Chapter 64 Guests at Home
As the sun sets, its golden afterglow envelops Guanming Hutong, as if welcoming everyone returning home from get off work.
After passing the still stinking public toilet, Chen Yun stopped at the intersection and took a few deep breaths, as if she had just come back to life.
After being in the Workers' Hospital for half a month, Chen Yun quickly regained the feeling from her previous life that "there are all kinds of birds in a big forest".
Five nurses were seconded in total, and two have started working so far. The other three either said that the department head was too busy and they would come in a few days, or they directly said that they did not want to be seconded.
So right now, there are only two nurses, Chen Yun and others, in the entire nursery, and they can't even get an intern.
When the matter was raised with Dean Hu, the response was simply to wait a little longer.
Due to staff shortages, the initial handover with Xue Ruzhi, the head of the obstetrics and gynecology department, was very unpleasant.
The other party refused to transfer three premature infants who needed to stay in incubators from the obstetrics and gynecology department, citing insufficient staff in the nursery.
Changing majors is also possible, but Chen Yun must personally persuade the child's parents; it must be entirely voluntary.
Before they tried to persuade her, they had already had a “conversation” with Xue Ruzhi, the content of which is unknown… but it was undoubtedly all content that was detrimental to Chen Yun.
Of the three sets of parents, only one, who had extreme distrust of Xue Ruzhi, agreed to transfer the child to the neonatal ward.
Coincidentally, these two people were the same pregnant woman Chen Yun encountered outside the clinic on the first day of her report.
Right now, the three people in the department are all focused on this little guy who is just over eight months old.
The work itself was undoubtedly easy, but I was mentally exhausted.
The thought of having to "have a child" with Xue Ruzhi every time made his heart tremble, and he wished he could go to the dean's office tomorrow to chant and meditate.
"call--"
But those were all work-related matters; Chen Yun wouldn't bring work-related troubles home.
The stench finally cleared her head.
Looking down at the cake in her hand, she felt happy again, and a smile involuntarily appeared on her lips.
Today is Gao Nianping's birthday, and Chen Yun promised to buy the child a cake.
Although the cake was ordered by Gaoming, the fact that she personally brought it home meant that her mother had fulfilled her promise.
"Mother."
"mom."
After sitting in front of the firewood pile in the courtyard for a long time, the siblings finally saw Chen Yun walking towards their home.
The bright red scarf around the daughter's neck fluttered in the wind, and the son, envious of his sister's ability to join the Young Pioneers, also asked his grandmother to find a piece of red cloth to tie around his neck.
From afar, Chen Yun saw two bright red figures running towards him.
"Mom!" Gao Nianping hugged Chen Yun tightly, tilting his head back and saying in a childish voice that he wanted his mother to hug him.
"Mom! I'll carry the cake, you hold your little brother."
Gao Nian'an felt that since he was already a Young Pioneer, he had to set a good example for his younger brothers. Recently, he had been so well-behaved that even Chen Yun was surprised.
Chen Yun once heard older people lament that children only cling to their parents for a few years, and later they will only complain about their parents' nagging.
Gao Nian'an's transformation made Chen Yun feel like her daughter had grown up, and to be honest... she felt quite empty.
"Let's go to the zoo to see the tigers tomorrow."
As soon as he picked up the second child, Gao Nianping leaned close to Chen Yun's ear and reported tomorrow's itinerary with a smile.
On Friday, Gao Nianping's birthday was due to work, so Chen Yun specially scheduled her birthday wish for the weekend. Her wish was to go to the zoo with her mother no matter what.
The Gao family's courtyard was very lively.
"Chen Yun, come here quickly, Mom will introduce you to Granny Jia." Dong Qiaoying waved to Chen Yun as soon as she saw her.
All the neighbors except Aunt Liu gathered in the courtyard.
Grandma Jia brought back local specialties from visiting her daughter, and everyone gathered together for a casual chat.
"Is this Erming's wife?"
Granny Jia was short, with her white hair tied back with a wooden hairpin, and her eyes held a calm that was so murky it was hard to see clearly.
"Hello, Grandma Jia, I am Chen Yun."
"Both children look like you." Grandma Jia's gaze flickered slightly as she looked at the two children's faces before she slowly smiled and nodded: "It's good that they look like their mother. It's admirable that they look like their mother."
“Everyone says it looks like Gao Ming!” Chen Yun laughed.
"The eldest son looks like Gao Ming, and the second son looks like his mother." Aunt Luo chose the middle one, then abruptly added, "Aunt Jia doesn't know... Chen Yun is a doctor at the Workers' Hospital!"
