Chapter 885 My mother protects me and loves me, I know it all, I remember it all!
Looking at Hui Niang, who was sitting on the stool with a shy blush but still looking up at her with hopeful eyes, Li's mother felt a surge of joy.
Mother Li couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "That little girl who used to follow behind Madam Qiu with thin clothes, a hunched neck, and droopy eyes has grown up."
Look how well she's grown!
"I'm sorry to have troubled you, Auntie. I know it must be difficult for Dr. Li to work in that government office."
"I only have one daughter," Madam Qiu turned her head and looked at her beloved Hui Niang with affection before turning back to Li's mother and saying, "I don't plan to remarry in this life. I will only have Hui Niang as my daughter."
For the sake of my child, I swallowed my pride and came to visit.
At this point, Madam Qiu sat up a little straighter, appearing more serious. She continued, "To be honest, Auntie, I didn't originally have this idea. If I had, I should have sent her to take the midwife school exam with Miss Song (Song Fuling) and the others."
I owe my fortune to Dr. Li. I started by making clothes for him, and that's how I gradually built up this business.
I had originally planned to let Huiniang get some education, and then I would find her a husband to live with us, have a few children, and keep this family business. It would be the best life I could never have imagined before.
Li's mother listened to Qiu Niangzi's explanation with a smile, occasionally responding or nodding, but not interrupting.
"But this child had the idea of becoming a female doctor, yet she didn't tell me sooner."
Lady Qiu turned around and gave Hui Niang a reproachful look. "Today, I took her to see Doctor Li's exhibition at Chongwen Hall. That's when she told me that she wants to become a female doctor like Doctor Li in the future."
Facing her mother's reproachful yet loving gaze, Hui Niang blushed and clenched her hands tightly, forcing herself to look at Li's mother. She spoke in a nervous and slightly trembling voice, "Grandma Zhao, it's Hui Niang's fault. Hui Niang has always thought that Doctor Li is a remarkable woman, even more remarkable than your mother!"
At this point, she smiled at Madam Qiu: "My mother is a formidable woman. She raised me and has always protected me. I know all the kindness she has shown me, and I remember it all in my heart."
The woman who had been wearing a polite smile was now stunned by her youngest daughter's words. After a few moments of bewilderment, she slowly said, "What are you saying, child?"
I'm your mother, if I'm not good to you, who else can I be good to?
No, that's not what I meant.
"It's different, Mother, it's different."
Hui Niang was anxious to explain something, but she was a shy person by nature, and the more anxious she was, the more tongue-tied she became.
Li's mother saw that the redness on Hui Niang's anxious cheeks had not completely faded, and sweat was already beading on her forehead.
"Good child, don't rush, just tell me slowly."
After hearing Li's mother's words, Hui Niang took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. She organized her thoughts before speaking again: "Mother, I am just clumsy with words, but I know everything you have done for me!"
I remember all the good things my mother did for me.
This is different, it's just different!
Mother loves her son. In the past, in order to earn a few more copper coins in the winter, Mother would take on laundry work for others. Her hands would be frozen red and covered in sores, and she would suffer from pain and itching so much that she couldn't sleep well night after night.
Later, I came to Dr. Li's clinic, got some medicine, and applied it for a long time before it gradually got better.
To prove that what she said was different, the anxious Hui Niang quickly followed up by saying, "Chun Xing from the four alleys, her mother remarried only three months after Chun Xing's father died."
If Chunxing hadn't grown up and run away when her mother wanted to sell her, and gone to find the neighborhood official, she would have been sold to a slave trader by her mother.
Fortunately, she was eventually sent to an orphanage, which allowed her to find work and have food to eat at our shop.
Otherwise, she might not even be alive now.
Lady Qiu looked at Hui Niang with some surprise. She really didn't expect Hui Niang to say such a thing. At this moment, she truly felt that her little girl had grown up.
“Chunxing and I are about the same age. In the past, when I went to the shop to keep accounts for my mother, I met her a few times. I often gave her cakes to eat, and she liked to talk to me.”
After explaining this, Hui Niang looked at Li's mother again: "I originally thought that I would do as you wish, Mother, and learn to read and write with Qin Niangzi, so that I could understand some principles and listen to you in the future. I would find a decent husband, have a few children, take care of our own shop, and take good care of you in your old age."
These are truly wonderful days.
After saying this, Hui Niang paused and lowered her head. After a few breaths, she raised her head again, looked at Li's mother, and said firmly, "But, I can't help Chunxing like this."
I want to help Chunxing, I want to help Aunt Zhou, I want my mother to be proud of me, I want to be a female doctor like Dr. Li, or even a female official!
Therefore, I went home and begged my mother to come and ask. If there was even the slightest chance, I would do everything in my power!
Lady Qiu was already in tears. She knew Chunxing but didn't really understand her, but she did understand Aunt Zhou, whom Hui Niang had mentioned.
Aunt Zhou gave birth to a series of baby girls. Before she was even out of confinement, she came to her enemy's shop to ask for work. Because Aunt Zhou had no breast milk, and her husband and mother-in-law didn't want to spend money to buy rice and cook oil to feed the baby girls, she had no choice but to come out to find a way to earn money to support her children before she was even out of confinement.
Inside the main hall of the Li family, everyone sitting there, except for Madam Qiu, looked at Hui Niang with great surprise.
Sister-in-law Li was the first to speak: "Good child, you have such a kind heart."
Sitting behind Sister-in-law Li, Jiang Shengnan looked at Hui Niang, who was blushing again after being praised by Sister-in-law Li, with some surprise. "She is indeed a kind-hearted girl, but her younger sister-in-law hasn't explained whether she can become a female doctor."
Just as Jiang Shengnan was thinking this, she heard Li's mother speak up: "Huiniang is a good girl. When San Niang was at home, she actually mentioned this to me."
As soon as Li's mother said this, Hui Niang and Qiu Niangzi both looked at her expectantly.
"Since Third Sister mentioned recruiting a female doctor at Chongwen Hall today, it must be true."
There must be requirements for hiring people, just like when Third Sister hired midwives before, they had to pass an assessment.
Hui Niang is literate, which is an advantage. When the maternity ward of Third Sister posts a recruitment notice, you can go and sign up.
Third Sister told me that this recruitment isn't just for female doctors; they also need people for other positions in the maternity ward, such as female healers, managers, and accountants.
At this point, Li's mother lowered her voice and turned to look at Madam Qiu and Madam Hui, saying, "Madam Qiu, you and my family have been neighbors for a long time, and Madam Hui was delivered by me and I watched her grow up."
Let me add something more. Third Sister said that if you pass the exam and study for a few years, you will sign a contract and be sent to various parts of the Tang Dynasty to open maternity clinics.
If you achieve merit in your local area, you will definitely be promoted to an official position within three to five years!
"But you mustn't tell anyone else about this. After all, the number of positions is limited, and if word gets out, all the wives and daughters of officials in Chang'an will be scrambling to get them."
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