NOVPUB
Chapter 162: Chapter 156 Contradiction
After breakfast, Shen Yunfang directly suggested to Li Wangcai and his wife that she wanted to go to the hospital to have her leg examined with Li Hongjun.
"Dad, ever since Hongjun returned from the provincial city, he hasn’t stopped fussing. I’d like to accompany him to the county hospital to have a look today," she said.
"Okay." Li Wangcai approved without further comment, and even preempted his wife by saying, "Old lady, give Yunfang some money."
Qiu Shuping glared at her daughter-in-law upon hearing this. This woman was a constant source of trouble – demanding money for meat yesterday and now for a hospital visit. Truly, just as the eldest daughter-in-law had said, even if she had mountains of gold and silver, it wouldn’t last with her extravagant spending.
Shen Yunfang remained unflinchingly still. She really hadn’t intended for her mother-in-law to foot the bill, but seeing the glare directed her way, she decided to let her contribute some cash after all.
Under Li Wangcai’s stern gaze, Qiu Shuping reluctantly pulled out two yuan.
"Here, you know the situation our family is in. Spend it frugally, remember what you spend at the hospital, and report back to me with the expenses," she said begrudgingly.
Shen Yunfang almost wanted to laugh, holding the two yuan. She had never been sick or visited the hospital in her life, but she somehow felt that even if the RMB was strong, two yuan wouldn’t be enough for a medical visit.
Old man Li was also surprised to see his wife take out only two yuan, but in the end, he said nothing and went out to chat with some acquaintances, hands behind his back.
Without a word, Shen Yunfang pocketed the money and helped Li Hongjun onto the horse-drawn cart.
The county’s hospital couldn’t compare to those in the provincial city – it barely had any machines, and diagnoses relied solely on the doctors. An old traditional physician examined Li Hongjun, first taking his pulse, then feeling his leg, and finally prescribing a bag full of medicine.
Shen Yunfang wasn’t sure whether to trust the diagnosis, but considering that Li Hongjun had been nourished by her "Essence of Life" these past few days, she guessed that his leg must be recovering nicely.
The visit to the doctor didn’t cost much, but the medicine was expensive, totaling six yuan and fifty cents – the two yuan given by Qiu Shuping was far from enough.
When they left the hospital, it was already past twelve noon. Shen Yunfang couldn’t possibly expect the coachman to starve while they returned home, so she took them to a state-run restaurant. She ordered four dishes, two meat and two vegetable, and all three of them ate their fill until they were round-bellied.
On the way back, Shen Yunfang let the coachman know that she’d need his services again the next day, as they were planning to move back to Gaijiatun.
Unexpectedly, when they arrived home, the house was already in an uproar.
Shen Yunfang first helped Li Hongjun into the room, "Don’t bother with it – it sounds like your mom is having a row with your dad. Even if you went over there, you wouldn’t be of any use. Let’s just go inside and rest for now."
At that moment, Qiu Shuping’s heart-wrenching cries could be heard from the western room, "You old thing! After all these years of giving birth to your children and slaving away for your whole family, I’m at this age now and you still hit me in front of the children. I can’t go on like this; I’ve had enough, I’m going to fight you!"
Shen Yunfang went inside to spread the bedding and helped Li Hongjun lie down, then she asked softly, "Did your dad hit your mom? What on earth for?" She thought to herself, it really was rare. She had only heard about Old Li being tough, and she had never witnessed it. She hadn’t expected to see him spring into action today.
"I don’t know, you better not go either," to avoid unnecessary trouble. "My dad knows what he’s doing."
"Mmm, okay, but looks like nobody has bothered with dinner, so let’s just make do with something here at home." Shen Yunfang didn’t want to go out and be an inconvenience. Luckily, she had a few leftover buns from lunch at the restaurant, which she could toast and make do with for a meal.
She got off the kang to grab some firewood and saw her sister-in-law in the yard.