"..."
"Erming is really capable. He started his own transportation company, and his wife is a doctor at a hospital!"
"Auntie hasn't been in the yard lately, so she didn't know that Erming bought Lao Gao a three-wheeled motorcycle. Lao Gao rides the motorcycle to take his eldest granddaughter to school every day, and our Lao Jiang is so envious."
Chen Yun: "..."
Aunt Luo's mouth never stopped moving; she kept talking about the Gao family, and Chen Yun found it a little strange that she was so busy talking.
If it were Aunt Liu, it wouldn't be surprising... but Aunt Luo was showing off, completely different from usual.
"Oh, by the way! I heard Aunt Jia's family is having a happy occasion soon?"
Suddenly, Aunt Luo changed the subject, her words shifting several times in a single sentence, before finally giving Granny Jia a forced smile.
Grandma Jia hummed in agreement and announced something to everyone with a smile in her eyes.
"My son is getting married the day after tomorrow. Everyone, please remember to come and have a drink at the wedding."
"..."
The wedding is the day after tomorrow... If Aunt Luo hadn't told us, the neighbors in the courtyard probably wouldn't have known.
"Then I really must congratulate Aunt Jia." Aunt Luo's smile grew even brighter. "However, it's my sister-in-law's birthday that day, so our family won't be going to join in the fun."
After saying that, he glanced at Granny Jia's house, turned around and left, slamming the door shut as soon as he entered.
After his wife finished venting her anger, Old Jiang tapped his pipe on the laundry table in front of the Gao family's house and stood up, his tone still carrying a hint of dissatisfaction.
"Aunt Jia, don't blame Lao Luo. It was your Yan Jun who did something unethical."
Grandma Jia didn't speak, her face showing some embarrassment as she avoided eye contact.
"If Yan Jun disliked them in the first place, he shouldn't have rushed to impress them. In the end... he should have at least told us beforehand..."
"Yan Jun was being unfair," Grandma Jia sighed, her spirits instantly collapsing. "It's no use me saying anything!"
After saying that, he shook his head and went back to his own house.
"Aunt Jia just mentioned marriage, and I thought it was with...not your relative?" Dong Qiaoying exclaimed in surprise.
Grandma Jia has a lame young son who, because of his leg problem, is thirty-six years old and still hasn't found a partner.
Aunt Luo saw that Yan Jun, despite his disability, was a reliable person, so she enthusiastically introduced him to a distant relative who had never married because of his stutter.
Both of them were quite satisfied with each other. Although they did not explicitly say that they were dating, Yan Jun's frequent visits to Luo's house had already sent a signal to the outside world that the two were dating.
The two got along very well, and Chen Yun had heard Dong Qiaoying and Aunt Luo say more than once that they would have to eat wedding candy this year.
Then everything changed after Grandma Jia took her son to visit her daughter.
Yan Jun fell in love with a girl from his daughter's village. The girl also came to Beicheng, saying that they were already engaged and that she was pregnant.
Today, Aunt Luo heard from her relatives that Yan Jun called the girl a few days ago and said he was going to marry someone else... No normal person could accept that.
Grandma Jia knew she was in the wrong. When her relatives came with their daughter to confront her that morning, Yan Jun didn't dare to leave the house. He just insisted that he and the girl were just ordinary friends.
The matter was eventually dropped, and before the relative left, he complained a lot about Aunt Luo's failure to properly understand her character before making the introduction.
Aunt Luo meant well but caused a bad thing. How could she ever face this relative again? She only made a few sarcastic remarks to Granny Jia, which was already considered restraint.
The reason they didn't completely fall out was because Granny Jia was also a victim.
Grandma Jia knew nothing about the girl and Yan Jun's affair. Yan Jun said that they couldn't buy tickets for the same train, so the mother and son arrived half a day apart.
It wasn't until this morning when Granny Jia returned home that she realized there was a young woman hiding in the house.
"Have you seen what the girl Yan Jun is dating looks like?" Dong Qiaoying asked.
Logically, the girl should have been in the house yesterday, but no one saw her for a whole day. If it weren't for Aunt Luo's relatives coming over, no one would have known that there was a living person hiding in the yard.
Everyone shook their heads.
As a doctor, Chen Yun found something even more puzzling: "Yan Jun went to visit his relatives for only two months, right?"
“Not even two months.” Dong Qiaoying counted on her fingers: “Just a month and a half.”
During that time, Gao Ming called to say he was taking his wife and children back to Beicheng to live. Dong Qiaoying checked the calendar every day to keep track of the days and remembered the exact time when Grandma Jia and her son left.
