The Female Lead Decides to Act Wickedly

Chapter 3: Chapter 003: Starting as a Swindler (Part 3)

He Hongtu and Tian Zhenzhen chatted leisurely for a while, and then they began to clean up the house.

Both of their families were complex, with no close elder relatives to offer help.

Without parents and relatives, they had only themselves to depend on.

Tian Zhenzhen had stayed in the hospital for several days, and He Hongtu had been there the entire time, so the house hadn’t been tidied, with a layer of dust on the floor and the furniture.

There were also dirty clothes accumulated from the hospital that needed washing.

The thermoses, lunch boxes, and washbasins brought from the hospital also needed cleaning and putting away.

And there was the need to prepare lactation soups and postpartum meals for the new mother...

He Hongtu was busy nonstop, and it wasn’t until evening that he finally finished.

”Ouch, honey, my incision still hurts a bit.”

Tian Zhenzhen lay in bed, watching the baby while taking care of her body.

Her complaint was just a casual remark, but it inspired He Hongtu.

He pulled out his new phone, the one he bought after receiving his first paycheck—no, not the latest flip model with a color screen, but the most ordinary blue-screened candy bar phone.

The phone was small and affordable, and it wasn’t from a messy array of brands.

Debit, a big brand from Taiwan.

In a small county town in 2003, brands from Hong Kong and Taiwan were still very sought after.

He Hongtu expertly pressed a series of numbers, and after a few beeps, the call connected.

”Hello, Aunt Xu? It’s Little He, the Little He from the maternity ward at the county hospital!”

”Yes, yes, exactly, we were discharged today and just got home. Has your daughter-in-law given birth? Oh, a big chubby boy, congratulations, truly congratulations!”

”I always said you’re blessed, look, now you have four generations under one roof...”

”It’s like this, I wanted to ask you something. You see, my daughter-in-law just had a cesarean section, and it’s been several days. The doctor said the wound is healing well, but she still feels pain at the incision site.”

”Neither my daughter-in-law nor I understand these things; you’ve seen a lot and know much more. I wanted to ask for your advice on how to take care of her in this situation!”

”Oh, eat pigeon? Pigeon meat helps with incision recovery? Well, I always say, for these kinds of things, it’s best to ask you older folks!”

”Oh, and not to drink too much, too much pigeon soup will cause her milk to dry up? Huh? Dry up the milk, what does that mean?”

”Oh, I see! Eating chives can also dry up the milk? My gosh, it’s a good thing I called you. My daughter-in-law usually loves vegetarian dumplings with three fresh ingredients; she just urged me to go to the market to buy her some chives!”

”Aunt Xu, thank you so much, really thank you. Otherwise, we really would have done something foolish!”

”Exactly, even the best formula can’t match a real mother’s milk for nutrition!”

He Hongtu praised her profusely over the phone, his thankfulness unmistakably sincere.

Through the earpiece, Aunt Xu could feel it on the other end.

Aunt Xu was pleased; after all, the elderly fear becoming useless and disliked by the younger generation.

It’s not about strangers; even with their own kin, there comes a time when the elderly become cautious.

And as people age, they tend to become talkative.

Sometimes, even their own children can’t stand it, finding them annoying.

Like this time, when her eldest grandson brought his wife back to their hometown, and the baby was born prematurely. With the couple not around, Aunt Xu, the grandmother, personally went to the hospital to look after her.

Aunt Xu had a gap with her daughter-in-law, let alone with her grandson’s wife.

Aunt Xu thought her grandson’s wife was too delicate, always talking about ”science” and ”civilization”.

She had prepared brand new cotton diapers—soft and breathable, so good. But the young woman disdained them, insisting on spending money on disposable diapers.

Oh, and formula too; the baby wasn’t even born yet, and she had already spent hundreds of yuan on a can of imported formula. Breastfeeding is much better, and it saves money and is nutritious.

But the grandson’s wife thought the grandmother-in-law was too old-fashioned and would always go on about ”back in our day,” ”I gave birth to six sons and three daughters, and brought up more than a dozen grandsons and granddaughters.”

The grandson’s wife superficially neither agreed nor disagreed, but internally she relentlessly mocked: Your day? Back in your day, you also endured eating chaff and crude vegetables when sick. Why don’t you continue like that now?

And then the disposable diapers, the formula!

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These are about spending money, but I didn’t spend your money, did I? What’s with the long face all day?

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Aunt Xu and her daughter-in-law looked at each other disapprovingly, with the daughter-in-law particularly choked up with anger. She had given birth just a couple of days ago and hadn’t even left the hospital, yet she was hurrying her husband to return to the Provincial City.

