Chapter 37: Induced Vomiting

  My younger uncle's family will stay until the second day of the Lunar New Year before leaving.

  The room downstairs was given to them for the three of them to sleep in. There were two more rooms upstairs on the attic floor, and Gu Xiang and her mother moved up there to sleep.

  At night, Gu Xiang lay in her bed and whispered to her mother.

  "I really don't like my aunt."

  "Kids' homes don't have likes or dislikes. Your aunt just has a sharp tongue, but her heart isn't that bad."

  Gu Xiang put her legs on her mother's lap and coquettishly said: "She always takes advantage of her father-in-law and mother-in-law, always coming back to ask for money. During the New Year, she didn't even give a decent gift. The younger aunt is also like that, every time she's on the side stirring up trouble, as if she wants you to fight with the older aunt."

  She knew what her mother was thinking, but still told her: "You should have a sense of propriety in your mind, but as a junior, you can't talk back and make the elders lose face."

  "So in that case, what Big Auntie did was right?"

  "Everyone says that as long as you have a clear conscience, it's fine. Your grandparents are already so old, do you want to make a fuss over this little thing and worry them?"

  Gu Xiang had nothing to say, her mother's mindset of avoiding trouble was still very stubborn.

  The younger uncle's family left on the second day and they still had to go to the younger aunt's mother's house for New Year's greetings.

  Gu Xiang and his mother were originally planning to stay until the fourth day of the new year, but it started raining on the evening of the third day, and the next morning was gloomy, and the ground was particularly difficult to walk on.

  It rained for two days and they stayed until the sixth day of the New Year before leaving.

  Gu Xiang spent this week at her grandmother's house, having breakfast in bed every day, then watching TV for a while, and only getting dressed after the sun had fully risen.

  At night there is supper, sometimes it's chicken soup, and sometimes braised pig's feet are eaten.

  Their complexion has become even more rosy.

  On the sixth day of the new year, Gu Xiang had just returned home when her grandmother called to ask why she hadn't gone to pay her respects yet.

  According to local customs here, all close relatives will finish their New Year's visits before the seventh day of the Lunar New Year.

  Gu Xiang left in the afternoon.

  After Dad went out in the afternoon, there were only Grandpa, Grandma and stepmom at home.

  Grandma saw her and handed her a big red envelope, holding her hand and praising her for looking much prettier with her round face.

  Gu Xiang subconsciously touched his face.

  It seems like I've really gained some weight, and my chin is getting chubby again. My double chin is coming back.

  Gu Xiang chatted with her grandmother for a while and saw that they were all in good spirits. They didn't seem to have any worries or troubles in their daily lives.

  It wasn't until dinner time that Father Gu came back.

  And it was because Grandma called and said Gu Xiang had arrived that he came back.

  Gu Xiang hadn't seen her dad for quite a while either.

  Dad Gu wore a new leather jacket, and the leather was very shiny.

  Looks like it's not cheap.

  He saw Gu Xiang and gave her a red envelope first, also praising that she was well-maintained now.

  Gu Xiang suddenly remembered that when she was a kid, her father had also bought a leather jacket during Chinese New Year.

  She was firing firecrackers during Chinese New Year and accidentally set her hand on fire, so she quickly threw it aside, but unfortunately, it landed on her dad's body and burned a hole in his leather jacket.

  Gu's mother was startled and immediately wanted to scold her.

  Luckily grandma intervened and said it's New Year's Day, can't hit kids.

  But at that time, Gu's father and mother were not divorced yet.

  His dad didn't spoil him this much before.

  Just in time for dinner, I still have to set off some firecrackers.

  Mr. Gu also thought of this and teased Gu Xiang: "Ya Ya, you can play with marbles, but don't throw them at Daddy."

  Grandpa and grandma have thought of this too, the whole family is having a great time.

  The stepmother, unaware of what was going on inside, stood beside him with an awkward smile.

  The dishes at grandma's house are very different from those at grandma's house.

  The dishes at grandma's house are grown and cooked by themselves, and the chickens, ducks and geese are also raised by themselves.

  The dishes at grandma's house are obviously bought, the sausage is only stuffed by someone, and the chicken is marinated and bought.

  It's not that it doesn't taste good, it's just that Kou Xiang's mouth has been a bit temperamental these past few days, so eating isn't particularly enjoyable.

  For example, the meat in sausages is mostly fat and less lean meat.

  One bite and it's all greasy, not to mention that you can't even taste the lean meat flavor, it's completely unpalatable.

  Grandma saw that Xiang's appetite wasn't very good, so she asked her if the dishes didn't suit her taste, and what she wanted to eat, told Gu Daddy to buy for her.

  It's too late for Gu Xiang to let her dad go out and buy vegetables.

  Besides, there aren't many shops open outside during the Chinese New Year period.

  Gu Xiang could only force himself to eat more dishes.

  After one meal, I ate at least two catties of oil.

  After dinner, Grandma still wanted Gu Xiang to stay overnight.

  Gu Xiang really felt uncomfortable living in someone else's home. In the summer it was still okay to say, taking a shower and then sleeping was fine.