"She got pregnant in just a month and a half?" Chen Yun asked in surprise, as if she were just saying it casually. "Even if Yan Jun hit it off with that girl as soon as he arrived, it's only been a month and a half. Without going to the hospital for a blood test, how can you be so sure she's pregnant?"
Even if you count a month and a half, it's still within the early stages of pregnancy. Sometimes, when the fetus has just implanted, it's easy to mistake it for a pulse. And let's not forget the few days of travel delays... You can't just get off the bus and immediately roll into the girl's bed!
Chen Yun quickly led the children inside to change clothes, abandoning a reasonable skepticism based on common medical knowledge.
Tonight is Gao Nianping's birthday, and Xiao Mu and his wife are bringing their daughter and nephew to visit. As the hostess, Chen Yun definitely needs to go home to prepare for the guests.
Little did she know that her analysis caused several elders in the courtyard to have complicated expressions.
Unbeknownst to Chen Yun and the other young people, Grandma Jia revealed a piece of information during their conversation.
On their way to see their daughter, the mother and son also stopped by their uncle's house, where they stayed for two weeks before setting off again.
In other words... it didn't even last a month at most.
"..."
"Surely Aunt Jia couldn't have failed to calculate this?" Old Jiang looked at Gao Tiejun. Gao Tiejun then looked at Dong Qiaoying: "Was it done on purpose?"
Grandma Jia gave birth to seven children, and although five of them did not survive to adulthood, she was certainly very knowledgeable about pregnancy and childbirth.
Since she agreed to Yan Jun's marriage without any suspicion, it can only mean that although she knew, she had no choice but to agree.
"Everyone, stop making wild guesses." Dong Qiaoying quickly interrupted everyone's increasingly outrageous speculations: "Just like Chen Yun said, some people get pregnant at the first touch, so let's not overthink it."
The group dispersed, each with their own thoughts.
In the kitchen.
"You've even learned how to carve patterns on fish?"
Li Huguo gave a thumbs up, once again impressed by Gao's superb knife skills. The two of them worked the same job at the company... and yet he was almost a head chef.
Ruanqiu had just brought Li Shuaishuai back from next door when she stepped into the kitchen and heard Li Huguo's voice.
"If you had put in even half the effort of Gao Ming, Shuai Shuai wouldn't be so distant from you now."
Li Huguo: "..."
"Chen Yun is off work?" Li Huguo turned around and saw Chen Yun appear, and quickly changed the subject.
"How much good food has your handsome son been eating lately? How come he has a double chin?" Chen Yun smiled and flicked Li Shuai Shuai's chubby double chin: "It seems Aunt Fang has been giving the child a lot of special treatment."
“Even Li Huguo’s mother knows that Shuai Shuai has a sweet tooth.” Ruan Qiu glared at Li Huguo, then kicked him in frustration: “If only you, as his father, had eyes too.”
Li Huguo and his wife have moved back to live next door, but Ruanqiu still doesn't want to call Aunt Fang "Mom" in private and usually refers to her as Li Huguo's mother.
"My second uncle also asked me to bring Nianping a birthday present."
After glaring at her husband, Ruanqiu remembered what Li Yi had told her before she came over, and hurriedly took it out of her pocket and handed it to Chen Yun.
The Guanyin pendant, about the size of a coin, remained cool even after being held by Ruanqiu all the way.
"My second uncle said you don't need to call him for meals," Ruanqiu added.
"It doesn't feel cheap!" Chen Yun held the pendant in her palm and weighed it in her hand, feeling that the translucent material of the pendant looked like real jade. "I'll take it back to Uncle Li after dinner; it's too valuable!"
Uncle Li really liked Gao Nianping, and Chen Yun could tell.
I already felt I shouldn't have accepted the stone gourd I received earlier, since it turned out to be jade, and now this jade pendant...
"It's alright." Gao Ming picked up the fish that had been rolled in the starch bowl and shook it. "Dad said we should accept it if Uncle Li gives it to us, and that we should take good care of Uncle Li in the future."
“My second uncle has a lot of good stuff.” Li Huguo winked at Ruan Qiu and smiled. “Ten years ago, those things would have been evidence of capitalists, but now they’re hot commodities. He can give them to whomever he wants.”
“If your second uncle likes Nianping, let the children spend more time with him,” Gao Ming added.
The gas stove, which had only been installed a few days ago, was turned on, and a blue flame burst out with a "bang," quickly heating up half a pot of oil until it started to smoke.
"LPG is still faster, and it's easier to control the heat when frying fish," Gao Ming remarked.
