Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Ji Yunshu walked the Meng family to the courtyard gate and only turned back after watching them disappear into the distance.

He Qiuxia was busy preparing dinner in the kitchen, while Ji Yunting was collecting clothes in the yard. Ji Yunshu returned to her room, closed the door, sat on the edge of the bed, and opened the pouch that Wang Wanru had pressed into her hand.

Inside the pouch was another layer: a handkerchief—white cotton, folded neatly with orchids embroidered at each corner. It was clear Wang Wanru had hidden the money carefully. Ji Yunshu unfolded the handkerchief to reveal a stack of bills—ten-yuan, five-yuan, and two-yuan notes, all folded neatly.

Ji Yunshu counted them. Sixty-two yuan in total!

Her hand trembled as she held the bills.

She had saved for nineteen years—pinching pennies from New Year's money, allowances, and red envelopes from relatives during the holidays—and had only scraped together ten yuan and ninety cents. Wang Wanru had casually handed over sixty-two yuan. That was unbelievably generous!

Sixty-two yuan could feed their family of four for three or four months! Ji Yunshu knew that her high school classmate who worked at the cotton mill earned only thirty yuan a month. That was two months' wages for a worker!

Ji Yunshu quickly wrapped the money up again and took the handkerchief into the kitchen.

"Mom." Ji Yunshu hesitated, then told He Qiuxia about the money in the pouch.

He Qiuxia was chopping vegetables. She paused briefly at the amount, then quickly resumed: "If she wants to give it to you, then take it. This is from your birth mother. It's rightfully yours."

Ji Yunshu clutched the handkerchief, standing motionless in the kitchen doorway.

"Mom," Ji Yunshu asked quietly, "is the Meng family... really wealthy?"

He Qiuxia set down the cleaver and sighed: "The Meng family owns a factory—they're capitalists, so they've got deep pockets. You heard Meng Guangze—they get over a thousand yuan a month just in fixed interest. Your dad only makes two hundred seventy-something a month, and he's a major general. It's not even close."

Ji Yunshu knew the Ji family was already well-off. Ji Haiguo was a major general, and Ji Yunting was a pilot. She'd never wanted for anything in her first eighteen years.

He Qiuxia paused, lowering her voice: "But you need to understand—money isn't everything. In these times, your class status matters more than money. Your dad's position is something money can't buy."

"Mom, I..." Ji Yunshu understood what He Qiuxia meant. She started to say something, but He Qiuxia cut her off.

"Xiaoshu, I know you're worried that if you don't leave, there won't be room for Lizi when she comes back. She's flesh and blood from my body, and you're the daughter I raised with all my heart all these years. To me and to Sister Wang, you're both our family—there's no difference. All we want now is for you two sisters to be safe and get along..." He Qiuxia's eyes got red as she spoke.

Just then, Ji Haiguo and Ji Yunting came back from seeing the guests off.

Ji Yunshu didn't say anything more. She tucked the pouch in her pocket and helped He Qiuxia carry the dishes to the table.

During dinner, the family sat at the table, the mood a little heavy.

Ji Haiguo took a few bites, set down his chopsticks, and looked at Ji Yunshu: "Tomorrow morning, your mom and I are taking you to the Medical University Affiliated Hospital for a full check-up. Lizi's there too—we can all go together."

Ji Yunshu nodded.

Ji Yunting took a mouthful of rice and mumbled: "I'm coming too."

He Qiuxia glanced at him. "What for? Your dad and I can handle it."

"I'm on family leave anyway, and I've got nothing better to do." Ji Yunting countered. "Something this big—how can I rest easy not going?"

Ji Haiguo didn't object, and He Qiuxia dropped the matter.

Early the next morning, Ji Haiguo took Ji Yunshu and Ji Yunting to the hospital.

The Meng family had already arrived. Meng Guangze and Wang Wanru sat on the bench in the corridor, with Meng Yunzhen standing nearby, holding a medical chart. Meng Li, in a hospital gown, sat in the doctor's office with her sleeve rolled up while a nurse took her blood pressure.

Ji Yunshu saw Wang Wanru, and Wang Wanru saw her. Wang Wanru stood up and walked over, her eyes reddening again.

"You're here." Wang Wanru said softly, reached out and touched Ji Yunshu's arm. "Have you had breakfast?"

"Not yet—I have to wait until after the check-up to eat," Ji Yunshu said.

"Look at my memory." Wang Wanru gave an embarrassed smile and carefully pulled out an oil-paper package from her pocket, pressing it into Ji Yunshu's hand. "I got this at the guesthouse cafeteria this morning—sticky rice cakes, still warm. Keep them and eat them when you're hungry after the check-up."

Ji Yunshu took it. The package was still warm.

"Thank you." Ji Yunshu still had trouble changing what she called her, but she didn't want to hurt Wang Wanru, so she finally made up her mind. "...Mom."

"Ah, ah—Mom heard that." Wang Wanru gave her shoulder a pat and sat back down.

