Muniang moved the small wooden table to Mrs. Lin's bed and pushed the soup towards her, "Mother, now that we have a live-in son in law, we naturally don't need a dowry anymore. These eggs are just sitting around; it's better to use them to nourish your body. You're so weak now, if you don't eat something nutritious, I'm afraid you won't be able to hold on."
Mrs. Lin pushed the soup back towards Muniang, "I've suffered for most of my life already, I can't enjoy such fine things. Since we don't need the dowry anymore, you should eat it to nourish your body, especially after you fell into the water some days ago and haven't properly rested and recovered."
Muniang frowned deeply, "Mother, am I not aware of your condition? If we continue to drag this out, we won't even know if the money we have to pay the doctor will be enough to buy that many eggs. Stop being stubborn and eat quickly. In the future, there will be plenty of good things for us; we won't miss one egg."
Upon hearing her daughter's words, Mrs. Lin couldn't help but sigh and obediently picked up the bowl to drink. For some reason, ever since her daughter woke up from her fall into the water, her personality had changed a lot. It was as if she had grown up overnight, a type of maturing that caught even her off guard. Yet, having a daughter who was strong and decisive comforted her a great deal.
Muniang smiled satisfyingly, "Mother, just focus on recuperating for now. Later, I'll go to Doctor Chen in the village to get some medicine. If you eat nutritious foods every day, your health will surely improve within six months."
Mrs. Lin was startled, "Where did we get money for medicine?"
Muniang played with the two taels of silver in her pocket and slyly smiled, "Don't worry, I have money."
In the outer room, under an expectant gaze, Muniang set a bowl of wild vegetable soup and half a black steamed bun in front of him, "Eat up, and get back to work after you finish!"
Erlang looked disappointedly at Muniang, "Wifey, did you not put any oil in this?"
Muniang slammed her hand on the table, causing the soup to splash, and squeezed out two tightly-gritted words, "Eat! Now!" She had her reputation tarnished, and here he was, freeloading meals and still daring to be picky?!
Erlang obediently began eating, while Muniang also started on her wild vegetable soup. What Erlang couldn't figure out was, if the soup tasted so awful, how could his wife savour it with such relish?
After Muniang and Erlang finished their meal, they headed off to Doctor Chen's house in the village.
"Doctor Chen, I'd like to get some medicine for my mother," Muniang greeted Doctor Chen, following the memories in her mind.
Doctor Chen's face changed slightly, clearly having heard the rumors about Muniang, and spoke dismissively, "Is your mother ill again? Did you provoke her this time?"
Muniang wasn't upset; with only one doctor in the village, it wouldn't benefit her to offend him. She just smiled and pulled Erlang over, saying, "Not at all, this here is my husband."
Erlang grinned and cheerfully greeted, "Hello."
Doctor Chen was surprised, "When did you get married? Tupo Village is so small, if there was a wedding in the village, the news would have spread long ago."
Muniang feigned difficulty and smiled faintly, "Originally, we didn't want to spread the news outside, after all, it wasn't a particularly good match." Saying this, she glanced at Erlang, who was grinning foolishly.
Doctor Chen took a closer look at the man and was shocked, "He is a... "
Muniang nodded gravely, "And he doesn't like crowded places. He tends to get sick when there are too many people, so we only held the wedding ceremony in my home. I had planned to keep it a secret for a few days, but who knew... this morning the news spread like this, it was my lack of consideration."
Doctor Chen stroked his beard and nodded, "I see, I misunderstood you then."
Muniang laughed and said, "What are you saying, Doctor Chen is a compassionate and upstanding healer who naturally despises such moral corruption."
This flattery was delivered with a great touch, causing Doctor Chen to laugh heartily, "Indeed, what a sensible girl."
Erlang interjected from the side, "She's not a girl, she's my wife."
Doctor Chen nodded awkwardly, his gaze towards Muniang filled with a hint of sympathy.
It was then that Muniang steered the conversation back on track, "Doctor Chen, please prescribe some calming and restorative medicine for my mother."
"Alright, your mother's illness is partly due to complications from childbirth, but it is mostly psychological. Tell her to focus on calming her mind and resting properly; otherwise, the medicine will be in vain," Doctor Chen said while preparing the medicine.
Muniang agreed and then pulled Erlang over to Doctor Chen, "Please take a look at his wound as well."
Doctor Chen smiled and said, "Sure, have him sit over there first."
Muniang pushed Erlang down onto the chair, "Be good and take off your clothes so the doctor can check your wound. Behave, I'll wait for you outside."
Erlang grabbed Muniang's hand, "I won't, I only take off my clothes in front of my wife. Don't leave me behind."
Upon hearing this, Doctor Chen's face turned red; coughing uncomfortably, Muniang gave Doctor Chen an awkward smile, then sternly said to Erlang, "Behave and let the doctor examine you, or I'll have nothing more to do with you."
Erlang clung to Muniang's clothes, looking aggrieved, "I won't, please don't abandon me."
Having no other choice, Muniang softened her approach, "Be good, if you listen now, I'll make you an egg custard tonight, alright?"
At the mention of the words "egg custard," Erlang's eyes lit up. Just as Muniang was about to take the opportunity to slip away, the quick-reacting lad grasped her even tighter, "I don't want egg custard, I want my wife!"
Doctor Chen looked on awkwardly, thinking to himself that this fool really was severely ill. Muniang, frustrated, glared at Erlang, who now seemed unafraid and met her gaze resolutely. Left with no choice, Muniang said, "Alright, I won't go. Take off your clothes and let the doctor take a look. Your wound has only stopped bleeding and has not been properly treated; it's starting to fester. What if it gets worse?"
Then Erlang relented, swiftly removing his shirt to reveal a well-built upper body, which surprised Doctor Chen, who hadn't expected this seemingly frail fool to be so muscular.
Muniang inwardly clicked her tongue, thinking what a waste of good material, such a fine specimen turned out to be a fool. Was Fate playing a trick on her?
Doctor Chen soon regained his composure and focused on the wound on Erlang's chest, cutting away the blood-soaked bandage and frowning, "This wound has split open so much, how could you not take care of it?"
Muniang, also startled by the large patch of blood on the bandage, which had been fine that morning, frowned and said, "Your wound has split open, how could you not cry out in pain? Don't you feel it?"
Erlang grimaced, "It hurts, it really hurts," but he didn't want to cry out; somewhere in his subconscious, he was telling himself there was no need to make a sound.
A look of compassion appeared in Muniang's eyes as she touched his head, "Be good, from now on, tell me where it hurts. What if the wound gets worse?"