Chapter 11: Eating and Taking That Night

“You!” Niu Chunli was so furious her face changed color, her lips trembling. No manners! Straight out of a mountain village—of course no manners!! Nothing like her Chuxue at all!!! She would rather have never known about the babies being switched at birth, preferably mistaken forever.

“I’m gone from home for just a short while, and it’s already this lively here.” Zhang Pingtian came back from buying groceries with his wife, naturally handing the vegetable basket to Gu Jinshu. “Take out the pork inside. This isn’t for eating—this afternoon we’ll use it for practice!”
What the teacher meant was acupuncture practice, using pork to train.

Gu Jinshu took it and turned toward the kitchen.

“Uh…” Niu Chunli didn’t quite understand. “Professor Zhang, my daughter hasn’t been any trouble for you, has she? If she’s done anything out of line, please forgive her! I’ll take her back home with me in a bit. I’m so sorry.”

“No need. She’s been living here just fine,” Zhang Pingtian’s voice was faint, betraying no emotion.

Niu Chunli remembered that earlier Gu Jinshu was sweeping the floor—could it be that she was working here as some sort of ‘auntie,’ doing chores for Professor Zhang’s household? The thought made Niu Chunli uncomfortable. Every move Gu Jinshu made outside reflected on the Gu family’s reputation. Even if they didn’t like this daughter, she was still part of the Gu family—working as a maid for someone else? What would that look like when word got out, especially at her age? It would be humiliating for the Gu family! Hmph!! She would make sure to take Gu Jinshu home with her later.

“Professor Zhang, sorry to bother you at noon. This is my daughter Chuxue. Her health isn’t good, and since your medical skills are excellent, we were hoping you could take a look at her?” Niu Chunli affectionately held Gu Chuxue’s arm and gently urged her to greet them.

“Hello, Grandpa Zhang. Hello, Grandma Zhang.” Gu Chuxue forced her pale lips into what she thought was a sweet smile.

Wang Ruizhi was now finding Niu Chunli more and more unpleasant. If Old Gu were still alive, he would never have let this couple run wild! Gu Chuxue couldn’t compare to Jinshu at all—her brows and eyes radiated scheming and calculation; you could tell right away she wasn’t easy to get along with.

Wang Ruizhi ignored the mother and daughter and went straight to the kitchen. “I’ll start cooking.”

Zhang Pingtian impatiently motioned them inside. As a doctor, he couldn’t refuse a patient.

After taking her pulse, Zhang Pingtian’s brow furrowed even more. “You just miscarried.”

“…Yes.” Niu Chunli was both impressed by his skill—just a pulse reading and he knew Chuxue had just lost a child—and worried about her daughter’s reputation.

“Well, my daughter and her fiancé were about to discuss marriage. We thought having a child would be a joyful blessing, but it seems the baby wasn’t meant to be. Professor Zhang, could you please help her recover?”

“How many times has she miscarried before?” Zhang Pingtian’s voice was cold as he continued questioning.

Gu Chuxue’s lips moved. “Just this once.”

“You can go home now!” Zhang Pingtian withdrew his hand, his tone hard with rejection. “Diagnosis depends on observation, listening, questioning, and pulse-taking. If you don’t tell me the truth, I can’t treat the illness.”

In the kitchen, both Wang Ruizhi and Gu Jinshu heard everything clearly. Wang Ruizhi, while picking vegetables, muttered, “And they call themselves professors! I don’t think their education helped much—raising a daughter who’s so loose she’s lost more than one baby.”

Gu Jinshu: “…”

Gu Chuxue had had a boyfriend before; young love naturally led to certain things. Of course, Niu Chunli had covered all of it up.

Seeing that Zhang Pingtian was getting annoyed, Niu Chunli quickly told the truth. “Counting this one, three.”

“…” Gu Chuxue bit her lower lip hard. That old man was doing this on purpose! She had only asked him to treat her—why dig into the past like this? But for the sake of her health, she endured. She had to get well so she could give Qinghai a plump firstborn son.

A flicker of disdain crossed Zhang Pingtian’s eyes. “A young girl should take care of her health, and above all, respect and cherish herself! Pregnancy and miscarriage are the most damaging to the body. Young people might not understand, but as her mother, surely you do?!”

He included Niu Chunli in his scolding. “I’ll give you a prescription. Take the medicine as prescribed—it’ll take at least six months to a year for her to recover.”

Niu Chunli smiled awkwardly. “Yes, yes, of course. We’ll take it on time.”

“And next time she gets pregnant—if she doesn’t take proper care—she still won’t be able to keep the baby.” Zhang Pingtian wrote out the prescription and waved them off.

Just as Niu Chunli stepped out with Gu Chuxue, she suddenly thought of Gu Jinshu—but getting the medicine was more urgent, so she decided to deal with it later.

“…”

“Teacher, I happened to feel Gu Chuxue’s pulse. Her health is extremely depleted—medicine alone might not be enough to restore her, right?” Gu Jinshu asked just after they left.

“What else did you notice?” Zhang Pingtian’s bad mood was gone, replaced with a smile and a nod.

“If all three pregnancies were with the same father, repeated miscarriages might not be the woman’s fault—it could be the man’s problem. But if the fathers were different, frequent miscarriages would mean she’s just physically unfit for pregnancy.”
In other words, she could conceive easily but couldn’t carry to term. And if it’s a health issue, it might be congenital.

Zhang Pingtian nodded again. “Exactly. The prescription I gave her is just to replenish her lost energy and blood.” He hadn’t said anything about whether she could carry a baby in the future—Niu Chunli had only asked him to help Chuxue recover. To safely give birth to a healthy child, pregnancy would have to be carefully tended.

“Alright, you two could go on talking forever, but are you going to eat these noodles or not? If you don’t, they’ll turn into a big mush!” Wang Ruizhi interrupted. They had planned on dumplings for lunch, but there wasn’t time now—maybe for dinner.

“Hey, didn’t we still have some lamb meatballs? Why didn’t you add them in?” Zhang Pingtian asked casually.

“Tsk,” Wang Ruizhi clicked her tongue. “Forgot! We’ll have them tomorrow morning.”

Listening to her teacher and his wife’s most ordinary domestic exchange, and tasting the soft, tender noodles in her mouth, Gu Jinshu felt utterly at ease.

…Of course, it would be even better if she didn’t keep thinking about still ‘owing a man a responsibility.’
After all, when you eat someone else’s food, your mouth is tied; take someone’s things, and your hands are tied. Not to mention that night, when she had both “eaten” and “taken.”