Chapter 78: News about Youtian Xiuxiu

Just as they were talking about that poor little thing, Zhang Xiaofang walked in carrying a basket shortly after.

The bottom of the basket was padded with a thick layer of straw, and an old bedsheet was spread over it. The little baby girl lay quietly on top, covered with a floral-patterned cotton-padded jacket.

“Doctor Li, I have something to attend to now. Can I leave the little one in your doctor’s office? Could everyone help look after her?”

Li Jing nodded helplessly and said, “Xiaofang, bring some rice soup later to feed her.”

“Alright, I’ll come feed her when I have time. If she cries later, Doctor Li, please remember to change her diaper.”

So the poor little thing was sleeping in a basket?

Lan Mo stood up and walked over to take a look. This child was so thin! Did she even weigh five pounds? Her skin was red and wrinkled, looking just like a little red-skinned mouse.

Lan Mo asked, “Doctor Li, you said she’s been drinking rice soup all along? Aren’t there women in the Obstetrics Department who have just given birth? Couldn’t they help by feeding her a few mouthfuls of milk?”

Not a single drop of milk since she was born—Tian Xiuxiu, her mother, was truly heartless.

“Sigh… They’re all worried that if they feed this baby girl, their own children won’t have enough milk. For this child, I even gave up the two ounces of white sugar I had saved for myself last night.”

Wang Min pointed at the jacket covering the baby and said, “This tattered jacket she’s wrapped in was brought from the Hospital Director’s home. The inner clothes she’s wearing are also from the Hospital Director’s grandson when he was one year old. I wish I could help, but there’s nothing I can do. Sigh…”

The child’s mother had already left—what else could they do? They could only hope the Hospital Director would find Tian Xiuxiu soon so the baby wouldn’t have to drink sweet rice soup for every meal.

Lan Mo remained silent. She didn’t know what to suggest. She certainly couldn’t foolishly propose getting some powdered milk for the child.

No one’s money comes easily, and times were hard for everyone.

She regretted being unable to help, even though her space contained bottles of pure milk. She had no intention of taking them out.

Exposing herself to help others was not a worthwhile trade. One should always think twice before acting and act within one’s means.

With so many people in the office, whoever had time could help look after the baby—that was fine.

During her free time in the afternoon, Lan Mo even helped change the baby’s diaper once and fed her some rice soup.

After work, Lan Mo was about to pack up and return to her dormitory when Li Jing suddenly stopped her. “Doctor Lan, could you help take care of this poor little baby girl tonight? Xiaofang isn’t on night duty tonight, and I have to go home later.”

“Doctor Li, can’t you take her to your home?”

During the day, when everyone was around, helping to look after the baby was no big deal. But leaving the child with her at night and making her take care of it—she definitely wasn’t willing.

A baby like this, drinking only rice soup, might cry all night if it got hungry. She couldn’t handle that.

Li Jing said awkwardly, “My home has nothing to eat. I’m afraid if I take her back, she’ll cry all night long. Doctor Wang said she’s staying with relatives, so bringing a child there would be very inconvenient. Doctor Lan, you live alone in the dormitory—it should be convenient for you, right?”

Hearing this, Lan Mo felt a headache coming on. Was it really convenient for an unmarried woman like her to take care of someone else’s child?

With a stern face, she said, “Doctor Li, I’m on my period today. It’s inconvenient for me to sleep with her. If she wets my bed, I probably won’t have anywhere to sleep for a while.”

How about this: you take her back to your place. I still have a small half-bag of Malt Extract Milk Powder that I can give her. You don’t need to worry about her waking up hungry at night and crying or making a fuss.

Didn’t the Hospital Director say that the police officers have already gone down to each village to investigate? Maybe they’ll find her family in the next day or two?”

Problems that could be resolved with a little something were trivial matters. Lan Mo decided to give the little girl one-fifth of a bag of Malt Extract Milk Powder, treating it as an act of kindness to accumulate good karma.

Seeing how clearly Lan Mo refused, Li Jing didn’t press further. After all, she wasn’t married yet, and taking care of a child really wasn’t very convenient for her.

