Chapter 16.2

By the time she came out, she saw Xu Meng hanging clothes to dry. Water dripped from the garments, landing on the ground with soft splashes. The scorching floor would soon evaporate it all. The air was thick with heat. Just now, when they had brought up the topic of having children, it reminded her of something—Xu Meng had also fallen into water when she was little.

“Mengmeng, let’s get up early tomorrow. You should go to bed early tonight.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Just now Auntie Liu mentioned seeing a doctor, and I want you to come with me,” said Feng Yanwen. She had thought it through and decided Xu Meng should also get checked out. In the past, when she had no money, it simply wasn’t an option. But now that they had some means, not taking Mengmeng to the doctor didn’t sit right with her.

Xu Meng had just finished hanging the clothes. She looked up and asked, “Why do I have to go? You can go by yourself.”

She had heard what Sister Liu said earlier—wasn’t it just about fertility? Did she really need to go along for that?

But Feng Yanwen was firm. “No. You’re going too.”

Seeing the look on her face—one that left no room for argument—Xu Meng opened her mouth but couldn’t get the words out. Feng Yanwen had become much more assertive than before. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it meant tomorrow morning’s watermelon delivery would need help from the little ones. Zhang Guifen wouldn’t arrive too early. Thinking it over, she waved to the eldest child:

“Liu Jin, come here for a second…”

—

The hospital normally opened at eight o’clock, so the two of them planned to head out early, get the consultation and medicine done, and then return to the train station to start work.

Freelancing really was such a joy—mwahaha.

Before going out, of course, they had to get properly dressed. Feng Yanwen even dug out a skirt she hadn’t worn in ages. After all, skirts weren’t practical for running a stall at the train station. Xu Meng was even coaxed into wearing a dress. With her striking looks, the dress made her figure stand out even more.

Feng Yanwen looked at her with great satisfaction. “Beautiful. Girls should dress like this.”

The two dresses had been bought after they left the Xu household.

They weren’t expensive, but the colors really flattered their skin tones.

She was a traditional woman who liked to see girls wearing dresses.

When Xu Meng was little, she had been chubby-cheeked and adorable. Back then, Feng Yanwen still had a job, and she bought lots of little dresses to dress Xu Meng up. It made Xu Jia, who was the same age, green with envy—she really wanted pretty dresses too.

“What’s so pretty about it? I just don’t like wearing skirts.”

Xu Meng’s looks leaned toward the striking side, which older people often disliked. Some even gossiped behind her back, calling her seductive and improper. When they were living with the Xu family, it was Granny Xue who started the gossip, and Xu Meng’s reputation ended up in shambles.

In her previous life, right after graduating high school, people came to their home to arrange a match. But none of them were respectable suitors. At the time, Granny Xue’s standards were crude and simple—whoever offered the highest bride price was the one she chose.

As soon as the two of them stepped outside today, they drew a different kind of attention. At first, Xu Meng thought she was just imagining things, but after several people along the way came up to greet them, she realized she wasn’t mistaken—it really wasn’t just in her head.

“Mom, I have a secret to tell you,” Xu Meng said mysteriously. “Someone’s looking at you.”

Feng Yanwen was so amused she laughed. “Who would be looking at me?”

No—someone really was looking at her.

Her expression shifted. She suddenly thought of the argument with Xu Jiefang the day before… someone must have seen the scene and was now gossiping about it. Without another word, she pulled Xu Meng and hurried on their way.

Xu Meng found it all quietly amusing. She didn’t think the stares were malicious, but she still quickened her pace to spare Feng Yanwen any discomfort.

The two of them went to a relatively well-known hospital. Standing at the registration window, Feng Yanwen registered for two appointments.

Xu Meng asked, “Mom, why did you register for two?”

Feng Yanwen replied, “One’s for you too.”

Xu Meng said, “Me?”

Feng Yanwen explained, “You fell into the water when you were little too. I want to see if there are any related issues.”

Xu Meng wasn’t too keen on getting checked, but once Feng Yanwen had her in her sights, there was no avoiding it. She insisted on taking her along, and the two of them went into the doctor’s office together.

