She said this with a hint of teasing, and even glanced at her Husband Jiang.

Unfortunately, Jiang didn’t catch on at all.

Xu Aimei changed the subject, inviting Yan Runzhi and Cheng Yunzhi to help tidy up.

Jiang Dongjian fetched a thermos filled with hot water to ensure the elderly and children would have water at night.

Jiang Dongjian said, “Let Ba’er and Xiaolei sleep together.”

Jiang Lin quickly said, “No, my second brother’s bed is so small, and Xiaolei gave us his quilt, so it’s cramped.”

Jiang Dongjian suggested, “Dabao, Xiaobao, sleep with grandpa.”

When he was young, he didn’t care much for his own children, but as he got older, he became much kinder to his grandchildren.

Today, seeing Dabao and Xiaobao made him particularly fond.

Dabao and Xiaobao strongly refused in their hearts, thinking, No, we want to sleep with mom!

But they didn’t want to make grandpa sad.

The two brothers exchanged a glance.

Dabao said, “Grandpa, I’ll sleep with you tomorrow. Tonight, I’ll sleep with my parents.”

Xiaobao said, “Mom hasn’t seen me in two days, she’ll cry if I don’t sleep with her.”

Jiang Lin thought, I didn’t say that! But these two kids have grown so much in just two days in the provincial capital, it’s strange.

The adults all laughed.

…

The next morning, they all got up early and had breakfast together at Jiang’s house.

The others went to work or school, while Jiang Xinglei stayed home to entertain guests.

Since the busy farming season was over, this former sent-down youth often didn’t go back.

Jiang Lin instructed Dabao and Xiaobao to play at home, while she and Cheng Rushan took Wensheng to see the doctor.

Cheng Rushan had previously researched the two best hospitals: the Provincial City Hospital and the People’s Liberation Army Hospital.

They decided to go to the Provincial City Hospital.

Established in 1973, this hospital had a psychiatric department specializing in treating disorders such as depression, anxiety, OCD, insomnia, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.

They contacted the renowned doctor, Dr. Ju.

Dr. Ju conducted a series of tests and examinations on Wensheng, eventually instructing him to read and play word games while he discussed the specifics with Cheng Rushan and Jiang Lin.

Wensheng’s condition was quite unique—he had suffered significant psychological trauma, resulting in memory, cognitive, and emotional disturbances.

However, he wasn’t completely mentally unstable; he still maintained basic self-care abilities, a sense of shame, and didn’t display manic behavior in daily life.

Dr. Ju remarked, “If we want to intervene and treat him effectively, it’s crucial to restore him to the mental state where he can confront the trauma directly. Currently, he’s avoiding and resisting it passively, which makes any treatment ineffective.”

Jiang Lin described two instances where Wensheng reverted to an adult state to Dr. Ju.

Dr. Ju furrowed his brows, saying, “From what I see, not only does he have significant psychological trauma, but he also harbors strong feelings of revenge. If this spirals out of control, the consequences could be unpredictable.”

Cheng Rushan asked, “So… there’s no way to treat him right now?”

Dr. Ju replied, “Our hospital can only provide conservative treatment due to limited equipment and facilities. For more intensive treatment, I suggest you consider the Provincial Psychiatric Hospital for long-term inpatient care.”

Jiang Lin asked, “Doctor, are you suggesting that at the psychiatric hospital, they would use special methods to provoke him into a manic state before intervening?”

Dr. Ju nodded, “That’s the only treatment approach available.”

Jiang Lin sighed, “In that case, let’s forget about it.”

It seemed too harsh.

Dr. Ju explained, “He’s currently stable, but you should be prepared—his mental state may become increasingly unstable, and his consciousness may deteriorate.

Right now, he might seem like a seven or eight-year-old, but in a few years, he could regress to the mental age of four or five.

If this degradation continues, he could eventually lose his mental faculties, similar to other severe psychiatric patients.”

Although Jiang Lin understood the doctor’s professional advice, she didn’t want to hear more, fearing it would affect their attitude towards Wensheng.

She turned to Cheng Rushan, saying, “Let’s go back for now.”

She would rather enjoy a few days of happiness than risk being confined in a psychiatric hospital and ending up like those who were withdrawn and disheveled.

Cheng Rushan added, “Thank you, Dr. Ju. Could you prescribe some medications for us to have on hand? If his condition suddenly changes, we want to be prepared.”

Dr. Ju said, “That’s good to consider. However, you should also be aware of another situation.

His manic state of seeking revenge may also hide a state of despair.

He may not be able to accept the tragic events that have occurred, which could lead him into such a chaotic state.

Once he becomes sober and has to face the harsh reality, he may not be able to bear it and might seek to end his life to escape the suffering.”

Jiang Lin couldn’t sit still after hearing this.

Cheng Rushan asked, “If he goes into the hospital, is there a chance he can be cured?”

