Lele was lying in the crib playing, with Yang Peiying watching by his side.
This little guy heard a noise, turned his face, and looked over with big, rolling eyes.
"Who’s Lele looking at?"
Yang PeiMin laughed as he watched.
"Mum, has Lele been good today?"
"Good, he didn’t go anywhere today. After waking up, he played in the yard. A few kids from the neighbors came over to play, and he was so happy. He watched those little brothers and sisters without even blinking..." Chen Guizhi followed in and said with a smile.
Yang PeiMin walked over, picked up the little fellow, and said to Chen Guizhi, "Mum, you’ve worked hard."
Chen Guizhi waved her hand with a smile, "Not at all, it’s not tiring. Lele is so easy to look after. The ones I took care of before were real hard work. Now I don’t have anything to do... You should eat first. Ah Guang hasn’t eaten either, eating together will be more enjoyable."
On the other side, Yang Peijun had found a few herbs for Lu Hailing. Yang PeiMin said to him, "Why don’t you and Yingzi go check on Auntie Lu and see how she is? If it’s serious, we can’t use these and we’ll have to go to the hospital."
Yang Peijun agreed, "Alright, I’ll go with Yingzi to see. We’re neighbors, after all. We can’t just stand by knowing there’s trouble."
Lu Hailing hurriedly said there was no need, "It’s not a big issue. My mother is still doing okay; a bit of medicine and rest and she’ll be fine."
Yang PeiMin looked at her and said, "Let my third brother take a look anyway, it will make everyone feel more at ease."
Lu Hailing finally nodded and thanked them again.
Then Yang Peijun went over with Yang Peiying.
Shen Yiguang brought out the food.
Yang PeiMin sat down at the table, and Chen Guizhi also sat down with the child, talking with her son and daughter-in-law. With Lu Hailing’s family situation coming up, the topic naturally shifted to her, "Hailing’s mother is not feeling well these past few days, and we don’t know what the issue is. It’s been a while since they’ve been here, she should have gotten used to the area by now."
Yang PeiMin continued on the same topic, "That’s right, and not going to see the doctor to find out what’s wrong. It doesn’t cost much to go to the military hospital. At least it would give peace of mind. If it really is an adaptation issue to the new environment, and it’s been this long, it must be serious. I think it might be better for her to go back to her hometown. Wouldn’t it naturally get better there? Staying here isn’t helping, and it just worries her children."
Chen Guizhi nodded repeatedly, "You’re right, carrying on is no good."
"Speaking of which, they have moved here quite a few days ago, and I still haven’t seen Hailing’s mother. Didn’t she come to our house once?"
"Yes, she came once, wasn’t it the second day after moving?"
"How did she seem to you?"
"She seemed very pleasant and approachable. There were no major issues." Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs novel~fire~net
"Didn’t Mum ask about their situation over there?"
"She did ask a few questions. It sounds pretty similar to our hometown; they haven’t split up the family and are all living together. The third child in their home has already gotten married and had a child, the third son is also quick to follow. By the looks of it, the burden on them at the moment is quite heavy. No wonder she wants Hai Ling to marry into a better family. She said that way, she could help out her own family. Otherwise, just having a job now isn’t enough. She also mentioned wanting to return home earlier, but her health just isn’t cooperating. Day by day, it’s either dizziness or back pain."
"So does Hai Ling’s mother have some kind of chronic illness? This back pain and stuff, isn’t that something you have too Mum? It’s all because of not taking care of yourself during postpartum recovery. But your condition is much better than hers; you don’t get attacks as frequently as she does."
"Mine is indeed better, aren’t you the one who got me those herbal remedies? I apply them every day, and I hardly ever suffer from it now. Her condition, from what I can see, seems quite serious. It must be more than just back pain... If it’s frequent , then her children will have to work hard for her in the future..." As she said this, her thoughts drifted to her youngest daughter, Shen Yixiang. Having a sickly mother-in-law was no blessing, and it would undoubtedly mean extra hardship. She was determined to persuade Hai Ling’s mother to visit the hospital.
As they were talking, Yang Peijun and Yang Peiying came back.
"How did it go?" Chen Guizhi asked.
Yang Peijun shook his head, "Nothing much. When we arrived, her mother was eating something in bed, looked in good spirits, said she didn’t have any strength and just stayed in bed. We asked a few things, told Lu Hailing about how to prepare the herbal medicine, and then came back."
Yang PeiMin read between the lines of his words, "Vomiting and diarrhea and she still has an appetite to eat? What did she eat?"
Yang Peijun found a spot to sit down and continued, "We hadn’t arrived yet, and Lu Hailing was already calling out to her mother at the door. By the time we entered, we didn’t see any food around, but both I and Yingzi saw Old Mrs. Lu chewing on something. I even noticed some sugar on the corner of her mouth. It took her a while to speak with us. She probably swallowed whatever she had in her mouth first, yet she said she couldn’t eat anything. I don’t know what’s going on?"
Yang PeiMin was on the verge of laughing. What kind of pure expression was Yang Peijun trying to maintain?
Even Chen Guizhi was confused, unable to wrap her head around it, "What is Hai Ling’s mother trying to do? Peijun, did you see that clearly? I heard from Hailing that her mother doesn’t eat sugar."
"Mom, whatever this is, I’ll figure it out after another look," Shen Yiguang said.
Although Chen Guizhi was puzzled, she didn’t ask further.
The next day, Yang PeiMin got up bright and early, fed her son, and rushed back to school.
There was a show today, and she had an important task. As the makeup artist, she’d be busy from morning until night.
She, Tang Zhao, and Li Yue had already gone over the details. Besides being busy with the rehearsal, with time running short, she managed to prepare four sets quickly, hastily ordering small boxes for packaging, which she divided into around ten portions. These were meant for gifting; ensuring that the promotion was not only visible but also usable by others was real advertising.
Yang PeiMin kept Li Yue by her side as her temporary assistant.
After a few days of a crash course in makeup, handling the foundation was a task she could handle well.
The students who required makeup were all female. There were some issues of perception and manpower on the male side, so Yang PeiMin didn’t need to bother with them, just focusing on the female students made everything much quicker. However, for her own classmates, who were like family, she made an extra effort with their makeup to amplify the effects of the program and the promotion.
The appearance of her as a makeup artist sparked great interest, and gossip flew. Yang PeiMin took this opportunity to promote her skincare products as well.
After lunch, it was time for the successive stage performances.
Although Yang PeiMin didn’t need to go on stage, she didn’t have a moment of rest, hobnobbing with the reporters alongside Tang Zhao, who wasn’t in the program either. With her wide range of experience, Yang PeiMin struck up a warm conversation even before Tang Zhao figured out how to start one.