Chapter 63

“The Jin family is in trouble again?” Su Chunjun sat at the Zhu family’s table in a dignified manner, “It’s not impossible.” He took a large bite of rice and swallowed it before saying, “I found the one where Ma Tianbao sought medical treatment, which is Tong Ren Tang. However, the fellow there said that after Ma Tianbao took the prescription, he went elsewhere to get the medicine and didn’t get it at their house.”

Yang Yucan quickly asked, “What kind of medicine did he grab?”

Su Chunjun: “It’s Ma Bo San.”

Yang Yuyan: “Ephedrine? Isn’t that the medicine used in an operation?”

Su Chunjun shakes his head, “Not only is it to be used when making an incision, it is the numbing medicine, used to stop the pain.” He said, “It may be that Ma Tianbao’s father …… has been using anesthetic.”

No one knows how much Ma Tianbao’s father was injured, only that he was paralyzed.

Asked Yang Yucan, she can only shake her head.

“I don’t know.” She held the chopsticks mindlessly eating, desperately trying to recall, but also failed to recall too much about Ma Tianbao’s father’s scene, because at that time, Ma’s father was lying on the hospital bed, only covered with a quilt, because he was incontinent, so she didn’t go into the hospital room at that time to visit, just with Ma Tianbao in the corridor to talk.

“I don’t know how sick his father is and what kind of medicine he is on.” She only knew that Ma Tianbao’s father was in a coma when he entered the hospital, and it was the foreign doctors who woke him up, and later he could already eat on his own, but he just couldn’t sit up yet, much less get out of bed.

Zhu Yanshu has seen the broken subordinates, those who can’t even get out of bed, even if they have family members to take care of them, they will die after two or three years at most.

Su Chunjun: “Maybe he hurt his back.”

Yang Yuyan: “Maybe it’s the back,……,” If the spine is injured, the current level of medical care is hopeless, right?

Zhu Yanshu interrupted them, “Let’s find someone first. We have done this part of the heart on it.”

Su Chunjun said, “At that time, I mentioned that I would find a job and a house for him. How about this, I’ll go to those rental places tomorrow and look around, maybe we can find them.”

Yang Yucan quickly said, “I’ll go, Mr. Su still has to work.”

Zhu Yanshu glared at her without any good humor, “You go? Do you know where to look? Don’t add to the mess, send your sister to school properly tomorrow.” She turned her head to Su Chunjun, “Teacher Su, I shouldn’t have bothered you again, but I really don’t want more people to know about this matter either, so I can only leave it to you.”

Su Chunjun: “No need to be polite, I am also worried about Ma Tianbao’s family.”

The meal was tasteless.

After eating, Su Chunjun didn’t say goodbye right away like before, but sat on the sofa and continued to chat about the Ma family.

Zhu Yanshu thought that he could not leave the Ma family behind by sending the Buddha to the West. Otherwise, Yang Yuchan would not be able to get rid of this burden for the rest of her life. Let’s find the person first and then discuss other things. To put it politely, even if they had to get rid of the person, Ma Tianbao had better be alive and well, so that their family could feel at ease.

Yang Yuyan thought the same way, and she could not help but sympathize when she heard that Ma Tianbao’s family could not even afford to see a doctor and was driven away.

She asked Su Chunjun: “Where are you going to find them?”

Su Chunjun: “If they are looking for a house, the cheaper the better. I know of a place that only costs one dollar a month for a family of three, three dollars a month. There is no cheaper place in the city. I’ll go there tomorrow and ask around. Pharmacies are a little more difficult. Any traditional Chinese medicine hall can dispense the medicine, Ma Tianbao should just go to Tong Ren Tang to ask for a prescription, or go to a cheap pharmacy, which is hard to find. I think it’s easier to find it from the house first.”

Zhang Ma was listening on the side by delivering the tea, and at this point said, “I’ll go inquire, and Mr. Su should still go to work. How many days have you missed work? Be careful of the higher-ups punishing you.”

Su Chunjun laughed: “After the New Year, there is work everywhere, I just want to take the opportunity to avoid it, Zhang Ma don’t drive me over there.”

Zhu Yanshu laughed at this, “I said why you have so much free time these days, so it’s because you want to be lazy.”

Su Chunjun put down his teacup and sighed: “There were rumors a year ago that the mayor had received a lot of scolding, and was suffering from pinched breath all around, and was preparing to do something big after the New Year, so as to revitalize his reputation. Various bureaus have new tasks, just don’t know what yet. But the Treasury can’t get away with just a few things, checking the books, checking the books, checking the books.” He wiggled his three fingers and counted in a serious manner.

