Chapter 397 You Should Have Said There’s Money

Chapter 397: You Should’ve Said There Was Money in It

Lin Rui went into labor in the middle of the night, and Xu Lihua hurriedly got up to call the midwife.

The commotion was so loud that Jiang Yu couldn’t help but get up to take a look.

Later, the midwife said the baby was in a breech position and needed to be delivered at the hospital.

Xu Lihua frantically asked for help and rushed Lin Rui to the hospital.

Watching Lin Rui’s face turn pale from the pain, Jiang Yu winced—it looked truly agonizing.

With Xu Lihua’s family gone, the courtyard quieted down.

Mrs. Sun grumbled, “Who knows if it’s a boy or a girl? Looks like a feisty one, given the breech position.”

Lin Hongxia gestured, “From the shape of her belly, I’d say it’s a boy.”

Mrs. Sun snorted, “That’s not necessarily true. To me, it looks like a girl.”

Lin Hongxia gave her a look, “Auntie Sun, you’re not just hoping others have daughters because you have a granddaughter yourself, are you?”

Mrs. Sun’s expression darkened, and she ignored her.

Noticing Jiang Yu still standing nearby, she needled her, “Jiang Yu, looking envious? If you’re envious, have one yourself. Good thing your in-laws aren’t around, or they’d have been pressuring you long ago.”

Jiang Yu only felt the pain and wasn’t particularly envious.

“No need for in-laws to pressure me. Aunt Xu isn’t even my mother-in-law, yet she’s already acting like one.”

She smirked faintly and turned to go inside.

Mrs. Sun was just venting her own frustrations on her, and sometimes Jiang Yu usually ignored her.

Lin Rui’s baby wasn’t born until the next afternoon—a little boy weighing five and a half pounds.

Because of the breech position, she had a rough time and needed to stay in the hospital for observation for a few days.

In the past, Xu Lihua would’ve complained endlessly.

But this time, she didn’t utter a single word of complaint, her face radiant with happiness—having a grandchild made it all worth it.

“Guess she’ll stay in the hospital. As long as she recovers well, spending a bit more money doesn’t matter. Her relatives will handle her recovery month, so I won’t need to. I’ll go take care of Xiang Hong at the hospital instead—I’ll get paid for that too.”

All told, the family wouldn’t be spending much.

Jiang Yu nodded, “Aunt Xu has it all figured out.”

This time, she brought thirty eggs and placed them on the table.

“I don’t raise chickens myself, so I can only bring some eggs for now. Let Lin Rui eat these first, and I’ll bring a chicken later.”

Xu Lihua was thrilled.

“This is too kind of you.”

Many had dropped off gifts, but none gave as much as Jiang Yu.

Jiang Yu smiled, “Aunt Xu has always helped us out—this is only right.”

Xu Lihua grinned so wide her eyes disappeared as she saw her to the door.

"I have to go to the hospital to look after Xiang Hong. I’ve been swamped lately, but once things settle down, I’ll invite you all over for a meal."

Jiang Yu smiled and agreed, "Aunt Xu, don’t sweat the small stuff—it can wait."

Aunt Xu’s words inevitably reached Old Lady Sun’s ears.

Hearing that Lin Rui had given birth to a son, she felt a knot of resentment and was stewing.

"Aunt Xu, Xiang Hong asked you to look after her at the hospital?"

The question made Aunt Xu want to kick herself.

They had agreed to keep it a secret for now, but she had blurted it out without thinking.

Old Lady Sun stared at her. "How much is Xiang Hong paying you per day?"

Aunt Xu hedged. "Oh, not much. We’re all from the same courtyard—how could I charge too much?"

Old Lady Sun didn’t believe her. If the pay wasn’t good, would Aunt Xu be so eager?

She didn’t say anything more but soon went to talk to Lin Hongxia.

Lin Hongxia came out cursing under her breath and happened to run into Fu Xianghong returning home. She immediately shot her a glare.

