Chapter 44: Medical Skills Beyond His Expectations

Great-Aunt didn't think much and gently pushed Little Joe toward Annette. "Go on, let Auntie Annette take a look."

Little Joe timidly walked over to Annette and stood still, not daring to move.

Annette held his small hand and smiled warmly. "Little Joe, you're handsome. Don't be afraid. Open your mouth wide so I can check your teeth, okay?"

Little Joe obediently opened his mouth wide.

Annette smiled and stroked his little head. "Good boy. Now, try to curl your tongue like I do."

Little Joe cooperated very well.

Stuart watched quietly, never having seen this gentle side of Annette before. He was also surprised that she knew how to do this kind of check.

Annette examined Little Joe's tongue, then gently felt his neck and throat from behind, smiling as she patted his head. "Very good."

Stuart didn't notice the brief seriousness flashing across Annette's face; since Great-Aunt was present, he didn't ask further.

While they chatted, Great-Uncle came back carrying farming tools. Seeing Stuart, he slapped his thigh in frustration, "I knew you'd come these days. I went to catch rabbits early this morning, but didn't catch any."

Stuart stood up. "No worries, Great-Uncle, I brought some meat."

Annette looked at Great-Uncle, a very thin old man, his face full of wrinkles and a goatee, giving off a stubborn and straightforward vibe.

Great-Aunt whispered from the side, "Keep your voice down, don't scare Longlock's wife."

Great-Uncle then looked at Annette and kept praising her, urging her to sit quickly. "Sit, sit down quickly."

Annette sat down again and learned through the conversation that the old couple's only son and daughter-in-law were killed a few years ago. Their grandson was two years younger than Stuart. Three years ago, something happened to the son, so now only Little Joe stayed with them, relying on each other.

"A rope always breaks at the thin part" — that was certainly true.

When Great-Aunt went to prepare the meal, Annette followed to help. Seeing her trembling while cutting meat, afraid she might hurt her hand, she said, "Great-Aunt, let me do it."

Great-Aunt didn't refuse and handed her the knife. "I'm old, my hands aren't steady. These past two years, I don't know why, but my hands keep shaking."

Annette looked at Great-Aunt's hands. "Have you been to a hospital to check?"

Great-Aunt shook her head. "What's the point? When you're old, you get all sorts of ailments. No need to check."

Annette understood the elderly woman was reluctant to spend money and thought it best to tell Stuart to persuade her to go for a checkup.

Back in the yard, Stuart chatted with Great-Uncle.

Great-Uncle smoked his pipe and looked at Stuart. "I overheard on the way back that you came to discuss splitting the family assets?"

Stuart nodded, "Yes."

Great-Uncle said nothing. He knew how greedy and selfish Grace was. The family had been doing well all these years, thanks to Stuart sending money home. But about splitting the family: "Longlock, think carefully. Don't let them cause trouble at your workplace."

The old man sincerely cared for Stuart. After coming out of this poor mountain village, he shouldn't let anyone ruin his future.

Stuart shook his head, "Don't worry, Great-Uncle. They won't dare."

Seeing Stuart's confidence, Great-Uncle fell silent for a moment, then nodded. "Since you've decided, you have my support."

Annette cut off some fat from the pork; the remaining meat stew had potatoes in it.

She also diced some fat and mixed it with cornmeal and chopped scallions, making pancakes.

This household had very little oil in the bottle, no refined flour their daily life was tough.

Great-Aunt looked pleased from the side, and when she went out for water, she quietly praised Stuart to Annette, "You've found a good wife, not delicate."

After lunch, Annette noticed Stuart had secretly placed a stack of money under a plate — it looked like several tens of yuan.

She wondered why Stuart brought so much money this time; it looked like he even had some savings.

After eating, as they left, Stuart sincerely thanked Annette, "Thank you for today."

Annette thought Stuart had his reasons for taking her around, but couldn't quite figure it out yet. The more important thing was Little Joe's condition.

"I didn't do much, no need to thank me. But Little Joe's condition isn't good. His hearing is fine, but he can't speak. We must take him to a big hospital in the city for examination."

She had felt a lump on his throat earlier, and further tests were needed to rule out a tumor.

Stuart frowned. "Is it serious?"

He already trusted Annette's medical skills, far better than she'd let on about only learning a bit from her grandfather.

Annette wouldn't make rash conclusions. "We should check it out. Also, Great-Aunt needs a hospital visit."

Stuart was silent for a moment. "Okay, I understand."

As they walked back, they met many villagers enjoying the afternoon sun after lunch, chatting and gossiping.

They greeted Stuart and Annette warmly, though behind their backs, many still called Stuart a "heartless man." But they were friendly nonetheless — after all, Stuart was the village's first successful official.

When Stuart and Annette walked away, the villagers watched them quietly and whispered:

"Second Brother's wife is prettier than Laura."

"What good is that? Look how delicate she is. A gust of wind and she'll fall. Laura is definitely more capable."

"Stop talking nonsense. At least Annette has a city household registration and eats rationed grain."

"True, but small hips mean hard to have children — no sons."

They envied Annette's city hukou since she didn't have to work and got food rations monthly.

Annette and Stuart returned home. Stuart's family had finished lunch. Two children sat in the yard, picking at chicken with runny noses. Clara was washing clothes by the well.

She lowered her head quickly when Stuart called "Second Brother."

Annette noticed Clara's face was swollen and bruised — she must have been beaten by Carl, that bastard who was no good.

No one else was around; maybe the cat was inside.

Annette, thinking about her bag left in the house, was a bit cautious. She quickly went inside. What if Grace rummaged through her things while she was out?

Back in her room, the bag was intact on the dresser. She opened it — clothes were neatly folded, malt extract and milk powder underneath were all there. She finally relaxed.

Stuart followed behind, watching her cautious behavior, and couldn't help but say, "They won't dare."

If they hadn't proposed splitting the family, Grace probably would have already searched her things. Now that they did, and Grace didn't want a split, she wouldn't cause trouble at this critical moment.

Annette was caught off guard but quickly zipped her bag and turned to Stuart. "Are we staying home this afternoon?"

She wanted to ask — if they were splitting the family, could they still eat together at night? Could they still chat properly?