Chapter 31: Discount (2/4)

Chapter 31: The Discount (2/4)

"Clear river water!"

The people in the yard watched as this group of students marched past, chanting slogans.

Karen was somewhat surprised; had environmental organizations already become so prevalent in this era?

Ron pinched his throat and called out in a low voice:

"We want Lubees."

Today was not the weekend, so these children must have been skipping class.

Aunt Mary looked at Karen and asked, "Karen, did Mina and Lente mention this to you?"

Before Karen could answer, Aunt Mary spoke again to herself:

"Of course, why would the children ever tell you about their business."

Although Karen was not much older than Mina, just as Uncle Mason had said, after Karen recovered from his illness, he felt a slight urge to call Karen 'Uncle';

In truth, the family indeed no longer treated Karen as a child.

"What is it, Auntie?" Karen asked.

"That environmental girl from the Kingdom of Wien arrived in Ruilan the day before yesterday," Aunt Mary said.

"The environmental girl, Delice?" Karen recalled seeing her name when he read the newspaper; she was passionate about promoting environmentalist ideas and was highly popular among Wien’s youth.

The mayoral election of Luojia City was about to enter its final voting phase, and the challenger to the old mayor was campaigning precisely on environmental protection. Judging by the information gathered from the newspapers, this environmental girl's visit to Luojia City at this time was likely to endorse the challenger.

Of course, it could also be understood as a celebrity gig.

Paul said, "Environmental protection is a good thing, isn't it?"

Aunt Mary glared at Paul, pointing at the receding group of students and mocking:

"What do they know about environmental protection? They just don't want to go to class."

...

Karen carried the pig's head to the second-floor kitchen, preparing to cook.

The staple for today's lunch was lentil rice, and since the main course featured pig's head meat, Karen added fewer diced meat bits into the lentil rice.

The side dishes were steamed egg custard, fish-fragrant eggplant, and seaweed egg drop soup.

Additionally, because the family truly adored spring rolls, Karen fried another batch.

Once the food was served, Dis sat at the head of the table, while Aunt Mary, Aunt Winnie, Paul, and Ron joined in, and everyone began their meal.

Uncle Mason was not at home today; he had gone out to treat the officials responsible for the auction of the Hughes Crematorium to dinner, though he had specifically instructed Karen to save some food for him before leaving.

The younger cousins were at school today.

Cooking for his family gave him a profound sense of fulfillment, a blissful satisfaction akin to feeding pigs.

Karen walked downstairs, first adding kibble to the golden retriever's food bowl.

Then he placed a plate of braised small mixed fish before Purr, complementing it with a cup of coffee.

The golden retriever stared at the plate of braised small mixed fish in front of Purr, drooling profusely, suddenly feeling that the kibble in its own bowl was entirely unappealing, yet it did not dare contend with Purr for food.

Purr quite contentedly took a sip of coffee first, and then began to eat the fish in a slow, elegant manner.

Karen had already grown accustomed to this bizarre feline combination, and walking back upstairs, he happened to cross paths with Dis, who was coming down.

"Lunch was delicious, especially the pig's head meat. The church has business this afternoon; I must head over first."

"Be careful on the road, Grandfather."

"Mm."

Karen reached the second floor, where Ron and Paul were already leaning back in their chairs, patting their stomachs, while Aunt Mary and Aunt Winnie were drinking tea.

"Auntie, Aunt, drinking tea right after a meal is bad for digestion," Karen reminded them.

"Oh, really." Aunt Mary hesitated for a moment, but put down her teacup nonetheless.

"Karen, aren't you eating?" Aunt Winnie asked.

"I ate my fill while tasting the dishes." Karen began to clear the dishes.

"We'll do it, we'll do it."

Aunt Winnie stood up to help clear away.

The telephone on the first floor rang, and Aunt Mary went downstairs to answer it. In a brief moment, Aunt Mary's shout echoed from below:

"Hans Hospital!"

