After five or six days of toiling in the torrential rain, Ningxia fell ill, unsurprisingly. She struggled to open her eyes, only to see the brother and sister standing beside her bed, their eyes red and swollen. Her forehead throbbed with pain, but she didn't even have the strength to rub it.

"Why are you crying? It's just a minor cold. I'll be fine after a day of rest."

Lin Yi looked at her with red eyes. Sangsang stepped forward and buried her face in Ningxia's neck. "Xia Xia, even if I can't wake you up, you can't die."

Ningxia was speechless. She had heard someone calling her that morning, but because her eyelids couldn't stay open, she ignored them. "Are you two not coming for dinner?"

Lin Yi shook his head. "I can't eat. Sister Xia Xia, you have a fever. Will drinking patchouli water help? I'll make you a cup."

Ningxia felt her forehead with the back of her hand and found it was indeed a little hot. She propped herself up and sat up, leaning against the headboard. "There's a blue bundle in the drawer of the coffee table in the living room. Go find it for me."

The bag was specifically for medicine, having been exchanged at the Dawn Base. Aside from some trauma medicine, bandages, and water purification tablets, the rest of the medicine remained untouched, including the fever-reducing medicine. It wasn't much, but it was incredibly valuable.

Lin Yi nodded and walked out quickly.

Sangsang kicked off his shoes, climbed onto the bed, and snuggled up to Ningxia's chest. "Xiaxia, please don't be sick, okay? I can recite the initials now."

Ningxia wanted to reach up and touch Sangsang's curly hair, but even lifting her hand made her gasp for air. She knew she had frightened them both. The illness came like a mountain, and she couldn't remember how long it had been since she'd felt this weak and sick. The last time she had a fever was four years ago, when the floods had receded and the plague was raging.

Ningxia did not refuse the hand that Lin Yi extended to her and swallowed the pills in his hand.

"Sister Xia Xia, the mushroom soup I made last night is still available. I'll heat you a bowl and you can drink it before going to sleep..." Seeing that Ning Xia was not in good spirits and was about to fall asleep with her head tilted, Lin Yi's eyes were filled with worry.

Ningxia shook her head, feeling dizzy and almost vomiting. She tried her best to suppress her emotion, not letting her expression look too bad. "I can't drink any more right now. I'm going to get some sleep. You take Sangsang to dinner and find something to do."

"Sister Xia Xia, drink some more water, you will feel better."

Ningxia drank two large cups of hot water in a row, feeling the warmth from her throat to her chest. She waved her hand to indicate she wanted to stop, and Lin Yi helped her lie down again, carefully covering her with the quilt. Ningxia had already fallen asleep again, and only whispered, "Mo Guanshan... cover me... it's cold..."

Lin Yi pursed his lips, silently put a blanket on Ningxia, and then quietly left with Sangsang.

"Brother, what are you doing!" Sangsang squatted beside the vegetable basin and watched Lin Yi pull out some cabbages. Xia Xia treasured these cabbages so much that she would come to see them before going to bed every day. Now that Xia Xia is sick, her brother still comes to pull out Xia Xia's vegetables. His brother is so annoying!

Lin Yi carefully pulled up a few larger cabbages by the roots and said, "I'll make some vegetable porridge for Sister Xia Xia. She's sure she'll like it."

Sangsang finally relaxed her brows and replied sullenly, "Oh, brother, when will Xia Xia be better?"

Lin Yi stood up and said firmly, "It will be fine anyway."

Sangsang nodded and said, "Yeah!"

Lin Yi stood by the stove, stirring slowly with his hands and simmering the pot over low heat. He didn't add even a single grain of cereal, only white rice.

Soon the pot began to gurgle. Ningxia liked salty porridge, so Lin Yi added some chopped cabbage, ladled some lard, and some salt. Lin Yi wasn't good at cooking other things, but he was unmatched at making porridge. A slightly thick, brightly colored rice porridge was ready, dotted with emerald green vegetables, making it incredibly appetizing.

Ignoring Sangsang's eager gaze, Lin Yi carried the rice porridge to the cupboard and cooked a new pot of multi-grain porridge. Seeing Sangsang staring intently at the pot, Lin Yi suppressed the irritation that had risen in his heart over Ningxia's illness, sighed softly, and scooped in a large spoonful of sugar.

Sangsang looked up and said, "Thank you, brother."

Ningxia slept until the afternoon. Lin Yi saw that she had no intention of waking up. If he had not come in several times to check if her forehead had returned to normal, he would have woken her up long ago and would not have waited until now.

"What's wrong?" Ningxia opened her eyes hazily. Her head hurt even more, but her body had regained a lot of strength.

"Sister Xia Xia, you've slept all day. Eat something before you go back to sleep." Lin Yi brought the porridge and asked Sangsang to go forward and help Ningxia up.

Ningxia closed her eyes again. She felt more and more sleepy. She didn't want to get up at all. "I don't want to eat anymore. You guys eat first."

Sangsang quickly reached out and held up Ningxia's eyelids to prevent her from closing them. Even though her eyes were rolled up so hard that only the whites were left, she still refused to open them.

"Sister Xia Xia, if you don't get up and eat something before going back to sleep, Sangsang and I will keep annoying you."

Ningxia sighed deeply, and sat up slowly with some irritation, her brows furrowed and she felt like losing her temper, but when her eyes met the two young faces full of worry and concern, her anger disappeared in an instant.

Ningxia took it without even glancing at it. Her mouth felt bitter and tasteless. She lifted the spoon and stuffed it into her mouth. The next second, she picked up the bowl and took a closer look. "Rice porridge? You even put some vegetables in it?"

Lin Yi nodded.

The soft, glutinous, salty and fragrant porridge finally awakened Ningxia's dormant taste buds. "It tastes good." She regained some energy and drank two bowls in a row before stopping.

Seeing Ningxia finally eat something, Lin Yi breathed a sigh of relief.

"Have you and Sangsang eaten?" Ningxia asked weakly, leaning on the pillow while enduring the dizziness.

Lin Yi nodded: "Don't worry about us, just have a good rest, I will cook for Sangsang."

Ningxia nodded, her eyelids so heavy she couldn't lift them. She'd already slept all day, yet she was still sleepy. The sound of rain outside pattered relentlessly, but she wasn't bothered at all, her consciousness rarely clearing.

Lin Yi looked at Ningxia who closed her eyes again and sighed.

The night passed quickly, and with the natural white noise playing, all three of them slept soundly. Ningxia had finally regained some strength, and her head too; she no longer felt dizzy without shaking it too hard. She breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, things were improving, otherwise the two siblings would have collapsed.

If she moved a little more frequently, she would sweat all over. Ningxia didn't force herself. She got out of bed and threw herself directly onto the sofa. She slept for a whole day and night. Her fever had subsided. She was in good spirits now, but her body was tired and she felt weak and couldn't muster any strength.

Lin Yi was in charge of the food in the kitchen today, and it was barely palatable. Ningxia wasn't picky, so she ate everything she was given. Surprisingly, Sangsang could actually memorize the initial consonant table! Ningxia had only randomly checked, and she hadn't expected such a surprise. She piqued her interest and began teaching Sangsang the finals. The child had just received so much praise, but before she could even celebrate, a new round of challenges awaited her.