“Look how well-matched this young couple is. Datou, are you really not planning to find someone? See how much energy they have doing things together!”
As she watched Bai Lan and Xu Jianbei walk away, Ning’s mother couldn’t help but bring up the topic with her son again.
Datou found this headache-inducing. He had told her countless times—no matchmaking. With their family’s current situation, finding a partner would only drag someone else down. His mother had agreed readily enough, yet here she was, bringing it up again. But he knew she meant well, so he suppressed his impatience and reiterated his stance.
“Mom, enough. Let me save up more money first, then we’ll talk about finding someone.”
Seeing his strong reaction, Ning’s mother looked helplessly toward the man lying on the wooden plank bed. Unfortunately, the man was too pleased with the seaweed Bai Lan and her husband had brought over. He immediately started ordering her to go cook it for him.
Datou had already stepped out of the house. He stood under the eaves, took a deep breath, then hurried to the backyard to find Xu Jianbei.
“What brings you here?”
Xu Jianbei and Bai Lan had just returned to their doorstep and were discussing whether to go out for dinner when they saw Datou rushing over. They asked in surprise.
Datou snapped back to reality, scratching his head in slight embarrassment. But he didn’t hold back his complaint. “It’s my mom. She saw how well you and Bai Lan get along, and now she’s pushing me to go on blind dates again. Ah…”
It was an old topic. Bai Lan looked at Datou sympathetically—both for his difficult family situation and for the constant pressure from home. But seeing him there reminded her of what she had just witnessed at the Ning household. She lowered her voice and asked, “Datou, has your father’s condition shown any improvement over the years?”
Datou, mid-complaint, looked up in surprise, then gave a bitter smile. “No, he’s been paralyzed all these years. He can move his neck and hands, but nothing else.”
Bai Lan recalled hearing that Datou’s biological father, Ning Geda, had suffered a spinal injury. She didn’t know the specifics, only that he was bedridden.
“Is something wrong?” Datou asked, finding her sudden question a little odd.
Bai Lan didn’t hide her thoughts. “Just now in your living room, when Jianbei brought out the seaweed, your father seemed really happy. And I think I saw his calf lift up.”
It had only been for an instant, but Bai Lan was certain she had seen it. She asked Datou whether his father’s condition might be improving and what the exact diagnosis was. She wasn’t a doctor and didn’t fully understand paralysis, but if his calf could lift, at least it meant the nerves in his legs were responding.
Datou sighed. “I’ve seen that too. Took him to the doctor, and they said it’s just a reflex—not a sign of improvement.”
Hearing that, Bai Lan didn’t press further. She could only lament Datou’s misfortune. She had thought Ning’s father was getting better. Even if he couldn’t earn money, being able to take care of himself would lighten the burden on Ning’s mother and Datou.
Datou didn’t stay long. After chatting a bit more with Xu Jianbei about the transport team, he headed home.
Back inside their own house, Xu Jianbei asked Bai Lan, “Do you really think Ning’s father could still improve?”
Bai Lan shook her head. “I don’t know. I’m not a doctor. But when I saw his calf lift a little, I thought there might be a chance.”
Spinal issues were complicated, and she didn’t understand them well. But nerves might have some self-repair capability. Maybe when the injury first happened, medical conditions were poor, and many details weren’t properly examined. After nearly twenty years of recovery, who knew—there might be a turning point.
After listening, Xu Jianbei thought for a moment. “We could ask around and find a reliable doctor to take a look.”
“Right? You think so too. If there’s any real improvement, Datou’s situation could change completely.”
Lunch was eaten at home, using the salted fish Xu Jianxi had sent back. The salted fish was cooked with eggplant and fatty pork, all fried in lard. When the dish was served, glossy and rich, it looked very appetizing.
But Bai Lan suddenly found herself without any appetite. She even felt a little nauseated. Strange. She wasn’t lacking in rich food, but she had never been disgusted by fatty pork before.
Xu Jianbei immediately noticed something was off. “What’s wrong?” he asked softly.
Bai Lan replied, “I just suddenly don’t feel like eating.”
Miao Daju noticed that Bai Lan hadn’t touched the salted fish and eggplant dish. “You don’t like the taste? Want me to fry you two eggs instead?”
Bai Lan quickly shook her head. “No, no. I just don’t have much of an appetite.”
Hearing that, Miao Daju grew even more concerned. “Did you eat something bad? We have stomach medicine at home. Want to try a couple of pills later?”
