Chapter 509: The Gossip Survival System (8)

Mother Chen was pleasantly surprised at the sight and lowered her voice, afraid of waking her little grandson: "Xiao Shitou is truly meant to be a grandson of your Xie Family. As soon as your eldest cousin arrived, look how peacefully he is sleeping!"

Only Xie Yang knew what was really going on.

However, she still followed Mother Chen's lead and replied: "Auntie, you have worked hard these past six months! I came this time just as my grandmother instructed, to take my younger cousin back to Beijing for treatment. Regardless of whether it can be cured completely, I will take good care of him on behalf of my uncle as he grows up."

The implication of these words was that once he was taken away, he would not be coming back.

Mother Chen felt a bit choked up.

Her daughter had a hard life; she married a short-lived husband and then died in childbirth herself, leaving her little grandson all alone.

If he hadn't been sick, with so many people in the Chen Family, everyone sparing a bite here and there, they could have managed to raise him somehow.

But he was ill, and it couldn't be cured in this small place, so they had no choice but to contact the in-laws to take him to Beijing for treatment.

When they wrote the letter to Beijing, they had already prepared themselves mentally.

If someone from Beijing came to take the little grandson away, it was highly unlikely he would ever be sent back.

He was of the Xie Family's bloodline, and it was the Xie Family who contacted the hospital for his treatment; how could he possibly be sent back to his maternal grandmother's home in the countryside?

Unexpectedly, she heard Xie Yang continue:

"... Once my younger cousin is better and able to travel, I will bring him back to visit you. I won't let him forget you."

Mother Chen nodded excitedly: "Good! Very good! That is for the best! If our family is ever in a position to do so, we will also go to Beijing to visit him."

After saying this, Xie Yang asked Mother Chen how much had been spent on her little cousin's medical treatment over the past six months.

Mother Chen shook her head and refused to say exactly how much had been spent, nor would she let Xie Yang pay.

"If my son-in-law were still here, we wouldn't argue with him about paying this money, but he and my daughter were both ill-fated and passed away while still young... We are Xiao Shitou's grandparents; it is only right for us to pay for his medical care. How could we let your family cover it all?"

Chen Lao sighed and said: "Niece-in-law, there will be quite a lot of money spent on Xiao Shitou's medical care in the future. There is no need to argue about this; as long as Xiao Shitou can get better, none of this matters."

Seeing that they were adamant about not accepting the money, Xie Yang left behind all the gifts the Qiu Family had sent.

She was traveling alone with her little cousin by train and couldn't carry much, so just like when she arrived, she had one medium-sized bundle containing her little cousin's diapers, clothes, powdered milk, and baby bottles, as well as her own change of clothes and dry rations.

The dry rations for the return trip were prepared by the Chen Family.

Mother Chen, along with her two daughters-in-law, rose early to steam a basket of white flour buns with pure meat fillings, using the fresh Pork the Qiu Family had sent. They also fried two strips of ribs and sprinkled them with salt and pepper, so they could be eaten even when cold.

Additionally, they fried a lunchbox full of scallion egg pancakes and filled a large thermos with Honey water.

Then there was the powdered milk, baby bottle, and medicine prepared for Xiao Shitou.

They had originally wanted to prepare more things for the grandmother, but Xie Yang politely declined.

"There will be plenty of time in the future. Once Xiao Shitou is better, there will be many opportunities for us to visit each other; there is no rush for now."

Mother Chen felt comforted hearing this and gladly said: "That's fine! After the autumn harvest is over and the new grain is distributed, I will send some new rice to your grandmother."

The others in the Chen Family also chimed in:

"Our family raised pigs this year. When the New Year comes, we'll make two hams and send one to your grandmother to try."

"I'll dry some more Wild Mushrooms to send along. The Wild Mushrooms from our Dongjiang are especially delicious for stewing chicken or duck."

"I'll go to the apiary to trade for some wildflower honey for your grandmother to soak in water."

"I'll go back to my parents' home to trade for some Gastrodia."

"..."

Xie Yang accepted their kindness with a smile; after all, courtesy demands reciprocity.

