Lu Hongjun had asked around and found a highly skilled old Chinese medicine doctor renowned for restoring people’s health. He arranged things with Lu Jiaxin in advance and came to pick her up the next morning.
Jiaxin had originally wanted Xue Mao to come along too, the boy had spent five years wandering the streets, and though he looked sturdy, his health was likely weaker than it appeared. But Xue Mao refused outright, saying he had no wish to drink Chinese medicine. With no other choice, Jiaxin went with Lu Hongjun alone.
This old doctor’s surname was He, and his temperament matched, gentle and amiable as his name suggested. He’d done many people great kindnesses over the years. Upon learning someone intended to harm him, he’d proactively requested a transfer to the countryside.
Over a decade ago, rural areas had suffered from a severe shortage of doctors and medicine, and the state had been actively encouraging urban hospital staff to support rural healthcare. He’d volunteered to go to the health center near his old hometown, and the relevant department had quickly approved it. Over more than a decade there, he’d treated countless patients, and now, nearly seventy, he still had a full head of black hair and radiated vigor.
After taking Lu Jiaxin’s pulse, Doctor He said she suffered from excessive worry and pent-up emotional stagnation, on top of a severe deficiency of qi and blood. “Young lady, you absolutely must take proper care of yourself, or this could affect your fertility and lifespan down the road.”
She already knew about her deficient qi and blood, even in the height of summer her hands and feet stayed ice cold, but she didn’t expect this girl to actually have developed depression.
Thinking it over carefully, the original owner had lived under constant suppression ever since Ding Jing married in, bullied by Zhao Siyi and unable to even speak of it, to the point of growing weary of life itself. These symptoms indeed matched depression. Sigh, children from unhappy families really were prone to psychological troubles.
Lu Hongjun was terrified. “Doctor, my daughter is still young, please, you must cure her.”
Doctor He said with a smile, “As long as she’s willing to follow the prescribed regimen and take the medicine faithfully every day, she can be fully restored within about a year. However, this formula requires two precious, costly herbs, the yearly expense won’t be small.”
If a woman couldn’t bear children, her life would be considered ruined. This time, Lu Hongjun didn’t hesitate for even a moment. “No matter the cost, even if it takes selling off everything I own, she must be treated.”
Jiaxin glanced up at him, then quickly lowered her eyes again.
Lu Hongjun asked further, “Doctor He, my daughter failed her college entrance exam this year, and I want her to retake it. How long should she take the medicine before she can go back to studying?”
Doctor He’s opinion matched the other physician’s, he felt that the intensity and pressure of senior year studies would be too much for Jiaxin’s current condition to handle.
Lu Hongjun understood there was no way she’d be retaking the exam this month.
The old doctor lived out in the countryside, and making the trip in wasn’t easy, so he prescribed twelve doses of medicine. Handing them to Jiaxin, he instructed, “Once you’ve finished these, come back for a follow-up, I’ll need to adjust the formula then.”
“Thank you, Doctor He.”
Once they’d left the He residence, Jiaxin asked about the tutor situation. “Dad, it’s already been three days, still haven’t found anyone suitable?”
Her English was actually quite solid, good enough to converse with foreigners. But the original owner had only ever learned “mute English”, reading and writing without speaking, so this skill of hers needed a plausible origin story. These past few days, she’d been studying along with the cassette recorder after waking up each morning. But having a spoken-language tutor to guide her too would make the whole thing far more convincing.
Lu Hongjun said, “Your standards are too high, this will take some time.”
Students at the foreign language institute were excellent, but the ones from difficult family backgrounds who tutored to make ends meet were snapped up early, while the well-off ones had no interest in this kind of work.
Jiaxin gave a small “oh” and said, “The housewarming feast is on Sunday, make sure to come early.”
“All right.”
Lu Hongjun had already arranged everything, Lu Jiajie and Ma Lili would bring the necessary items and prepare the food, and he’d only need to show up in time to eat.
Since Ma Lili worked at the department store, word of Lu Jiaxin’s housewarming feast spread quickly through the housing complex.
Seeing Ding Jing, Auntie Xue asked deliberately, “I heard Jiaxin is holding a housewarming feast. Little Ding, this is such a happy occasion, how many guests are you planning to invite?”
Ding Jing knew this was meant to embarrass her, and shook her head. “I don’t know, old Lu hasn’t told me anything.”
“You’re Jiaxin’s mother, how could you not know?”
That word “mother” dripped with sarcasm.
Ding Jing seethed inwardly. When she’d first married in, that wretched girl had refused to call her “mother,” and she’d magnanimously said at the time she’d give the child time to adjust. She’d never imagined she’d fail to win the girl over at all, to this day, that wretched girl had never once called her mother. In the past, people in the housing complex had already used this against her plenty, and now it was even worse.
Auntie Xue asked, feigning surprise, “Oh my, Little Ding, could it be that Jiaxin didn’t tell you?”
Ding Jing ignored her and clacked up the stairs in her high heels.
Auntie Xue spat and cursed, “That stinking home-wrecker, putting on such airs. After doing something that vicious, she’ll get struck by lightning sooner or later.”
On Sunday, Lu Jiajie and Ma Lili arrived early in the morning. They brought not only chicken, duck, fish, pork belly, and lamb, but also fruit and various dried nuts.
Looking over what they’d bought, Jiaxin said to Xue Mao, “Go check the market and see if there’s anyone selling large prawns or crabs, if there is, buy plenty.”
She loved prawns and crab more than almost anything, and early September was exactly the season for crab, she wanted to eat her fill.
Knowing she loved prawns, Lu Hongjun explained, “Zhenzhen is allergic to shrimp. If we make it and she can’t control herself and eats some, she’ll end up back in the hospital. Xinxin, if you want to eat some, I’ll buy you some in a couple of days.”
Xue Mao chimed in from the side, “Sis, I heard that while taking medicine, you shouldn’t eat ‘stimulating’ foods or anything cold in nature. Shrimp is stimulating, and crab is cold, both would interfere with the medicine’s effects.”
Jiaxin considered this. “The doctor didn’t mention that.”
Lu Jiajie thought it best to be cautious and avoid it, if it counteracted the medicine, the whole thing would be wasted money. “Just hold off for now, once your health improves, you can eat whatever you like.”
As far as he knew, the medicine Jiaxin was taking cost over four yuan per dose, and taking it for a whole year would run over a thousand yuan just in medicine costs. It was only because Third Uncle held such a high position, with good salary and benefits plus a little extra on the side, that he could afford it, if it had been him, there was no way he could have covered that.
Hearing this, Jiaxin gave up on the idea. Wasting money was one issue, but more importantly, Chinese medicine tasted awful. Every time she finished a dose she felt like throwing up, and she had to force herself to hold back just to avoid taking more than necessary.
The chicken, duck, and fish had all been bought live, and Jiaxin wanted to help Ma Lili prepare them, only to be pushed right out of the kitchen. “Go rest, me, your Fifth Brother, and Xue Mao are more than enough.”
Unable to argue her out of it, Jiaxin washed her hands and went inside to bring out White Rabbit milk candy, peanuts, sunflower seeds, and red date cake for the two children.
Xiaofeng, still young, lit up at the sight of the White Rabbit candy. “Little Aunt, you have so much candy here. Can I bring two pieces home for my good friend?”
Jiaxin couldn’t resist pinching her chubby, fair little cheek and said with a beaming smile, “Of course you can. My Xiaofeng is such a good girl, knowing to share treats with her friends.”
Praised like this, Xiaofeng smiled so wide her mouth split open, revealing a row of small, pearly teeth. As for Qiangqiang, he was too busy devouring the red date cake to say anything.