country bumpkin

Chapter 321 Grandma is here again

She will need IV fluids for the next three days to maintain her bodily functions; otherwise, she wouldn't be able to endure a week of night shifts.

When I first went to the factory, I weighed around 90 pounds, but I kept dropping to just over 60 pounds. I became so thin that I looked unrecognizable.

"We finally made it through this year," Yunya said to Kong Xiujuan with a pained expression, looking like she was terminally ill.

"Mom... I've almost earned back all the money I paid in. Can I quit? I'm afraid I'll die from illness if I keep going like this."

Kong Xiujuan finally agreed to let Yunya resign and go home to recuperate.

Yunya resigned, but the money she paid wasn't refunded. She foolishly worked for free for a year, and even ruined her health in the process.

Yunya meant it when she said she was taking a break; she stayed home for a week and didn't want to think about anything.

After dinner, I went to my second aunt's house to chat with Zhang Haiyan. In the evening, when Zhang Haiying came home from get off work, she also went to my second aunt's house to find Zhang Haiyan.

Being around the same age, the three girls always had endless things to talk about. Zhang Haiying shared her experiences at school with her two sisters.

Yunya hasn't been going out much lately, except when she visits her second aunt, she just sleeps and rests. She doesn't have any news to share, and Zhang Haiyan is even more of a homebody, never leaving the house.

Even the grocery shopping for the family is done by her parents; she only does the cooking. No matter how much housework there is, it will eventually be finished. If Kong Xiuzhen is home, she will help with the chores.

Zhang Haiyan lived the most comfortable life among the three girls.

Yunya is destined to be busy; she's only been at home for ten days and she's already feeling restless from all the boredom.

She started looking for work again. Unfortunately, she couldn't find a suitable job after several days.

Bored, she went to help her third aunt again, this time purely as a favor, without pay. She'll leave as soon as she finds a job.

Kong Xiufen was quite happy that someone came to help with the work. She knew her niece was a restless and unpredictable person.

She'll probably only work for a few days, then she'll quit. But since she's here, she needs to make sure her child gets some rest and nutrition; he's been working so hard at the textile factory all year, he's practically skin and bones.

For lunch, Kong Xiufen cooked a whole old hen, adding only scallions, ginger, salt, Sichuan peppercorns, and star anise; nothing else.

She was worried that Yunya wouldn't be able to handle the strong flavor of spices, so she made it very bland. At that moment, Yunya was leaning over the large bowl, slurping down the chicken soup.

The aroma of the chicken soup filled her nostrils, and Yunya drank it with relish, not wanting to look up.

Kong Xiufen tapped the bowl. "Don't just drink the soup, eat the meat quickly. There's a big chicken leg in your bowl. Eat it while it's hot, it won't taste good when it's cold."

Yunya responded with an "Mmm." She picked up the chicken leg bone with her chopsticks, grabbed it in her left hand, and began to gnaw on the chicken leg.

I devoured a chicken leg in no time and drank a few sips of chicken soup; my stomach was almost full.

At this moment, Kong Xiufen scooped up another chicken leg and wanted to put it in her bowl.

Yunya stopped her, saying, "Third Aunt, I'm almost full, I can't eat anymore. How about I have a wing, and I'll be full after drinking some soup?"

Kong Xiufen said indulgently, "Okay, then this chicken leg can be left for Lingyun. We can heat it up for him when he comes back."

Yunya asked, "How is Lingyun's school? Is he doing well in his studies?"

Kong Xiufen sighed, "Oh! Don't even mention it. She's so eager to go to school every day, she goes at 5 a.m., but she always fails."

Yunya: "Then what should we do?"

Kong Xiufen said, "What else can we do? Let him be! He doesn't even want to do his homework, how can he do well on tests? I can't control him. He doesn't listen to your uncle either, he always has his own ideas."

Yunya thought about it and realized that this was probably what parents meant by rebellion. The more parents forbid something, the more the child rebels. What good can come of that in the end?

Yunya isn't doing well in her studies either, so she can't help and can only silently drink the soup.

Time flies when I'm helping out at my aunt's house; another month has passed in the blink of an eye.

That day, Kong Xiufen gave Yunya 200 yuan. Afraid that Yunya would refuse, she said, "Yunya, take this money. It's from your third aunt. It's for you to buy clothes and snacks. 200 yuan is really not much if it's your salary now."

Yunya tried to push him away, but Kong Xiufen said again, "This child is really naive, she won't even take the money. Here, take it, your third aunt can earn this money herself."

Yunya had no choice but to accept the money, her eyes filled with gratitude. She planned to save it to buy her grandmother something delicious when she came to visit.

