Witty Wife, Better Life

Chapter 140: Ah 134 Zhang, you must not get confused

Qiu Shuping felt that something was off about what she heard, but she couldn’t quite react to it in the moment. However, Shen Yunfang’s next words set her off completely.

"Looks like my nephew’s wife is really blessed now. If I ever fall sick in the future, I won’t need anyone to look after me or fulfill their filial duties. I’ll just find a nurse or a doctor."

"What are you talking about? When did I ever say that? Don’t you start spouting nonsense here." Qiu Shuping said this while looking at Li Hongjun; she was afraid her son would listen to this woman and then neglect her if she got sick.

"Mom, it’s not a big deal for me anymore. You and dad are getting on in years, and it’s too tiring for you to take care of me here. Yunfang is here now, so how about I arrange for someone to buy you tickets so you can go home and rest?" Li Hongjun said expressionlessly.

In front of him, she was openly cursing Yunfang, which made it obvious how much Yunfang must have suffered when he was not around.

"You want to send me away because of a woman? I’m your biological mother; you crawled out from my insides. How can you just send your own mother away for a woman? Have you lost all conscience?" Qiu Shuping didn’t expect her son to be so blunt in sending her away. She started to cry, singing in a tone that fluctuated between high and low pitch.

"My dear mother, open your eyes and look. A son forgets his mother when he has a wife. I’ve come from far and wide to take care of my injured boy, and before my seat even gets warm, I’m being sent away. Is there no justice left in this world? Isn’t there anyone who can stand up for me? Oh heavens, open your eyes and strike down that unfilial wretch."

Shen Yunfang just stood to the side with her arms folded, watching, while Li Hongjun was so angry that his veins were bulging. Looking at his still bandaged left leg, Yunfang, out of compassion, stepped forward to comfort and pat him. Poor kid, saddled with such a mother, he had no choice but to accept it.

Li Wangcai was trying to pull his wife away, but Qiu Shuping flung off his arm. Today, she was determined to make both her son and Shen Yunfang submit to her, or else she would really lose her authority in the family.

Seeing his wife carrying on like this, Li Wangcai really wanted to slap her to make her quiet down. But he always disciplined his children in public and his wife in private, caring for his reputation. In front of his future daughter-in-law, he had to preserve some dignity for his wife. Eventually, unable to restrain his wife, he gave up and angrily went outside to smoke. Out of sight, out of mind.

It wasn’t long before the ward’s door was pushed open again. This time, it was a doctor in a white coat who walked in and, looking displeased, said to the person on the ground, "You do realize this is a hospital, not your home’s kang bed, right? If you want to cry and make a fuss, go back to your own house. If you continue to disturb the other patients, I’ll call security and have you all thrown out."

The farce ended with the hospital staff’s intervention, and everyone calmed down.

Li Hongjun brought up the topic of Qiu Shuping and Li Wangcai returning home again, mainly because he could see that his mother and Yunfang didn’t get along. If they stayed together too long, who knew what might happen? His parents were getting old; it would be better for them to go home and rest.

And just as Shen Yunfang had said, he was already grown up; how could he feel comfortable parading himself in front of his parents? It was more suitable for his wife to stay.

But that’s not what Qiu Shuping thought. She seldom came to the provincial city and hadn’t had the chance to enjoy herself yet. She was reluctant to return. Perhaps she was scared enough by the telegram, but after arriving and finding her son with a broken leg yet not in life-threatening danger, she relaxed and other thoughts emerged.

Qiu Shuping insisted on not leaving, so Shen Yunfang suggested that she would leave instead. There was no need for so many people to be there, and now that she had seen Li Hongjun in person and knew it wasn’t serious, as long as he took good care of himself, she would not worry. She might as well go home to raise chickens. But Li Hongjun wouldn’t hear of her leaving, no matter what she said.

There was no other way, so in the end, everyone stayed and took turns taking care of Li Hongjun. Qiu Shuping and Li Wangcai were older, so they came to the hospital during the day and went back to the guest house to rest at night. Shen Yunfang, being younger, would come to the hospital at night and sleep at the guesthouse during the day. By doing so, they not only saved money but everyone was also satisfied, so it was decided.

Since Shen Yunfang had just been on an overnight train, Li Wangcai first took her back to the guest house to rest.

Shen Yunfang was indeed a bit tired and didn’t refuse, but before she left, she still said, "Auntie, Hongjun has just had surgery and is still weak. He shouldn’t eat just anything. Don’t give him those buns; they’re too greasy, and he can’t digest them right now. Before you give him anything to eat, you should ask the doctor first."

She glanced at the several large buns on the table, concerned that Qiu Shuping might feed them to Li Hongjun after she left, so she thought it best to remind her.

"Humph, I’ve raised five kids, I don’t need a greenhorn like you to tell me what to do," Qiu Shuping said, displeased.

Actually, Shen Yunfang didn’t say this for Qiu Shuping to hear, but for Li Hongjun. He had to be concerned about his own body. Before she left, she mouthed "do not eat" to Li Hongjun, saw him nod, and then left reassured.

After Li Wangcai and Shen Yunfang left, Qiu Shuping did indeed go to ask the doctor, then went to the cafeteria and brought back a portion of porridge. At this time, Li Hongjun still needed to stick to a liquid diet, and it’d be a couple of days before he could eat anything else.

Qiu Shuping sat by the bed and personally fed her son with a spoon.

Li Hongjun was actually unwilling, but as a patient, he was no match for his mother’s persistence and let her feed him.

"Son, listen to your mom here, that Shen Yunfang is really not a good woman. You saw for yourself how shrewish she is. She hasn’t even married you yet and she dares to talk to me like that. Just think, if you married her, your old mother, wouldn’t she wear me to death?" Qiu Shuping said, her voice filled with earnest concern as she fed him.

Li Hongjun opened his mouth to drink the porridge but said nothing.

"I know it’s her face that you’re after; yes, she does look alright, but looks alone can’t feed you, can they? You don’t know, when I returned, I did some asking around—ask ten people, and not one will speak well of her. Back when her mother was alive, she reared her like a princess, never let her go to work to earn work points, and instead borrowed money to send her to school. I heard she even graduated from high school. Son, our family can’t afford to keep such a delicate lady," Qiu Shuping said while carefully watching her son’s expression.

"After her mother passed away, she got even worse, going to relatives’ places to eat every day, her face so thick not even an awl could penetrate it. It can be said she’s got all the worst traits—crafty, lazy, gluttonous, slippery. Son, what on earth did you see in her?"

"Whimper, whimper, whimper, your father and I are getting old, how many more years can we live? I’m this worried only because I fear you’ll suffer in the future. You are flesh torn from my body; if your mother doesn’t care for you, who will? Son, you can’t be muddled. You’ve only seen that woman a few times; I am your birth mother, the closest person to you. The words in my letter about not acknowledging you were spoken in anger!" Qiu Shuping eventually began to wipe away tears as she spoke.

Li Hongjun lay in the hospital bed, eyes fixed on the ceiling, apparently lost in thought.