The doctor was a woman in her fifties, chubby with a round face. When she saw the two of them enter together, she first motioned for Feng Yanwen to sit down and then began taking her pulse.

Since fertility issues were usually treated with traditional Chinese medicine, Feng Yanwen had chosen an old TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) doctor, registering with someone known for expertise in that area. As soon as she sat down, she was about to explain her symptoms, but the doctor waved her hand, signaling her not to speak yet.

“Let me take your pulse first.”

Doctors with real skill during this time often didn’t like patients to describe their symptoms upfront. A proper pulse reading would reveal everything they needed to know.

After taking the pulse on the left wrist, the doctor switched to the right. Then she asked Feng Yanwen to stick out her tongue and examined the coating.

“You’ve got some uterine cold, and your digestive system isn’t in great shape either. You’re not sleeping very well at night, are you?”

Feng Yanwen felt the doctor’s assessment was spot on. “Exactly. These days, if I get up at night to use the bathroom, I can’t fall back asleep afterward. At first I thought it was just the noise from the environment, but even after moving to a quieter place, I still can’t sleep well. Then in the morning, I’m exhausted—tired but not sleeping properly.”

…She rambled on about all sorts of things and ended up forgetting the original reason for the visit, which was the fertility issue.

Then she pulled Xu Meng over and urged, “Doctor, could you take a look at this child too?”

She handed over the registration slip and had Xu Meng sit down for a pulse reading.

This time, after checking the pulse, the doctor didn’t give an immediate diagnosis. Instead, she began asking Xu Meng some questions.

“Are your periods regular?”

“Regular.”

“How many days?”

“About six to seven.”

“For your age, six to seven days is normal. What about the flow?”

……

In the end, after asking a long string of questions, the conclusion was that Xu Meng was in excellent health—there wasn’t a single issue. If one really had to nitpick, it would be that Xu Meng was slightly undernourished. However, since she had been eating well and resting properly lately, and young people tend to recover quickly, there was no major concern.

“She’s fine. Just make sure she eats more nutritious food. Did both of you not eat well before? Now that your conditions have improved, and if things at home aren’t too difficult, boil two eggs every morning—one for each of you. No need for fancy methods. Plain boiled eggs are the most nutritious…”

Feng Yanwen looked almost in disbelief. “She really doesn’t have any problems?”

The doctor was a little speechless. “Are you hoping she has something wrong with her?”

Feng Yanwen was at a loss for words. For a moment, she nearly forgot what they had come to the hospital for.

Xu Meng quickly stepped in. “Doctor, my mom can’t have children. She says it’s a condition left over from falling into the water when she was little. And it just so happens that I also fell into the water when I was a child. She’s worried I might have the same problem, so she brought me here to check. Could you take a look at her? Can her condition be treated?”

The doctor was immediately displeased. “Nonsense. Uterine cold is one thing, but it’s not to the extent that you can’t have children.”

Xu Meng asked, “It’s not?”

“When exactly were you diagnosed? What was the situation? Was there a proper examination? Was it a blocked fallopian tube? An ectopic pregnancy? There has to be a clear explanation. If none of that has been done, and you’re just saying she fell into water and can’t have kids—if that were the case, then all swimmers should have fertility issues. Where’s the logic in that?”

Feng Yanwen felt as if a wave of cold had swept through her heart. She wasn’t even sure how she walked out of the doctor’s office.

Xu Meng had asked a few more questions, then led the dazed Feng Yanwen out the door.

Once outside, Xu Meng had her sit on one of the hospital’s long benches while she went to the pharmacy to collect the medicine. Feng Yanwen sat there obediently, as if her soul had been sucked out, and it was no wonder she seemed so out of sorts. All this time, it had been because of this matter, and the guilt she carried inside. That was why she had lived with such a sense of humiliation and powerlessness.

After all, she had been a college graduate in the 1970s. But just the thought that the Xu family had “tolerated” her, that they hadn’t made a fuss about it, made her feel like she had no right to leave Xu Jiefang. And a woman like her—divorced and unable to bear children—what kind of future match could she possibly expect? Even if someone came along, it would likely be someone with ulterior motives looking for a woman to raise his kids.

