The two arrived at the hospital and first went to have He Lang’s wound redressed.
Only then did Xue Yue see the wound on He Lang’s arm. It had several stitches, and so blood had soaked through the gauze, but the wound hadn’t split open.
"It’s healing fine. Don’t get it wet, and don’t exert too much force."
Xue Yue nodded from the side. "Got it. We’ll be careful."
They went to the obstetrics departnt. The town hospital didn’t have any advanced facilities, so she just described her situation to the doctor.
"Doctor, do you need to do a blood test?" He Lang asked.
The female doctor glanced at He Lang. "No need. Based on what you’ve described, the baby is doing fine. The leg cramps are likely due to a calcium deficiency. However, getting chilled or being fatigued can also cause them. I’ll prescribe you so calcium pills. If you can afford it, drink so milk. If not, drink more bone broth. Soaking your feet in hot water before bed at night will also help."
He Lang nodded. "Okay, thank you, Doctor."
After leaving the hospital, He Lang took Xue Yue to the at processing plant. Back then, bones weren’t as valuable as at and were usually hard to sell.
He Lang bought several of them, along with a large cut of at.
When they got to the spot to catch the ox-cart, it hadn’t arrived yet.
But they ran into Gu Yuwei again. She looked completely dejected.
Gu Yuwei had now completely accepted the reality of her situation. Her family wasn’t looking out for her anymore, and her hopes of returning to the city were completely dashed.
Seeing He Lang and Xue Yue now, she noticed He Lang was carrying things in his hand, his eyes constantly checking on Xue Yue, whose belly looked about six or seven months along.
Gu Yuwei’s fingers twitched. She hesitated for a mont before walking toward them.
When Xue Yue saw Gu Yuwei approaching, she just watched her coolly.
He Lang’s brow furrowed slightly. ’What is this woman up to now?’
Gu Yuwei glanced at Xue Yue, then said to He Lang, "He Lang, can I have a word with you alone?"
Xue Yue blinked, shooting a sideways glance at He Lang.
He Lang’s lips ford a straight line. "No," he said bluntly.
Gu Yuwei was taken aback, but she pressed on. "I just want to ask you for a favor. I—"
He Lang held up a hand. "Stop right there. We’re not close, so don’t co to with your problems. I won’t help."
Gu Yuwei said urgently, "I’ll pay you. It’s just that next ti you drive to Beijing City, could you please—"
He Lang snorted. "I already said no. Are you incapable of understanding plain language? And I’m warning you, stay away from the He Family."
Tears instantly welled up in Gu Yuwei’s eyes. He Lang was already pulling Xue Yue away.
He was still muttering, "You should stay away from people like this when you’re out, too. None of them are right in the head."
Xue Yue raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
At that mont, Gu Yuwei’s hatred for He Lang and Xue Yue reached its peak.
On the ox-cart ride back, no one said a word.
As soon as Gu Yuwei returned to the educated youth housing, she heard others gossiping about her.
"She runs off to town by herself every day. Who knows what shady business she’s getting into."
"I heard her crying secretly again last night. Do you think sothing happened to her family? It’s been over half a month since she’s gotten a package. She used to get several a month."
"Hmph, definitely. If sothing did happen to her family, she deserves it. Look at the way she lives, acting like so high and mighty bourgeois miss. What kind of good people could her family be?"
Gu Yuwei kicked the door open with force, her face filled with fury as she glared at the few female educated youths inside who were maliciously gossiping about her.
For a mont, the won looked guilty when they saw her, but then they rembered her recent situation and weren’t afraid. They shot her a disdainful look and ignored her.
At that mont, all the emotions Gu Yuwei had been suppressing on her way back erupted.
She grabbed the broom from the floor and started swinging it at them.
"AH! Gu Yuwei, are you crazy?"
Each of them was hit a few tis, but there was no way Gu Yuwei could beat several people on her own.
Soon, they pinned her to the ground, straddling her as they hit and clawed at her.
The commotion was so loud it even alerted the male educated youths next door.
