Chapter 198: Gratitude
On this first snow night, she left behind a string of crisp, silver bell-like laughter, along with someone’s extremely cooperative fake cries of leg pain.
Even back home lying in bed recalling that mischievous face, she couldn’t help but laugh, hugging the quilt and rolling around wildly.
“Woof woof~”
Little Round Circle nestled in the dog bed at the foot of the bed watched its owner’s baffling behavior, big question marks rising in its wet eyes.
The next morning, Su Ning, getting up to wash up, saw the stove in the kitchen with fire already lit and warm breakfast, her face breaking into an unstoppable smile.
Having such a gentle and considerate partner really felt pretty good.
She nodded slightly, giving affirmation to Comrade Yan Bei’s performance on his first day officially on the job.
With a sweet smile, she finished the loving breakfast, picked up her things, and went out the door.
Because it had snowed all night, the sky was somewhat gray and overcast, and the roads in the fields were piled with half a finger thick of cold, hard ice.
The wind blew small snowflakes dancing everywhere, accompanied by her crunching footsteps.
She exhaled a breath of hot air that instantly turned into white mist, and after walking not far, her nose tip froze red.
Rounding this field ridge, she bumped into educated youths holding shovels and hoes, preparing to dig ditches, their faces looking worse than one another.
“Doctor Su!”
Seeing her, Zhang Yi’s eyes lit up with a joyful smile, he couldn’t help calling out, then suddenly stopped his leg that was about to step forward as he remembered something.
Ever since that last incident, who knows where the rumor started.
They said that digging ditches in winter and not approving their educated youths’ family visit leave were all because of him, making his days at the Educated Youth Point even harder.
Not only mocked and targeted openly and covertly, but even excluded from communal meals.
Exhausted half to death from work every day, he still had to pitifully cook his own food upon returning; that dead fat woman Dong Ruolan hadn’t appeared again for some reason, couldn’t even arrange a meetup, and he had bitterly lost who knows how much hard-earned flesh.
And the source of all this was the evening after confronting those two women that day.
He wasn’t stupid; connecting it to the other village second-rate hoodlums who had similarly been taught a lesson, anyone with eyes could see this matter was absolutely inseparable from her.
No matter how good the beauty, how could she compare to one’s own life?
If he hadn’t even gotten the quota to return to the city yet and his life was ruined, what damn use would it be!
“Tch~”
Seeing his thief-hearted but cowardly appearance, Yuan Qing couldn’t help sneering: What a coward.
She had thought his fighting power was strong, at least able to cause her some trouble, but who knew he was just useless trash.
However, having suffered that loss last time, Yuan Qing didn’t have the habit of stubbornly charging forward.
“Good morning, Doctor Su.”
“Yao Zhiqing.”
Ignoring the two weird looks, Su Ning smiled and nodded, greeting Yao Zhiqin.
This team leader of the Educated Youth Point, she had only dealt with a couple times; her impression of him was neither good nor bad—slick and capable, quite popular in the current situation.
Passing them by, not far ahead she heard panting breaths from behind.
“Wait, Doctor Su!”
The person chasing up was a female comrade with a student bob haircut to her ears; her baby face with this hairstyle looked even more youthful.
“Doctor Su, I want to buy some medicine.”
Catching her breath a bit, Xu Qian stated her purpose; whether from the earlier run or shyness, her face flushed slightly before she finished speaking.
“What medicine?”
“Painkillers, do you have any?”
Seeing her think briefly and nod that she did, Xu Qian finally relaxed a bit.
The two walked in silence, one behind the other, to the health clinic.
Opening the courtyard gate, Su Ning led her to the pharmacy, took out the bottle of painkillers from the glass cabinet, and then retrieved a small square paper from the drawer behind.
She poured out a few small round white pills according to the needed amount, skillfully folded it into a triangular paper packet, collected the money, and handed it to her.
She had noticed earlier that she kept clutching her lower abdomen without letting go; as a fellow woman, she naturally knew the reason for buying painkillers.
“Xu Zhiqing, this medicine for stomach pain can be habit-forming, so try to take as little as possible; usually pay more attention to staying warm and avoid cold or raw foods.”