Chen Yun rarely goes into the kitchen and doesn't even know when her family started using a gas stove.
It seems that only people who cook care about the convenience brought by upgrading kitchen utensils.
She wiped the pendant with the hem of her dress, then called Gao Nianping over: "This is a birthday gift from Grandpa Li Er. Remember to thank him."
"I'll go thank Grandpa right now."
As soon as Chen Yun tucked the pendant into his collar, Gao Nianping excitedly raised his chubby little hand and said something.
Not only did he go by himself, but he also had to call his older sister and Li Shuaishuai. The third child finally found an opportunity to legitimately take snacks out of the house.
I just don't know if those cookies and candies were actually for Grandpa.
"You two go out first, or you'll get burned by the splattering oil." Gao Ming called Chen Yun and Ruan Qiu out of the kitchen before putting the fish in.
A sizzling sound came from behind, mixed with Li Huguo's loud shouts.
"Second Aunt".
Gao Liang carried the washed vegetables past Chen Yun, shyly called out to her before stepping into the kitchen.
"Did your sister-in-law go to the construction site again?"
Chen Yun shook his head and sighed: "Mom wants my sister-in-law to stay home and take care of my older brother for a few months, and also to help Gao Liang with his studies... My sister-in-law doesn't agree."
After Gao Yi squandered all of Qiu Zhifang's savings over the years, her anxiety intensified, to the point that she had no other thoughts on how to make money as quickly as possible.
Gao Ming and Chen Yun tried several times to talk to their elder brother and sister-in-law, but couldn't find an opportunity.
Qiu Zhifang leaves home before dawn and doesn't return until late at night, working tirelessly like a spinning top.
But despite working incredibly hard, the effort and the reward were completely disproportionate.
"What happened to Gao Liang, such a well-behaved child?"
"His grades have dropped drastically, and if this continues, he probably won't even be able to get into high school."
Gao Fei's hand injury made things inconvenient, Qiu Zhifang's mind was only on money, and Gao Liang's parent-teacher conference still required Gao Ming to take time out of his schedule to attend.
The teacher said that Gao Liang's grades have dropped drastically in the past six months, from the top ten in the grade to the bottom of the class, and he often loses focus in class.
When Gao Ming returned, he told Dong Qiaoying about the situation, hoping that his elder brother and sister-in-law could ask about the reason for the child's declining grades.
The result was extremely disappointing.
“My elder brother and sister-in-law both…” Chen Yun sighed and shook her head, picked up the toy on the stool by the door and sat down: “Gao Ming has decided to take over and manage things. Gao Liang has been doing his homework in our room all this time.”
“We’re not Sister-in-law Zhifang, so we can’t say who’s right or wrong in this matter,” Ruanqiu said.
Chen Yun nodded, and was just about to discuss with her sister-in-law why she was working so hard to earn money when she suddenly noticed a figure moving at the door.
"Brother Gao!"
"Is it Xiao Mu and his wife?"
"It's me, sister-in-law!" Xiao Mu stepped into the courtyard with a smile. The little boy she was holding jumped over the threshold with a "heave-ho" and immediately called out to his friend, "Gao Nian'an, come out and see my gun!"
"Nian'an and Nianping went next door to deliver something to the neighbor's grandfather, they'll be back in a bit."
The little boy must be Du Mao, Gao Nian'an's good friend whom he has been mentioning recently. He is also a very lively little boy.
"sister in law."
The woman who followed Xiao Mu in had an oval face and a well-defined jawline. Although she was dressed simply, she exuded a scholarly air.
Xiao Mu's wife is Xie Liping.
Even if Gao Ming hadn't mentioned beforehand that Xie Liping was a teacher, Chen Yun would have guessed her identity the first time she saw her.
"Jiayun, call for someone."
Xie Liping waved her hand, and the shy Xiao Jiayun whispered, "Hello, Auntie." After saying that, her eyes hurriedly looked around the yard.
Xiao Jiayun was a birthday guest personally invited by Gao Nian'an.
"Nianping, Jiayun is here."
Chen Yunchong said to the three siblings who were whispering to each other at the entrance of the courtyard.
Gao Nian'an held a large bowl in both hands, the overflowing fried dough sticks glistening temptingly; he had actually exchanged several packets of biscuits for so many fried dough sticks.
"Gao Nian'an."
"Xiao Jiayun!"
The children jumped and danced with joy, creating a scene even more lively than the adults' long-awaited reunion.
After handing the large bowl to Chen Yun, Gao Nian'an couldn't wait to lead the group out to introduce them to their friends in the alley.
