The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 55: Pushed Off to the Wandering Taoist
"What I mean is that Mr. Lu has an inherent physical condition called gluten intolerance," Tong Huaqiong emphasized.
After finishing her explanation, she sighed; she doubted these pure and simple ancient people would understand.
"Yes, what my mom means is... it’s something inherent... not a big problem," Gu Dashu said.
"Gluten... well... it can be deadly if severe, but not so bad if mild...," Taohua continued to explain.
Gu Dashu and Taohua’s gaze at Tong Huaqiong was full of a message: "Mom, seeing how rich the Lu siblings are, we understand you want to swindle them, don’t worry, we’ll cooperate."
Actually, the two understood nothing; they could at most grasp the concept of ’inherent’.
They didn’t understand the illness but knew their mom. Their mom’s eyes lit up when she saw the carriage earlier and was thrilled when seeing their elder brother Gu Dahuan; she was definitely hoping to get something from the wealthy family.
No problem, as long as it doesn’t involve harming for wealth, they were willing to cooperate.
"Shut up, you two, don’t disturb Mr. Lu."
Tong Huaqiong yelled, no longer bothered to deal with these naturally exposed bad bamboo.
"Mom, what do you mean?" Jingzhe cautiously asked.
He felt his mom wasn’t rambling, but truly understood Mr. Lu’s condition.
Otherwise, how could she mention such precise and professional diagnosis like "gluten intolerance"?
Lu Zhaoyang lay on the ground for a while, noticeably breathed better, his breathing gradually stabilized, he turned his head towards Tong Huaqiong; despite not understanding the symptoms she mentioned, it inexplicably felt trustworthy.
Lu Zhaozhao glanced at her brother and, as his spokesperson, asked, "Aunt, what does the gluten intolerance you mentioned mean?"
She had accompanied her brother to countless renowned doctors, yet they never mentioned such a term.
"Gluten intolerance means you can’t eat wheat products," Tong Huaqiong clapped her thigh, saying, "It’s an allergy to wheat flour. I wasn’t sure until hearing Ms. Lu mention Mr. Lu was weak after eating a sesame cake, that confirmed the root of Mr. Lu’s illness." Tong Huaqiong said.
She felt discussing wheat protein might go over their heads.
Tong Huaqiong opted for plain and simple explanation.
"It’s like how some are allergic to catkins and aspen fuzz in spring, causing sneezing and itching, severe cases can lead to breathlessness..."
Hearing this, Jingzhe and the others understood.
In Qinghe Bay, some elderly and children couldn’t go out when catkins and aspen fuzz flew rampant.
"The main characteristics of wheat flour allergies are panic attacks, breathlessness, sweating hands and feet after eating wheat made food, Mr. Lu, you show these symptoms. Severe cases might faint, more severe can be..."
Tears rolled down Lu Zhaozhao’s face once more, he choked up, "More severe means death."
Lu Zhaoyang lay on the grass, his eyes sparkled.
Reflecting on his childhood health, it matched perfectly.
His condition flared after eating pastries, hot soup noodles, pancakes... upon careful thought, anything related to wheat flour aggravated his illness.
After consulting countless renowned doctors, burning numerous offerings in temples, nothing worked.
All renowned doctors claimed his issue was intrinsic, yet they couldn’t pinpoint the root cause.
Well, everyone knew wheat as food, a lifesaving sustenance, who could think wheat was akin to poison for some?
"Aunt... I want to ask... cough cough cough..." Lu Zhaoyang felt much better than earlier, yet speaking still involved some panting and coughing.
Jingzhe glanced at Lu Zhaoyang, then asked his mom, "Mom, Mr. Lu wants to know how you learned about gluten intolerance?"
Lu Zhaoyang nodded with difficulty.
Tong Huaqiong thought, no wonder Lu Zhaoyang deeply trusted Jingzhe, taking on the role of a protective senior from Wanliu Academy; just a glance from Jingzhe could discern Lu Zhaoyang’s thoughts, explaining everything.
"When I was a child, Uncle Liu at the west end of your grandfather’s village had the same condition as Mr. Lu, he couldn’t stop wheezing after eating noodles, severe cases made him faint. Once, an old Taoist monk who traveled the world happened to stay overnight at his home when he fainted after eating a bowl of noodles. The traveling monk mentioned gluten intolerance, I remembered it ever since." Tong Huaqiong lied without blinking.
