After Tian Dazhu got married earlier this year, he genuinely believed he was going to have a son. He no longer walked hunched over with his head down like he used to. After Widow Yu married him, she also stopped going out to work and stayed at home with her former mother-in-law.
Wang Ying recalled what her mother-in-law had said back then—something about whose child was really in Widow Yu’s belly…
Tian Dazhu called out, “Doctor Wang Ying?”
Wang Ying snapped out of her thoughts. “Alright, I’ll go take a look.”
Even if she didn’t like Tian Dazhu, she still had to go.
This time, Xu Shuang didn’t go with her. They had returned late today, and by chance managed to buy some autumn lotus root in the county town. Wang Ying had specifically asked for lotus root soup, so Xu Shuang stayed home to cook it.
Wang Ying followed Tian Dazhu, and to her surprise, it was actually Widow Yu who was the unexpected one.
Widow Yu clutched her belly and refused to let Wang Ying examine her.
“I’m not sick! What’s there to check?!”
Wang Ying replied, “Your husband said your stomach was hurting.”
Widow Yu said, “It’s not hurting anymore!”
Wang Ying spread her hands and looked at Tian Dazhu.
Tian Dazhu, helpless, went to persuade his wife: “Ever since you got pregnant, you’ve refused to get checked. The brigade has talked about that… prenatal checkups. You really need to get examined. What if something happens to the baby?”
This was thanks in part to Wu Guihua’s efforts these past two months. After the wheat harvest, the brigade had more free time. Wu Guihua continued organizing skits with the children. The content of the performances evolved from promoting hygiene to educating people that childbirth should involve midwives and barefoot doctors, to avoid delivering babies with complications. Even some superstitious practices were explained through scientific examples.
Ever since Widow Yu got pregnant, Tian Dazhu had been asking around a lot. Unlike how he completely ignored Qian Juhua when she gave birth, he was now overly concerned about everything.
Calling Wang Ying wasn’t just about checking for illness—he also wanted her to do a pregnancy exam.
But Widow Yu clearly didn’t appreciate his good intentions: “No! Dazhu, I’m fine, why do I need to see a doctor? Get her out of here. She’s close to Qian Juhua. Who knows if she’d try to harm me?!”
Wang Ying looked exasperated: “You’re overthinking this.”
Honestly, even if Qian Juhua herself came to examine you, she wouldn’t necessarily do anything to your baby.
Tian Dazhu hesitated. He thought Widow Yu had a bit of a point.
But Wang Ying was the only doctor in the brigade. Over the past year, everyone had seen her skill firsthand. Even members from other brigades who didn’t trust their own medical staff came to her. If she wasn’t allowed to examine her, what was he supposed to do—take Widow Yu to the county hospital?
Wang Ying could tell from his expression that he was being soft-hearted again. Honestly amazing—Tian Dazhu had spent his whole life listening first to his mother, then to his wife, but never once to Qian Juhua.
Wang Ying gave a cold laugh and asked Tian Dazhu for payment: “Consultation fee—twenty cents.”
She wasn’t about to make a free trip for nothing. If it had been someone else’s home, she might have let it go. But for someone like Tian Dazhu? She wanted her money.
Calling her over and then refusing to let her do anything? That was just messing with her.
Tian Dazhu immediately felt the sting of wasted money: “Let Wang Ying take a look, will you?”
Twenty cents was twenty cents—whether she examined her or not. Not letting her do it meant a loss.
Now Widow Yu was in a tough spot. If she kept refusing, wouldn’t Tian Dazhu get suspicious? But if Wang Ying did examine her…
She was nervous. What if Wang Ying could tell her pregnancy was a month further along than she’d claimed?
At that moment, someone came in holding a bowl. Widow Yu softly called out, “Mom.”
Wang Ying looked up. Widow Yu’s mother-in-law was smiling warmly at her.
She handed a steaming bowl of chicken soup to Widow Yu, who was lying in bed, then said, “Chunxing, look at you, being so petty again. Doctor Wang Ying is a wonderful person—how could she possibly treat you differently just because of Juhua? Now drink this soup, and after that, let the doctor check your pulse.”
Widow Yu looked flustered and anxious.
But her mother-in-law stayed composed and immediately stepped aside so Wang Ying could do the exam.
“Doctor Wang Ying, please take a good look at this child. We had someone tell us it’s a boy, but that wasn’t a real doctor. We still feel uneasy.”
Wang Ying replied, “Aunt Yu, you clearly didn’t pay much attention to the brigade’s recent health talks. We’ve said it many times—no one can predict the baby’s gender with certainty. Even if you went to someone, how can they be sure whether it’s a boy?”