Everyone here laughed, and even Yang Yucan was amused and shook his head.

“I don’t even know how to play the abacus, why would I bother to top that hard job?” Su Chunjun spread his hands, “Besides, is that account a good one to check? It’s a mess. It’s better to hide far away. Our Finance Bureau’s director, deputy director are hiding to the hospital, I heard is a headache, heartache, toothache, heart, liver, spleen, lungs and kidneys, there is no good, visible is to live for two or three years. When the mayor’s evil fire is finished, then come back is not too late.”

A room of people laughed, all a little sigh, even Zhang Ma said: “Maybe after this illness, your director’s family will have one or two more aunts and grandmothers.”

Su Chunjun: “You are most correct.”

He coaxed Zhang Ma when he had time, and finally coaxed Zhang Ma to be a bit more favorable to him, no longer looking at him as a liar who cheated his own girls.

After this incident, I’m sure Miss Yang will no longer have the heart to glare at him, right?

Su Chunjun thought, picking up the teacup and sipping the hot tea.

At this time, the phone suddenly rang.

Zhang Ma hurriedly went to pick it up, and not long after, she came over in a panic and called Zhu Yanshu: “Madam, it’s a call from the Jin Mansion, Mrs. Jin is looking for you.”

Everyone in the living room was stunned.

Yang Yuyan: “Just because she met us at the hospital? This is how much of a ghost there is in your heart.”

Zhu Yanshu smiled, stood up to answer the phone, and added: “Look, every family has a difficult experience.” Knowing that other people’s families also have a bunch of difficult things, her mood is much better.

She picked up the receiver, her voice soft, “Hello? Hello, this is Zhu Yanshu.”

She sat on the sofa chair and answered the phone, the others stood in the doorway of the living room and looked at her, she nodded, they stared, she smiled, they stared, she said something like, “Really? How did that happen? I’ll have to check it out tomorrow then.”

Everyone pricked up their ears to hear.

When she hung up the phone, Yang Yuyan immediately asked impatiently, “Mom, when are you going to the hospital tomorrow? Wait until I come back from school and then go, okay? I’ll go with you, who’s in trouble?”

Zhu Yanshu: “It’s Ms. Jin, it’s said that she broke her leg.”

Yang Yuyan was surprised, “It was a broken leg?”

Zhu Yanshu stood up, walked over and glared at her, “What did you think was going on?”

Yang Yuyan quickly shook her head, she didn’t think anything.

Zhu Yanshu resumed her seat and said, “Mrs. Jin said that Miss Jin fell down the stairs and broke a leg, which is why she was hospitalized.”

Su Chunjun nodded, “That makes sense.”

As for how Miss Jin fell down the stairs, or if she fell down the stairs or not, or if she broke her leg or not before being hospitalized, this is not important.

What was important was that the Jin family took this matter very seriously, even a Zhu Yanshu who had no dealings with the Jin family was worth a special phone call from them to explain, so it was evident that the Jin family was unwilling to have a single rumor spread out.

This could also explain why Mr. Wang suddenly stopped sending money to Ma Tianbao. And why Ma Tianbao’s family had to leave from the hospital.

Zhu Yan Shu pondered for a moment and said, ”I just don’t think it’s quite right. The money Big Sister gave him at that time was quite a lot, plus the money given by Mr. Wang, Ma Tianbao should have at least two hundred dollars in his hand. At that time, he promised to rent a house and find a job, why suddenly left without saying goodbye?” Without even treating his illness, Ma Tianbao could have left, but his father simply couldn’t stay away from the hospital and medicine.

Su Chunjun: “The Golden Mansion hopes they won’t show up again.”

At night, when Yang Yuyan returned to her bedroom, she had many things on her mind. The Ma family’s, the Jin family’s, what happened to Ma Tianbao, and what was Miss Jin hospitalized for. Even the matter of Mr. Su Finance Bureau wandered a few times in her heart, it s really …… She knew that the Republican government at this time was a bit of an asshole, but she didn t know that they were so asshole, from top to bottom, it seems that there is not a single person who is doing the right thing.

She can also finally realize why the students on the street march every day, she now if she is still in school, only afraid that she will not be able to resist to march.