Dr. Ju sighed, “To be honest, even with progress, it would take at least seven to eight years. And there’s still a significant chance that things may not improve. Currently, there are many gaps in our understanding and treatment of psychiatric disorders.”

Cheng Rushan thanked him and decided not to pursue treatment for Wensheng for now.

Even if he eventually regressed into a chaotic state, at least he could enjoy a few years of happiness.

They would figure out a solution when the time came.

Jiang Lin called out to Wensheng, “Let’s go.”

Wensheng glanced at her and then at the doctor, giving her a look that asked if he still had to keep pretending.

Could he call her “mom” now?

Jiang Lin smiled reassuringly at him.

Wensheng immediately dashed over, saying, “Mom, I’m about to burst! Grandma said I can’t call you ‘mom’ at grandpa’s house, or people will laugh.”

Jiang Lin hugged him and whispered, “The doctor won’t laugh.”

Wensheng glanced at the doctor.

He had just made him do so many things and asked so many questions, even about mom and dad.

He whispered to Jiang Lin, “Mom, is the doctor sick? Does he want me to cure him? But I don’t know how to do that. He asked me so many questions, and I don’t know.”

Dr. Ju remained silent, processing Wensheng’s innocent yet profound question.

He rummaged through a drawer and pulled out a few old magazines. “Here you go, these are from a magazine we published last year, focusing on this area. Take them back and have a look.”

Jiang Lin hurriedly took them. Seeing it was the “Chinese Journal of Neurology and Psychiatry,” she said, “Thank you, Dr. Ju. Can we subscribe to this?”

Dr. Ju replied, “You live in the countryside, and there’s no subscription service there, so it might be inconvenient.”

Cheng Rushan said, “That’s okay, we can subscribe in the provincial city. I’ll bring it back when I go.”

Jiang Lin thought about transporting it, and said it was fine to subscribe at Jiang’s home, but she didn’t feel safe subscribing there and let too many people know.

Cheng Rushan said, “Let Qian help you subscribe, and I’ll bring it back to my parents’ home.”

Jiang Lin said, “Okay.”

They took Wensheng out of the hospital.

Wensheng breathed a sigh of relief and patted his chest. “I don’t like hospitals. I can’t breathe when I’m inside, and it’s so uncomfortable.”

Jiang Lin held his hand and said, “We won’t come here again. We won’t stay in hospitals. They’re expensive, the food isn’t good, and the air isn’t fresh. Our home is much better.”

Wensheng nodded vigorously. “Yes, yes. Mom, I want to go home.”

Jiang Lin replied, “Let’s stay at grandma’s for a couple of days, then we’ll go home.”

Wensheng: “Okay, I can continue acting.”

Seeing his childish appearance, Jiang Lin figured he must have been scared coming to the hospital, so she wanted to cheer him up by buying him something.

They happened to pass by a department store, so they went in and browsed, coming across a counter selling stationery and sports supplies.

These weren’t essential items for daily life, so most people didn’t buy them.

Despite not needing tickets, as long as they had goods in stock, they could be bought.

Jiang Lin bought Wensheng a children’s telescope and hung it around his neck.

Wensheng held it dearly, showing it to Jiang Lin and Cheng Rushan, laughing heartily.

Suddenly, he asked, “Mom, should I buy one for Dabao and Xiaobao too?”

Jiang Lin replied, “They can play with yours. You keep this one. Don’t Dabao and Xiaobao have radios?”

Wensheng brightened up again, saying, “Okay.”

At noon, they ate outside, and Wensheng enjoyed a large plate of egg fried rice, feeling very satisfied.

In the afternoon, they didn’t go back to the psychiatric hospital but strolled around and went straight home.

When they got home, the factory hadn’t finished work yet.

Yan Runzhi was helping to prepare dinner, while Cheng Yunzhi was telling stories to a group of children.

They were arranged in a semicircle in front of him, with about a dozen kids, some from kindergarten and others not yet in school, all listening eagerly and very quietly enjoying themselves.

Cheng Yunzhi finished telling the story and smiled, saying, “Be quiet when listening to stories, now you can ask questions.”

The children eagerly asked questions one after another.

The questions from the kids were all quite naive and simple, so Cheng Yunzhi had Dabao and Xiaobao help answer them.

These two kids were neither shy nor afraid, their speech was clear despite a slight stutter, and among the children in the provincial capital, they were outstanding.

Originally, Xiaobao wasn’t so articulate, but since receiving love from his father and mother, and being surrounded by grandparents, not to mention his witty banter with Dabao and Wensheng, he had become quite the little chatterbox.

Gone was his previous pitiful orphaned appearance, and he didn’t know where it had gone.

Seeing Jiang Lin and Cheng Rushan return with Wensheng, the children immediately cheered and called out to him.

“Come quickly, you’ve missed several stories,” they called out.

Wensheng immediately ran over and showed them his telescope.

