??Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Mother’s Worsening Illness
Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Mother’s Worsening Illness
Zhou Lanping listened to these words, and instead of getting angry, she laughed. She looked around and said to the woman, “It seems like it’s just the two of us here. When others are present, Comrade Xia probably wouldn’t be so… ‘articulate’,” she said, her voice tinged with a hint of sarcasm. “I always thought Gao Shu fancied soone gentle and virtuous. No wonder.” Her eyes remained amused as the words spilled out, causing Xia Lin to feel unsettled, reflected in her changing complexion.
“What do you an by that, Aunt?”
Zhou Lanping waved her hand dismissively, “I an exactly what I said, I’m complinting you. My Qiuqiu is just the opposite of you—seemingly articulate on the surface. No, I’m flattering her by saying that; she’s actually quite clumsy with words, at best just a pest. But having said that, although she may not be quick-witted, she’s actually a very gentle and quietly kind person.”
At this, Xia Lin’s face grew even uglier. Was this old woman calling her a “green tea”? The modern term used by youngsters for pretentious won—did she, Xia Lin, look like such a pretentious person? The worst she had ever done was to dislike Lu Jingqiu’s family and to speak so harsh words about them. With people on their deathbed, why should she hold back: “No wonder, in the end, Gao Shu chose , a girl from the countryside, and never gave your precious daughter a second glance. Aunt, since you’re ill, you should just rest at ho and not stir up trouble. Be careful, or you might end up shortening your life, causing your daughter sadness, and you’d also feel heartbroken.”
“You…”
Watching Zhou Lanping clutch her chest in frustration brought Xia Lin great satisfaction. Holding her water jug, she turned to leave, but after just a couple of steps, she rembered sothing. Without concerning herself with Zhou Lanping’s darkening expression, she went on, “Aunt Zhou, I had a dream a while back, in which I saw many things about the future, including your daughter.
Considering your days are numbered, I thought I’d kindly advise you to quickly find a man for your daughter and get her married off, lest she ends up an old maid.”
Zhou Lanping said, “Thank you for the reminder. As soone who’s been through it and as your elder, let
offer you so advice—n don’t like won who are too clever.”
Xia Lin replied, “No need for Aunt Zhou to worry, I have my parents.”
…
When Lu Jingqiu knew her mother was resting here, she took the cup from her father’s hands, told him to rest, and ca to pick up her mother on Shen Mu’s bicycle.
Zhou Lanping had just had a severe argunt with Xia Lin. She took the water her daughter offered and drank half the bottle in large gulps, her face clearly showing her discomfort.
“Mom, are you okay? I told you not to go there. See? You’re feeling unwell again, aren’t you?”
Leaning on her daughter for support, Zhou Lanping got up with a smile, “Your mom and dad had a great ti in the mountains these last few days; we even dug up a treasure.”
“A treasure? What is it?”
Zhou Lanping looked around, sat on her daughter’s bicycle, and whispered, “I’ll tell you when we get back ho.”
Lu Jingqiu laughed, “Why so mysterious like dad? Okay, I won’t pry for now.”
As her daughter cycled smoothly, Zhou Lanping patted her back, her mind returning to Xia Lin, and she advised her daughter, “Qiuqiu, keep a distance from Gao Shu’s wife in the future; she’s not simple.”
Lu Jingqiu said, “Mom, you realized that after eting her once?”
Zhou Lanping replied, “Not just once. We just had a conversation, and her words can have three different anings. You can’t outmatch her with words.”
Lu Jingqiu said, “I didn’t plan to fight with her. Didn’t I gracefully bow out? She can’t pick a quarrel with … Mom, did she bully you earlier?”
Zhou Lanping laughed, “I’m too old to be bullied by her. It’s just verbal jousting between won. Qiuqiu, you’ve never been able to get the better of her these past years; you must have suffered pretty badly.”
Lu Jingqiu asked, “Mom, how did you know?”
Zhou Lanping answered, “I’m your mother; who knows your strengths and weaknesses better than ? You’re unbeatable when it cos to being unreasonable, but you’re not cut out for argunt and verbal sparring.”
Lu Jingqiu laughed, “Mom, you’re always the best.”
The pork and mushroom dumplings for dinner were exceptionally delicious, and everyone ate twenty or thirty of them, leaving their mouths greasy.
