Chapter 73 [VIP]

As June arrives, the weather gets hotter every day. As soon as the sun comes out, I start sweating, feeling sticky and uncomfortable.

These past few days, Xiao Yuanbao has developed prickly heat all over his body, and the folds of his neck joints are quite red. He's been whimpering and crying because he's so itchy and in pain.

Li felt sorry for her grandson and scolded the two old women for not taking good care of him.

Actually, you can't entirely blame the old woman. The child is chubby and sweats a lot. Originally, Wang Ying put two ice chests in the room, but Li Shi removed them because she was afraid the child would catch a cold.

Wang Ying said, "Why don't we put the ice chest back up? If we're worried about the child getting cold, we can cover him with an extra blanket at night."

"Alright, you'll have to keep a close eye on it tonight, otherwise its stomach will get diarrhea if it's left exposed."

The old woman quickly agreed.

A little while later, Chen Rong and Lin Qiu came over. They saw the prickly heat on Yuanbao's neck, picked him up, and examined him closely. "Poor little thing, you must be suffering. This prickly heat is easy to treat. Buy some honeysuckle, soak it in water, and give the child a bath. I had it when I was little, and it cleared up after a few baths."

Upon hearing this, Madam Li immediately instructed her servants to go to the pharmacy to buy honeysuckle.

Several people took turns coaxing the baby to sleep for a while, then put the child down and went outside. The group sat under the tree and chatted.

Li said, "When the county magistrate came last time, he said he would help Qingyan investigate the case, but I don't know how it's progressing."

Wang Ying said, "These things can't be rushed. It will take at least three or four months, and at the latest, we might not have a result until next year."

"We have to wait so long! Luckily I didn't tell Qingyan beforehand, otherwise he would have been worried about it."

Sitting next to him, Chen Rong said, "Good things often come with difficulties. As long as it can be done, that's fine. Yan'er has been through so much, which may not be a bad thing." After a pause, he added, "I wonder when Cao Kun will be back. He said he would be back in two months when he left, but it's already June and there's still no news."

Lin Qiu was already anxious. After the wedding, Cao Kun hadn't traveled too far, at most ten days or half a month. This time, he had actually traveled for more than two months. She wondered if he had encountered any dangers on the way.

Wang Ying reassured him, "Don't worry, something must have delayed you. It's the rainy season in the south, so it's difficult to travel by boat or car."

Lin Qiu nodded, feeling slightly better.

Just as the three were discussing this, Linzi ran over from the front.

"Madam, Aunt, your nephew-in-law is back!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Qiu excitedly ran towards the front yard. Everyone was startled and quickly followed her, as she was pregnant and dared not run like that!

In the front yard, Cao Kun drove back in a carriage. I didn't recognize him at first glance. He was so tanned, his beard had grown a lot, and he had lost a lot of weight. He looked very haggard.

"Xiao Qiu".

Hearing the familiar voice, Lin Qiu's eyes blurred. She took three steps forward and grabbed his hand. The couple seemed to have a thousand words to say.

Chen Rong quickly said, "It's hot outside, come inside and sit down to talk!"

Wang Ying went to the kitchen to ask Aunt Chen to prepare lunch, so that they could buy more food when guests came to the house.

Once inside, Cao Kun sat down and gulped down a large cup of tea. After calming down a bit, she carefully looked at her husband and asked, "How have you been lately? Has the baby been bothering you?"

"No, but how come you've lost so much weight?"

"I'm just tired from the journey, it's nothing..." Cao Kun didn't dare tell him that the trip to the south was actually very dangerous, and he almost lost his life.

The journey there was smooth sailing, but on the way back we encountered river bandits. I thought mountain bandits were difficult enough to deal with, but I didn't expect river bandits to be even more difficult.

When they passed through the Chuzhou area, the boat was punctured by river bandits, and water flooded the cabin, causing everyone to fall into the water.

Cao Kun was unharmed because he could swim, but he was stabbed twice by the bandits during the fight in the water, once in the shoulder and once in the arm.

Only after driving away the bandits did he realize he was injured. Fortunately, the injury was not fatal. He had a high fever for several days but survived.

On the way back, Cao Kun thought a lot. Before he got married, he was daring and willing to fight for money.

Now that she has a husband and children, why is she risking her life? What will Lin Qiu do if something really happens to her?

So I decided to quit my job as a porter after this trip. I can't risk my life for money, so I'll just stay home and help Lin Qiu run the shop.

The shop's business plan is also in place: in winter, I'll buy vegetables wholesale from my cousin-in-law's shop, and in summer, I'll sell some groceries and take good care of Lin Qiu as she raises the child.

After lunch, Cao Kun told Lin Qiu about his plan to leave the porter's guild, and unexpectedly, Lin Qiu burst into tears.

"What's wrong? Don't you want me to leave the camp?"

"I'm so happy! I was going to advise you to leave the trekking business, but I was afraid you would be unhappy. In the two months you were gone, I was worried sick every day, afraid that you would encounter danger."

Cao Kun pulled the person into his arms, saying, "It won't happen again."

After hugging for a while, Cao Kun suddenly remembered something, took out a money bag from his pocket, and inside were two round gold ingots!

"This, this is gold?"

"Yes, it's ten taels of gold in total, which is our reward for this trip to Jiangnan."

Ten taels of gold can normally be exchanged for one hundred taels of silver, but gold is rarer than silver, especially in small places like county towns where the price of gold is much higher. Ten taels of gold could be sold to a jewelry shop for at least one hundred and ten taels of silver.

"Hurry up and put it away, don't lose something so valuable."

"Take it, it's what we saved for our child."

