The Little Widow's Daily Routine Of Raising Cubs In The 1980's - Chapter 5

Shitou’s mother treasures her two sons the most. Immediately, she was intimidated: “If you dare touch my son, I’ll fight you to the death.”

He Yu’s lips curled up, quite satisfied with her own performance. Her words hit the mark instantly, much sharper than when she first arrived in this era.

“I’ll give you this warning, otherwise, I don’t know what I might do.”

“Shengsheng, let’s go.”

On the way back, Wen Ze suddenly felt that he hadn’t read enough books. He couldn’t even come up with a few comforting words. He could only dryly say, “Mom, please don’t be angry.”

He Yu patted his head. “I’m not angry, dear. Mom is thinking about what to cook for dinner.”

Wen Ze scratched his head in distress, making a resolution to read more books and enrich himself when he got back.

Worried that his mother might be unhappy, Wen Ze racked his brains to change the subject. As they neared home, a familiar scent of Chinese medicine permeated the air near the street.

“Mom, I smell the scent of simmering Chinese medicine.”

Wen Ze sniffed like a little dog, following the scent of Chinese medicine in the air, and his gaze fell on the yard next to their house. “It seems to be coming from Auntie Zhang’s house. Mom, is Auntie Zhang sick?”

He Yu hadn’t seen Auntie Zhang Cuihua from next door come to the clinic. “She must be feeling unwell.”

There was only one traditional Chinese medicine clinic in the county, but more than one traditional Chinese doctor. The Xun family was the most famous and trusted. Especially among the elderly, their reputation was excellent.

The hospital had both Western and traditional Chinese medicine, but not only were the medications expensive, but they also often lacked effectiveness.

The prescriptions from the Xun family varied from person to person. Xun Qingrui had always respected the tradition of the Xun family in helping those in need of medical treatment.

Over the past few decades, with his skills and a few medicinal herbs, he had given countless families new hope.

Years ago, the county hospital had invited Xun Qingrui to work there, offering him a salary from the state.

Xun Qingrui declined and continued to run his clinic with his family.

Looking up, Wen Ze asked curiously, “Mom, can you smell what medicinal herbs are there?”

He Yu tapped his nose and chuckled, “What are you thinking? If I had that ability, your Grandpa Xun wouldn’t scold me every day.”

The scent of simmering medicinal herbs was mixed together. Apart from the distinctive aroma of certain herbs, it was almost impossible to discern which herbs were being used by simply smelling the air.

The door of the Zhang family’s courtyard was open, and Zhang Cuihua appeared in the yard, holding up laundry to dry.

“He Yu? Why are you standing outside? Come in and sit.”

In a way, Zhang Cuihua was similar to He Yu, both being widows with children. However, their situations were quite different.

Zhang Cuihua’s husband had passed away a few years ago, leaving her with her only daughter, who was studying at a university in City C, as well as her family. Seeing He Yu reminded her of the difficult years after her husband’s death, and she was always ready to lend a helping hand.

He Yu smiled and held out a net bag filled with plums. “No need, Sister Cuihua. These plums are freshly bought, sweet and sour. Take some to taste.”

Zhang Cuihua waved her hand. “I can’t take yours. I heard you’re taking care of Shengsheng yourself?”

News traveled fast on the street, so it wasn’t surprising that she knew about it.

“Yes.”

Zhang Cuihua clapped her hands and agreed, “Taking care of him yourself is fine, just a bit tiring. Luckily, your Shengsheng is obedient, so you don’t have to worry too much. The crazy lady from the Xin’s, she’s so erratic, there may be times when you can’t take care of everything.”

She spoke ambiguously, but it was heartfelt.

He Yu asked with concern, “Aunt Cuihua, are you feeling unwell? I smell the scent of Chinese medicine coming from your house.”

Zhang Cuihua pinched her arm and sighed. “It’s an old problem; my body always feels numb for no reason. I didn’t pay much attention to it before. Recently, the numbness has lasted longer, affecting my business in the store. I went to the Xun family to see, and got a few packets of Chinese medicine. I forgot about it these past two days, and just remembered to simmer it today.”

“Oh, I remember you’ve been busy at the clinic. I didn’t see you when I went there the other day.”

“You were probably in the backyard sorting medicinal herbs.”

She recalled the symptoms related to numbness in her mind, found the relevant ones, and went through them in her mind, tentatively asking, “Sister Cuihua, is your condition not serious?”

Though phrased as a question, her tone leaned towards affirmation.

Zhang Cuihua was surprised. “You guessed it right. Master Xun said it’s due to insufficient Qi and blood, something I don’t really understand. It’s not serious, just let me take some Chinese medicine to regulate it.”

Seeing that what she said matched her thoughts, He Yu smiled. It was good, reinforcing what she had learned.

Sudden and persistent numbness in the body might be caused by inadequate blood circulation. In layman’s terms, it meant long-term deficiency of Qi and blood, leading to the inability of the body’s tendons and vessels to be nourished.

