"Granny Yu, I have a way," Qin i said with a smile.
When Granny Yu heard this, her eyes lit up. She asked eagerly, "What way?"
Qin i’s lips parted, and she spoke a single word. "Massage."
"Massage?" Granny Yu frowned. She looked at Qin i, her voice full of suspicion. "Does that really work? They say crucian carp soup helps with milk, so I did everything I could to get so to stew for her. But she still had no milk after drinking it. They said goose feet cooked in fernted rice helps, but that didn’t work either. Then pig trotters stewed with soybeans—still nothing. Now I wanted to try pig trotters with peanuts, but I couldn’t even buy any trotters."
The whole family had been scrimping and saving just to help her granddaughter-in-law start lactating. They stewed pig trotters for her—a luxury they wouldn’t eat themselves all year—all in the hopes of helping her produce milk, but nothing had worked.
’Pig trotter soup is so greasy,’ Qin i thought, her lips twitching. She said, "Actually, every mother is capable of producing enough milk. Insufficient supply is usually because the right thods aren’t being used. You need to clear the milk ducts and massage out any knots. With proper nutrition and a regular, light diet, there’s no need to worry about a lack of milk."
Granny Yu didn’t quite understand all the details. All she grasped was that Qin i could help her granddaughter-in-law produce milk. She knew Qin i practiced Chinese dicine and was on good terms with "Second Sister." While she wasn’t sure about trusting Qin i herself, she did trust Second Sister. "Fourth Wife of Jing, as long as you can help my granddaughter-in-law, I won’t treat you unfairly."
"I can," Qin i said firmly. ’I won’t discuss paynt with Granny Yu. If I ask for too much, I’m afraid she won’t be able to afford it. But if I ask for too little, it’ll affect my pricing later on. It’s better not to charge anything and just treat this as a free promotion.’
"Let’s go! Co to my house and massage my granddaughter-in-law," Granny Yu said, overjoyed.
"Okay," Qin i agreed readily.
Seeing them co to an agreent so quickly, Jie Jingshan tugged on Qin i’s sleeve and said anxiously, "Fourth Sister-in-law, Granny Yu’s ho is at the cotton mill."
Qin i froze. She had assud Granny Yu lived nearby. "Is the cotton mill far?" she asked.
"We’ll have to take the bus," Jie Jingshan replied.
"The bus?" Qin i’s face fell. For soone who got motion sickness, taking a bus was an ordeal.
"I’ll cover the round-trip fare," Granny Yu announced generously. But then she thought of the Jie Family’s circumstances and her confidence wavered. ’Does the Jie Family even lack money?’
"Granny Yu, it’s not about the money. I get motion sickness," Qin i said, wanting to back out.
"Motion sickness? How could you get motion sickness?" Granny Yu frowned.
"Granny Yu, my fourth sister-in-law gets really bad motion sickness. Even if she doesn’t get sick on the bus, she’ll throw up as soon as she gets off," Jie Jingshan explained. Then she suggested, "Granny Yu, how about this? You could bring your granddaughter-in-law to Second Granny’s house."
Qin i fell silent. ’Jie Jingshan is only fourteen; there are so things she doesn’t understand.’
"Jing Qi, my granddaughter-in-law is still in her confinent month," Granny Yu said, looking troubled. "Jing Qi, you’re still young, so you don’t understand. A woman in postpartum confinent can’t visit other people’s hos."
Jie Jingshan looked at Qin i in confusion and asked, "Why?"
Qin i patted Jie Jingshan’s head. After a mont of thought, she said, "It’s a custom."
"How about this? I’ll go ho first and have my daughter-in-law co pick you up on her bicycle," Granny Yu said.
Qin i shook her head, refusing. ’The bicycle can only carry , not Jing Qi. And with only Aunt Zhang at ho, I don’t feel comfortable leaving Jing Qi by herself.’ "Let’s just take the bus."
Granny Yu had no objections, but Jie Jingshan had plenty. "No, Fourth Sister-in-law! You’ll get sick on the bus."
"I didn’t eat breakfast, so I won’t throw up," Qin i said with a small smile. ’What a coincidence. I happened to skip breakfast, and I happened to run into Granny Yu. And we both lost out on the pig trotters to Lin Axiu. It’s understandable that Granny Yu didn’t get them since she arrived later, but for to have been there first and still lose... that’s just embarrassing.’
"But you’ll still feel awful," Jie Jingshan said, her heart aching for Qin i.
Qin i looked at Jie Jingshan, gratified. In the end, she insisted, and Granny Yu led them to the bus stop.
After they got off the bus, Qin i squatted by the side of the road, dry heaving. Since she hadn’t eaten breakfast, her stomach was empty, and she could only retch. Jie Jingshan was heartbroken to see her like this, and Granny Yu’s face was filled with guilt.
"Fourth Wife of Jing, are you all right?" Granny Yu asked, concerned.
Qin i retched for a little while longer before stopping. She took a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped her mouth. She still felt dizzy, so Granny Yu helped her sit down by the road. After resting for a mont, Qin i started to feel a bit better. Granny Yu helped her to her feet, her face etched with worry.
"Let’s go. I’m fine now," Qin i said, forcing a smile.
Granny Yu gently guided Jie Jingshan to lead the way, with Qin i following behind. Passing neighbors cast curious glances at Qin i and Jie Jingshan.
Granny Yu was in a hurry to get Qin i ho to her granddaughter-in-law, so she only offered brief greetings to her neighbors, not bothering to introduce Qin i and Jie Jingshan.
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