Chapter 118: Would you believe me if I said I want to harm someone?
The doctor at Fushou Hall had a good reputation in the town. He took one look at Lu Donghai and exclaimed: "How could you overfeed this child to such an extent? Don’t you understand anything? This is like asking for his death!"
However, the doctor didn’t need to tactfully address the parents, Bai Ruomei and Lu Donghai; he got straight to the point. Upon hearing the doctor’s words, both their faces changed, but they still found it hard to believe.
"Isn’t fat always considered healthy in children? How can that harm him?" Lu Ming questioned confusedly.
The doctor shot him a glance as if he was an idiot, which greatly embarrassed Lu Ming, who nearly burst into anger. Fortunately, the doctor did not pay him any further attention and began examining Lu Donghai.
"The child is too overweight; his heart meridian has already been damaged and he is in the early stage of Thirst-quenching Syndrome," the doctor stated while examining Lu Donghai, his brow furrows deepening. "How much sugar has this child been eating? His teeth are starting to decay. Despite him being due for teething, rotten roots would soon lead to decay again. You better get him some toothpaste from Du Family’s Pharmacy. We’ll see if it’s not too late to mitigate the problem."
As the doctor rattled on about the child’s condition, Bai Ruomei suddenly wailed at the diagnosis. Thirst-quenching Syndrome was considered incurable in ancient times.
The doctor glared at her fiercely and berated: "Why are you crying now? If you continue to spoil him, he will eventually become thin, not by choice, but due to disease severity."
In her panic, Bai Ruomei nodded continuously, promising that she would listen to the doctor’s advice. After strictly admonishing the couple and prescribing them medication, the doctor gave Bai Ruomei a list of foods Lu Donghai should avoid. The list made her go pale, as it mostly consisted of Lu Donghai’s favorites.
On returning home, they explained the doctor’s diagnosis to Lu Family’s seniors, who refused to believe the prognosis. They cursed the doctor as a quack, accusing him of spreading unnecessary fear. They decided to take Lu Donghai to a clinic in Beiyu City the next day.
So, the next day, the Lu Family hired a vehicle and journeyed to Beiyu City. During the journey, Lu Ming started feeling itchy, especially in his private parts.
Lu Ming, being the only child of the Lu’s, had never experienced hardship. Hence the slight discomfort had him moaning, and somehow, the visit to the clinic increased by one person.
Bai Ruomei and Lu Ming did suspect that the clothing Er Lang wore might have some issues, but when they had the doctor examine it, he diagnosed it as skin allergies due to the excess liver-fire. They also asked the doctor whether somebody poisoned him, to which the doctor shook his head affirmatively. "How is that even possible? Had there been any poison, I would have been able to tell at one glance."
This made Bai Ruomei suspect that maybe Lu Ming would catch the disease due to his frivolous conduct, but she could not ask him directly.
Also, when the doctor checked up on Lu Donghai, even after consulting with multiple clinics—the reports always remained the same, some of them were even more sorrowful.
The old lady started bawling right there in the hospital courtyard: "Oh, my poor grandson. What have I done to deserve such suffering? Why do the gods punish my precious grandchild like this?"
One employee at the clinic impatiently came forward, "If you want to wail, go back home and do it. Your grandson isn’t dead! You dare question your actions? A perfectly healthy child was made obese by you, what else do you want to rant about?"
By the time the old lady started wailing, a crowd had gathered around, most of them staring at Lu Donghai. On seeing such an obese youngster, they were shocked and wondered, can anybody rear a child as if fattening a pig?
Lu Donghai, still being so young, got terrified at the crowd staring at him. He fell and rolled on the ground, crying out, "Evil! All of you are evil! I want to go home, I want dimsum!"
And thus, his last words shifted from wanting to go home to wanting dimsum. The old lady panicked and fumbled in her purse for some dimsum to give to Donghai.
Bai Ruomei stepped forward and snatched the dimsum away: "Mother, the doctor just told us he cannot have dimsum."
The old lady’s patience snapped, already frustrated with her grandson’s condition, and the moment she was admonished by Ruomei, she slapped her in the face. "How dare you tell me what to do? My perfectly good grandson has fallen into disarray because of you, you vile woman!"
Amidst all of this, Lu Ming kept scratching himself, completely ignoring Bai Ruomei getting slapped and making no effort to console his mother. He behaved as if he was just a bystander.
Tears were welling up in Bai Ruomei’s eyes, but she swallowed her sobs and backed away without saying a word.
The crowd watched as Lu Donghai continued eating his dimsum while whispering amongst themselves, clearly discerning who the culprit was behind all this.
...
Over at Bai Ruozhu’s place, they had no idea about the events unfolding at Beiyu City. However, news of Bai Ruomei and her husband taking their child to Fushou Hall was passed on by townsfolk from the village.
"Oh Ruozhu, you wouldn’t believe it! Your grandmother is terribly worried back at the old mansion. She said she would go to town and see what’s happening. As for your uncle, he’s moping and drinking his sorrows away," Fang Guizhi was gossiping to Bai Ruozhu. Since Ruozhu couldn’t go out, and with the entire family busy in the fields, Fang Guizhi became her source of information, passing on the village gossip to her.
"Drowning in his sorrows?" Bai Ruozhu asked with a mischievous smile.
"Ruozhu, what are you thinking? Why is your laugh so eerie?" Fang Guizhi asked, she had never seen Ruozhu behave this way before.
Right now, Bai Ruozhu was busy strategizing her retaliation. With outsiders, she knew to fight back. But why should she always passively respond to the antics of her uncle’s family? It was time she made the first move.
"Oh nothing, I just thought of a business opportunity," she said as she pulled out two jars of wine from under her bed.
As soon as Fang Guizhi heard about the possibility of making money, her eyes sparkled. Regardless of Bai Ruozhu’s strange behavior, she immediately grabbed her arm and asked, "What business? Selling wine?"
"Yes, take these two jars of wine and sell them to the Old Wine House in the village. Tell him these were sourced from a merchant in the Alien Domain and that they are of high alcohol degree. The Old Wine House is an honest place; they won’t cheat you," Bai Ruozhu instructed, pointing at the two jars.
Fang Guizhi was confused. "Why sell them to the Old Wine House? Wouldn’t it fetch a better price in the town?"
Bai Ruozhu grinned at her, revealing a mouthful of white teeth. "Would you believe me if I said I wanted to harm someone?"