“Sister Su, my mom asked me to bring some hot water for you.” Erya said with a string of copper coins in hand. Erya knew Zhang’s situation. Her mother also gave Zhang some porridge secretly out of pity.
“My mom told me we couldn’t take this money. Sister Su, please keep it.”
Su Muge didn’t receive it. “This is for you, please take it. I need your help after a while.”
“If there’s anything you need, just say.”
Considering Zhang’s situation, Su Muge didn’t stand on ceremony so she told her what she needed. Leaving Erya to look after Su Muge, she went to the end of the village with Hutou and asked the only barefoot doctor in the village for some medicine for Zhang.
Zhang’s leg had begun to rot. The rotten meat must be cut out, or the leg would be useless.
She was poisoned but she did not dare to use her power on the palm since she had not grasped the use of it herself.
It was late after everything settled down.
As Zhang was still weak and the light turned dim, she could not conduct the surgery until tomorrow. Consequently, Su Muge could only ask Erya to decoct the medicine for Zhang.
“Thanks a lot for what you have done today!”
“Sister Su, you really don’t go home with us, do you? There is…no place to rest here.” Seeing only one earthen bed and a broken table with two broken chairs, Erya said again.
“No. Thank you!”
“We will go home and come tomorrow.”
Erya left with Hutou and Zhang fell asleep.
Raising the oil lamp, Su Muge saw the medicine from the barefoot doctor.
The medicine looked poor. She had no choice but to make do with it.
The night in the village was very quiet. Su Muge, leaning on the table, fell asleep gradually.
“Who? Who are you?”
The sharp cry woke Su Muge up. A fat woman with a narrow forehead and prominent cheekbones pointed at her.
Su Muge sat up and turned to look at Zhang who was lying on the bed. Zhang was awake and staring at the fat woman with big, resentful eyes.
“Wang, what are you doing? Do you come to see…to see if I have starved to death?” Zhang was infuriated and wanted to get up.
It was Wang, the elder daughter-in-law of Zhang, who used to come to see if Zhang had died every two or three days.
Wang glanced at Zhang aversively. “Mom, I just brought some food to you. Don’t put it that way. Da Lang hasn’t married.”
It is a local tradition that the one who suffered bereavement couldn’t get married in three years. What Wang said was truly heartrending.
Su Muge had made it clear who Wang was after hearing how Zhang called Wang. Before she came, her mother had introduced the family members of Zhang’s to her.
“You must be my elder aunt. It’s very thoughtful of you to bring the food to my grandmother so early in the morning.”
After hearing what Su Muge said, Wang looked her up and down meticulously.
What Su Muge was dressing seemed to be not affordable for the villagers. And her eye was covered by a handkerchief. Though it was too dark to see what she looked like, Wang still felt Su Muge was charming.
“Who are you? Are you the elder sister-in-law’s daughter?” Wang said and felt something strange. Except for Zhao, she had a sister who married a packman in town and had two daughters and one son. She had met one of the daughters before who had no such disposition.
“My parents were worried about my grandmother after knowing that she fell down so they asked me to visit her.”
“Your parents…” Wang frowned and was amazed with her eyes wide open. She clapped her hands and said, “Are you the younger sister-in-law’s daughter?”
Su Muge nodded rather than denying her. Considering Zhang’s situation, she felt only she herself was not enough so she negotiated with Wang.
“Is…is it your mother that asked you to visit the old…your grandmother? It’s you! You went to the capital city and become a lady in the official family. I must go back immediately to tell your elder uncle.” Wang changed her countenance and became so excited that her fat was shivering. She turned and ran away, forgetting taking away her basket.
Su Muge took a glance at the basket. There was a broken bowl with some stale porridge in it.
“Who knows what evil thing the shameless woman is considering. Muge, your grandmother is all right. You, you’d better go back.” Having seen Su Megu being so worried, Zhang said so. She used to think that Zhao had led a happy life with Su Lun, but now it turned out that Zhao had concealed many things because Muge should come here herself and was adept at taking care of others.
“Grandmother, I will go back until you feel better. Otherwise, my mom will blame me.”
Su Muge went out. She decocted the medicine for Zhang first and then cooked some porridge with a small pot brought by Erya.
“Sister Su, you woke up so early.” Erya came bouncing into the room with a basket in her arm.
“My mom asked me to bring some pancakes to you and aunt Zhang. And also I brought the things you required yesterday.”
Su Muge didn’t stand on ceremony this time, and she said, “Thank you!”
After feeding Zhang medicine, Su Muge lighted the only oil lamp in the room and pierced Zhang’s acupoints with the silver needles borrowed from the barefoot doctor. After a while, Zhang fell asleep.
Erya was surprised. “Sister Su, what, what are you doing?”
Su Muge didn’t raise her head. “I will perform surgery, or the leg would be useless.”
