Nightmare

Chapter 22

Once upstairs, I realized that it wasn't like that at all.

There are six bedrooms upstairs. He Zhenggang, He's mother, and He Jing each have a room. They all lie on the bed with anxious expressions, groaning incessantly and calling out to Little Pig in pitiful voices. Little Pig is already covered in sweat and keeps running from one room to another. When he suddenly saw He Ming come in, Little Pig was stunned for a moment and then opened his mouth and cried in grievance.

"What happened? What exactly happened?" He Ming asked hurriedly.

It wasn't a big deal, really. It was just that three patients needed to relieve themselves when they woke up in the morning. Coincidentally, all three of them had the same time and were in a hurry. Little Pig was busy taking care of one thing and couldn't take care of the other. While she was busy serving He Zhenggang, He's mother and He Jing couldn't stand it anymore, which made the whole building smell particularly bad.

Seeing this, He Ming was both amused and exasperated: "You lot, you're all sick, so why do you all have to do these things all at once? If any one of you had done it a few minutes earlier, it would have been fine, wouldn't it?"

Looking back at Little Pig, the poor nanny had bloodshot eyes, disheveled hair, wrinkled clothes, and a blank, exhausted expression. She hadn't slept a wink all night. The three patients, groaning and moaning, had kept her running around in circles. He Ming, unable to comfort Little Pig, hurriedly grabbed a bedpan with Lin Hong to care for He's mother and He Jing. But those two were hopeless; they'd already finished in bed and were staring at them with a resigned, desperate expression.

“You see,” He Ming turned to Lin Hong and asked, “That’s the situation. What do you think I should do?” After saying that, he slumped down and buried his head in his hands.

Lin Hong was also extremely annoyed. He Zhenggang and his mother were elderly, and it was understandable that they might lose control of their bladder for a moment. But He Jing was in her prime, so why was she joining in the commotion? Just as she was about to complain, she suddenly remembered that He Jing had been tormented by Sister Zhu in her childhood, leaving her with incontinence symptoms. So, it wasn't surprising that she was experiencing this now. However, the troublesome situation was far more complicated than she had imagined.

Seeing the two of them, Little Pig sat down on a chair and fell fast asleep. He Ming wanted to wake her up, but Lin Hong stopped him. At this moment, He's mother suddenly groaned, "Xiao Ming, Xiao Ming, come here."

He Ming hurried over: "Mom, I'm here."

He's mother looked at her son with her frighteningly thin face, and stretched out a withered hand: "Xiaoming, get your mother something to eat. She hasn't eaten for two days."

"Okay, okay, son will go cook for you right away." He Ming hurried downstairs, and Lin Hong followed after him: "It's too late to cook now, just call and order some dishes from a restaurant outside." He Ming looked at her and smiled bitterly: "My mom and dad only like to eat home-cooked food. Even if you order it from a restaurant outside, they won't eat it."

Lin Hong ignored her and called a familiar restaurant nearby to order fried dough sticks, soy milk, and other breakfast items. He Ming went to the kitchen to busy himself. Soon, the food arrived, and Lin Hong carefully carried it upstairs. He's mother and He Zhenggang shook their heads repeatedly, refusing to eat. Only when He Ming brought up the dishes he had cooked and fed them bite by bite did they finally eat a few mouthfuls.

Lin Hong shook her head repeatedly and pulled He Ming aside: "This won't do. We take care of patients, but patients should also understand our difficulties. We have to feed them bite by bite. Isn't this just deliberately making things difficult for them?"

He Ming looked at her with his expressionless eyes: "Honghong, it seems you've never taken care of a patient before."

Lin Hong retorted indignantly, "How come I've never taken care of a patient? Other people's patients aren't as troublesome as your family."

He Ming slowly lowered his hand and said, "You don't understand. When patients lie in bed, their mood is extremely bad. They need to vent. Almost every paralyzed patient is like this. You'll understand in time."