Widow Yu’s mother-in-law quickly glanced at Tian Dazhu and said, “Oh, silly me. I was thinking the wrong way. We’re just not as educated as you—we didn’t know.”
Tian Dazhu frowned when he heard Wang Ying say that. When she reached out to take Widow Yu’s pulse, he stepped in between them.
“Doctor Wang Ying, what did you mean just now?”
Wang Ying responded, “What do you mean ‘what did I mean’?”
Though Tian Dazhu was angry, he’d been a pushover his whole life and didn’t know how to express himself harshly. He just asked with frustration, “You said the baby’s gender can’t be known?”
Wang Ying said, “Of course it can’t be known. Gender? Unless you go to the city and get an ultrasound, who can tell you for sure?”
Tian Dazhu was furious: “But I know this one is a boy!”
Wang Ying: “It’s not up to you!”
Wang Ying had had enough of this family. She packed up her medical kit and prepared to leave.
“Whether it’s a boy or girl depends on the man, not the woman. And besides, is gender really that important? You’re going through all this effort for a son, but who knows if you’ll ever benefit from it in the future?”
Her words were blunt—she had long wanted to give Tian Dazhu a piece of her mind.
He practically had “sons matter more than daughters” engraved on his future gravestone!
Was it really that serious?
Wang Ying still remembered what Old Lady Xu had said—that the baby in Widow Yu’s belly might actually be Tian Erzhu’s!
Tian Dazhu angrily stuffed twenty cents into Wang Ying’s medical kit: “What do you know?!”
He had worked hard all his life. If he didn’t have someone to carry on his name, he’d die with regret. He wasn’t going to waste words with Wang Ying anymore. He gave her the money but didn’t say she should proceed with the exam.
Off to the side, Widow Yu’s mother-in-law’s eyes flashed with calculation.
Heh. She knew it—Tian Dazhu only truly cared about having a son. And just like that, with a bit of nudging, he turned on Wang Ying.
Widow Yu also admired her mother-in-law deeply. She sat there proudly, belly jutting out, sipping her chicken soup happily.
Could Wang Ying make her feel that good?
Absolutely not.
Wang Ying glanced at Widow Yu’s belly with a smile: “Tian Dazhu, your wife’s belly doesn’t look like she’s five months along. It should be six. You’d better take good care of her, or she might give birth earlier than expected.”
After saying that, Wang Ying walked away, leaving behind a stunned silence.
Tian Dazhu felt like he had been slapped out of nowhere while walking down the road—completely dazed.
Even Widow Yu’s mother-in-law was dumbfounded.
She had never seen someone so blunt and ruthless!
She had merely been trying to cover things up—how could Wang Ying expose it so directly?
After Wang Ying left, Widow Yu finally came to her senses when her mother-in-law pinched her.
She immediately started wailing at the top of her lungs.
“Heavens! I can’t go on living!”
“She’s trying to get me wrongfully accused!”
“Hurry, hurry, someone get me a rope—I’m going to hang myself! I can’t live like this!”
…
Wang Ying didn’t care about the chaos at Tian Dazhu’s house. She hadn’t intended to say anything to Widow Yu in the first place—after all, it was their family’s private matter. She was just a doctor: if there’s a medical issue, she’d say so; if not, she’d leave.
But who told the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law to stir up trouble?
Did they really think she couldn’t tell something was wrong with the pregnancy?
One glance was enough for Wang Ying to see why they were nervous—the belly was clearly much bigger than what five months should look like. And it didn’t seem like a twin pregnancy either—it looked like the dates didn’t add up.
Not just Wang Ying—anyone in the village who’d given birth a few times would’ve noticed.
Hadn’t Widow Yu stopped going out recently? Clearly, she knew something was off and was avoiding being seen.
Wang Ying shook her head and went home. She didn’t care how Tian Dazhu would handle it. In her eyes, he was beyond help. Even if the truth came out later, he’d probably still accept the child as his own.
Sure enough, after Wang Ying left, Tian Dazhu got completely muddled by Widow Yu’s sobbing and wailing.
Before he could even ask anything, Widow Yu was already swearing and trying to explain things away.
“Wang Ying just can’t stand seeing us happy! She said that on purpose! Do you believe her or do you believe me?”
Although Tian Dazhu had his doubts, he couldn’t withstand Widow Yu and her mother-in-law ganging up on him. With all the crying and noise, Widow Yu’s mother-in-law even went so far as to make a firm declaration.
