Chapter 28: Solving Qiu Yuruo's Questions Leaves Grandma Su Confused...
Grandma Su was bewildered by Qiu Yuru's question and simply said "Ah," unsure how to answer.
A woman behind her thought to herself: Something's not right. I clearly heard someone tell her that it was Yunting's grandmother who had come, so why is she still acting like she's asking about a stranger?
Those watching the commotion naturally noticed that Qiu Yuruo's tone was off, and the once lively scene suddenly fell silent.
Su's eldest uncle, who had been silently following beside Grandma Su, stepped forward and said to Qiu Yuruo, "This is Yunting's family. This is Yunting's maternal grandmother. I am Yunting's eldest uncle."
Then, pointing to the woman beside him, he said, "This is your maternal aunt."
Qiu Yuru gave a flat "hmm" to indicate that she knew who they were, but she didn't greet them. She only said, "Oh, it's Yunting's maternal grandmother and maternal uncle's wife. I've never met you before. It's like I'm making a fool of myself."
Qiu Yuruo's expression and words were hardly enthusiastic, but for a newlywed woman who had never met her husband's maternal uncles' family in the six months since her marriage, it wasn't too much to say.
Su Yunting's uncle was a little embarrassed, and Su's maternal grandmother was also at a loss.
Aunt Su, however, remained calm and said to Qiu Yuruo, "It's not your fault that you don't recognize us. Ever since your mother-in-law passed away, your maternal grandmother has been ill and needs someone by her side. So, we couldn't find anyone to come when you got married."
This is the biggest advantage of being an elder: as long as you say you're not feeling well, the younger generation can't argue with you. If you argue with a sick elder, then the younger generation is in the wrong.
Qiu Yuruo chuckled inwardly, "You're sick, aren't you?"
“The whole family has to stay by his side, so it must be very serious. He doesn’t look like he’s recovering from a serious illness at all. I wonder which doctor he saw. Yunting has been sick for so long and hasn’t gotten better. It’s good that you’ve found a good doctor. Could you give me the address so I can take Yunting to see a doctor?”
Her question caused even the usually composed Aunt Su to pause for a moment: "He's not a doctor who holds a clinic, he's just a traveling doctor who goes from street to street. We don't even know where to find him now."
Qiu Yuruo: Being cured by a traveling doctor is a good reason.
If you just say you're having a hard time and don't dare to come, I really can't say anything else. At most, I'll have Aunt Shuncai come over and give you a hard time.
Now that you've given me such a good reason, I can invite a gentleman to come and expose your disguise.
Qiu Yuruo said, "Just because you don't know where the doctor went doesn't mean others don't know either. Itinerant doctors who travel from street to street can't just treat your family, can they? As long as they pass by, they'll leave a trace."
Before Qiu Yuruo could say anything more, she directly instructed Yun Che: "Third brother, go and invite Brother Su Huai over. Tell him there is a traveling doctor with excellent medical skills, and ask him to help inquire about him."
When Uncle Su heard that Qiu Yu wanted to find someone to inquire about the itinerant doctor, he quickly stopped her, saying, "Itinerant doctors travel all over the country and have long since disappeared. They are not so easy to find."
Su Yunche seemed not to hear his uncle's words, only responding to Qiu Yuruo before running off to fetch someone.
Since his mother's death, Su Yunche has struggled to support his family. When times were tough, it wasn't just his grandfather and second uncle who abandoned them.
The people who used to visit my maternal grandmother's house every few days only came once after my mother passed away, after my eldest brother fell into a coma.
Before my mother passed away, she went back to her parents' home once to borrow money.
Su Yunche knew that his mother hadn't managed to borrow anything that day.
When Su Yunche heard that his grandmother was sick, he wanted to believe it for a moment. Deep down, he still hoped that his grandmother's family was not going to sever ties with his own family.
However, when his sister-in-law asked about the doctor, his aunt's unnatural answer made Su Yunche mentally scold himself for being naive once again.
Su Yunche returned to the village to ask for help, and the onlookers exchanged messages with each other.
Although Grandma Su was not a strong person, it was clear that she was not really ill for a long time. Even if she was sick, it was not as serious as she claimed. As for the itinerant doctor her daughter-in-law mentioned, either there was no such doctor at all, or he was just a third-rate quack.
