Chapter 42 042 Genetic Chimera & Eating Him Out of Money & The Extra...
"Where is it?!" Song Yingying exclaimed and grabbed Jin Yue's arm. The baby was frightened and started smacking his lips and whimpering.
Shu Jinyue quickly supported her, "You didn't lie, you are indeed pregnant with twins, and the hospital didn't lie, you really only gave birth to one baby in your belly."
"What about the other one? It's impossible for him to disappear out of thin air, right?"
"Yes, it just disappeared out of thin air." Shu Jinyue sighed. She didn't dare to think about it. After all, this was an extremely low probability situation, a probability that most doctors in the world would never encounter in their lifetime or even two lifetimes, yet it happened to her, Shu Jinyue.
Three minutes later, all the hospital staff and the family members arrived at the same time. Shu Jinyue took a deep breath and said, "I invited you all here because I want to give an explanation about the missing baby, to give the family members an explanation, and to clear the name of the medical staff involved..."
Seeing the people from the hospital frowning, probably because they didn't believe she could come up with any reasonable explanation, she said first: "Everyone listen first, professional teachers are welcome to correct me."
They didn't have to give Shu Jinyue face, but it was Qin Haiyang who asked them to come, so they had to endure it, "You say."
On the family side, Song Yingying did the ideological work and they also found a bench to sit down and look at Shu Jinyue.
"In fact, in the early stages of her pregnancy, Song Yingying was indeed pregnant with twins. Even when she went to a remote area for her first prenatal checkup with an experienced obstetrician and gynecologist, she was still pregnant with twins. But later, at some point in time, probably when the babies were not too big, the space and nutrition in the uterus were limited, and one fetus developed well while the other did not. Perhaps it was a congenital disease or a genetic problem, and as a result of the survival of the fittest, the one that developed less well stopped developing..."
"But I didn't have a miscarriage. I didn't have any bleeding during the entire pregnancy. Where did the fetus that stopped developing go?"
Song Yingying asked the question that everyone was wondering: the uterus is so small and nothing has flowed out, so how could the baby disappear out of thin air?
"Absorbed by another normally developing fetus."
When these words were spoken, some knowledgeable doctors frowned and thought that although they had never seen such a situation, they did not rush to refute it, while the family members continued to not understand.
"How can such a large fetus be absorbed?"
Shu Jinyue did not answer, but asked the family members: "Do you remember the day you went to that county town for the prenatal checkup?"
"Remember, the next day is my birthday." He named a date, and Jin Yue began to count on his fingers, "According to Song Yingying's last menstrual period, that day should be around ten weeks of pregnancy, which is a little over two and a half months."
"According to the normal rate of embryonic development, the fetus at that age is only three or four centimeters long and weighs between five and eight grams." Jin Yue used his fingers to indicate a size, "It's about the size of a red date."
One of the senior obstetricians and gynecologists nodded and said, "Yes, it is this big. If it is twins, it may be a little smaller."
"You mean, the baby stopped growing at that time? But when I went to the commune hospital for a checkup, I told them I was having twins, and the doctor said he could hear two fetal heartbeats. How do you explain that?"
Shu Jinyue was reluctant to speak ill of her colleagues, but based on her many years of experience in the countryside, she knew that their skills varied greatly. There might indeed be some masters who had drifted among the people, but there were also many quacks who were just filling in the numbers. Some had no licenses, had never studied medicine, or were relatives of the commune leaders. They were just shoved in as long as they had a job.
Therefore, what the doctor said about “the twins survived” is actually not credible.
"The prenatal checkup at the county hospital is the only information that can verify the last time the twins survived. It is entirely possible that a fetus that large stopped developing was slowly absorbed by the other fetus day by day."
If it is larger, it may not be completely absorbed, but will continue to accumulate, deform, and shrink to form a "paper fetus".
"If it was a paper fetus, the two doctors should have noticed it during the delivery, but they did not find any abnormalities in the uterine cavity, which means that the probability of absorption is higher and the embryo stopped developing earlier."
The senior obstetrician and gynecologist was surprised: "Is this what is medically known as vanishing twin syndrome?"
"Yes." Shu Jinyue nodded. "I am a traditional Chinese medicine doctor. It's a bit presumptuous for me to talk about this in front of you teachers. I'm sure you know it better than me."
Several doctors did not refute it; they were just digesting the term.
