Smiling, the Lin Family carried Laishou over and called out, "Mother, you’re here. Laishou, say Grandma!"
Laishou drooled, shouting excitedly, "Grandma!"
Juhua was surprised. ’How did he say that so clearly? He usually has a hard ti with other words.’
"My goodness," Mrs. Wang cooed, her eyes crinkling into a smile. She took him, gave him a kiss, and cradled him in her arms.
Zheng Changhe also chuckled and greeted her, "Mother," then said to Juhua, "Let’s eat!"
When the large spread of dishes was laid on the table, Laicai started up his old tricks again, stretching his chopsticks out to poke and jab at the food.
Mrs. Wang’s expression hardened. "If you keep ssing around with the food, you won’t be eating at all!"
Surprisingly, Laicai was afraid of her. He puffed out his cheeks and didn’t dare to speak. Mrs. Wang asked, "What do you want to eat? Tell us and we’ll serve it to you. You’re not allowed to reach for things with your own chopsticks."
So, Laicai asked for this one mont and that the next. His bowl was already piled high, yet he was still clamoring for more.
Mrs. Wang snapped, "Where are we supposed to put any more food? Don’t you know you can get more after you’ve finished what’s in your bowl?"
Only then did Laicai quiet down and begin to eat.
The Lin Family, acting as if nothing was wrong, ladled a large bowl of soup and drank it with enjoynt. Suddenly, she cried out, "Oh my! There’s even ginseng in this soup. You’re really generous, you know."
The Yang Family asked in surprise, "Ginseng? Where would we get the money to buy sothing so expensive?"
The Lin Family held up a slice from her bowl. "Oh, co on! You say it’s not, but isn’t this ginseng? The flavor is so strong. And look how thick it is—this must be high-quality ginseng!"
The Yang Family glanced at it and said, "Oh, that? Isn’t that the dicine Doctor Qin prescribed for Juhua to help her recuperate? He told her to stew it with pig stomach." Then she turned to Juhua and asked, "Did Doctor Qin say it was ginseng?"
The Lin Family gave her a sidelong glance, a look that said ’Go on, keep up the act,’ and smiled. "Auntie, you’re really sothing, getting ginseng for Juhua and trying to hide it. Why call it dicine? Who stews dicine with pig stomach? My sister-in-law’s brother brought a ginseng root for his sister to recuperate one year. I’ve seen it, and I’ve tasted it—it has this exact flavor."
Juhua wished she could throw her out. ’This Second Aunt is just awful.’ She couldn’t help but feel a pang of nostalgia for her First Aunt’s booming voice.
’Even though Qin Feng gave her the ginseng to help her recover, she couldn’t bring herself to stew and eat it all alone. That was why her parents and brother had so too, which led to the Lin Family discovering it. She hadn’t expected the woman to be so worldly that she could actually recognize ginseng.’
Suppressing her anger, she said to the Lin Family, "Second Aunt, my mother really didn’t know, and neither did I. Doctor Qin told it was dicine and that I should stew it this way. He even said it would be best to stew it with a couple of chickens. I couldn’t bear to kill the chickens—they need to keep laying eggs—so I used pig stomach instead. If you say it’s ginseng, Aunt, then I suppose Doctor Qin wanted to give it to to thank for helping him twice. He probably worried I’d refuse such a valuable gift, so he told it was just a dicine he had prescribed."
The Yang Family had a sudden realization and chided, "You silly girl! If Doctor Qin told you to use chicken, you should have just slaughtered a couple. It’s not like it would bankrupt us! Is there anything more important than getting your health back? Oh my! If he said that, it must really be ginseng! Changhe, we’ll slaughter a chicken tomorrow to stew with it. Otherwise, we’ll be wasting this precious ginseng."
Zheng Changhe nodded quickly. "Right, right! We’ll slaughter one. Ginseng is a precious thing; we can’t let it go to waste."
Juhua quickly added, "Dad, Doctor Qin said I should only have it once every five days."
Zheng Changhe smiled. "Then we’ll do it in a few days. I’ll rember the date."
The Lin Family was surprised they genuinely didn’t know—Zheng Changhe wasn’t one to lie. She smiled and said, "Juhua, bring the rest of it out and let have a look. What does it look like?"
Mrs. Wang had been watching them go back and forth with a cool gaze. Hearing what the Yang Family and Zheng Changhe said, she knew they were truly in the dark about the ginseng—she knew her daughter’s character very well.
Seeing the Lin Family still fixated on the ginseng, she understood the woman’s petty intentions. She glared at her unhappily. "What are you staring at? What’s there to see? If it’s ginseng, it’s ginseng. Juhua’s constitution is weak. Since it was given to her, she should use it to get well. Didn’t she help him out, after all?"
In a soft, wheedling tone, the Lin Family said with a laugh, "I just want to see what it looks like. Perhaps I was mistaken."
Juhua had no choice. She went into her room, put half of the ginseng slices into a small bag, and brought it out for her to inspect.
The Lin Family cried out in shock again upon seeing it, then said gleefully, "Oh my! There’s so much! And it’s such high-quality ginseng! Oh! Juhua, pack so up for ! My Laishou is also very frail. Give so so I can go ho, slaughter a chicken, and stew it for him."
The Yang Family, Zheng Changhe, and Mrs. Wang all stared at her, utterly dumbfounded.
She said sheepishly, "I was just thinking... a child needs to be built up strong so he’ll have a good constitution when he’s older."
Mrs. Wang’s face was a stony mask. "He’s my grandson; I know how to care for him. He has rosy cheeks and is perfectly healthy. Don’t you go feeding him just anything. He’s a little tyke who’s just learned to eat solid food—how could he possibly take ginseng? There’s only this much ginseng in total, which is barely enough for Juhua. If we give it to you, what is she supposed to do? Look how thin she is! She’s been sick several tis this year. As her aunt, it’s bad enough you haven’t bought anything to help her recuperate, but you have the gall to ask for her things? Besides, this was a specific prescription from the doctor. If you take half of it, how is it supposed to work as a treatnt?"
The Lin Family reluctantly handed the ginseng back to Juhua, her face a mask of displeasure. ’This whole family treats this poxy girl like a treasure,’ she thought bitterly. ’"Get well, get well"... what’s the use? When the ti cos, she still won’t be able to get married. She’ll just stay ho and leech off her parents, dragging Qingmu down so he can’t even find a wife.’
Catching Mrs. Wang’s warning glare, she didn’t dare say anything more. Instead, she vented her frustration by gulping down two huge bowls of the pig stomach soup, leaving her too full to eat anything else.
Having heard the adults go on and on about ginseng, Laicai figured it must be sothing delicious and started demanding to eat so.
The Lin Family curled her lip. "You? Maybe in your next life. That’s for your cousin Juhua to get better."
Mrs. Wang shot her a furious look. "Can’t even food shut you up?"
With that, she spent a mont fishing around in the soup tureen before scooping out a single slice of ginseng. She placed it in the relentlessly sobbing Laicai’s bowl and said, "There. That’s ginseng. Have a taste and see what it’s like."
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