  It's even more troublesome to sleep outside in winter.

  Grandma didn't force her either, and let Mr. Gu take her back home.

  Mr. Gu directly sent her to the entrance of the building and left only after seeing Gu Xiang enter the corridor.

  Gu's mother is watching TV in the living room and eating melon seeds.

  As soon as Gu Xiang came back, she asked if she was cold and plugged in the heater, letting her sit down beside it.

  Gu Xiang said it's not cold.

  When eating, both grandpa and grandma's place and her dad's car had turned on the air conditioner.

  Gu Xiang changed into an old cotton-padded jacket she wore at home and ran into the kitchen.

  There are many things to eat at home.

  She ate too much greasy food at dinner and felt a bit carsick on the way back.

  She saw her mother steaming glutinous rice and used it to cook a porridge.

  "Mom Gu saw her busy in the kitchen and asked: "What's wrong? Are you hungry again so soon? Didn't eat enough?"

  "Where can I? I eat a lot. It's just that the dishes at grandpa and grandma's house are all half-cooked, especially oily, I feel a bit nauseous."

  Gu's mother went into the kitchen and saw that she was cooking congee. "Glutinous rice is hard to digest, eating it will make you feel even worse."

  Gu Xiang felt a wave of nausea rising up in her stomach and rushed to the living room to drink a large cup of hot tea from her thermos.

  Then he rushed to the toilet and vomited.

  "Was it serious? Should we go see a doctor?"

  Gu Xiang waved her hand and went to rinse her mouth with tap water after she had finished vomiting.

  She's also good at making people vomit.

  It is known that before vomiting, a lot of water should be poured in, so that the thick digestive matter in the stomach can come out smoothly.

  Besides, she was already feeling nauseous on her own, so it didn't hurt much anyway.

  It's just scary to look at, like eating something bad.

  Gu's mother let her sit on the sofa and drink some hot tea.

  She changed into a pressure cooker and cooked porridge for her, which was done in no time.

  Glutinous rice porridge with a few spoons of white sugar stirred in is sweet and sticky.

  Gu Xiang ate a bowl and felt much more comfortable in her stomach.

  The next day happened to be when Auntie Gu Xiang came over.

  Her menstrual cramps are much more severe in winter, and now she's writhing in agony.

  I still have diarrhea.

  Her mother saw her vomiting and having diarrhea, so she thought she must have eaten something bad and wanted to take her to the hospital for a check-up.

  Gu Xiang had actually been preparing to go to the hospital for a long time, but she just didn't know how to bring it up.

  Because according to the older generation's way of thinking, going to the hospital in the first month is very unlucky.

  Now that her mother has spoken up, Gu Xiang naturally agrees.

  However, she was looking at gynecology rather than gastroenterology.

  Her mother died of cervical cancer in her previous life.

  The B-ultrasound is 80 yuan, and the price is still not cheap.

  But Gu's mother definitely wouldn't save this money, she thought Gu Xiang was right - the old Chinese doctor's medicine had been taken for several months, and her dysmenorrhea hadn't changed at all, it would be better to have a thorough examination to feel more at ease.

  Gu Xiang pulled her mom along and registered together.

  Gu's mother was initially reluctant, thinking it was a waste of money. Although she occasionally felt uncomfortable, it was also common for people of her age.

  Gu Xiang then persuaded her mother, saying: "You're persuading me to see a doctor and take medicine because you care about me. I also want to care about you. At the beginning of the year when we visited relatives, didn't Fengping Auntie mention that she had an operation for uterine fibroids? The money for this examination can't be saved! If you're worried about the cost, I'll pay for today's examination."

  She still had two red envelopes on her body from her father and grandmother, totaling nearly one thousand yuan.

  Gu Xiang said very seriously.

  In the past six months, she has become much more mature and often discusses things with her mother.

  At this time, hearing her say so made me feel that she was sensible, and I listened to her.

  Gu Xiang was particularly nervous, with sweat seeping from his palms and a cold, damp patch on his back.

  And she still has to pretend nothing's wrong in front of her mom.

  After examination, Gu Xiang's body is fine.

  Mom Gu's body is not very good, but it's also not a big problem, just some inflammation.

  After hearing what the doctor said, Mrs. Guo whispered to Gu Xiang and complained: "I said I was fine, wasting money."

  The doctor, a woman in her fifties who was writing the prescription, looked up and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, saying: "This inflammation doesn't look serious at first glance, but if it develops further, it could lead to cervical erosion! And if it continues to develop, it could become cervical cancer!"

  The female doctor's words were a bit too heavy.

  But also for the sake of patients, now too many people don't take minor illnesses seriously and only come to see a doctor when it's too late, what's the use of that?

  The doctor is indeed a great god!

  Gu Xiang involuntarily shuddered.

  Gu's mother saw her daughter scared and pale, so she quickly patted her back to comfort her.

  She herself didn't dare to take it lightly anymore and hurriedly went to ask the doctor about the usage of the prescribed medicine.