Zhang Cuihua remembered the rice in the kitchen and said hurriedly, “Oh, I still have rice cooking in the pot. Let me check on it to make sure it doesn’t burn.”

“Go ahead. It’s getting late, I should go home.” He Yu grabbed a few plums from the net bag and placed them on the door rail. “Aunt Cuihua, I’ve left some plums for you at the door, remember to take them inside.”

“Alright, thank you.” Zhang Cuihua’s voice came through the crack of the door.

After dinner, the two of them washed up and sat under the eaves to cool off.

Each holding a book, with washed plums and a handful of peanuts in between, they enjoyed their leisure time.

At this moment, the tightly closed courtyard door was knocked.

Before He Yu could speak, Wen Ze ran to open the door. Seeing it was Shitou’s older brother, he pouted and was about to close the door without thinking.

Xin Li, who had a passable appearance and looked like a gentle scholar, was actually very popular among the girls. He often bought snacks and toys to please Wen Ze. Some of the toys were even better than what Shitou had.

Wen Ze never accepted them because Shitou’s mother had scolded his mother. He didn’t like anyone from this family. If it weren’t for fearing that his mother would worry about him not fitting in, he wouldn’t want to play with these kids.

Xin Li used his hand to block the door crack and asked softly, “Xiaoze, is your mom home?”

“Wen Ze, it’s me.” Shitou popped his head out from behind him, with a lollipop in his mouth, swaying from side to side.

Wen Ze couldn’t close the door. His expression was listless as he looked at the two brothers, full of unwelcome feelings. “My mom is busy, both of you go away. Don’t come looking for my mom in the future.”

“I hate you.”

He hated anyone who treated his mom poorly, no matter who it was.

Even if it was his biological father whom he had never met, Wen Ze still couldn’t muster any liking for him. It was all because of him that his mom had been treated so badly by the Wen family.

Shitou was dumbfounded, his little black hand holding the lollipop pausing in mid-air. “Xiaoze, what’s wrong with you?”

Xin Li showed a guilty expression, guessing the reason behind it, and didn’t know what to say for a moment.

Wen Ze glared angrily at the two of them. “Ask your brother. Don’t call me little brother.”

In the yard, He Yu caught a glimpse of a somewhat familiar face outside the door and overheard their conversation. She got up and walked out.

Seeing her appear, Xin Li, who had a gentle expression, stiffened for a moment, and quickly recovered. He looked like a good man who was infinitely tolerant of children’s bad temper. “He Yu, you’re here.”

He Yu was wearing a loose white long-sleeved nightgown, with her long hair loosely tied at her neck. Her fair little face was expressionless, pure and translucent. There were no unnecessary decorations on her, and her outstanding beauty couldn’t be concealed.

She was without any makeup or extra accessories on her body, yet her exceptional appearance was evident.

He Yu took the hand of the emotionally off-kilter little brat and asked calmly, “Is there something you need?”

Xin Li’s gentle expression froze for a moment under the moonlight, his face flushing slightly. The rehearsed words he had repeated on his way here became stuttered at this moment.

He handed over what he was holding, asking nervously, “He… He Yu, are you and Shengsheng okay? My mom was too impulsive today, I apologize on her behalf to both of you.”

He had heard from neighbors about his mother causing trouble for He Yu and her son on the street. As soon as he got home from work, he went to the store and bought a lot of food and a dress.

Wen Ze was young, but he could tell from Xin Li’s expression that this man had a special place in his heart for his mother, and that look in his eyes made him feel nauseous.

“My mom doesn’t need these!” He swept away the pile of things in front of him.

The pastries wrapped in paper scattered all over the ground, and the green bean cakes rolled around the yard entrance. They kept rolling in circles until they reached the dark corners where the moonlight couldn’t reach.

Xin Li felt extremely disappointed. “He Yu, I really like you. I’ve said it before, I’ll treat Shengsheng as my own child. If you don’t believe me, I can swear to it.”

“Can you give me a chance? I’ll try to persuade my parents. After we get married, the factory will allocate a house, and we can move out to live on our own.”

“… ”

He Yu listened, yawning. Look, what a moving oath and promise, what a big and round pie, enough food for several generations.

This person, if born in a famine era, would surely have done something remarkable. A few words of persuasion could fill countless stomachs.

She smoothed out the stray strands of hair beside her ear and interrupted his passionate speech with a smile, “What if I told you I had a problem with my stomach when I gave birth to Shengsheng and couldn’t have any more children?”

The torrents of words from Xin Li were suddenly choked off, as if someone had grabbed him by the throat. Looking at He Yu, his eyes were filled with disbelief and a hint of subconscious hesitation.

Was it worth continuing to do this? Was it worth spending his whole life raising someone else’s child?

He Yu chuckled and took the money Wen Ze was holding in his hands, without counti

ng how much, and lightly threw it all onto the stunned man’s face.

“Get lost.”

There was no second Wen Chen in the world, she had known this long ago.