She led the whole village to prosperity by raising koi fish.

Chapter 3 Family Reunion

The next day, the woman prepared medicine early and fed it to Old Su. Then she, her son, and daughter stayed by Old Su's bedside, the three of them silently praying that Old Su would wake up soon.

Perhaps moved by the family's prayers, Old Su, the head of the family who had been unconscious and seemingly asleep, finally began to stir. His eyes, which had been tightly closed for so long, trembled slightly, as if struggling to break free from the shackles of darkness; his fingers twitched involuntarily, as if trying to grasp something to support himself and return to the real world. As time passed, Old Su's breathing gradually became steady and strong, and his once pale face slowly regained some color. Finally, to everyone's anxious anticipation, Old Su slowly opened his eyes. Although his gaze was still somewhat unfocused, he could clearly see the faces and concerned eyes of those around him.

"Father's awake!" Su Yuning and Su Muyang exclaimed in unison. The woman was a little incredulous, quickly rubbing her eyes. Seeing Old Su gazing at her affectionately, she was certain that her husband had woken up. Then, the woman burst into tears and threw herself into Old Su's arms.

"Great! You're finally awake!"

"Ahem, the children are watching, be mindful of your behavior, my lady!" Old Su reminded her shyly.

"Oh, I understand." The woman quickly wiped away her tears with her sleeve. "Husband, you rest first, I'll go and ask the doctor to examine you again!"

"Mother, don't go. My sister and I will go and fetch a doctor! Father needs your company and care now," the second son of the Su family suggested.

"But...you're not familiar with the doctor, won't you get lost?" the woman asked with a worried expression.

“Mom, you’re overthinking it! We’re not children anymore, and besides, the doctor is in the next village. We can find him by asking around!” Su Yuning said casually.

"Alright then, go and come back soon!" the woman nodded in response.

It was almost noon, and the sun was blazing. When the brother and sister arrived at the doctor's house, they were already drenched in sweat. They briefly explained their situation to the doctor, who then carried his medicine box and they continued their journey together.

A quarter of an hour later, the doctor arrived at the Su family's house. The woman quickly made way for him. After taking Old Su's pulse, the doctor swiftly wrote down a prescription and handed it to the woman, earnestly giving her instructions.

"Just get the medicine according to this prescription. Although he has woken up now, his internal injuries still need to heal slowly, so he needs to avoid certain foods, including spicy and cold ones. Also, he should avoid overexertion and get plenty of rest."

The woman nodded. "Okay, I understand. By the way, doctor, how much is the consultation fee?"

"Since you're from the countryside, let's waive the consultation fee," the doctor replied calmly.

"No, no, no, we have copper coins! Mother, quickly go to the cabinet and get some copper coins for the doctor!" Old Su, lying on the bed, urged anxiously.

"Alright," the woman replied, then hurriedly rummaged through the chests and cabinets to find her money bag, took out a dozen or so copper coins and gave them to the doctor. The doctor declined at first, but finally accepted half of the coins, then shouldered his medicine box and left the Su family.

"Go and see the doctor off! What are you two kids standing there for?" Old Su reminded him.

"Okay, we understand," the children replied in unison, and then escorted the doctor back.

At this moment, the eldest son of the Su family and his wife arrived after hearing the news.

"Dad! How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, no need to come all this way to see me," Old Su replied coldly, then turned his back to them. He wasn't welcoming of the young couple's uninvited arrival.

At this moment, the woman next to her quickly tried to smooth things over, saying, "Honey, the children are only coming to see you because they care about your health. Can't you just talk to them properly?"

Old Su understood, of course, so he didn't say anything back, no matter how much his wife scolded him.

At this moment, the eldest son's wife carefully handed the woman a small basket of eggs.

"Mom, these are eggs I bought for Dad. Please cook them for him when you have time so he can get some nutrition."

The woman hurriedly pushed the eggs away, saying, "No, no, daughter-in-law, you're still in the important stage of your pregnancy. You should take the eggs back with you."

“Mother! We are family. This is just a small token of our appreciation. Please accept it!” the eldest son of the Su family said firmly.

The woman turned around, glanced at Old Su's expression, and then accepted the basket of eggs.

As luck would have it, just as the eldest son and his wife sat down, the old lady of the Su family arrived, leaning on her cane and trembling unsteadily.

"My son! How pitiful you are!" The old woman cried and sobbed as she held Old Su's hand.

