Cheng Suâs situation had stirred quite a buzz, and there was not a single person who didnât sympathize with her. Neighbors from her building, including those who lived on the same floor, saw her return home from the hospital and brought eggs and other items to visit and comfort her.
Chunhua always remembered how Cheng Su had helped take care of her when she had her baby. Now that something had happened to Cheng Su, her mother-in-law and birth mother were there, so she didnât need Chunhuaâs care. Instead, Chunhua bought a basket of eggs and took them over.
"Why did you buy these? I have money; do I really lack a few eggs to eat? Keep them for yourself and your children," Cheng Su said reproachfully.
"You have yours, and this is my goodwill. Besides, if I didnât bring them over, Old Liang would be displeased!" Chunhua replied.
Liang Shurong also remembered Cheng Suâs kindness and had long instructed Chunhua to help out if possible, even buying some eggs to nourish her.
Cheng Su once again sighed. It was easy to kick someone when theyâre down, but difficult to offer help amidst hardship. It wasnât that she was in need of a few eggs, but rather that Chunhuaâs family, despite not living in ease themselves, still offered their kindness. That was truly precious.
This couple always remembered favors. Even though Chunhua was a bit tactless in daily conversation, her heart was in the right place, and Cheng Suâs past kindness was not in vain.
"Then I thank you very much," Cheng Su was not one for pretense, so she simply thanked her, thinking at most she would lend a hand in the future if there was an opportunity.
"Susu, have some soup," Mother Cheng said as she brought in a bowl of soup and put it down.
Cheng Su leaned over and saw it was greasy chicken soup, which made her frown.
She rarely drank such greasy soup, feeling like it was more oil than broth, so the sight of the chicken soup made her throat feel clogged with grease.
"Mom, this is too oily," Cheng Su resisted.
"All chicken soup looks like this. How else are you going to nourish your body if you donât drink more?" Mother Cheng gave her a stern look, served some in a bowl, and said, "Drink it while itâs hot."
"Shouldnât we skim the oil off first?" Cheng Su took a spoon and carefully scraped off the layer of chicken fat.
"Youâre so fussy. In the past, we couldnât even get such greasy food, and had to make do with just vegetables and grass," Mother Cheng huffed. "Aunt Cheng, times have changed. Young people these days donât eat things that are too greasy," Chunhua said with a smile, before telling Cheng Su, "But you should still listen to your mom. Itâs good stuff; the essence is all in there!"
Cheng Su certainly didnât agree.
Mother Cheng went back to preparing the meal, and Chunhua looked around, not seeing her mother-in-law, and couldnât help asking where she went.
"I have no idea, probably out wandering about," Cheng Su said.
Chunhua made an âohâ sound, looked at her, and said, "This incident is in the past now, donât keep it on your mind too much, just focus on recovering first."
Cheng Su smiled and nodded.
Chunhua hesitated for a moment, then asked, "But to be honest, werenât you using contraception? How did you still end up pregnant? You didnât actually believe in that âpulling outâ method that some people talk about, did you? Because thatâs just not reliable."
Cheng Su coughed, nearly spitting out her soup, and said, blushing, "Nothing like that; we always use condoms."
Although everyone involved was an adult, Cheng Su still felt bashful discussing such intimate matters with others.
Chunhua, not noticing her embarrassment, went on, "See, even with a condom itâs unsafe. I guess I should just get an IUD, especially since weâre only allowed one child for now. It saves the trouble of condoms, which are uncomfortable for both parties, and theyâre not safe. You never know if one might have a tear."
Suspecting the quality, since Cheng Su got pregnant despite using condoms, who knew for sure? It wasnât like one could check each one before use for tears, could they?