Chapter 6

At dinner that day, Pei’s parents had spread the news throughout the village that they would be holding a banquet for their third son and daughter-in-law the day after tomorrow.

In these times, grand wedding banquets were rare. People avoided lavish celebrations to prevent jealousy and trouble.

Usually, only close family and friends attended, with no more than ten tables of food.

Jiang Xi didn’t have many relatives, but the Pei family had plenty of people, including Pei Hejun’s comrades-in-arms. They could manage five tables, which was appropriate.

However, the surrounding people were shocked by the news.

Like Pei Deming and others, many thought Jiang Xi was marrying Pei for money.

But Pei’s parents refuted the rumors. They showed the document to everyone, proving that Jiang Xi wasn’t after money but was repaying a favor.

Supporting two elderly people and taking care of a person in a vegetative state was a significant sacrifice for Jiang Xi.

Those who thought Jiang Xi was doing it for money became quiet, and others praised her.

People often mock honest individuals for being easily taken advantage of, but they still prefer honest people because they feel more comfortable, especially in this special era.

The next day, Jiang Xi accompanied Pei’s mother and her two younger sisters to the market. They met many people who greeted her warmly.

“Going shopping for wedding things?”

“What are you buying? Look for some red cloth. A bride needs to be in bright red!”

“Oh, this child is so lovely. Guizhi, your third child is lucky!”

Jiang Xi smiled and responded kindly, enjoying the praise.

After leaving the village, she felt strange looking back. Normally, she would be criticized for bringing her sisters, but this time, no one said anything.

Jiang Xi waited for her two younger sisters to move ahead and asked her doubts quietly.

Mother Pei smiled and explained, “What’s to discuss? The second and third sisters are grown up. It’s not hard to raise them. They’re diligent and keep the house clean. Thanks to them!”

Jiang Xi smiled: “That’s how it should be. If you can’t do big things, you do small things.”

Mother Pei changed the subject: “By the way, Xiaoxi, we have a sewing machine at home. Why don’t you buy a radio? I brought all the tickets from home, including quite a few industrial tickets.”

Others had complained about Jiang Xi bringing her younger sisters. But the sisters were grown up, and as long as they were fed, people expected they would bring betrothal gifts in a few years. Plus, Jiang Xi promised to support them in old age, making it a good deal. No one mentioned it specifically.

Mother Pei didn’t think so, but didn’t want to upset Jiang Xi.

Jiang Xi didn’t expect her to change the subject. After considering it, she shook her head and said, “No, a radio isn’t necessary for me.”

Mother Pei nodded: “Then buy a bicycle!”

_

They walked for about an hour. Jiang Xi was tired and sat by the road for a while before being led into a store to buy clothes.

The bride must wear new clothes.

At that time, prices were low. Eight yuan for a piece of clothing was good. Pei’s mother bought two new outfits for Jiang Xi and also bought a top for each of the two little girls, spending nearly fifty yuan.

Jiang Xi wanted to pay for the items, but Pei’s mother insisted, “This is what the third child should have paid for. Your betrothal gift is yours, so don’t worry about it!”

Jiang Xi couldn’t persuade her, so she gave up and followed Pei’s mother to get the items.

The second and third sisters were excited about their new clothes and eagerly tried to carry the bag for Jiang Xi: “Big sister, let me do it!”

“I can do it, I’m strong!” Jiang Sanmei also wanted to help.

Mother Pei smiled and said, “There’s no need to grab it now; we’ll have more things later.”

Jiang Sanmei let go when she heard this: “Then I’ll ask again later.”

Jiang Xi handed the items to her second sister and felt relieved. She continued following Pei’s mother. They bought not just clothes but also wedding candies and melon seeds.

The items were heavy, so Jiang Xi had to carry them all the way. Luckily, she later bought buckets, spittoons, and other things to reduce the weight.

After buying everything, they loaded the newly bought car with the items and had to push it forward. It took them two hours to return home, and they were very hungry.

