In Zhongnanhai, a small but generally decorated residence, a thin old man is sitting peacefully on the sofa with a hearing aid. There was an old-fashioned tape recorder on the table beside him, which looked very old and old, but the sound of the lute coming from it was still so clear.

The performance of the old-fashioned tape recorder seems to be like that of this old man, who was completely retired last year, old and old, but still in good spirits.

A special guard walked in suddenly, his steps were quick and urgent, but he didn't make much noise, she knew that the old chief didn't like to be disturbed when he was listening to the tape recorder, but she really had something important to come at the moment.

Although the old man listened carefully, he still sensed that someone was coming in, and it was the footsteps of the special guard, and he could hear it. He glanced up at the special care and smiled, "Is it time to take a walk?" ”

The special protector was a little hesitant, as if he had something to embarrass about, and was thinking about how to speak.

The old man's smile gradually faded, and he said calmly: "Is Chen'er causing trouble?" If so, don't tell me. He has graduated now, and if he does something wrong, the party discipline and state law are there, and he can deal with it as he wants, and I will never intercede for him. Also, whoever dares to intercede for him in the family will not be allowed to come to see me in the future! ”

The special guard breathed a sigh of relief, he had made up his mind, and he still had to say something: "Xiao Chen didn't cause trouble, he saw two hooligans bullying people on the way home, went up to reason, and was beaten with a stick...... Now people are in the hospital. ”

The old man's figure shook suddenly, then quickly stabilized, stood up steadily, waved his hand to stop the special care's support, looked at the special guard, and asked seriously: "What you just said, is it all true?" ”

The special protector said calmly: "Both hooligans have been caught, it must be a fact. ”

The old man's serious face finally relaxed a little, and then he showed a trace of anxiety, and said as he walked out the door: "I haven't taken a walk today, take a few more steps to see my grandson in the hospital, you don't care, okay?" ”

The special care was a little embarrassed: "But you should have a regular daily activity...... It's my job. ”

"Comrade Xiao Zhang." The old man stopped, looked at the special care, and sighed lightly: "I understand the difficulties of your work, so I have always been very cooperative, but now I am just a grandfather of a child who is being hospitalized." If you're struggling with your work, I'll only be able to do it once this time, and I'll tell them that I'm insisting on going, and you're because you can't stop me, so they won't blame you. ”

"Chief, I'm not afraid of the leader's blame, I'm just worried about your body." The special care was a little aggrieved.

The old man smiled: "Walk around more, it's not in the way." Saying that, he walked out, and the special nurse had to follow quickly, holding the old man's arm.

The old man walked a few steps and asked casually, "Where is Chen'er hospitalized?" ”

"Room 501 of the People's Liberation Army [***] Special Care Ward." The special guard replied in the old man's ear.

"Intensive care unit?" The old man suddenly stopped, his face became serious again, and he looked at the special care and said, "How can he live in the special care ward?" Who arranged for a section-level secretary of the Second Bureau of the General Office of the Government Council to go to the special care ward for national leaders? ”

The special care complexion tightened, and explained: "Room 501 cannot be regarded as a special care ward for national leaders, it is a special care ward for old cadres. ”

The old man still had a tight face: "That's taking my place?" He snorted: "It's true that I'm his grandfather, he's injured, and I want him to get the best treatment." But the party has party discipline, and the state has national law, which party discipline and state law allow him to live in a special care house in my name? ”

The special guard had to explain: "Xiao Chen was in a coma at that time, this is not what he meant. It seems that the leader of their bureau also passed by over there, and happened to see Xiao Chen being knocked unconscious, so he sent it to [***]. Estimate...... I guess the hospital knows that he is your grandson, so it ...... The hospital is also a good heart, you see......"

"What am I looking at?" The old man said unceremoniously: "A piece of kindness can put organizational discipline aside?" So what's the ...... Forget it, it's useless for me to tell you so much. You inform them to change Chen'er's room and bunk quickly! In addition, you go to my room to see, there is my passbook in the drawer, that is the manuscript fee for my anthology, it should be more than 10,000 yuan, you and the hospital to sum up, calculate the account, and see what room you can afford to live in. ”

After a while, the old man hesitated again, and said with some hesitation: "My retirement salary has to pay party dues and Zhongnanhai's water and electricity bills, I'm afraid it's not very surplus." Or...... In this way, you can call Dongfang City again and tell his grandmother, she may be able to scrape together more than 10,000 yuan...... Maybe I can live better. Oh, and don't ask his uncle for money, he's in charge of the bank, and if he has more money, I should break his claws! ”

The special care couldn't help but have a sour nose, red circles under his eyes, and almost burst into tears, the old chief has been the "shopkeeper" of the republic for decades, and now his grandson is hospitalized, and he is resolutely not allowed to live in a free special care room.

But the special guard didn't dare to hesitate, and hurriedly did what the old man had explained, and when he came out with the passbook, he saw that the old man was turning in circles a little anxiously, holding two walnuts in his right hand and speeding up. The special guard stepped forward and said, "Chief, the car is over there, I'll help you over." Oh, chief, I have already informed Secretary You of this matter, and the others are in Jicheng, and said that they will rush back immediately, and it will take about a few hours. ”

The old man nodded, and as the special escort walked to the side of the car, the driver was a steady middle-aged man in his forties, and he had already opened the car door for the old man. The old man walked to the door of the car and was about to sit down, when he suddenly paused, turned to the driver and said, "Comrade Xiao Wang, you pay attention to the mileage to see if the ration is exceeded. ”

Xiao Wang nodded: "Yes, chief." He didn't say much, because he had been driving for the chief for ten years, and he knew too well the habits of the chief, that the chief would never spend a penny more on the public for personal reasons.