Sure enough, not long after, as the weather gradually cooled down, Grandma really did come.

But Mu Shuyun's visit this time was not good news. Her chronic leg pain had flared up again.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a very difficult disease to treat; it cannot be completely cured, only managed.

I recovered after taking the medicine, but it hasn't been long since the attack started again, and the pain is even worse than the first time.

This time, it was her youngest daughter, Kong Xiufang, who accompanied her mother to the hospital.

After arriving at the hospital and describing my symptoms to the doctor, the doctor reviewed the previous test results and said, "This disease tends to recur, which is normal."

Feeling sorry for her mother, Kong Xiufang asked, "Doctor, this happens frequently, and it's getting more and more painful each time. What should we do?"

The doctor examined Mu Shuyun's leg and said, "Look, it's already swollen, and it's definitely more painful than last time. Let's try some medication first. If the medication doesn't work, we'll give her a nerve block injection. What do you think?"

Kong Xiufang nodded, "Okay, I'll listen to you. Then, please prescribe some better medicine! Ordinary anti-inflammatory drugs aren't very effective."

The doctor said, "Okay, I'll change the medication this time. Two bottles of ibuprofen granules, two boxes of celecoxib capsules, two boxes of diclofenac sodium sustained-release tablets, etc."

After the doctor prescribed the medicine, Kong Xiufang helped her mother to the lobby on the first floor. Mu Shuyun sat on a stool waiting while Kong Xiufang went to pay for the medicine.

Back at her eldest sister's house, Kong Xiuzhen also came. Knowing that their mother had arrived, the sisters gathered together again.

In the afternoon, Kong Xiufen and Yunya returned together, and her third daughter-in-law, Miao Yanhong, also returned with her child in a stroller.

By this time, my daughter was already three years old (by the traditional Chinese age reckoning), a clever and mischievous little girl. Seeing all her aunts present, she sweetly called out, "Big Aunt, Second Aunt, Third Aunt."

Finally, she looked at Mu Shuyun and Miao Yanhong said, "Xiaomin, this is your grandma, quickly call her grandma."

The little girl ran over with a grin, took Mu Shuyun's hand, and called out, "Grandma, Grandma."

Mu Shuyun's heart melted. She recalled how lively and adorable Yunya was when she was three or four years old.

She smiled and patted the little girl's hair, replying sweetly, "Oh, my good girl."

Then Mu Shuyun took a banana from the table next to her, cut it in half, and handed it to her, saying, "Here, good girl, have a banana."

Kong Xiaomin took it and proudly showed it to her mother with a big smile. "Mom, Grandma gave me a big banana, hum...hum...hum."

Everyone looked at the lively little girl and burst into laughter. Mu Shuyun felt that her leg didn't hurt so much anymore.

Next, they had to figure out where to sleep, since there were too many people in the family and not enough rooms. So Mu Shuyun and Yunya ended up squeezing into one bed again.

Kong Xiujuan and Sun Limei were together, while Sun Zitao and Sun Guoqiang were together. After the beds were assigned, Mu Shuyun took her medicine and went to bed early.

She was also tired after a long day and went to bed early to rest. Yunya, on the other hand, stayed in the living room watching TV until 10 p.m. before going to sleep.

Around 2 a.m., Mu Shuyun was awakened by pain. She couldn't fall back asleep because of the pain, so she got up and took another painkiller.

It took me a long time to fall asleep after lying down. That's how tormenting illness is. No matter when or where, it torments you, and you simply can't control it.

The painkillers I took the next day worked, and I didn't experience any severe pain all morning, just a slight ache.

Yunya went to work at her third aunt's house in the morning. There were fewer people around at noon, so she left work early and came home.

Because Grandma came, she was at her work site, and even while working, she couldn't suppress her longing to go home and be with Grandma.

Kong Xiufen understood her feelings and let her go home early. She even took a chicken with her.

On her way back, Yunya bought a pound of steamed egg custard and some cookies. She also bought apples and grapes at the fruit shop.

When she was almost home, she turned back to her usual store and bought five cartons of pure milk to take back to her grandmother.

Back home, she presented the delicious food to Mu Shuyun. Mu Shuyun said with satisfaction, "Our Yunya is so filial to her grandma. But don't spend money recklessly. You don't earn money easily, so save it!"

Yunya pushed the things forward again, "No, Grandma, you eat. These are all for you. I'm still young, and I can earn a lot of money to buy food in the future."

Mu Shuyun smiled brightly, "Okay, this is for your grandmother. If your grandmother eats it, you should eat it too."

The mother and daughter smiled at each other, a warm and joyful moment!