"No going outside, no touching cold water, and absolutely no getting off the bed."
This completely miserable routine of lying in bed all day was driving Bai Jiu crazy.
"Xiuxiu, can Mom have a sip of that canned fruit juice?" Bai Jiu asked, her mouth tasting completely bland. Watching her daughter eat the canned fruit beside her made her incredibly envious.
Xiuxiu lifted her bewildered little head. "Mom, Grandma said you can’t eat it." She wanted to share it with her mother, but she remembered her grandmother’s words: her mom wasn’t fully recovered yet, so she couldn’t have anything cold. All her mom could have was more of the nourishing soup from home. "Mom, if you’re hungry, I’ll go fetch you some soup." Xiuxiu was an obedient child who listened to adults. Since Grandma was older than Mom, she would listen to Grandma.
"I refuse." It wasn’t that she was being overly dramatic; she had been drinking that same soup for days on end. She genuinely couldn’t stomach it anymore and felt nauseous just thinking about it. "Fine, Mom won’t eat it, okay?" Bai Jiu said, looking helpless.
"Then aren’t you hungry, Mom?" Xiuxiu furrowed her little brows, a bit confused. Being hungry felt terrible. Her mom was already sick; wouldn’t an empty tummy make her feel even worse? "Mom, if you don’t eat, your tummy will hurt," Xiuxiu said earnestly.
Bai Jiu knew her daughter cared about her, but she really couldn’t force down another drop of chicken soup. "Mom isn’t hungry, she’s just craving something tasty. Specifically, Xiuxiu’s canned fruit." Bai Jiu patted the top of her daughter’s head.
Hearing that it was just a craving, Xiuxiu understood what was going on. "Then Xiuxiu won’t eat it either." She was only eating it because she had a craving too. If she had known this would happen, she wouldn’t have eaten it in the room.
"It’s fine, you just eat it. Watching you eat helps satisfy Mom’s craving too." Seeing the little girl’s reluctance, Bai Jiu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "By the way, did your aunt come over today?" The New Year was approaching, and the wedding was only a few days away. After Xiang Gaoli found out about Bai Jiu’s accident, knowing there was no one at home to take care of things, she would come over whenever she wasn’t at work.
"Yeah, Auntie is cooking right now. She said we can eat soon." The little girl really liked her aunt. Xiang Gaoli was great at winning over children; she frequently fed the two of them snacks.
"She’s working so hard for us. After you finish eating, could you ask your aunt to come to my room?" Bai Jiu had prepared a wedding gift for Xiang Gaoli earlier and figured she could give it to her in advance.
"Okay."
Lunch was ready quickly. After setting out the food, Xiang Gaoli called Father Bai, Zhengyang, and Xiuxiu to eat. She also delivered a portion to Bai Jiu. However, Bai Jiu didn’t keep her, telling her to eat first and come back to chat afterward. At noon, Father Bai would always take Zhengyang and Xiuxiu to his room for a nap, so once Xiang Gaoli finished cleaning up, she had nothing else to do. She came over wanting to spend more time with Bai Jiu anyway; even if she hadn’t been asked, she would have visited her.
"Gaoli, come up quickly. It’s freezing down there." Bai Jiu’s room also had a heated brick bed that was actively burning and comfortably warm. Xiang Gaoli was a cheerful and straightforward woman. She took off her shoes and climbed onto the bed.
"Are you feeling any better? Are you still coughing badly?"
Seeing the genuine concern in her eyes, Bai Jiu grew even more fond of her. "Much better. The coughing isn’t as severe as before." She hadn’t been resting in vain all these days. She had plenty of medicine stored in her spatial dimension; after taking some, she really had improved significantly. Though, occasionally, if she caught a chill, she would still cough a little.
"That’s good. You have no idea how terrified Xingguo was after your accident." Mentioning the incident brought a look of lingering fear to Xiang Gaoli’s face. It was the first time she had ever seen Bai Xingguo look so fierce and ruthless. Fortunately, he had explained everything to her afterward, so she understood why he had acted that way. Through her understanding, she also gained a deeper insight into her man.
"Yeah, I really have to thank Xingguo this time. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to manage everything at the hospital."