4)

He Ming originally intended to take Lin Hong to his home for a visit, and then send her to the housekeeping company. However, he was surprised to find the house in such a mess. He and Lin Hong were exhausted and busy all morning. At noon, all three patients started taking a nap, and the little pig also woke up, still unsteady on its feet. Only then did the two of them leave.

When they arrived at a housekeeping company, Lin Hong got out of the car. Suddenly remembering something, she hurriedly went to the car window and knocked. He Ming rolled down the window and leaned in for her to kiss him, but Lin Hong pushed him away with her fingers: "Look at you, you lecherous look. Who wants you? I'm telling you, you absolutely must not agree to Du Hongyuan's request. We can't let him acquire our company."

"Why?" He Ming asked with a pained expression. "Just because he's a turtle?"

“He’s not just a turtle, he also…” Lin Hong began, but suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. The sun was shining brightly, and the streets were bustling with pedestrians. A bench inside the housekeeping company was filled with rustic country girls, all eagerly waiting for her to come over. Yet here she was, saying such things to her husband. It felt utterly absurd, and she couldn’t continue.

He Ming laughed and joked, "Although Chairman Du is a cuckold, your husband won't be interested in his wife." Then he stepped on the gas and drove away.

Lin Hong stood there, sweat streaming down her face. She had no doubt that a mysterious force was controlling her destiny, and an extremely terrifying danger was approaching her step by step. Ever since she had to agree to He Ming's request and endured that indescribable fear to step into the He family again, this feeling had become stronger and stronger.

She had already fought back, but unless she abandoned all conscience and ignored her sick in-laws, she would have to endure that terrifying and dangerous torment.

Shaking her head to banish these terrible thoughts, Lin Hong walked into the domestic service company. The country girls waiting for their employers outside immediately became agitated. Two quick-witted girls stepped forward and blocked her way: "Big sister, are you looking to hire a nanny?" Lin Hong blurted out "yes," and was immediately surrounded by them. All the girls eagerly promoted themselves, but when she mentioned that the nanny needed to care for several patients, the girls' faces turned cold, and they listlessly dispersed, ignoring her.

A staff member came out and told Lin Hong with a smile that the young girls only wanted to find employers with good family conditions and were unwilling to take care of children or patients. If Lin Hong wanted to find a suitable nanny, she would have to look for an older middle-aged woman.

The housekeeping company introduced several suitable candidates to Lin Hong, and Lin Hong started talking to them. The candidates had no complaints about taking care of patients, and their salaries were in line with market rates, neither too high nor too low. However, after Lin Hong told them her home address, their expressions changed drastically, and they changed their minds on the spot.

Lin Hong didn't pay much attention, but unexpectedly, she met with three middle-aged nannies in a row, and each time the conversation inexplicably broke down when it came to the specific location of her home, which puzzled her greatly. Fortunately, the housekeeping company had many nannies to choose from, and the company recommended a fourth one for her.

The fourth nanny was a slightly overweight middle-aged woman. Because of the previous incidents, Lin Hong first probed indirectly, "Would you be willing to work on Binhe Road?" The woman blinked and said, "Anywhere is fine as long as it's not the house of retired Secretary He." Lin Hong was greatly surprised by this and involuntarily stood up, asking, "Why don't you want to work at Secretary He's house?" The middle-aged woman rolled her eyes: "Is that even a question? I'm scared, of course! Who wouldn't be scared?"

"What are you afraid of?" Lin Hong asked anxiously.

"I'm afraid of that big turtle." As the middle-aged woman spoke, she nervously glanced around, appearing mysterious. "It's a red-scaled turtle, you know. Who wouldn't be scared?"

Lin Hong felt her mind was a little confused: "Wait a minute, what red scale armor?"

"Don't you know?" The middle-aged woman looked at Lin Hong, her expression becoming even more mysterious: "It's that giant tortoise that crawled out from under the International Exhibition Center."