Xu Meng could still remember how, when she was little, any time this topic came up, Granny Xue would jab her finger at Feng Yanwen’s nose and unleash a storm of insults—calling her a barren old hen and worse, the nastier the better. All these years had passed, and Feng Yanwen had indeed never even gotten pregnant.

Even though she was an educated woman, Feng Yanwen wasn’t perfect in every way. When it came to reproductive health, it was truly a blind spot for her.

Xu Meng decided to let Feng Yanwen sit by herself for a while—her own mind was already in enough of a mess.

Just as she walked into the payment hall, she spotted a familiar figure.

The man was tall and lean, with handsome features—it was Han Jiming.

Xu Meng saw him right away and waved. “Uncle Han.”

Han Jiming saw her too and quickly walked over. The corners of his eyes curved into a smile as he looked her up and down before asking, “What brings you to the hospital? Are you sick?”

As Xu Meng walked toward the payment counter, she said, “My mom came to see a doctor, just to get her health regulated a bit.”

Han Jiming immediately looked visibly relieved.

There weren’t many people in the morning, so Xu Meng’s turn came quickly. After she finished paying, she turned around and saw that Han Jiming was still there.

It was only then that she noticed he was wearing a white coat. On him, the outfit gave off a unique presence.

Han Jiming looked slightly embarrassed. “What is it?”

Xu Meng smiled. “You seem different from the last time we met. Are you a doctor?”

The first two times she had seen him, he had always come across as carefree and a bit roguish.

Han Jiming said, “I’m here to check on my niece.”

His eyes swept over her. “You’re dressed differently than usual today too.”

Xu Meng smiled. “Well, it’s kind of an outing. My mom insisted on dressing me up a little.” She looked a bit uncomfortable.

But Han Jiming chuckled. “You actually look quite nice.”

That only made Xu Meng even more self-conscious. With his background and looks, there were surely plenty of girls around him. She probably wouldn’t even rank among them. Thinking that made her feel even more awkward—but just then, someone came over to call Han Jiming.

“Uncle Han, you go ahead. I’ll be heading back after I finish up here.”

“Still doing business over at the train station? I remember you said you’ll be going back to school next semester.”

“Yeah, it’s summer break. We just moved out, and we need money to live.” Xu Meng cut herself off. “Someone’s still calling for you.”

Han Jiming turned to go, but just before walking away, he looked back and said, “If you ever need help, just come to me. You and Xiao Wu’er are close, and we all grew up together. No need to be so distant.”

Xu Meng found his words a little odd—there wasn’t the usual politeness or formality she expected from him. But before she could think too much about it, he had already walked off into the distance. She hesitated for a moment, then picked up the medicine and started walking back.

When she returned, Feng Yanwen looked exactly the same as when she had left—still sitting there, dazed and motionless.

“Mom, I picked up the medicine. Start taking it tomorrow morning. I asked around just now—this doctor is really well-known.”

Seeing that Feng Yanwen still hadn’t moved, Xu Meng crouched in front of her and, just like when she was a child, reached out and held her mother’s hand. That was when she noticed two streams of tears running down Feng Yanwen’s face.

She was crying.

Xu Meng had never seen her mother cry before. She had always been such a strong woman.

Even when scolded by Granny Xue, even when ridiculed and mocked by her two sisters-in-law, she had always snapped back without backing down.

Xu Meng felt a bit helpless. “Mom, what’s wrong? Didn’t the doctor say there’s nothing wrong? I mean, maybe it was never your issue to begin with. When it comes to having children, it’s not always the woman’s fault, right?”

The more she spoke, the more certain she became. After all, in her memory, it had always been Granny Xue who took the lead in scolding her mother, which had made her assume from the beginning that it was her mother who couldn’t have children.

But over a decade ago, medical testing methods were limited—how could they be so certain that Feng Yanwen couldn’t have children?

Feng Yanwen wasn’t a foolish person, so why had even she come to fully believe that she was the one who couldn’t bear children?