Lin Xia quickly packed up a bunch of things, “We usually have lunch at the cafeteria. Your brother-in-law doesn’t come home for lunch, so we’ll go to the hospital directly.”

Qian Lisheng was busy in the workshop when a new apprentice ran over, “Master, Master, the mistress and a beautiful lady even more beautiful than the mistress went to the house. Who is she?”

Qian Lisheng was surprised.

His younger sister-in-law had arrived?

He finished his task and handed it over to his senior apprentice before heading home to check.

When he arrived home, he saw Lin Xia coming out with a yellow enamel basin and a bag on her back, accompanied by his pretty but somewhat temperamental younger sister-in-law.

He smiled, “Third Sister, you’re here? Wife, where are you two going?”

Lin Xia replied, “Our mother is in the hospital, and I need to check on her. You’ll have to have lunch at the cafeteria.”

Qian Lisheng immediately said, “Our mother is ill? I’ll come with you. I haven’t seen her since the New Year.”

If he wasn’t busy, he would naturally go to see his mother-in-law, so Lin Xia agreed.

Qian Lisheng rode his bicycle, planning to take Lin Xia, but she insisted on taking a rickshaw with her sister instead.

They all arrived at the city hospital just in time for lunch.

They exchanged pleasantries and showed their concern to Fang Dihua and Lin Mu before preparing to eat.

Lin Xia brought steamed buns, pancakes, and a pot of potato stew with meat.

She couldn’t help but quietly complain to Qian Lisheng, “With you added, there won’t be enough food.”

Qian Lisheng whispered, “It’s okay. You and Mother eat first. I’ll go back and have lunch at the cafeteria. Don’t starve yourself because of me; it makes me sad.”

Lin Xia smiled, “You won’t starve. Just buy a few more buns and some vegetables at the hospital.”

Lin Shu had already taken out money and ration tickets to get food.

Qian Lisheng immediately said, “Third Sister, you rest. You and Mother shouldn’t be the ones getting food. I’ll go.”

Lin Xia first asked about Lin Mother’s condition, and after learning that it was just a scare and nothing serious, she started reprimanding, “You always have the strength to scold your own daughter, but why don’t you dare be tough on Sun Xiaohong? If someone is throwing things, blame her. Go to her house and make a scene.”

Lin Mother retorted, “I don’t have your thick skin. If I don’t catch the culprit, going to their house would be too embarrassing.”

Lin Xia said, “If you’re not afraid of being embarrassed, you wouldn’t have gotten sick from fright. You need to learn to be thick-skinned and not care about losing face. From now on, you should stroll around the hospital every day and tell everyone how awful the Sun family is.”

Lin Mother was already considering sending her away.

Her third daughter was aggravating, but the second one was even worse.

She said…

“You’re all so busy with work. Don’t let me take up your time. I’m feeling much better now. There’s nothing wrong,” Lin’s Mother said.

Lin Xia responded, “It’s my day off today. It’s no problem.”

She moved closer to show concern for Fang Dihua, her younger sister’s mother-in-law, and made sure she was well taken care of.

Fang Dihua said, “The doctor said if we delay, it could lead to blindness. Since we’ve done the procedure, everything’s fine now.”

Lin Xia nodded, “Yes, you should treat illnesses promptly and not delay.”

Lin Shu’s mother was still worried about Lin Xia’s pregnancy.

It seemed that while her third sister, Lin Shu, had two children despite being younger, Lin Xia hadn’t yet had any.

“Has your mother-in-law been pushing you?”

“Does your husband have any thoughts on this?”

“Have you seen a doctor? What did the doctor say? Are you taking medicine?”

“Is there any progress?”

Lin Xia, feeling impatient, said, “Mother, you’re asking too many questions. Everything’s fine. Don’t worry unnecessarily.”

Lin Shu added, “Mother, it’s not fair to ask only my sister to see the doctor. My brother-in-law should also get checked.”

Lin Mother replied, “Having children is a woman’s issue, isn’t it? Why would the man need to see a doctor?”

Lin Shu retorted, “Mother, that’s not fair. Having children is indeed related to both partners. If it were only a woman’s issue, then what’s the point of marriage? It’s definitely something that involves both the husband and wife.”

Fang Dihua agreed, “The daughter-in-law is right.”

Just then, Qian Lisheng came back with the meal.

He heard the conversation outside the door and stepped back quietly until the topic was no longer discussed before returning inside.

“Are you starving?” he asked.

“Eat up. The hospital food isn’t bad. I made some scrambled eggs.”

During the meal, Lin Xia said, “Mother, I’ll let Dad know and have him come over.”

Qian Lisheng immediately said, “I’ll go over there on my bike and let them know.”

Lin Mother hurriedly said, “If they’re busy with their studies, don’t have them come over. I’m fine. Once I finish my injections, we can visit and then head back.”

Lin Xia said, “You old lady, you don’t understand anything. Just stay put in your courtyard.”

She and Lin Shu went to the office to see Dr. Shen, checked on Lin Mother’s condition, and only relaxed once they confirmed there were no major issues.

Dr. Shen said Lin Mother had chronic issues, was generally weak, and lacked proper nutrition.

Resting and improving her nutrition would help her get better.

