Chapter 14: Gao Family's Aunt

"Xiao Qiu, with your Uncle Gao not home for these past few months, our eldest daughter-in-law is about to give birth soon, and I can't leave her side. Could you speak with Aunt Zhao and ask her what kind of person Gao Shu's prospective bride is?"

"She's a nice girl, fair and sweet-looking, absolutely a beauty in the making, and her family's situation is pretty good too."

"No matter how good she is, his Elder Uncle and I would never agree."

Jingqiu knew this would be the outcome; in her previous life, Xia Lin brought her child to West City and had suffered no shortage of grievances at the Gao Family's home.

She didn't know what Gao Shu and the Gao family had said, but she had no intention of belittling Xia Lin due to their past issues.

Gao Family's Elder Uncle had four sons and one daughter, and together with his late brother's posthumous child Gao Shu, the household had a total of six children.

Although Big Uncle Gao's position in the military district wasn't low, he could arrange jobs for his children.

But with so many sons, arranging a job for one or two was manageable, but three or four proved difficult, especially since Uncle Gao was an upright man who disliked having to bow and scrape to others for favors.

That year, the family's third and fourth sons as well as Gao Shu all graduated from high school.

With three grown sons idling at home, Uncle Gao and Aunt Gao were busy looking for jobs for their children.

Uncle Gao's idea was to have all the children enlist in the army.

Aunt Gao disagreed; the family's eldest and second sons had become soldiers, and she wouldn't see them even once over a year or two. To have the remaining two sons also enlist was more than she could bear.

Aunt Gao wanted Gao Shu to join the military, as she and Uncle Gao had only been able to secure two job positions after much pleading, one in the municipal government and the other in the transportation team.

The municipal government position was definitely for the third son, who was not in good health and would be less stressed as a civilian clerk there.

With three children and only two jobs, Aunt Gao was determined to favor her own sons, but Uncle Gao was conflicted.

When Gao Shu's mother left her child with him, her only condition was that her son must not become a soldier.

Because of his father's legacy, Gao Shu also had no desire to enlist.

Fourth Brother and Gao Shu were like blood brothers, having grown up together wearing the same pants; he also knew his mother's thoughts.

He didn't want the neighbors to speak ill of his mother for being selfish, nor did he want to make things difficult for his father. He most certainly didn't want to put Gao Shu, his older brother, in an awkward position in this family.

So, he secretly signed up at the Educated Youth Spot.

When Aunt Gao found out, she cried and made a scene, absolutely unwilling to let her son go to the countryside. She insisted that Uncle Gao use his connections to cancel his son's spot.

Uncle Gao naturally disagreed, thinking it was good this way. With many children in the family, it would be proper for one to go and contribute to the country; it wasn't a bad thing, and besides, one couldn't simply cancel after registering.

Aunt Gao became desperate and started arguing with Uncle Gao, even suspecting that it was Uncle Gao who had encouraged his son to go, all for the sake of his nephew.

Uncle Gao certainly didn't take kindly to this accusation, calling Aunt Gao petty and unreasonable. Because of this, there were constant quarrels in the Gao household at that time, leaving plenty of neighbors to gossip.

Gao Shu, who had already been living carefully in his uncle's house, now felt troubled that his presence had caused his Elder Uncle and Aunt to harm their relationship. Being sensible, he secretly told his aunt that he was willing to go to the countryside in place of his Fourth Brother.

Of course, this matter could only be a secret, as Big Uncle Gao would definitely not agree, and Gao Lao Si would be even less likely to agree. He had signed up primarily to free up a job for Lao Wu, not to push Gao Shu into the rural life.

While Aunt Gao was biased towards her own children, she also knew the hardships of rural life; thus, she was not stingy with material support and prepared many necessities and plenty of money for Gao Shu.

Speaking of which, Aunt Gao treated Gao Shu rather well; there was no lack of food and drink at home, fulfilling her duties responsibly. But even with her own children, there were moments of favoritism, let alone with one who wasn't her own.

By the time the Gao Family found out, Gao Shu had already been sent on the train by Aunt Gao.

The name had already been changed, and Gao Lao Si was too late even if he wanted to switch it back.

For this, Gao Family's Elder Uncle still holds a grudge against Aunt Gao to this day.

After parting with Zhao Hong, Zhou Lanping whispered to her daughter, "Qiuqiu, even though not many people know you like Gao Shu, the news isn't airtight. Once he gets married, he will surely bring his bride back home. To avoid gossip, stay away from the Gao Family as much as possible. I know you get along well with Gao Qing, but if it's possible not to meet, then don't."