"Sister-in-law, you and Hongjun are back," Wang Dan had been waiting for Shen Yunfang. If she hadn’t come out, Wang Dan was planning to knock on her door.
"Yeah, we’re back," Shen Yunfang replied with a smile.
Wang Dan didn’t wait for her sister-in-law to ask about the old couple and didn’t want to broach the topic so abruptly, so she simply asked, "How’s Hongjun’s leg? What did the doctor say?"
"An old Chinese medicine practitioner saw him, but didn’t really say much. Just prescribed us a big bag of medicine and told us to brew it for Hongjun to drink," Shen Yunfang said as she bent down to gather the firewood.
"So much medicine, huh? The two RMB mom gave can’t be enough, right?" Wang Dan probed.
"Definitely not enough. The medicine cost six and a half in total, and I had someone write up a receipt. I’m going to show it to mom later," Shen Yunfang remembered that her mother-in-law had asked her to get a receipt before she left. Of course, she can’t go now, better wait until things calm down in the western room.
"Oh sister-in-law, you mustn’t go. You don’t know, since you guys left this morning, our parents have been fighting over Hongjun’s medical expenses. It’s been a whole day, and they’re still at it," Wang Dan finally found the opportunity to break the news.
"Oh? What’s wrong with Hongjun seeking treatment?" Shen Yunfang was confused.
"How can you still not understand? I don’t mean to speak ill, sister-in-law, don’t take it to heart. Hongjun’s leg isn’t going to heal overnight. He needs ongoing medication and has to check into the hospital every week. Think about how much money that’ll be over the next few months. You know our mom, she pinches pennies, wants to split a single cent in two. She’s saving everything for Hongqi’s university fees. As soon as you left today, dad started to complain that mom gave you too little money, and mom got upset, she said, said..."
"What did she say? Just tell me, sister-in-law," Shen Yunfang could see her sister-in-law was purposely sharing this with her.
"Well, you’re going to find out sooner or later, so I’ll just say it. Mom said you’re like a bottomless pit—always wanting meat or eggs, and she can’t afford to keep up with it. She mentioned separating the household," Wang Dan watched for Shen Yunfang’s reaction after she finished speaking.
Shen Yunfang was startled and truly surprised; she hadn’t brought up the topic yet, but her mother-in-law had already proposed it. She tried to recall her actions—she had only been wed into the Li family for three days, and she hadn’t done anything out of the ordinary. Why was she not in her mother-in-law’s good graces? To be honest, she had done quite well, tending to the family on her own for the past three days without a word of complaint.
Not quite grasping Shen Yunfang’s reaction, Wang Dan asked, "Sister-in-law, what’s your take on this?"
"What I think isn’t important. As for splitting the household... would dad agree?" Back when Li Hongjun heard about it, he immediately said his dad wouldn’t agree, which shows how much the old man valued keeping the family united.
"Oh dear, you’ve just married into the family and don’t know how stubborn our parents are. I’ll lay it out straight, if mom is set on it, dad can’t outstubborn her. It’s just a matter of time." Wang Dan had clearly understood this point, which is why she had been encouraging her mother-in-law to push for separation behind the scenes. As long as the mother-in-law insists on it, the family will inevitably split.
"Really? This is a big issue; I can’t make this decision. Sister-in-law, I won’t chatter on. I need to go back and discuss this with Hongjun," Shen Yunfang was eager to talk to Li Hongjun about the situation. She picked up the firewood and prepared to head inside.
"Hey, sister-in-law, hold on a moment. Listen to what your sister-in-law has to say," Wang Dan quickly intercepted her and whispered, "In my opinion, separating the household wouldn’t be so bad. These past few days, mom’s been nitpicking at you, and as a daughter-in-law myself, I can’t stand to watch it. Haven’t you noticed? In mom’s eyes, no matter how much we daughters-in-law do or how well we do it, it’s never enough. If we separate, we can manage our own affairs and live our little lives. We won’t have to live day-to-day watching for mom’s mood, don’t you think I’m right?"