“If you really don’t trust us, then let’s go to the county hospital and get a doctor’s checkup! But let me make this clear—if it turns out the pregnancy dates are correct, we don’t want this child anymore! There’s no reason to be falsely accused like this! I treat Chunxing like my own daughter. Even though we’ve had tough times, she’s sometimes needed a little help from neighbors—but those gossips in the village nearly drove her to death with their rumors! I respected you for being steady and treating Chunxing well, that’s why I agreed to let her marry you. But I absolutely won’t allow you to suspect her like this! She’s such a good woman—she even brought me, this useless old woman, along when she remarried… Chunxing, it’s all my fault for dragging you down…”
Hearing that, Tian Dazhu immediately wavered.
He quickly held his chest and promised, “Don’t worry, I would never suspect Chunxing!”
Tian Dazhu added, “We’re not going to see a doctor! My wife is fine—no need for that! Wang Ying is just taking revenge. From now on, our family won’t go to her if we get sick!”
Widow Yu’s mother-in-law responded, “Good that you understand. Your ex-wife, Ju Hua, had too many misunderstandings about our Chunxing. When she talked about Da Ya and Er Ya, we were just thinking of your two daughters—worried they’d suffer with their mom, so we offered to raise them. Who knew Ju Hua would hold such a grudge… Sigh… Dazhu, it’s all because you didn’t make things clear with Ju Hua back then. Chunxing really got dragged into this.”
Tian Dazhu felt both ashamed and guilty: “You’re right—it’s my fault. Chunxing, does your belly still hurt? If it does, I’ll go to the neighboring village to get a doctor.”
Widow Yu quickly played coy: “It doesn’t hurt anymore, just feeling really hungry.”
Though she’d drunk more than half a bowl of chicken soup earlier, broth alone doesn’t fill you up.
Tian Dazhu said, “Then I’ll cook! We’re out of white flour—I’ll take some wheat to the mill now.”
He rushed off in a flurry, and only then did Widow Yu breathe a sigh of relief. Grabbing her mother-in-law’s hand, she nervously asked, “Mom, my heart nearly jumped out just now! Do you think Wang Ying might…”
Her mother-in-law immediately cut her off: “Don’t think nonsense—she won’t. Wang Ying is a doctor—have you ever seen her gossip about other people’s conditions? It’s our own fault for not being careful today. Sigh… I forgot, she’s Sister Xu’s daughter-in-law after all…”
At the mention of Old Lady Xu, Widow Yu’s mother-in-law felt like a heavy stone was pressing on her heart. “Next time, don’t say anything in front of her. That girl looks just like her mother-in-law—same tough personality.”
Widow Yu, still a young and inexperienced daughter-in-law, nervously clutched her mother-in-law’s hand. “Mom, do you think our matter…”
Her mother-in-law secretly cursed her for being so useless, but her tone remained gentle and kind: “Chunxing, everything I’m doing is for you. You know how hard things have been for the two of us. Look around the brigade and the other ones too—how many families have conditions as good as the Tian family’s? Dazhu has his own house, and all his previous kids are girls—not a single one can carry on the family name.”
“As long as you don’t say anything, and I don’t say anything, who’s going to know the baby in your belly doesn’t have the Tian surname?”
“We’ll give birth, let Dazhu bond with the child more, and Er Zhu can just think the child is his, too. Later, you ask Er Zhu for more things—his wife’s a shrew anyway, no way she’s as gentle as you. Once we raise the child, won’t this whole family be under your control?”
Widow Yu felt a surge of confidence from her mother-in-law’s words, but the fear in her heart didn’t disappear. “Mom, but what if… what if the baby in my belly isn’t a boy?”
After all, what Tian Dazhu truly wanted was a son. Even though Tian Er Zhu never said it out loud, he too was hoping for a son.
Widow Yu was afraid that if she gave birth to a daughter, she would end up like Qian Juhua.
Widow Yu’s mother-in-law whispered, “Don’t worry, I’ve already made arrangements for you. This winter, I’ll have Zhaodi come stay with us. She’s pregnant too, about the same time as you. You two can give birth together. I don’t believe we won’t have a son.”
Widow Yu’s eyes lit up. “Aunt Zhaodi will definitely be fine! She’s already had several kids, right? I remember they were all boys!”
Widow Yu’s mother-in-law felt proud of this, as her daughter had been supporting her after marriage. Why hadn’t she been abandoned by her in-laws? It was because she could bear children!
“So, you can rest assured and focus on having the baby. We’ll deal with things later.”
Widow Yu’s mother-in-law instructed her carefully. She had planned everything in her life, and now her future depended on this foolish daughter-in-law. What else could she do but hold onto her?
Being foolish has its benefits—at least her retirement money was secure.
Besides, she had her own plan. If both her daughter and daughter-in-law gave birth to boys, she was ready to make a switch.
It was better to raise her own biological grandson than an ignorant daughter-in-law’s child.
Hmph, anyway, if she secretly made the switch, no one would know!
