Chapter 41: Chapter 40: Sending to the Hospital

After hearing what Guo Jinfeng said, Mr. He told He Lang, “Your eldest brother and I will take your second sister-in-law to the hospital. You guys get back to work. There’s no use in all of us going.”

“Okay. Eldest Brother, go get Uncle Yougen. Have him take you there in the ox-cart.”

He Nan nodded. “Got it.”

Mr. He, Mrs. He, and He Nan took Gao Cuiyun to the hospital.

Xue Yue also heard the commotion outside, but she didn’t know Gao Cuiyun had been taken to the hospital for a stomachache.

After Gao Cuiyun was brought to the hospital, a doctor went in to examine her. Mr. He sent He Nan to go get He Ze.

A short while later, He Ze returned with He Nan. Gao Cuiyun was still in the examination room.

He Ze was very nervous when he heard about Gao Cuiyun’s stomachache.

“Mom, what on earth happened? How could a stomachache land her in the hospital?”

Mrs. He looked at He Ze and had no choice but to explain everything to him.

“You can’t put all the blame on Third Brother’s wife for this. Your wife cursed her, saying she had no mother to raise her. It’s not surprising she got slapped for that. Third Brother’s wife lost her mother when she was young and has had a hard life, tormented by her stepmother. Your wife was just rubbing salt in her wound. How could you expect her not to retaliate?”

Hearing this, Mr. He and He Nan just frowned but said nothing.

“So, you all just watched my wife get hit? She’s pregnant, for heaven’s sake! Even if she said something wrong, a scolding would’ve been enough. Did she really have to get physical?”

Mrs. He said helplessly, “I wasn’t there when Third Brother’s wife laid a hand on her. If I had been, I would’ve stopped it, of course.”

“Alright, what’s the use of arguing about this now?” Mr. He, his head starting to ache, cut in. “Let’s just wait to see what the doctor says.”

“The mother and baby are both fine. The contractions were caused by emotional distress. There’s no bleeding. We’ll keep her for observation overnight, and if there are no further issues, she can go home.”

“Thank you, Doctor.”

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Once they were in the hospital room, Gao Cuiyun burst into tears the moment she saw He Ze. “Husband, you’re finally here! While you were gone, your wife and child were being bullied to death! Third Brother’s wife slapped me right across the face! Look, it’s still swollen!”

Mrs. He rolled her eyes.

He Ze glanced at her face. It was indeed a little swollen. ’Third Brother’s wife has really gone too far this time,’ he thought.

“Alright, calm down. The doctor said your stomach pains were caused by getting too agitated.”

Gao Cuiyun wiped away a tear. “So, are we just going to let it go after she hit me? All I did was eat one of her meals, and she started scolding me! She even said the baby I’m carrying isn’t hers. Just listen to that! If she hadn’t said that to me first, do you think I would have cursed at her?”

Mrs. He asked her, “Then what do you want to do about it? I already told you I’d make Third Brother’s wife apologize, but you insisted on demanding 10 yuan from her. You see how well that went over, don’t you?”

“I don’t care! If she hadn’t hit me, would I even be in the hospital? And coming here costs money, doesn’t it? She has to compensate me 10 yuan.”

Mrs. He glanced at He Ze, but he said nothing.

Mr. He said, “Since the doctor wants her to stay for observation, He Ze, you stay here with your wife. We’re going back now. There’s plenty of work to do at home.”

When He Lang and the others returned from the fields, Xue Yue already had dinner ready—a large basin filled with scallion pancakes.

“Where are Dad and Eldest Brother?”

He Lang looked at her in surprise. “You didn’t see them? Eldest Sister-in-law came for them. She said Second Sister-in-law had a stomachache, so they took her to the hospital.”

Xue Yue’s face instantly turned pale.

“What’s wrong?” He Lang asked, noticing her expression wasn’t right.

Xue Yue shook her head. “Let’s eat first.”

Xue Yue was heavy-hearted all evening, so much so that even Xue Xingzhou noticed.

