Transmigrated as My Aunt in the 70s

Chapter 480: Chapter 473: Appalled

Zhang Ruming, concerned Sisi might be tired from standing, quickly brought over a chair for her to sit and watch. Sisi smiled and thanked her.

Truth be told, Sisi actually quite enjoyed dealing with people like Zhang Ruming. Although somewhat calculating, she wasn’t a malicious person, just a bit sharp-tongued.

Moreover, Zhang Ruming was smart and knew how to act appropriately according to the circumstances. Despite being a little insincere, she was comfortable to be around.

At that moment, Wu’s sister-in-law was cleaning something in a basin; soon the water had turned red, a shockingly vivid hue.

Wu’s sister-in-law then poured out the bloody water and refilled the basin to wash again. After five rinses, the cleaned item finally revealed its true form, though it was hard to see clearly from a distance.

"What is that? Looks like a piece of meat, but what kind of meat would have so much blood? Could it be freshly slaughtered?" Zhang Ruming whispered.

Sisi had a guess. She thought Wu’s sister-in-law might have bought a placenta from the hospital. Many people in the country held superstitious beliefs that placentas were highly nutritious and often procured them from hospitals to boost their health. Wu’s sister-in-law was likely handling a placenta.

But Sisi recalled seeing other people clean placentas in her past life, and it seemed somewhat different from what Wu’s sister-in-law held; placentas were not elongated like that.

"I don’t know. Let’s watch a bit longer," replied Sisi in a hushed tone.

The two continued their voyeuristic activity. Perhaps because they were complicit in this mischief, they felt closer and couldn’t help but smile at each other.

Wu’s sister-in-law, satisfied with the cleaned object in her hands, stood up and moved toward the concrete counter in the courtyard, which had a sieve and a large pair of scissors on it.

The concrete counter was only separated from Sisi and Zhang Ruming by a courtyard wall, allowing the two women to finally see clearly what Wu’s sister-in-law was holding.

Both were stupefied, chilled to the bone, unable to utter a word, wishing their eyes were blind so they couldn’t see anything.

With a ’click’, Wu’s sister-in-law cut off the fetus’ head.

Sisi felt cold in her hands and feet and a colicky pain in her stomach. She didn’t want to look anymore; she wanted to leave but couldn’t move, and no sound came out. It was like when she was young and saw a snake: her mind was clear, but she was paralyzed.

Zhang Ruming was in the same state but shaking even worse, trembling violently.

Both horrified observers watched Wu’s sister-in-law methodically ’click, click’, dismembering the pitiable fetus and putting the pieces in the sieve. Wu’s sister-in-law beamed with a smug smile and a sense of achievement, then cheerily carried the sieve into the kitchen.

"This... this... it’s murder, Sisi... this is murder," Zhang Ruming recovered first, her voice shaking.

Sisi didn’t have the energy to respond. She felt weak all over, deeply regretting her tendency to meddle in other people’s business and worrying about the effect on her baby.

Fortunately, Zhang Ruming quickly noticed Sisi’s distress and loudly called out, "Aunt, come quickly, something’s wrong with Sisi."

Old Man and Granny Zhao in the house watching TV and in the kitchen cooking hurried out at the sound. Seeing their granddaughter pale and sweating, they were terrified. Together, they helped Sisi inside.

Once under the quilt, Sisi felt a bit better, but her stomach still ached. She urgently told Granny Zhao, "Granny, my stomach hurts."

"It’s nothing, Ah Nan, don’t be afraid. Granny will cook you some brown sugar eggs. It’ll be fine after you drink them," Granny Zhao had already checked on Sisi. It was just a little agitation of the fetus, nothing serious.

After drinking a bowl of hot brown sugar eggs, Sisi felt a bit more spirited, yet she still lacked strength. Granny Zhao ordered her to lie in bed and rest.

"Rumeng, what on earth happened? Why are you two so scared as if you’ve seen a ghost?"

Aunt Zhao noticed something was wrong with Zhang Ruming too, and also made her a bowl of brown sugar eggs. It has to be said, brown sugar eggs truly were a universal elixir; Zhang Ruming was much more energetic after drinking them.

But when Aunt Zhao asked, Zhang Ruming’s face paled again. She swallowed hard and said, "Aunt Zhao, Wu’s sister-in-law next door is terrifying. I’ve never seen anyone so scary. She’s a murderer, not only killing people but also dismembering them."

In fact, there is a traditional custom among common folks to consume placentas and fetus bones. Eating placentas is more common, whereas consuming fetus bones is rarer since it’s seen as violating nature due to them having human form. Nevertheless, some people still eat fetus bones out of superstition.

Being raised in an intellectual family, Zhang Ruming was unaware of such practices, and upon witnessing it, was instinctively terrified and believed Wu’s sister-in-law was a murderer.

Granny Zhao was so startled by Zhang Ruming’s words that she leaped to her feet, while Old Man immediately rushed to the telephone, ready to report to the Police Station.

Sisi hurriedly stopped Old Man, whispering what they had seen, "It’s not murder. Wu’s sister-in-law got a five-month fetus bone from the hospital. She’s cleaning it in the yard and scared us half to death."

Zhang Ruming nodded vigorously, confirming Sisi’s account. Aunt Zhao exhaled in relief and gave them an annoyed look.

"You two are really meddling in unnecessary business. You got what you deserved, didn’t you?"

"We won’t watch again," Sisi and Zhang Ruming promised obediently, swearing off such curiosity.

Granny Zhao sighed and said, "That Wu’s sister-in-law, really, why bother with those things? Isn’t she afraid of retribution? It’s just terrible!"

Sisi also felt that Wu’s sister-in-law’s actions were morally reprehensible. Wasn’t this tantamount to cannibalism? Yet why did so many people still seek it eagerly?

Sisi didn’t believe fetus bones were as nutritious as claimed. After all, wasn’t it just protein-containing flesh? Could it really grant immortality?

In her previous life, she had heard that, due to strict family planning enforcement, hospitals were disposing of many aborted fetuses every day. Consequently, a black market for selling aborted fetuses had emerged among some medical staff, making a considerable profit.

Disgusting!

It seemed Wu’s sister-in-law’s fetus also came from the hospital. Sisi decided she had to inform Tian Xinhua and rectify the hospital practices. A hospital should be a place for healing, not a den for such vile deeds.