Of course, in the end Su Qingluan did not pay Liu Yunniang "wages".
It’s not that she didn’t want to, but as soon as she said “sisters should settle accounts clearly”, she started looking at Su Qingluan with a very penetrating look, as if accusing her: Look, you just want to treat me as an ordinary helper, not even as a friend!
Under such accusatory eyes, Su Qingluan felt that it would be a heinous crime if she continued to separate herself from her so clearly.
However, Su Qingluan felt embarrassed to let her take care of herself for such a long time in vain, so she persuaded her into taking a piece of pickled bacon.
"Pickled bacon? Are those the ones hanging under the beams outside?" Liu Yunniang pointed to the pieces of dried meat hanging outside that had turned reddish-brown.
Su Qingluan nodded: "The darker the color, the more transparent the fat has become, which means it is almost ready to eat. If the fat part is still white, it means it is not ready yet and needs to be air-dried for a while. Otherwise, it will not only go bad easily, but also not taste good because it will not be marinated well..."
"Alright, alright, I get it," Liu Yunniang said, looking at Su Qingluan's pale face and her weak voice. She quickly waved her hand to send him away. "Go lie down in the house and stop worrying about it. I've been staying at your house for a few days, after all. I know where everything is. I don't need you to supervise me."
Su Qingluan teased, "Aren't you afraid that if I'm not paying attention, you'll steal all my money?"
Liu Yunniang knew Su Qingluan was joking, but she went along with it: "Hmph, later, while you're asleep, I'll steal all your money and take you away to be my cook!"
"Oh, I didn't realize you have such a cruel heart, cough cough cough..."
"Hey, go lie down quickly," Liu Yunniang frowned as she saw Su Qingluan coughing at the slightest hint of wind. "I'll buy you some pears to boil later. Drinking them will help relieve your cough and clear your lungs."
Su Qingluan wanted to say a few more words, but she was too exhausted. After eating, she felt drowsy and fell asleep again.
I don’t know how long I slept, but when I opened my eyes, Liu Yunniang had already brought the boiled Sichuan Fritillaria and Pear Water to Su Qingluan’s bedside.
"Here, it's just right that you're awake. Drink this Sichuan Fritillary Pear Juice before you go back to sleep."
Su Qingluan had a good sleep and had worked up a bit of sweat, which made her feel a bit thirsty. She found the Sichuan Fritillary Pear Juice a bit strange, but her throat was so dry she didn't care, so she tilted her head back and drank it.
"I told you to drink slower!" Liu Yunniang rolled her eyes at Su Qingluan speechlessly.
"I'm just thirsty..." Su Qingluan said pitifully.
"Let me see if you still have a fever." Liu Yunniang said, and was about to reach out to test the temperature of Su Qingluan's forehead, but she dodged.
"Don't get so close to me, be careful not to get sick!" Su Qingluan covered her mouth and nose and shrank inside.
"Humph, I've been practicing Kung Fu with my parents since I was four or five years old, and I've been traveling around the world. I'm in good health!" Liu Yunniang patted herself and said proudly.
Su Qingluan curled her lips in disapproval: "Haven't you heard of 'those who are good at riding fall, and those who are good at swimming drown'?"
"I haven't read a few pages of books, don't show off to me!" Liu Yunniang rolled her eyes at Su Qingluan.
"That's what it means. The better you excel at something, the more likely you are to stumble over it! You're bragging about yourself like that, but I'm sure you'll catch my attention!"
Having said that, she still tried her best to shrink back and cover her mouth and nose with the quilt as much as possible to prevent Liu Yunniang from having direct contact with her breath.
Seeing Su Qingluan's fearful look, Liu Yunniang was both moved and amused. She shook her head and picked up the tray: "Alright, alright, I'm not here anymore. Otherwise, you won't be able to rest well. I might as well go out and see if there are any vegetables in the vegetable garden behind your house. What do you want to eat tonight?"
Su Qingluan thought about what vegetables were grown in her small vegetable garden and mentioned two or three. Liu Yunniang nodded and said, "Okay, I got it. You should take a good rest." Then she went out.
That day, Yang and Su Guangfu were worried about Su Qingluan's condition, so when Yang saw that the stock at the stall was almost sold out, she returned first. Yunniang took care of Yang until she got home, then left, happily taking a piece of pickled bacon with her.
Sure enough, Su Qingluan started to have a fever again at night. Although it was not high enough to cause coma, she was still shaking all over and felt cold in her bones.
"If it keeps coming back like this tomorrow, we'll have to call a doctor." Yang touched Su Qingluan's forehead and sighed worriedly, "Fortunately, the girl from the Liu family can come over to help take care of you during the day, otherwise we wouldn't be able to go out to the stall."
Unexpectedly, the good news didn't work and the bad news did. Su Qingluan had just been chanting "Those who are good at riding fall, and those who are good at swimming drown" that day, but Liu Yunniang didn't come the next day.
After much persuasion from Su Qingluan, Yang and Su Guangfu finally went out to prepare some steamed egg custard for Su Qingluan and kept it warm in hot water so that she wouldn't have to eat cold food. However, when they came back in the afternoon, they brought some not-so-good news: Liu Yunniang seemed to have recovered from her illness and was sick again.
Su Qingluan felt very guilty for a moment. After all, catching a cold in this era was not like catching a cold in modern times, which would only go away in a few days.
There are no anti-inflammatory and antiviral drugs in this era, and any cold or fever can be fatal!
Su Qingluan herself wasn't above risking her life, but after all, she'd died once before and had some experience, so generally speaking, she wasn't too panicked. But Liu Yunniang was a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl. If she died because of her own misfortune, wouldn't that be too unlucky?
"Have you called a doctor?" Su Qingluan asked anxiously, "Uncle Liu also happens to be treating his leg at Huichuntang, so let the doctor there take a look at her..."
"I've taken a look, don't worry!" Yang stood at the door and rolled her eyes at Su Qingluan in annoyance - ever since she knew that Liu Yunniang was infected by her, Su Qingluan would never let anyone else enter the house.
"I'll definitely call a doctor tomorrow!" Yang said angrily. "You'd be quick to call a doctor for other families, but I told you to have someone take a look at you, and you kept putting it off! Look at you, your face is burning red!"
Su Qingluan swallowed her saliva and retorted unconvincedly, "As the saying goes, 'Illness comes like a mountain falling, and goes like a thread being pulled out.' Illness always comes back again and again..."
Of course, she said this with little confidence, and finally, under Yang's glare, her voice became smaller and smaller.
At this time, Su Guangfu came over, held Su Qingluan's door frame and said to Yang: "If we go to the town to ask for a doctor now, we will definitely not be able to catch up in time for the closing of the city gate. But don't we have a ready-made doctor in our village?"
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