"Does the disappearance of this fetus have any impact on the other surviving fetus?" Song Yingying graduated from high school and had knowledge of biology, so she could understand some of it. In fact, compared to the children being stolen and replaced, she felt that this reason was more acceptable.
"That's what I'm going to say next. Your daughter became the only winner of this battle of survival of the fittest, but she also became a genetic chimera."
"What chimera?" someone asked again.
Qin Haiyang had read some foreign books and quickly explained, "It's a genetic hybrid. Your daughter may have two sets of genetic information."
However, at that time many people did not know about DNA, nor did they understand what genetic information was.
"Genetic information is the internal factor that can lead to individual differences between people. For example, why are some children born to the same couple taller and some shorter, some with white skin and some with dark skin, and even have different blood types and IQs? This is the result of genetic information."
Shu Jinyue pointed to the "birthmarks" on Song Yingying's daughter's chest and lower abdomen and said, "Actually, these should not be considered birthmarks, but the expression of another fetus's genes in skin color."
"That means if this fetus survives, her skin color will be whiter than this child?" someone asked, and Shu Jinyue nodded.
"There is another unknown hidden danger of genetic chimeras, which is that the child your daughter will give birth to in the future may not be her child."
"What do you mean?" Song Yingying's husband is a cadre who is working in the local area. He has some cultural knowledge, but he feels puzzled by the statement that "the child she gives birth to may not be her child."
"That is to say, her offspring may not inherit her genes, but the genes of the absorbed 'uncle'." She had seen some reports on her mobile phone saying that the child was clearly born from her belly, but when the DNA test was done, it would be found that she was only related to him by blood, but not necessarily mother and child.
Of course, the probability of this happening is much lower than that of twin resorption syndrome, with only a single digit number of cases found worldwide.
Moreover, such cases are from the "aunt" of the same sex as the mother, or the "uncle" of the same sex as the father. We don't know whether there are any from the "uncle". Perhaps there are differences between the opposite sexes as well?
Jin Yue couldn’t think too deeply about it, because there were too few cases of this disease worldwide and it was not representative.
The Song family members seemed to understand what he said, but the other doctors did, and they all sighed: "The world is so big, and there is no end to learning."
It was the same senior obstetrician and gynecologist who said, "Don't worry, family members of the patient, don't just listen to our one-sided story about this disease. I will call the obstetrician and gynecologist in Beijing for consultation. After all, this is the first time we have encountered this disease, and they may have encountered it before in big cities."
Glancing at Song Yingying's old lady, she smiled bitterly: "Of course, you can hear it for yourself. We didn't collude with them and didn't contact them in advance."
Another vice president quickly said, "I've been to Haicheng for further studies. I can call the experts there and listen to the opinions of experts from different hospitals, right?"
Song Yingying's family had no objection, so everyone heard with their own ears that the expert on the phone said based on their analysis that this was indeed a highly suspected disease. They had never seen it clinically, but if other known diseases could not explain it, this disease should be it.
Although this was a conservative statement, the Song family had nothing to say.
It wasn't that the hospital stole their child, but that the child didn't survive to be born. The chimera babies that Shu Jinyue mentioned are actually a reminder to them. If there are doubts about blood ties when their daughter gives birth to offspring in the future, this is the reason to explain.
Seeing that old lady Song Yingying didn't look like someone who was easy to mess with, Jin Yue added calmly, "According to foreign statistics, children with genetic chimeras are very smart and lucky. In the words of the Dragon people, they are a blessing bag. In the future, everything will go smoothly for your family and you will turn misfortune into good fortune."
She didn't want to be disliked by the whole family because the little girl "digested" her younger brother, but Song Yingying and her husband really loved the child. She didn't know what the two old people would think.
"Yes, even if the underdeveloped embryo survives by chance, it will not be healthy. From a biological point of view, this is the survival of the fittest." The old doctor also understood Jin Yue's intention and kept emphasizing that the surviving girl was a lucky star, implying that they should treat the child well.
"We understand." Song Yingying's lover sighed. They were making a fuss mainly because they couldn't figure out where the child had gone. Now that so many experts have joined forces with Jingshi Haicheng to give a reasonable explanation, they naturally have no reason not to believe it.
As for the daughter, "Dr. Shu is right. She is very lucky to have survived this competition of survival of the fittest. She is the lucky star of our family."
