Qi Taiguo took Mother Qi to the fast food shop at the train station. It was already dark, and the fast food shop was bustling. Qi Fenglian, seeing her mother arrive, was startled for a moment.
"Why have you come over here?"
She carefully observed the expressions on Qi Taiguo and her mother’s faces. Both of them looked quite upset. Her mother’s eyes were red—had they been arguing?
Qi Fenglian felt uneasy inside. Her younger brother had always objected to her telling their mother about the situation. Could it be that they really started quarreling as soon as she arrived?
Mother Qi looked pitifully at her eldest son, like a poor old lady who had been abandoned by everyone.
Qi Taiguo deliberately looked away and said to Qi Fenglian, "Big sister, it’s rare for mom to come visit, and Cheng Su still needs to recover. Spend the next few days with mom, will you?"
Qi Fenglian’s complexion also changed slightly. She opened her mouth and said, "With your wife in this condition, let mom take care of her for a few days."
Qi Taiguo glanced at Mother Qi and said, "My mother-in-law is also here. It’s enough with her around. Mom hasn’t had it easy; let her rest for a few days."
Mother Qi’s face turned slightly pale.
"I can’t be away from the hospital. I’m heading back," Qi Taiguo said, then took out two Great Unity RMB notes, put them into Mother Qi’s hand, and added, "Mom, if you want to buy anything while you’re with big sister, just go ahead. I’m leaving now."
Mother Qi watched him leave without looking back, in a daze.
Only when he was out of sight did her tears start to fall. Seeing this, Qi Fenglian cautiously called out, "Mom..."
Mother Qi burst into tears, not caring that she was in a fast food shop, attracting the attention of everyone around.
Qi Fenglian felt her scalp explode with anxiety, thinking to herself that she had done a bad deed with good intentions, and now it was like she was adding fuel to the fire. Seeing her mother about to cause a scene, she had to quickly comfort her by saying, "Mom, we’re still in the shop. Please stop crying; everyone’s looking!"
"Let them look! Let everyone see what an unfilial son he is, getting a wife and forgetting his mother. Oh, woe is my life!" Mother Qi didn’t care at all!
Qi Fenglian felt a headache coming on, thinking it was no wonder her younger brother had been so reluctant to tell their mother about the incident.
But she couldn’t just leave it be. Qi Fenglian had no choice but to pull her into the kitchen, asking the chef to prepare a warm bowl of egg soup, and then said, "Mom, you must be hungry, right? Have some soup to fill your stomach. Afterwards, we’ll go back to where Jisheng and I are staying to take a look. By the way, you haven’t seen the shop before, have you? What do you think? Business is pretty good, isn’t it?"
Mother Qi, distracted by these thoughts, took a glance through teary eyes and said sourly, "What’s there to look at? No matter how much money is made, it’s not yours; it’s Cheng Su’s."
Upon mentioning Cheng Su, Mother Qi became angrily indignant, "Your younger brother is just too heartless! He says I’m adding trouble for Cheng Su. How did I add trouble? She’s a grown woman and didn’t even know she was pregnant. I just asked a couple of questions, and he reacted as if I was taking his life, rushing to her defense. In front of his mother-in-law, he just dragged me here to your place. Tell me, how did I raise him? He has no conscience, taking a wife and forgetting his mother!"
"Mom, Taiguo didn’t mean it; a miscarriage is no small matter. You know I barely made it through my own. If Cheng Su doesn’t properly recover, how will she bear you a healthy grandson in the future? That’s why Taiguo is worried. After all, they are both still young and inexperienced. They just want to focus on her recovery, so it’s understandable if his words were harsh. You also look forward to holding a grandson soon, right?" Qi Fenglian continued to persuade with patience.
"Bah! Now that she’s had a miscarriage, don’t even think about a grandchild. Who knows if she can still have children in the future? Even if she can, it certainly won’t be soon." Mother Qi spit out angrily, "They’re just selfish, not considering the feelings of their elders. If it wasn’t for me taking that set of..."
Mother Qi suddenly stopped mid-sentence, her complexion changing. Qi Fenglian looked at her with growing suspicion, "Mom, what set are you talking about?"