In any era, traveling Taoist monks were regarded as outsiders, transcending human understanding, full of mystique, unattainable.
Carrying a mystical aura, in this era respecting deities, invoking traveling monks, naturally, no one questioned its authenticity.
Lu Zhaoyang and Lu Zhaozhao were no exception; hearing Tong Huaqiong learned it from a traveling monk during childhood, combined with their desire for health improvement, they didn’t doubt a bit.
Especially Lu Zhaoyang, his grandfather traveled from Jiangnan to Mo Bei for business, encountering many men with special skills, thus he categorized Tong Huaqiong among them.
Not only did the Lu siblings believe, even Jingzhe believed!
"Well then, Mom, did the monk say how to cure this illness? What medicine should be taken?"
Gu Dahuan, fearing Tong Huaqiong to his core, bravely asked for the sake of his master, Mr. Lu.
Tong Huaqiong glared at Gu Dahuan, cursed "Fool," then continued, "There’s no medicine!"
Lu Zhaozhao’s face turned pale instantly.
"Aunt, your meaning is... I don’t touch..."
Jingzhe saw Lu Zhaoyang struggling to speak, so he added, "Mr. Lu can avoid allergies by not eating food made from wheat flour."
Lu Zhaoyang’s gaze burned towards Tong Huaqiong.
Tong Huaqiong clapped her thigh, saying, "My son is right. Mr. Lu just needs to avoid wheat and flour based food. Take the man in our village, now fifty, grandchildren all around, still lively, can farm and chop wood on the hills. Just his teeth aren’t great, eating coarse grains without shelling them." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
Tong Huaqiong thought, avoiding flour, wheat products might be tough for an average family.
Not eating those could lead to starvation!
However, for the affluent Lu Family, it’s not a problem, whether it’s eating rice or meat, they have choices.
Even if Mr. Lu never eats any staples, he could lead a good life.
The wealthy never fret over options in any era.
As expected, Lu Zhaozhao and Lu Zhaoyang, the siblings felt a rush of salvation, it’s just about not eating flour and wheat products, right?
They won’t eat them, plenty alternatives to choose from.
"Aunt, thank you, didn’t expect my brother’s illness could be solved with such a simple method. Once I’m home, I’ll inform grandfather, there’ll never be wheat flour products on my brother’s table again," Lu Zhaozhao said excitedly.
"Honestly, what I said might not be entirely correct, Mr. Lu could try. It’s like some people’s zodiac inherently clash, like dragons and tigers, just keep them apart; similar with food, persimmons and crabs shouldn’t be eaten together, keep them separate." Tong Huaqiong spoke casually.
"I see Mr. Lu has a prosperous-looking face, certainly destined for longevity," Tong Huaqiong folded her hands in a blessing manner.
She genuinely hoped Lu Zhaoyang would live long.
This way, Jingzhe’s karmic debt would be lessened, although Lu Zhaoyang’s previous life’s death had nothing to do with Jingzhe.
Still, Jingzhe, having let down Lu Zhaoyang’s sister, using the Lu family’s wealth for his path, the Gu family owed Lu Zhaoyang in the past life.
Tong Huaqiong’s words left Lu Zhaozhao with tears.
Is there hope for her brother?
Jingzhe looked closely at Lu Zhaoyang under the echoing sunset, pondering how his mom saw prosperity in his pale, sickly face.
Regardless, since mom said so, he wouldn’t undermine her.
After all, such affluent gentlemen, without illness or accidents, generally live longer than those of less fortunate families.
"Thank you, Aunt, even if it’s comforting, I’m convinced." Lu Zhaoyang wanted to sit up and bow to Tong Huaqiong, Gu Dahuan helped him up.
Lu Zhaoyang was in no condition to continue traveling.
He clearly rejected consulting doctors.
In this context, heading to a town inn seemed the only option.
Tong Huaqiong restrained him, sternly admonishing Gu Dahuan: "Da Han, escorting Mr. Lu and Ms. Lu home, yet you leave them in the woods thoughtlessly; don’t you know to send them to the town inn?"
Gu Dahuan opened his mouth.
He wished to send them to a hotel, but he dared not!
Already attempted before, only to be rejected by Lu Zhaoyang.
