Chapter 31 The Eggs She Brought

"Cough cough cough... cough cough..."

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Early in the morning, Song Chunxue lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), coughing violently, as if her lungs were about to come out.

She didn't get out of bed, but asked Sanwa to boil more hot water for her to drink.

Sanwa not only brought her hot water, but also gave her some flatbread and placed it by the kang (heated brick bed).

"Mom, your cough is so bad, you shouldn't get out of bed. Stay home and rest today. I'll make lunch when I get back."

"Cough cough," Song Chunxue clutched her chest, looking very weak. "I think if I don't have the strength to do it, I'll wait for you to come back."

Sanwa nodded, "I'll dig up two licorice roots for you. I heard that licorice can cure coughs."

"Okay, cough cough cough..."

Song Chunxue patted her chest, feeling as if she really was sick, with an itchy throat.

She lay on the kang (a heated brick bed) for a while, then slowly emptied the chamber pot and sat on the steps in the yard, coughing loudly.

The eldest couple in the thatched kiln could definitely hear it.

The courtyard gate was open, and Song Chunxue saw them leave together with some dry food, but they didn't come in to greet her.

That ingrate! How could I have given him the land of Shuichuan in my past life? His heart is truly made of stone.

After they left, Song Chunxue stopped pretending and cleaned the kitchen and her own room inside and out.

During this time, she also coughed twice to avoid being noticed by anyone with ulterior motives.

The people in this village are as cunning as hairs on a cow. You can't rely on them for important matters, but they're like detectives when it comes to trivial things. They can embellish a wonderful story for you based on some minor details and hearsay.

She had experienced this firsthand.

In her past life, she and Sanwa's wife were always arguing, and the next day you could hear from others that she almost beat Sanwa's wife to death, beating her until she was lying on the ground crying with her head in her hands, her face bruised and swollen.

Actually, she pushed Xia Mulan in front of the courtyard gate, which was seen by a passerby in the village.

If Xia Mulan hadn't been kind-hearted and hadn't exaggerated her story to others, she might have been a vicious old woman in her past life.

Around noon, she ate some noodles, filled the water vat, and continued to lie on the kang (a heated brick bed) coughing.

Sanwa came back early and actually dug up two very thick and long licorice roots for her.

He cut a piece of licorice root, boiled it in water, and brought it to her.

"Mother, drink this quickly, and I'll go and fetch a folk doctor to take a look at you later."

"No need, I'm fine. It's not too late to go after we eat." Song Chunxue coughed twice and said weakly, "I've made some noodles. You can boil water and cook the rice."

Sanwa nodded, "Okay, I'll go after I finish eating."

Watching Sanwa's retreating figure, hurried footsteps echoed in the courtyard; he was truly anxious.

Before long, Sanwa brought in the cooked buckwheat soup and quickly ate three bowls.

"Mother, I'm going to fetch the doctor to take a look. Leave the bowl there, I'll wash it when I get back." Sanwa dropped the bowl, wiped his mouth, and hurried out of the courtyard.

Song Chunxue felt helpless and heartbroken. She rarely got sick before and never knew that Sanwa cared about her.

The more she saw Sanwa like this, the more she regretted that she had been so biased towards the eldest brother and always sided with him.

She is really not a good mother.

If she had been even a little kinder to Sanwa, seeing how busy he was with her and how worried he was about her being sick, she wouldn't have felt so heartbroken.

Just then, Zhao Yufang came to see her with eggs.

Zhao Yufang hadn't even washed her face, and the sleep in the corners of her eyes was still so obvious. She looked at Song Chunxue lying on the kang in surprise.

"Oh, you're really sick. I specifically asked Jiang Yeming today if you were home, and he said you were sick and didn't go to the fields today."

She asked in confusion, "He was fine yesterday, how come he's lying on the kang today?"

"Cough cough cough, it's probably because I sweated and caught a chill yesterday, I feel unwell all over and have a cough today."

Song Chunxue acted very convincingly. After all, when she got old, she would catch a cold and cough, looking like she was about to die. She knew how to act most realistically.

"You also drank medicine. Who brewed it for you?" Zhao Yufang glanced at the medicine bowl next to her, which contained yellowish water. "Did the eldest brother brew it?"

At this point, Song Chunxue rolled her eyes.

"I was hoping that ungrateful wretch would cook medicine for me. When they heard me coughing this morning, neither of them came into the yard or even looked at me. They came back at noon but didn't come over either."

"I used to treat my eldest son like a treasure, thinking he would be the most reliable person in the future. I never expected him to be so bad. He hasn't even completely divided the family property yet, and he's already become estranged from me. He even tried to divide the land with me in front of everyone in the village... cough cough cough, cough cough."

"Alright, alright, sons grow up and become independent. Even if they're not good, they're still your children." Zhao Yufang sighed. "Where's your third child?"

"He dug up some licorice root, boiled it into a drink for me, and quickly finished his meal before calling a doctor for me. Cough cough."

Song Chunxue sighed, feeling very sad, and said, "I never thought he would be the most filial and sensible one. But he's the only one in the family who didn't get much education. Maybe he's the only one we can count on in the future. I regret not letting him study for a couple more years."

“I told you long ago, the most reliable person in your family is Sanwa. That kid seems honest. It’s not too late to see the truth now. Just treat him better in the future. What’s the use of regretting it?” Zhao Yufang said, placing the eggs wrapped in a cloth on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).

"I raised a few chickens, and they laid eggs that I couldn't bear to eat, so I brought you some." As she spoke, she said somewhat embarrassedly, "I came to borrow money from you, but I don't know if you'll keep your word."

Song Chunxue coughed a few times, then threw off the covers and got up from the kang (heated brick bed).

She opened the wooden box with the key and said softly, "How can it not count? You brought eggs to see me, it wouldn't be right not to lend them."

"Here's two taels of silver. Take it. I'll come to your house to collect the money after I sell your donkey." Song Chunxue said with a smile, "Anyway, it's not like you're not going to pay me back."

Zhao Yufang smiled as she accepted the silver, looking at her gratefully.

"Thank you so much. If I can't raise the money by next month, I'll have to sell a lot of things in my house, and I still might not be able to raise enough, not to mention my two sheep..."

At this point, Zhao Yufang wiped away her tears.

"Why did you even hire that bald guy Wang as your son-in-law? He's as lazy as a pig. No, even a pig is more diligent than him. Comparing him to a pig is an insult to pigs. All he does is visit other people's houses all day. He's a master at being cunning and sly." Song Chunxue said irritably, "Don't feed him next time. Let him starve to death outside."

Zhao Yufang wiped her eyes with the headscarf tied around her neck. "Sigh, it's no use. He'll hit me. I'm so skinny, I can't beat him."

Song Chunxue handed the eggs to her, saying, "I don't want the eggs. You're not well-off to begin with. Eat more eggs to nourish yourself. Don't wait until you're old and never exercise before thinking about nourishing your body."

Zhao Yufang stood up. "Keep the eggs. I'm going back now. I still need to feed the livestock. I need to shovel more Artemisia capillaris to sell this afternoon."

Song Chunxue's vision gradually blurred. In this village, she and Zhao Yufang were the only ones who were busy shoveling wormwood to earn a little money all day long.

"Mother, are you feeling better?"

No sooner had Zhao Yufang left than Chen Feng and Jiang Yeming entered the house.

"Oh, she even brought you eggs, more than a dozen of them! How generous of her!" Chen Feng laughed. "Did Mother give her something nice? Otherwise, why would she be so generous?"