After dinner, once everyone else had left, Xue Xingzhou asked Xue Yue what was really going on.

Xue Yue hesitated for a moment, but then told He Lang and Xue Xingzhou what had happened that afternoon.

“She said her stomach was hurting, but I thought she was just pretending, so I ignored it,” she explained. “I never thought it was real.”

Xue Xingzhou’s face darkened. He glanced at He Lang and said, “What’s done is done. Yue’er didn’t do anything wrong. There’s no sense in letting someone bully you in your own home without fighting back.”

He Lang nodded. “We’ll talk about it when they get back.”

Worried about Xue Yue, Xue Xingzhou stayed until Mr. He and the others returned. He only left, relieved, after learning that both mother and child were safe.

That evening, He Lang took the 100 yuan to the main house. He Nan happened to be there as well.

He Lang placed the 100 yuan on the kang table.

Mr. He asked him, “What’s the meaning of this?”

He Lang said, “Xue Yue’s brother brought over 500 yuan to pay our family back. I kept 400 of it, since I contributed 400 of the original 500 myself. I need the money to build a house soon. This 100 yuan is the part you contributed, so here, take it.”

Mr. He slammed his hand on the table and roared, “What do you mean by this? He gave you the money, and you just took it? We spent 500 yuan as a bride price to get you a wife! Now she’s married into the family, and you’re taking the money back? Is that what a decent person does?”

He Nan also chimed in, his face full of disapproval. “Third Brother, that was a dishonorable thing to do. How could you accept that money? Now that the bride price has been returned, are you planning on returning the bride, too?”

“Of course not!” He Lang’s eyes widened.

Mrs. He slapped He Lang hard on the back and scolded, “You unfilial son! Are you trying to kill us with anger? We went through all that trouble to find you a wife, and now you’ve taken back the bride price! Your wife must have the worst luck in the world to have ended up with a scoundrel like you!”

Mr. He pointed a finger at He Lang. “Give all the money back.”

’I wanted to laugh,’ He Lang thought, but he maintained a calm expression. “My brother-in-law just didn’t want us to feel like they were taking advantage of us. Since I’ve already accepted the money, you should just take this. I need the money for my own use anyway. Just… let’s not mention the bride price again. Alright, I’m heading back now.”

After speaking, he quickly walked out the door.

“Nonsense!” Mr. He was so angry his beard was practically standing on end.

Mrs. He had wanted to tell He Lang about the situation with the second brother’s family, but He Lang didn’t give her a chance to speak.

The three of them stared at the 100 yuan on the table in silence.

After a long silence, Mr. He said to Mrs. He, “Just put it away for now. That rascal took the lion’s share, and it’s not like we can return just this little bit.”

Mr. He then turned to He Nan. “Go tell your wife about this, too. That 500 yuan was probably a source of unhappiness for both your families back then. Well, now it’s resolved. They returned the money, yet we still have his sister as a bride. Now, it’s our family that is in their debt.”

He Nan nodded.

When Xue Yue saw He Lang return, she asked, “Did you give it to them?”

“Yep,” he said. “I told them I was keeping the 400 for myself. You should have seen their faces! The old man and woman looked like they wanted to kill me. They kept calling me an unfilial son, saying they went through all this trouble to get me a wife, and now that the bride price has been returned, they’re surely going to take their daughter back, leaving me a bachelor all over again.”

“Did Dad and Mom really say that?”

He Lang’s lips curled into a playful smirk. He swept Xue Yue into his arms and spun her around.

“You have no idea,” he said. “Eldest Brother nearly scared me to death today. I was just thinking, I finally got myself a wife, and she almost flew the coop!”

Hearing this, Xue Yue laughed out loud.

But then she remembered Gao Cuiyun and pursed her lips. “Um… did Dad and Mom say anything about Second Sister-in-law?”

He Lang gently set her down. “They didn’t say a word. This wasn’t your fault, so don’t dwell on it.”

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