Chapter Twenty-Four: The Old Man with the Mottled Face

  Tang Xiao Feng and Li Na left the Food King Congee House, it was already almost 1:30. The congee house is separated from the pedestrian street by a not-too-wide road, which is just a two-way single lane. It's just noon, so there are many pedestrians and passing vehicles. A Honda Accord was driving on the road, with a Passat following behind, honking at him.

  In front, an old man was crossing the road, and Ya Ge slowed down even more. Pu San couldn't bear Ya Ge's slow speed anymore, so he overtook from the opposite lane. The oncoming car forced Pu San to turn the wheel back in a hurry, knocking down the old man who was crossing the road.

  Pu San slowed down first, then accelerated and escaped. More than a dozen passersby had gathered around, pointing and discussing, but no one came forward to help. Tang Xiao Feng quickly pulled Li Na's hand, he was already disgusted with the current social atmosphere of not saving lives, and as a doctor, he had the responsibility to rescue and treat injuries, and couldn't ignore it.

  The crowd parted, and upon closer inspection, the old man had lost consciousness. There were no visible external injuries, but no matter how they called out to him, he couldn't be woken up. At this time, the driver of Ya Ge's car also pushed through the crowd and came over, seeing Tang Xiao Feng examining the old man, and hastily asked: "How is this old man doing?"

  "What are you staring at? Hurry up and help me send him to the hospital." Tang Xiao Feng said to the driver. The driver of the taxi looked embarrassed, Tang Xiao Feng immediately thought of what he was worried about, and quickly said: "Saving a life is urgent, after we get to the hospital I'll contact the traffic police department and vouch for you, I'm a doctor at the Municipal People's Hospital." After sending the old man to the emergency department of the People's Hospital, Tang Xiao Feng quickly found Director Zhu and briefly explained what had happened. Director Zhu immediately arranged for a nurse to prepare an operating room and personally performed surgery on the old man. Tang Xiao Feng then called the traffic police department again, explaining the cause and effect of the situation, and informed them that the person involved was currently at the Municipal People's Hospital.

  The traffic police arrived at the hospital and found Tang Xiao Feng and Ya Ge's driver. They told them what had happened and provided the license plate number of the vehicle that caused the accident. "Have you notified the elderly man's family?" Tang Xiao Feng asked. "He has no family, he is alone. Alas, a ninety-year-old man with no children, and still got hit by a car, how unlucky." The police officer who was taking notes said helplessly.

  "Over 90!?" Tang Xiao Feng was really shocked, earlier looking at the old man's appearance and his agility in crossing the road, he thought he was only around sixty. "Yes, born in 1903, not over 90 anymore." The police took another look at the old man's ID card. Tang Xiao Feng also leaned over to take a look, indeed, a person born in 1903, named Chu Tian Jin.

  At this time, Director Zhu walked out of the operating room. The police asked him: "Is he rescued?" "It's hard to say, the situation is not very stable." "When can we talk to him?" The doctor looked embarrassed, "Maybe tomorrow, maybe next year, or maybe he won't wake up at all."

  The police officer stood up and shook hands with Director Zhu, "If he wakes up, please notify us at any time. For treatment, the hospital will apply for special approval. After finding the person responsible, we'll return to the hospital." After finishing speaking, he bid farewell to Tang Xiaofeng and Director Zhu before leaving.

  Tang Xiaofeng and Li Na went to the EICU to visit the old man before leaving. No matter how they looked, he didn't look like a ninety-year-old. Seeing the old man lying alone in an empty intensive care unit, a strange sadness rose in their hearts. It was still unknown whether the old man could wake up again. Thinking of this, Tang Xiaofeng pulled Li Na out of the ward.

  Li Na suddenly understood why Tang Xiao Feng was so sentimental, thinking of what Director Zhu said that the old man might "wake up tomorrow or next year, or maybe never wake up again." Her heart also rose with a sense of melancholy.

  The pedestrian street was the most prosperous commercial center in Tengyang City in the 1990s, and the business district was only limited to the south of Silver River Mall and north of Tengyang Department Store. Locals called it Pedestrian Street, where there were some commercial storefronts, some so-called famous brands like Jinli Lai, Flower Man, Guimei Ren, etc. Tang Xiaofeng followed Li Na to a women's clothing store.

  Tang Xiaofeng looked left and right, Li Na had already picked out a light blue dress, walked into the dressing room to change, and came out with big strides. As the saying goes, "Buddha wants gold, people want clothes", after Li Na put on the light blue dress, her whole temperament changed.

  The boss of the neighboring store said, "I'm telling you, brother, if your girlfriend puts on this dress, she'll look just like a fairy descending from heaven. I'm telling you, brother, you're really lucky."

  Tang Xiaofeng was also taken aback, never expecting Li Na to change into this light blue dress, which elevated her entire demeanor. Gazing at the dress that seemed like a clear sky and blue sea, Tang Xiaofeng suddenly had an urge to go to the seaside. Li Na looked at Tang Xiaofeng gazing at her, her pretty face flushing red, as she couldn't help but smile shyly, twirling around in place with her skirt flying outwards, using this to evade Tang Xiaofeng's gaze.

  Tang Xiaofeng smiled and turned to ask the boss, "How much is this dress?"

  The shop owner smiled and said: "How's that, this brother's clothes are nice, your girlfriend is even more beautiful, this dress matches you and your girlfriend, it's a perfect match. This dress is our new arrival, the price of the dress is 298 yuan, we also have an activity in our store, buy a dress and get a hair clip and silk stockings for free, these two items together can save dozens of yuan, it's really cost-effective."

  Tang Xiaofeng smiled and took out his wallet, just as he was about to pay, Li Na walked over and said hurriedly, "I'll buy it myself." Tang Xiaofeng looked at Li Na with a bewildered expression and said, "What's going on? It's only natural for me to buy clothes for my girlfriend. Didn't you hear what the boss just said?" His words made Li Na blush and turn away, no longer paying attention to Tang Xiaofeng. The shop owner smiled and took the money, putting the skirt that Li Na had changed out of into a bag.

  Tang Xiaofeng accompanied Li Na to several shoe and hat stores, possibly because there were no satisfactory goods, or maybe Li Na was afraid that Tang Xiaofeng would spend money on her, so she didn't choose anything.

  As they walked out of the pedestrian street, the sky was approaching dusk. The sunset on the horizon illuminated every corner of Rongyang City. Li Na gazed at the crimson clouds and said, "So beautiful." Just as Tang Xiao Feng was about to say something, a shrill screeching sound suddenly came from beside them, and a dilapidated Changhe mini-van stopped in front of them.

  "It's him!" Just then, a young man with a baseball cap on his head suddenly ran out from behind Tang Xiao Feng and the others. Underneath the cap, you could vaguely see that his head was wrapped in gauze. Nine sturdy men jumped down from the Changhe car one after another. It's really unknown how this broken-down Changhe car could hold so many people. It turned out that last night, Huang Mao was taught a lesson by Tang Xiao Feng and was taken to the hospital by his companions to bandage his head. The more he thought about it, the more stifled he felt. Four people were actually taught a lesson by one person! Today, they ran to the pedestrian street to ask for help from his older brother. Just as they happened to bump into Tang Xiao Feng and Li Na who were out for a stroll, they quickly found a place to make a phone call and quietly followed Tang Xiao Feng and Li Na.

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