He said the last few words to his parents, and the two old people nodded awkwardly.
"Thank you, Dr. Xiaoshu. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't even know where our child went. We have also wrongly accused several doctors and nurses. We are very sorry." Song Yingying said sincerely.
Her husband also stood up and said that he wanted to apologize to the medical staff who were wrongly accused. As for whether they would accept it or not, that was not something Shu Jinyue cared about. She just wanted to rest and eat.
She hadn't had time to eat when Qin Haiyang called her over to help, and now she was still hungry.
The hospital leaders learned some basic information about Shu Jinyue. Seeing that she was unwilling to stay long, they did not force her. They said they would visit her at work later and asked Qin Haiyang to entertain her. They had to deal with the Song family's affairs first.
"I'm sorry to have kept you hungry until now. Can I take you out to eat?"
"No, I'll go home and eat."
The more Qin Haiyang tried to be polite, the more Shu Jin really didn't want to be polite to him. She would have gone home instead of wasting time on being polite.
Qin Haiyang stared at her determined back in a daze. Did she really not want to have any more contact with him? Did she hate him so much?
Shu Jinyue actually didn’t have time to pay attention to Qin Haiyang’s emotions. She was thinking about Song Yingying’s daughter. If this daughter inherited her “brother’s” genes, would there be some unknown hidden dangers in her sexual development and reproduction in the future? But the number of such cases is so small and so rare that there is no scientific data to draw any conclusions. We can only take it one step at a time.
As she was walking, she suddenly felt a car following her. She turned around and saw, "Uncle Xu?"
The man frowned, "Come up."
Shu Jinyue immediately sat on it obediently, but after sitting for a while he realized that she was trying to play hard to get and disrupt the rhythm!
"Sit still and don't move."
"Uncle Xu, please let me go. I will go home by myself."
"Going back hungry?"
Shu Jinyue blushed. Her stomach was growling so loudly. "Huh, it turns out you have such good ears."
Xu Duan paused with his slender fingers, "You're such a bad mouth."
"That's not as good as you." He will just pretend to be deaf and dumb.
The two of them argued for a few words, and Xu Duan chuckled softly, "Are you angry?"
"Who dares to be angry with you?"
The corners of Xu Duan's mouth curled up. He was getting angry now, which was much better than keeping silent. "That's great progress." He should treat everyone like this in the future.
Shu Jinyue didn't understand, but she was willing to lose face rather than the battle. She just didn't ask him why he said that. She wanted to suffocate him anyway.
After riding for a while, by the time Shu Jinyue realized that they were going in the wrong direction, they had already arrived at the sixth branch of the state-owned restaurant opposite the Material Bureau, where she and Qin Haiyang had dinner last time. "Come on, what do you want to eat?"
"I'm not hungry." Don't eat food given out of pity.
Xu Duan said sincerely, "I'm hungry. I haven't had time to eat because I was looking for a certain angry little girl."
His voice was very gentle, like the delicious, smooth chocolate he had eaten before, gentle, and a little bitter. Shu Jinyue's face inevitably turned red, "That's your business."
"Okay, just think of it as eating with me, okay?"
Shu Jinyue raised the corner of her mouth. She must make him go bankrupt today, so she went into the restaurant and ordered the two main dishes that she didn't want to order last time - pickled fish and sweet and sour pork tenderloin.
"Is that enough? If not, order two more."
"That's what you said."
"Yeah, I said."
Shu Jinyue glanced at the menu and said, "Then let's have the braised pork and the steamed spareribs with rice flour."
The waiter was very surprised. Two people ate four, four main dishes? ! It’s really as hard as an invincible diamond!
However, Xu Duan's words made her drop her jaw even more. "How about two vegetarian dishes?"
Shu Jinyue thought that vegetarian dishes were not worth much and she didn't want them.
So he didn't even look at them and directly named two dishes: "Stir-fried bitter melon and spicy and sour shredded potatoes."
Shu Jinyue felt relieved now, because she liked both dishes, but she liked to push the envelope: "If I said I wanted to drink Moutai, would you dare to order it?"
Xu Duan smiled bitterly and looked at the waiter, "Then give me another bottle of Moutai."
"No ticket, no wine." This is a special supply that requires a ticket and is usually only used when entertaining people. Ordinary people cannot order it in a restaurant even if they have money.