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”Don’t take the child away just yet, at least wait until after the confinement period before leaving!” Aunt Xu was really anxious.

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But the daughter-in-law felt if she stayed any longer in her hometown, she would be so infuriated by her mother-in-law that her milk would surely dry up.

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Caught in the middle, the grandson felt torn, but in the end, he was pressured by his wife to wrap up the bundled-up mother and child and hire a van directly from the hospital. They left for the Provincial City without even stopping for lunch.

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Aunt Xu watched the quickly departing van with a face turned dark with anger.

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Of course, Aunt Xu wasn’t the type of person to be unreasonable.

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She knew her thinking might be a bit outdated and couldn’t accept the young people’s ways.

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But her heart was in the right place when it came to the child; she truly felt for her daughter-in-law and great-grandchild.

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No matter how unhappy the daughter-in-law was, she should have given some respect to Aunt Xu’s elder status and shown a bit of tolerance.

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But —

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Aunt Xu felt so aggrieved in her heart, she left the hospital and went home alone, seething.

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Sitting in the empty living room, she couldn’t help but wonder: are my old ways really outdated? Do young people not like them at all?!

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Alas, it seems I am truly getting old, becoming an obsolete old lady that even my descendants despise.

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Just as she wallowed in her loss and self-doubt, He Hongtu’s call came through.

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”Aunt Xu, thank you, thank you so much. Even though it’s a bit inappropriate, I just trust you. If there’s anything in the future, can I, can I still call you?”

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Even through the phone, Aunt Xu couldn’t see He Hongtu’s expression, but she remembered his young and honest face in the hospital.

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Linking the image in her mind with the voice on the phone, Aunt Xu didn’t doubt for a second that He Hongtu was truly grateful and felt that she, an old lady, had really helped him a lot!

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That feeling of being needed, appreciated, and even respected, was simply too wonderful.

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Aunt Xu had already taken a liking to He Hongtu, and now liked the sensible and smart young man even more. She hurriedly replied: ”Oh, it’s nothing serious, I just said a few words off the cuff!”

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”Little He, as long as you don’t mind this old lady’s nagging, you can call me anytime!”

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He Hongtu promptly nodded and bowed, and even though Aunt Xu couldn’t see his gestures, he used them as a psychological cue for himself.

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He truly respected Aunt Xu, this kind-hearted old lady.

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”Aunt Xu, don’t say that. You’ve been a great help, and I can’t thank you enough. How could I ever be bothered by you?”

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He Hongtu chatted with the old lady for a full quarter of an hour before reluctantly hanging up the phone.

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As soon as he hung up and saw the call duration on the screen, He Hongtu felt a twinge of pain.

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Wuwu, twenty-five cents a minute, seventeen minutes is four yuan and twenty-five cents, enough to buy a kilo of pork!

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But this kind of money shouldn’t be saved; it was a necessary investment.

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Apart from the phone bill, there were other investments to be made.

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He Hongtu rushed to the market to buy groceries, including the pigeons Aunt Xu mentioned, as well as pork bones, silkie chickens, pig’s trotters, and some fresh vegetables.

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Leaving the market, He Hongtu casually picked up a watermelon and headed straight to the address Aunt Xu had given him.

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”...Auntie, I didn’t want to bother you, but I’m still a bit worried. Could you check if I got the right pigeon?” He Hongtu asked, somewhat embarrassed.

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Aunt Xu got interested instead of being bothered by the unexpected visit, carefully examining He Hongtu’s basket: ”Not bad, this pigeon is quite fresh. Remember, don’t add soy sauce when making soup; it’ll darken the wound. Just a little salt will do.”

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”Yo, you also bought pig’s trotters. Right, go to the herbal shop and get some ’tong cao,’ stewing it with pig’s trotters is best for promoting lactation!”

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”Oh, ’tong cao’! Should I just ask for it like that at the pharmacy? Ah, Aunt Xu, it’s lucky I came here today, otherwise I would have wasted something good again!”

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He Hongtu wrote down Aunt Xu’s instructions, thanking her profusely.

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When leaving, He Hongtu left the watermelon for the old lady, ”Aunt, please don’t think it’s too small. It’s just that I felt I was troubling you too much, and so—”

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Aunt Xu declined a few times, but seeing He Hongtu’s insistence, she didn’t refuse any longer.

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It was just a watermelon after all, not something expensive. Even if she later found out He Hongtu had ulterior motives, she, the old lady, could surely afford it!

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