Qin’s mother walked up to Aunt Fu and spat viciously at her.
“Every day it’s ‘your grandson, your grandson.’ What’s your son’s surname? Everyone knows, doesn’t he? Your daughter-in-law has had two children, and neither one bears your family name. You’ve got a live-in son-in-law, yet you still have the nerve to keep calling them your grandsons. An old cabbage stump sprouting new leaves—and even those leaves belong to someone else’s garden!”
Aunt Fu was so furious that she clutched her chest, breathing hard as she pointed a trembling finger at Qin’s mother.
“Pah! Your son’s any better? He’s nothing but some pill-pusher. People call him a doctor just to flatter him. My son works at the machinery factory. We’re a dual-income family. My daughter-in-law said that if she has a third child, whether it’s a boy or a girl, the child will take the Fu family name. Your daughter-in-law doesn’t work, and your whole family has to live on a single paycheck. You’re so poor you’ll be pissing blood, yet you still dream of having a grandson? Even if you did have one, he’d starve to death. You couldn’t even get a hot bite of shit!”
“That’s enough, Mom. Stop it.”
Aunt Fu’s son hurried out of the house when he heard the argument and pulled his mother back inside.
Everyone in the housing compound knew that he was a live-in son-in-law, but he didn’t care in the slightest. As long as he lived his own life well, what did other people’s opinions matter?
Before Aunt Fu went inside, she threw out one last insult:
“Bunch of paupers!”
The words nearly pushed Qin’s mother over the edge. Her family had several sons, which was precisely why they couldn’t afford to pay much of a bride price and had ended up marrying a country girl into the family. She was about to say something else, but the Fu family’s door had already slammed shut.
With all her anger and nowhere to vent it, Qin’s mother turned to see Xiao Mandong standing nearby and immediately began cursing her.
“What are you looking at? With a vixen’s face like that, you’re obviously no good. Just look at that backside of yours—you’re destined to give birth to girls!”
Xiao Mandong had been preparing to say goodbye to Qi Yuqing and go home. For a moment, she had the urge to slap the old woman. Did she really look that easy to bully? Everyone seemed to think they could push her around.
“Do you know why you don’t have any grandsons?” Xiao Mandong asked with a faint, mocking smile. “Because you have no virtue in your mouth, so your sons can’t produce a grandson for you. Try accumulating some merit. Maybe one day one of your sons will become a live-in son-in-law too. Then you won’t have to be both poor and worried about your family line dying out.”
The people nearby burst out laughing.
“You…”
Qin’s mother was about to say more when the little girl tugged at her coat.
“Grandma, I’m cold.”
Everyone took a closer look and couldn’t help but stare. It was a chilly evening in October. Qin’s mother was bundled up in a thick padded coat, while the child had been brought outside wearing only a thin shirt and long underwear.
Seeing this, Qin’s mother’s expression grew even uglier.
“You two little wretches, how dare you run outside without putting on any clothes?”
The neighbors couldn’t stand it anymore.
“Stop cursing them and go put some clothes on the children. It’s freezing. They’ll get sick.”
After saying their piece, everyone dispersed. Only then did Qin’s mother grumble her way toward home to dress the children. She thought that once everyone had left, she wouldn’t need to take them to the hospital after all—no one would be there to see her.
But when she reached the door and felt around in her pocket, she realized she had forgotten the key. She raised her hand and slapped each of the children once.
“Come on, come on. We’re going to the hospital. You two are nothing but trouble!”
The older child was eight, and the younger one was six. The younger child wore hand-me-downs from the older one, which was at least somewhat better. Though the clothes were covered in patches, they fit well enough. The older child’s sleeves, however, were far too short, leaving a large section of wrist exposed, red and raw from the cold.
The two children hunched their necks into their shoulders, shivering all over, their teeth chattering uncontrollably.
Qin's mother strode ahead without looking back, still grumbling and cursing:
“You two money-losing burdens, why are you walking so slowly? Freeze to death for all I care.”
The girls did not dare say a word. They broke into a small run to keep up with her.
When Qin's mother found Qin Dongping, he was sitting on a bench outside the operating room, his eyes bloodshot. The moment he saw the children, he hurriedly took off his padded coat and wrapped it around them.