Shu Jinyue looked at Xu Duan with a gloating expression and raised the corner of his mouth provocatively: See if your boasting is exposed?
Xu Duan laughed again and did not embarrass the waitress. He just said to her calmly, "Please ask your manager Long to come over and tell him that Xu Duan is looking for him."
The waitress was very unhappy, but the aura of the person in front of her was too strong, even more powerful than their manager, so she didn't dare to say no.
In less than three minutes, the hotel manager came running up with a bottle of Moutai: "Captain Xu... Comrade Xu, this is the wine you ordered. The waitress is ignorant, please don't argue with her."
Xu Duan smiled, took the wine, chatted for a while, and used a very effective way to make the manager leave happily.
Shu Jinyue was stunned watching from the side, but also very educated. It turned out that some leaders could really make people feel warm and relaxed. The manager was obviously trembling with fear when he came just now, but he didn't go out of his way to comfort or explain. Just a few seemingly ordinary chats made the other party feel relieved and unloaded the tension unconsciously.
No wonder he can become a big boss in the future. She has never understood how those cold-faced CEOs in the domineering CEO novels, who always have an icy face and a low mood, can control their subordinates and make those who are more experienced and qualified than him submit to them willingly. Is it with that icy face?
Even when talking to clients, you have to have a good face!
Shu Jinyue thought about it and realized that braised pork and steamed spareribs with rice flour were fixed dishes sold at noon. They were served after being heated up, and two large bowls of rice were also brought.
Xu Duan picked up one of the bowls and emptied half of it into another empty bowl. "Can you finish it?"
"able."
He seemed to know her appetite very well. This half bowl was just the right amount for her to eat, neither too much nor too little. It was just enough for her to be full but not too full, and still have room for her to eat a lot of vegetables.
While eating, she decided to ignore him and let him see how cold her face was, but he seemed not to see it. He talked to her about work, then about family matters, asking them if they had finished eating the wild boar meat, and then talking about why they went to the hospital today.
Shu Jinyue immediately opened up and comforted herself: If you don't talk while eating, it will be half as fun.
"Where have you heard of this Vanishing Twin Syndrome?"
“In the book.”
"What book?"
"I forgot." To enhance her credibility, she answered, "I borrowed a book from a friend in the medical school. It was a foreign book. I forgot what it was called, but there was an introduction on it."
"The college student?"
Not sure if it was an illusion, but when he said these words, his tone didn't seem as gentle as before. Jin Yue nodded, "He's a very nice guy. He helped me borrow a lot of books."
"How can a good person let you help him while hungry?" Xu Duan put down the bowl and looked at her quietly, "Su Jinyue, can we have a good talk?"
Shu Jinyue ate a large piece of braised pork and said, "Well, you talk, I'm listening."
"If you want to date, I don't think that college student is suitable for you."
"Why?"
"There are too many reasons, and they are very complicated. His family may not be able to accept it easily, and he does not have the ability to make the decision on his own marriage. Do you believe it?"
Shu Jinyue ate the meat with mouthfuls of mouthfuls, but she actually knew the whole thing clearly. She rejected Qin Haiyang from the very beginning because she had thought of this possibility: he liked her, but could this kind of liking transcend family background and narrow the gap between the two families? It might be possible at first, but before long, he will get tired and will need her to give him more in return, or in exchange.
She is young and has little experience, but she is not stupid.
"Then can you make the decision on your own marriage?"
Xu Duan was stunned. He didn't expect her to ask this question, but he said without hesitation: "Yes."
"So do you want to date someone?"
Xu Duan was stunned again. He felt as if he had walked step by step into a trap she had set. "Why do you ask that?"
"Answer me first, do you want to talk?"
"It's not a question of whether you want to date or not. Dating is not like buying something. As long as you like the person and the price is right, that's fine."
"What if I want to talk to you?" Shu Jinyue put down his chopsticks and looked straight into his eyes, as if he wanted to see into his heart.
The veins on the back of Xu Duan's hand slightly showed up. "You are still young, you don't understand many things, and many things are not what you think..."
"So much nonsense. Is it so difficult to answer whether to talk or not?" She didn't have patience for playing hard to get. She just wanted to play it straight.
Silence, terrible silence.
Just as Shu Jinyue picked up his chopsticks again and ate this meal as the last meal between the two of them, he suddenly said indifferently: "Why do you ask me such a question?"
"Then why are you so nice to me?"
