Chapter 89

As late autumn approached, the night wind blew through the window, feeling quite chilly.

However, Zhou Yueying felt that Lu Baiwei didn’t seem to have caught a cold.

It’s often said that doctors are the worst at diagnosing themselves.

He Ting and Weiwei were a newlywed couple, and their relationship was so good—could it be that she was pregnant and didn’t know it yet?

He Ting and Weiwei not only helped her and Old Chen out of a difficult situation, but Weiwei also helped her recover from an injury, making her a kind of mentor to Weiwei now, teaching her high school knowledge. In some ways, she considered herself half a teacher to her.

Some people, though they have spent little time together, develop deep feelings through hardship. Even a short time together can create a strong bond.

Zhou Yueying was really worried about Lu Baiwei. If she kept feeling nauseous and retching, she might need to talk to He Ting, reminding him to be cautious—could she possibly be pregnant?

Lu Jiaojiao strongly opposed going to the commune hospital to check her belly.

Shen Guixiang couldn’t help but wonder if Lu Baiwei had already blurted everything out in front of Lu Jiaojiao.

Was she choosing to help Lu Jiaojiao?

She couldn’t understand it. The two sisters had never gotten along, and after the huge argument before, how could Lu Baiwei possibly repay malice with kindness and help Lu Jiaojiao?

No way!

Now that the naïve and rich Feng Shishi had moved into their home, Shen Guixiang knew she couldn’t let the fat lamb slip away because of an irritating Lu Jiaojiao.

The only way was to make Lu Jiaojiao step aside quickly, so her son could marry the silly girl from the capital.

Shen Guixiang made up her mind. She secretly added some medicine to the food she had prepared for Lu Jiaojiao, the dish stir-fried with pork lard scraps.

The sudden care from her mother-in-law made Lu Jiaojiao think she had misjudged the situation, believing Shen Guixiang had really changed for the better.

However, after finishing that delicious bowl of rice, Lu Jiaojiao soon felt heavy-eyed and her eyelids drooped, before collapsing onto the bed.

“Jiaojiao, Jiaojiao, what’s wrong?”

“Someone help! Jiaojiao has fainted, we need to send her to the hospital!”

Shen Guixiang not only asked Feng Shishi to call for the tractor to take Lu Jiaojiao to the hospital, but she also asked her to notify He Yan, who had a grudge against Lu Jiaojiao, to accompany them to the commune hospital.

He Yan was trying to slack off and didn’t want to go to work, so when Shen Guixiang promised to buy her meat buns as thanks, she didn’t mind sitting in the tractor and going to the hospital with them.

“Whose family is this? The belly has been kicked like this?”

The doctor on duty at the commune hospital examined Lu Jiaojiao’s belly, discovered it had been severely beaten, causing her infertility, and stormed out of the examination room, angrily questioning.

The doctor on duty at the commune hospital examined Lu Jiaojiao’s abdomen, found signs of severe injury from being kicked, which had caused her infertility. With a furious expression, the doctor stormed out of the examination room and demanded an explanation.

“Doctor, she wasn’t kicked by anyone.”

Shen Guixiang quickly explained, “She fell from the windowsill and landed on a stone. She had a head injury and stayed in the hospital for half a month. She never mentioned anything about her belly being hurt, so her family didn’t know.”

Feng Shishi also spoke up on Shen Guixiang’s behalf, “Doctor, you’re mistaken. My aunt is so good to her daughter-in-law, why would she kick her?”

The doctor was now uncertain.

How could a fall cause so many scattered bruises?

Well, she could only focus on treating the injury.

“Her belly was injured by external trauma, causing damage to her uterus, and now she can’t bear children. If you had brought her in earlier, I could have treated her. Given the current situation, it’s likely she’ll never be able to get pregnant. Her family needs to be prepared for this outcome.”

“What? She can’t have children? My poor daughter-in-law, why is your life so hard?”

Shen Guixiang, in the hospital corridor, dramatically pounded her thighs and cried out in despair.

She acted like the best mother-in-law in the world.

If it weren’t for He Yan, who had come to the hospital with them and knew that Lu Jiaojiao had been beaten up by Shen Guixiang and her son, one might have believed Shen Guixiang was truly a good mother-in-law.