"We’re all family; there’s no need for such formalities. Just focus on resting and recovering." The Bai siblings genuinely got along well—much better than she did with her own brothers and their families. This was especially true for Bai Jiu; no one else’s sister could compare to her.
"By the way, Gaoli, what is your educational background?" Thinking about future plans, Bai Jiu immediately changed the subject.
"I graduated from high school too." If she hadn’t graduated from high school, she wouldn’t have been able to pass the exam for her current job. Xiang Gaoli didn’t work at the meat processing plant; she had passed the exams to become an administrator at a different factory. As a result, she had high standards. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have taken a liking to Bai Xingguo.
Hearing that she was also a high school graduate, Bai Jiu was thrilled. "Do you still read now, Gaoli?" She knew that most people nowadays ended up burning their books for firewood after graduation. Very few people kept them.
"I do. I didn’t study that well in the past, and I occasionally need to use that knowledge, so I flip through them whenever I have free time." Xiang Gaoli had the highest educational background in the Xiang Family. Her older brothers had all started working right after graduating from junior high; she was the only one who had stuck it out through high school. The main reason was that their grades were too abysmal—it was embarrassing just to mention them. Aside from brute strength, they had nothing going for them. Thinking about this, Xiang Gaoli couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly in exasperation.
"That’s good. You really need to read and learn more. As the saying goes, ’Live and learn.’ I think you shouldn’t put those books down just yet," Bai Jiu said with a smile as they chatted casually.
Xiang Gaoli wasn’t stupid. She had quite a few questions in her mind, and she was never one to hide things—at least, not in front of her family. "Bai Jiu, tell me the truth. Did you get some sort of insider information?" Most people avoided the topic of studying nowadays. Why would Bai Jiu suddenly bring up a saying like ’live and learn’?
Bai Jiu hadn’t expected that a casual remark would cause someone to overthink so much. "What information could I possibly have?" Bai Jiu maintained a calm facade, though she panicked inwardly for a moment. She wondered what she had done to make Xiang Gaoli read so deeply into her words.
Seeing that she was unwilling to say more, Xiang Gaoli didn’t press further, simply deciding to keep it in mind. "Nothing? Then never mind. But reading really is quite nice. It broadens the mind." Xiang Gaoli made an offhand comment and dropped the subject.
Bai Jiu brought out the watch she had bought for her. "Gaoli, this is my wedding gift to you. See if you like it." She pulled out a box and handed it over.
Xiang Gaoli didn’t think much of it. They were family, after all, and she had also prepared a meeting gift for Bai Jiu—in fact, she had gifts for the whole family. "No, this is way too expensive." It wasn’t until she opened the box that she finally processed what it was. She wondered just how much money this cost. "Bai Jiu, why did you buy something so expensive? Hurry, let’s go return it." One look was all it took to know the watch wasn’t cheap.
When buying things for the wedding, she had even refused Bai Xingguo’s offer to buy her a watch. She did it simply because she knew the family didn’t have much money. However, she hadn’t turned down the bicycle, as it was something the household could actually use. Her parents had also said they would bring the bicycle over as part of her dowry when the time came. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have bought that either.
"It can’t be returned. Just accept it, Gaoli." Bai Jiu had no idea she had refused Xingguo’s offer of a watch. She had bought it simply because she thought it suited her. It was perfectly normal for a woman to own a watch or two. If she had known Xiang Gaoli had turned Xingguo down, Bai Jiu definitely would have bought her an even more expensive one. After all, she wasn’t short on money.
"No, Bai Jiu, this thing isn’t cheap. It’s not easy for you to raise two children on your own. Even if we have money in the future, we should be thrifty." Xiang Gaoli knew Bai Jiu was loose with her purse strings, but she hadn’t expected her to be this extravagant. She worried about how Bai Jiu would manage her days in the future.
Bai Jiu was speechless. Why was everyone so worried that she couldn’t support herself and the children? "Gaoli, believe me, I can provide for the kids and give them a much better life."
Looking at her resolute gaze, Xiang Gaoli somehow found herself accepting the watch. She wasn’t even sure how she made it back home.