She opened the windows and the door so that there would be enough light in the room. Then, she disinfected the knife with liquor took out from the basket and prepared to deal with the rotten part on the leg.
“Wait outside, and don’t let anyone in.”
Erya was frightened by Zhang’s leg, so she nodded, running away with her face turning pale.
After disinfecting the knife with the fire for a while, Su Muge started to clean the rotten part skillfully.
Su Muge was experienced in such surgery. She was born into a family pursuing Chinese medicine. After years of emersion in this area, she became good at drawing inferences about other cases from one instance. As a result, she spent time studying western medicine every day, which helped her achieve a perfect combination of Chinese and Western medicine.
Su Muge did not perform the surgery slowly. So to speak, she did it quite quickly yet with every step being accurate.
“Erya, what are you doing here? Did you consider here your own home? Go away!”
“No. Sister Su asked me to be here. No one is allowed to enter the room before she comes out.”
“I’m her uncle. She will not dare to stop me.” Zhao Ming pushed Erya away and went into the room.
After dressing the wound, Su Muge covered Zhang with a quilt. Before Su Muge stood up, Zhao Ming and some others came in.
“My elder niece came here. Why didn’t you tell your uncle when you arrived?” Zhao Ming, the second son of Zhao’s, was at home this day.
Wang hummed and intended to hold Su Muge’s hand with a grin on her face, but she didn’t feel awkward after Su Muge parried her very skillfully.
“My elder niece, we can talk in the house. You must be hungry. Your aunt will cook for you in a while.”
Su Muge glanced at the faces of the two with a trace of smile on her face.
“If I left, what would happen with my grandma?”
After talking about Zhao, the two felt it was so inauspicious.
Zhao Ming said immediately, “You didn’t know that your grandma had fallen down not long ago and couldn’t get up later. She insisted that she would move to the old house so as to avoid encumbering us. Otherwise, she would eat or drink nothing. We had no other choice but move her here.”
Wang nodded and said, “Exactly. We had no other choice.”
Hearing this, Su Muge turned her face gloomy. “Really? But my grandma told me she wanted to go back home to lie down just now.”
“It…” Wang looked depressed. Zhang would pass away soon or later. She didn’t want her to die in their house because her son was old enough to get married.
Zhao Ming thought for a while with her eyes rolling, and she smiled, “So my mom wanted to go back. No problem. I will ask someone to carry my mom back.”
Hearing this, Wang was unhappy and threw a glare. When she was about to say something, Zhao Ming stared back at her. “My sister-in-law, let’s go back with me to ask some others for help.”
Wang grunted and went out.
Going out of the shabby yard, Wang asked, “What are you doing? Do you want the old woman to die in the house? I can tell you her room has been reserved for Da Lang’s marriage.”
Zhao Ming was angry but he knew what was more important. “Don’t you want the money anyway?”
“What?”
“My sister asked her daughter to come back eagerly. If she knew what we have done to mom, do you think she would give us money?” Wang calmed down after hearing this.
“Anyhow, she wouldn’t stay here for long. We can carry her back after getting the money.”
“You are right. How clever you are!”
Wang went back to ask her two sons to carry Zhang back. After much struggle, Zhang was carried back to the house.
As Su Muge had thought, Wang had built the houses after receiving the money brought back by Zhao. There was a yard with 11 rooms. Except for the living room and Zhao’s previous room, each of the three sons owned three rooms.
Su Muge asked Wang for some hot water. After cleaning Zhang, Su Muge changed her clothes.
Looking at Zhang’s well-bandaged leg, Wang was ashamed.
“Had you invited the doctor for mom again? The doctor had said that the leg…was hard to cure.”
Su Muge said nothing about Wang’s question but went to decoct the medicine herself.
As long as grandmother could survive three days, it had no great problem for her to recover after careful care.
Mu…Muge, wash…wash face.” Zhao Shun, the eldest son of Wang’s, came over with a basin of water, staring at Su Muge’s face eagerly, which made Su Muge frowned.
“No. Thanks!”
Zhao Shun stared at Su Muge’ tiny hands and swallowed. He was unwilling to leave.
He had been sixteen years old and his mother was trying to find her daughter-in-law. He thought if he could marry a girl like her cousin…How wonderful it would be!
At night, all of Zhao’s families had returned. They were in the living room, looking at Su Muge as if she was a prisoner.
Su Muge glanced at them and sat here silently.
Wang was impatient and couldn’t help nudging her husband Zhao De.
Zhao De coughed. “Did you return alone this time?”
Su Muge knew that the question was to test Su Lun’s attitude towards his wife and daughter. After all, it looked strange that Su Muge appeared by herself.
“My father arranged three guards, two servant girls, and a driver to come with me. I was afraid they wouldn’t be accommodated at home so I let them wait in town.” If all the six people came, there was no room for them. The Zhao family accepted this answer.
“My niece, this time…Did your mother ask you to bring something back?”
