Chapter 11

On the third day after returning to the small county town, Xu Ying developed a fever.

In fact, there were signs all along.

The night she returned, she stayed up all night with the air conditioner on because it was so hot. The air conditioner was right opposite her bed, and the vent was pointing directly at her. When she woke up the next day, her throat started to hurt slightly.

She drank some water and, after feeling better, didn't pay much attention to it.

This morning, when the alarm rang, her head started throbbing. Touching her burning forehead, she realized she had a fever.

I took a temperature with a thermometer, and sure enough, it was 38.4 degrees Celsius.

Despite feeling unwell, Xu Ying took the medicine and then slept for a long time.

She woke up in the late afternoon, her whole body sticky with sweat, but she felt much better. Her head didn't hurt anymore, but she was very hungry.

She went to the kitchen to cook noodles, her steps unsteady.

The water boiled, and Xu Ying grabbed a handful of noodles and threw them in, inwardly smiling bitterly. These noodles were definitely worth buying; ever since she came back, she had been either working or sick every day and had no energy to cook.

After taking two fever-reducing pills, Xu Ying's fever was completely cured. However, she soon caught a cold, coughing, having a runny nose, and her eyes would occasionally sting and tear up...

She actually caught a cold in the middle of summer.

Xu Ying wanted to cry but had no tears.

Unfortunately, all she had at home was a slat of fever reducers she had brought back from school; she had no other medicine like cold medicine, so she had to go out and buy some on short notice.

Xu Ying took a mask out of her bag, put it on, and went out.

I ran into my neighbor coming home as soon as I stepped out.

Their apartment building has two units per floor. Although their floor has an extra large balcony, the rest of the layout is exactly the same.

Her neighbors were an elderly couple who had known the original owner of the body for many years. Xu Ying had some impression of them; they were probably Grandpa Li and Grandma Wang.

She tried to greet him: "Grandpa Li?"

Grandpa Li clearly hadn't expected anyone to be across the hall. He frowned and looked at her for a while, then seemed to recognize Xu Ying before putting on a smiling face: "Is that Xiao Ying? Oh, you're back! Your Grandma Wang was talking about you the other day!"

"Please give my regards to Grandma Wang. Um, Grandpa has to go out for a bit."

Xu Ying was in a hurry to buy medicine. She felt that Grandpa Li seemed to have a lot to say, and if she didn't interrupt, he would probably talk for a long time.

"Okay, you go ahead and get busy. We can talk again when we have time!"

Xu Ying nodded, turned around and went downstairs.

The pharmacy wasn't far; it was just a straight road leading to the end of the street near the entrance of the residential area, then a turn. However, since she didn't have a car, it still took her almost ten minutes to walk there.

She sniffed and described her symptoms to the pharmacist, who then went around the shelves and got her three boxes of medicine.

"How much?"

104.

Xu Ying paused as she paid.

One hundred and four? Did she hear that right?

Xu Ying looked down and carefully examined the three boxes of medicine in her hand: one box of Western medicine for colds, one box of traditional Chinese medicine for colds, and one box of vitamin tablets.

"Your cold symptoms are quite severe. Traditional Chinese medicine alone might not be enough, so I also got you some Western medicine. You need to be careful when taking this Western medicine; it shouldn't be taken with fever reducers, as it contains fever-reducing ingredients..."

The doctor clearly didn't notice Xu Ying's hesitation and continued to give her instructions.

Xu Ying immediately put down the Western medicine and vitamins.

How much is this?

She only wants traditional Chinese medicine for treating colds.

She had just checked, and the treatment scope of Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine is similar, both treating colds, sore throats, and runny noses... except that Western medicine has an additional ingredient, acetaminophen, which has an antipyretic effect.

She has fever reducers at home, so she doesn't need to spend extra money to buy another dose with the exact same effect.

As for chewable vitamin tablets, they are even more unnecessary.

"I want the cheapest kind of vitamins."

The cheapest bottle costs only a few dollars, and it has the same effect.

The fancy-designed chewable tablets in her hand cost over forty yuan a box, but she didn't want them.

"Okay... that'll be 32 in total." The pharmacist put the medicine back the way it came, then found the cheapest vitamins Xu Ying had mentioned at the bottom of the shelf, handed her a small bottle, and said, "Young lady, you know quite a lot!"

"I know a little about it."

Xu Ying knew many things, but she did know the basic pharmacological knowledge that the original owner had memorized perfectly. It was like a conditioned reflex; it would automatically pop into her mind when needed.

Studying medicine really does have its advantages; it saved her money!

After paying the bill, Xu Ying slowly walked home with the medicine in her arms.

There used to be a bus station near her home, and many snack shops sprang up around it. Although the bus station moved away, the surrounding shops were preserved and still sell all kinds of snacks.

As Xu Ying walked, she went into a small shop and ordered a bowl of wontons to take away.

When a person is sick, they become exceptionally lazy.

Today was another day I was too lazy to cook.

That evening, Xu Ying had finished dinner quite a while when someone suddenly knocked on the door.

She opened it and saw it was from Grandma Wang next door.

Grandma Wang smiled, her face crinkling with wrinkles: "Xiao Ying, when did you get back? I made some pork ribs for dinner, I'll bring you a bowl."

As she spoke, she handed over the things she was holding.

Xu Ying looked down. In Grandma Wang's hands was a bowl of steaming corn and pork rib soup. There was very little soup; the bowl was overflowing with pork ribs and corn.