She turned on the lamp tonight and opened her diary, thinking twice before writing down what she wanted to write. This diary hadn’t been used for a long time, and the last time she wrote it was an excerpted poem. Ever since Zhu Yanshu asked her to write a diary, she could squeeze out two or three things a week at most, and at the most, she would just use copying poems as an excuse. Zhu Yanshu never checked, but she didn’t dare to not write.

This was the second time that she sincerely wrote what she wanted to write.

The last one was written after she had just learned about Yang Xuhe’s story, and she had used “he” instead of “him” and cursed him in her diary.

This time, what she wanted to write was all worry.

First, she was worried about Ma Tianbao. Not only because of Yang Yuchan, she had always felt that Ma Tianbao’s family was like standing on a cliff, one step and they would fall into the abyss, and whoever was close to them would be dragged down.

That’s why she has been trying to break them up.

But no one expected their family to suffer so soon.

Although she didn’t regret breaking them up, she always felt uncomfortable and guilty in her heart and wanted to do something to help them.

Secondly, she was worried about Miss Jin. Miss Jin lived in the Golden Mansion, had both parents, her family was wealthy and powerful, and she herself was young, pretty, polite, and smart. She was so outstanding, her living conditions and social status were much better than Yang Yuyan. But such a golden lady seems to be unable to protect herself and live the life she wants. There were many factors involved, from her parents and beyond.

Miss Kim was like a mirror for her, and she looked at Miss Kim as if she were looking at herself. If even Miss Jin was not immune to misfortune, and would be helpless when it came, without the slightest solution, what should she do after encountering misfortune?

Yang Yuyan shook her pen, and it was very difficult for her to write. There were many words in her heart, many thoughts twisting around, but there was no way to describe them clearly.

Finally, she ended with these words: “Misfortune never knocks at the door, it appears suddenly, leaving people with no way to fight, but only passive to bear, in the face of misfortune, should we pray for heaven’s help, or”

“or” how?

Should we be submissive or rebellious?

But does obedience or resistance really help? Does the path one chooses really have an effect on the outcome? Would misfortune be defeated by it?

As she lay down on her bed she recalled how she felt when she lay on her bed in that previous home.

At that time she always closed the door and turned off the light, pretending that she had gone to sleep, but in fact she kept her ears open to listen for any movement outside, to hear if her mother had walked around the house, if she had suddenly lost her temper, if she had cried, if she had called her father, if she had gotten into another fight.

She would keep her ears open until she fell asleep.

She loved her mom and sister now, loved her home now. She wished she had lived in this home from the beginning.

She closed her eyes and quietly listened to the sound of Zhang Ma turning off the lights and closing the door outside before falling asleep.

The next day, the whole family was busy.

Zhu Yanshu got up with difficulty and said to Zhang Ma, “Call a hair dresser up, alas, I didn’t sleep well last night.”

Zhang Ma said, “Mistress, you should take care of yourself. That Jin family’s and Ma family’s, they have nothing to do with our family.”

Zhu Yanshu shook her head, hugged the quilt and leaned against the bed, sighing, “Zhang Ma, I am thinking that this world is only going to be …… again.”

Zhang Ma perked up her ears to listen, but she didn’t say anything further, only said, “I’ll simply eat a little this morning, you shouldn’t work too hard, don’t you still have to go out and look for the Ma family today? Just keep it simple.”

Zhang Ma called for the hair dresser and sent it into Zhu Yanshu’s bedroom and went to boil water, even though she said she didn’t have to prepare breakfast, breakfast couldn’t be eaten casually. Zhang Ma called for soup noodles, buns and congee from downstairs, and fried the salted vegetables from home and brought them out, setting a table as well, before she went to call Yang Yu Yan sisters to get up.

Yang Yucan had already gotten up, and when she heard the knock on the door, she said, “I’ll be right out.” She opened the door and saw Zhang Ma, saying, “I’ll go get Yan Yan, you go and get busy, Zhang Ma.”

Zhang Ma said, “I put the hot water in the bathroom, you guys go use it there. Your mom is combing her hair, breakfast is also set out, you guys go eat by yourselves after washing up.”

Yang Yucan knocked on the door and called Yang Yuyan up from her bed, urging her to get dressed and comb her hair.

Yang Yucan: “Dress neatly, you still have to meet Professor Dai today.”

Yang Yuyan twisted her head as she dressed and said, “There are so many things going on at home, I can help out too, or else I’ll go and ask for a leave of absence today, so I won’t go, right?”

Yang Yu Cicada helped her with her socks and turned back, “Don’t add to the mess. Mom will go to the Golden Mansion, and Zhang Ma and Teacher Su will go look for Ma Tianbao. I’ll send you to school and come back to do a little housework and buy groceries.”