In the end, Lan Mo avoided the ordeal of taking the child by offering a small half-bag of Malt Extract Milk Powder.

The next day at work, the Hospital Director came to the office to announce two things. The first was that the child’s family still hadn’t been found, and he asked everyone to stay alert and hold on for a couple more days.

If Tian Xiuxiu still hadn’t been found after two days, he would directly send the child to the Police Station for them to handle.

The second matter was that the hospital would send several doctors to the nearest Luoshui Village today to vaccinate the children there, conduct health checkups for the elderly in the village, and also promote the importance of rural health and hygiene to all the villagers.

The Hospital Director selected one pediatrician, one internist, and one nurse. Seeing that Lan Mo was relatively free, he called her over to help as well.

Lan Mo didn’t mind. She hadn’t been to the countryside since crossing over and was curious to see what it was like.

Anyway, they would go in the morning and return in the afternoon, so it wouldn’t take up much of her time.

Luoshui Village was only ten li away from the town hospital, but walking would take at least an hour. Riding a bicycle was much faster.

The four of them rode two bicycles and soon arrived at Luoshui Village. The village chief had received word early that the town hospital would send doctors to their village today for health promotion.

The village chief gathered all the villagers. Lan Mo, holding the booklet given to her by the Hospital Director, stood among the crowd and read aloud: “Maintain hygiene, prevent diseases, and improve the overall health of the people. Wash hands frequently, bathe regularly, keep hair tidy, and pay attention to personal hygiene…”

Seeing such a beautiful female doctor promoting health, everyone listened very attentively.

While Lan Mo stood in the middle reading, Doctor Xiao handed out pagoda candies to the children one by one for deworming.

Internist Doctor Zhu used a Stethoscope to check the lungs and hearts of the villagers, looking for any major issues.

After Doctor Xiao finished distributing deworming medicine to the older children, he handed out sugar pills to the younger ones to prevent polio.

The nurse named Dan Dan was busy giving other children vaccinations.

The older children obediently rolled up their sleeves and lined up for their shots, while the younger ones acted like little troublemakers, crying and screaming at the sight of the long, large needles.

They cried, cursed at Dan Dan, and kicked and punched, leaving her both amused and flustered.

Suddenly, an old woman grabbed Doctor Zhu’s hand and said, “Doctor, I’m actually healthy—I can eat and sleep well, and I don’t have any serious illnesses! Could you come to my house and check on my son?”

Doctor Xiao asked, “Auntie, what’s wrong with your son?”

An elderly man nearby chimed in, “Her son is pitiful. To earn more money to support his wife and child, he repaired a house for someone on a rainy day and ended up falling from the roof, breaking both his legs.”

Xiao Li’s wife, who had been married for less than a year, saw that he had broken both legs and assumed he would never stand again. She took the child in her womb and returned to her parents’ home overnight.”

Upon hearing this, Doctor Xiao thought, this man is truly pitiful! Both legs broken, and not only did his wife not take care of him, but she also ran off with the child in her womb.

He walked over to Lan Mo and explained the old woman’s family situation. Lan Mo frowned as she listened.

She approached the old woman and said softly, “Auntie, you can take your son to the hospital for treatment. Today, we came mainly to conduct health check-ups for all of you.”

The old woman wiped her tears and cried, “Wuwu… Do you think I don’t want to take my son to the hospital? That damned Zhu Tianxiu took all our family’s savings and ran off! When my husband went to her family’s home to ask for the money back, her mother chased him out with a broom.”

Zhu Tianxiu, Tian Xiuxiu—could they be the same person?

“Auntie, where is your daughter-in-law from? How far along is the child in her womb?”

“Zhu Tianxiu is from Zhujiawan. The child in her womb should be over eight months along now.”

Lan Mo was almost certain that the Zhu Xiutian the old woman mentioned might be the same irresponsible Tian Xiuxiu who abandoned her child at the hospital and secretly ran off.

The police officers had searched several villages all day without finding any trace of her, yet here they were, having just arrived in the countryside, and the information came to them on its own.

Truly, after searching far and wide with no success, the answer came effortlessly!