The Reborn Sidekick Rejected The Male Lead-Chapter 37 - Cousins Surprise

Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Cousin’s Surprise

Chapter 37 -37: Cousin’s Surprise

Yang Mingchao finished speaking, then put the money back in his pocket, “I just got back from the hospital, saw that some of the military families also went to visit. Quite a few people were there, and your uncle probably doesn’t know.”

Lu Jingqiu nodded, “They are probably some of my dad’s subordinates. Dad had asked them not to come before, they must be avoiding Dad.”

Yang Mingchao smiled, “Well, they came anyway. We can’t escape social obligations. My mom is there looking after things. I heard you took a job illustrating for a children’s publishing house, Qiuqiu. That’s great, you can earn money now too.”

Lu Jingqiu smiled, “That’s right. Look, this is what I drew. Not bad, huh?”

Yang Mingchao looked at it and praised it repeatedly, “Not bad, not bad.”

Not only did Yang Mingchao, an outsider, think it was good, but even several editors thought so too. Yang Ting saw it and said it was good, so they immediately had Zhang Miao talk to Lu Jingqiu about continuing in this style.

On the side of the illustration department, Luo Xinyue heard that the anti-war picture book she had been working on these days had been canceled and handed over to someone else, and felt uncomfortable. Unable to find anyone to vent her frustration on, she went about her work with a cold expression, her movements overly forceful, the sounds she made laced with anger.

Yang Bo glanced at her and didn’t dare to speak.

…

Lu Jingqiu took some time today to visit the photo studio; the photos she had previously taken were finally developed. It cost quite a bit of money for the roll, but seeing photo after photo of her parents was worth it.

She organized the photos at home, ready to mail them to the Educated Youth Spot in the coming days.

Among these photos, she found the one of the strange man she had accidentally snapped. In the photo, the clean-cut, fair-skinned man looked towards the camera with a bewildered gaze. Lu Jingqiu muttered to herself as she looked at the photo, “He looks like those male celebrities of later years, really handsome.”

Of course, she couldn’t let anyone see her acting smitten like this.

On her way to the hospital, she mailed the photos.

They had been taking care of Hua Hua for three days now, feeding it various soups every day; enough not to starve, but not very nutritious. Lu Jingqiu had also inquired about where to find goat’s milk but unfortunately had found none.

What she did get was an old-fashioned style baby bottle, the kind with a duckbill that only families from the Nationalist era could have owned. It just did not have a nipple.

Lu Jingqiu spent one yuan and fifty cents on a nipple.

Xiao Hua could now drink a good amount of broth. With more broth intake, it urinated more, and it wasn’t good if it wet the sickbed, so she thought about getting some sand for it in the next few days.

But plans couldn’t keep up with changes. After a month of treatment with no significant results, Doctor Zhang suggested going home and taking medicine there, as the effect would be the same.

In reality, Lu Jingqiu understood that spending money in the hospital was already ineffective; it was just a matter of taking medication at home and waiting for death.

It was a sobering blow for both the family and the patient.

Zhou Lanping had been prepared for some time. These days in the hospital were painful for her. Rather than staying in the hospital and suffering with the expense, it would be better to be home, where she felt more at ease.

Staying in the hospital didn’t require many personal items, but when discharged, Dad pulled an entire cart full of things; blankets, daily necessities, a variety of fruits, malted milk, canned food, and a cat that had been born just a week ago.

The first thing Mom did after coming home was to sit on the sofa in the living room and take a deep breath, “Home is truly the best.”

While moving things around, Lu Jingqiu reminded her, “Mom, you still can’t be capricious at home. You have to follow the doctor’s orders.”

Zhou Lanping smiled, “I know, I know.”

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Lu Xianrun took the day off today, needing to be extra careful with his wife’s return from the hospital. He glanced at the clock and said, “What do you want to eat? I’ll go buy groceries now.”

Zhou Lanping had been cooped up in the hospital for over a month and was nearly going crazy. She quickly stood up and said, “I’ll go with you.”

As she spoke, she went to the kitchen to get a basket. Lu Xianrun didn’t stop her, and Lu Jingqiu watched the inseparable pair, feeling happy for her parents’ genuine love, yet her heart sank into unending silence.