When Father Pei saw them returning, he immediately took the food and urged them to eat: “I said I’d go, but you must be exhausted!”

Mother Pei wiped the sweat off her face and said weakly, “Go? Do you know how to buy clothes for Xiaoxi and the two girls?”

Father Pei stopped arguing and made a bowl of brown sugar water for each of them.

Jiang Xi drank it quickly and then ate her meal slowly.

The food was cold, but since it was summer, that wasn’t a big issue.

It still tasted very good.

While eating, Father Pei said cautiously: “Your mother and uncle came this morning and wanted to take you back. I told them you were in town, and they left.”

Jiang Ermei and Jiang Sanmei immediately stopped eating and looked at the adults nervously.

They had only been at Pei’s house for two days, but the food was much better than at Jiang’s house. At Jiang’s house, meat was saved for guests, and any soup made by Pei’s mother was eagerly sent to Jiang’s mother.

The three daughters had barely had a sip of the soup before.

Now, they really didn’t want to go back.

Jiang Xi frowned and asked, “Did they come to ask for money?”

Father Pei looked embarrassed and said vaguely: “I mentioned the betrothal gift, and they said they would come back tomorrow.”

He was kind but not naive.

All the pension from his son was given to Jiang Xi. Pei’s wife said the betrothal gift was for Jiang Xi to support her younger sisters, not to give to Jiang’s family.

Jiang Xi sighed with relief and said seriously, “Don’t worry about them. My mother is confused and always favors my uncle. Even if I give her money, she can’t manage it. She can work for now, and when she can’t, I’ll bring her food. I won’t give her any money.”

Pei’s parents and the two sisters all felt relieved upon hearing this.

Father Pei was especially relieved: “Just let you decide.”

Jiang Xi smiled and took note of the situation.

They were holding a banquet tomorrow, and she worried there might be trouble.

_

__After dinner, it was exactly two o’clock in the afternoon.__

The brigade’s loudspeakers urged people to work.

Since it wasn’t the busy farming season, work points were low, so everyone was a bit lazy. The brigade’s horn sounded for a long time, and Pei’s parents went to work. They were glad to leave Jiang Xi at home.

Jiang Xi washed the dishes and asked her two sisters to dig earthworms for the chickens.

Then, she went to Pei Hejun’s room with a new notebook. She bought the notebook without needing a ticket. She withdrew 100 yuan from the post office and bought a pen. The pen’s ticket was provided by Pei’s mother.

The three sisters all had notebooks, and Jiang Xi was taking notes.

Jiang Xi studied traditional Chinese medicine, which relies heavily on inheritance.

At ten years old, she became a disciple of an old Chinese medicine doctor. Later, she attended a Chinese medicine university and worked in a Chinese medicine hospital after completing her training. Being a doctor requires lifelong learning.

Now, in this place without a professional hospital or teacher, Jiang Xi could only write down her knowledge and review it to maintain her skills.

When she entered the room, Jiang Xi first massaged Pei Hejun and turned him over. She checked his condition, such as where he still had consciousness and if he responded to speech. She found he still had a knee jerk reaction and could move his eyeballs slightly when spoken to.

Pei’s parents took good care of Pei Hejun. He was clean and in good condition, which might be why there was a possibility he could improve, despite being betrayed by his brother.

Jiang Xi felt more hopeful after realizing this.

She wrote down everything that happened and then noted some relevant knowledge and care for vegetative patients.

Jiang Xi enjoyed treating patients and was fascinated by medicine. She lost track of time while taking notes and filled a whole page. The notes were detailed and neatly organized.

She put down her pen with satisfaction, stretched, massaged her shoulders and neck, then checked the time. She turned Pei Hejun over and massaged him again.

After repeating this twice, it was almost time to finish work.

Jiang Xi left Pei Hejun’s room and went to her sisters’ room: “Come out and help me—”

She stopped when she saw something was wrong with her sisters. They looked like they had rolled in the grass, and their hair was messy, with red marks on their cheeks.

