Mental Illness

After the incident where even dogs wouldn't eat the food, Su Ziyang's mother was heartbroken, but she didn't give up. Instead, she started learning to cook every day using her phone.

As the saying goes, even when you're relaxing at home, your culinary skills will grow in your heart...

Normally, when he wasn't doing this research, Su Ziyang could still eat his mom's porridge at home, but this research turned out to be a disaster.

It was only then that Su Ziyang realized that there are many ways a dish can taste bad.

After nearly two weeks of hard work, and with the constant persuasion of Su Ziyang and his father, Su Ziyang's mother finally gave up her determination to become a culinary expert.

That day, Su Ziyang was lying in his room reading when he heard someone knocking on the door. He got out of bed and opened it.

"Oh dear, Ziyang is at home!"

A woman pushed her bicycle in through the gate.

"Aunt Tong, come in quickly!" Su Ziyang greeted the woman as soon as he saw that she was his mother's old classmate.

"Where is your mother?" Aunt Tong asked.

"My mom went to the store, I'll call her and ask her to come back!" Su Ziyang said, taking out his phone and calling his mother.

"Mom, Aunt Tong is here, come back!"

"I know she's coming. I'll buy some groceries at the supermarket and head home!"

"Aunt Tong, my mom said he's at the supermarket buying groceries and will be back soon. Please come in and have a seat!" Su Ziyang ushered Aunt Tong into the house.

He took out the teapot, brewed a pot of tea, and poured it for Aunt Tong. This Aunt Tong was not only Su Ziyang's mother's classmate but also her childhood friend; in today's terms, she was her best friend.

"Ziyang, I heard from your mother that you're working at a clinic now. How's it going? Is work going well?" Aunt Tong asked, taking a sip of tea.

"Ah, haha. Just getting by, there's not much else to do," Su Ziyang chuckled.

"Why not? You should go back to the county hospital. They'll definitely want you. If we ever get sick or have any trouble, we can always turn to you! Haha!" Aunt Tong laughed.

"Haha, it's not impossible. But I still hope you're healthy and don't come looking for me, preferably never!"

"Haha, the child can talk!" Aunt Tong laughed.

Su Ziyang chatted with Aunt Tong for a while, and then Su Ziyang's mother came back from outside.

"Oh, Tongtong, haha. I just bought some groceries. I'll show off my cooking skills to you at noon, let you try my new signature dishes: blanched baby bok choy and stir-fried lamb with scallions!" Su Ziyang's mother started promoting her recent learning achievements to her best friend as soon as she walked in the door.

"Sure! Let me see how your cooking is!" Aunt Tong readily agreed.

Su Ziyang looked at Aunt Tong with some heartache, while his mother was already giving him a threatening look, the meaning of which was clear: I finally found someone who dares to eat my cooking, if you talk nonsense, I'll beat you up.

Seeing his mother return, Su Ziyang felt embarrassed to interrupt the two old friends' chat, so he very consciously got up and went back to his room to read.

As Su Ziyang was swimming freely in his ocean of knowledge, he suddenly heard crying coming from the living room. Su Ziyang peeked through the crack in the door and saw that Aunt Tong, who had just been cheerful, was covering her face and crying bitterly, while his mother was trying to comfort her.

"Oh dear, you're so old, why get a divorce? Qiangzi couldn't possibly be seeing someone else. I really don't believe he'd do something like that! If you don't like it, I'll call Qiangzi later and have him come over. We'll have a meal together and I'll ask him! I'll make him explain himself to you!" Su Ziyang's mother held a tissue in her hand, wiping away Tongtong's tears as she tried to comfort her.

"It's none of your business, waaaaah~"

It would have been better if I hadn't tried to persuade her; the more I did, the harder she cried.

Hearing his mother's words, Su Ziyang's Eight Trigrams heart immediately perked up!

"Waaaaah~ I found out he's seeing someone else! He stays up all night, secretly playing on his phone and chatting on WeChat behind my back! He wouldn't let me see, so he's seeing someone else! I'm so angry! Waaaaah~"

To be fair, Su Ziyang was doing something good; he secretly watched Aunt Tong cry for as long as she did so.

From the few words he heard, he came to a conclusion: Aunt Tong's husband, Qiangzi, was having an affair!

Sigh, it's true what they say, loneliness is unbearable in middle age! Su Ziyang sighed inwardly.

Strangely enough, Aunt Tong had really good stamina. She cried for a full two hours, and even after Su Ziyang's father had returned from his shop for dinner, she was still crying.

But after seeing Su Ziyang's father return, Aunt Tong's crying subsided considerably. After a few sobs, she quickly wiped her red and swollen eyes.

"What's wrong?" Su Ziyang's father came back and saw that no food had been cooked and Aunt Tong was still sobbing.

"This is none of your business, go cook. Hurry up!" Su Ziyang's mother waved her hand impatiently at her husband.

