Witty Wife, Better Life

Chapter 396: Chapter 386 Sister, You Must Be Like the Grass

Shen Yunfang ultimately did not take Li Hongjun to the train station because they had spent a bit too long in the hospital, so by the time they both came out, it was already quite late.

Shen Yunfang still had to pick up her two precious children from the nursery, so she could only let Li Hongjun go to the train station by himself.

In the following days, Shen Yunfang spent her mornings tidying up the house and her afternoons visiting Jiajia in the hospital, also taking the opportunity to give Li Xianglian a break. Shen Yunfang even took her to the public baths for a bath.

Jiajia was indeed fortunate. After arriving here, she truly showed improvement. After seven or eight days, she was no longer drifting in and out of consciousness or running a fever. Now, a smile could be seen on Li Xianglian’s face as well.

When Shen Yunfang found the time, she went to the post office and sent a telegram to her brother-in-law back home, updating him about Jiajia’s condition so that they could rest easy, and she also gave him the Ma Family’s address in case he wanted to visit Jiajia.

A couple of days after Li Hongjun left, the owner of the apartment came over, and with Ma Liguo’s help, the transfer of the apartment to Shen Yunfang’s name went smoothly.

Since the apartment was maintained decently, it was habitable with a bit of cleaning and after moving in some furniture. Shen Yunfang took advantage of the school opening period to transfer any useful furniture from the courtyard house to the new place. Then she spent two more days shopping, using all the coupons she had to buy cotton and cloth. It was Mu Huazhen’s old neighbor who helped her make several quilts and bed linens, and of course, she paid for the labor.

She then bought some pots and pans, making the apartment ready for cooking. These apartments were quite upscale, equipped with gas tanks for cooking. After everything was in order, Shen Yunfang officially moved in with the children.

On Zhou Tian, Shen Yunfang specially took the two children to the hospital to let Li Xianglian see them. Since they were born, they had not seen their aunt.

Li Xianglian was delighted to see Pangpang and Manman, constantly offering them tasty treats. Shen Yunfang also gave her family address to her aunt, so she could find them if needed.

Shen Yunfang did not tell Li Xianglian she had bought the apartment, so Li Xianglian assumed it was rented. In her view, not just anyone could afford a house like the old family home, let alone an apartment in the Capital.

Seeing her misunderstanding, Shen Yunfang did not explain but instead began chatting with Jiajia.

"Jiajia, how have you been feeling these past few days?" _{𝚗𝚘v𝚙𝚞b.𝚌𝚘m}

"Pretty good. Aunt, you’re so busy, you don’t need to keep visiting me," Jiajia said softly.

"Busy? There’s nothing so busy that it’s more important than you. Your second uncle specifically asked me before he left to visit you often and to report back to him about your condition in my letters. I have to complete my mission," joked Shen Yunfang.

Jiajia genuinely laughed, touched that her second uncle cared so deeply for her. She felt both shy and happy.

She had always been grateful to her second uncle’s family. Her mother had told her that she owed her life to her second uncle and aunt; otherwise, she might have passed away from illness by now. Hence, when she grew up, she must repay their kindness as she would her own parents.

At twelve years old, a child of a poor household learns responsibility early, and Jiajia understood much already, including distinguishing good people from bad. She genuinely liked and admired this beautiful and kind second aunt.

"Pangpang, didn’t you always say you wanted to visit your sister and had prepared a performance for her? Go on and show her now. Maybe if she’s happy, her illness will get better. It’s all on you," Shen Yunfang said, turning to Pangpang.

Not a bit shy, Pangpang knew it was his cue. Taking his sister by the hand, he stood at his sister’s bedside and said, "I’ll sing ’Little Grass’ for my sister."

After striking a pose, he boldly began singing the tune of "Little Grass."

"No fragrance of flowers, no height of trees, I’m just a little grass unknown to anybody..."

He sang while shaking his body, and Manman next to him also jumped around like having a cramp, clearly acting as her brother’s backup dancer.

The people in the ward were all amused to laughter by the siblings’ antics.

Pangpang felt perplexed watching everyone, as he hadn’t sung anything wrong; amidst the laughter, he persevered and finished the song. He even turned to Jiajia afterwards to offer some encouraging words.

"I hope sister can be like the ’Little Grass.’ It may look tender and frail, and a small breeze might knock it over, but it will stand up strong again once the wind has passed. Mom says it’s because ’Little Grass’ has a strong life force, fearless of wind and rain, never giving up in the face of life’s setbacks." He was afraid of forgetting the lyrics, and after speaking, he looked at Shen Yunfang and asked softly, "Mom, did I get that right?"

"You’re absolutely right; you said it very well," Shen Yunfang affirmed.

Encouraged, Pangpang straightened his little waist, "Sister, you should be like the ’Little Grass.’ If you’re sick, get treatment diligently. Don’t fear injections or medicine, bravely fight the disease. And like dad, may you always win the battle."

"Sister good good, take medicine medicine, no pain pain," Manman ran to the bedside, took Jiajia’s hand, and began to blow gently.

This was how her mom comforted her whenever she was in pain.

"Mhm," Jiajia nodded firmly, resolved to be as her brother said, like the ’Little Grass’—persistent and never giving up.

Those around them applauded as the sibling’s performance concluded.

Pangpang, basking in the moment, bowed to everyone in thanks, while Li Xianglian, smitten, hugged him and didn’t want to let go.

Having stayed in the hospital until the afternoon with the children, Shen Yunfang told Li Xianglian that she would be starting school the following day and might not be able to visit the hospital as often. In case of an emergency, she could call Ma Liguo (since he was the only one with a telephone in his office), who was a comrade-in-arms of Li Hongjun, and it would be no trouble to seek his assistance.

Li Xianglian insisted nothing would go wrong, yet she carefully tucked away the note Shen Yunfang had given her.

"Yunfang, now that Jiajia is out of danger, and the doctor said she’d recover with some care in a few days, you don’t have to worry about us. Go and take care of your own matters," Xianglian said. They had already troubled their younger brother and his family enough, and now Yunfang was still worrying over this and that for them, which made her feel quite embarrassed.

"Big sister, don’t rush the discharge. Jiajia must be fully recovered, and we must wait for the doctor to give the clearance before leaving. If we don’t treat this illness properly, it could become chronic, and the child would suffer for her whole life," Shen Yunfang cautioned Li Xianglian against leaving the hospital too early to save money, as that would be unwise.

"Ah, really? Is that so?" Li Xianglian was startled, having seen Jiajia improve quite a bit and was thinking about discharging and going home if nothing urgent cropped up, to save Yunfang’s family some money.

"Indeed," Shen Yunfang firmly dispelled Li Xianglian’s thought of an early discharge and then took the children home.

Before leaving, she checked Jiajia’s hospital deposit balance. On discovering that of the 130 yuan deposited, over 90 had been spent, she immediately added another 100 yuan.