Seeing Lin Hong's astonished expression, the middle-aged woman became agitated and whispered in her ear, "You really didn't know about this? It's been all over Taizhou City. I might as well tell you, but don't tell anyone I told you." She glanced around before lowering her voice and continuing, "People are saying that the International Exhibition Center collapsed not for no reason, but because Secretary He himself caused it. They say he built that building to find himself a hiding place, because he was afraid people would discover he was a..." The giant tortoise, when the building was almost finished, wanted to go take a look. Unexpectedly, when he crawled out from underground, he used too much force, causing the building to collapse, thus revealing his identity. It's said that the building collapsed and injured him as well. Many people went to rescue him, but they couldn't, and finally a crane was needed. However, his shell was crushed, and he was severely injured, unable to show his face to anyone. So, he goes to the market every day to buy tortoise shells to patch his own, but it's said that he hasn't fully recovered and is still lying in bed unable to move.

"What the hell is this!" Lin Hong stood up abruptly, furious. This woman dared to insult her father-in-law like that! She was about to slap her hard, but then suddenly stopped herself. She remembered what had happened to her. Could this ignorant woman be pinning Du Hongyuan's affair on her father-in-law? She pretended to be nonchalant and sat down, saying, "That can't be right. I heard that the turtle is Du Hongyuan, the chairman of Qianya International Construction Engineering Company?"

Upon hearing this, the woman's eyes lit up immediately: "That's right, so you knew about this too. Du Hongyuan is the construction contractor for the International Exhibition Building. I also heard that he's a turtle; after the building collapsed, he went to work as the chairman of the board at Qianyasi."

Lin Hong's eyes widened in surprise. She wondered how He Ming had never mentioned this to her before. Thinking this, she asked, "What else have you heard?"

"What else? There's plenty more." The middle-aged woman simply sat down next to Lin Hong, crossed one leg, and continued mysteriously, "I also heard from my old man that after the International Exhibition Center collapsed, the ghosts of those who died unjustly were still haunted and came out to work every night. My old man saw this with his own eyes, I'm not lying to you."

"Who is your old man?" Lin Hong asked casually, her heart pounding with fear.

"Sigh, don't even mention that gambling addict." The middle-aged woman slapped her thigh forcefully. "My old man was sleeping at home one day when Secretary He's son suddenly came to the door, offering to give him a hundred yuan to pretend to be a dead ghost and scare his father, Secretary He. Who would do something for a hundred yuan? My old man immediately bargained and finally got it down to five hundred yuan. Then my old man put on the clothes of a wronged ghost, ran to Secretary He's door, and guess what? As soon as Secretary He saw my old man, he knelt down with a thud, begging for forgiveness, saying it was all his fault for being careless and using too much force when he emerged from the ground, causing the building to collapse. He even promised to burn paper money and incense for the wronged ghost, and that's how the matter was settled."

Lin Hong looked at the woman in astonishment, only then realizing that this woman was actually Ma Caishen's wife. It seemed that Ma Caishen was indeed a scoundrel; He Ming had clearly paid him five thousand yuan, but he had told his wife it was five hundred yuan, meaning the other four thousand yuan must have been lost at the gambling table. Furthermore, He Ming had invited him to comfort He Zhenggang, and by telling his wife this, the whole story had been turned upside down. Thinking this, she blurted out, "So you're Ma Caishen's wife? Didn't your old man lose it all gambling?" As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them, but since she had already said them, she could only wait and see.

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged woman was even more frightened than Lin Hong. She jumped up and stared at Lin Hong from a distance for a long time, her facial muscles twitching uncontrollably. Her terrified expression was as if she had seen a ghost. Suddenly, she turned and ran away. Who knows what even more bizarre myths she would fabricate and spread around after she ran away this time.

But was everything this woman said really a fabricated myth?

5)

Lin Hong's life has once again descended into a nightmare, but this time the nightmare is tormented by the trivialities of daily life.