Xu Duan didn't know where the tension had loosened. "You are still young. The fact that someone is nice to you is not the reason why you like this person. Everything will fade away, and even something as cheap as being nice to you is even more so."
Shu Jinyue was getting annoyed with him. He acted like an elder all day and always treated her like a child who knew nothing. "You provoked me yourself, and now you are not taking responsibility for me. Well, I don't have to shamelessly look for you. It's not like I don't have any suitors."
As she spoke, she began to feel aggrieved. She felt that she was very shameless. She took the initiative to confess her feelings but was rejected. She was so embarrassed that she might as well die!
This time, she really shed tears.
Xu Duan watched the teardrop on her cheek slowly slide down, and felt the old injury at the base of his leg showing signs of recurrence. "You need to think clearly about many things. You are only twenty years old. Don't rush to make a decision."
Shu Jinyue ignored him no longer, thinking to herself, "What's your business?" But she had to finish the dishes she ordered, otherwise it would be a waste. She treated the four dishes, four meat dishes and two vegetable dishes, as his meat, and told him to chew and swallow hard, even if he couldn't finish it, she had to make him feel bad.
Xu Duan called the waiter over and asked him to pack up the meat and vegetables without much soup in oil paper bags. As for the bottle of Maotai that he ordered out of spite but never opened, he also packed it up intact and said, "I'll take you home."
"No, I can walk by myself."
"Don't follow me, I need to calm down."
Xu Duan paused and looked at her walking angrily in front of him.
Shu Jinyue couldn't tell what she was feeling right now, was she angry, or irritated out of shame, or something else? Anyway, this was the first time in her two lifetimes that she had confessed her love to someone and was rejected. If she had an eraser, she would want to erase all the embarrassing things she had done today, completely.
This guy Xu Duan is really annoying. He always says ambiguous things and is always so nice to her, but he never makes anything clear. This is a high-level scumbag, as he said on the phone.
She knew that she had little life experience, died very young, and had no friends who could tell her how to play hard to get or how to retreat in order to advance in love. She could only rush forward according to her own heart. Well, now she met this scumbag and is beaten to a bloody pulp, right?
However, it is not too late, just stop the loss in time.
Thinking this while cursing the "scumbag", Shu Jinyue's mood had basically calmed down when she returned to the entrance of the alley. She swore that if she spoke to Xu Duan again, she would be a puppy, a stray dog, the kind without a home!
Xu Duan watched her walk into the gate of Yard No. 16 before pushing his cart out. In his cart were freshly packed food and wine, and he didn't know where to go... He had to go to work, and in order to catch her, he even forgot about going to work.
Haha, I've eaten two meals and now my stomach is feeling a little uncomfortable. I feel bloated and stuffy.
Sister Bao was leaning against the gate and chatting with the nanny from another family in the alley. They were both from the suburbs of the city, their accents were understandable, and they were in the same industry, so they had a lot in common. Xu Duan basically never came back from work, otherwise he could see her every day.
"Oh, Leader Xu is back. Have you eaten?" Sister Bao quickly put the uneaten melon seeds back into the front pocket of her apron and went to the kitchen to cook.
"Don't worry, I'll take a break."
"Is Mr. Xu feeling unwell? Why don't we go to the hospital?"
Xu Duan shook his head and returned to his room. He sat at his desk for a while. His stomach and legs were both giving him trouble. He couldn't help but think of that snowy night again...
Be nice to her? He thought of that woman. She said that she felt that this was the taste of love because Mr. Xu was so good to her.
But the shelf life of their "love" is only about thirty days on the ship.
He began to hate himself again.
In the evening, Sister Bao heated up the leftovers in his cart and steamed a pot of steamed buns. "This braised pork is really good, with more fat and less lean meat, and it's juicy. We can't eat such good meat once a year in the countryside."
"And the tenderloin here is sour and sweet, just like sweet and sour cabbage. My children have never tasted anything so delicious."
Xu Duan didn't want to speak, and saw that she was about to open the bottle of wine, "Put the wine in my room, it will be useful."
Sister Bao was embarrassed. Her fellow villager said in the afternoon that this bottle of wine was very good and expensive, and that her family would only take it out to entertain very important guests, so she didn't dare to drink too much. She had just been thinking of trying it in the evening. If the Xu family didn't like it, she would take it back to her brother. Wen Jing said that her brother was now preparing to be an accountant in the brigade, so he had to give some good things to the commune leaders.