When the time came, she would also prepare some Beijing specialties to send over.

When it was time to depart, Chen Lao rented a horse-drawn carriage from the Nongchang and personally took Xie Yang to the train station, accompanying her to buy tickets and board the train, only feeling at ease to return home once she was settled in her sleeper cabin.

After the train started moving, Xie Yang took a tin of goat milk powder out of the Aircraft Cargo Hold and put the dry rations from her bundle into the cargo hold.

This was produced by a ranch she had invested in herself while living in Australia; its quality was better than any goat milk powder sold on the market.

She scooped out two spoonfuls, mixed it with warm water, added five drops of Cub Nutrient Solution, and poured it into the baby bottle to feed her little cousin.

Goat milk powder was more suitable for infants and young children than cow milk powder; it was easily absorbed by the intestines and would not cause internal heat.

Coupled with the addition of the Cub Nutrient Solution, the little one not only ate well and slept soundly, but in the short four days on the train, his wrinkled little face had become much fuller.

On the morning of the fifth day, the train arrived in Beijing.

Xie Yang did not go home immediately; instead, she took her little cousin to the hospital for a check-up.

Under her continuous feeding of the Cub Nutrient Solution for several days, although Xiao Shitou's various indicators were still much weaker than those of a full-term baby, for a seven-month premature infant, these developmental indicators were already very good.

The doctors and nurses all thought he was being raised very well and even asked her how she usually fed him.

Xie Yang said that the whole family took care of him very meticulously and that all the family's resources were prioritized for this child.

What else could she say?

She couldn't very well say it was the credit of the Level Six Civilization Cub Nutrient Solution.

By the time the results of all the check-ups were out, it was already evening. Xie Yang did not go home; she paid an extra 5 yuan to spend the night in a hospital bed and only returned home the next morning.

"It's good that you're back! It's good that you're back!"

Seeing her granddaughter return safe and sound, Grandmother Xie finally set her mind at ease.

She was busy boiling water and cooking noodles, and it wasn't until Xie Yang sat down to eat that the old lady had time to look at her little grandson.

"He's sleeping so soundly! Looking at his complexion, where does he look like he's sick?"

The old lady looked left and right but couldn't see how her little grandson looked like he was in poor health.

Could it be that the in-laws didn't want to raise him and said that on purpose? But if they didn't want to raise him, they could have just said so. She was the child's grandmother and it was impossible for her to not want this child; why use illness as an excuse? That was like cursing the child!

Xie Yang saw through the old lady's thoughts at a glance and explained: "Grandmother, I arrived yesterday morning. As soon as I got off the train, I took my younger cousin to the hospital first."

"What? You arrived yesterday? Then you should have come back and told me, so I could have gone to keep you company at the hospital."

Grandmother Xie looked at her granddaughter with heartache, worried that she would tire herself into an illness.

She had just been discharged from the hospital and then went to Dongjiang County; ten days of traveling back and forth, with eight days on the road—even an iron man couldn't hold up under that!

Xie Yang finished her noodles and drank a few mouthfuls of noodle soup before putting down her chopsticks: "Grandmother, I am already fully recovered. I am young, and my body heals quickly. As for Xiao Shitou... oh, my uncle's wife's family named him Xie Lei, with the nickname Xiao Shitou, hoping he will be as hard and tenacious as a stone."

Old Madam Xie nodded repeatedly: "That's a good name! From now on, he shall be called Xiao Shitou! Grandma's little Xiao Shitou! You must grow up healthy and live to be a hundred years old!"

As she spoke, she sighed with emotion: "Come to think of it, the hospitals in our Beijing really do have a high standard! After staying in the hospital for two days, they cured the headache that had been bothering him in the countryside for nearly half a year."

Xie Yang said: "It isn't considered completely cured yet, as he will still need to take medicine a few more times, but the major problems are already gone."

Old Madam Xie: "That is still very impressive! It's fortunate they had the brains to write us a letter, otherwise our Xiao Shitou would have been delayed. Grandma's little Xiao Shitou, you've suffered quite a bit..."

"..."