NOVPUB
Chapter 520: Chapter 520: Parasite
Zhang Lijuan didn’t expect Tong Yao to have such a thorough understanding of Lin Fengying. She nodded and said, "Yaoyao, you understand her so well. I’ll tell you, she wasn’t a good person even when she was young. She lived next door to us, and even when we were children, I knew she often hit Boyi. But in rural areas, there were plenty of parents who hit their children. I was beaten a lot as a child too, so I didn’t think much of it."
Later, as Si Boyi grew older, Lin Fengying became more reserved, and everyone gradually forgot about her physically disciplining Si Boyi.
"Lin Fengying disguises herself very well. Initially, I was deceived by her, thinking she was a great mother-in-law." Tong Yao recalled her initial thought of Lin Fengying being a good mother-in-law and found it somewhat amusing.
"Is your current lover treating you well?" Zhang Lijuan couldn’t help but ask.
Tong Yao nodded, thinking about the child in her belly, and a smile appeared on her face again, "Very well, I’ve got the child that I’ve always longed for."
"I wonder what my brother would think if he knew about your pregnancy." Zhang Lijuan looked at Tong Yao’s belly, with a subtle expression on her face.
Everyone thought that Tong Yao had health issues, but now that she’s pregnant, doesn’t that imply that Si Chen was the one with the problem?
Tong Yao gave a playful smile, "Perhaps he would be happy for me too."
Zhang Lijuan’s lips twitched, how daring Tong Yao was! Any man would hardly be happy to learn that the woman he loved was carrying another’s child, would he?
Si Boyi had been gone for over an hour before he finally found a house. When he returned, he was drenched in sweat from exhaustion, but looked extremely delighted because he had found a house. It was close to Xiaoshuang’s house and also had its own small courtyard. However, the price was double.
"Lijuan, Yaoyao, I found a house. It’s in the alley behind Xiaoshuang’s house. The place is quite spacious and there’s even space for a garden in the yard. The rent is a bit high though, fifteen yuan a month, but it’s comfortable."
At the mention of fifteen yuan, Zhang Lijuan felt a bit of heartache. But thinking of how necessary a large yard was for selling bubble tea, she still found it worth it, then turned to Tong Yao and suggested, "Yaoyao, since the place is not too far, why don’t you come for a look with us?"
"Sure!"
Tong Yao stood up and the three little dogs, upon seeing this, also stood up and wagged their tails as they followed behind her.
Zhang Lijuan looked surprised, "Yaoyao, they can actually recognize you! I have never seen them cling to anyone else like this."
Tong Yao chuckled lightly, "Maybe it’s because I was the one who accepted them at first! Dogs are very grateful animals."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Lijuan didn’t think much of it, but finally understood why Tong Yao was so good to these three dogs. She had heard that Tong Yao spent a decent amount of money every month for Boyi to take care of these dogs.
The dogs’ living expenses were higher than hers and since Tong Yao was able to afford it, no one could really say much about it.
Soon, Si Boyi took them to the rented house. The yard was indeed large and the house seemed newer compared to the one at Xiaoshuang’s place. The fifteen yuan was well spent. Tong Yao took a tour around the house, sneezed involuntarily, and then started to dry heave.
Si Boyi hurriedly got a bowl of water from the well to give Tong Yao. Tong Yao’s mouth twitched as she waved her hand refusing to drink it, and took the opportunity to remind him, "Drink less of the raw water, especially children and Lijuan. Drinking too much raw water is not good."
Si Boyi awkwardly scratched his head, suddenly recalling that Tong Yao never liked to drink raw water, and hastily apologized, "I’m sorry, I forgot you don’t drink raw water. I’ll go buy some soda from the street."
Tong Yao quickly stopped him, "Boyi, I just had some fruit tea and am not thirsty, you don’t need to buy any. But remember what I just said, all of you should drink less raw water, especially the water from our hometown."
In the past, everyone thought Tong Yao was being unnecessarily picky when she refused to drink raw water. But now, seeing how seriously she was advising them, Zhang Lijuan curiously asked, "Yaoyao, why can’t we drink it? We all grew up drinking raw water, we’ve never had any problems!"
"Uh..." Tong Yao thought for a moment then said seriously: "Because some raw water that has been contaminated contains bacteria which is not good for the body."
"What are bacteria?" Zhang Lijuan thought bacteria was something scary and became more curious.
Si Boyi also looked at Tong Yao with a curious face.
Seeing their reactions left Tong Yao speechless, as explaining this would be quite complicated and she figured they probably wouldn’t understand. After a moment of thinking, she decided on an example to explain.
"Take the rural wells for example! Some contaminated wells may produce blood fluke eggs. If you accidentally ingest them, blood flukes can inhabit your body, such as in your throat or nose, leading to schistosomiasis, which is a very frightening thing. Although the chance of this happening is not large, it’s not small either. It’s best not to drink raw water."
In the 21st century, Tong Yao often saw similar cases on the internet. Cases such as blood flukes residing in the nostrils, or throat, or even in the eyes. And this was during a time when everyone was drinking boiled water. Therefore, one could only imagine how much worse it could be in this era.
The mere thought of it was terrifying, and being cautious was always better.
The thought made Zhang Lijuan’s skin crawl, "Yaoyao, now that you mention it, I’ve actually remembered hearing about a child from the neighboring village. His family was poor and couldn’t afford enough food, so he often ate shellfish from the river. Perhaps they were not properly cooked, and his body became infested with the parasites you mentioned. He ended up frail and eventually died."
Even Si Boyi, a grown man, was frightened by the conversation. He swallowed hard and said: "From now on, we will listen to Tong Yao and not drink raw water. It’s kind of scary."
Tong Yao nodded, "As long as you remember that, I’m saying this for your sake."
Both of them nodded vigorously, rethinking the raw water they used to drink, their hearts pounded with dread, wishing they could vomit out all the raw water they had ingested.
Tong Yao took the child from Zhang Lijuan’s arms, urging, "It’s getting dark. While I hold the baby for you, you guys should tidy up the house quickly! We have to stay here tonight."
Zhang Lijuan and Si Boyi were moved by her gesture. Immediately, they started cleaning the house, wiping away the dust with an old baby diaper and a bowl of water. Tong Yao’s mouth twitched as she watched them, but she didn’t say anything.
Everyone has their own habits for living, and it wouldn’t be good if she said too much. It’s enough to remind them about the things that affect their health.
In fact, she quite liked Xiaoshuang’s lifestyle. Xiaoshuang was more attentive to these kinds of things and would definitely be a clean and hygienic mother-in-law when she got older.
Both of them busied themselves until it was almost dark before they finished tidying up the house. Their bodies were sticky with sweat. Si Boyi and Zhang Lijuan both took a quick shower under cold water. Seeing that it was getting late, Tong Yao suggested that they reunite with everyone else at the bubble tea shop and have dinner there for the evening.