When it was Ji Yunshu's turn for the examination, Wang Wanru followed He Qiuxia toward the doctor's office. She walked quickly—faster than He Qiuxia—but stopped at the door, afraid to go in, and just stood there peering inside.

The exams took all morning.

Blood draws, X-rays, blood pressure, heart and lungs—she was checked from head to toe. Nurses led Ji Yunshu from one department to another until her head was spinning.

By the time all the tests were done, it was already noon. Both families sat outside the doctor's office, waiting for the results. Meng Li's results came out first.

The doctor called Meng Guangze and Wang Wanru inside and spoke with them for a few minutes. Ji Yunshu sat outside and couldn't hear clearly—she only caught bits like "nothing serious," "decent constitution," and "get plenty of rest."

After a while, Meng Guangze and Wang Wanru came out, looking much more relaxed.

Ji Haiguo asked, "How is she?"

Meng Guangze said: "The doctor says there's nothing wrong. Her headaches might be from overthinking. She just needs to relax, eat well, and get her strength back."

Ji Yunting muttered under his breath: "So there's nothing wrong? Then why was she coughing so hard yesterday?"

Ji Yunshu elbowed him, telling him to drop it.

"Is Lizi still coughing? Is it serious?" Meng Guangze was clearly worried sick about Meng Li. He turned to Wang Wanru. "I'll take her for another check-up. Wait here for me."

Just then, Meng Li came out of the restroom and overheard them. Her expression flickered slightly. "Okay."

Meng Guangze led Meng Li away again.

A while later, Ji Yunshu's results came back too. The doctor called Ji Haiguo and He Qiuxia in and talked with them for a while. Ji Yunshu stood at the door and saw their brows furrow. Her heart sank.

When Ji Haiguo came out, Ji Yunshu quickly asked: "Dad, what's wrong with me?"

Ji Haiguo waved his hand. "Same as before—anemia, gastritis. The doctor also says you've got a weak constitution. Those two surgeries took a lot out of you, so you need to take good care of yourself. Don't overdo it, don't stay up late, eat more blood-nourishing and light foods, get your stomach back in shape, and don't faint again."

Ji Yunting chimed in, "Yeah, you need to eat more—you're skinnier than that fake patient over there."

Ji Haiguo shot him a look and ignored him.

Wang Wanru's eyes got red again when she heard this. She took Ji Yunshu's hand. "I'll send you some supplements when I get back. Suzhou's got good ginseng and bird's nest—you should eat more and get your health back."

Straight to ginseng and bird's nest—capitalist family conditions really were something else... Ji Yunshu thought to herself.

"Thank you, Mom." Ji Yunshu nodded. "If they're too expensive, don't worry about it."

"They're not expensive, not at all..." Wang Wanru kept saying. "It's just a shame there hasn't been much good ginseng these past few years. Ginseng is good for the blood and qi. We used to have two century-old wild ginseng roots at home, but Lizi was in poor health, so I made them into soup for her..."

At that, everyone present was stunned by how much Wang Wanru loved her daughter.

Ji Yunshu had only one thought on her mind—the Meng family was even richer than she'd imagined!

After Meng Li's second round of checkups was done, Meng Guangze returned and said the doctor said nothing was wrong with Meng Li.

Everyone finally relaxed a little, so they got ready to head back to the Ji house for a meal and keep talking about the kids' situation.

As they left the hospital, Meng Guangze brought up the rear, muttering to himself, clutching the doctor's report: "How can they not find anything wrong?"

He spoke so quietly that only Ji Yunting, standing closest, heard him. Ji Yunting shot a sideways glance at Meng Li, a hint of suspicion in his eyes.

Back home, He Qiuxia and Ji Haiguo quickly whipped up a big spread. After both families ate, they got back to discussing the hukou swap.

It sounded simple, but it was a pain to pull off. Ji Yunshu's hukou was in the capital, and moving it to Su City meant a ton of paperwork. Meng Li's was in Su City, and moving it to the capital also meant a ton of paperwork. The two families' relationship had to be sorted out first before the kids' hukou could be moved.

Ji Haiguo and Meng Guangze hashed things out in the living room all afternoon, with He Qiuxia nearby, chiming in every now and then. He Qiuxia's position was clear: the hukou could be swapped, but Ji Yunshu should stay with her for now. First, because Ji Yunshu's health was poor—she had anemia and gastritis—and a sudden change of scenery might be too hard on her body. Second, Su City was unfamiliar territory, and she genuinely couldn't feel at ease about it.

Meng Guangze and Wang Wanru traded a look and finally nodded. Wang Wanru was reluctant, but she also knew Ji Yunshu had lived with the Ji family for nineteen years and was long used to the capital's climate and lifestyle. Forcing her to move to Su City would be too hard on her body, and the doctor had also told her to take it easy and rest up.

Just being able to acknowledge her, to hear her call her "Mom"—Wang Wanru was already satisfied with that.

Meng Li sat nearby listening and took the initiative to suggest changing her last name.

