As Zhao Jianguo and Zhao Yunlin were about to argue, Zhou Yunru rushed out of the house, her face full of anxiety, and stopped Zhao Jianguo.
“Jianguo, let’s forget it. I don’t feel uncomfortable now.”
She wanted to separate the family, but she wanted to do it openly and justifiably, not be branded as unfilial by Wang Hongxia. If Zhao Jianguo really fought with Zhao Yunlin now, and Wang Hongxia spread it around, their couple would be drowned in spit in the village. Besides, she wasn’t sure if it was psychological, but she felt that what Cheng You gave her to drink was not ordinary malted milk.
Zhao Jianguo was furious, and if Zhou Yunru hadn’t stopped him, he would have fought with Zhao Yunlin.
“Let’s forget it, don’t be angry, let’s go back,” Zhou Yunru persuaded in a low voice.
Zhao Jianguo looked at her, his eyes welling up with tears of heartache, his eyes red. It was his inadequacy that caused Zhou Yunru to suffer such great grievances.
As their attitude softened, Wang Hongxia became even more overbearing.
“Good for you, Zhou Yunru, I see you’re deliberately pretending to be sick and trying to sow discord between me and my eldest son! You jinx, I’ll beat you to death!”
Zhao Jianguo couldn’t let Zhou Yunru be beaten by her. He stepped forward, his neck stiff, and roared, “Why are you hitting my wife! I work day and night, earn work points and money, and give it all to you. Now my wife is unwell, and we don’t have money to see a doctor! She manages everything in this house, inside and out, why are you hitting her!”
His fierce look scared Wang Hongxia into a daze, speechless for a long time. Zhao Jianguo usually didn’t say much; he was dull and honest, and had never treated her this way. Wang Hongxia was naturally angry, but more shocked.
At this moment, Zhao Yongqiang came out from inside.
“Old woman, stop making a fuss. Give them the money, and let the eldest daughter-in-law go see a doctor. Don’t make outsiders laugh.” Like Wang Hongxia, he favored his second son, Zhao Yunlin. He had finished high school and worked at the supply and marketing cooperative. When the time came, the unit would assign him a house, and he could invite his parents to live with him, which would be very glorious. As for Zhao Jianguo, his only value was probably to help Zhao Yunlin. But no matter how much he squeezed, he couldn’t push the person too far.
Wang Hongxia saw his warning look and reluctantly gave them five yuan.
Zhao Yunlin shook his head in disappointment, “Brother, are you satisfied now!”
“Yunlin, stop talking. Elder sister-in-law said she’s not feeling well, so let’s just assume she’s really not feeling well,” Cheng Tao said gently, persuading him from the side.
Although Zhao Jianguo got the five yuan, he couldn’t suppress his anger. He stared blankly at the money in his hand, his heart full of bitterness.
Zhao Yongqiang secretly shook his head, gave Wang Hongxia a look, and called her into the house.
“People’s hearts are biased, but you shouldn’t be too biased. The eldest son is also your son. Don’t go too far. Don’t chill the hearts of the eldest son and his wife later, and have them not support us in our old age.”
Wang Hongxia snorted, “If they don’t support us, they don’t. Who cares? I never thought of relying on the eldest son’s family. Don’t we still have Yunlin!”
Zhao Yongqiang said no more, clearly he thought the same way.
…
Five yuan was enough for a check-up at the commune health center, but Zhou Yunru didn’t plan to go so soon. Her stomach had just recovered, and she couldn’t endure such a long journey. Zhao Jianguo and she discussed it and decided to take her to see Uncle Li first. If Uncle Li thought it was not good, they would go to the health center.
As Zhao Jianguo helped Zhou Yunru out, Wang Hongxia was still scowling and snorting. The couple ignored her and walked straight out. Fortunately, Uncle Li had returned, so they hadn’t come in vain.
“Uncle, Cheng You said my wife might be pregnant and showing signs of miscarriage. But her stomach doesn’t hurt anymore. Please take a look.”
Uncle Li was stunned and looked at Cheng You. “Did you say that?”
Cheng You hadn’t studied medicine, how could she know. Zhou Yunru quickly said, “Yes, my stomach hurt terribly just now, and I felt much better after drinking the malted milk Cheng You gave me. But Jianguo and I are still worried, so we decided to come to you first.”
Uncle Li: … He had never heard of malted milk being used to treat illnesses. If it was due to low blood sugar, drinking malted milk could be understandable.
Cheng You lowered her head guiltily. She didn’t regret giving Zhou Yunru the condensed dew; at least it saved the child in her womb. And she had unexpectedly gained more condensed dew. Perhaps it was because she used to assist Uncle Li, the condensed dew would increase, but it was very slow. This time, helping Zhou Yunru, the condensed dew increased more than in the past week combined.
Uncle Li nodded, “Come, sit down, I’ll examine you.”
Cheng You took the opportunity to go in and brew medicine for Qi Chengyan, adding more condensed dew this time.
Uncle Li asked Zhou Yunru a few questions, examined her, and took her pulse.
“These signs indicate pregnancy. It’s not yet three months. It’s best to go to the health center for a check-up, because according to what you said, there are indeed signs of miscarriage. You should be careful.” As for why she got better, he couldn’t figure it out either. It couldn’t possibly be because of the malted milk, right?
Cheng You poured out the medicine, put it aside to cool, and turned to walk out. She heard Zhou Yunru say, “Uncle Li, why don’t you prescribe some medicine to protect the fetus, so we don’t have to go through all this trouble.” Going to the health center was expensive, and it involved running back and forth. She was afraid it would be bad for the baby in her womb.
Uncle Li thought for a moment, “I’ll give you an acupuncture treatment. Your condition is good now. Observe for a few more days. Don’t take medicine; medicine has three parts poison.”
Zhao Jianguo and Zhou Yunru repeatedly agreed. After Uncle Li finished the acupuncture, Zhou Yunru finally felt relieved.
“You’ve had an accident before. It’s truly hard-won to be pregnant this time. You’d better not make any more mistakes and rest well,” Uncle Li instructed. Zhou Yunru and Zhao Jianguo exchanged a glance, understanding his meaning perfectly. Everyone in the village knew that she lost her child last time because of Wang Hongxia’s torment, although they didn’t say it out loud.
“We understand.”
Zhao Jianguo led Zhou Yunru out and happened to see Cheng You coming out with the medicine.
“How is it? Feeling better?” Cheng You asked with a smile. Zhou Yunru had only been a nodding acquaintance with her before, but now her impression of her had improved more than a little. It was her good fortune that this girl did not marry into the old Zhao family.
“Much better. Thank you, Cheng You. If it weren’t for you today…”
“I didn’t do much. Sister-in-law, take good care of yourself from now on and give birth to the baby safely. Oh, by the way, Brother Zhao, are you going to the health center? If you need money…” Cheng You knew what kind of person Wang Hongxia was, and even more so how she treated Zhao Jianguo and Zhao Yunlin differently.
Zhou Yunru felt even more sorrowful in her heart. Even Cheng You, a person unrelated to her, cared about her, but her mother-in-law… She shook her head with a bitter smile, “No need, I feel fine for now. The health center is too far, so I won’t go for the time being.”