After Mom came back, some familiar neighbors in the compound came to visit, bringing eggs and brown sugar, inquiring about her condition, offering comforting words.

Dad wasn’t home during the day, so all these social interactions had to be handled by Lu Jingqiu. Many people in the compound said she was sensible and much steadier.

Yeah, all these are the sediment of her life experiences over the past forty-plus years.

At the children’s publishing house, Lu Jingqiu took seven days to finish all the illustrations, and after a few revisions, it took her ten days in total to complete the assignment. The final payment for the manuscript was thirty-nine yuan, which was a bit more than the monthly salary of an ordinary worker.

Zhou Lanping no longer worried about her daughter’s livelihood.

Although the days since her return were not exactly good, she could still move around in the yard.

The cat, Hua Hua, had been with them for over twenty days and had learned to use the toilet on its own, usually doing its business in a corner of the yard, where the cucumbers they’d planted before had now stopped growing.

Zhou Lanping, having sought advice from a neighbor who had experience raising cats, was now digging a hole with her daughter in that corner, preparing to make a toilet for Hua Hua.

The siblings Xiao Shun and Xiao Yin from next door were very curious and came over to watch Hua Hua.

Most of the digging, however, was done by Lu Jingqiu, who then circled the hole with bricks after it was finished.

“Mom, that should do it. Tomorrow I’ll ask Dad to bring back a couple of bags of sand. Hua Hua is already used to using the toilet here,” she said.

“Hmm, the size is just right. Does Hua Hua like it?” Zhou Lanping asked, holding the somewhat grown kitten.

Lu Jingqiu said, “Mom, our Hua Hua is growing up to be quite pretty, with a round face and long fur. We don’t have long-haired cats around here, do we?”

“Persian cats have long fur. I bet her mother mated with a Persian cat. Hua Hua is the prettiest in her litter; even your Grandpa Wang from next door says she’s pretty.”

“The little guy is quite affectionate.”

“If you raise them from a young age, they become affectionate.”

Xiao Shun nodded, “I’ve seen many stray cats in the yard, but the one at Sister Xiao Qiu’s house is the prettiest.”

Xiao Yin chimed in, “Brother, I want to raise one too.”

Xiao Shun responded with annoyance, “Mom won’t let us. We have nothing to feed it.”

Xiao Yin said, “I could give it my own food.”

Zhou Lanping laughed, “If you give your food to the kitten, your mom will definitely spank you.”

Xiao Shun and Xiao Yin sighed in unison, a child’s heart, who could understand?

Lu Jingqiu was helpless but allowed them to come and see her Hua Hua in the future.

Ever since Hua Hua came to their home, Mother spent every day around little Hua Hua, occupied with something to do, no longer always thinking about the bad things.

Both Father and she were happy to see Mother keeping busy every day.

The weather was getting colder, and in the blink of an eye, it was October. Lu Jingqiu had received several illustration commissions from the children’s publishing house on and off, and her previous drawing submissions to the West City Daily News had also been accepted, with a five yuan payment for the work.

Hua Hua was now over a month old, a little kitten spending its days by Mother’s side. But lately, Mother’s health had become increasingly serious; she hardly got out of bed now, could hardly eat, and had become so thin she was almost skin and bones.

Lu Xianrun had been so worried these past few days that he hadn’t gone to the army, staying by Mother’s side all the time, trying all sorts of ways to make her favorite dishes.

He did everything himself and had already gone out to buy groceries now.

Lu Jingqiu, holding Hua Hua by her mother’s side, chatted with her, “Mom, Qingqing told me yesterday that she found that old traditional doctor, and I will go ask this afternoon.”

Lying weakly in bed, Zhou Lanping’s face looked even grayer than before. Hearing her daughter was still struggling to find a cure for her illness, she smiled weakly, “Qiuqiu, with Mom like this, not even the best doctor could bring me back. I have accepted my fate, it’s just that I can’t stop worrying about you and your dad. Qiuqiu, promise Mom that you’ll find yourself a good husband who treats you well in the future. When you get married, be sure to bring him to my grave to let me have a look. Can you promise Mom that?”

Upon hearing this, Lu Jingqiu’s eyes instantly reddened, her heart choked with sorrow, “Mom, why talk about these things when you’re doing fine?”

“Tell me, can you promise Mom?”