Lin Wanqiu gently placed him on the bed, covered him with a tattered cotton-padded coat, and then took out a clean towel from her spatial storage, soaked it in warm water, and applied it to his forehead to lower his temperature. After doing all this, she breathed a sigh of relief and sat by the bedside, watching over him, occasionally touching Shen Nian'an's forehead to observe changes in his body temperature.

After some time, there was a knock at the kitchen door. Lin Wanqiu thought it was Aunt Li visiting again, so she got up to open it. However, she was surprised to find Old Mrs. Shen's youngest daughter, Shen Xiulian, standing there. Shen Xiulian put her hands on her hips and said impatiently, "Lin Wanqiu, my mother wants you to go to the kitchen and cook! It's almost noon, and you're still hiding in the room being lazy. Do you want us to starve to death?"

Lin Wanqiu frowned, her tone icy: "An'an is sick, he has a high fever that won't go down, I have to stay home to take care of him, you can cook for yourselves."

"Sick? I bet you're faking it!" Shen Xiulian curled her lip, peeked into the room, and saw Shen Nian'an lying motionless on the bed. She felt a little scared, but she still didn't hold back. "A good-for-nothing, and she's so precious even when she's sick! My mother said that if you don't cook, you'll have to take out your dowry and exchange it for grain for us. Otherwise, don't blame us for reporting you to the brigade headquarters for being unfilial!"

Lin Wanqiu's eyes turned cold the moment she heard the word "dowry." The original owner's dowry was left by her mother before she died—just a few pieces of old jewelry and a piece of cloth. Yet, Old Madam Shen had been eyeing it for a long time. She hadn't had a chance to take advantage of it before, but now she was trying to snatch it while Shen Nian'an was sick!

"My dowry was left to me by my mother, it has nothing to do with your Shen family." Lin Wanqiu blocked the doorway, preventing Shen Xiulian from entering. "If anything happens to An'an, I'll hold you accountable first! As for cooking, you're all capable of doing it yourselves, why should I serve you?"

Shen Xiulian was startled by Lin Wanqiu's imposing manner and took a step back, but then hardened her stance again: "Don't push your luck! My mother said that if you don't cook, we'll kick you and your sickly son out! Let you freeze and starve to death outside!"

"Then let's try it." Lin Wanqiu sneered. "I want to see if the brigade headquarters will forgive you after you kick out the martyr's widow and her sick child! At that time, not only will you lose your food, but your Shen family will also lose all face!"

Shen Xiulian was speechless, choked by her words. She hadn't expected Lin Wanqiu, who used to be so submissive, to become so fierce, and she didn't know what to do. Just then, Old Lady Shen slowly walked over, leaning on her cane. Seeing this scene, she immediately yelled at Lin Wanqiu, "You jinx! It wasn't enough that you killed my son, you want to bully my daughter too? What does An'an's illness have to do with us? Not cooking is unfilial! I'm going to make you give me an explanation today!"

Lin Wanqiu's anger flared as she looked at the unreasonable mother and daughter. Just as she was about to retort, she heard Shen Nian'an coughing from the inner room, even more violently than before. Forgetting about arguing with Old Madam Shen, she turned and rushed into the inner room, where she saw Shen Nian'an awake, her face still pale, but her breathing more steady than before, and her forehead temperature had dropped considerably—it seemed the traditional Chinese medicine was working.

"Mother..." Shen Nian'an called out softly when he saw Lin Wanqiu. Lin Wanqiu quickly went over, touched his forehead, and said with a smile, "Good boy, An'an, the medicine is working. You'll feel better after sleeping a little longer." Shen Nian'an nodded and closed his eyes to sleep again.

Lin Wanqiu stood up, walked to the door, and looked at Old Mrs. Shen and Shen Xiulian, who were still cursing and swearing. Her eyes were as cold as ice: "I'll say it one last time. I won't cook while An'an is sick. If you dare to come and cause trouble again and disturb An'an's rest, I will go to the brigade headquarters to find the secretary to reason with you and let everyone see how your Shen family treats the widow of a martyr and a sick child!"

