Chapter 19: The Quirky Old Madam Mu

Gong Fanrui then said to Lu’s mother, “Auntie, I think you’d better go to the hospital for a checkup. Hospitals have advanced diagnostic equipment, which is definitely more accurate than people’s manual examinations. Nowadays everyone respects Western medicine, so I think you should see a Western doctor.”

Lu’s mother replied, “We’ve been to the hospital countless times already. They used those machines, and it was always Western medicine. But I’m still like this.”

“That’s because you haven’t been to a bigger hospital, like one in the capital city.”

Lu’s mother waved her hand dismissively, “No need to trouble myself so much. I’m afraid even if I go there, it won’t help. Looks like in the end I’ll have to rely on the treatments passed down by our ancestors. I’ll have this little educated youth take a look for me — maybe she’ll be more accurate.”

(Note: In the 1970s rural areas, barefoot doctors mostly used traditional Chinese medicine to treat illnesses without relying on machines. The herbs could be collected locally, which greatly reduced treatment costs.)

Gong Fanrui sighed in relief but could only watch quietly as Yu Jingjing treated Lu’s mother. Hmph, Yu Jingjing, let’s see just how capable you really are.

Suddenly, she felt a sense of crisis. What if Yu Jingjing also had to take the barefoot doctor exam this autumn?

No problem. She would have her family help her with that.

A moment later, she told Lu’s mother to withdraw that hand and switch to the other.

After a short while, she explained the diagnosis: “Auntie, you have chronic deficiency of qi and blood, which causes insufficient function in your organs. You often catch colds and have fevers — you don’t recover fully from major illnesses and frequently get minor ones.”

“Yes, yes, that’s exactly it. Even after taking medicine, I haven’t fully recovered.”

Lu’s old lady sighed, “If Suping had come to our house earlier, it wouldn’t have turned out this way.”

Family secrets shouldn’t be spread, so she didn’t say more.

Lu’s mother said, “It rained a few days ago and I caught a cold, so I’ve been coughing heavily these past few days. I was thinking of going to the county hospital to have another look — if I can hold on, I will.”

“Mom, you will definitely get better.” Lu Yunduo was very concerned about her mother.

Lu’s mother’s illness wasn’t a serious disease, but medical technology back then wasn’t as advanced as it is today. Plus, doctors’ skills were limited, so her illness had dragged on without healing.

Yu Jingjing said, “Auntie, if you trust me, I can cure your illness.”

“You can!”

All three in the Lu family widened their eyes in astonishment — this was huge news for them.

Lu Yunduo excitedly grabbed Yu Jingjing’s hand: “Sister, if you can cure my mom, I’ll take your surname. Oh no, I mean, I’ll do whatever you want, obey all your orders, and be your loyal helper.”

Yu Jingjing looked at the obedient and clever little girl and found her quite adorable.

Lu’s old lady patted her chest and said, “Little educated youth, this old woman will also obey your orders.”

Lu’s mother asked, “How will you treat it?”

“Acupuncture, medicine, dietary therapy — in short, I’ll arrange everything for your cure. You just need to cooperate with me.”

“I will definitely cooperate.”

Lu Yunduo asked, “Do we still need to go to the hospital?”

Lu’s mother didn’t intend to go: “Anyway, going there won’t cure me, and it’s tiring to travel. Better to let the little educated youth treat me. No need to go, no need to go. We’ll wait for the little educated youth to come back from the county town and then take another look.”

Right then, Lu’s mother wanted to get off the car, and Lu Yunduo and Lu’s old lady helped her down.

Lu’s mother didn’t forget to remind Lu’s old lady: “Don’t forget to ask Yunxiao about his matchmaking with Kuihua.”

“Won’t forget, won’t forget, don’t worry.”

Lu Yunduo accompanied her mother away, and immediately someone asked Lu’s old lady about Lu Yunxiao: “Auntie, your Yunxiao is coming for matchmaking soon. If he doesn’t work out with that Kuihua, I can introduce my second sister’s daughter to him.”

“Just asking for now. We don’t know if he’s willing to have a matchmaking meeting.”

“Your Yunxiao is a big deal, a battalion commander at such a young age. But even commanders need wives. Such a young man, who doesn’t want a wife and kids to warm his bed?”

“Hey!” another person spoke up, “I’ll bring my cousin’s daughter-in-law’s younger sister’s older brother’s aunt’s sister to show to Yunxiao too.”

“Me too, me too. My eldest aunt’s granddaughter isn’t young either, and she’s pretty. She even has a job — she works as a broadcaster at the county radio station. I say my niece is the best match for Yunxiao.”

“Yours doesn’t match; my second sister’s daughter is the one who suits Yunxiao.”

“Stop arguing, stop arguing. I say my cousin’s daughter-in-law’s younger sister’s older brother’s… brother… wait, what? What’s next? I can’t remember.” A woman slapped her forehead, “My goodness, this chain of relatives is too long. I forgot.”

“Stop, stop.” Lu’s old lady waved her hand, “Yunxiao hasn’t even said if he wants to go. Let’s wait until he agrees to matchmaking before we talk.”

Yu Jingjing took their gossip as entertainment, watching the old ladies all vying to introduce a match for that Lu Yunxiao. Looks like he’s quite popular.

