"Isnât that right, they blame Han Yi and Junzi. Saying that during these few days of illness, they werenât around to take care of him. They say how Little Chi is filial, staying by his grandfatherâs bedside every day, handling urine and feces without fear of dirt or fatigue. They also praise Ah Qing, always with the sick in bed. So, the old lady has been nagging us these few days, insisting that your godfather call Xiao Yi and Junzi to come back. Can you believe it, after all these years as a military spouse, she doesnât understand the hardships of a soldier? Just because you want them to return doesnât mean they can? Xiao Yi kept watch over them all night, then went straight back to the unit the next day without sleep. Xiao Wan, sigh. I mean, with the old lady getting more unreasonable as she ages, what can you do?"
"If Mei Langchi and his wife want to be filial, let them. My Han Yi doesnât have the time. Iâm pregnant, I canât be going over there to clean up after them." Discussing such things at the dinner table might be uncouth, but the mother and daughter didnât shy away from it.
"We originally hired a caregiver, but the old lady refused to use one and insisted we take care of it. Isnât this just forcing us to keep watch? Iâm okay as I can catch up on sleep during the day, but your godfather canât. Heâs still going to the unit with only a few hours of sleep every day. Over time, Iâm really afraid for his health. Just talking about it makes me angry. The old ladyâs antics at a time like this, and it doesnât stop there. After the old man had his surgery yesterday, we havenât closed our eyes all night."
"Godfather definitely canât handle this; godmother, why donât you sleep a bit more, and have godfather take the night off?"
"I donât want your godfather to go either, but the old man just had surgery and canât be left unattended. If your godfather doesnât go, the old man might not say anything, but the old lady will definitely nag. Tonight should be better; Iâll have your godfather sleep on the caregiverâs bed, which is no problem."
"And about my father-in-law? Why arenât they taking the night shifts?"
"Donât mention it, theyâre clever. They come as a family to watch during the day, and without saying a word, the old lady lets them leave at night. Just see how biased parents can be." Liang Qian gets angry when talking about this. Over the years, she never fussed over things, but in old age, sheâs growing more and more irritated.
Lin Wan feels that the old lady is rather overdramatic.
"Godmother, if they can fake it, so can we. You should go at night and pretend to be sick, say itâs due to staying up late. Use the chance to swap shifts with my father-in-lawâs family."
Liang Qian suddenly laughed, "Iâve got a plan; compared to them, weâre too kind-hearted and wouldnât let the elderly suffer because of this. Iâve thought it through; tomorrow morning, Iâll start pretending in front of Xie Lingzhi and his son."
Lin Wan and Little Star didnât leave, and Liang Qian wouldnât let them go to the hospital. Before leaving, she bought groceries for them.
Lin Wan looked at the sky, anticipating more snow. Little Star didnât bring many shoes when they arrived. Lin Wan remembered a few general stores near the market that sold daily essentials. Seeing it was still early, Lin Wan took Little Star out for a trip.
They bought two pairs of cotton shoes for Little Star. Noticing a nice hat, she bought that as well.
"Mom, I want to eat meat buns tonight."
"Hmm... We canât have meat buns tonight because I didnât make any dough today. However, we can buy some meat today, and when Grandma comes back tomorrow, Iâll make you meat buns."
"Okay. We also have to save some for Grandpa Three. Grandpa Three said that when I return, thereâll be lots of drawing pencils at home, and he also mentioned there will be lots of nice clothes."
"Alright, alright, weâll save it for him." Lin Wan smiled helplessly, taking Little Star to buy some meat.
On their way back, Little Star tugged at Lin Wanâs sleeve and said, "Mom, look, that grandpa and grandma."
"Which grandpa and grandma?" Lin Wan looked in the direction Little Star was pointing.
"The ones who gave Hua Hua brother instant noodles that day."
Lin Wan then saw the elderly couple Little Star was pointing to, which made Lin Wan pause. Her reaction almost alerted Li Liangâs parents who were wandering at the entrance to the courtyard.
Lin Wan quickly realized and hurriedly took Little Star back inside. Lin Wan knew Li Liangâs parents.
It was just as she told Wei Xue, that the Li Family elders would make a move, but she didnât expect Li Liangâs parents would find their way here, and sneakily at that.
Itâs likely that Ye Qing isnât aware of this. If she knew, she wouldâve dealt with it already.
She wants the Mei familyâs belongings, and now, sheâs relying on Hua Hua being the biological "grandson." Ye Qing definitely wouldnât want any trouble to arise concerning Hua Hua at this point.
Itâs just unclear what Li Liangâs parents intend to do. If they havenât left by now, they must have other plans.
Lin Wan thought she should call Wei Xue tomorrow to check on the situation. How much do Li Liangâs parents actually know?
But she didnât have to wait until the next day. That evening, there was an incident at the hospital. Something went wrong with the old manâs leg; in this cold weather, it got infected.
He had a fever over 40 degrees at night and was continuously being cooled down. His leg was treated again.
Old Mrs. Mei saw her husband encounter another problem and insisted they all come over for support, especially demanding Junziâs return.
Her godfather managed to call Brother Junzi. Fortunately, Han Yiâs mission was over. Instead of heading directly to the hospital, they came to the courtyard first, picking up Lin Wan and her family before heading to the hospital.
And as for godmother, she wasnât faking sickness this time. Lin Wan realized it was Liang Qianâs doing. But it turned out, godmother was truly ill.
"Whatâs going on, godmother? Werenât you faking it? Why are you really sick, and what are your symptoms?" Han Yi and Lin Wan didnât go straight to the old man; instead, they went to see Liang Qian, who was receiving an infusion.
"Sigh, I had it all planned out, but who knew something would happen with the old man last night? We were busy all night. Then the weather changed, and it started snowing, so I caught a chill. Itâs nothing major, just a small cold; Iâm deliberately making it seem worse. Donât worry, Iâll be fine by tomorrow. Have you been to the old manâs side yet?"