Min Ruolan called out anxiously, “Sister-in-law, Chahua, does your village have a doctor?”
Hearing the commotion, Xu Chahua and Lan Su both ran out of the room.
“The barefoot doctor is in the next village,” Xu Chahua said.
Xu Chahua looked at Min Ruolan in puzzlement. “Shuang’er is also a doctor.”
“Yes, yes, yes,” Min Ruolan said, patting her head. “Look at me, my mind is all flustered from worry.”
In the midst of the panic, Lan Shuang was already taking the old lady’s pulse. She said to Min Ruolan,
“Sister-in-law, fetch a basin of cool water. I’ll first use it to help grandmother lower her temperature.”
Min Ruolan didn’t understand the “physical cooling” method; she just knew to go fetch a basin of cool water.
“Aunt, how is great-grandmother?”
Lan Su knelt by Lan Laofuren’s bedside with a serious expression, his face tense.
“Don’t worry, she’ll be fine. Su’er, you go rest first.”
After checking Lan Laofuren’s condition, Lan Shuang had Xu Chahua usher Su’er back to his room.
“The water is here.”
Min Ruolan, who was close to the old lady, anxiously wrung a cloth.
“Shuang’er, if you need anything else, just tell me.”
“Sister-in-law, you go take Su’er to rest. I’ll handle things here.”
Lan Shuang placed a damp cloth on the old lady’s forehead and used another cloth to repeatedly wipe her body.
“I’ll switch with you later.”
Still worried, Min Ruolan hesitated, but Lan Shuang said, “I’ve just arrived. Su’er might be scared alone at night, so just look after him. If I need anything, I’ll call you.”
Once Min Ruolan left, Lan Shuang could take fever medicine from her space.
“All right.”
Min Ruolan didn’t even realize how much she was starting to rely on Lan Shuang, though she still felt uneasy.
“Should I find a doctor to prescribe some fever medicine?”
“I already have it.”
Lan Shuang casually made an excuse: “I heard the family might face disaster, so I took some things with me.”
“That’s good,” Min Ruolan finally felt reassured and returned to her room.
After she left, Lan Shuang took an ibuprofen from her space and fed it to the old lady. Once the fever subsided, she allowed herself a brief rest.
“Water…”
Lan Laofuren, groggy, opened her eyes and immediately saw Lan Shuang sleeping beside her.
With gentle eyes, she stroked Lan Shuang’s head and sighed.
At her age, her old bones really were a burden.
“Grandmother, are you feeling better?”
Lan Shuang slowly woke, first checking the old lady’s forehead to confirm her fever had gone down, then breathed a sigh of relief.
“I’m fine now.”
Lan Laofuren’s mood was low. “Thank you for staying with me all this time, Shuang’er. Go rest for a bit.”
“Grandmother, I’m not tired.”
Lan Shuang quickly took out the gold and silver she had prepared and handed it to the old lady.
“Grandmother, I’ve hidden the rest. I only brought these back, which should be enough for us in the short term.”
“You’ve done well,” Lan Laofuren said, but only took one piece of gold. Then she continued,
“I used to think the household’s responsibilities should rest on your sister-in-law. But in these past two days, I’ve seen that you are steadier than her. So from now on, I want you to manage the household first.”
“Grandmother…”
Lan Shuang was surprised and wanted to refuse, but Lan Laofuren gently patted her hand.
“Don’t rush to refuse. I know it will be tiring, but the family needs you.”
“Grandmother, don’t forget, sister-in-law used to be the matriarch of the household.”
Lan Shuang had no desire to compete with her sister-in-law, but the old lady didn’t see it that way.
She said, “Before the family ran into trouble, she did well. But the situation now is different. Shuang’er, I will persuade your sister-in-law. You just go ahead and do it.”
Since Lan Laofuren had said so, Lan Shuang couldn’t find a reason to refuse.
After she helped the old lady out, Min Ruolan and Xu Chahua worked hard to prepare breakfast.
It was several bowls of vegetable porridge that looked quite presentable.
Min Ruolan said a little embarrassed, “I’m not very good at this; it’s all done by my sister-in-law.”
“I only know how to make simple, plain meals. Compared to the Duke’s household, it’s nothing. Grandmother, please don’t mind,” Xu Chahua added.
After all, before marrying into the Lan family, Xu Chahua had been from an ordinary peasant household and only knew how to make basic food.
“It doesn’t matter,” Lan Laofuren said, not caring about such things. She announced in front of everyone, “Times are different now. From now on, Shuang’er will manage the household, and everyone must follow her arrangements.”
Xu Chahua didn’t care either way—who managed the household made little difference—but Min Ruolan’s expression darkened slightly.
“Grandmother, is it really appropriate for Shuang’er, an unmarried girl, to manage the household?”
Moreover, she had handled most of the household affairs in the past.
“Ruolan, I know how hard it was for you to manage the household before, but the situation now is different.”
Although Lan Laofuren had spoken very little in the past couple of days, she had observed everything carefully.
She said, “You can’t even tell vegetables from herbs, let alone handle other matters.”
Min Ruolan: …
She truly couldn’t match Lan Shuang in this regard.
But that didn’t mean she couldn’t handle other things.
“Grandmother, the elder sister-in-law is like a mother,” Min Ruolan protested softly.
She still wasn’t happy; after all, it was unheard of for a sister-in-law to obey her younger sister-in-law.
“Fine, then. Tell me, what are your plans for our family?”
Lan Laofuren went straight to the point. Min Ruolan was momentarily stunned, then said seriously,
“Of course, to protect the Lan family, so that when our husbands return, they’ll have a place to live.”
“And you, Shuang’er, what do you think?”
Lan Laofuren’s gaze, gentle and warm, fell on Lan Shuang. Lan Shuang cleared her throat.
“What Sister-in-law said is correct. I would like to add a few points: First, to help Second Sister-in-law safely give birth to my nieces and nephews.
Second, we should send Su’er to school. Even though the Lan family has declined, Su’er must not lose his education.
Besides survival, we also need to earn more silver and find a way to send money and supplies to Father and Mother.”
Lan Laofuren nodded repeatedly as she listened, then looked seriously at Min Ruolan.
“Ruolan, do you still think you are the most suitable person to manage the household?”
Min Ruolan fell silent for a few moments before reluctantly saying,
“I’ll follow Grandmother’s decision.”
Though she had stepped back, everyone could see that she still felt disappointed inside.
“Since Grandmother wants me to manage the household, I will take on this heavy responsibility,” Lan Shuang said.
When Lan Shuang did something, she did it to the best of her ability. She explained her ideas clearly:
“We cannot live off our reserves alone. I have two ways to earn silver; Sister-in-law and Second Sister-in-law, listen first.”
“Go ahead, Shuang’er,” Lan Laofuren encouraged.
Lan Shuang considered for a moment and said,
“First, I have several recipes for delicious food. We can sell these at the market to earn silver.”
“No!”
Min Ruolan suddenly stood up. “How can we expose ourselves in public to make silver?”
She had once been a noblewoman from a prominent family and the matriarch of a high-ranking household. If she sold food in the streets, everyone who knew her would laugh at her.
“Ruolan, let Shuang’er finish first,” Lan Laofuren said, exasperated. “There’s no shame in earning silver with your own hands.”
“Grandmother…”
Min Ruolan wasn’t worried about herself. “I’m afraid others will mock Su’er in the future if they know his mother once worked as a vendor.”
“Mother, I don’t care about that,” said Lan Su. Though young, he was sensible. Xu Chahua came from an ordinary background and wasn’t attached to such concerns.
“But Shuang’er is right. First, we need to have enough to eat before we can think about anything else.”