Chapter 44: Rain Palpitations 3

Looking at the old woman’s reddened eye rims, Li Tianer suddenly thought of her own grandmother, and involuntarily shifted her body slightly forward.
Without needing to ask, the old woman before her was the mother of this current Li Tianer.
"It's all Mother's fault for coming to see you so late."
"I'm fine."
Although she felt a certain fondness for the old woman and didn't want to cause her worry, calling her "Mother" was something she simply could not bring herself to do, no matter what.
"As long as you're fine, as long as you're fine. Since Songyuan arranged such a good hospital for you, I knew for sure that any ailment could be cured."
Fan Lihua straightened her posture, leaned back naturally, released Li Tianer's hand, and pressed the corner of her shirt to her eyes. Her cloud-cast, sorrowful face smoothed out. She raised her eyes to appraise the ward, letting out exclamations of praise.
Anhe Gynecological Hospital was located by Bailu Lake in the center of Rongcheng. It consisted of two interconnected six-story buildings made of red bricks and grey tiles, covering an area of over a hundred mu, nestled amidst lush woods and blooming flowers. Every window framed a scenic view, and the hardware and software facilities inside the ward were of cutting-edge high technology.
It was said that the founding ancestor of Anhe Hospital shared the surname An and had served as an imperial physician in the royal palace. Starting from a small medical clinic and enduring over two hundred years of ups and downs, through the efforts of several generations of the An family, it had evolved into a noble specialty hospital renowned throughout the province and even the entire country.
"This room must be twenty or thirty square meters, right? It looks even bigger than your younger brother's new apartment. How much does it cost to stay here for a night? Look at this bed, this cabinet, the sofa, and these curtains..."
Fan Lihua felt that her eyes were not enough to take it all in, pinching the curtain and reluctant to let go. She scrunched the smoky-blue silk curtain into a ball and then smoothed it out, marveling as it recovered its original flatness and luster:
"This must be brocade material. I remember seeing people use this kind of material to make quilt covers when I was little. When placed under the sun, that quilt showed a rippling, water-like sheen—it was so pretty."
The hospital's curtain fabric was indeed fine, but it certainly was not quilt cover material from decades ago.
Li Tianer was left dumbfounded and amused by this provincial old woman. Turning her head to glance at the hanging IV bottle, she saw that it was already empty. She quickly clamped the infusion tubing and pressed the call button.
Nurse Li Ya efficiently replaced the empty bag with a new one of medication, cast a quick glance at Fan Lihua, who was still rubbing the curtain by the window, suppressed any words, and hurried out.
Fan Lihua finally let go of the curtain and sat down on the sofa, pressing down hard on the cushion with both hands before leaning back with a look of satisfaction.
"Tianer, your younger brother wants to open an art training school in partnership with some friends. Do you think you can come up with two hundred thousand?"
"Open an art training school?"
"Yes, Tao Xin wants to start a business and be his own boss. As his older sister, you have to support him."
Only then did Fan Lihua carefully observe Li Tianer's expression. Li Tianer's indifferent appearance made Fan Lihua feel somewhat guilty.

"I know, when your brother got married, you gave him one million to buy a house, and one million is a large sum even for you. It's only been half a year, so you certainly need some breathing room. But you also know how good your sister-in-law's background is; it's a blessing bestowed upon our family that she could fancy your brother.
It's definitely not right for your brother to lack a proper livelihood. Now that he finally has the determination to do something substantive, we can't just refuse to help. Discuss this with Songyuan and have him take two hundred thousand out of the factory funds as a loan from Tao Xin. Your brother said the art training school will recoup its costs in a year, and he'll return the principal and interest to you then."
"Oh, as for this matter, you should go talk to Songyuan about it."
After listening for a while, Li Tianer understood. The old woman before her had not come to check on her daughter's condition at all...
"It's better if you talk to Songyuan. You are husband and wife, so you're naturally closer than I, his mother-in-law, could be."
Fan Lihua stood up from the sofa somewhat gleefully and walked over to the bed to take Li Tianer's hand. Unwilling to be grasped by Fan Lihua's withered hand, Li Tianer slipped her hand back under the covers and offered Fan Lihua an apologetic smile.
"You should talk to Songyuan."
Saying Songyuan's name this time felt much more natural.
"That's fine too, but you still have to help put in a good word. Songyuan dotes on you the most and is completely obedient to you; whatever you say, he'll make happen for you."
Good grief, there was no such thing as unconditional love in this world. Even the most affectionate couple could never reach the point of absolute obedience!
Li Tianer thought to herself that even a twenty-year-old girl like her understood this principle, yet an old woman in her sixties failed to see through something so obvious.
Talking about money ruins relationships!
Li Tianer smiled inwardly, unwilling to exchange any more words with this mother of hers. She closed her eyes slightly and began to ponder once again the miracle of her time travel last night—under what exact circumstances had it occurred? As long as the same conditions were met, traveling back wouldn't be a problem.
Could it have been because of the moon?
Thinking of the bizarre, orange-red full moon from the previous night, the more she pondered, the more she felt that the portal of time and space was connected to that moon. She could try again tonight...
"Tianer, are you listening to me?"
Fan Lihua patted the top of Li Tianer's blanket.
"Oh, go on."
Li Tianer looked out the window. Although it was the third month of spring and still somewhat chilly with the lingering winter cold, the sunlight was quite pleasant.
"I'm saying you need to give me this month's living allowance. It's already been two days past due."

"Oh, you can ask Songyuan for it."
Passing everything off onto that middle-aged uncle of a husband was the most appropriate course of action.
Li Tianer continued to gaze out the window. The edge of the blanket was abruptly yanked away, revealing Fan Lihua's displeased face. Li Tianer had no choice but to pretend to look at her attentively.
"The three-thousand-yuan monthly living allowance is what you give me out of the household funds. We can't let Songyuan know about this."
"Oh?"
"What do you mean 'oh'?! You need to give it to me right away today; I have an urgent use for it. I went to your house last night to get it, but I was given the cold shoulder and it almost messed up my plans."
Fan Lihua's long, thin cheeks showed a look of grievance.
Unsure of the situation, Li Tianer found it difficult to respond. Seeing that her daughter remained silent, Fan Lihua grew anxious. She had come today specifically for those three thousand yuan. If she couldn't get the money, she would lose face in front of that person, and how could she get along after that...
"You must have brought money with you when you were hospitalized. Just give me three thousand for my urgent use first."
"I don't have any money on me. Why don't you look for it yourself?"
"You, you ungrateful wretch! Are you blaming me for not coming to the hospital to see you right away?! You didn't even tell me, how was I supposed to know you were hospitalized for surgery?"
Fan Lihua grew angry out of shame. Whenever she asked her daughter for money in the past, Li Tianer would obediently hand it over before she even finished extending her hand. Today, not only was she making excuses and withholding the money, but she hadn't even called her "Mother" once since stepping through the door.
"I really don't have any money. Why don't you wait for Songyuan to come over, and I'll ask him where my money is."
"Don't play dumb with me! Isn't your money given to you by Songyuan? Just ask him directly for it. I'll come back again this afternoon, so you better have the money ready. If I don't get the money this afternoon, I'm not leaving."
Fan Lihua stormed out aggressively. Li Tianer stared blankly at the empty doorway. What kind of mother was this? She was practically a tiger that ate people without spitting out their bones!
After Fan Lihua had been gone for a long time, An Changlin still hadn't returned. Once all three bags of IV fluids were finished, a warm herbal pack was placed over her navel. Drowsy and fatigued, Li Tianer drifted off to sleep.