Ron and Paul, who had spent the morning soaking in the sun and had just eaten their fill, instantly snapped into work mode. The two hurried downstairs, and Karen also put down the tray in his hands, wiped his hands with a damp towel, picked up his coat, and followed them downstairs.

Usually, three people would go out on a call: the uncle plus the two workers. When the uncle was not at home, Karen would consciously step in to make up the numbers.

Paul went to start the hearse,

Ron went to carry the stretcher cart,

While Karen gathered the brochures and price lists of the Inmeles Funeral Home,

Time was life, and time was money.

Then everyone boarded the vehicle with the utmost speed,

The hearse set off, destination: Hans Hospital.

...

Hans Hospital was only a fifteen-minute drive from Mink Street. Upon arrival, Paul and Ron remained in the vehicle to wait, while Karen adjusted his collar, tucked the briefcase containing the brochures under his arm, and walked inside.

He found the head nurse who was his "contact," and the head nurse replied:

"The patient is currently being resuscitated, but it looks like they won't make it back."

Karen sat on the bench outside the operating room to wait. On the adjacent bench sat many family members anxiously awaiting the outcome of the resuscitation; Karen noticed them, but did not approach at this moment.

For no other reason than the fear of being beaten.

He just sat there quietly, his back straight, looking as if he were waiting for an interview;

In reality, he truly was waiting for an interview.

In truth, after working in this industry for a long time, one slowly grows accustomed to it. You might feel it is inhumane to come and wait for an order so early while someone else's family is waiting for a patient to be saved...

But is it merciful for a restaurant to slaughter chickens and sheep?

It is all just like that, and everything is just like that.

A stretcher cart was wheeled in from the outside, flanked by a mother and father who kept encouraging their daughter, who was about to undergo surgery. Their daughter was about to face an operation, and the surgery carried a certain amount of risk.

When the stretcher cart rolled past Karen, the young girl turned her face toward him and offered a shy smile.

Though young, she possessed a natural fondness for beautiful things and beautiful people.

A little boy would instinctively want to approach a beautiful woman, and a little girl would show delight upon seeing a handsome guy. This pure preference is natural in youth, and as one grows up, it does not actually dissipate or disappear, but rather learns to hide.

Karen also offered a smile to the young girl, making a gesture of encouragement.

The young girl’s laughter grew even brighter.

Another half hour drifted by;

The physician in charge of the "client" Karen had been waiting for emerged from the operating room, pulling down his mask:

"The patient has been pulled back from the brink."

"Oh!!!!!!"

"Thank God, God bless us!"

"Mother, my mother, oh heavens, oh heavens..."

The client had "skipped the bill,"

Yet no trace of disappointment cast a shadow across Karen’s face.

Rising to his feet,

He began to gently stretch his limbs, which had grown somewhat numb from sitting rigidly for so long.

Since his presence was no longer required, Karen turned, intending to slip away quietly.

But at that exact moment,

The lights in the corridor suddenly went dark.

"The power is out, the power is out!"

"Where is the backup generator!"

"The backup generator, get the power back on, quickly!"

The door to the young girl’s operating room was flung open, and a doctor shouted in exasperated panic:

"Bring up the power, get the power on now, the surgery isn't finished yet!"

A quiet chaos rippled through the hospital.

Word spread that a fault had occurred with the hospital's backup generator, and electricity could not be restored anytime soon.

Further news arrived that Delice, the environmental activist girl, had organized a student protest that surrounded a thermal power plant; the eco-zealous students had clashed with the plant workers, ultimately triggering the blackout.

Karen stood in the corridor,

He watched the young girl's father pacing anxiously back and forth while signing papers with trembling hands, as the girl's mother wept;

Inside the operating room, doctors hurried in and out, and from the gaze above their masks, Karen could sense that the situation had turned deeply bleak.

He turned his head,

Looking back at the bench where he had previously sat,

Then glancing down at the briefcase tucked beneath his arm,

He felt that he ought to sit back down now and continue to wait;

Yet a part of him resisted the urge to return to that seat.