By the ti the people on top of her were pulled away, Gu Yuwei’s clothes were in disarray, her undergarnts exposed.
Gu Yuwei’s face was streaked with tears, and her cheeks were scratched and bleeding.
"What are you all doing? So many of you ganging up on Gu Zhiqing?" one of the male educated youths said.
"She started it! We were just defending ourselves."
"Exactly! She attacked us with a broom. We all got hit."
"..."
Gu Yuwei sat on the floor, hugging her knees and crying incessantly.
So of the male educated youths felt sorry for her, but seeing her disheveled state, none of them stepped forward to help.
Gu Yuwei had always flaunted her good circumstances, offending many people. Even those who were nice to her were only after her benefits. Now that everyone suspected her family was in trouble, not a single person ca to her aid.
Instead, it was Wang Shumin, who had been watching the spectacle from the sidelines, who draped a piece of clothing over her.
After the male educated youths left, the won who had fought with Gu Yuwei didn’t even spare her a glance before heading out as well.
Gu Yuwei sat on the floor for a long while before slowly getting to her feet. She climbed onto her kang bed and lay down on her quilt, staring blankly, her heart like dead ashes.
When Xue Yue and He Lang got ho, He Lang went to the kitchen to simr the bone broth.
Xue Yue drank bone broth for several days in a row, either on its own or poured over noodles.
"Can I please stop drinking this? It’s really too rich."
Seeing the pained look on Xue Yue’s face, He Lang didn’t have the heart to force her to drink any more.
"Alright. If you can’t stomach this, I’ll ask soone to help buy a few cans of milk powder from the provincial capital."
"How much is a can of milk powder?"
"A few yuan, I think. Don’t you worry about it. If you need it, you’ll drink it."
That evening, Xue Xingzhou rode his bicycle over, also bringing them the money from selling the He Shouwu.
"Big Brother, if you give us the bicycle, how will you get to work?"
Xue Xingzhou said, "I bought another second-hand one. It didn’t require a ration coupon."
Xue Yue nodded. "Okay, that’s good then."
Then, Xue Xingzhou said to He Lang, "About that matter I ntioned before—those people have been arrested. I heard from my master that they just robbed a shipnt of goods a few days ago and even accidentally killed soone."
Xue Yue felt a lingering fear upon hearing this, and He Lang’s expression turned grim. "As long as they’re caught."
In mid-November, the weather gradually grew colder, and He Lang went back to work.
One morning, Xue Yue also received a reply from the newspaper office.
As the postman handed the letter to Xue Yue, he gave her a curious look.
Xue Yue took the letter, glanced at it, and confird it was indeed from the newspaper office.
She opened it and saw that besides the letter, there were also a few yuan inside the envelope.
"Dear Comrade Yueya, after a unanimous decision by our newspaper office, we have decided to accept the story you submitted. The manuscript fee is three yuan and fifty cents in total. Thank you for your submission."
"Wow~"
Xue Yue was so happy she almost jumped for joy. Looking at the three yuan and fifty cents in the envelope, she felt a great sense of accomplishnt, even though it wasn’t a lot of money.
That evening, when He Lang ca ho, he heard Xue Yue humming a song while she cooked.
He Lang asked with a smile, "Why are you so happy today?"
Xue Yue turned her head to look at him. "Guess?"
He Lang thought for a mont. "Did you get a reply from the newspaper office?"
Xue Yue’s eyes widened and her mouth fell slightly open. "How did you guess?"
"You really got a reply?"
Xue Yue nodded. "Mhm, and there was a manuscript fee, too. Three yuan and fifty cents."
He Lang said admiringly, "Not bad. Congratulations."
Xue Yue asked him, "You still haven’t said how you guessed."
Washing his hands, He Lang explained, "I saw how happy you were, so I knew sothing good must have happened. For our family, the big things right now are you having the baby and getting a raise. The only other thing is your story submission. Plus, it’s been long enough since you sent it in; a reply was about due."
"Clever."
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