Chapter 4

Outside, Li Chunhua stared at the contents of the letter.

“Xuezhu, hurry, come here!”

He Xuezhu’s heart suddenly jumped and almost thought that something had happened to her husband. She hurriedly ran, “Mom, what’s the matter?”

“Go, go, go, go up the mountain, pick some herbs and come back. The ones that enrich the blood. Also, when you come back, go to your aunt’s house and buy an old hen from her. You need one that’s more than two years old.”

As she said this, she took out the money with trembling hands and handed it to her daughter-in-law. He Xuezhu took the money, while her heart was full of worry: “What happened? What happened to Shiheng?”

In a few short words, tears were already in Li Chunhua’s eyes. “Shiheng said that he was injured in the army and had been unconscious in the hospital for several days before waking up. He planned to take leave from the army and come home to recuperate.”

At some point, Li Chunhua wept again: “I knew I shouldn’t have let him join the army. He was in a coma for several days in the hospital. How injured was he to fall into a coma?”

“My Shiheng ah, if something happens to you, what should mother do?…”

The village head’s daughter-in-law who came to deliver the letter was also a little confused. At the moment, she began to cry when she saw Li Chunhua hitting her own thigh. She also saw He Xuezhu’s face was full of panic and her eyes were red and bewildered. She hurriedly urged, “Chunhua, don’t be too sad. Isn’t Shiheng coming back? It will be all right. Isn’t Xuezhu’s father a doctor? The last time my son twisted his foot, he was cured by the medicated wine that your family’s Xuezhu gave him. She will certainly take care of Shiheng.”

“He was in a coma for a few days, my son was hurt. Xuezhu can only make medicated wine, and recognize what certain herbs are used for. Me? What can I do? When Shisheng’s father left early, it wasn’t easy for me to raise the child alone. Now he has a wife, but I haven’t even embraced a grandson, and now he had an accident, ah, my heart hurts …”

“I feel like dying. Sister, I have to go inside for a while… Thank you for today. Xuezhu, send your Sixth-Aunt…”

The village head’s daughter-in-law was already a little panicked. Seeing He Xuezhu coming to send her off with red eyes, and seeing Li Chunhua covering her chest as if she couldn’t breathe, she hurriedly motioned with her hand: “No, no, I’ll go back myself. Xuezhu, help your mother to go in quickly. Chunhua, you have a good rest, I’ll go first.”

After she left, Li Chunhua wiped her tears, “Xuezhu, go close the door.”

“Yes.”

He Xuezhu quickly shut the door and turned to comfort her mother-in-law. “Mother, don’t worry, go inside first to rest. I’ll go up to the mountains to collect herbs and come back in time. Let’s take care of him. He’s still young and I’m sure he will recover well.”

Seeing that her daughter-in-law was shaking and trying to comfort herself, Li Chunhua looked at her carefully and saw that this daughter-in-law was only worried about Shiheng and herself, and her face relaxed a little.

Before, she had thought that this daughter-in-law was only good at talking. The maiden family did not tell her that this girl could not even lay an egg. But now it seems that, when something really has happened, she won’t abandon this family.

Think about it, although she always said she disliked He Xuezhu, there isn’t anything displeasing or lacking in the girl. He Xuezhu did a lot of work, but didn’t her own mother-in-law do the same to her too?

“All right, you don’t have to hold me. Listen, Shiheng’s injury is not so serious. It’s almost fully healed. He’s coming back this time to build a house at here.”

Seeing her mothers-in-law’s tears receding, He Xuezhu looked astonished, “but just now, didn’t you say…”

“Mother said that for your Aunt to hear. She has the biggest mouth. I won’t say anything important in front of her, it would be the same as letting everyone know that the money for the house was bought by Shiheng and his grandparents will make trouble again.”

Li Chunhua took her daughter-in-law and walked into the room. As she walked, she told her, “Listen Xuezhu. Shiheng said in letter that he got the money after he made a contribution. How did he get the it? It’s not that easy for him to get money, he was injured because of it. Mother just said that to your Sixth-Aunt so that she would spread the news about Shiheng’s serious injury in advance. Then when Shiheng comes back with the money, his grandfather would be too ashamed to make a fuss if he wanted to save face.”

Li Chunhua is still a little worried, her daughter-in-law is actually very good. It’s only that, her nature is too soft. Even if her nature is too soft, it would be okay, with her mother-in-law here; no one would dare to bully. But what if she spilled the beans?

She saw the letter just now and did not want to tell He Xuezhu the truth, but the girl turned pale with fright. Afraid that she would be frighten to death, and thinking that her son was fine, and her daughter-in-law should not get upset, she told her everything.

“Mother didn’t tell you the truth because I’m afraid you might spill the beans. When you go out to collect herbs and buy chickens at your aunt’s house, cry in front of them. If you can’t cry, keep your head down and don’t make any noise. Shiheng said that he will stay much longer this time. You should buy more chickens at your aunt’s and come home. We’ll stew one first. You can take care of your body and try to get pregnant this time.”