After dinner, she tidied up with her parents, said goodbye to everyone, and even Gao Shu ca over.
The people from Educated Youth Spot escorted them all the way to the village entrance before turning back. With this farewell, they might never see each other again.
While on the road, Lu Jingqiu felt sentintal for a mont before finally asking about the treasure, “Dad, Mom, tell
what treasure you dug up in the mountains these days that’s so mysterious?”
Lu Xianrun and Zhou Lanping both smiled together, and after a while, they said, “Your mom and I found a ginseng in the mountains this morning.”
“…Really?” Lu Jingqiu stood up so suddenly she hit her head on the roof of the car.
Zhou Lanping nodded, “We found it this morning. Your dad and I dug for a while, and it wasn’t until the afternoon that we managed to unearth it. Your dad said that ginseng must be at least a hundred years old.”
“Ah… A hundred years? I… In all these years here, I’ve never even co across wild ginseng.”
Zhou Lanping smiled proudly, “You all have to admit I’m lucky. Your dad and I were initially out to pick mushrooms. I was just tired and looking for a place to rest, and I ended up sitting right on top of the ginseng. The ginseng’s head was sticking out, otherwise, your dad and I wouldn’t have recognized it.”
Lu Jingqiu was also sowhat excited at the mont and hugged her mother tightly, planting a kiss on her. She had no idea if the century-old ginseng could be of any use to her mother’s illness.
They rested in the town for one night. With more activity than usual in the past two days, her mother suddenly felt unwell again once they stopped.
Not wanting to delay, her parents continued the journey ho while her mother took her dicine. They had left with hopeful hearts but returned with an urgency because her mother started to cough up blood on the way.
Other than urging her mother to take her dicine, she and her dad felt helpless and endured the tornts of worry.
After they got ho, her dad insisted that her mom shouldn’t stay at ho and took her to the hospital. Whether the doctors had a solution or not, they could at least help alleviate so of her pain.
It wasn’t until her mom was hospitalized that the family at ho and her mom’s friends from the hospital learned about her condition. They all couldn’t believe it.
Especially her younger aunt. The Zhou family had been reduced to just the two of them a long ti ago, supporting each other through everything. Just when they should have been enjoying life, her sister fell ill. Upon hearing the news, she couldn’t accept it and spent the whole morning crying, clutching her sister’s hand by the bedside.
In contrast, the family had co to view the situation very calmly. She and her dad thought that if they could spare her mother any suffering, they would do just that.
Upon learning of her illness, all of her mom’s old friends from the hospital ca to visit, bringing along many things. But since they couldn’t possibly consu it all, her mom had her dad refuse any more gifts, insisting that they wouldn’t accept anything else.
Seeing this, people then thought of fundraising, which was also declined by the family.
The hospital Director finally stepped in and arranged a private room for her mom, and the hospital covered all the inpatient fees. All that was left for them to pay were the routine dication expenses.
For this, her dad took her to personally thank the Director.
When Gao Qing ca to collect her cara, she made sure to visit Aunt Zhou at the hospital. After leaving the hospital, she asked with red eyes, “Did you guys know about Auntie’s condition before this?”
Lu Jingqiu nodded silently.
Gao Qing let out a sigh, “She was so healthy… What are you planning to do next?”
Lu Jingqiu said, “Naturally, I’ll be with my mom. She can’t be left alone, and in the anti, I’ll keep looking for a job.”
“But didn’t your dad already find you one?”
Lu Jingqiu nodded, “Yeah, but I’m waiting for another opportunity. Let’s not talk about that for now. Could you help
ask around if there is anyone skilled in Traditional Chinese dicine in our city? I rember hearing about a very good TCM practitioner.”
Gao Qing said, “Is it to treat your aunt?”
Lu Jingqiu nodded.
Gao Qing said, “Okay, I’ll ask around for you. By the way, how is my brother doing over there?”
“He’s doing fine. Newlywed life is going well.”
On hearing this, Gao Qing sighed again, “Recently, my brother hasn’t even made a phone call.”
Lu Jingqiu said, “He’s probably just busy.”
Gao Qing was skeptical. He felt his brother was growing more and more estranged from the family, especially after eting that Xia Lin.
…
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