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[***], 501 Special Care Room.

The old man blushed and listened to the explanation of the hospital leader next to him: "It is true that the ordinary ward has been filled before, and you also know the surname of our hospital, and the ordinary ward is not very sufficient...... On the other hand, Comrade Xiao Chen was injured in the act of righteousness and bravery, and he was personally sent by the bureau leader of the Second Bureau of the Secretary of the General Office of the Government Affairs Yuan, so when we came, we temporarily decided to settle here first...... This is just a temporary surname, not deliberately specialized, please understand. ”

The old man's face relaxed slightly, but he was still serious: "Then why is he still here now?" Didn't you say change of ward? Is there no vacancy in the general ward? ”

The leader of the hospital hurriedly explained: "Elder Xiao, this is the case, Comrade Xiao Chen's situation is not very stable, and there was an abnormality just now...... After studying, the experts concerned believed that if the wards and bunks were changed now, they would probably endanger Comrade Xiao Chen's life, and in line with the attitude of being responsible to the revolutionary comrades, the party committee of the hospital decided to let Comrade Xiao Chen live here for the time being, and as soon as the situation stabilized, he would immediately transfer to another room. ”

The old man was nervous at this time: "His situation is very unstable? Will there be any sequelae? ”

The leader of the hospital hurriedly said: "Old Xiao, don't worry, although Comrade Xiao Chen's situation was a little abnormal just now, in general, it is still under control, and the hospital will definitely do its duty to let Comrade Xiao Chen recover as soon as possible, return to work, and continue to serve the people." As for the sequelae, we are not completely sure for the time being, but as far as the current situation is concerned, there should be none. ”

The old man was relieved, thought about it, and asked, "What is the price of the special care room?" ”

The leaders of the hospital were stunned: "In principle, there is no charge for the special care room. ”

The old man suddenly frowned: "He is now living in a special care room as an ordinary person, which in itself is not in line with the rules, how can he not charge for it?" Since you don't set the price, I have a suggestion that you should charge at least twice the price of the ordinary room, and I hope the hospital will consider it. ”

The leader of the hospital didn't dare to talk back to the old man, so he had to answer: "Okay, we understand what Elder Xiao means, we will immediately hold a meeting to discuss it, what do you think?" ”

The old man nodded: "Well, I just suggested that, but whether it should be charged twice or triple or something else, these things still have to be discussed and decided by the leaders of your hospital." ”

The leader of the hospital nodded yes, and then several people hurried towards the conference room.

As soon as they left, the old man became a little anxious, looked at his grandson lying on the hospital bed, and shook his body slightly. The special nurse hurriedly hugged him, and the old man's brows furrowed into Sichuan characters, and he muttered in a small voice: "I don't know if it's enough......"

At this time, Xiao Chen on the bed suddenly moaned slightly, like a sound coming from his nostrils.

I took good care of my ears, and hurriedly looked over, and saw that Xiao Chen's neck was twisted slightly, and I couldn't help but say happily: "Chief, Xiao Chen seems to be waking up!" ”

The old man hurriedly turned around, there was no seriousness on his face, there was just grandpa's deep concern for his grandson. He hurriedly stepped forward, looked at Xiao Chen, whose lips moved, his hand trembled slightly, he wanted to touch his grandson's face, but he was a little worried, and finally held back, and just whispered: "Chen'er...... You hear me? I...... I'm grandpa, can you hear me? ”

The special nurse hurriedly moved a padded chair and put it next to the bed to help the old man sit down. The old man's throat rolled a few times, his face was nervous, and his hands finally trembled and grabbed Xiao Chen's right hand, which was weakly placed on the side of the bed, and whispered again: "Chen'er? …… Grandpa is here, you ...... Open your eyes and look at grandpa...... Grandpa knows that you didn't get injured in a fight...... Grandpa is very happy, Chen'er has grown up...... If your father had known that you had been injured in the name of righteousness, he would not have scolded you again......"

The special care's heart hurt again, Xiao Chen's father had already died in the line of duty, Xiao Chen was only six years old at that time, and it was when he was naughty and mischievous, and he was often reprimanded by his father. Not long ago, Xiao Chen graduated from university, and occasionally talked about his father, saying, "When I was young, my father never said a good word about me." ”

Xiao Chen is fusing the memories in his mind at the moment, he was originally called Xiao Chen, which is really an accident.

As soon as the fusion was completed, he heard the familiar and old voice in his ears calling out to him, and a stream of heat flowed in his heart for no reason. The grandfather in my memory is too strict, and the requirements for himself can be described as "harsh", although he has always had excellent grades, but it seems that his surname is indeed a little naughty, so he can hardly see how much grandpa smiles and can't hear much praise.

The two things that my grandfather said to him the most were "not allowed to ride in my car, not allowed to touch the documents I read, and not allowed to enter and leave my office casually." The second is: "Don't tell others who your grandfather is, others must ask, and you will say that your grandfather is a retired old party member." ”

Now that he suddenly heard his grandfather's sincere words, Xiao Chen on the hospital bed almost couldn't help crying, and with all his might, he only opened his eyes slightly. In front of him, a grandfather's face was not the same as usual, that face looked very nervous, and the eyes that were still sharp and calm, were showing worry and anxiety, and a strong feeling of licking the calf lingered in the ward.

"Grandpa......" Xiao Chen called out these two words in an unusually dry voice.

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