When they returned, Lin Xia told her mother, “I’ll buy you two cans of malted milk. Drink them yourself instead of just giving them to the baby.”

The baby was hugging a large tea jar and drinking water immediately.

She delivered the bowl to Lin Mother, “Grandma, drink up, drink up.”

Lin Xia was instantly charmed by how well-behaved Bao’er was.

She hugged him and said to Lin Mother, “Why don’t you give Bao’er to me? Lin Yue will definitely remarry after the New Year, and they might have more children then. You won’t be short of one more.”

She turned to Qian Lisheng and smiled, “What do you think? Bao’er is so adorable. We might not be able to have such a wonderful child.”

Lin Mother said, “What are you talking about? You two should go see a doctor and focus on having your own children.”

She didn’t insist further and only advised her daughter to get checked.

Qian Lisheng agreed repeatedly.

Lin Shu suggested, “Since you have time today, why not go check the obstetrics and gynecology department?”

Qian Lisheng said, “But… it’s too rushed. We haven’t prepared anything.”

Lin Xia also quietly nudged Lin Shu and whispered, “The workshop is so busy, I haven’t even had a chance to shower.”

Lin Xia had seen both traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine in the past, but none provided a clear reason.

Traditional Chinese medicine said she might have a cold uterus or be deficient in blood and energy, but she felt quite energetic.

Western medicine also found nothing conclusive.

Lin Shu said, “Sister, I’ve inquired with the nurse. The city hospital has a new imaging machine this year called an ultrasound machine. It can take pictures of the inside of the body.”

Lin Xia asked, “Like taking X-rays of bones?”

Injuries are usually checked with X-rays to determine if there are fractures, but X-rays can’t explain why someone isn’t getting pregnant.

Lin Shu explained, “Yes, it mainly looks at internal organs—heart, liver, spleen, lungs, breasts, uterus, and so on.”

Lin Xia was intrigued.

They both worked in factories and had factory health insurance, so even if the scan was expensive, it could be reimbursed.

Lin Shu subtly tugged at her sleeve, indicating they should come immediately the next day.

Lin Xia was persuaded, “Alright, we’ll take time off and come for the scan tomorrow.”

Lin Shu was worried that Qian’s mother might give her sister some harmful folk remedies, so she deliberately said to Qian Lisheng, “Brother-in-law, if the medicine isn’t prescribed by a proper hospital, don’t let my sister take it.

My father-in-law said he’s heard of many problems caused by taking the wrong folk remedies. There was a woman who couldn’t conceive, and her mother-in-law gave her all kinds of strange medicines to drink.

Later, her belly started growing, and everyone thought she was pregnant. But after a year, she still hadn’t given birth, and her belly was about to burst. When they went to the hospital, they found out she wasn’t pregnant at all; she had developed a tumor from taking those remedies, and her belly was filled with pus.”

When Qian Lisheng saw Lin Mother’s scared expression, he turned pale. Lin Mother grabbed Lin Xia’s hand, urging her not to eat recklessly.

Fang Dihua quickly turned away to drink water to hide her amusement.

She thought her daughter-in-law was quite cunning in her ways.

Lin Shu noticed Qian Lisheng’s frightened reaction and knew her attempt to scare them was effective.

Since her brother-in-law seemed genuinely concerned, he must really want to resolve the issue.

She pieced together the original memories and the plot of the book, along with some gossip from Tong Ailian.

It seemed Qian Mother was causing trouble recently, feeling quite discontent.

Lin Xia’s marriage had been arranged by Lin Nai(Lin Shu’s Grandmother), and moving from the countryside to the city’s steel plant seemed like an upgrade for the Lin family in the eyes of outsiders.

Initially, Lin Xia didn’t have a job, but she kept busy by doing laundry and odd jobs to earn some money.

A year later, when her mother-in-law broke her leg and needed a long break, Lin Xia took over her job.

At first, Lin Xia didn’t have any skills and did menial work at the steel plant.

Later, she started working in the kitchen. The head chef there was disabled, had mediocre cooking skills, and a bad temper.

Most people found it hard to work with him.

However, Lin Xia didn’t mind.

When she found his cooking unsatisfactory, she started cooking herself, which annoyed the chef, who accused her of trying to take over his position.

Despite his complaints, Lin Xia sympathized with his disability and helped him frequently.

Eventually, he handed her two notebooks and asked her to study them.

It turned out he was a very experienced electrician.

Since he was willing to teach her, Lin Xia accepted and apprenticed under him.

With a basic education and a strong willingness to learn, Lin Xia quickly picked up electrical work and became a qualified electrician within a year.

After obtaining her certification, she became a level-one electrician, and now she is a level-two electrician, aiming for level-three.

Many men her age were still only level-one.

The couple earned a good income, and Lin Xia earned more than her mother-in-law had before.

Besides supporting her teacher, she also shared part of her salary with her mother-in-law.

Her mother-in-law had no complaints and thought the job was worth it.

In the six years of marriage, Lin Xia and her husband’s relationship had been good, with the only regret being that they didn’t have children.

It seemed her brother-in-law was still doing well.

However, Qian Mother, frustrated, started using all sorts of folk remedies for Lin Xia, who was not someone to be easily manipulated.

If the prescribed medicine from the doctor wasn’t effective, why would folk remedies work?

This would inevitably lead to conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.