She and Xiaozhu were running frantically between several wards, attending to each patient, helping them with toileting, feeding them water, cooking for them, and constantly turning them over to prevent bedsores. After three days of this, Lin Hong was so exhausted that she would fall asleep the moment her head touched anything. Once, she and Xiaozhu, each carrying a bedpan, met at the bathroom door, yielded to each other, and then each fell asleep leaning against a wall.

Such a thing is something that no one who hasn't experienced it firsthand can imagine.

Exhausted from her busy work, Lin Hong stole a moment to look in the mirror and found herself disheveled, her wrinkled nightgown stained with yellow stains—a truly wretched sight. Despite her exhaustion, the three patients showed no improvement. First, He Zhenggang lost his speech; then, He's mother suddenly became paralyzed, unable to even move her lips. Next, He Jing began experiencing frequent convulsions, her jaw clenching, her eyes rolling back, and each time she would faint during a violent spasm.

He Ming was in a chaotic state at his company. He finally managed to find some time to come back and check on his father, only to find that all three patients had bedsores on their backs. He Zhenggang's was the most serious, with white maggots growing in his bedsores. Although he didn't say anything at the time, he just pursed his lips and turned his father over, carefully picking out the maggots from the sores with cotton swabs. Lin Hong wanted to help, but he coldly pushed her aside.

Now Lin Hong finally understands why those young nannies are unwilling to serve patients. The dirtiness is secondary, the exhaustion is one thing, but the key is that they don't produce any results. Even if you work yourself to death, you still can't satisfy people.

On the third day, He Ming hired a middle-aged nanny from a housekeeping company. This woman had just arrived in the city to work and hadn't yet heard about the strange legends surrounding the He family, so she quickly agreed.

With someone taking over, Lin Hong felt relieved and let out a long sigh of relief. She immediately took a taxi back to her home, intending to take a warm bath and then get a good night's sleep. However, as soon as she lay down in the warm water, she fell asleep from exhaustion. She was only awakened when the phone rang loudly.

The ringing of the phone gave her a bad feeling. She hurriedly grabbed a bath towel to wrap herself up, ran over and picked up the phone. Sure enough, it was Little Pig calling. The newly hired nanny had suddenly let out a howl last night and rushed out of the He family's house without even taking her small bag with her. The reason was unknown.

Upon hearing this news, Lin Hong's hands trembled. It wasn't just because she had to rush back to the He family to continue enduring torment; the most terrifying thing was what the nanny had seen or heard that could have terrified her so much.

The first nanny ran away, so Lin Hong went to a housekeeping company and specifically asked if they had any middle-aged nannies who had just come to the city to work. She hired another one, but this nanny didn't stay for more than three days. She also ran away on the third night, and the specific reason is still unknown.

This time, Lin Hong simply hired two nannies to encourage each other, thinking that this time they wouldn't run away.

But this time things were even worse. After two days of care, the two nannies suddenly screamed in the middle of the night. Terrified, they scrambled to escape. The one in the back was faster than the one in front. Annoyed that the nanny in front was in the way, she pushed her hard, sending her down the stairs and breaking her leg. This left the little pig alone on the stairs in the middle of the night, wailing and crying loudly.

Lin Hong called an ambulance and then rushed over, following the nanny whose leg had been broken, repeatedly asking, "What exactly happened? What did you see?" The nanny, however, was terrified, repeatedly pleading, "Sister, sister, please spare me! It's my bad luck, okay? I won't let you pay my medical bills, okay?" She refused to mention what she had seen at the He family's house. Lin Hong followed her all the way to the hospital, until the doctor closed the heavy operating room door right up to her nose, before she finally returned, feeling dejected.

This time, when she went to the housekeeping agency again, they refused to recommend a caregiver for her under any circumstances. Everyone avoided her like the plague, as if even glancing at her would bring some unforeseen disaster. Lin Hong was at her wit's end and dared not return to the He family to care for that group of strange patients. She secretly ran home and lay on her bed, crying. As she cried, the phone rang again. At first, she refused to answer, but the ringing grew louder and louder. Helpless, she went to check the caller ID and saw it was Qin Fangcheng calling. She quickly grabbed the phone.