Besides being a battalion commander, he must be good-looking too.

Seeing Lu’s old lady again — her height, her looks — she suddenly recalled the two officers she had met back in her hometown. The tall one looked somewhat similar to Lu’s old lady.

The company commander was tall too and looked similar. That means the officer was very likely their family’s.

But she didn’t know which officer it was; otherwise, she could ask Lu’s old lady about it.

Forget it, whether to ask or not was the same. If he really was from the Lu family, she would meet him when he came. Maybe she could ask him for that handkerchief.

At the same time, Jiang Wan also developed a strong interest in this Lu Yunxiao.

She was poised and elegant, beautiful, and most importantly, backed by a system—surely enough to attract that man.

That man sounded really high quality, and she had already set her sights on him.

She glanced at Gong Fanrui, who was looking down, lost in thought.

Lu Old Lady was preparing to hurry to catch the carriage. She cracked her whip, finally landing it on the cow’s buttocks, causing the cow to bolt forward, startling the cart behind.

Yu Jingjing looked again toward the cowshed, still seeing someone standing by the gate, seeming to watch them and waving, but no one responded.

Yu Jingjing just waved back but was immediately stopped by an auntie.

“Little educated youth, don’t pay attention to those people over there. They’re all devils and demons.”

Yu Jingjing lowered her hand, but the person kept waving.

They even ran toward them, but she wasn’t as fast as the ox cart and couldn’t catch up.

Old Lady Mu ran unwillingly across the field: “Don’t go! Don’t go! Wait for me! The bride hasn’t gotten on the cart yet! How can you leave without the bride?”

The only reply she got was the sound of the wind blowing past her ears and the ox cart gradually getting farther away.

Old Man Mu chased out and pulled her back.

“Old woman, come home with me.”

“Old man, today I’m the bride, and you’re the head of the family.”

“What nonsense, if you’re the bride, I’m the groom. Enough, stop messing around and come home with me.”

…

The ox cart was almost at town and stopped near the supply and marketing cooperative. Everyone got off to handle their own business.

Jiang Wan and Sun Nana had originally planned to go to the state-run restaurant, but since Gong Fanrui was going to the supply and marketing cooperative, they followed her there.

Chen Zhaoxu wanted to stay with Yu Jingjing, so he went wherever she went.

Zhao Yuan asked Yu Jingjing, “Jingjing, shall we also go to the supply and marketing cooperative? Don’t we need to buy a pot? I have two industrial coupons; we can pool them together.”

“Not yet.” Yu Jingjing told her to put away the coupons. “I want to visit a place first. Let’s go there.”

“Jingjing, wherever you’re going, I’ll go with you.”

Yu Jingjing was getting a little annoyed with him. “Comrade Chen Zhaoxu, how many times have I told you, I don’t want anything to do with you. Please stop following us, okay? I just want to be with Zhao Yuan.”

Chen Zhaoxu was stunned, looking like he was hurt.

Yu Jingjing didn’t know what else to say. She pulled Zhao Yuan and walked away. Chen Zhaoxu didn’t know where they were going, so he went to the supply and marketing cooperative on his own.

After they left, Lu Old Lady hurried to the post office to call Lu Yunxiao.

---

At a certain military district

Lu Yunxiao was about to enter the interrogation room when a subordinate ran over to report, “Captain, it’s no good. The Zhang Changzheng you and Lieutenant Hu captured has hit his head against the wall and died.”

“Hit his head against the wall and died!” Lu Yunxiao instantly became furious. He couldn’t control himself and raised his hand against the subordinate. “We haven’t even gotten the information yet. How could you be so careless and give him a chance to kill himself?”

He hurried into the interrogation room, saw Zhang Changzheng was indeed dead, and punched the wall in anger. Blood immediately seeped from the back of his hand.

A subordinate urged him, “Captain, don’t hurt yourself.”

“Why should I hurt you?”

Subordinate: “…Sorry, Captain. I was wrong. Please hurt yourself instead. You go ahead.”

Lu Yunxiao retracted his fist. “I’m not going to hurt myself. I’ll save my strength to deal with more enemy agents. Whoever was in charge of guarding Zhang Changzheng just now will be severely punished.”

He left the interrogation room, and a duty soldier informed him that there was a call at the communications room. It was from his hometown. He quickly composed himself and went to answer.

His principle was to never bring work frustrations home or let those negative emotions affect his family.

He picked up the phone and heard the voice of Lu Old Lady: “Grandma.”

On the other end, Lu Old Lady was very happy to hear her grandson’s voice. “Yunxiao, how are things there? Are you well?”

“Grandma, I’m doing fine.”

“Good.” Because the phone call was expensive, Lu Old Lady got straight to the point: “Yunxiao, Grandma wants to ask if you want to get married. Several people want to introduce you to some good women. You should come back and take a look.”

“Grandma, I don’t want to get married. I didn’t want to before, don’t want to now, and won’t want to in the future. If you’re eager to have grandchildren, let my eldest brother and third brother work harder.”

“Yunxiao, think about it. Your eldest brother and his wife probably aren’t very fertile. Your third brother isn’t as strong as you. Grandma really thinks the best is still you.”