As for Lian Manman, what she was pondering at this mont was the central figure in the conversation, Lady Zhou.
All along, Lady Zhou’s robust constitution and her daily forceful reprimands naturally made everyone regard her as a sturdy old woman, thereby overlooking other issues. In this era, there were no terms like Alzheir’s or ntal illness. Thus, everyone attributed Lady Zhou’s increasingly excessive eccentricities to her personality, without realizing that it was her ntal state that had deteriorated.
With the current dical conditions, no proper diagnosis could be made. However, they couldn’t let Lady Zhou continue like this, so what Lady Chiang said was a last resort.
Lady Chiang was truly at her wit’s end, and one can imagine that she had been pondering over this matter for more than just a day or two.
"What dicine is the old lady taking now?" Lian Manman raised her head and asked Lady Chiang.
"Still the sa few..." Lady Chiang, seeing Lian Manman talking to her, seized the opportunity to observe Lian Manman closely, hoping to discern sothing from her expressions. However, she was only t with disappointnt. Lian Manman appeared completely normal without showing any unusual emotions.
Lady Chiang, still anxious, counted on her fingers the few kinds of pills that Lady Zhou often took.
"... Every month we get them from Jisheng Hall in town." Lady Chiang said.
"The old lady still loves taking pills so much!" Lady Zhang sighed.
Lady Zhou’s habit of taking pills wasn’t sothing she developed in recent years. Previously, when the family was not divided, Lady Zhou loved taking pills. However, during that ti, Old Master Lian was still around, and the family lived frugally to support Lian Shouren and Lian Jizu in their studies. Although Lady Zhou loved pills, she rarely got to actually take them.
As Old Master Lian used to say back then, why take dicine when there’s no illness or misfortune.
Even so, Lady Zhou would still think of ways to buy so common pills every now and then. Lian Manman still rembered when she first arrived here, Lady Zhang pawned a hairpin for her to get dicine, and when Lady Zhou found out, she requested Lady Zhang to buy her so Yangrong Pills too.
Now, Old Master Lian was no more, and there was no one to restrain Lady Zhou. Her finances were loose, and aside from eating at, she spent most of her money on pills.
In this era, dicine was more expensive than grain. Tenant farming families generally wouldn’t spend money to get a doctor and dicine unless the illness was severe. Lady Zhou, however, was the opposite, frequently wanting to take dicine.
In this era, wealthy families tended to consu restorative pills regularly. Lian Manman once thought privately that while she had only heard how wealthy the Zhou Family was, it wasn’t apparent in Lady Zhou. But this quirk of enjoying pills, especially preferring Yangrong Pills, might be considered a trace of her affluent origins.
Thinking like this, Lian Manman couldn’t help but pat her forehead. In Lady Zhou, all the good things about being from a wealthy family seed absent, except for indulging in this "elegant" activity of taking pills, truly leaving one speechless.
However, Lady Zhou did not specifically ask Lian Shouxin for money to buy her pills. Lian Shouxin did not approve of Lady Zhou’s habit; if Lady Zhou felt unwell, Lian Shouxin first thought of calling a doctor and then getting dicine as prescribed. That’s the normal course of action for a normal person. But Lady Zhou just didn’t like that approach.
Lian Manman family was aware of Lady Zhou’s frequent pill consumption. Lian Shouxin had tried to persuade her, only to be scolded by her instead. Lady Zhou said that she wasn’t spending Lian Shouxin’s money, so why should he be concerned. After several instances, Lian Shouxin gave up, knowing very well that the pills Lady Zhou frequently took were just health supplents or digestive aids, incapable of curing major diseases but harmless; it was just a waste of money. Thus, he left Lady Zhou to her preferences.
In truth, even if they wanted to intervene, they couldn’t. Lady Zhou believed that if Lian Shouxin prevented her from taking pills, it ant he was reluctant to spend money and was being unfilial, or even wishing her death.
Lady Zhou’s insistence on taking pills was quite rare, even for soone with her personality. It seed as if those pills were her life; stopping her from taking them was like taking her life.
Lian Manman had discussed this matter privately with Lady Zhang, Lady Zhao, Lian Yeye, and others. In the end, they all unanimously agreed that Lady Zhou’s behavior stemd from an intense fear of death.
Lady Zhou was different from Old Master Lian. In the final days of Old Master Lian, he probably realized that his body was failing and was anxious. However, his anxiety and concern were for the future livelihood and well-being of Lian Shouren, Lian Jizu, and the other sons and grandsons after he was gone.
Reviews
All reviews (0)