Touched, she didn't refuse and took it without hesitation, saying, "Thank you, Grandma Wang."

When the original owner's grandmother was still alive, she was very close to Grandma Wang.

The two were about the same age and often went to the market together in the morning to buy groceries. They would gossip about this and that, and they would chat while picking vegetables in her small living room.

She didn't stand on ceremony with her.

The soup smelled fragrant and sweet, and Xu Ying, who had eaten a lot of plain boiled noodles, swallowed hard.

I want to drink.

Grandma Wang smiled and handed over the bowl: "This child came back without telling me. Look how thin you are, you're just skin and bones. Don't cook tomorrow, just come to my house to eat, okay!"

He rambled on and on, and without waiting for Xu Ying's reaction, he turned around, went home, and closed the door.

Xu Ying had no choice but to take the bowl back to her room.

The corn and pork rib soup was delicious. The pork ribs were tender, the corn was sweet, and the soup was fresh and tasty. Even though Xu Ying had already eaten, she couldn't resist finishing the whole bowl of corn and pork rib soup.

My stomach was full, and I felt very satisfied.

*

After experiencing fever, a cold, and early menstruation, Xu Ying finally recovered her health.

It's finally all right.

Xu Ying breathed a sigh of relief.

Her body is too weak right now. She just came home from school after a long journey, did some chores and enjoyed the air conditioning, and suddenly she fell ill with a series of problems.

By the time she was fully healthy, July had arrived.

She immediately went to the back office of Feihong Novel Network and withdrew her royalties after some operations.

Xu Ying's novel was released in the middle of the month, so she only earned a little over half a month's salary. In addition, she could only withdraw half of the royalties, and after deducting taxes, she only received a little over six thousand yuan.

Six thousand is quite a lot; it's enough for her expenses for a month.

The day she received the money, she told Grandma Wang next door that she would call her when she went grocery shopping the next morning.

She went to pay the bill.

Grandma Wang knew that Xu Ying had just returned with a fever and a cold, so without saying a word, she took over her meals. Xu Ying hadn't cooked at home for the past few days.

At first, she felt a little embarrassed, thinking it wasn't right to eat and drink for free.

As a result, even though she didn't go, Grandma Wang kept knocking on her door every day to deliver the food, which only made things more troublesome for her. So, she eventually started going there herself at mealtimes.

Now that she finally has some money, she's eager to show it off!

Grandma Wang was quite happy that she wanted to go to the market with her.

When she was in a good mood, she bought a lot of chicken, duck, fish and meat. No matter what she bought, Xu Ying would follow behind and pay the bill readily.

Grandma Wang couldn't stop smiling.

She only has one daughter, who married and moved to another city. They live too far away, and she hasn't seen her at all over the years except during holidays. Sometimes she doesn't even have time to come over during holidays and just makes a phone call.

She and her husband are lonely.

Now that Xu Ying comes over every day for meals and laughter, her home has become more lively. And when she thinks about how Xu Ying has lost her grandmother and is all alone, she feels even more pity for her.

Seeing how close she was to him, she was very happy.

“If you buy this fish, I’ll have your grandpa braise it for you. Your grandpa Li may not be good at much else, but he’s great at braised fish. I’ve eaten it my whole life and I never get tired of it.”

Xu Ying hesitated upon hearing this and said, "I still want to eat at your house, Grandma. I'm all better now and I can cook for myself."

It was one thing to be unwell before, but now you're going every day. Isn't that a bit inappropriate?

"What are you talking about? How can you cook for yourself? Is it even worth cooking that little bit of cat food every day?!"

Grandma Wang was immediately unhappy when she heard that she wasn't coming.

"Xiao Ying, just listen to me and come to my house for a meal. It's no fun for Lao Li and me to cook. Since you came back, we've been eating more than before."

That's the truth.

The elderly couple stayed at home and cooked very casually every day, just enough to fill their stomachs.

Ever since Xu Ying started eating at her house, Grandma Wang has been more motivated to cook, preparing different delicious meals for her every day. As a result, the two elderly people's meals have improved considerably compared to before.

That's how old people are; they'd rather suffer themselves than let their children suffer.

Xu Ying thought about it for a moment and nodded in agreement.

She wasn't very enthusiastic about cooking, and cooking for one person was indeed quite troublesome; she had previously planned to cook one meal and eat it all day.

"Okay, but Grandma, I'll give you a monthly allowance for food. You can't refuse that, or I won't eat at your house anymore."

Grandma Wang didn't want to agree at first.

She is rich.

She and her husband were both retired; she was a middle school teacher and he worked at the medical insurance bureau. They receive a substantial pension every month, and their daughter sends them money every month as well. The elderly couple has saved quite a bit of money.

However, when she heard Xu Ying say that she wouldn't come to eat if she didn't accept money, she still compromised.

"Alright, alright, you can pay for the food if you want. Don't worry, I'll use the money to cook you delicious food."

Although she said that, she had already decided in her heart to save the money and pay it back to Xu Ying later.

Xu Ying was someone she watched grow up.

This child is quiet and hardworking. I wonder what kind of hardship he suffered outside when he suddenly came back this time?

She just hangs around her own house and her house every day, looking like she doesn't have a proper job, so how could she possibly spend her money?

Xu Ying had no idea that Grandma Wang was already treating her like an unemployed bum. She was picking and choosing among a pile of peaches. The peaches looked fresh and weren't expensive. Buying them would be perfect for when she got tired of writing.