Zhou Mingli drifted off to sleep in a daze and didn't wake up until dawn.
Jiang Ci woke up early because of a headache. She had to mentally prepare herself several times before she went to the outhouse with a pale face. After coming out, she dry-heaved for a while.
The water in the vat had run out, so Jiang Ci carried a bucket to fetch more water and poured it into the vat. She washed the pot and added water to it. Since there was no rice at home, she could only continue heating up cornbread and eggs.
Jiang Ci saw how Zhou Miao started a fire last night, and figuring it out herself, she took some soft straw and lit a fire in no time.
Jiang Ci gave herself a thumbs up in her heart. She was able to start the fire, which was a very good progress.
There were only three steamed buns left at home, and Jiang Ci didn't know how to make the rest of the cornmeal. They could only wait until Zhou Mingli woke up to see if he could do it.
Since all four family members needed to replenish their nutrition, Jiang Ci generously boiled four more eggs.
Zhou Yang woke up and saw his father lying on the bed covered in blood. He was so frightened that he burst into tears.
Zhou Miao was suddenly woken up and looked in the direction his brother was looking.
Well, my eyes instantly turned into two fried eggs, and I started crying at the top of my lungs!
Zhou Mingli was seriously injured, and the duet beside him did not wake him up. He just frowned and looked very uncomfortable.
When Jiang Ci walked in, the two children saw their mother and immediately ran over as if they had seen a life-saving straw. Each of them hugged one of her legs and hid behind her.
"Mom... Dad... Dad is dead—"
Jiang Ci: Your own father, that wretched thing, is indeed long dead.
Jiang Ci complained in her heart, but she didn't show it. She pulled the two children apart, squatted down and patted their heads, "He's not dead, he's just injured. He needs to rest now."
"Are you hungry? I made breakfast, do you want to eat?"
Upon hearing about food, Zhou Miao and Zhou Yang immediately forgot everything else and nodded with teary eyes, "Eat."
Jiang Ci dressed them and helped the two children rinse their mouths and wash their faces.
The Zhou family doesn't even have a toothbrush. They're already quite good at rinsing their mouths with water. Some families don't even brush their teeth before eating.
Jiang Ci peeled an egg for each of them as usual, and the two children shared a steamed bun. Jiang Ci then poured hot water for Zhou Miao to take her medicine.
Zhou Miao took the bitter fever-reducing medicine, her brows furrowed tightly.
Jiang Ci touched the tip of her nose. The little one had washed her face and it was clear that she was a little beauty in the making, after all, Jiang Ci herself was also very pretty.
"Take your medicine well. I'll see if I can exchange meat with someone for you at noon today so you can have some meat to replenish your body."
Zhou Miao's eyes lit up, but when she looked at Jiang Ci, she quickly became cautious again.
When Zhou Yang heard there was meat, his eyes lit up immediately, and he shouted impatiently, "Mom, I want to eat meat!"
"So you're coming to work with me today? You can play by yourselves and watch me work."
Zhou Miao and Zhou Yang both nodded.
When the original owner went to the countryside, she carried a military green water bottle with her. Jiang Ci filled it with hot water and put the leftover food in the house.
She patted Zhou Mingli.
Zhou Mingli was injured and was still sleeping.
Jiang Ci nudged him several times before Zhou Mingli finally woke up, still half asleep.
"Take breakfast and your medicine first. I'll take the child to work. You can rest at home."
Zhou Mingli grunted in agreement, sat up, looked at the eggs and cornbread, and after a long while picked them up and silently ate them all.
Eggs are the easiest meat to obtain at this time.
"Give me five dollars. I'll go pay the medical station for the medicine on the way."
Zhou Mingli gave all the money in his pocket to Jiang Ci, took his medicine, lay down and fell asleep again.
Seeing the bloodstains on his body, Jiang Ci opened her mouth but didn't say anything. After thinking for a moment, she took two five-yuan bills, the meat ration coupon that Li Hu had given her, and hid the rest of the money. She then took the child and headed to the fields.
Now is the season for harvesting spring wheat. The production team started broadcasting early to mobilize the people in the team to prepare to harvest the wheat.
This is not only about the next paycheck, but also a great time to earn work points.
Jiang Ci took the two children to the clinic to pay back the two yuan medical fee. The doctor then took Zhou Miao's temperature. The little one's fever had subsided, but she was still a bit listless.
The doctor smiled, patted her head, and took two candies from the drawer. "You didn't cry when you got your shot yesterday, this is a reward for you."
Zhou Miao blinked, looking at Jiang Ci with some unease and helplessness.
Zhou Yang tried to grab it, but Jiang Ci grabbed him and pinned him down, preventing him from moving.
Jiang Ci took out fifty cents from the three yuan change the doctor had given her and said to the doctor with a smile, "Before I went to the countryside, I often heard about children being taken away by human traffickers. The reasons reported in the newspapers were that they were tricked away with a little food. I think it's better to be on guard against it and not let children think that those who feed them are good people."
"I understand your good intentions, but please consider this candy as something I bought for you, is that alright?"
There weren't many human traffickers in the 1970s, but in the 1980s and 1990s, the rate of missing children almost doubled.
Jiang Ci came from a wealthy family, so naturally she didn't understand these things. It was only when the relevant departments approached her and wanted to invite her to invest in research in the field of genetic information and showed her the information that Jiang Ci realized how rampant human traffickers were decades ago.
Lost children are often taken away because of poverty and hunger, and are tricked into giving away a little food.
Jiang Ci said this, what else did the doctor not understand? He looked at Jiang Ci in surprise, but did not take advantage of her. He grabbed a handful of about seven or eight candies from the drawer and gave them to Jiang Ci.
"Okay, kids don't like taking medicine, so leave some for Zhou Miao. Don't be partial!"
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