As time passed, he wasn’t as restrained as Yan Runzhi had initially asked him to be; he had forgotten a bit.

However, the children thought he was just practicing acting, trying to imitate them, and didn’t mind at all.

They actually had a great time playing together.

The adults noticed, maybe murmured in their hearts a bit, but after all, he was just a playful and jovial child, nothing too out of line.

Yan Runzhi pulled Jiang Lin over, “Bao’er’s mom, come and see, what should we cook for dinner tonight? Being a mother-in-law is not easy. Look at this small place, so many people living here, there’s nowhere to cook properly. It would be nice to have a proper kitchen.”

Jiang Lin looked around, “We could set up a stove here, burn coal or dry wood, faster than a stove.”

With so many people, cooking a few noodles or stir-frying some vegetables, handling the stove for steaming buns or boiling dumplings, would definitely save on using a big pot.

Cheng Rushan said, “Ask Mom and Dad tonight, if they want, we can get some bricks and cement and help build them.”

Jiang Xinglei bounced back from outside, carrying several large flounders.

He showed off, saying, “I traded my handkerchief for these flounders. They’re so fresh that people can’t even get them in line.”

His classmates were all good at making deals.

They had connections to get things without going to the countryside.

He gave Jiang Lin’s handkerchief to them and got a good price.

Since there were fish today, he exchanged a few.

He always felt he had no connections or resources.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t be worse than them.

He would have had money and tickets to eat and drink as he pleased.

He knew that Yan Runzhi brought people to make the handkerchiefs.

He wanted to get closer to Yan Runzhi and ask him to get more for his sister.

Yan Runzhi looked at the fresh flounders and said to Jiang Lin, “Does your family like flounder dumplings? Flounder dumplings with some fat meat and chives are delicious.”

Jiang Lin replied eagerly, “We love them! Just hearing you talk about it makes my mouth water. How could we not eat them?”

Soon, the Jiang family members returned one after another.

Song Lijuan always came home first because she had to take care of the children.

“Oh, Auntie, why are you still letting yourself work? Let me do it!” She quickly rolled up her sleeves to help.

Yan Runzhi smiled and said, “I’m free too. Xiaolei brought back a few flounders. I’m thinking of making some fresh flounder dumplings. Do you all want to try?”

Song Lijuan smiled and said, “Of course we’ll eat! Such delicious things are rare treats for us.”

She thought to herself how skilled the elderly women in the countryside were at cooking.

For them, having a decent meal was already good enough, but Song Lijuan liked to mix things up.

However, she doubted Yan Runzhi’s cooking skills were anything special.

Coming from a landlord background, not doing manual labor, and having little exposure to the countryside, just being able to cook was commendable.

She wanted to go and coax the children, but she saw the youngest, Xiaoluo, obediently following along with the older children, nibbling on a piece of crispy rice cake, being incredibly well-behaved.

Song Lijuan thought to herself, “Is this really my child?”

The older children noticed her staring at them blankly and thought she was hungry.

Others’ children were already quite small, but Xiaobao’s piece was still quite big.

After hesitating for a moment, he took it out and asked, “Aunt, would you like some?”

Song Lijuan quickly smiled and said, “No, thank you. You eat it.”

Xiaobao happily stuffed it back into his own mouth.

Soon, everyone in the family returned one by one, and Xu Aimei quickly helped with cooking.

Yan Runzhi was already directing Cheng Rushan to clean the fish.

The fish meat was cut into small pieces without using a knife, just pounded with a rolling pin until it became smooth and fine.

The pure and delicate fish meat was then mixed with two egg whites, some fat pork, chopped chives, and other suitable seasonings, stirred clockwise until the filling became quiet and beautiful.

The flounders were limited, so they made dumplings for the children and adults got to taste them fresh.

They also steamed rice, made steamed buns, and stewed a pot of pork with green beans and potatoes, which was very delicious.

Xu Aimei asked Jiang Xinglei, “Why hasn’t your dad come back yet?”

Jiang Lin said, “Maybe he went shopping?”

This morning, Xiaobao, Xiaoluo, and a few others were whispering around Jiang Dongjian, looking mysterious.

Jiang Lin knew they were definitely coaxing him to buy something.

Xiaobao pretended not to know, but they heard Xiaoke say there were chocolate beans and orange juice in the city that they had never tried before!

Dad didn’t bring them back.

Grandpa said, “I’ll buy them for you.”

He agreed very happily, not like when he earned a cold eye for snacks when he was a child.

Around seven o’clock, Jiang Dongjian came back from outside, and Xu Aimei shouted, “Lao Jiang, what are you doing? We’re all waiting for you to eat.”

Jiang Dongjian hurried into the house, holding his chest, looking at his family in disbelief.

Everyone was made nervous by him. “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Dongjian lowered his voice. “The director just said… said… they’re going to allocate us a house.”