Leader Xu never cared about food and drink. Usually, if she brought home some of the chicken, duck, fish and meat that she had secretly saved, or took half a pound of flour, he never said anything, but just told her not to take the milk from the refrigerator.
One time, she heard from a fellow villager that drinking milk can help one grow taller, so she thought about bringing two bottles home for her son to try. But her leader Xu seemed to see through her thoughts and said calmly, "Milk is useful to me."
With just that one sentence, she knew that Leader Xu was not unaware of her little tricks, but he just didn't bother with her.
Her husband also said that Leader Xu was a very tolerant person. Although he didn't talk much, he actually saw everything. If he didn't talk, it would be fine, but when he did, it could be very sharp... At that time, she thought he admired people too much, but now it seems that her husband didn't know Leader Xu well enough.
That time, Sister Bao was so frightened that her legs went limp. She immediately told everyone in detail how many times she had brought meat and flour home and how much each time.
At that time, Xu Duan just listened quietly, and asked, "How is your health recently?"
Wengui is her man's name. Sister Bao immediately burst into tears, for Leader Xu's care for her family and for her own ignorance and betrayal. From then on, she didn't dare to bring even a grain of rice home. Only Xu Duan would ask her to bring some back to replenish Wengui's body a few times.
It wasn't long after that and she actually wanted to take the wine back again. It would have been fine if she was bringing it to Guo Wengui, but it turned out to be her brother from her mother's side... Sister Bao's legs immediately went weak and she cursed herself for being so stupid.
And tonight, Xu Duan also thought of Guo Wengui, the injury at the root of his leg, Guo Wengui's high-level amputation, the comrade-in-arms who did not survive, that snowy night... and the girl's bright and lively eyes.
It wasn't her who fell in love first, but him. Everything was planned by him.
***
When Shu Jinyue returned home, Zhao Wanqiu was sitting on the kang, taking Aunt Zhao's pulse in a serious manner, explaining everything about the Cun, Guan, Chi, the heart, liver, and kidneys in great detail.
"Oh, Jin Yue is back. You got off work so early today?" Aunt Zhao was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling. "Your mother was treating me. She felt my pulse and said that I didn't sleep well. It's amazing."
Shu Jin wanted to force a smile, but couldn't. "My mother is a good student. She may be better than me in the future."
Zhao Wanqiu straightened her chest and said, "It's hard to say. I've only been in health school for a few days and I can go to the battlefield. In the rear, I'm a nurse who can help with sutures, operations, and bullet removal. I'm different from other people!"
"Hey, Wanqiu, you learn things so quickly and have a high level of comprehension. It's a pity that you have been in the district hospital for so many years. If you could have gone to the city hospital or the provincial hospital at that time, you would definitely not be squeezed into the same compound with us now."
Zhao Wanqiu was very open-minded. She knew nothing back then and was no different from an orphan. No one could guide her. The organization let her choose, and she felt that she should go to the grassroots and serve the people. As a result, she chose a health center in the most remote and backward suburbs. It was an older sister who couldn't stand it and changed it to a district hospital... Otherwise, she would probably still be living in the countryside.
"Well, this is fate. I have to eat no matter where I am. It's worth it to have you, my old sisters, here."
Aunt Zhao was so happy about this that she suddenly lowered her voice and said to her, "Your Wenming and Wenyun both have partners. Isn't it time for Jinyue to date too?"
"How about I introduce you to a few young men? They are definitely good-looking, their whole families are workers, and they all eat commercial grain."
In the past, Zhao Wanqiu would have agreed, but since returning from the countryside, Shu Jinyue has become more opinionated, so she dare not make the decision for her casually, "Don't be impatient, wait until one day to test her attitude."
This child is not only opinionated, but also has a bad temper. She doesn't dare to provoke her easily now. However, this is a "family shame" that cannot be made public, and she will not tell Aunt Zhao.
"By the way, Wanqiu, have you heard that there is a new neighbor in Courtyard No. 16?"
Zhao Wanqiu frowned, "There's no vacant house in our yard, so where can we find someone to live? Could it be that someone is selling their house and moving away again?"
Speaking of selling the house, Aunt Zhao sympathized with the Shu family's "plight". "Well, it's better to buy it. Wenming will need a house when he gets married in the future. He can pay off the debt slowly. It's better than having no house at all."
