Chapter 372: Chapter 372: Turns Out They’re Acquaintances
Xu Ancheng felt a sudden pause in his right hand, turned his head and saw an elderly woman bump into Yi Roujing’s right shoulder. His eyes immediately showed concern, and he gently squeezed Yi Roujing’s right shoulder and asked, "Jing, are you hurt?"
"Oh, she’s killed someone." The elderly woman was short in stature, at this moment covering her forehead and letting out a pained cry.
"Mom, Mom, Mom... are you okay?" A man around thirty, holding a child covered in a worn-out jacket, hurriedly squeezed through the crowd and walked to the elderly woman’s side to ask with concern.
"At my age, being bumped like this, it’s a wonder if I’m okay." The elderly woman’s voice was loud and confident. People around saw that the collision was not serious at all and started to disperse.
"Ma’am, are you okay?" Yi Roujing asked out of courtesy.
"I think I should go to the hospital for a check-up. Who knows if I got hurt? At an old age, a bump can be serious, not like you young ones with strong bodies." The elderly woman looked Yi Roujing up and down, as well as the man standing beside her holding the child.
Seeing the three of them dressed in new clothes and the child being fair-skinned, she assumed their family was well-off. Although the elderly woman wasn’t seriously injured, she still wanted to take advantage.
"Ma’am, you bumped into me." Yi Roujing wouldn’t take undue responsibility. She was the victim here, and just because the other party is old and impolite doesn’t mean she should back down; that wouldn’t be right.
"Hey, you clearly bumped into me, and now you’re acting innocent. Do you think we who dig in the fields are easy to bully, and that city folks are superior?" The elderly woman was relentless.
"Mom, Xiaocao is still waiting to go to the hospital. We also need to find Cuizhu. Stop making a fuss, it’s nothing serious," the man holding the child said weakly. He understood his mother’s character, realizing she wanted to take advantage because of their fine attire. But this wasn’t the village, and if they offended the wrong people, what would they do?
The elderly woman turned back to glare at her son, thinking him useless, which is why his wife keeps him under control. Now for the sake of a little girl, they’ve come all the way to Jing City, wasting money, not hurrying to have a son and doing all these costly things.
Yi Roujing listened to the man’s words and examined the three of them carefully. If it were just the name Xiaocao, she wouldn’t have thought much, but with the mention of Cuizhu, it couldn’t be coincidental, perhaps they were related to the dorm leader.
"Let them take me to the hospital. They can take a look at Xiaocao while at it." The elderly woman, despite her dissatisfaction with her son, wouldn’t degrade him in front of strangers. After all, her son was a teacher in the village, and her daughter-in-law had stood out the most in exams not only in the village but even in the commune and county.
"Come with me, I’ll take you to the hospital." Yi Roujing changed her tone, smiling as she looked at the three of them, "Is this gentleman Yu Cuiyu’s husband?"
The man looked surprised, and then a bit shy, "You, you know Cuizhu?"
"You know my daughter-in-law?" the elderly woman was also shocked, her eyes wide as she looked at Yi Roujing, "My daughter-in-law is from Jing University’s Medical Department, and you..."
"I am too, and we’re in the same dorm room," Yi Roujing replied, "What happened to Xiaocao? Why come to Jing City’s hospital for treatment?"
"Oh dear, this child is pitiful, born prematurely and has never been in good health. Caught a cold a while ago, high fever keeps recurring. Finally, the fever went down but now he’s gone all yellow. Doctors back home said they couldn’t treat him, so we had to bring him to a big hospital. Thinking of Cuizhu being in Jing City, we came over." The elderly woman explained.
Yi Roujing gently uncovered the old jacket over Xiaocao, noticing he looked quite jaundiced and needed a blood test. "Let’s head to the hospital."
Xu Ancheng understood the urgency and also knew Yu Cuiyu, understanding her character. The recent matter was instantly brushed aside. He carried Baozi, shielding Yi Roujing, while making sure to call back to the other three, and all six of them left the train station to get into the car Xu Ancheng had driven there.
"Oh dear, this is a big car," the elderly woman inspected the car eagerly, touching here and there, and once seated, kept praising, "Never thought I’d get to sit in such a car at my age. What’s under this seat, so soft? Oh my, young lady, this isn’t your car, is it?"
"No," Yi Roujing denied with a shake of her head, "Just borrowed it for today."
Yi Roujing hadn’t lied, it indeed wasn’t her and Xu Ancheng’s car, they were just borrowing Xu Zongyin’s, which belonged to his unit, not private.
"Being able to borrow such a car is a skill too," the elderly woman murmured in a low voice, "So, what are your names?"
"Ma’am, I’m Yi Roujing, this is my husband Xu Ancheng, and this is our son Xu Muyi, his nickname is Baozi." Yi Roujing introduced them with a smile.
"Oh, oh, good, Roujing, you can call me Mrs. Tang," the elderly woman said smilingly, "This is my son Tang Guoqing, and you know Xiaocao."
The elderly woman didn’t mention the earlier incident, it would be awkward. Tang Guoqing, holding Xiaocao sitting in the back, felt a bit embarrassed himself, worrying that once Yu Cuiyu knew about this, she’d argue with him for not keeping an eye on his mother.
"I’ve heard Cuizhu mention you several times, every once in a while heading to the post office, probably to call, write, or send things," Yi Roujing said with a smile, "Cuizhu cares dearly for her family, sending back anything good she has."
Mrs. Tang chuckled, "Exactly, she dotes on Xiaocao a lot, we just received a large piece of cured meat and powdered milk. Our local doctor said thanks to taking some supplements, otherwise, it could have been worse."
"How’s Cuizhu been?" Tang Guoqing asked, "Sending so many things home, does she have enough to eat herself?"
"Who has enough to eat these days? Back home, we’re all tightening our belts, being sixty or seventy percent full is already good," Mrs. Tang replied.
"Mom," Tang Guoqing said somewhat helplessly.
"I know, I know, I won’t say anymore, okay?" Mrs. Tang muttered something about her son forgetting his mother after having a wife.
"Wait till Tang sees Cuizhu and ask her personally, I don’t stay at the school, so I’m not too sure about the specifics," Yi Roujing replied.
"Roujing, are you from Jing City?" Mrs. Tang’s gaze grew more enthusiastic as she looked at Yi Roujing, "Jing City is wonderful, better than any place I’ve ever seen."
In truth, the farthest Mrs. Tang had been before was just their county town.
"Roujing, I have an eighteen-year-old daughter at home, she’s a good-looking one and works diligently. Do you know any young men you can introduce to your sister?" Mrs. Tang was tempted.
"Mom," Tang Guoqing raised his voice, scaring Mrs. Tang a little, and she pursed her lips, eventually saying nothing further.
"Comrade Ancheng, Comrade Roujing, thank you," Tang Guoqing said apologetically.