Before Qin Fangcheng could speak, she burst into tears. Her cries were so loud that Qin Fangcheng hurriedly asked, "What happened? What happened? Lin Hong, don't cry, I'm coming right away."

"No, don't come any closer." Lin Hong didn't want to see him anymore and quickly stopped crying. "I'm just feeling sad. It'll be better if I cry it out."

Qin Fangcheng said "Oh," and then asked, "Is it still about that matter? I've already explained that to He Ming."

What was that matter? Lin Hong, exhausted from so many days, had long forgotten what Qin Fangcheng considered important. She shook her head into the microphone: "No, it's something else." She briefly explained the difficulty of hiring a nanny, but made no mention of the mysterious rumors surrounding He Zhenggang. Qin Fangcheng listened, remaining silent for a long time before finally speaking:

"Are nannies really that hard to find? It can't be that bad, can it? If you're really having trouble, I can introduce you to one."

"Really?" Lin Hong was overjoyed. "Then hurry up and invite her here for me."

Qin Fangcheng replied, "I'm afraid you'll be unhappy if I tell you."

Lin Hong shook her head in puzzlement: "Who is it? Why are you being so mysterious? Just be clear."

Qin Fangcheng said, "You should know who I'm talking about?"

Lin Hong put the phone away, thought for a long time but couldn't figure it out, so she had to say into the receiver, "Stop being mysterious, just tell me already."

“Alright,” Qin Fangcheng said, “I was referring to Fu Xiuying.”

Upon hearing the name, Lin Hong immediately hung up the phone with a click.

After a while, Lin Hong gradually calmed down, picked up the phone again, and dialed Qin Fangcheng's number: "Old Qin, besides that trashy woman, don't you have any other options?"

Qin Fangcheng smiled wryly: "It's good enough that I know such a lousy woman. Do you think I know a lot of nannies for you to choose from? Let me explain. Although Fu Xiuying is a bit eccentric, she is incredibly hardworking. Just look at how she raised five children all by herself. You don't have that kind of ability. You can't help but admire her. Given the situation at your in-laws' house, it's not something you can just hire any nanny to take care of. You'll need help from relatives and friends. Although I've agreed to help you, I don't even know if they'll actually do it."

Lin Hong curled her lip in disdain, mimicking Qin Fangcheng's words: "But we don't even know if they'll actually do it yet—that's right, after marrying Boss Qin, she's no longer a garbage dump woman, she's a noblewoman."

Qin Fangcheng asked suspiciously, "Lin Hong, why do you sound like you're jealous?"

Lin Hong was startled: "Jealous? Me? For you? With Fu Xiuying? Are you kidding me?"

6)

After much deliberation, Lin Hong finally lowered her head and asked Fu Xiuying to help the He family. Although she was very unwilling to do this, when one is at their wit's end, there is really no backbone left to talk about.

Fortunately, although Fu Xiuying was a country woman, she was sensible and immediately agreed to Qin Fangcheng's request. Not only did she agree to come, but she also brought her eldest daughter along. By this time, the eldest daughter was already in elementary school, at a good private school. Her father often drove her to and from school, but sometimes when he was too busy, she would walk home by herself. The school required students to live on campus, but the eldest daughter couldn't. She also had to help her mother take care of her four younger sisters, washing clothes and cooking every day, keeping herself very busy. However, no one except Qin Fangcheng cared about her academic performance.