Just wait and see, there's definitely more excitement to come.
The onlookers wanted to see a spectacle, but Aunt Su didn't want to be treated like one. If she were to actually send someone back to inquire about that non-existent itinerant doctor, her family's reputation in the village would suffer.
Su Yunting's wife seems to be quite formidable; my family probably won't gain any advantage from her.
She helped her mother-in-law up and said to Qiu Yuruo, "Knowing that you are all doing well, we are relieved. It's getting late, so we'll be going now."
How could Qiu Yuruo possibly let them go? If she didn't skin them alive this time, they would be a troublesome problem next time.
Qiu Yu Ruo stopped them: "Even if you're in a hurry, it won't be a problem in a short while. I think you can understand the mindset of someone in the family who has been ill for a long time. As long as they hear about a good doctor, they have to inquire about him. You've already walked more than ten miles, so a little more time won't make a difference."
Aunt Su: "Let's go back and find out first, or it will get dark before we get home."
Qiu Yuruo still insisted: "It's alright, we're going to your place to inquire about the miracle doctor anyway, so I'll just drive you back."
When Qiu Yu said that she would send someone to inquire about itinerant doctors right now, even Grandma Su and Uncle Su couldn't stay still. They wanted to leave without their wives pulling them away.
If it were just Qiu Yuruo on her own, she wouldn't be able to keep the three of them. But there are other onlookers. Even if they're not there to watch the show, just based on Qiu Yuruo's character, they would have to help her keep the three of them.
The three women, including Aunt Su, did not leave immediately. After a short delay, Aunt Shuncai arrived.
She came over and said, "My dear in-laws, you've come with your son and daughter-in-law to bring money to the children, right? Before Yunting's mother passed away, she asked you for money, but you said you could only raise it after the autumn harvest."
Yunting's mother passed away, you didn't come to Yunting's wedding, and you didn't come after autumn either. I thought you had severed ties with this area.
Now it seems I was wrong.
"Well, it's almost Chinese New Year, so you've come to give the children money!"
Grandma Su blushed deeply after Aunt Shuncai's words and didn't know how to respond.
It was her daughter-in-law who stepped forward and said, "Auntie, it's not that we don't want to lend money, it's just that our family is really in dire straits."
It's almost Chinese New Year, so we came to visit. Yunting's wife is doing well, which puts our minds at ease.
We're all busy, so we won't stay any longer. Next time you're in Lianhua Town, remember to stop by our place for a drink of water.
As she spoke, she pulled her mother-in-law away.
Just as Qiu Yuruo was about to stop him, Su Huai arrived.
He had already asked Yun Che, and immediately understood that it was his maternal grandmother's family trying to take advantage of him.
Su Huai was usually kind and easygoing, but he was willing to help Qiu Yuruo by asking Yun Che to call him over to help them settle scores with her maternal grandmother's family.
Qiu Yuruo had to take care of her three younger siblings and also pay for Yunting's medical treatment. Few people in the village knew better than Su Huai how hard she worked.
Su Huai used to ignore Yun Ting's maternal grandmother's family coming here to take advantage of him, but now that their daughter and son-in-law have passed away, they still want to come and take advantage of him. It's not like Su Family Village is deserted. Su Huai is the first one who will object.
Before they even reached the stall, Su Huai said, "Grandma Yunting, I heard that you were cured of your serious illness by a traveling doctor. You've met such a good doctor, and you don't even think about how Yunting is still sick. Now that you're going back, I'll go with you to inquire about the whereabouts of this miracle doctor."
Su Huai was a serious and upright man. The three women, including Su's grandmother, were already feeling weak and insecure. When they faced Su Huai, they wished they could just disappear on the spot.
Grandma Su lowered her head in shame, Uncle Su shrank back, and Aunt Su cursed inwardly as an old codger and a good-for-nothing.
Looking up at Su Huai, she said, "That itinerant doctor isn't necessarily very good at treating others. My mother's illness was probably just a coincidence, and it's possible that he didn't cure her."
Su Huai: "Whether it is or not, we have to find someone to know."
Aunt Su: Why are all these people so difficult to deal with?
She had no other choice but to pinch the old woman's arm and ask with concern, "Mother, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell again?"