Ha!

She had said it—Shen Guixiang, such a tight-fisted person, how could she suddenly be so generous, inviting He Yan to accompany her to the hospital and buying her two big meat buns?

So that was the plan!

Having spent more time in the commune, He Yan was far more astute than the new arrival, Feng Shishi.

She quickly guessed Shen Guixiang’s intention.

However, He Yan was the type of person who always got even. She hadn’t forgotten how Lu Jiaojiao had tried to trick her at the educated youth point last time, making her lose face.

She didn’t mind adding fuel to the fire while Lu Jiaojiao was in such a miserable situation.

So, when Lu Jiaojiao finally regained consciousness at the hospital, receiving a thank-you fee of one yuan and a few big meat buns from Shen Guixiang, He Yan went back to the educated youth point and shared the news about Lu Jiaojiao’s damaged uterus and her inability to get pregnant.

There hadn’t been much gossip in the village for a while, except for the arrival of a few new educated youths to the Sunyang Brigade and the construction of a rabbit shed. The news of Lu Jiaojiao’s infertility soon spread like wildfire throughout the entire brigade.

“No wonder Lu Jiaojiao kept saying that Yin Zhihe was incapable in that department—turns out it’s actually her own problem, and she’s been blaming him.”

“Yin Zhihe is such a fool—he had a good girl like Weiwei and let her go, only to pick up a hen that can’t lay eggs, and then he let her tarnish his name.”

“Yin Zhihe is such a fool. He let go of a good girl like Weiwei and picked up a hen that can’t lay eggs, then turned around and let her tarnish his name.”

“I think Lu Jiaojiao deliberately went to the educated youth point to pick a fight with He Yan. Otherwise, how would the people in the brigade know that Yin Zhihe is incapable?”

“Lu Jiaojiao is shameless and even tried to steal someone else’s fiancé. She’s capable of anything. Who knows, she might have intentionally introduced He Yan to the commune hospital to try to get her to become a barefoot doctor. Otherwise, how would the rumor about Yin Zhihe spread?”

“She first helped He Yan with the barefoot doctor exam, deliberately brought her to her home, and later when He Yan didn’t get in, she intentionally went to the educated youth point to argue with her…”

It’s incredible how people’s thoughts can scatter when they dislike someone.

The brigade members, with their wild guesses, connected many events and concluded that everything was part of Lu Jiaojiao’s scheme.

Great!

Now things are bad.

When Lu Jiaojiao returned from the commune hospital, rumors had already spread throughout the brigade that she was a hen that couldn’t lay eggs.

Since Shen Guixiang had brought Lu Jiaojiao to the clinic for an exam, over the next few days, Lu Baiwei kept feeling nauseous, and her period was delayed. She knew with a high probability that she was pregnant.

After putting Ruan Ruan to bed, He Ting wrapped his arm around her waist and leaned in for the next move. Lu Baiwei placed her hand on his chest to stop him.

“He Ting, I want some sugar roasted chestnuts.”

He Ting was stunned!

Why would Weiwei want sugar roasted chestnuts at this moment?

The rabbit shed was nearly done; it would be finished in a couple of days.

These past few days, while building the rabbit shed, He Ting had heard from Tang Yuanliang, the best at gathering mountain goods, that deep autumn was chestnut season. The rice in the fields had ripened, and it was time to harvest.

Autumn was the season for harvest. In past years, during the free time before rice harvest, the people of the Sunyang Brigade would organize trips into the mountains to gather wild goods.

Of course, gathering chestnuts was the highlight.

Not only could the chestnuts satisfy the children’s cravings, but they could also be used to make soup or porridge, and dried chestnuts could help fill the stomach.

Tang Yuanliang, her cousin, said that the chestnut gathering was the most lively event, and before the team’s rabbit shed was completed, he planned to take him and Zhou Yanfeng, the educated youths from the big city, into the mountains to see it for themselves.

Along with Weiwei, the family didn’t only have two children.

He Ting also wanted to blend in with the local customs and get more wild goods for them to snack on. He had already promised Tang Yuanliang that they would go into the mountains together in a few days.