"I'll be back for dinner in half an hour."
The only response was the children's cheerful laughter. Chen Yun shook her head and chuckled, then told them to sit wherever they liked before taking her bowl into the kitchen.
Xiao Mu followed Gao Ming into the kitchen to chat, while Xie Liping and Ruan Qiu sat and chatted on the veranda.
For a time, the kitchen became the men's domain.
"You're so lucky."
The sound came from outside the courtyard gate.
Gao Tiejun was wiping down his three-wheeled motorcycle, which he had only bought a few days ago, when Old Jiang sat down on a stool next to him and started bragging.
Rather than going inside and getting a dirty look from the old woman, I'd rather go outside and enjoy the cool breeze.
Gao Tiejun peeked into the courtyard and said with a smile, "Your eldest son will be back to stay in a few days, and your Jiang family will be even more lively."
"I'll be grateful if you don't cause any trouble!"
"Are you worried that the eldest son's wife and the third son's wife will fight?"
Old Jiang took a couple of puffs on his long-empty cigarette butt and slowly exhaled: "You know how Heping's wife is... we can't afford to mess with her."
Gao Tiejun burst out laughing.
Zeng Suyun, whom even Old Jiang dared not offend, finally woke up from her afternoon nap, threw on a coat haphazardly, and left the room.
I stretched and yawned several times towards the sky while standing at my own door, finally waking up.
"Is Sister-in-law Erming off work?"
"Didn't Suyun go to the store today?"
“Jiang Heping is watching the shop this afternoon, and I’m coming back to take a nap…” Zeng Suyun then noticed a new face in the yard and quickly smiled and nodded at Xie Liping: “We have guests at your house today, sister-in-law.”
“She is your second brother’s comrade-in-arms and sister-in-law.”
Zeng Suyun dressed very fashionably, but her curly hair looked like dry straw, evidence of a recent failed perm.
He has a straightforward personality and a quick temper, never beating around the bush.
Chen Yun enjoyed chatting with her, as he could always hear some particularly forward-thinking viewpoints that seemed unconventional by today's standards but had already been proven true in his previous life.
For example, if you are still a child yourself, how will you raise another child?
There's also Zeng Suyun's proud saying, "No matter what, there's never enough money!"—a sentiment Chen Yun had also fantasized about in her previous life.
"Then you two chat, I'm going to wash my face." Zeng Suyun scratched her face, yawned, and went into the house.
After taking only two steps, he suddenly walked backwards.
He tilted his head back and forth, looking into Yan Jun's room again and again, then waved to Chen Yun in surprise: "Sister-in-law, come quickly."
Chen Yun ran over in a few steps.
Xie Liping seems to be quite the gossip, running even faster than Ruan Qiu, even though she had no idea what she was looking at...
The four women all looked into Yan Jun's room.
A woman appeared and disappeared behind the window, then reappeared behind the window with a bag of sunflower seeds.
He slowly sat down, one hand on the back of the sofa and the other supporting his waist.
"..."
The pregnant belly was quite conspicuous under the woman's tightly woven polyester shirt, clearly indicating that she was at least four or five months along.
"Didn't Granny Jia say it was only a month?" Zeng Suyun gestured the size on her belly: "Even if I've never given birth, I know that's impossible!"
"Her belly button is already protruding; she's at least four months pregnant, if not five," Chen Yun said.
Then the two looked at each other and fell silent.
Previously, I only had some doubts from the perspective of timing, but now I have seen it with my own eyes... there is no room for denial.
"I have to go tell Mom." Zeng Suyun wanted to tell Aunt Luo about this as soon as possible.
Perhaps because the people were talking too loudly, the woman inside the room finally noticed that someone was watching her.
"She doesn't seem scared at all."
The woman slowly walked to the window... and rolled her eyes at the group.
Instead of showing any fear of being discovered, they exuded an air of self-righteousness, and even provocation.
"Sister-in-law, the child isn't this man's?" Xie Liping suddenly spoke up, guessing the reason for the situation from just a few words, and even making a psychological comment on the woman's behavior: "I think this man probably knows the child isn't his, and he begged the pregnant woman to keep the child. I guess... the man has a physical defect, so the woman feels she's in a superior position in the relationship, and will definitely make more excessive demands in the future."
Chen Yun: "..."
Ruanqiu: "..."
"I've only learned a little bit of psychology." Xie Liping raised her hand, pushed up her glasses with her middle finger, and smiled gently: "I think you all think I'm being too modest and that's fake."
Chen Yun quickly looked away.
In my past life, I had a strong interest in many medical disciplines, except... psychology!
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