So if Jiang Chan were to bring up divorce now, it would completely sever her connection with Xiao Hua. That would make both the first and third tasks very difficult to complete.
At present, the best solution was for Jiang Chan to stay with Xiao Hua until she turned eighteen. At that point, she could bring up divorce again. By then, Xiao Hua would already be an adult, and Zhou Fugui and his wife would no longer be able to prevent Xiao Hua from seeing her.
However, Jiang Chan absolutely could not return to that remote mountain ravine. Since that was the case, she might as well take Xiao Hua and leave altogether. But before leaving, Xiao Hua’s household registration still needed to be resolved.
Xiao Hua was already five years old and still had no household registration. The original host had not understood this matter, but Jiang Chan did. Her own registration was still with the orphanage, and once she got into university, she would transfer it to the school.
Thinking all this through along the way, Jiang Chan returned to the hospital. On the way back, she bought some dinner. Even though she was short on money, people still had to eat.
Especially with her current body, which was very weak, she needed to nourish herself properly. When she arrived at the ward, Doctor Liu was talking to Xiao Hua. He reminded her, “If your face feels itchy, you absolutely must not scratch it. If you scratch it, it will heal even worse.”
Xiao Hua blinked her big eyes. “I know. Thank you, Doctor.”
She spoke in a local dialect. The doctor could mostly guess what she meant. Jiang Chan walked in at that moment. “You have to listen to the doctor. That way you’ll recover faster.”
Turning to Doctor Liu, Jiang Chan switched to standard Mandarin. “Thank you, Doctor. Xiao Hua has really troubled you.”
Only then did Doctor Liu react. The elderly woman in front of him actually spoke standard Mandarin, which was very rare in this southwestern province.
“Ma’am, your Mandarin is really good.”
Jiang Chan was momentarily stunned, then said, “We have a radio at home. I learned by following along. This is actually my first time speaking it. Is it not good?”
Doctor Liu gave her a thumbs-up. “It’s good. It’s extremely good.”
He did not ask how Jiang Chan’s matters were progressing. Jiang Chan thought about it and realized she would likely need to trouble Doctor Liu again in the future. This doctor was a genuinely kind person and helped whenever he could.
“Doctor Liu, may I ask you something. Can your hospital issue an injury assessment report?”
Doctor Liu replied, “For an injury assessment report, I recommend you go to a certain hospital. That one is recognized by judicial authorities, and the report can be used as legal evidence.”
Jiang Chan silently memorized the hospital’s name, planning to go there the moment it opened the next day.
“Doctor Liu, how long will Xiao Hua need to stay hospitalized?” Jiang Chan was worried that if the stay was too long, the money she had would not be enough.
Doctor Liu thought for a moment, then said, “The hospital cafeteria is currently hiring helpers. If you don’t mind, would you be willing to help out there for a couple of days?”
Doctor Liu could see that Jiang Chan’s situation was difficult. Both the elderly woman and the child were sallow and thin, and he felt a surge of sympathy.
Jiang Chan had not expected Doctor Liu to be so warm-hearted and thanked him repeatedly.
The next day, Jiang Chan went to the hospital Doctor Liu had mentioned for the injury assessment. The results were shocking. Her body was extremely weak, covered in marks left behind by years of long-term abuse.
Even the doctor conducting the examination could not bear to look. He asked how Jiang Chan had endured it all for so many years. This also showed, from another angle, how cruel and vicious ignorant, unenlightened people could be.
After making an appointment to pick up the assessment report two days later and refusing the hospital’s suggestion that she be admitted, Jiang Chan endured the pain and returned to the dermatology hospital. She still needed to help in the cafeteria. She could not let Doctor Liu’s kindness go to waste.
Jiang Chan’s cooking skills were excellent. After all, she had cooked for decades. After returning to modern society, she had also deliberately looked up recipes. As a result, on her very first day in the cafeteria, she was entrusted with important work.
Hospital meals for patients needed to be light. Heavy oil and strong seasonings were not allowed. Jiang Chan just happened to be able to make light food full of flavor. In less than two days, she became well-known at the dermatology hospital.
Everyone knew that a grandmother had come who made patient meals exceptionally well. They smelled wonderful. Xiao Hua’s burn was on her face, and the rest of her body was fine. She did not lie in the ward all day but followed Jiang Chan closely wherever she went.
Considering Jiang Chan’s situation, the hospital specially arranged a temporary dormitory for her. Xiao Hua stayed there with Jiang Chan. In her small heart, these days of being alone with her grandma were filled with happiness.
There were no beatings from her grandfather, uncles, or cousins. She could eat her fill, and she could stay with her grandma all the time. These were things Xiao Hua had never dared to imagine.
What she did not know was that every day in the future would be filled with happiness. This was something Jiang Chan had promised the original host, and she would work hard to make it happen.
Jiang Chan and Xiao Hua leaving home caused not even the slightest ripple in Zhou Dayou’s household. If there had been some discomfort in the first few days, then after a week passed, it was as if the family had completely forgotten that the two of them had ever existed.
Zhou Fuquan once suggested going to the town to report them missing. Zhou Dayou stopped him, lifting his eyelids slightly. “Report what? That money-losing girl can die outside for all I care. It saves the family from feeding freeloaders.”
The original host had worked herself to the bone for half her life. Yet in the eyes of her husband and sons, she and her granddaughter Xiao Hua had become freeloaders.
Jiang Chan was happy not to be remembered by Zhou Dayou’s family. Only a fool would go back to that mountain ravine.
By now, Jiang Chan had been working in the dermatology hospital cafeteria for a full month. Because her cooking was good, the hospital raised her pay to eighteen yuan a month.
Eighteen yuan at this time was a significant amount, though still a few yuan less than a formal worker’s wage. Jiang Chan was not satisfied. She had signed contracts worth tens of millions before. These eighteen yuan really did not amount to much.
Not to mention the cost of treating Xiao Hua’s face, which would be an enormous expense. Relying on cooking alone would never allow her to save that much money. She still needed to make money generate more money.
Xiao Hua’s face had now scabbed over. The scar on the little girl’s face was about the size of a palm and looked frightening. Fortunately, it was far better than in the original host’s memories, which made Jiang Chan breathe a huge sigh of relief.
Once medical technology advanced and she had enough money, she would definitely heal Xiao Hua’s face. This was not only the original host’s wish but also a decision Jiang Chan had made after spending more than a month with Xiao Hua.
Xiao Hua was too well-behaved, so well-behaved that she hardly seemed like a five-year-old child. She was sensitive and good at reading people’s expressions. She was closest to Jiang Chan. Any candy or biscuits given to her by doctors or nurses, she saved them all, waiting to eat them together with Jiang Chan.
When Jiang Chan was busy in the cafeteria, Xiao Hua followed her around, helping wash clothes, or massaging Jiang Chan’s back and legs when she was tired. The little girl was extraordinarily obedient.
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