When Xu Jianbei heard this, he said directly, “No need, Mom. You can’t just take medicine without knowing the cause. Don’t worry about us—just eat. We have time this afternoon. We’ll go out for a walk. Maybe it’s just that work has been too busy this week, and my body needs a rest.”
Hearing that she didn’t need to fuss over them, Miao Daju didn’t press further.
Bai Lan smiled and ate a few bites of plain rice, then dumped the rest into Xu Jianbei’s bowl. She was thinking that in the afternoon, they could go out and see if the state-run restaurant had anything fresh and tasty. To be honest, eating home-cooked food every day was getting a little tiresome.
They had planned to find something to eat at the state-run restaurant, but when they left the house around 2 PM, Bai Lan found the sun quite strong and no longer felt like strolling around.
It was already May, the beginning of summer. It wasn’t the hottest time of the year yet, but Bai Lan inexplicably felt very hot.
Xu Jianbei thought the temperature was still bearable, so Bai Lan’s condition worried him a little.
“Should we go to the hospital?”
Bai Lan thought for a moment, then shook her head. “Maybe it’s just the start of hot weather—summer lethargy. There’s a pharmacy up ahead. Let’s go buy some ingredients for sour plum drink.”
Sour plum drink wasn’t medicine, so Xu Jianbei relented. “Alright, but if that doesn’t work, we’re going to the hospital.”
Seeing his worried expression, Bai Lan felt a warm glow in her heart. “Fine, fine. Whatever you say.”
Chatting and laughing, the couple made their way to the pharmacy.
Pharmacies back then were all state-run, selling both Chinese and Western medicines. As soon as Bai Lan and Xu Jianbei walked in, they saw Datou already there, filling a prescription.
Bai Lan didn’t need to ask what it was for.
Datou’s father had been paralyzed for many years. She had heard that every night, his legs were soaked in a decoction of Chinese herbs to invigorate blood circulation and reduce stasis, followed by massage. When Datou was young, Ning’s mother did it all. After Datou grew a bit older, he took over the task.
The herbs weren’t expensive, but buying them every single day for nearly twenty years, on top of supplemental tonics, was exactly why Datou’s family was struggling so much.
Datou spotted Bai Lan and Xu Jianbei. “What are you doing at the pharmacy? Is someone feeling unwell?”
Xu Jianbei replied, “Just buying some sour plum drink ingredients to have on hand.”
The pharmacist on duty was an old neighbor. Overhearing their conversation, he sighed, “Ning Geda may have been bedridden for all these years, but he’s lucky to have such a filial son as Xiaocong (Datou).”
Embarrassed by the praise, Datou scratched his head. “Uncle, don’t say that. Isn’t this just what I’m supposed to do? A son taking care of his father is only right and proper!”
A few other customers in the pharmacy, all from the neighborhood, knew the Ning family’s story. They all chimed in with their own sighs of admiration and sympathy.
These were all able-bodied people earning money to raise their own sons. Yet none of them could be sure that when they grew old, their own sons would care for them with the same devotion.
If it weren’t for Datou’s heavy burdens, some of them would have genuinely considered marrying their daughters to him.
Bai Lan didn’t know what was running through their minds. Seeing everyone praising Datou, she didn’t linger to chat further with him. She tugged at Xu Jianbei’s sleeve and went over to ask the pharmacist for two doses of sour plum drink ingredients.
“Having sour plum drink already? It’s not even that hot yet!”
Bai Lan smiled. “Well, I suddenly lost my appetite and felt like drinking something sour.”
As soon as she said that, an older woman who had been praising Datou casually remarked, “Could it be that you’re pregnant?”
The woman lived in Apricot Blossom Alley and knew that Bai Lan and Xu Jianbei had been married for six months. Young couples were often inexperienced; they might not even realize if she were pregnant.
Bai Lan was stunned for a moment, then seemed to understand. She looked at Xu Jianbei in shock. Xu Jianbei frowned and mentally calculated Bai Lan’s cycle.
“Maybe we should go to the hospital and have it checked?”
They had been busy this month and neither had paid attention to the date. Now, with the woman’s reminder, they quickly calculated and realized her period was already half a month late.
Datou didn’t understand what they were talking about. Seeing Bai Lan and Xu Jianbei huddled together whispering, he didn’t interrupt.
Soon, Bai Lan and Xu Jianbei paid, said goodbye to Datou, and headed to the hospital, carrying their sour plum drink ingredients.
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