He Xuezhu was stunned by her mother-in-law’s words. When she listened to the last sentence, after her worries settled down, she became full of shyness and could not help but blush a little.

Li Chunhua looked at her shy appearance, but she also felt a little embarrassed. She was a good daughter-in-law. Why isn’t she pregnant yet?

She had been expecting her daughter-in-law to be pregnant. Besides holding her grandson, there was another reason for that: there were two daughter-in-laws in the Lin family.

Three years of marriage without pregnancy? It was not as if her daughter-in-law couldn’t get pregnant. She argued with the two-old people every day. They said that, if her son had no children, he should just adopt from them.

When Li Chunhua heard it, she directly spit on the ground. Bah! Who wants their children?! Her family’s Shiheng is healthy! So why can’t he?…

They said that they would provide for Shiheng in his old age, what nonsense?! Who doesn’t know that they are thinking about Shiheng’s money?

If it weren’t for Shiheng’s filial piety to his father’s family, she wouldn’t have to suffered from this embarrassment. Once she got angry, she couldn’t help getting even more angry when she saw her daughter-in-law.

Li Chunhua didn’t think of anything before that. She was the mother-in-law, and He Xuezhu; her daughter-in-law. What’s wrong with being angry with He Xuezhu? Didn’t her mother-in-law get angry when she was the daughter-in-law?

Only the thought of her son’s letter that said that it was thanks to Xuezhu’s medicated wine; it had saved his life, and the thought of He Xuezhu’s face going pale while trying to comfort her when she heard about Shiheng’s accident just now, made Li Chunhua feel a little guilty.

At the beginning, when she knew He Xuezhu made Shiheng some medicinal liquor, she also scolded a few sentences. Saying that there was a military hospital not far from the army. Who cares about some shoddy medicinal wine, He Xuezhu said she was worried about Shiheng’s injury and she scolded her for cursing her son.

(TLNote: apparently, being too prepared is like cursing someone. Like bringing an umbrella is like hoping for rain to the old people of that time…)

But in the end, if it weren’t for He Xuezhu’s medicated wine, she wouldn’t know if he’d ever come back.

He Xuezhu was going out with the basket on her back when he saw her mother-in-law coming out of the house and handing over the big kettle Shiheng had brought back for her mother-in-law, with a rare gentleness the woman said: “Take this water with you, if it is hard to find the herbs, don’t go look for it. Don’t go to such a dangerous place as the back mountain. No, just go buy it on the streets, it’s the same.”

She was flattered and took the kettle. “It’s okay, Mom. I used to collect herbs in the back mountain when I was young. Drugstores sell dry herbs. If you boil chicken soup, use fresh ones, they are better for your health.”

Seeing her daughter-in-law thinking about her son’s health and her bottle of medicated wine, Li Chunhua’s heart felt guiltier. She gave a dry cough and said, “Then be careful.”

“Well… Xuezhu, Shiheng said in the letter that the money he brought back this time is enough to build a house. I still have the money that Shiheng sent back before, and our family is quite well off. When Shiheng comes back, I will let him take you to the city to buy some nice clothes.”

Not to mention that she can’t remember how long it’s actually been, Xuezhu has been married to their home for such a long time. She seems to have always been wearing old clothes. Before, she still felt that she was good to her daughter-in-law. Looking at the whole village, who didn’t buy new clothes for her daughter-in-law after three years.

Although Li Chunhua didn’t buy some for herself, she felt even more guilty.

He Xuezhu no longer felt flattered, but felt as if she was in a dream. Apart from the time when she just got married, when did she see her mother-in-law being so kind to her?

Holding the kettle, her heart was filled with gratitude, and she thanked her at once: “Thank you mom, I’ll go up the mountain now. if you’re not feeling well, rest first. I’ll try my best to come back early to cook.”

Li Chunhua looked at the back of her daughter-in-law as she left, and thought of her bright eyes glistening with gratitude…

Why does my heart feel guilty?

He Xuezhu went up the mountain without a moment’s delay, looking for herbal medicine seriously. She was very excited because she had hardly been loved when she was a child. He Xuezhu was the kind of person who was; when given a little bit of good, she would cherish it and return it back with so much gratitude.

She always knew that her mother-in-law disliked her and never dared to complain. After all, in He Xuezhu’s heart, she felt inferior.

Such a rustic self, and such a handsome and excellent husband, she did not even know what to say.

It was normal to be rejected.

He Xuezhu is actually very scared. Life with the Lin family is much better than that of her mother’s family. She would only try to work hard, fearing that her husband and mother-in-law would drive her out.

Thinking of her mother-in-law’s concern for her just now, He Xuezhu smiled a little happily.

But then, she suddenly became dizzy, causing her to retch a few times.

The dizziness only lasted for a few seconds and then returned to normal. He Xuezhu thought about her husband who needed herbal medicine and did not care much about her self. He continued to search for them.

A few days later

A handsome man in military uniform appeared at the entrance of the village with his luggage on his back.

There was money and clothes in the luggage.

And a fake medical certificate.