"You hired Aunt Xu to look after you at the hospital?"

Fu Xianghong set her jaw. "After my surgery, won’t I need someone to look after me?"

Lin Hongxia glared at her coldly. "If you had this money, why not let your own family earn it? What were you thinking?"

No offense, Jiang Ting also chimed in, "Elder sister, our family isn’t short on people who can take care of you. Hiring someone else is just a waste of money."

Fu Xianghong let out a hollow laugh. "Did I not tell you? I mentioned it before—what was your response then?"

Lin Hongxia had brushed her off, saying she was too busy and telling her to go bother her in-laws instead.

Her words made it sound like Fu Xianghong was useless—having money but not giving it to her own family, yet expecting them to do the work.

At her wit’s end, Fu Xianghong mentioned it to Aunt Xu, who offered to help.

Fu Xianghong was relying on donations just for her treatment—how could she let Aunt Xu care for her for free? So she insisted on paying.

After several rounds of polite refusal, they settled on a token amount.

Fu Xianghong had known Lin Hongxia would be angry, so she had asked Aunt Xu to keep it under wraps.

"You didn’t want to look after me, and I didn’t want to be a burden, so I asked Aunt Xu instead. Surely you can’t refuse to help me and then stop her from doing so?"

Jiang Ting shot back, "Elder sister, if you’d said there was money involved, of course I would’ve gone."

Her words were so heartless it made Jiang Yu’s blood boil.

"You’re her family. She’s sick and needs surgery, yet she has to pay you to look after her? Jiang Ting, is this coming from you, or do you speak for the entire Fu family?"

If the whole Fu family thought this way, they’d be the town joke.

Jiang Ting's expression changed. "I didn't mean it that way. I just think, since we're paying anyway, it's better to give the money to me than to Aunt Xu."

Xu Lihua laughed in anger. "You're the ones who didn't want to go, so I stepped in to help Xiang Hong. Don’t make me out to be some opportunist. If you’re willing, I’ll let you take this job!"

Jiang Ting raised her chin. "Then it's a deal. Sister, give me the money, and I’ll take care of you."

However, Fu Xianghong refused.

"I’ve already made arrangements with Aunt Xu. You don’t need to bother."

Lin Hongxia frowned. "You've changed - and not in a good way. We’re family - of course we want to take care of you! You’re just overthinking things. Fine, it’s decided. Let Jiang Ting do it."

Fu Xianghong still wanted to refuse, but Jiang Yu interjected, "Sister Xiang Hong, we’re family. Jiang Ting wouldn’t take your money. Let her take care of you."

"No pay, no way I'm going!" Jiang Ting flatly refused.

With so much work waiting for her at home, who's got time to babysit Fu Xianghong?

Jiang Yu said in surprise, "Didn’t you just say we’re family? That's just wrong."

Xu Lihua glared at them and snapped, "Don’t think I’m taking much from Xiang Hong either—just fifty mao a day, staying till night. If you’re willing, I’ll let you do it."

Her rate was far cheaper than hiring a hospital caregiver.

If not for their past friendship, she wouldn’t have offered such a low price.

Sure enough, upon hearing the amount, Jiang Ting and Lin Hongxia immediately backed off, leaving Fu Xianghong even more upset.

She wanted nothing more than to get better right away and move out of the house.

Lin Hongxia went rigid, uncomfortably avoiding her gaze.

"Don’t look at me like that. At least I took you back in. Look at your in-laws—they’re the real monsters here."

Fu Xianghong bit her lip, tears falling. "How can you be so cold? They didn’t give birth to me. You’re my own mother."

If Fu Xianghong was angry, Lin Hongxia was even more furious.

After raising a daughter who spent years serving others, only to refuse to spend money when she fell ill...

Fu Xianghong was so devoted to her in-laws, afraid of burdening them, yet eager to drain her birth family dry—how could she be okay with that?