“Thank you, Doctor Su, I understand.”
Somewhat surprised she would speak up, and with caring words at that, Xu Qian smiled and thanked her: This person doesn’t seem like what Yuan Qing said.
Hesitating for a few seconds, the foot that had stepped over the threshold drew back; Xu Qian glanced back guiltily, confirmed no one was there, then stepped forward and whispered a reminder.
“Doctor Su, if unfamiliar people call you, like for an emergency or something, you… you mustn’t go alone!”
Without waiting for her to ask back, Xu Qian quickly turned and jogged away, her hand holding the medicine tightening over her abdomen: Let this reminder be her kind response to herself.
Watching that rabbit-like fleeing back, Su Ning touched her fingertip, mentally replaying her headless words.
Was someone at the Educated Youth Point planning something against her?
“Doctor Xiao Su!”
“Hm?”
Head wrapped in a scarf, body bundled tightly, the exposed eyes shimmering with tears yet full of excitement and joy.
“Elder Sister Zhu? Older Brother Liao? You two are…”
As soon as they entered, Liao Xintian lightly supported his daughter-in-law’s waist with one hand, the other holding a bamboo basket filled with a basket of eggs.
“Doctor Xiao Su, knowing you were back, we hurried over!”
Liao Xintian released his supporting hand, face full of gratitude as he gently placed the bamboo basket on the glass cabinet, “We don’t have anything good at home to offer, but Doctor Xiao Su, you must accept these eggs!”
“Yes, yes, Doctor Xiao Su, take these eggs first; when the weather gets colder and our old hen stops laying, we’ll slaughter it and send it over.”
Eggs and old hens—these were the best body-tonifying things in the village.
“Elder Sister Zhu, good news? Already confirmed?”
“The old traditional Chinese medicine doctor took the pulse, said it’s early months, wait another ten days or half a month to check again.”
“Doctor Xiao Su, thank you, I… I really don’t know how to thank you!”
The inarticulate man could only repeat thanks over and over, his reddened eyes holding tears; if not for the situation not allowing it, fearing any bad influence on her, Liao Xintian really wished he could kneel and kowtow a few times.
Quickly wiping her eyes, Zhu Yuhua gripped her hand that was about to push back the basket; her rough palm rubbed against her soft smooth hand back, and she immediately withdrew as if afraid of scraping her.
But she kept saying, “Doctor Xiao Su, you must accept it, or we’ll have to come running here every day.”
This gift-giving even came with a threat.
Amused, Su Ning nodded, thinking there seemed to be a can of milk powder left in the space suitable for pregnant women to nourish the body.
A whole can the villagers’ simplicity probably wouldn’t accept, but packaging some after opening should be fine, so she didn’t refuse further.
Seeing her accept, the couple both showed genuine joyful smiles.
Subconsciously touching her still flat abdomen, Zhu Yuhua then pulled out the remaining half jar of ointment from her bosom.
“Doctor Xiao Su, there’s some ointment left, what do you think?”
She remembered clearly that Doctor Xiao Su had said this medicine couldn’t be told to others without permission, nor shown to anyone.
Now that she had successfully conceived, and at such an advanced age for a first child, both families’ elders weren’t reassured and said they would come take care of her.
With more people around, she feared the secret couldn’t be well protected anymore; after thinking, she felt she should ask.
Though with selfish thoughts, hoping to use the remaining ointment after this baby to conceive another, breaking the Liao family curse of difficult single-lineage heirs.
She endured and endured to suppress the temptation; initially just hoping for one child of her own was enough, but people are indeed greedy and unsatisfied.
Such precious medicine, ancestral secret recipe—Doctor Xiao Su gave it out of kindness and trust; she couldn’t do something ungrateful that might bring trouble.
“This medicine has a shelf life; since Elder Sister Zhu is now pregnant, I’ll take back the rest and dispose of it.”
“Ah, good.”
Although she had bought this medicine with her own money and logically the remainder should be theirs to decide, hearing her say to take it back and dispose neither was unhappy.
They hadn’t read books or understood big principles, but they knew good from bad, with their own scale in their hearts.
