Author's Note:
Wishing Everyone Good Health
...I'm back, brothers. This month has really been full of accidents. I told you before about my great-aunt having heart failure and being in critical condition, right? The good news is she was resuscitated. The bad news is my own grandmother was diagnosed with kidney cancer. The hospital's outlook wasn't very optimistic. Considering her age, my parents and uncles decided on conservative treatment. Last week, we heard about a Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor in Henan, so we took her there. We spent several days on the trip. I know they don't really expect TCM to cure the disease, but I agree it's necessary, if only for psychological comfort.
Since my parents, uncles, and aunts all work out of town and I'm currently unemployed, the task of going back to our hometown to care for her fell to me.
Honestly, I was extremely nervous at first, terrified her condition would worsen. But—and I don't know if this counts as a good thing—symptom-wise, she went from being bedridden to being able to walk. She basically shows no obvious symptoms now. Maybe I'm being paranoid, but the lack of symptoms actually scares me more. What if it's just the calm before a massive storm?
However, my grandmother's mindset is actually quite good because we haven't told her what disease she has. We put her targeted therapy drugs in vitamin bottles for her to take. My grandfather doesn't know either; they both think it's nothing serious.
Everything I've said is true; I wouldn't joke about this. My family has a lot of elders. My grandparents alone have seven or eight siblings, and those are just the closest ones. They are all in their seventies or eighties now, with plenty of health issues. A reality I can't avoid is that before long, these elders might leave us one after another in a short span of time, just like how my two grandmothers fell ill back-to-back.
Some friends with distant or poor relationships with their relatives might feel one should only care about one's own parents or grandparents. In this regard, I'm quite lucky. In my memory, aside from one or two with bad attitudes, most of the elders spoiled me and accommodated me. They didn't have those stubborn, annoying habits. If they get sick or are about to pass, I really can't just stand by and watch.
Right now, my grandmother's condition seems stable. Thinking back, I didn't actually do much physical work these past few days; it was mostly mental pressure, fearing she might suddenly collapse the moment I turned my head.
Actually, I should have been able to resume updating earlier. The reason I didn't is that the break was a bit long, and the more I looked at the current plot, the more "off" it felt. But deleting and rewriting everything wasn't realistic. Since I couldn't figure out how to fix it perfectly, I just had to bite the bullet and write. My current plan is to get through this plot arc quickly and move directly to the next one.
As for why I didn't post a chapter explaining this the day before yesterday... to be honest, I was embarrassed. You guys waited so many days, and if you saw an update that was just me complaining without any story content, you'd definitely be annoyed. Also, I don't think family issues are a legitimate excuse for stopping updates. It's my problem. That's why I'm posting this explanation only after releasing a new chapter today.
—Bing Tang Mi You