Lin Qiu touched her belly and said, "I still don't know if it's a boy or a girl. What if it's a boy..."

“My son is even better, just as gentle and considerate as you.” Cao Kun kissed his forehead. “I’ll love whatever he’s born.”

*

Cao Kun only stayed there for one day, and the next day he took Lin Qiu, Lin Sui and Chen Rong back to the county town.

Once they left, the house became quiet again, with only Li Shi and Qingyun running to the backyard every day.

Little Yuanbao also noticed that someone was missing. Every time Li Shi held him, his little head would turn around looking for someone.

"Goodness, he must be looking for his great-aunt!"

Wang Ying patted her son's little head, "He's so young, yet he already knows how to recognize people."

Summer passed by amidst the chirping of cicadas, and in the blink of an eye, Yuanbao is already over six months old. Now he can sit on the bed and play by himself.

A few days ago, Chen Qingyan missed her son, so she went back to town and took him to the street to buy him many toys.

There are rattles, wooden tigers and foals, bronze nine-linked rings, and bamboo crickets, all so lifelike that they make a sound when you shake them. I really don't know how these craftsmen made them.

Of all these toys, Yuanbao's favorite is this palm-sized cricket; he hugs it and gnaws on it until his face is covered in drool.

Wang Ying deliberately snatched the toy and hid it, and the little guy stared wide-eyed with disbelief.

"ah!"

"What? Can't Father play with it?"

Little Yuanbao looked down at his hands, meaning he was gone.

Wang Ying was amused by him and gave the bamboo cricket back to him. The little guy smiled and continued to gnaw on it.

They were having a good time during the day, but as soon as Wang Ying entered the experimental field in the evening, she heard a knock on the door and quickly came out to ask, "What's wrong?"

The old woman outside the door sounded anxious, "Young master, the young master seems to have a fever..."

Upon hearing this, Wang Ying hurriedly got up and went to the next room. Little Yuanbao was still sleeping on the bed, but his face was abnormally red, and his body felt hot to the touch.

When did the fever start?

"He was fine when he drank milk last night, but he ate a little less than usual. But when I covered him with a blanket just now, I felt that his hands and feet were ice cold and his forehead was burning hot."

"Quickly, send someone to fetch a doctor."

A short while later, Madam Li came running over, wearing a coat. "I heard Yuanbao has a fever?"

"I was having a good time during the day, but I don't know why I suddenly got a fever at night."

Li took him from his arms and touched his forehead and neck. "He's burning hot. What's wrong? Yuanbao, Yuanbao, wake up. Grandma's here."

Wang Ying also called out, "Yuanbao, open your eyes and look at your father."

Little Yuanbao was woken up and groggily reached out to Wang Ying for a hug.

Wang Ying quickly hugged her and shook her tenderly, "My dear, are you feeling unwell? Father is here, don't be afraid."

Yuanbao seemed to be in pain, pressing his face against his chest and making weak groans.

Before long, the doctor arrived. He first inquired about the child's diet over the past few days, and then carefully examined Yuanbao's body.

"It should be a childhood fever. I gave him acupuncture to induce sweating and he got better. Give him plenty of water these days. All medicines have some toxicity, so try not to give medicine to such a young child."

"Oh, thank you for your help, doctor."

Wang Ying put the child back on the bed, and the doctor used a silver needle to heat it over a candle flame before inserting it into Yuanbao's Dazhui and Hegu acupoints.

The child cried loudly in pain, and Wang Ying turned her head away, heartbroken and unable to look.

Unlike today, medical facilities were underdeveloped in ancient times, and even a common cold could take the life of a young child. This is why the elderly say that a child without a waist is like someone who dies young – they are afraid the child will die prematurely.

After a while, the doctor removed the silver needles, and the child cried and sobbed. It seemed that the acupuncture was working, as he began to sweat and his hands and feet warmed up.

When Wang Ying picked up the child, she finally understood the feeling of being heartbroken and wished she could take the pain away from him.

Wang Ying didn't let her mother-in-law watch over the child that night. She took Yuanbao to her own room and cared for him herself. The child sweated, his temperature dropped, and he fell asleep again.

Wang Ying took some time to go into the experimental field and found Chen Qingyan already waiting inside.

Why are you so late today?

"Yuanbao just developed a fever."

"How could she have a fever! How is she now?!"

"It's alright, don't worry. The fever will go away after the doctor comes and does acupuncture."

"Then you should go back and keep an eye on him."

After exchanging a few words, Wang Ying quickly left the experimental field and returned to her bedroom. Little Yuanbao seemed to sense her father's scent, whimpering as she snuggled up to him, hugging Wang Ying's arm with her little hands, and then peacefully fell asleep.

Fortunately, the fever didn't return in the latter half of the night, and I felt more energetic when I woke up the next day.

The next morning, Chen Qingyan returned. He hadn't slept all night because he was worried about the children, so he had Dunzi hitch up the cart and go back to town before dawn.

She was relieved to see her son was safe and sound.

It's strange, really. Even though Chen Qingyan doesn't spend much time with Yuanbao, only seeing him once a month, the boy is very close to him. That's probably what blood ties are all about.

Having a rare opportunity to spend time with her child, Chen Qingyan wished she could carry her son on her shoulders every day.

Wang Ying was itching to see it, so she reached out and tickled Yuanbao's little skin. The little guy hugged his father's head and laughed non-stop.

As Chen Qingyan was running, he suddenly stopped and his expression changed.

"What's wrong?"

"Yuanbao peed..."

"Huh? Hahahaha..."

Wang Ying burst into laughter, and the little goldfish on her shoulder also giggled foolishly. Chen Qingyan shook his head helplessly.

A note from the author: