Chapter 58: Calamity Tests Sincerity
Translator: c.o.keZero Editor: Rainystars
Lu Gui thought about it, “Get me a mat. I’ll sleep outside for the night.”
It was summer and it would be fine to sleep outside.
But Lu Jiao didn’t have any mats he could use. Out of the two here, one of them was as old as the house and could not be used. The other one was just as pathetic.
Lu Jiao once again exclaimed over how poor this family was.
In the end, Lu Jiao asked Lu Gui to crash with Xie Xiaobao in the Second Grandma’s house.
Lu Jiao, Lady Tian, and the Fourth Born shared one bed, while the other three slept with Xie Yunjin.
It was rather late so Lu Jiao brought in the Fourth Born to get ready to sleep. However, behind her followed three little tails.
How weird. Lu Jiao stared at them. They’ve decided to sleep with her tonight instead of their dad?
“You want to sleep with me tonight?”
The First Born shook his head and said, “We want to listen to the story. We’ll go after.”
Lu Jiao understood. So they heard how she told the Fourth Born a story last night and now they want the same treatment.
Lu Jiao didn’t decline. She crawled onto the bed and asked the four kids to do the same.
Since there were too many bodies, n.o.body could lie down and they sat in a circle.
Lu Jiao thought about it and told them a story about a three-legged animal who loved to sing.
“There lived a frog who had three legs in the gra.s.s. Every day, it would sing a happy song while preying on pests…”
Lu Jiao had to pause here, as the Fourth Born blinked at the three other babies and explained, “This is a made-up story. Frogs do not really know how to sing.”
Lu Jiao’s face dropped. The First Born glared at the Fourth Born in a serious manner, “No talking.”
The Fourth Born stuck out his tongue then quieted down.
Lu Jiao continued. This was a really short story and she finished quickly.
The four little ones didn’t get enough of it and wanted more. The First Born said to Lu Jiao, “This story isn’t as long as yesterday’s.”
So he wanted another one.
Lu Jiao ignored him and ordered them to sleep, “I will tell you guys a story every night. Don’t get greedy! If you do, I’ll stop telling you stories. Go sleep now!”
The four little ones didn’t dare to object and went separate ways to sleep.
Inside the room, Lu Jiao finally laid down but found Lady Tian to be staring at her. She didn’t seem to recognize this daughter of hers anymore.
Lu Jiao’s heart skipped a beat. Could it be that she realized something?
Just then, Lady Tian exclaimed, “Jiaojiao, you’re so much smarter now than before. You have even learned to tell stories. Even I thought the story was interesting.”
Lu Jiao sighed in relief and whispered, “It’s all from books.”
Lady Tian couldn’t help but compliment, “No wonder the rich send their kids to school. Those who know how to read are just different from those who don’t. Ah, Jiaojiao, how many characters do you recognize now?”
Lu Jiao’s face froze. Could she say that she’s forgotten all the characters the original host learned? Though she had memories from the original host, those memories weren’t hers. So it hurt her head trying to remember a few characters. She was lucky that Xie Yunjin offered to teach her.
Lu Jiao grumbled, “Yunjin said once he gets better, he’ll teach me how to read. Then, I’ll learn all the characters I don’t know now.”
Lady Tian was successfully distracted. Now, she only cared about how her daughter was going to learn from Xie Yunjin. Did that mean her son-in-law now cared for her daughter?
Lady Tian’s mouth stretched into a smile. She knew it! Calamity tests the sincerity of a marriage. Her daughter was doing all she could to care for her husband, how could her husband not be touched?
“That’s so great. So great.”
Lady Tian didn’t hear a response. Looking back, she saw that Lu Jiao and the Fourth Born had both fallen asleep cuddling.
Lady Tian closed her eyes and slept with a smile.
The next day, Lu Jiao got up and heard Xie Yunjin call for her from the east bedroom, “Lu Jiao.”
She thought he wanted water and went over quickly, “What is it? Do you need water?”
On the bed, Xie Yunjin leaned to the side and stared at her excitedly.
“Look, I’m leaning forward and I don’t feel nauseous. Do you think my head injury is starting to heal?”
Lu Jiao was truly happy to hear that. This meant Xie Yunjin’s concussion had subdued.
This was great news! This meant they could perform surgery very soon.
“Your head injury is getting better. That’s such good news.”
Xie Yunjin couldn’t even express how happy he was. His normally calm and handsome face was painted with liveliness. It made his visage look jade smooth and shiny.
However, that only lasted a little while. Soon, the color on his face faded.
Xie Yunjin remembered how Doctor Zhou from Baohe Tang told him that his legs were the most injured. If they don’t find a doctor who could perform surgery, he would be paralyzed for life.
Lu Jiao observed the change in his expression and knew he felt terrible. She stepped up and said to him, “This is very big news. It means your life is no longer in danger. Without nausea, you can do some light exercises.”
Lu Jiao’s brain raced hard to figure out a way to perform surgery on Xie Yunjin.
She could tell him straight like it was. He may not believe her and may think she was there to hurt him. Or worse, he may suspect that she was not the real Lu Jiao.
After all, in the Zhou Dynasty, doctors who could perform surgeries were as rare as a phoenix’s feathers.
Even if she did know medicine, logically, there was no way she would know how to perform surgery.
She had to figure out a way to do this.
Lu Jiao grinned ear to ear, “I’ll go pour you some sugar water.”
Inside the room, the four little ones happily surrounded Xie Yunjin, “Daddy, are you all healed?”
“You are going to be okay?”
Xie Yunjin looked at the four wide-eyed children, who gaped at him with antic.i.p.ation. A smile found Xie Yunjin’s face.
Even if he never walked again in this lifetime, as long as movements no longer made him nauseous or made him puke, he could sit up straight slowly. Then, after some time, he could start a tutoring business. It won’t be a problem for him to raise the four children.
Xie Yunjin felt his anxiety subside. With gentle light in his eyes, he softly said to the four little ones, “I will be okay. You don’t have to worry about me anymore.”
The four little ones cheered in response. Outside, Lady Tian and Lu Gui had heard the good news from Lu Jiao. They too were over the moon.
“Son-in-law, this is great news. No nausea means your head is healed. After more medicine, I’m sure you can start to sit up straight.”
The more Lady Tian thought about it, the happier she got. Once he could sit up, he would be able to start a teaching business. Then, this household would be able to generate income and they could properly raise their children.
Xie Yunjin nodded at Lady Tian. Everything his mother-in-law’s done has earned his respect.
Everyone here was happy today.
Lu Jiao thought they needed to celebrate. So not only did she make porridge for breakfast, but she also made egg crepes and some side dishes including wood ear mushroom salad, and eggs with peas.
She didn’t have enough pots. If she had an extra one, she would’ve cooked more.
Though breakfast was delicious, everyone still ate standing up. This time, before Xie Yunjin could speak, Lu Jiao spoke up.
“After breakfast, I will go and ask Uncle Cai if he has any wood or logs. If he does, I will ask him to make us a table and eight chairs.”