"If anything were to happen to you, this old woman wouldn't be able to live anymore, sob sob sob~"

Old Su offered his advice with a helpless expression.

"Stop crying, dear mother. I'm injured, not dead. What kind of behavior is this, crying like this? People who don't know better will think that our family has bullied you."

The woman quickly comforted her, "Don't cry, Mother-in-law. Your husband is feeling much better now, and he'll be able to go out and earn money to support the family soon."

Grandma Su nodded, "That's good, that's good."

Just then, Su's second son and Su Yuning returned—a truly rare treat! The family was finally able to gather together and enjoy this warm and precious moment. Normally, everyone is busy with their own things, either separated by work or bogged down in the琐事 of life, but at this moment, all the busyness and fatigue seemed to vanish.

The cheerful Su Muyang took the initiative to suggest...

"Since Grandmother is here today, my eldest brother and sister-in-law are here, and my parents are home, and my younger sister and I are back too, why don't we all have a family reunion dinner together!"

"Okay!" everyone responded in unison.

Afterwards, Su Yuning went home with her sister-in-law to get vegetables, while the eldest son of the Su family went home with his grandmother to get pickled vegetables. The woman and the second son of the Su family went to the village chief's house to borrow an oxcart, and the mother and son rode the oxcart to town to buy vegetables.

Afterwards, everyone busied themselves in the kitchen. The eldest sister-in-law picked and washed the vegetables, while Su Yuning took charge of the cooking, making spicy pickled vegetable shreds, scrambled eggs with scallions, and boiled eggplant. Finally, the woman returned home and made tofu meatball soup and wild vegetable pancakes.

The whole family sat together, their faces beaming with happiness. They shared their joys and sorrows, filling the home with a warm and loving atmosphere.

At the dinner table, Grandma Su looked at her eldest daughter-in-law with a kind expression and asked gently, "Granddaughter-in-law, when are you going to have the baby? Have you had a doctor check up your health?"

The eldest daughter-in-law replied gently, "I've had a check-up, everything went smoothly, thank you for your concern, Grandma."

Grandma Su said kindly, "We're family, no need for formalities, no need to keep saying thank you."

The eldest daughter-in-law nodded obediently, "Okay, Grandma."

Afterwards, Grandma Su not only added more food for her daughter-in-law, but also took off the bracelet from her wrist and gave it to her granddaughter-in-law to wear.

Su Yuning, who was eating next to her, was a little unhappy and said sourly, "Grandma is biased. She only loves my sister-in-law and not me."

Grandma Su pursed her lips. "What are you saying, girl? When have I ever shown favoritism? Your sister-in-law is now the most important person in our Su family. She'll be adding a member to the family soon. As for you, you'll get married sooner or later. Do you think your in-laws won't love you?"

"Grandma is absolutely right," the eldest son of the Su family quickly replied, then instructed Su Yuning.

"Your sister-in-law is pregnant right now, and the doctor told her not to have too many emotional fluctuations, otherwise it will affect her health. As her sister-in-law, you can't make her angry!"

"Oh, I understand." Su Yuning nodded in response.

At this moment, the second son of the Su family whispered in Su Yuning's ear, "Little sister, don't be envious. When your brother makes money, he will definitely buy you beautiful jewelry."

At this moment, Su Yuning became happy and replied joyfully, "Second brother is so good!"

Time always flies when you're together. After the reunion dinner, Grandma Su was a little tired, so the woman carefully helped her mother-in-law home.

The eldest son of the Su family and his wife exchanged a few words of concern with their father before leaving in a hurry.

Su Yuning had thought her second brother could keep her company and help her pass the time, but he was also leaving home.

"I've been home long enough, I should go back to work at the teahouse. Little sister, be a good girl and listen to your parents, take good care of them."

Su Yuning was a little reluctant to see him leave, and pleaded coquettishly, "Brother, please stay a few more days before you go, otherwise I'll be too bored at home."

Seeing his younger sister on the verge of tears, the second son of the Su family could only patiently explain to her...

"Little sister likes jewelry, right? I need to work hard to earn money so I can buy you some."

"How long will it take for Second Brother to come back?" Su Yuning asked.

“Next month, I’ll come back to see you and our parents when I have a day off,” the second son of the Su family replied.

"Alright then, it's a deal!"

"Okay, it's a deal!"