NOVPUB
Chapter 248: The more you spend, the bigger your hand gets at 238
Wang Dashuan visited that day, accompanied by Shen Yougen, and brought along some gossip from Gaijiatun.
After asking Dashuan about Yunfang’s situation a few days prior, and learning that she needed hospitalization due to a fall and to preserve her pregnancy, the old man went home intending to beat Yunxiu with a broom. Of course, the old lady stopped him. Yunxiu’s child was just over half a year old and still breastfeeding. If Yunxiu got upset and lost her milk, the child would suffer most.
Later, no one knew how things escalated, but the old man insisted that Yunxiu and her husband move out. If they had nowhere to live, they could move into their former house at the production team. He was firm that a married daughter could not live at her parents’ home permanently.
Yunxiu, heartbroken, cried with her son in her arms and wept to her own mother. She didn’t want to leave. She had not anticipated things getting so serious. Had she known, she wouldn’t have been so neglectful.
The old lady had been looking after her grandson for more than half a year. She truly had raised him in her arms and had a stronger bond with him than with her other grandsons. So, when her husband suggested kicking out even her grandson, she blew up, refusing to allow it. If he insisted on sending them away, she would leave with them and let the old man live by himself.
As you can imagine, that matter eventually fizzled out, and Yunxiu still spent each day at home, being taken care of by the old lady. And this time, when Dashuan borrowed a vehicle to come over, the old man did not bring up the idea of having the old lady come along to take care of Yunfang, probably because they hadn’t come to an agreement at home.
Yunfang listened but didn’t pay much attention. Although the old man was her uncle, the old lady and Yunxiu were not any less dear to her than he was. Besides, if the old lady really did come to care for her, it would be difficult for her to make things hard for Yunxiu later on. The way things stood now was perfect; whatever she did to retaliate against Yunxiu in the future, she would feel justified.
Brother Dashuan’s wife then imitated the story about the little girl in the next bed, and the couple sighed together. They too had a daughter who had been sickly since childhood, but they never once thought of abandoning her. Their only thought was that even if it meant breaking the pot and selling the iron, they would keep their daughter alive.
It just goes to show, people are truly different from one another.
Because Dashuan and Shen Yougen didn’t want to spend too much money staying in the city, they had set off early in the morning, arriving around noon, had a warm meal in the cafeteria, dropped off the things they brought into the ward, exchanged a few words with the two women, inquired about the situation, and then started heading back, guessing they would reach home around six or seven in the evening.
After sending them off, Brother Dashuan’s wife started sorting out the things they had brought.
There was a basket of fresh eggs, a basin filled with spiced quail eggs, and another basin with stewed chicken pieces, though it was all topped with a layer of white fat.
"Why did they bring all this stuff from so far away when the cafeteria has everything for sale?" After eating in the cafeteria these past few days, Brother Dashuan’s wife had her eyes opened. She had tried everything, from rabbits on the ground, sea fish in the water, to pigeons in the sky and thus her perspective had broadened a bit.
"Ha, it’s just that my Brother Dashuan is worried about you getting too thin here," Yunfang said with a laugh.
"Tch, about to become a mother and still not acting properly," Brother Dashuan’s wife said, somewhat embarrassed by her comment. Because that’s exactly what Dashuan had said just before leaving.
"What are we going to do with all this? We can’t even cook here. What’s the point of bringing these?" Yunfang said, looking at the fresh eggs on the floor and the two slaughtered and frozen hens.
"There is a place. I heard that the canteen has specially reserved one stove eye, so some of the patients’ families can cook a meal or simmer some soup. But you have to give some money to the canteen," said Dashuan’s wife.
Her frequent visits to the canteen weren’t in vain. Apart from keeping an eye on others’ meals, she also gathered quite a bit of information, particularly since she was worried about Yunfang not being able to buy millet porridge after giving birth (the millet porridge in the canteen was too watery, not suitable for a woman who had just given birth). Eventually, she learned about the canteen renting out stove eyes. Though a bit expensive, at least there was a place to make soup or cook porridge.
She had already inquired thoroughly. Renting a stove eye from the canteen really wasn’t cheap. If you rented by the day, it was ten cents per day; by the month, it was two dollars. Naturally, almost no one rented a stove eye. For ten cents a day, a grown man could eat his fill, and few families were willing to spend that. Monthly rental was even more implausible—who could afford to be hospitalized for a month as if it didn’t cost a dime?
"I didn’t expect the canteen staff to be so clever. This idea isn’t bad," remarked Shen Yunfang, nodding her head. The canteen manager was definitely sharp-witted.
"It’s really not bad. Tomorrow I’ll rent it for a day and make you some chicken soup. This is a hen raised at home; it’s really tasty," Dashuan’s wife said, picking up a plucked hen. Despite its lack of feathers, she recognized it as one of their own chickens at a glance.
Also, these past few days staying here, the money that has been slipping through her fingers daily is simply astounding. It’s often said, the more one spends, the easier it becomes. Now, Dashuan’s wife was feeling just that.
In the past, she would have never agreed to spend eight or ten cents on a single meal. She only earned so many cents a day. If she spent it all on one meal, how would they survive the days ahead? And what about raising the children? 𝙣𝒐𝙫𝙥𝙪𝙗.𝙘𝙤𝙢
However, during these days eating in the canteen, Yunfang insisted on getting two dishes for every meal, and one of them had to be meat. Initially, she thought Yunfang was being wasteful. Other pregnant women didn’t spend like that. But these last few days, Yunfang had changed her mind. She came to believe that this was the most precious time for a woman, a time to spend money if ever there was one. Besides, if she took care of her health now and ate well, the baby would be healthier and get sick less, which meant saving on money that would otherwise be spent on food. When she thought about it that way, it seemed justified.
Moreover, Dashuan’s wife had personal experience. If she had taken this approach when giving birth to Xiaojuan, would the child have had poor health since birth? Over the years, the family had spent who knows how much money on medicine for the child. All things considered, it would have been better to properly nourish the mother’s health, so the child would suffer less afterwards. Thus, these past few days, Dashuan’s wife had been freer with spending, providing Yunfang with good dishes from the canteen whenever possible.
These last few days, they were spending an average of two dollars a day on food. At home, that would have been enough for her whole family to eat for a week.
Spending so much money on food every day, Dashuan’s wife now felt that renting a stove eye for ten cents a day was truly not expensive.
But as the saying goes, no plan can keep up with changes.
That night, the two of them, along with a child, were sleeping in the ward when they heard rustling noises. Since her pregnancy had progressed, Shen Yunfang’s sleep had grown light, and she frequently needed to use the bathroom. She had just been woken by the urge to urinate when she heard unusual sounds in the room.
She was groggy for a short while before she realized what was happening and started thinking about what she should do. Should she stand up and bravely confront the knife-wielding criminal? Thinking of her pregnant belly, Shen Yunfang quickly dismissed that idea. After considering her situation, she decided the best thing to do was to play dead.
As long as the thieves were after money and not her life, she would pretend she hadn’t woken up that night and consider it a lesson learned at the expense of some money.
She lay stiff on the bed without daring to move, controlling her breathing as best as she could. She listened carefully and heard faint sounds of rummaging, indicating that no one had discovered she was awake and that there were not many intruders in the room. She carefully opened her eyes and without making any sudden movements, slowly turned her head at a slight angle, squinting to survey the room.
