Yu Xiaolian learned about the incident from Mrs. Sun where the old Madam Sun hid money and laughed, saying that Mrs. Sun and the old Madam Sun had identical habits and spots for hiding money.
Talking about it made Mrs. Sun miss her mother more. Her parents used to live upstream, and she could go back every half month at most.
Ever since coming to Yangcheng, she hadn’t seen her old mother for months.
"Mom, when you pretended to be unwell that day, did my dad have any doubts?"
"You don’t know, your father insisted on taking me to several pharmacies. Even when a doctor said I was fine, he didn’t believe it. They said the baby in my womb was healthy, yet he insisted on getting me some pregnancy protection medicine." Mrs. Sun was quite helpless.
"So did he get the medicine?" If it’s medicine, there’s some level of toxicity, and pregnancy protection medicine isn’t just casually taken.
Mrs. Sun pointed at a few packages on the wooden box, "He did. The doctor said they’re all mild and nourishing, designed to be taken every three days."
Although Yu Xiaolian graduated from medical school, she specialized in forensic medicine and only knew a bit about Chinese medicine.
Modern medical schools teach students primarily how to use medical equipment, conduct tests, and read scans.
Frankly, even those so-called renowned medical professors, if they were sent back to ancient times without modern equipment, they probably wouldn’t be able to diagnose a single ailment.
Mrs. Sun went to the bedside cabinet to take out newly made cotton clothes, "I made two new cotton outfits for you. Try them on and see if they fit. If there’s anything off, I’ll fix it for you."
This time, the cotton clothes Mrs. Sun made were in muted purple and a lotus color, as Yu Xiaolian requested. When Yu Xiaolian tried them on, they fit perfectly.
"Mom, these sleeves are just the right length this time."
Last time, Mrs. Sun had made summer clothes where the sleeves were too long, and she had to roll them up to wear.
Mrs. Sun laughed, "I’ve come to realize it too. Our family’s conditions have improved; we’re not short on those few yards of fabric money.
Now our family eats refined rice without husks every day. In the past, I wouldn’t even dare dream of it."
Before, whenever they ate rice, Mrs. Sun had to spend time picking out the broken husks, and the amount of rice for a meal was always as little as possible.
In the summer, they at least had wild vegetables to change the taste. Come winter, almost every meal was congee and pickled vegetables.
Even to cook dried vegetables, Old Madam Yu would have to nod in agreement before Mrs. Sun dared to make it once, as a way to treat the whole family.
"Mom, that’s right. Money is earned to be spent. The biggest regret in life is dying with money unspent. Saving up ends up as a dowry for someone else. Enjoy when you should."
There’s a saying that you won’t go broke from eating or wearing fine things, but only from failing to plan properly.
However, Yu Xiaolian believed differently. To her, money wasn’t saved but earned.
Life is short; seizing joy in time is most important. Like in her past life, she chose the unpopular forensic profession as a girl because it meant less work, more money, and a carefree life.
But now that she has essentially ’died’ once, she has a new plan for lying low in this life, which is acknowledging a few brothers to pave her path, allowing her to lie back comfortably.
However, the days of lying flat are far away now. Revolution hasn’t succeeded yet; comrades still need to strive.
"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey..." Mrs. Sun gave Yu Xiaolian a look, "Stop speaking about death and whatnot. No more ominous words in the future."
Mrs. Sun inspected Yu Xiaolian’s new cotton clothes while saying, "Take some time to go to the cloth shop to buy a few bolts of fine cotton cloth. I’ll tailor some baby clothes while I’m at it."
Yu Xiaolian said, "Mom, didn’t dad say no more overworking? We can pay someone else to make it."
"Why waste that money? A few palm-sized baby clothes won’t tire me out. My stitching is fast; I’ll finish them in no time. I’m afraid of being idle and bored!"
These days, Yu Changhe took care of Mrs. Sun to the point where Mrs. Sun started to feel uneasy. She’s not allowed to cook or do laundry, and even going to the restroom, Yu Changhe has to help her.
As soon as she had any intention of getting off the bed, without even putting on shoes, Yu Changhe would immediately ask what she intended to do, making her feel like a prisoner.
"Alright then!" Yu Xiaolian recognizes that Mrs. Sun tends to become uncomfortable doing nothing, so letting her engage in some activity is a good idea.
"Oh, right, after you left yesterday, our neighbor Mrs. Gao next door knocked to say that two days from now her son is getting married, and we’re invited to the feast. How much should we gift?"
Mrs. Sun had only bumped into this neighbor woman a few times and had some simple conversations. She knew their family ran a grocery, but she wasn’t well acquainted. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on novel-fire.net
But for someone to kindly let them know, it indicated a desire for good relations. Mrs. Sun thought maintaining good neighborly relations was necessary.
"Mom, whatever amount is fine. Just do what you think is right." Yu Xiaolian had no experience with the ancient practice of gifting money.
"I just wanted to consult with you. If we give too little, we’ll look bad. If it’s too much, we’ll outshine their relatives, which isn’t good either."
Back in the village, matters of gifting didn’t involve her; Old Madam Yu handled the gift records. For ordinary acquaintances, it’d be ten or twenty coins, and for closer relatives, at most a hundred coins.
If some families couldn’t afford money, gifting a few yards of cloth or a dozen eggs could substitute as gift money.
"Mom, how about this? When you go, see how much everyone else gives, and we’ll just follow suit, not much or too little, aim for the middle value."
Actually, Yu Xiaolian had met the son of the Gao family a few times. Although they hadn’t spoken, she could tell he was scholarly, a reader.
The impression his mother gave was rather slick; whenever she greeted Mrs. Sun, she’d laugh loudly, but it felt forced.
Yu Xiaolian found the chubby Mrs. Ge more simple and cute.
What’s wrong with being talkative? It has its perks. Just standing near Mrs. Ge’s stall, Yu Xiaolian didn’t have to worry about gathering information because Mrs. Ge would spill all the latest news like beans out of a tube.
And for someone like her, who isn’t good at chatting, slow to speak, frequently at a loss for words, she’d never fear an awkward silence with Mrs. Ge.
Mrs. Ge, the ultimate conversation maestro!
"That’s a great idea. Let’s do that! But I’m not sure if your dad will agree to let me go to the feast. He said there’d be a lot of people at the Gao family, and he’s afraid I might bump into something.
Sigh... he treats me like a prisoner all day long."
No sooner had Mrs. Sun’s voice faded than Yu Changhe’s voice echoed, "Stay home. Let Xiaolian go and jot down the gift record. You’re pregnant and shouldn’t be in crowded places."
"See, see..." Mrs. Sun pouted, "I knew he wouldn’t agree."
Yu Xiaolian giggled, "Mom, looks like you’ll have to sit on the bed until you give birth."
"You’re laughing but not saying anything to your dad. I’ve never heard of such a fuss over a pregnant woman."
Even though she grumbled, inwardly, Mrs. Sun felt delighted.