Seeing that things were going wrong, Su Ziyang's father wisely chose to protect himself and went into the kitchen to cook. Seeing his father in the kitchen, Su Ziyang, no longer wanting to watch the drama unfold, went out and followed him.

"What happened to those two?" Su Ziyang's father asked in a low voice as he watched Su Ziyang enter the kitchen.

"From what my Aunt Tong said, it seems my Uncle Qiangzi is having an affair. And they're getting a divorce!" Su Ziyang's Eight Trigrams heart was pounding, and he rattled off what he had overheard to his father.

Su Ziyang's father was quite shocked after hearing this. "No way! His son, Shuaishuai, got married at the end of last year. I heard that the two of them will be holding their grandchildren in two months. They're already grandparents, how could they possibly be involved in something like this! Besides, Qiangzi such an honest person, how could he have the ability to do something like this? I don't believe it!"

"Dad, even seventy-year-old men have affairs," Su Ziyang said with a sneer.

"Get the hell out of here! You're always so irresponsible!" Su Ziyang's father kicked Su Ziyang in the butt.

"Take my phone out of my pocket and call your Uncle Qiangzi!"

"OK!"

Because of the relationship between Su Ziyang's mother and Tongtong, the two families often visit each other and are quite familiar with each other.

Su Ziyang took out his father's phone, found Qiangzi's number, and dialed it.

"Hey, brother!" Qiangzi's honest voice came through the phone.

"Qiangzi, where are you?" Su Ziyang's father asked while chopping vegetables.

"I just got home. I took a long trip the day before yesterday and just got home! What's up, bro? Something wrong?" Qiangzi asked.

Qiangzi is a truck driver who hauls all sorts of things, often on long-distance trips. He earns a lot of money, but it's extremely hard work.

"It's nothing. Your wife's at my place! Come over, I'll cook a couple of dishes and we'll have a drink!" Su Ziyang's father meant to invite Qiangzi over for a meal and to talk about this matter.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. "Brother, did Tongtong say something to you?"

"Huh!?" Su Ziyang's father exclaimed, "Qiangzi, are you feeling guilty?!"

"Damn it!" Qiangzi cursed. "Brother, believe me. I didn't do that kind of thing, that old woman! She's True Qi!"

"I believe you! Come over. I'm cooking, I have to go!" Su Ziyang's father hung up the phone.

Qiangzi arrived shortly afterward.

Without going inside, they went straight into the kitchen where Su Ziyang's father was cooking.

"Elder brother!"

Qiangzi called out to Su Ziyang's father, who was busy at work, then saw Su Ziyang picking vegetables and said, "Ziyang's back!"

"Uncle Qiang!" Su Ziyang greeted politely.

"Brother, stop what you're doing. I need to tell you something; you have to listen and give me some advice!"

Upon Qiangzi's words, Su Ziyang's father was taken aback. He then put down the spatula he was using to stir-fry the vegetables and turned off the oil that had already been heated.

"Go ahead and speak!" Su Ziyang's father pulled up a stool for Qiangzi and made Qiangzi sit down.

"Brother, I really didn't talk nonsense outside. Tongtong has a mental illness! It's true! Sigh!" Qiangzi sighed as he said this.

"What did you say?" Su Ziyang's father was shocked to hear this.

"Seriously, bro. Ever since the beginning of spring this year, she's been acting strangely. She's either crying or throwing a tantrum. She'll laugh one minute and cry the next. I don't know what's wrong with her. I suggested going to the hospital, but she wouldn't go. Later, I thought she was possessed, so I found a fortune teller to burn incense. The fortune teller said Tongtong was bewitched and demanded 800 yuan from me. But the money was useless; Tongtong still threw tantrums! Later, I suspected she might have a mental illness, but she still wouldn't go to the hospital, so I secretly contacted a psychologist online. When I described my symptoms to the psychologist, she saw it and accused me of cheating, insisting on a divorce... Because of this, I haven't driven far this year; I'm afraid something might happen to her!"

After saying that, Qiangzi took out his phone from his pocket, opened the chat page between himself and the psychologist, and showed it to Su Ziyang's father and Su Ziyang.

Su Ziyang looked at the symptoms that Qiangzi described to the psychologist, and finally the psychologist gave an answer, saying that Tongtong had bipolar disorder.

I recommend taking both olanzapine and carbamazepine.

Qiangzi told Tongtong to take this medicine, Tongtong said that Qiangzi wanted to kill her so that the other woman could take her place!

Su Ziyang and Su Ziyang father felt somewhat helpless after hearing Qiangzi's story. Physical illnesses are relatively easy to treat, but emotional and mental illnesses are much more difficult to treat because it is impossible for others to fully know what a person is thinking.

"Ziyang, do you traditional Chinese medicine practitioners have any solutions for this disease?" Qiangzi saw Su Ziyang and suddenly remembered that Su Ziyang was a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, so he looked at Su Ziyang with some hope.

"Hmm!" Su Ziyang thought for a moment. "It's worth a try, but we need to take her pulse first! Then we need to find out what her symptoms are."

