Chapter 120: The Changing Status of the Family
Chapter 120
“The old lady is in extremely good health—”
As soon as she finished speaking, Sheng Mumu's eyebrows moved imperceptibly.
Under the table, her hands secretly clenched her clothes.
Sure enough.
Just as described in the novel, the old lady was suddenly diagnosed with a tumor that rapidly deteriorated.
Prior to this, there were no signs that she might be ill.
Sheng Mumu's thoughts were slightly chaotic.
Knowing how things would unfold in advance gave her a sense of powerlessness, and her palms tingled slightly.
She leaned forward a little, holding on to the table corner. "Dr. Jiang, are there any other tests that weren't done this time?"
Dr. Jiang paused briefly, carefully reviewed everything, and replied with a serious expression:
"Hmm, this time the old lady's tests covered many aspects—lung CT, head CT, 15-item liver function test, 7-item blood lipid test, thyroid..."
When he said the words "tumor screening," Sheng Mumu's eyes suddenly narrowed sharply. She asked:
"Is it possible that there are areas that can't be detected with current domestic medical capabilities?"
Dr. Jiang was taken aback for a moment, then raised a professional smile. "That can happen. Usually—"
Dr. Jiang's reply was very professional, informing Sheng Mumu of the limitations of physical examinations, which could only understand the current physical condition to a certain degree, and could not completely uncover the onset of illness.
From Sheng Mumu's concerned expression, Dr. Jiang sensed her worry, and added:
"I have a senior classmate who has been researching tumor prevention abroad. He happens to be coming back next month. If you feel it's necessary, Madam Qi, I can set up an appointment with him. When he returns, he can examine the old lady again in more detail from the perspective of tumor prevention."
When Sheng Mumu heard this, the worry between her brows finally dissipated somewhat.
"Thank you, Dr. Jiang. That would be best."
Dr. Jiang smiled and nodded. "You're welcome, Madam Qi. I'll arrange it right away."
The old lady saw how concerned her daughter-in-law was about her health, and felt warm inside.
But she didn't want to trouble the young people further, and tugged at Sheng Mumu's clothes, saying:
"Mumu, Dr. Jiang said I'm fine, so I must be fine. There's no need to bring me for another checkup."
Sheng Mumu had a faint smile on her face, coaxing her like a child:
"Granny, look, Dr. Jiang just said physical exams can't fully understand your health. We have to listen to the doctor and get you checked more times."
Sheng Mumu's voice was gentle, but her attitude brooked no refusal. Seeing she couldn't persuade her, the old lady had no choice but to agree.
As they left Dr. Jiang's office, Qi Mo had just finished a call and walked over.
His voice was gentle and low: "What did the report say?"
Sheng Mumu concealed her worries in her heart, smiling brightly as she replied:
"Granny is very healthy."
The man's brows and eyes relaxed, the corners of his mouth curving up slightly. "That's good."
Sheng Mumu paused, then added frankly:
"I'll bring Granny for another checkup later. More frequent checkups will put my mind at ease."
Qi Mo's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly, but he didn't think much of it, simply saying "Alright."
By the time the three of them returned to Xiyue Manor, it was close to 4pm.
As soon as they stepped through the front door, they saw Butler Zhang carrying a large cardboard box from the yard into the house.
Seeing them return, Butler Zhang beamed and shook the cardboard box.
"Granny, Sir, Madam, a package from Madam has arrived."
Feng Yaoqin was sharing her travel experiences in real time on social media.
Two days ago she was posing for scenic photos in a red dress at Chaka Salt Lake, and yesterday she had already arrived in Lanzhou.
After trying the local beef noodles, she was astounded.
She bought over a dozen vacuum-packed bags of beef noodles to send back.
That night, the family sat together eating beef noodles.
The aromatic chili oil was drizzled over them, then poured into the noodle soup.
With a sizzling "chi" sound, the aroma overflowed.
Qi Mo and Qi Shaobai ate the beef noodles slowly and carefully.
Napkins were on their laps, and tall glasses of iced water beside their hands.
They ate the authentic local noodles as if they were in a 3-star Michelin restaurant.
"Elegant, truly elegant," Sheng Mumu couldn't help sarcastically commenting. As she finished speaking, the two Qi men looked over at the same time.
Sheng Mumu said, "Elegant, but unnecessary. Look at me, this is how noodles should be eaten to bring out the flavor."
With that, she picked up her bowl, mixed some noodles with the rich soup stock, and slurped it up.
The old lady laughed heartily, pointing at her grandson and great-grandson:
"Right, the way Mumu eats noodles is correct. You two need to learn from her."
Qi Mo: "..."
Qi Shaobai: "..."
Amid the happy atmosphere, Sheng Mumu's phone rang.
It was a video call from Feng Yaoqin.
As soon as the screen appeared, she saw her daughter-in-law and the old lady eating the beef noodles she had sent back. Her smile could not have been more radiant.
"You're all eating it! Does it taste good?"
Sheng Mumu showed her the empty soup bowl to the camera lens, giving an enthusiastic thumbs up:
"Mom, it's amazing. I finished all the soup."
Feng Yaoqin grinned from ear to ear, saying she would send back more local specialties from the next stop.
Qi Shaobai ate with his head down, imperceptibly glancing around at everyone's faces.
He was surprised to realize that in this family, people's positions seemed to have changed unknowingly.
Take right now for instance.
Even though Dad and Granny were there, Granny had chosen to video call her young stepmother.
She chatted with her the whole time without even mentioning Dad once.
It was obvious who she felt closer to.
Ten minutes passed.
Just as Feng Yaoqin was about to hang up, Qi Shaobai finally heard his father's name mentioned in the call.
"Oh right, I almost forgot the main thing. Qi Mo, do you still remember Uncle Fang who used to live next door to us?"
Sheng Mumu tilted the phone camera slightly to include Qi Mo in the frame.
Qi Mo knitted his brows, pondering the name his mother mentioned.
After a long time, his elegant eyebrows quirked up slightly. "That's Uncle Fang in 303 who worked at the newspaper, right?"
Before his business success, he had lived with his parents Qi in an old, shabby apartment complex inside the 3rd Ring Road.
Over a decade ago when the complex was demolished, many childhood names he often heard had not been mentioned again for a long time.
Feng Yaoqin's voice came from the phone:
"That's right, that's 303 Uncle Fang who worked at the newspaper. He used to be your dad's colleague. After the apartment demolition he moved his whole family to Yun City."
"Today I got a call from Uncle Fang. He said his daughter got married and moved to Beijing. They're hosting a wedding banquet this weekend and invited me to attend."
"Since I'm traveling out of town, I can't make it back. Go and represent me on Friday afternoon, okay?"