In order to put on a complete show, the Shu family had to act as if "our family suffered a great loss" in the matter of buying the house. The more they acted as such, the less likely the Wang family would come back to argue.
"It's better to get married in your own house than in a rented one. Young people nowadays think differently than we did in the past." Aunt Zhao said, and then returned to gossip, "The new neighbor who is coming soon is here to rent a house. Guess whose house he is renting from."
"Who else can we rent from? Every household in our courtyard is in a tight spot, except for Aunt Li's...ah, we're not going to rent from Aunt Li's, are we?!"
"Yes, it's her house! I heard that the rent is five dollars a month. How dare she charge that? It's like kidnapping someone." Aunt Zhao couldn't help but verbally criticize her. "Five dollars is enough to rent two rooms in our slum. Even if it's the main house, you can't kidnap someone like that."
"She just sees that they are young and don't know the market, so she wants to take advantage of them, and she doesn't worry about losing anything."
It is said that the tenants are a family of three, "a widower with two children. His wife died of illness two years ago. The eldest son is only eight years old, and the youngest is five. They are so pitiful."
Aunt Zhao is worthy of being the head of the intelligence team of the compound. She is second to none in her ability to get information. "The man's name is Shang Guangming, an engineer at the machinery factory. I heard that his family has overseas background. He was sent to the countryside a few years ago. His wife died of illness in the countryside. It was Director Xu of the machinery factory who saw that he was capable and said that he was the only one who could solve many mechanical failures, so he found a way to transfer him back and resume his work."
Because the factory had no vacant houses, he had to rent a house near the factory temporarily. I don't know if he was ignorant of the world and didn't understand the market, or if he didn't care because the rent was subsidized by the factory and he didn't have to spend his own money, but he could actually accept such an outrageously high rent.
Zhao Wanqiu nodded. She also felt that this engineer Shang didn't know how to manage his life. "There still needs to be a woman at home."
"So, you know, Aunt Li is already thinking about him!"
Zhao Wanqiu's eyes lit up. "Oh? What do you mean?"
"Didn't Aunt Zhao's fifth daughter get a divorce not long ago? She would rather not work and come back to take care of Aunt Li, but her husband is not happy. The couple is having a quarrel recently. Shang has such a high title as an engineer. I heard from my husband that his salary is 118 yuan, not including allowances and subsidies. How can Aunt Li not think about it?"
What does a monthly salary of 118 mean? ! Shu Jinyue was amazed as she listened to this. She had almost completed a year of work and had even made achievements, yet she was only getting 40 yuan. Engineer Shang could work for her in one month as much as she did in three months!
No wonder, with such a high salary, even if she becomes a stepmother, Aunt Li is willing to instigate her daughter to divorce.
Zhao Wanqiu's interest was immediately piqued. She didn't care about taking someone's pulse or taking their words. She quickly got off the bed and ran to the backyard in her slippers. She had to see what a senior engineer with a monthly salary of 118 yuan looked like!
Shu Jinyue said in his heart that it was really frustrating to compare oneself with others. If his second brother, who only took 18 yuan, knew about this, he would definitely curse at him. They all lived in the same slum, but the gap between this person and others was even greater than that between dogs and humans.
Such a high salary also stimulated her. Shu Jinyue decided that from today on, she would close her heart and lock away her love, concentrate on her career, and strive to get a three-digit salary as soon as possible. Humph, Xu Duan is ignoring her now, and he will not be able to reach her in the future.
After making up her mind, Shu Jinyue was no longer depressed. She found the books and started reading. Two of the books were borrowed using Qin Haiyang's library card. They were due to be returned in about half a month. She had to finish reading them early and then ask her second brother to take her to return them.
Thinking of his second brother, Shu Jinyue felt a little strange. He hadn't seen him much in the past two days and he didn't know what he was busy with. A few days ago, he said that Sister Wenli had a nosebleed due to getting angry, but later nothing happened. Why was he still missing?
Could it be that he went to the ghost market again?
He isn't really short of money lately, so there's no need for him to take any more risks.
Just as I was thinking about it, Shu Wenming came back, but his face was extremely smelly and long, almost reaching his belly button.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?" It's even more disgusting than my unrequited love and heartbreak. Is it that serious?