Jiang Xi frowned: “Did you have a fight with someone?”

Jiang Ermei’s face turned pale with guilt. She lowered her head and twisted her clothes, shaking.

Jiang Sanmei pouted and started crying: “Sister, we didn’t mean to. They were bullying us and wouldn’t let us dig earthworms. They said we were a burden and came here to beg for food. They wanted to drive us away, so I got so angry that I fought back… Sob, sob…”

Jiang Xi held her forehead with her hand, realizing why there was no movement all afternoon. Her sisters must have caused trouble. She thought for a moment and asked, “Did we win or lose?”

“We won, we won…” Jiang Sanmei stopped crying and answered through her sobs. Her big eyes were filled with tears, showing she was scared and confused.

Jiang Xi raised her chin: “Okay, since we won, it’s fine. Someone, come and light the fire for me. I need to cook.”

Fighting among rural children is common. After the original owner’s father died, she was bullied and often had fights. Her younger sisters fought too. Jiang’s mother would apologize to others and then beat her children when they got home. Jiang Ermei became timid, like the original owner, but Jiang Sanmei was better.

So Jiang Xi didn’t want to get too involved, fearing it would make her sisters timid.

Seeing Jiang Xi wasn’t upset, the two children felt extremely relieved, as if a burden had been lifted.

Jiang Ermei quickly volunteered: “I’ll do it, I’ll do it.”

_

Jiang Xi and her sisters were heading to the kitchen to cook when they heard a child crying outside. A woman with a gloomy face was carrying a crying boy. Seeing Jiang Xi, she was momentarily stunned but then shouted in distress: “Little wife of the Pei family, it’s a good thing you’re here. Look, your burden broke my dog’s arm! It’s swollen now! Pay up quickly, I need to take him to the town to see a doctor before dark!”

Jiang Ermei, who had just relaxed, quickly hid behind Jiang Xi, too scared to speak.

Jiang Sanmei, hearing the commotion, ran out crying and said anxiously, “Sister, it wasn’t us. He tried to hit us and fell down!”

Jiang Xi assessed the situation. Seeing the woman about to shout, she pulled her third sister forward and pointed to the pinch marks on her face and messy hair. She spoke loudly and clearly: “Why should you pay compensation? You should compensate my sister too! Look at her face; if she gets a scar, it will be a lifelong problem! Who’s really suffering here?”

The woman hesitated, unsure of how to respond.

Jiang Xi pressed on: “Besides, your child started the fight. My sister was just defending herself. If he can’t win, he’ll complain. Then pay the money. Okay, let’s both go to the hospital. I have two children; let’s see who spends more money!”

The woman felt uneasy, but when she looked down at her son’s hand, she found some courage and said: “The situation is different! Goudan has a broken bone, which takes a hundred days to heal. Your child’s condition isn’t as serious!”

Goudan, with tears and snot, looked pitiful and said, “It hurts so much!!!”

Jiang Xi stepped closer and said casually: “We don’t know if it’s a fracture yet!”

She examined the child’s arm. The elbow was obviously swollen and had been for a while, with some bruising. These were signs of a dislocated shoulder^[1]is when the bone in the shoulder is forced out of its normal position..

The woman, thinking Jiang Xi was just trying to check, said reluctantly: “Why not? It’s so swollen and hurts to touch. This must be a bone issue—”

As she spoke, Goudan suddenly screamed, “Ah!”

The woman was so frightened that she pushed Jiang Xi and yelled, “Be careful! Can you afford to pay for hurting my son?!”

Jiang Xi stepped back and smiled: “Goudan, does your hand still hurt?”

The woman, confused, asked angrily: “You think you can just move it and fix it? This is a broken bone!”

But Goudan moved his arm, blinked in surprise, and said in a hoarse voice: “Mom, it really doesn’t hurt anymore!”

Woman: “???”