Chapter 5 Bad News
Icicles dripped water from the eaves, and remnants of snow still clung to the base of the courtyard wall.
Lin Changshi squatted at the kitchen door picking shepherd's purse, her fingers turning bright red from being soaked in ice water.
The first harvest of wild vegetables in early spring is the freshest and most tender. Mix them with cornmeal to make steamed buns, enough for the whole family to eat for two days.
The cured meat that used to hang from the beams of the adobe house is long gone, leaving only a dark hemp rope swaying in the draft.
"Aunt Chang!" The crisp sound of horses' hooves breaking through the thin ice came from outside the fence, and the village head's blue mule puffed out white steam.
"People from the county government are here!" Lin Changshi scattered shepherd's purse all over the ground. Last year, the yamen runners who conscripted soldiers on the winter solstice also knocked on the door in the same way and took away three of the family's laborers.
Two bailiffs wearing red-tasseled hats trudged in through the mud, their leather boots leaving deep dents in the hard, unturned soil from spring planting.
The older one unfolded the yellow hemp paper: "Lin Daniu, along with the brothers Lin Changyu and Lin Changsi, encountered the Tartars on their way back from guarding the border. None of their men escaped..."
Wang was holding a millstone and pushing beans when the millstone hit her instep with a "thud".
Li poked her head out of the chicken coop, and the hot egg she had just touched rolled into the muddy water.
"Sir? What did you say?"
The constable seemed somewhat helpless and sighed: "Eight people from Linjia Village were ambushed by Tartars on their way back, and they all perished. Their bodies..."
The constable looked at the group of women and sighed again: "The bodies can't be found, so we'll probably have to build a cenotaph. Auntie, please accept my condolences."
Lin Changshi pressed her lower back against the well pulley, the rope digging into the old scars on her palms—scars she'd gotten the night before when she was drawing water to wash clothes after her second son was born.
The bailiff's mouth was still opening and closing; he was probably talking about the compensation money.
"The compensation money won't arrive until after this month. Let's focus on the funeral arrangements at home first. We won't stay any longer; we still have a few more families to visit..."
The paper windowpane of the east wing rattled loudly.
Lin Changning came out wrapped in her elder brother's padded jacket with exposed cotton padding, her pale face reflecting the snow.
Despite his illness, he steadily took the documents from the constable's hands: "Sir, you've had a long journey. Would you like some sweet soup before you go?"
The constable shook his head, looking at the refined and handsome young man in front of him: "No need, there are still a few more families to visit."
Dressed in his elder brother's clothes and dressed as a young man, Lin Changning slightly bowed and said, "Thank you for your hard work, officer. Could you please tell me where my father and two elder brothers had their accident?"
As he spoke, Lin Changning slipped some loose copper coins into the hands of the constable.
The constable glanced at Lin Changning with surprise, thinking to himself that this young master knew how to handle people, and immediately beamed as he accepted the copper coin.
“They encountered the Tartars on their way back from Longhua. According to the local border guards, they must have come through an abandoned fortress. Your father and brother probably met their demise while passing through the bunker.”
Lin Changning nodded and respectfully saw the person out the door.
A muffled thud suddenly came from the pigsty in the backyard.
Lin Changping was sitting next to the swill bucket used for feeding pigs, his patched cotton-padded coat soaked through.
Wang, disregarding her grief, cried out in alarm.
"Mukuro!"
The ancestral tablets in the main room cast a deep, dark shadow on the offering table.
Lin Changshi felt as if a millstone was pressing on her chest, and her ears were ringing.
"Mother! Mother, don't scare us!"
Lin Changning and Niu Er's wife supported the limp Lin Changshi on either side.
Wang helped her unconscious brother-in-law to his feet.
After the three women settled their mother-in-law and brother-in-law, they all wore expressions of grief.
Lin Changning looked as if he was coughing up his lungs.
After calming down, Lin Changning looked at his sister-in-law who was covering her face and crying.
"Sister-in-law, go and fetch a doctor to examine Mother and Brother."
Lin Changning suppressed the itch in her throat, her voice as soft as a sycamore catkin drifting in the rain, as she gave instructions to the bewildered Sister-in-law Wang.
Sister-in-law Wang wiped away her tears: "I'm going now. Look at me, I was so flustered, I had to be reminded by Fifth Sister."
