The Liu family at that time.
Liu Wangtao had just carried his son home from Shuangqiao Town.
The golden egg's fever has subsided.
He hadn't eaten anything since last night until noon, and was starving.
As soon as he got home, Liu Wangtao handed the golden egg to Ma Efen and quickly ran to the kitchen to make a small pot of brown rice porridge.
Even without any side dishes, he ate with great relish.
"What happened? You're starving! Didn't you buy anything to eat in town?"
Ma Efen held her grandson, stood by the stove, and looked at him with eyes full of heartache.
“Where will we get the money to buy food? This kid got sick and has used up all my money. The one tael of silver you gave me yesterday wasn’t enough. I even had to spend two strings of cash. Sigh, what are we going to do with this sickly child?”
Liu Wangtao suddenly couldn't eat the brown rice porridge he was holding.
He looked at his son in swaddling clothes.
I feel really upset.
It's not that I'm worried about my son's health.
It's because he's worried about his wallet.
"Let's raise him for now. After all, he's your first son and my first grandson. By the way, take Jindan inside to sleep. That little slut is probably waking up soon. I need to hurry up and make her some fish soup. Later, let Jindan drink some milk. Human milk is a good thing. The more milk he drinks, the stronger he'll become in the future."
"What? The fish isn't cooked yet? Mom, I killed the fish yesterday, and you haven't even cooked it for a day. It's already rotten. It's not winter now, how can it be left out for so long?"
Liu Wangtao opened the basin containing the fish.
There were originally two fish, but only the small one is left.
It had a faint, strange smell.
"Mother, where's the big fish?"
"Oh, last night I saw that she was still asleep and the fish soup was ready. I couldn't just throw it away, so I ate it myself. Sigh, it was really bad. There was no salt in it, and it had no flavor at all. Even if she's sleepy today, I'll have to wake her up to drink the fish soup."
Ma Efen made it up on the spot.
She hasn't been inside the woodshed since yesterday.
In the evening, I heard my daughter-in-law calling out in the woodshed that she was thirsty and wanted to drink water.
She completely ignored it.
The fish soup was obviously not made for her.
She used two of the five eggs.
First, fry the fish into poached eggs, then fry the crucian carp until golden brown on both sides, add five bowls of water, and add some white mushrooms.
The fish soup made this way was white and delicious, and she ate it all up.
She squandered all the remaining lard in the house in one meal.
Otherwise, we wouldn't be eating brown rice porridge today.
It was as if it wasn't Zhu Wenjuan who was in postpartum confinement, but she herself.
"Mom, this fish is inedible, it's rotten, just throw it away. I'll go buy another one, give me the money."
Liu Wangtao faced Ma Efen with his palms up.
"Mother has no money. I'll give you the last ounce or two. It's alright. Even if the fish is rotten, it's still edible. I heard that in a county to the east, people love to eat rotten fish instead of fresh fish. Every household even deliberately makes the fish rotten before eating it. If they can eat rotten fish, they can eat it too. Don't worry, it won't kill you. I'll go and cook it right away."
Ma Efen truly had no money left.
Even if she had it, she wouldn't give it to her.
Now that the baby's been born, that little slut's blissful days are coming to an end.
"Whatever you want, I'm tired. I didn't sleep a wink last night, I just slept on the floor at the clinic. I'm taking Jindan to sleep for a while. The doctor said Jindan is too small to take strong medicine, he just needs to rest more when he gets back. Mother, please don't bathe him, he got cold because of the bath. Sigh, this illness has cost so much money, how are we going to live? How come other people's sons are so chubby and healthy, while my son looks like a kitten that won't live long."
Liu Wangtao looked dejected, a stark contrast to his appearance yesterday at noon.
"Water, water—"
"I need water—"
The Liu family's house is not large.
The house isn't soundproof either.
Zhu Wenjuan's voice, calling for help, drifted from the woodshed.
This interrupted the mother and son's conversation.
"Mom, go get her a glass of water. I'm going to bed."
"Okay, okay, make sure the golden egg is covered with a blanket, even if it's hot, it can't get cold."
He's still my grandson, after all.
Even a sickly child is still a treasure.
"Um."
Liu Wangtao carried the golden egg back into the house.
Ma Efen took a gourd ladle and scooped a spoonful of water from the water vat.
We entered the woodshed.
"Mother, I'm so thirsty—"
Zhu Wenjuan had woken up, but the pain in her lower body prevented her from moving.
Actually, she had a low-grade fever last night, but no one paid attention to her.
Zhu Wenjuan was lucky; she survived without taking any medicine, and her fever subsided on its own early in the morning.
At this moment, her mind was a little confused.
She lost a lot of blood yesterday, and she was very weak when she spoke.
"Can't you come out and get some water yourself if you're thirsty? I owe you something. I'm so old and I still have to take care of you. I haven't even settled the score with you for giving birth to a sickly child. Don't think that just because you gave birth to the Liu family's eldest grandson, I'll treat you well. Counting yesterday, you can rest for two more days. The day after tomorrow, you'll be back in the fields working first thing in the morning. When I gave birth to Tao'er, I didn't even have a single day of postpartum confinement. You're really lucky to have married into my family, you know? Hurry up and drink. After you finish, I'll make you some fish soup. Do you have any breast milk? Bring Jindan over later, and you can feed him more milk."
Ma Efen's tone was full of disdain.
But he still handed over the gourd ladle he was holding.
Zhu Wenjuan was so thirsty her throat was practically parched. She grabbed the gourd ladle and gulped it down in one go; the water was very cold.
It's obviously unboiled river water.
Everyone says you shouldn't touch cold things during postpartum confinement, but Zhu Wenjuan doesn't care about that. She's going to die of thirst if she doesn't drink water.
"Cough cough cough—"
She drank too quickly, choked on the water, and coughed violently.
It took me a while to recover.
"Thank you, Mother. But I don't have any breast milk yet. Is Golden Egg my son's name? Did my husband name him that? Mother, could you bring Golden Egg over so I can see him?"
Zhu Wenjuan's voice trembled slightly; she was simply too tired, too hungry, and in too much pain.
She felt like her whole body was falling apart. She only fainted yesterday after learning that she had given birth to a boy, but she didn't even get to see her child's face.
"What are you looking at? I'm sleeping. And why don't you have any breast milk? Did you try to pump it? Never mind, lift up your clothes, let me see."
Seeing her mother-in-law about to touch her, Zhu Wenjuan felt somewhat ashamed.
But we have no choice but to do as instructed.
She took off her clothes, revealing her entire upper body.
My breasts aren't as firm as they were when I was a young woman.
Some parts are slightly sagging, possibly due to hormonal changes, and the bra size has increased by one cup.
It's too big to hold with one hand.
"hiss--"
Her mother-in-law's grip was too strong, causing her to cry out in pain repeatedly.
"Mom, be gentle, it hurts."
"It's good that it hurts! If it doesn't hurt, where will the milk come from? I'll give you a massage and you won't even get any thanks."
It would have been better if she hadn't said anything, because once she did, Ma Efen squeezed even harder, and Zhu Wenjuan's tears instantly streamed down her face.
She suffered for a quarter of an hour before escaping the clutches of the evil spirits.
When she was dressed, a bright red patch was clearly visible on her chest.
"I'll bring you some fish soup later. You should have breast milk by the afternoon."
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