Chapter 6: The Zhou Family's Tragedy
Cold sweat ran down Shen Lingning's temples. He took a deep breath and suppressed the surging panic.
She recalled that when she was young in Shanghai, the old Chinese doctor her family often hired had taught her some emergency pediatric massage techniques to reduce fever.
She ignored her physical weakness and pain, laid Fubao flat on the kang, and untied his swaddling clothes.
His fingertips were icy cold, yet filled with extreme concentration and determination.
She recalled the technique: first clear the Tianhe water, once, twice... The movements were gentle but with an unmistakable rhythm.
Then withdraw the six internal organs and repeat the same operation.
Finally, she pricked her blood to relieve the heat. She gritted her teeth, took out the silver clove earrings left by her mother, and quickly burned them over the flame of the kerosene lamp.
Then he carefully pinched Fubao's little hand, found the jade-like little fingers, and pricked the Shaoshang and Shangyang acupoints on the thumb and little finger with the sharp end of the earring extremely quickly!
A drop of bright red blood the size of a mung bean suddenly appeared.
Shen Lingning immediately used the corner of a clean cloth to gently press to stop the bleeding.
During the whole process, Fubao just groaned twice in discomfort and did not cry loudly.
At this moment, the half-closed door was pushed open a crack, and Aunt Wang came out carrying a basket covered with a thick cloth.
She poked her head in with a chill and quickly closed the door to block out the wind, her face full of worry: "Sister Lingning! You scared me to death! The commotion at the Zhou family last night... You... Hey! What happened to Fubao?!"
When she saw the baby on the kang with a red face and rapid breathing, she was so frightened that her voice changed.
"I have a fever."
Shen Lingning's voice was hoarse, and the massage movements of his hands did not stop. Fine cold sweat oozed from his forehead: "Auntie, help me get a bowl of cold water, the coldest well water, to soak a piece of cloth."
Aunt Wang put down the basket without saying a word and went to the kitchen to fetch water.
When she came back with a bowl of cold water and a piece of old cotton cloth that had been washed until it was pale, she saw Shen Lingning pricking Fubao to bleed him.
She gasped in shock, but looking at Shen Lingning's eyes and the calmness in his movements, she swallowed back her exclamation.
"Sister Lingning...you...you still understand this?"
Aunt Wang soaked the cloth and carefully handed it to Shen Lingning.
Shen Lingning took the cool cloth and gently placed it on Fubao's hot forehead.
The massage movements by his hands continued, his voice tired but clear: "In the past... there was an old Chinese doctor who often came to my house, and I followed him to see a few of his techniques.
Uncle Zhang's grandson in the village had convulsions in the summer, and Aunt Li's daughter had a high fever in the middle of the night. There was nothing we could do at the time, so we just tried it anyway, and luckily it worked."
She brushed it off as if it were a trivial matter.
Aunt Wang suddenly realized and slapped her thigh, "Oh! I was wondering! Last summer, the Zhang family kid had a seizure and the barefoot doctor went to a meeting at the commune. It was you who cured him by massaging him!"
Aunt Li also said! You child... you are very secretive! "
The look in her eyes when she looked at Shen Lingning was not only filled with worry, but also with admiration and conviction.
No wonder this eldest daughter of a capitalist family was able to gain a foothold in the village under the leadership of the three members of the Zhou family!
He is really capable!
With ice compress and continuous massage, Fubao's breathing seemed to be steadier and the blush on his little face faded a little.
"Mom...I feel better..."
A faint voice came, with a strong sense of sleepiness.
Shen Lingning's tense heartstrings finally relaxed a little, and he leaned against the wall weakly, his face as pale as paper.
Aunt Wang looked distressed and quickly opened the basket she had brought. "Hurry, eat it while it's hot! I made some porridge with shredded ginger to keep the cold away. I also have two eggs. They're for Fubao to nourish him. You need some nourishment too!"
She muttered, "The Zhou family... humph, they deserve this retribution! Didn't you see? There's a huge hole in the roof! The wind and snow are rushing in!"
Wang Chunhua and Zhou Pozi were howling from the cold, like two quails with their feathers falling off!
Zhou Weidong, that coward, held his head and shouted that there was a ghost!
