Yu Lan’s mother’s surna was Li, and nobody in the village knew her given na. Villagers typically addressed married won by their husband’s na or their children’s nas. For example, Zhu Aiqing was usually called Man Yin’s wife or Donghua’s mom by the villagers. Only her natal family or close sisters would call her by her na, Ai Qing. Yu Lan’s father was Gao Shaoyue, so Yu Lan’s mother was addressed either as Shaoyue’s wife or Yu Lan’s mom.
Granny Zhao hurriedly ran to the Gao Family’s yard without entering and shouted loudly inside, "Yu Lan’s mom, co out quickly, there’s an ergency."
Mrs. Gao was sewing shoe soles inside the house when she heard the shouting. She quickly put down her work and ran out, puzzled to see Sister-in-law Tian, who rarely went door-to-door. Weren’t Yu Lan and Shouwang at her place? Why was she here calling for soone now?
"Yu Lan’s mom, co to my place quickly. Your Yu Lan has suffered a miscarriage scare and is lying down at my house."
Granny Zhao didn’t bother with small talk and stated the matter directly, startling Mrs. Gao hugely. She dashed forward without even locking the door, only reminded to lock it by Granny Zhao’s prompt.
On the way, hearing from Granny Zhao that her daughter wasn’t in any serious trouble allowed her to feel sowhat relieved, but she didn’t slow her steps. Yu Lan was her youngest child, sensible and obedient since a young age, beautiful and of good character.
She had thought that this daughter would have the best fortune among all her children, yet who could have expected that she would be married off to such a man by that darned old man and her youngest son. Her heart had nearly broken at the ti, but what could she do?
To marry and follow her husband, and upon his death, to follow her son – this was what her father and mother had taught her since she was young. How could she, a woman, change a decision made by her husband and son? All she could do was to bear the heartache and make arrangents for her daughter’s wedding.
Fortunately, her daughter’s luck wasn’t bad. Although Shouwang wasn’t much to look at and was a bit old, he was truly good to Yu Lan. Everything at ho was decided by Yu Lan, which finally eased Mrs. Gao’s mind, making her feel that God was still good and had not wronged her Yu Lan. But after only a few days of good tis, why should her Yu Lan suffer again?
Yu Lan and her son-in-law had co this ti in low spirits. Although they smiled on the surface, how could she not see that it was forced? But with no one at ho telling her about these matters, and when she asked Yu Lan, she wouldn’t speak, simply saying it was nothing. How could it be nothing? Would Yu Lan suffer a miscarriage for no reason? Mrs. Gao resolved to find out definitively what the matter was later.
After eating a bowl of hot brown sugar and egg, Yu Lan felt her entire body warm up significantly, and her stomach felt much better as well, though it still hurt intermittently. Only then did Yu Lan let go of her worry; she was frightened by the thought that she could have lost the child. She blad herself for not being more careful.
Mrs. Gao ca in hastily. Despite her anxiety, she still greeted Old Man and He Xuewen with smiles, showing she was a woman who knew her manners. Moreover, Mrs. Gao, fair and delicate, didn’t look like the average rural woman; she even had a bit of scholarly grace about her.
As it turned out, Mrs. Gao’s father had been a failed Scholar who had taken the exams several tis without success in becoming a Juren. As he aged and the family’s finances dwindled, he returned ho to run a private school, teaching over a dozen students a year, managing to provide for the family and securing a high status in the village.
Originally, Yu Lan’s grandfather’s family had a small surplus of wealth, which is why they could marry the daughter of a Scholar. Since Mrs. Gao had been the cherished late-born daughter of a Scholar, she was very pampered at ho. She also had a beautiful na, Li Yexiang, aning ’swaying with fragrant grace.’
Mrs. Gao had a chat with her daughter, and before long, Gao Yulan fell into a deep sleep, her complexion also restored to a rosy hue. It seed there was nothing seriously wrong after all. Granny Zhao was only able to relax after she tucked her daughter in with gratitude, thanked Granny Zhao, and said that she’d let Shouwang take Yulan back ho now. As for the dirtied mats on the floor, she would replace them with new ones from their bed later—it was truly embarrassing.
Granny Zhao still had a favorable impression of Mrs. Gao. She imdiately said that there was no need to take back the mats, they weren’t anything special, and suggested that Yulan keep them. Additionally, she prepared a basket of about thirty eggs and a packet of one pound of brown sugar to give to Mrs. Gao, instructing her to cook them for Yulan to help her body recover. After all, it was in the Tian Family’s ho that the incident occurred, and it wouldn’t be right not to offer sothing in return.
Mrs. Gao refused to accept anything. Yulan had already told her that the Tian Family was not to bla at all. If Sister-in-law Tian hadn’t made that ginger and brown sugar egg soup, Yulan wouldn’t have recovered so quickly. She was still trying to express her gratitude; how could she possibly accept anything from the Tian Family?
However, the usually disadvantaged Mrs. Gao was no match for the assertive Granny Zhao. In the end, she naturally took the eggs and brown sugar.
After they had left, Granny Zhao hurriedly cooked a large pot of sticky rice for Tian Sisi, the Old Man, and He Xuewen to eat, and of course, she ate so too. There was still plenty left in the pot, which she planned to distribute to more people later to dispel bad luck.
In Sui City, there was a custom like this: if sothing unlucky happened in a family, they would cook sticky rice and invite others to eat it. By sharing the al, they believed it would distribute so of the bad luck. The more people who ate the sticky rice, the more bad luck would be dispersed, and the better off the host family would be.
The Old Man and He Xuewen had remained silent since Gao Yulan and her family had left, and they were still quiet while eating the sticky rice. After finishing the al, the two of them spoke at the sa ti, "Old Man (Xue Wen)."
He Xuewen smiled and gestured for the Old Man to speak first. The Old Man felt a bit embarrassed and after so deliberation said, "Xue Wen, the old man here has a rather brazen request. Could you talk to your friend and have Wang Shouwang transferred to another departnt? As long as he’s not at the Revolutionary Committee anymore. I think Shouwang is a decent fellow, as long as things are made clear to him, he shouldn’t get mixed up with the likes of Gao Yuzhu."
"I was thinking the sa thing just now. This couple doesn’t seem to be cut from the sa cloth as Gao Yuzhu. As human beings, we should leave so breathing room."
He Xuewen smiled in relief. It wasn’t just him who had softened. It seed that life had beco too comfortable, indeed making people soft-hearted, even the tough Old Man.
The two looked at each other and smiled, first a quiet smile which then turned into a hearty laugh, as if they were very happy. He Xuewen indicated that he would call his friend as soon as possible to arrange for Wang Shouwang to beco the head of security at the at processing plant. He had heard that the previous head of security had run into trouble, and the position was currently vacant.
The at processing plant wasn’t in Wangjiazhen; it was in the city. Speaking of which, it could be considered a promotion for Shouwang. Moreover, at processing plants were regarded as good workplaces in those days. Of course, He Xuewen would still need to warn Shouwang sternly: if he got involved with Gao Yuzhu again, he would lose even his rice bowl.
Granny Zhao didn’t concern herself with these matters. She carried the sticky rice from house to house offering it to people. In her eyes, that was the most important thing to do.
Tian Sisi naively asked, "Grandpa, Daddy, didn’t you used to say that you should cut down your enemies root and stem without rcy? Why are you being so kind to Hong i’s younger sister and her husband this ti?"(To be continued. If you like this work, I welco you to visit Qidian (qidian) to vote for recomndation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian to continue reading.)
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