"You brat, you're still talking to your Uncle Qiang with such restraint. If you can cure him, then hurry up and take a look!" Su Ziyang's father slapped Su Ziyang hard across the face from behind.

"Dad! You're making me lose face!" Su Ziyang rolled his eyes at his father.

"You have no shame. Hurry up and think of a solution!" Su Ziyang's father pretended to slap Su Ziyang again. Seeing that he was about to be slapped again, Su Ziyang stood up and ran out of the kitchen in a flash.

"Brother, really! Why did you hit Ziyang? The kid wasn't saying anything wrong!" Qiangzi was an honest and kind man and felt that Su Ziyang's words were not wrong.

"This kid's gotten slick and cunning outside!" Su Ziyang's father said with a laugh.

"Being slick is good, being slick is good! You won't get taken advantage of in society!" Qiangzi muttered vacantly.

When Su Ziyang returned to the room, he saw that Aunt Tong had stopped crying and was drinking tea.

"Aunt Tong, why are you crying!" Su Ziyang thought he should chat with Aunt Tong for a bit first to gauge her feelings. Because just now, Uncle Qiangzi said that Aunt Tong didn't want to take her medicine or see a doctor.

She won't take Western medicine, and she's unlikely to take Chinese medicine either! We really need to find out the truth, lest she get confused and upset again and cause trouble for Aunt Tong, who has some psychological issues!

"It's alright, child. You should go back to your studies. Aunt Tong must have disturbed your learning!" Aunt Tong spoke to Su Ziyang very gently.

"It's alright, Aunt Tong. I didn't learn anything. Please don't cry, crying too much is bad for your health!" Su Ziyang said as he sat down at the tea table and poured himself a cup of tea.

"Haha, Aunt Tong, don't cry, it's alright!" Aunt Tong saw Su Ziyang comforting her and gave a smile that looked even more like a grimace.

"Go away, go away. Kids shouldn't meddle in adults' affairs, get out of here!" Su Ziyang's mother said, shooing Su Ziyang away.

"Oh, Mom. I need some water, I'm thirsty! Oh, Aunt Tong, Dad's cooking in the kitchen! Try his stir-fry later, I have to tell you, you really made the right choice coming today, Dad's cooking is amazing. Thank goodness Mom didn't cook lunch today, she did make that blanched baby bok choy, and let me tell you, I feel so bad for that baby bok choy! After Mom cooked it, it cried! It felt like it was letting down the farmers who grew it!"

Su Ziyang deliberately tried to make Aunt Tong happy, and his words worked. Aunt Tong chuckled and said, "You're always badmouthing your mother. She can't cook, it's all because your father spoils her. Your mother is so lucky!"

After saying that, Aunt Tong patted Su Ziyang's mother's hand. Su Ziyang's mother, hearing Su Ziyang's disparaging remarks, glared at him and said, "Go away, get lost! Are you making fun of your mother?! So what if it's bad? Even if it's bad, I've still raised you!"

"Tch~ Nobody ignored your contribution! Honestly!"

Su Ziyang took a sip of tea and said softly.

Seeing the mother and son bickering, Aunt Tong's mood softened considerably, and she chuckled to herself.

Seeing that the desired effect had been achieved, Su Ziyang stood up and said, "Let's go eat, my dad has already cooked several dishes!"

"Let's go eat!" Su Ziyang's mother grabbed her best friend's hand and headed towards the kitchen, with Su Ziyang following closely behind.

As soon as she pushed open the door, Aunt Tong's happy face immediately fell, because she saw Qiangzi inside. "What are you doing here!"

When Qiangzi heard his wife talking about him, he lowered his head and remained silent.

"Let's have a meal together. I invited Qiangzi. I heard something, and I'll give him a piece of my Qiangzi later!" Seeing the atmosphere was tense, Su Ziyang's father quickly stepped in to mediate.

Seeing that Su Ziyang's father had spoken, Aunt Tong didn't say anything more and sat down at the table. Qiangzi remained silent and sat quietly on the other side of the table.

"Mom, can you help me find my pants? I can't find them!" Seeing the two of them sit down, Su Ziyang found an excuse to drag his mother out.

"Ouch~ Dinner's ready! What pants are you looking for, you silly child..." Su Ziyang's mother hadn't finished speaking when she suddenly saw Su Ziyang giving her a wink. She glanced at Tongtong, who was sitting there silently, and suddenly changed her tone, "Really, what pants? I'll find them for you!"

As she spoke, she followed Su Ziyang out of the kitchen. Once inside the living room Su Ziyang quickly repeated what Qiangzi had just said to his mother.

"Really?" Su Ziyang's mother was also very shocked after hearing Su Ziyang's words.

"Really? Why would I lie to you? Uncle Qiangzi even showed my dad and me his chat history with the psychologist! Aunt Tong is a bit resistant to taking her medication; she doesn't think she's sick. Could you help me out for a bit, and I'll see if I can persuade her to take some?"

"Okay!" Su Ziyang's mother nodded emphatically.