asked anxiously.

"Unbutton a few buttons of his shirt first, let me listen." The doctor on duty held the stethoscope's receiver in his hand, trying to keep it as warm as possible.

Auscultation started with the heart and lungs. When the stethoscope was on top, it was fine and Lao Kou didn't react much. But when the stethoscope was moved down, Lao Kou let out a cry of "Ouch".

"Does it hurt?" asked the doctor on duty, pressing it again with his hand.

"Stop pressing it, stop pressing it, it hurts." Lao Kou finally spoke.

The doctor did not listen to Lao Kou, but unbuttoned the bottom of the cotton jacket, observed it for a while, and then pressed a few times with his hands to determine the scope of the pain: "Family member, please button it up."

The pain was probably in the abdomen, and the skin color was not very different. The doctor asked, "What's wrong with your stomach?"

"It snowed two days ago and the ground was slippery. I fell down when I was leaving get off work. There were stones on the ground and I fell hard. Doctor, is my injury okay?" Lao Kou was embarrassed to say that he was beaten, so he lied.

"It's nothing serious. Do you want to go home and rest, or stay here overnight?" The doctor sat back in his chair, grabbed the pen, and prepared to write a prescription.

"Now that you're here, just stay here for a night. Don't worry. What do you think, old man?" After saying this, Lao Kou's wife looked at Lao Kou.

"Okay!" Lao Kou made up his mind and decided to spend the money. It would buy peace of mind.

"Family members, please pay the fees first." The doctor asked the patient's name, quickly wrote out a prescription, handed it to Lao Kou's wife, and then asked Lao Kou's children to help the patient to the observation area.

The child didn't care about the money. Lao Kou's wife asked around and went to the toll booth. When she paid the money, she couldn't believe her ears. 90 cents? Is it that expensive?
I asked about the price carefully. The registration fee for the emergency room is higher than the ordinary registration fee, 50 cents per person, and the price for overnight observation is 40 cents, but at least there is a bed.

Not a family, do not enter the door.

Old Kou is stingy, and his wife is not much better. Although she feels sorry for him, at least she still has some sanity. She has to protect the old man's health first so that the family will have salary expenses.

In order to reassure her old man, she didn't say a word after she returned and didn't tell Lao Kou how much money she spent.

Old Kou was lying on the hospital bed. He had recovered this time. Except for some pain on the surface of his stomach, the pain inside had improved a lot. But now he was hungry again and his stomach was burning.

"Go ask the doctor. Your stomach is upset. See if there is anything to eat here." Old Kou wanted to hold it in, but he really couldn't and woke up his wife who was dozing off next to him.

For most women, men are their heaven.

Lao Kou’s wife rubbed her eyes, muttered a few words, and went out.

"The canteen is closed, where is the food?" There were no patients at night, and the doctor on duty was dozing off on the emergency bed. After being pushed awake, he got up directly and asked after listening to the patient's family's request.

"What should we do? My stomach feels uncomfortable because of hunger." Lao Kou's wife also looked troubled.

"Your spouse has a job, right? Can the medical expenses be reimbursed?" Doctors are compassionate people. Looking at Mr. Kou's elderly wife, the doctor finally felt sympathy.

"Yes, we can report it." Lao Kou's lover nodded hurriedly, wondering what this had to do with work.

"Well, I'll prescribe some pills for him. You can let him take them when you go back. I'll also prescribe a bottle of glucose for him and inject it into his body later. Go and pay the fee first, and then go get the medicine." The doctor took the prescription again and wrote out the order quickly.

Glucose, this is a good thing...

(End of this chapter)