Qin Dongping crouched there with the two girls in his arms, his shoulders trembling. Whether from rage or tears, no one could tell.
Big Girl leaned against his chest and asked softly, “Dad, is Mom going to die?”
“No.” Qin Dongping held them even tighter. He was truly terrified. When he had carried Ma Juan to the hospital, his hands had been covered in blood.
He did not dare imagine what he would do if something happened to Ma Juan—how could he raise the children by himself?
After what felt like an eternity, the operating room doors opened and a nurse came out. Qin Dongping shot to his feet, his legs nearly giving way beneath him, and staggered over.
“Little Li, how is my wife?”
The young nurse looked at him, her face full of regret.
“The mother is all right, but the baby couldn’t be saved. Here is the consent form for the operation. Please sign it afterward.”
Qin Dongping froze. The baby couldn’t be saved?
His lips parted as though he wanted to ask something, but no words came out.
He took the pen, but his hand was shaking too badly to write. After waiting a moment, the nurse said softly, “Dr. Qin?”
“Mm.” He lowered his head and signed his name. When he put down the pen, he fiercely wiped the tears from his face.
Qin's mother edged closer, looking thoroughly impatient.
“It was only a girl. So what if it’s gone? Better than wasting food raising her.”
Qin Dongping clenched his fists and said nothing. He felt as though vines were winding around his heart, suffocating him until he could barely breathe, while a dull pain throbbed within his chest...
But Qin's mother went on:
“Later, bring over your eldest brother’s second boy and raise him as your own. He’s your own nephew—raise him up, and he’ll be your son. Then you’ll have a son to support you in old age and see you off when you die. I’ll take Big Girl away. Once she’s old enough, she can work in the fields. Leave Second Girl with you, and you’ll still have both a son and a daughter. Your wife won’t need to give birth again, either. She simply doesn’t have the fate to bear sons. Look at how capable your sister-in-law is at having boys...”
Qin Dongping suddenly raised his head, his eyes blazing red.
“Mom, she’s my wife. That was my child...”
His mother was startled by the look on his face, but then became even more forceful.
“Why are you yelling at me? Aren’t I doing this for your own good? You useless thing—if your wife can’t give you a son, am I not allowed to help you think of a solution?”
Qin Dongping opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but he could not get a single word out.
Just then, the nurse spoke.
“Dr. Qin, the baby... was a boy.”
Qin's mother fell silent at once. She stood there in a daze, the expression on her face as though someone had slapped her hard across it.
“Y-You... what did you say?”
The nurse ignored her and turned back inside. She had never expected Dr. Qin’s mother to be this kind of person—she was rotten to the core...
Qin's mother remained standing there without moving for a long while. A few seconds later, she dropped to the floor, slapped her thigh, and began to wail:
“My grandson! My eldest grandson! How could he be gone? What a tragedy!”
“Ma Juan, you jinx! You couldn’t even protect a child. What use are you to our Qin family…”
Qin’s mother’s wails echoed through the corridor. Qin Dongping crouched there, holding the two children in his arms, utterly motionless…
The crowd gradually dispersed, and the stairwell fell empty. Xiao Mandong said goodbye to Qi Yuqing, then turned and headed home.
The room was freezing. Only then did she remember that she had yet to buy firewood and coal briquettes for the winter. Her younger sister would be coming home for winter break, so she had to get them ready as soon as possible.
She could buy firewood from the production brigade, but as for coal briquettes, she had no coal-purchase permit. Tomorrow, she would have the hospital issue her a certificate so she could buy some from the fuel company as a cover. She would get the rest on the black market. That way, they could have a warm winter. Truth be told, she rather missed sleeping on a heated brick bed.
Xiao Mandong returned to her private space and opened the box, looking over the treasures she had obtained from Director Huang. The corners of her mouth kept lifting. Who didn’t love money?
She suddenly thought of Liu Mengyao and Liu Bing. She wondered whether Liu Bing had been arrested. He deserved to experience what it was like to be sent down to the countryside.
She took out all her ration coupons and counted them, sorting out those that were about to expire. It seemed she would have to make a trip to the black market to get rid of them; otherwise, it would be such a waste.