Yang Yuyan stared wide-eyed, “Can you do it?”

Yang Yuchan pushed her to sit down, “I’m better than you. If I can’t do it, you can’t do it any better. Quickly sit down, I’ll tie your hair.”

Enjoying the treatment of her sister combing her hair for the first time, Yang Yuyan was flattered, and kept saying, “Be gentle with your hands, be gentle with your hands, or I’ll do it myself.”

Making Yang Yuchan tense, it took a quarter of an hour to tie it up.

But the final result was very pleasing, when Yang Yuyan went out, Mr. Su had already arrived, as soon as he saw her, he praised her with glowing eyes, “The second young miss looks radiant today.”

However, Mr. Su’s compliments to her are to be discounted, she used to wear pajamas and come out with a disheveled face, and he complimented her with a glowing face as he did today, “her complexion is rosy”.

Yang Yuyan touched the pigtails that Yang Yucan had combed for her, four circles on one head, and four small ribbon knots, besides looking good, it also showed her sister’s determination to do things right. Tying a hair is so complicated, let her go grocery shopping still don’t buy a full banquet?

During breakfast, Zhu Yanshu heard that Yang Yucan volunteered to do the housework for Zhang Ma, even though it was just a small thing like washing dishes and sweeping the floor to buy groceries, her and Zhang Ma’s expressions were also completely uneasy.

Zhang Ma hesitantly looked at Zhu Yanshu: “Mistress, what do you think ……”

Zhu Yanshu stared at Yang Yucan up and down a few times, and said in a strong voice: “Alright then, let you do it.” Then he turned his head and handed over to Zhang Ma, “Zhang Ma, tell her more.”

Zhang Ma: “Good, good.”

Yang Yuyan also curiously perked up her ears and spoke with one mind and three hearts, eating and talking at the same time.

Zhu Yanshu and Teacher Su said, “I went to the hospital first to visit Miss Jin this morning in response to Mrs. Jin’s appointment, but I’m guessing that the Ma family’s matter, I’m only afraid that Mrs. Jin won’t reveal too much, she probably didn’t put it on her mind at all.”

Mr. Su said, “Naturally, it’s the people below who took matters into their own hands. You can rest assured that the illnesses of the Ma family’s upper and lower ranks are not life-affirming, and they also have money in their hands, so they won’t lose their lives in such a few short days. Everything will be clear when we find the people.”

On the other side, Zhang Ma was also confiding with Yang Yu Cicada, “Missy, at noon, I usually buy the noon and evening dishes, every meal in our family is four dishes and one soup, two vegetarian and two meat dishes, and the soup is mostly fresh soup. When you go to buy vegetables, you only look at the vegetable to see if it is fresh or not, just pinch the stalk and you will know. Fish, meat you will not buy, this wait for me to come back and then call the butcher store and fish store to send on the line, you must not go to buy yourself. Vegetable money …… you remember, spend fifty cents is enough! No matter what kind of green vegetables, you buy 10 cents for each is enough for our family plus Mr. Su to eat.”

After both sides had finished discussing, only Yang Yuyan was left.

Zhu Yanshu instructed her, “Have a good class at Prof. Dai’s place, no one in the family will have time to take care of you for a few days, don’t cause any trouble.”

Teacher Su smiled and said, “Get along well with your classmates, if anyone bullies you, find Professor Dai and tell him off.”

Zhang Ma instructed her, “Don’t eat anything outside, I prepared snacks and apples for you, eat when you’re hungry over there. Take a dollar in your pocket and remember to take the bus when you go home.”

Yang Yu Yan said to Yang Yu Cicada as she left the house, “Do you guys think I’m still young? Do you even need a ride to school?” She wasn’t eighteen, she was eight.

Eight years old can also take the bus by herself, right?

Yang Yuchan pulled her out the door while saying, “Zhang Ma still thinks I don’t know how to shop for groceries, listen to what she just handed me.”

Yang Yuyan half-heartedly said, “You don’t know how to buy food ah, you’ve never bought food before.” She is different, she has shopped in the supermarket many times before, Taobao also play very slippery, she feels self-conscious about the price, she is more than Yang Yucan.

Yang Yuchan was so angry that she turned around and said, “You won’t go to school by yourself either! Once upon a time, every time someone picked up! I even picked you up.”

She ran downstairs dragging her exasperated sister with her, got on a yellow bus, and sent her sister off to school like a newly-appointed jailbird.