Old Mrs. Shen was startled by Lin Wanqiu's words. Although she was sharp-tongued, she knew that "bullying the family of a martyr" was a serious offense. If things escalated to the brigade headquarters, she would not only gain nothing but also be criticized by the secretary. She glared at Lin Wanqiu, then pulled Shen Xiulian along, saying sullenly, "Let's go home! Don't stoop to this jinx!" With that, the mother and daughter slunk away.

Lin Wanqiu closed the door, leaned against it, and let out a long sigh. She knew that Old Madam Shen wouldn't give up so easily and would definitely find other ways to make things difficult for her. But right now, the most important thing was to get Shen Nian back to normal; she didn't have time to deal with other matters for the time being.

She returned to the inner room and sat by the bedside to watch over Shen Nian'an, changing the towel on his forehead every now and then. She then took out an apple from her spatial storage, peeled it into small pieces, soaked it in warm water to soften it, and fed it to Shen Nian'an when he woke up. Apples are rich in vitamins, which can help the child replenish nutrients and promote recovery.

Before they knew it, the sun was gradually setting in the west, and the light in the kitchen dimmed. Shen Nian'an finally woke up; this time his eyes were much clearer, and he was able to sit up. Lin Wanqiu quickly handed him a softened apple. Shen Nian'an took a bite, his eyes brightening: "Mom, it's sweet..."

"Eat as much as you like," Lin Wanqiu said with a smile, finally relieved. She took Shen Nian'an's temperature again; it was 37.5 degrees Celsius. Although he still had a slight fever, it was much better than before. She heated up the remaining Chinese medicine, fed it to Shen Nian'an, and then made him lie down to rest.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside the courtyard gate. Lin Wanqiu thought it was the Shen family causing trouble again, so she cautiously walked to the gate, only to find that it was Aunt Li again. Aunt Li was carrying a cloth bag containing a few eggs and a small handful of brown sugar: "Wanqiu, I just came back from my parents' house and brought some eggs and brown sugar. Could you make some egg and brown sugar water for An'an to help her recover? The child is sick and needs to be taken good care of."

Lin Wanqiu took the cloth bag, feeling a surge of warmth in her heart: "Aunt Li, you've helped me so much, how could I possibly trouble you again..."

"Don't be so polite with me!" Aunt Li waved her hand. "It's not easy for you, a woman raising a child alone, so I'll help if I can. By the way, how's An'an's illness? Has her fever gone down?"

"It's gone down a bit, thanks to the medicine you gave me before, and some herbs I found myself." Lin Wanqiu didn't dare to mention the space, so she could only give a vague explanation.

Aunt Li nodded, gave a few more instructions on caring for the patient, and then left. Looking at the eggs and brown sugar in her hand, Lin Wanqiu secretly vowed to repay Aunt Li's kindness in the future.

She went into the kitchen, boiled the eggs, peeled them, put them in a bowl, added some brown sugar, poured boiling water over them, and served it to Shen Nian'an. Shen Nian'an drank the sweet brown sugar water and ate the eggs, a long-lost smile appearing on his face. Lin Wanqiu looked at his smiling face and felt a warmth in her heart—as long as the child was alright, she could overcome any difficulty.

Little did she know, Old Mrs. Shen was watching everything from the next room, plotting something wicked. Shen Xiulian had just returned and told her that Lin Wanqiu's house had good food and could even cure Shen Nian'an's illness, leading her to suspect that Lin Wanqiu was hiding something. Thus, a malicious thought took root in her mind—she would have Shen Nian'an steal from Lin Wanqiu, not only gaining the benefits but also pinning the blame on Lin Wanqiu, making her lose face at the brigade headquarters.

As night deepened, Lin Wanqiu, keeping watch over Shen Nian'an, gradually fell asleep. Unbeknownst to her, a new crisis was quietly approaching them.