The Daily Life of a Down-on-Hard-Life Medicine Girl Supporting Her Family

Chapter 51 Wet Nurse Wu
When Chunnuan returned to town from the village, she found a reserved young woman in the courtyard.

"Nuan Nuan, you're back. Come here quickly, your aunt has something to tell you." Madam Xu turned to the young woman and said, "Wait a moment."

"it is good."

The woman blushed and watched nervously as Xu Shi and Chun Nuan entered Zhu Lingling's room.

"A wet nurse? Sent by Mrs. Zhao?"

Chunnuan was unaware that during the two hours she was away from home, guests arrived, and later the guests brought a wet nurse.

"Nuan Nuan, what do you think we should do about this?"

They should accept it, as the Xiao family couldn't afford the expenses of a wet nurse. Although Mrs. Zhao said she would pay for the wet nurse's expenses, the Xiao family would never take advantage of her; if they didn't accept it, not only would they be disrespecting Mrs. Zhao, but their eldest grandson would also go without milk.

Even the usually shrewd Mrs. Xu felt caught in a dilemma and could only turn to her niece for help.

"Eldest sister-in-law..."

"I don't feel any milk production yet."

She couldn't squeeze any milk out. To feed her son, she kept drinking soup, a bowl every hour, but apart from urinating, not a single drop of milk came out.

"Let me take your pulse." After taking her pulse, Chunnuan put Zhu Lingling's hand under the quilt and covered it: "Aunt, sister-in-law, let me take the pulse of that wet nurse. If she is healthy and has a clean family background, we can keep her."

"Nuan Nuan, am I... will I never have any more milk?" Zhu Lingling felt ashamed. How could she be a mother? Why didn't she have any breast milk? Wasn't this just adding to the burden on her family?

“Eldest sister-in-law, you will have breast milk, but your body is not suited to overexertion,” Chunnuan said. “Only with a wet nurse to take care of the child can you get proper rest.”

"I'm so useless."

"Eldest sister-in-law, you can't say that. You are a great contributor to our family." Chunnuan said, "Take good care of your health and don't let any illness develop, or you'll regret it."

There are priorities and ways to alleviate them. The Xiao family is indeed short of money, but some things cannot be bought with money.

The eldest sister-in-law's health is severely depleted. If she continues to breastfeed for another year or two, the consequences could be dire.

As Chunnu stepped outside, the woman looked up at her with anticipation in her eyes.

"What's your name? How old are you? How many children do you have? Who's in your family?"

“Miss Hui, my name is Wu Ermei, and my husband’s surname is Cao.” Wu Ermei quickly replied, “I am nineteen years old this year, and I have two children. My eldest daughter is three years old, and my youngest daughter…”

At this point, tears welled up in my eyes.

Chunnuan didn't say anything, waiting for her to calm down before speaking.

“My youngest daughter was given away by my mother-in-law the day after she was born. I don’t know where she is or if she is still alive.” Wu Ermei wiped away her tears and choked up. “There are my parents-in-law, my eldest brother and sister-in-law, my younger brother and sister-in-law, my husband’s daughter, and two nephews in my family.”

"Are you over a month old yet?"

Wu Ermei shook her head and whispered.

"This is the seventh day after I gave birth to my second daughter."

A woman who had just given birth seven days prior had already lost her baby and was now forced to work as a wet nurse for someone else. Truly, there are many others whose lives are even harder than her own.

"Did you come here voluntarily to be a wet nurse?"

“I did it voluntarily. I wanted to be a wet nurse so I could have an income. They agreed that as long as I could earn money to support my child, they wouldn’t give Daya away.”

Spring is here... What should I do if I feel like swearing?!
What kind of rubbish is this family?!

She had heard of the preference for sons over daughters, and that some families would kill or throw away newborn girls. Sure enough, this was the first time she had witnessed the evil in human nature!
"Miss, I can breastfeed, and I can do housework, such as laundry and cooking. Please let me stay, Miss. I will definitely work hard and take good care of the young master."