After she finished speaking, the scene fell silent again, and even Su Huai paused for a moment.
Qiu Yuru gritted her teeth and stepped forward, saying, "If the old lady is not feeling well, let's go to the clinic in town. It'll be a good opportunity for the doctor to check if she's fully recovered from her previous illness."
In that instant, Qiu Yu Ruo thought it through clearly. If she left feeling so uncomfortable, who knew what people would say about her later? So she might as well go directly to the clinic. In this era, doctors who were qualified to practice medicine could generally pass the test, regardless of the quality of their prescriptions, and their pulse diagnosis skills were far superior to those of later generations.
As long as they dare to go, even if her discomfort is truly due to my insistence on keeping her here, I'll accept paying for her medical treatment!
Qiu Yuruo was prepared for the worst-case scenario: she would have to pay for Grandma Su's medical treatment.
Aunt Su dared not respond.
She knew perfectly well whether her mother-in-law had a serious illness or not. If they went to their town and the doctor found out, she would lose face big time!
Grandma Su was even more hesitant to go, saying, "No need, no need to go to the clinic."
Aunt Su quickly chimed in, "Are you feeling weak because you're tired? I thought you weren't feeling well!"
After listening to her daughter-in-law's explanation, Grandma Su nodded repeatedly.
Seeing their performance, Qiu Yuruo first breathed a sigh of relief, but then she became truly annoyed.
He said directly to Su Huai, "Brother Su Huai, please go home and drive. I'll pack up the stall now and call Uncle Shuncai later. We'll take Yun Che and go to Lianhua Town together. We don't know where the itinerant doctor is at Yun Ting's maternal grandmother's house. We'll ask their clan chief to ask around. There are so many people in their village, surely someone knows where the itinerant doctor is."
Everyone present understood that Qiu Yu would not give up until she exposed the true colors of Grandma Su's family.
Uncle Su never expected Qiu Yuruo to be so serious. He had only heard that his nephew's wife was a businesswoman and that they were doing well again in less than half a year.
Aunt Su knew that Qiu Yuruo's pastries and meat sauce were selling very well, and it was the time to buy New Year's goods, so she said that she should come to Su Family Village. Her nephew's wife would surely bring back a few pounds of pastries.
To make themselves look more presentable, the couple even brought their mother along.
They truly hadn't expected Qiu Yuru to be so resolute, willing to take her mother to the clinic just to get to the bottom of things.
Seeing that Qiu Yuruo had finished speaking, Su Huai agreed and turned to go back to drive the car. Uncle Su couldn't take it anymore.
"Don't go there. There are no itinerant doctors at all. Yunting's grandmother wasn't sick before. It's just that she felt sad because Yunting's mother was gone, and she would feel bad no matter who came here. So we didn't dare to come here for a while."
Recently, her initial strong feeling about the children has subsided, and she's been missing them so much that she can't sleep, so she came to visit them.
As soon as Uncle Su finished speaking, Aunt Shuncai spat and cursed, "You didn't care when the children were struggling to survive because there were no adults in the family. Now that they're finally not starving and things are looking up, you start thinking about the children!"
I've seen people who love to take advantage of others, but I've never seen anyone like you who keep taking advantage of others endlessly!
When Yun Ting's father was alive, how much money did Yun Ting's mother give to her family? Now that her son-in-law is gone, she goes back to her family to borrow money, but you won't lend her a single penny!
Your daughter is gone, and you're afraid these children will be a burden to you, so you're severing ties and not coming here anymore. Fine, let them sever ties. The children are doing well and won't come to your side to cause trouble.
"You guys have some shame. If you've broken up, you should have cut ties completely. Now that you hear things are starting to look up here, you're thinking of coming back to take advantage of us..."
The three Su brothers, their faces flushed red from the scolding, covered their faces and tried to slip away, but Su Huai stopped them.
Su Huai said to Su Dajiu, "No matter who was in charge of your family before, you didn't have any dealings with this place. Since you decided to sever ties with this place during the most difficult time, you don't need to come here anymore."
Yunting doesn't have any elders to interfere, so today Aunt Shuncai and I will take over this household for him. Since you broke off the relationship first, Yunting and his brothers will no longer go to your place.
From now on, let's each go our own way and wish each other well.
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