"Don't talk to me." Shu Wenming sat down on the kang without changing his clothes, picked up the kettle and poured water into it.
Although the mouth of the pot didn't touch his mouth, Shu Jinyue still disliked it, "Shu Wenming, can you not be so disgusting? Can't you use a cup to drink water?"
"I'm disgusting, but you've never seen anything more disgusting."
Shu Jinyue was in a bad mood today and was too lazy to argue with him. Seeing that he looked like he had lost his parents, she was a little curious, "What happened? Did Sister Wenli break up with you, or were you fired from your job?"
Shu Wenming sighed heavily and lay back on the kang. "Why does this person insist on having a son? Will she die if she doesn't have a son?"
"Who, tell me quickly, I'm waiting to listen."
"You know Xu Wenli's parents, right?"
Shu Jinyue's eyes widened. "Her parents, what does this have to do with having a son? Didn't Sister Wenli's mother say last time that she was sent to the countryside and wouldn't be back for more than half a year..."
"Oh, sent abroad?" Shu Wenming sneered, "I just found out today that she went to the countryside to give birth to a son. When she left, she was already more than four months pregnant and almost showed her pregnancy. She gave birth in the hospital yesterday."
Shu Jinyue: “…” What could she say? Xu Wenli is 23 years old this year, and her parents are at least 45 or 46 years old. They actually want a second child? Do you still want to hide in the countryside to give birth?
Family planning was actually implemented three years ago, but it has not yet been determined as a basic national policy. The management is lax in rural areas, and people in cities often turn a blind eye to it. But the Xu couple is different. They are cadres and they have to take the lead. If they are reported, they will definitely be in big trouble.
They hid in the countryside to give birth, on the one hand to protect the child, and on the other hand they were afraid that Xu Wenli would have some ideas. But they were all adults, and if her parents really wanted to give birth, she couldn't stop them. If they talked to Wenli nicely, she would understand. Hiding to give birth... it was quite boring.
"When they were hiding in the countryside to give birth to their son, Wenli was sick every day and no one accompanied her to the hospital. She had injections for so many days and didn't have a hot meal. They are really a good pair of parents." Shu Wenming gritted his teeth and felt sorry for his girlfriend. "Guess how you found out yesterday?"
There was no need for Jin Yue to answer. He just kept talking to himself, "When I took her to the hospital yesterday, I stood in line for her. She was so happy when she saw her parents. Who knew that the couple was happily getting medicine for their newborn."
"Except for her, all her relatives know that she has a younger brother."
"They are all the same children. The eldest is a weed, no one cares if he dies of illness, but the second child is a treasure, and the whole family will get involved for even the smallest problem. Why? Just because he has an extra piece of meat?"
Shu Jinyue didn't know what to say. She was shocked and helpless. It turned out that the news report about "a female college student returned home during winter vacation and found that she had a younger brother" was not a fabrication but a real thing.
Xu Wenli was simple-minded and just felt wronged and angry, but Shu Jinyue had seen many such examples, so she reminded him, "Second brother, you have to give Sister Wenli a heads-up. Her parents are so old, and they are going to retire before this brother even starts elementary school. Who will help the child with his homework, who will take care of his eating, drinking, and defecation, who will pay for his schooling, who will arrange a job after graduation, who will pay for his marriage in the future... You have to let Sister Wenli think these issues through."
From her position, it is not easy to directly tell Sister Wenli not to worry about it. She can only tell her to be mentally prepared and think it over carefully.
"Humph, whoever gives birth to the baby should raise it."
Shu Jinyue sighed, "That's true, but when you talk to Sister Wenli, you have to explain it to her nicely. You are... have you ever thought about the possibility that if her parents get sick or something unexpected happens, she will become the guardian."
"First of all, I'm not saying that Sister Wenli will become a burden. I'm just helping her avoid risks."
Shu Wenming snorted coldly, "It's not that I don't want to feed another mouth, I just... I just don't think it's worth it for her, you know?"
"Then you should marry her right away and live your life behind closed doors."
Shu Wenming blushed, he dreamed of marrying her, and had said that he would go to her home with her in a few days, but now this mess disrupted his schedule, and he didn't know how long it would take.
"Second brother, listen to my advice and marry Sister Wenli as soon as possible." Shu Jinyue always felt uneasy. In her previous life, her second brother died alone, which must be related to Sister Wenli. But she couldn't figure out what the reason was.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