Wu Ermei was eager to get the job, her eyes revealing her eagerness.

"Do you know how much a wet nurse earns per month?" "Yes, Mrs. Zhao said she'd give me one or two taels of silver a month, and if I do a good job, I'll get a bonus during holidays."

One or two taels of silver a month would be incredibly cheap in the capital. But for the Xiao family now, it's a heavy burden. However, they can manage it if they grit their teeth.

Let me take your pulse.

Wu Ermei quickly reached out her hand.

Chunnuan sighed: "Indeed, everyone has their own fate. Although she has only given birth seven days ago, her health is several times better than that of her elder sister-in-law."

"Would it be convenient for you to express some breast milk so I can see it?"

"Convenient, convenient."

Wu Ermei grabbed her clothes and tried to squeeze in.

"Wait a minute." Chunnuan was startled: "Wash your hands first, then squeeze into the room."

"Oh, good."

Wu Ermei was a little embarrassed. Yes, she had forgotten that this was not an ordinary farming family. They used to be an official family in the capital, so they had to be respectful!
Wu Ermei washed her hands and squeezed out most of a bowl of milk from inside the house before bringing it out.

Chunnuan took the bowl, looked at it, and smelled it.

"how?"

Mrs. Xu was extremely envious. Look at this milk, so white and fresh. Other people can have it whenever they want, but her eldest grandson has been born for so long and hasn't been able to drink a drop.

“Okay.” Chunnuan looked at the baby and smelled it. Wu Ermei’s breast milk was good for the baby and the baby was also strong. She was the perfect wet nurse.

"So, can I stay?"

Wu Ermei was overjoyed.

"Come with me to see Mrs. Zhao and tell her about this."

She needed to hand over the arrangements with Mrs. Zhao. The monthly allowance and other necessities would naturally be provided by the Xiao family, and she couldn't trouble the Zhao family.

When Mrs. Zhao met the legendary Miss Xiao, her first thought was: the third son is not good enough for her!

No wonder she talks about Miss Xiao all the time. If it were me, I would talk about her too, no, I would keep her in my heart!

His appearance, his demeanor, his manners... oh my, he's perfect in every way!
If this were her own youngest daughter-in-law, she'd be laughing in her sleep!

“Madam, Madam…” Granny Zhong whispered, “Miss Xiao is thanking you.”

Look how the lady is so smitten, she's just grinning like an idiot and won't even answer the girl's question.

"Ah, oh, Miss Xiao, please sit down, please sit down."

Mrs. Zhao came to her senses and grinned from ear to ear: "No need to thank me. I went to see your son. He's so well-behaved, he naturally needs milk. It just so happens that Wu Ermei is the daughter of my distant cousin. I know her well. It's just... I just thought she was suitable, so I sent her to the Xiao family. Please don't blame me for making this decision on my own."

The main reason was that she had a very pleasant chat with Ms. Xu, and they even made an appointment to have tea and chat together in the future. Good sisters naturally have to help each other out.

"Sister-in-law Wu is a good person," Chunnuan praised. "I just don't know what Mrs. Zhao and the Cao family said about her?"

Despite being a daughter of the Wu family, Chunnuan was left to the Cao family's whims after marrying into the Cao family. From Wu Ermei's words, Chunnuan sensed that her husband was a coward who couldn't protect his wife and daughter, and that the Cao family members were of questionable character, so she was afraid of getting into trouble.

"The Cao family is happy as long as they can give us money."

Although they were distant relatives, they were actually relatives beyond the fifth degree of kinship. Wu Ermei's biological mother, seeing her daughter in such a miserable state, shamelessly sought help from Mrs. Zhao, hoping to find a job for her daughter in the Zhao family after her postpartum period. When Mrs. Zhao saw that Xiao's son had no breast milk, she immediately thought that she could become a wet nurse.

(End of this chapter)