The sun before the spring equinox is always gray and hazy.
Just as Wang was handing the last silver earring to the doctor, an icicle fell from the eaves and shattered on the stone mill used for drying medicine.
Those earrings were a dowry from my mother when I got married, and I've never been willing to touch them. But now, the funeral hasn't been held yet, my aunt and uncle are in poor health, there are many expenses at home, and my mother-in-law doesn't have much money. It's good to use them for now.
"Please take a look at my mother-in-law."
Wang lifted the patched blue curtain in the main room, and the morning light shone in, illuminating Lin Changshi's pale face.
Looking at her sick and frail family, Wang's tears welled up again.
Seeing her mother weeping, Er Ya quickly took her hand and comforted her, "Mother, don't cry..."
Wang wiped away her tears, hugged her daughter, and watched the doctor examine her.
The doctor placed three fingers on the woman's wrist, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.
The earthenware pot bubbling under the window simmered, the aroma of wormwood mingling with the musty smell of the old roof beams, filling the room.
This was the medicine he had prescribed a few days ago for treating a cold. Before she had finished drinking it, Madam Lin fainted again.
On the way here, I heard Wang talking about how her family had suffered many deaths and illnesses. She said it was terrible and wondered how the widow and her orphan would survive.
"Excessive internal heat attacks the heart, and phlegm obstructs the mind's senses."
The doctor dipped his teacup in the tea and wrote prescriptions on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), the water stains spreading like lotus flowers on the old grease.
"Three qian of Imperata cylindrica root, half a cup of bamboo sap..."
After examining Lin Changshi, the doctor went to the west room to examine Lin Changping.
Just two days after Liu Lang had shown some improvement, he fell into a coma again.
"Liu Lang's cold is deep in his bones."
The silver needles trembled slightly at the Baihui acupoint. "If I can't rest peacefully, I'm afraid..."
The second half of the sentence was interrupted by Lin Changning's sudden cough.
The doctor glanced at Lin Changning and continued, "If you can't rest and recuperate peacefully, it may affect your lifespan. Fifth Sister, let me take another look at you. I can tell your health isn't very good."
Lin Changning hesitated for a moment, then moved a small stool to sit on the edge of the bed and stretched out his hand.
The doctor carefully examined her pulse and breathed a sigh of relief: "She's recovering better than Liu Lang, but Fifth Sister, you should try to think less about things."
Lin Changning nodded: "Thank you, Uncle."
"The money for the medicine..."
Niu touched her empty sleeve, feeling somewhat embarrassed. Her mother-in-law managed the money at home, and the annual income was meager. She had only finished half of her embroidery, and the sausages hanging on the kitchen beam had long been replaced with medicine packets. Even the earthenware jar that used to hold salt was empty.
Our family is really not well-off...
Wang replied, "Second sister-in-law, we've already given it to Uncle. He can get the medicine; if it's not enough, I'll find another way..."
The doctor shook his head: "That's enough..."
As he was leaving, the doctor reached into the bottom of his medicine chest and pulled out an oiled paper package: "This is the extra ginseng root I gave to the Zhou family last time."
"Lin family daughter-in-law, if your sixth son gets a fever at night, boil some broth and force-feed it to him."
Wang's heart skipped a beat: "Uncle, are you talking about Liu Lang?"
The doctor sighed, "I just mentioned that both of them are in poor health. Fifth Sister is in a better position, but Sixth Brother has caught a cold and is now suffering from an acute illness. I'm afraid he'll develop a fever at night, which will be difficult to suppress. If the medicine is too strong, his body might not be able to handle it. Milder medicines are expensive, and we're both poor people who can't afford expensive medicines. Be careful after he takes the medicine tonight, and if he doesn't feel better, give him some ginseng root..."
Wang wiped away her tears again: "Thank you, Uncle. What will we do now?"
Lin Changning watched as Madam Wang saw the doctor off and rubbed his temples.
If I remember correctly, the heroine's father will come to claim the land tomorrow.
With Lin's father gone, the family is now left with only a widow and her children; it's really hard to say what will happen to them.
Fortunately, the funeral hasn't taken place yet. We need to think of something tomorrow so that the family doesn't suffer any losses.
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