Fu Xiuying brought Da Niu and Lin Hong to meet, ignoring Lin Hong's thanks. Entering the He family's house, she wrinkled her nose, sniffing the pervasive stench of excrement and urine. Immediately, she rolled up her sleeves and said, "Da Niu, fetch some water." Before she finished speaking, Da Niu had already found the bathroom and brought out a basin of water. Fu Xiuying then ordered, "Take the water and come with me." She led the way, followed by Lin Hong, then the sleepy-looking Xiao Zhu, and finally Da Niu carrying the water. The group went upstairs. He Zhenggang, groaning in his hospital bed, frowned upon seeing the woman: "Xiao Zhu, Xiao Zhu, where have you been? Come here and scratch my back; it looks like maggots are crawling out again."

Little Pig agreed and was about to step forward when Fu Xiuying blocked his way with her arm, which was thicker than a man's. Then she tilted her chin at Da Niu. Da Niu carried the basin of water over, ignoring He Zhenggang's groans, and immediately started mopping the floor. Fu Xiuying opened the window, and Little Pig tried to stop her again, but Fu Xiuying ignored her and simply instructed Da Niu to open all the windows in the building. Fresh air circulated in, and the groans of the three patients miraculously stopped.

After visiting He Zhenggang, they went into He's mother's room. He's mother's condition was much more serious than He Zhenggang's; she had become skin and bones and looked terrifying.

When I entered He Jing's room, she was fast asleep. She kept having seizures, a condition that was very physically demanding. Now, He Jing was skin and bones, which saved her the expense of dieting.

With Fu Xiuying's arrival, the situation immediately changed dramatically. First, the three patients stopped causing trouble without reason. When Xiao Zhu and Lin Hong were caring for them, they had to be fed bite by bite; otherwise, they would rather not eat. But in front of this seemingly unreasonable woman, Fu Xiuying, the He family, including He Zhenggang, all became reasonable. They ate, drank, and relieved themselves on their own. He Jing's epilepsy healed without medication, and He Zhenggang worked hard to turn over in bed, his bedsores showing significant improvement. Even He's mother, who had previously been mute, smiled and was able to speak a few words clearly.

Lin Hong blinked in disbelief at the scene, unable to comprehend what trick Fu Xiuying had used to achieve such an effect.

Feeling relieved, Lin Hong finally had the peace of mind to deal with things more important than taking care of the patient. She called Xiao Zhu to the living room, took out the three thousand yuan she had gotten from He Ming, and handed it to Xiao Zhu: "Xiao Zhu, thank you for your hard work these past few days."

Little Pig glanced at the money in Lin Hong's hand and quickly hid his hands behind his back: "Big sister, look what you're saying! Put the money away! Aren't you insulting me?"

Lin Hong smiled, but her gaze suddenly turned cold: "Little Pig, this isn't just my idea; your Brother He thinks the same way."

The little pig smiled shyly: "How could I possibly accept that?"

Lin Hong's gaze grew even colder: "This isn't about being embarrassed or not. Everyone's had enough. Your brother He wants you to take this money, pack your things, and leave. There's no reason for our family matters to continue to burden you."

"Leave here?" The little pig stared wide-eyed in surprise. "Then who will take care of Uncle He and the others?"

"You don't need to worry about this." Lin Hong threw the money on the table and looked coldly at the little pig.

The little pig raised its head, put its thumb in its mouth, gnawed on its nail, and looked at Lin Hong with a half-smile: "Big sister, do you dislike me?"

“I don’t mind who you are,” Lin Hong replied. “I just don’t want you to be a nanny for the rest of your life. You have to get married eventually, right? You have to start a career eventually, right? Spending all day with just a few patients will ruin your life in the long run. I hope you can understand your brother He’s good intentions. Can you?”

The little pig was still gnawing on its nails: "Why doesn't Brother He come and say it himself?"

Lin Hong felt offended and stood up: "I said, it's the same."

“It’s different.” The little pig shook its head casually. “I was hired by Uncle He. I will only leave if Uncle He tells me to go.”

"You wish," Lin Hong laughed. "In this family now, I'm the one who speaks. Do you understand?"

The little pig lowered its head and frantically gnawed at its nails, neither admitting to understanding nor not understanding, simply pretending to be stupid.