"What’s this?"
"Preserved plums. These plums are a local specialty from my hotown. I heard about your pregnancy nausea, so I specifically wrote to my relatives back ho to send them over. It takes so ti to make this sauce, but it’s finally ready today. You can eat it straight from the jar. Let tell you, when I was nauseous to the point of dizziness, this really saved . Although, in your case, you might not even need it."
As Jiang Hong spoke, she opened the jar and handed it to Lin Chuxia.
Lin Chuxia took the jar and sniffed it, and a sharp sourness shot straight to her brain, making her cheeks tingle, and her mouth watered profusely.
Strangely, she usually avoided these sensations.
Yet looking at these bright red preserved plums and slling their sourness, she actually wanted to try one.
She picked up a small spoon from the table, scooped a little, and put it into her mouth. It wasn’t as overwhelmingly sour as she had imagined; there was sweetness within the sourness.
The most important thing was that after swallowing a mouthful of preserved plum, she felt incredibly refreshed.
Lin Chuxia’s eyes lit up, "This is indeed good stuff. Thank you so much."
It’s hard to get plums this season, and even harder to transport them under current conditions.
It was clear that Jiang Hong really put her heart into this.
"I’m glad you like it. These pickled green beans were made by my mother-in-law; they’re quite tasty too. You can eat them with your als. If you like them, I’ll get you more when you finish."
The two chatted for a bit in the room, and Qin Yang finished up in the kitchen.
Jiang Hong stood up to leave, "I should go back and cook now. I’ll co chat with you again when I have ti."
"Alright, take it easy on your way back."
As Jiang Hong was leaving, she nodded to Qin Yang, who happened to be coming in, and greeted him.
Qin Yang naturally accompanied Lin Chuxia to see Jiang Hong off at the door.
After Jiang Hong left, the two returned indoors.
Lin Chuxia eagerly picked up the jar of preserved plums, scooped a small spoonful, and held it up to Qin Yang’s lips.
"Jiang Hong specially made this for . You should try it; it’s really delicious."
A strong sour aroma filled Qin Yang’s nose. He frowned and looked at the little woman.
Was this really good to eat?
But seeing the little woman’s expectant eyes, his brain didn’t even register the taste as he opened his mouth.
The sourness spread from the tip of his tongue, making Qin Yang frown tightly, eventually causing him to turn his head and press his hand to his forehead.
"Is it really that sour?"
Lin Chuxia knew the preserved plums were sour, but there was sweetness too, and she found them quite tasty.
She scooped another spoonful into her own mouth. It was fine.
The contents in Qin Yang’s mouth had already gone down. Seeing the innocent look on the little woman’s face, he reached out and pinched her cheek.
"As long as you like it."
...............
The next acupuncture sessions were taken very seriously by Minister Wei and Sister-in-law Gong. Whenever possible, Minister Wei would accompany Sister-in-law Gong to Old Sir He. If work kept him busy, Sister-in-law Gong would go alone. Occasionally, Lin Chuxia would accompany her.
With the help of traditional dicine, Sister-in-law Gong’s complexion visibly improved after one treatnt cycle, which strengthened both her and Minister Wei’s confidence in continuing the treatnt.
"We really owe it to you this ti. I haven’t felt so relaxed for years. Honestly, I can’t believe I can be active outside in this cold weather without feeling terribly uncomfortable."
This was Sister-in-law Gong’s personal experience.
Her condition had persisted for so long that she had forgotten what having a healthy body should feel like.
"If it’s effective, that’s great," Lin Chuxia was also happy for Sister-in-law Gong.
"Of course it’s effective. I’m not just saying pretty words to make you happy. Over the past few days, the neighbors have been saying I look healthier, and I feel full of energy myself. You wouldn’t believe it, but I used to get exhausted just cooking a al. By the ti I finished, I had zero appetite and only wanted to rest. Because of this, my Old Wei felt sorry for and wouldn’t let do anything. After working hard all day, he’d still cook for when he got ho. Back then, I thought it might be better if I just died, so I wouldn’t burden anyone. Old Wei could have a little more peace."
"Sister, you can’t think like that. Minister Wei cares deeply for you. If anything happened to you, it would be a huge emotional blow for him."
Sister-in-law Gong smiled slightly, "Yes, I don’t think that way anymore. Now I just want to live healthily, to share life with them, to see Wei Bing get married and have children. Maybe I could even help take care of the grandchildren. You don’t know, but yesterday I made a big al for them with all my specialties. They were so happy. Old Wei ate so much he said it had been a long ti since he’d tasted my cooking. It’s true — I haven’t put in so much effort into cooking for them for quite a while..."
As they talked and walked back, Lin Chuxia could see that Sister-in-law Gong indeed had newfound hope.
As they neared ho, Lin Chuxia reminded Sister-in-law Gong of a few things, "Master said treatnt should continue. This is his newly adjusted prescription, Sister, you have to drink it on ti. Also, ’three-nine acupoint’ — we’re only in the second nine; you must continue on schedule. But don’t worry, Master said that the frequency of acupuncture will lessen later on."
Lin Chuxia had always been afraid of injections, worrying that Sister-in-law Gong might be too, so she gave her a heads-up.
Unexpectedly, Sister-in-law Gong was carefree, "Don’t worry, I’ll take my dicine and get my acupuncture on schedule. Little Lin, you don’t know this, but over the years I’ve almost eaten dicine as though it were food, and I’ve had quite a few injections too. This is really nothing."
Hearing this, Lin Chuxia felt relieved. As they reached the front gate of their ho, she said goodbye to Sister-in-law Gong.
Sister-in-law Gong’s ho was in the next row. After Lin Chuxia went ho, she continued walking ho herself, thinking about what delicious food to make for her husband and children at noon.
So imrsed in her thoughts, she didn’t even notice soone passing by.
Sister-in-law Feng opened her mouth to speak, but seeing Sister-in-law Gong’s expressionless face, who didn’t even give her a glance, she closed her mouth again.
She felt extrely displeased.
She had quickened her pace to catch up with Sister-in-law Gong when she saw her in front.
The person who was all smiles with Lin Chuxia had zero smiles for her, pretending not to see even when she wanted to greet her.
Did Sister-in-law Gong truly bla her for the fall?
Why? Leaving aside the fact that her daughter had nothing to do with Lin Chuxia, and even if she did, it was Lin Chuxia she bumped into.
Sister-in-law Gong rushed over to be the hero and ended up falling. Instead of blaming the real culprit, why bla her?
Back at the residential building, every household was cooking, creating a continuous sound of pots and pans in the hallway.
Soone greeted Sister-in-law Feng, and she responded with a faint "hmm," walking ho with a sullen face.
The person behind shrugged and continued with their cooking.
Soone nearby moved closer...
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