"It's been such a commotion this early in the morning! I think it's because you've done so many wicked things that even God can't stand it!"
Shen Lingning drank the warm porridge silently. The spicy taste of the ginger brought back a hint of warmth to her cold body.
She didn't say anything, but her eyes were filled with cold understanding.
Ghost? Retribution?
The most terrifying thing is the devil in people's hearts.
As he was speaking, there was the sound of rustling footsteps at the door again.
Li Tiezhu and his wife stood at the door with their necks hunched, holding a small cloth bag and a few frozen wild vegetables in their hands.
“Comrade Shen…are you…are you okay?”
Tiezhu's wife poked her head in and saw that although Shen Lingning's face was pale, Fubao in her arms was breathing more steadily.
He breathed a sigh of relief. "That noise at the Zhou family's house... was terrifying! Here's... some freshly dug frozen shepherd's purse, some collected wood ear mushrooms, and a few dried dates... for the baby and you... to snack on."
She gently placed a small cloth bag on the edge of the kang.
"Thank you, Brother Zhuzi, sister-in-law."
Shen Lingning's voice was hoarse, and this meager token of gratitude squeezed out during the years of famine weighed heavily on his heart.
These neighbors also helped with the production that day, and the kang was kept warm by firewood brought by each family.
Aunt Wang sighed, "It's not easy. But Sister Lingning, don't worry. We're here. Those wicked people from the Zhou family won't be able to bully you, an orphan and a widow, anymore!"
She changed the subject and smiled in a somewhat frustrated tone, "Secretary Ma was howled at by them early in the morning! This time we must teach them a lesson! You didn't see it, the roof collapsed in the middle of the night, they were howling like ghosts, and no one dared to go over to see them even though they were half-frozen to death!
He just stayed in a corner until dawn before calling for help!"
Li Tiezhu's wife couldn't help but chuckle, covering her mouth with her hands. There was a schadenfreude in her words: "The dung collectors saw it this morning. The Zhou family is in such a miserable state! Besides the two grandsons who were still wrapped in old coats, the three adults..."
She gestured, stifling a laugh: "Wang Chunhua was wrapped in a red peony-patterned quilt! Mrs. Zhou was wrapped in a torn cotton quilt, and Zhou Weidong was draped in a gray, tattered door curtain! He was shivering from the cold, his face covered in snot and tears!"
As they were talking, there was a burst of sharp crying and cursing in the yard!
Before Aunt Wang could get up, the thin wooden door of the bedroom was pushed open with a bang like a gust of wind, blowing in a gust of cold air!
In the bedroom of a farmer's house in southern Shanxi, the innermost part is a large kang connected to the stove, opposite the kang.
Two large chests made by Zhou Weiguo himself with thick walnut wood were connected in a row. They served as storage and also as the only table. On it lay a thermos with peeling paint and a few coarse porcelain cups.
With a newborn and a woman who had just given birth yesterday, the cold wind was nothing to stop them.
This is the second time the Zhou family has come uninvited since Shen Lingning gave birth!
A wave of cold anger instantly dissipated the weakness in his body. Shen Lingning held Fubao in his arms, his back straight against the cold earthen wall, his eyes like ice-hardened knives, shooting coldly at the door.
Wang Chunhua was tangled up in the old quilt with gaudy red peony flowers printed on it, her hair was disheveled, her face was covered in frozen snot and tears, and her eyes were filled with resentment.
Behind her followed Mrs. Zhou, who was also wrapped up beyond recognition, and Zhou Weidong, who had his neck hunched.
"Chen Lingning! You're a monster! A jinx!"
Wang Chunhua's voice was shrill, and her finger tremblingly pointed at Shen Lingning's arms: "It must be you! It's you who did it! It's not enough that the little demon you raised is unlucky for your husband and family, now you even invite God to do it!
My house collapsed! All my food and clothes are gone! Pay for it! Pay for my belongings! Pay for my roof!
Shen Lingning looked at her half-human, half-ghost appearance and listened to her roar. The warmth in his heart that had risen because of Fubao's improvement instantly froze.
Fubao closed his eyes, his long eyelashes raised up, and his mood was bubbling with joy: Oh, the truth is out!
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