That was only right, but the Mengs had raised Meng Li for nineteen years, after all. Ji Haiguo, worried about hurting the Mengs' feelings, suggested adding a surname in front of Meng Li's name instead—calling her "Ji Meng Li" or "Ji Meng Li"—so the Meng family could still call her by her name.

But Meng Li flat-out refused. She only wanted to change her name to "Ji Yun Li," to match Ji Yunting's naming style, and nothing else.

Ji Haiguo looked at the Mengs' faces and, seeing they were sad but had no objections, agreed.

From that day on, word slowly got around the compound.

How the news got out was unclear. Maybe a young guard at the gate let it slip, or maybe a neighbor passing by overheard something. Either way, within two days, everyone in the compound knew the Ji family had a "real daughter" and that Ji Yunshu wasn't Ji Haiguo's biological kid.

Neighbors would cautiously fish for details whenever they saw He Qiuxia. At first, she'd explain a bit, but after being asked so many times, she got tired of it and just said the babies had been switched at birth, and now the girl had come back to claim her family—but Ji Yunshu was still her daughter, and she hadn't even changed her last name!

Some felt sorry for her, some just wanted a show, some said "getting switched is fate too" to their faces, but behind their backs they whispered, "No wonder Ji Yunshu is always lazy and good for nothing—turns out she's a capitalist's daughter."

Walking down the street, Ji Yunshu could always feel people staring. Those looks weren't as warm as before—they were full of scrutiny, curiosity, even contempt, and the nosy probing of people who loved a good spectacle.

Ji Yunshu ignored them. Pei Yufeng, though, was really worried. For several days straight, he called her over on the excuse of "visiting Grandma" to ask how she was doing. Ji Yunshu had long since processed the pain from her dreams, and these people's cold looks meant nothing to her now.

Seeing she wasn't upset, Pei Yufeng gradually relaxed. But for some reason, after that, Ji Yunshu rarely ran into those probing, contemptuous looks face-to-face again.

On the afternoon of the third day, He Jianjun's mother came.

Old Mrs. He wore a gray cloth jacket, her hair combed to a glossy shine, carrying a bag of small greens in her hand as she walked into the Ji household with a beaming smile.

"Old Ji's family, home?" Old Mrs. He set the greens on the table and swept her eyes around the room. "I heard your real daughter's been found? I came to take a look."

He Qiuxia had a good relationship with Old Mrs. He—after all, the two families had once discussed a marriage match, and He Jianjun was an outstanding and upright young man. She had still been hoping he would become her son-in-law.

But now that Meng Li had returned, what about the engagement between Ji Yunshu and He Jianjun...

He Qiuxia sighed. Ji Yunshu and He Jianjun got along well, and He Jianjun probably wouldn't hold her original family background against her.

As she mulled it over, she called Meng Li over and introduced her to Old Mrs. He.

Old Mrs. He's maiden name was Liu, so Meng Li sweetly called out, "Auntie Liu."

Old Mrs. He crossed her legs, sized up Meng Li with a few glances, and said with a smile, "So this is your real daughter? She's quite pretty—looks just like Old Ji."

Meng Li, acting as if she'd known her forever, immediately replied, "Auntie Liu's right—my dad and I look a lot alike."

Then she went to the kitchen, poured a cup of water, and brought it to Old Mrs. He with both hands: "Auntie Liu, have some water."

Old Mrs. He took the cup, her smile widening: "Oh my, this girl is so thoughtful."

Meng Li smiled, then circled around behind Old Mrs. He, placed both hands on her shoulders, and gently massaged them. "Auntie Liu, your shoulders feel a bit stiff? Let me rub them for you."

Old Mrs. He, thoroughly relaxed by the massage, closed her eyes in enjoyment and muttered, "Oh my, this girl's hands are so skilled. Truly, nothing beats having your own flesh and blood."

Ji Yunshu had originally been in her own room, but since guests had arrived, she had to come out and entertain them. Because of her dreams, she no longer held her former respect for Old Mrs. He, but she couldn't be openly rude either, so she simply sat off to the side, holding an apple and slowly peeling it.

Everyone present understood who Old Mrs. He's words were aimed at.

He Qiuxia's expression darkened, but she said nothing. Ji Yunting sat by the door, arms crossed, watching Old Mrs. He with a frown so deep it could crush a fly.

Old Mrs. He, pleased from the massage, grew more talkative.

"Old Ji's wife, I'm not one to gossip," Old Mrs. He said, taking a sip of water, her voice pitched just loud enough for the whole room to hear. "Your Yun Shu, she's pretty to look at, but she's too pampered. Last time I came to your house, I saw she wouldn't even sweep the floor—wouldn't lift a finger if the oil bottle tipped over. If she marries Jian Jun someday, what's to become of that?"

She paused, glanced at Meng Li, and smiled: "Now if it were this girl here, I'd have nothing to worry about. She can serve tea and water, give massages and pat backs. If she could be my daughter-in-law, I'd be burning incense in gratitude."

Author's note:

None