"Mom, I know." In her previous life, Gao Qing was her best friend, and even when she was in the sanatorium, Gao Qing would visit her without minding her condition. Later, after she got out, she was living in confusion, and Gao Qing was also having troubles with her husband, so they gradually saw each other less often.

"Mom, let's go for your medical check-up at the hospital today; we can go to the department store tomorrow," Jingqiu suggested with a heart full of concern for her mother's illness, discussing with her as soon as they got home.

Zhou Lanping said, "I'm fine, you, just like your dad, you're too nervous."

Seeing that she couldn't convince her, Lu Jingqiu immediately resorted to acting like a spoiled child, hugging Zhou Lanping and saying, "Mom, your daughter hasn't been back for such a long time, and as soon as I come back, you're feeling unwell. How can I not worry? Can't you just let your daughter be at ease?"

Zhou Lanping, unable to handle her daughter's nagging nature, had no choice but to agree, "Okay, okay, you win. Let's go for a check-up today. There's no need to check the bleeding gums, just the stomach. It's been hurting recently. Let's see if there's any inflammation."

"Mom, does your stomach hurt a lot?"

"It's not a constant pain, just intermittent pain, but the medicine helps. It keeps coming back, though."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jingqiu's face was full of worry, but she didn't dare let her mother see.

Lu Jingqiu rode her mother's bicycle to West City First People's Hospital, which was also her mother's workplace.

After arriving, Zhou Lanping, who knew the place well, took her to their surgery department.

Aunt Wei was treating a patient at the moment, and she looked surprised to see them at the door.

Lu Jingqiu smiled and waved at her from the doorway; neither mother nor daughter dared to disturb her.

Zhou Lanping then took her to the internal medicine department. The doctors there were very familiar with her mother and greeted her with a smile, "Head Nurse Zhou isn't working today?"

Zhou Lanping replied, "I'm on the evening shift today. My stomach's been hurting, and my daughter insisted on coming to you for a check-up."

The doctor looked at Lu Jingqiu by her mother's side and smiled, "Oh, Xiao Qiu is back. When did you come back?"

"Uncle Zhang, hello, I just got back yesterday. I'm leaving again next month. Since I've been back, my mom hasn't been feeling well. Uncle Zhang, please make sure to take a good look at her and make her follow the doctor's orders. She doesn't listen to anyone at home."

"Haha, Head Nurse Zhou, did you hear that?"

Zhou Lanping gave Doctor Zhang a helpless smile.

After the joke, Doctor Zhang seriously asked about the mother's condition.

Upon hearing that her stomach hurt intermittently, he asked about her daily routine and then wrote several orders for tests.

Lu Jingqiu accompanied her mother through various tests, and when the results came back, Doctor Zhang, frowning, looked at the lab report for a long time, and said, "Comrade Lanping, these results are not very good. It shows inflammation, but it's not clear. We've gotten some new equipment at our hospital recently. I'll write you an order for a comprehensive test."

Zhou Lanping wanted to decline, but Lu Jingqiu was busy taking the order and readily agreed.

Seeing that the order was written, Zhou Lanping had no choice but to follow her daughter for the tests.

After being busy all morning with the tests, they were done, but the results would not be available until the next day. Zhou Lanping realized it was time for lunch.

She hurriedly took her daughter to see Doctor Wei, and together they went to the hospital's cafeteria to eat.

Aunt Wei was about the same age as her mother; the two had worked together for many years and gone from colleagues to best friends. Aunt Wei married late and had a son and a daughter, both still in high school.

"How were the test results?" After everyone sat down with their food, Aunt Wei asked.

Zhou Lanping replied, "Doctor Zhang said it might be inflammation, nothing serious. I wouldn't have come for a check-up if Qiuqiu wasn't so worried about me."

Aunt Wei knew about her condition; they all worked in the hospital and weren't lacking care. She didn't think Zhou Lanping had any serious issues and turned to the well-mannered Lu Jingqiu, asking, "Qiu, how long will you be back this time? It must be exhausting over there."

"It was indeed hard to get used to at first, but it got better once I settled in. I'm back for a month this time, to spend time with my parents."

"You should indeed spend time with your parents. Your mom talks about her precious daughter the most in our department."

Lu Jingqiu smiled as she served her mother some meat, her voice sugary sweet, "Yeah, my parents love me the most. I know that."

The group chatted while eating their meal. Aunt Wei had been busy all morning and needed to rest at noon, so she and her mother didn't intrude too long.

When they left the hospital at midday, the sun was scorching.

On such a hot day, Zhou Lanping wanted to buy her daughter an electric fan.

She bought Lu Jingqiu a wide-brimmed hat from a roadside vendor and rode the bicycle to the department store.