Chapter 61 Illness Arrives
Shu Ran was woken up by her own cough in the middle of the night.
It felt like my throat was stuffed with a handful of sea buckthorn thorns from the Gobi Desert; it was dry and painful, and every breath felt like pulling a bellows.
She struggled to sit up and get a drink of water, but found that all the bones in her body seemed to have been removed, and she was so weak that she couldn't even lift her arms. Her forehead was burning hot, and her eyelids were too heavy to open.
The dugout was pitch black, with only a sliver of pale moonlight filtering through the ventilation hole. She tried to speak, hoping to wake Sister Wang in the next bunk, but only a series of breathy sounds came out.
"It's over," Shu Ran thought. "This time, I'm afraid I'm really going to collapse."
After months of intense work—teaching students during the day, teaching women at night, and burning the midnight oil to compile that textbook—even the strongest body couldn't withstand it.
In addition, a few days ago, in order to rush the work, I carried a batch of old newspapers back from the regimental headquarters in the rain, and I wore my soaked clothes until they were half dry before changing them... I didn't think much of it at the time, but now I'm getting my comeuppance.
She lay there in a daze, her consciousness coming and going.
It sounded like someone touched her forehead; she cried out in surprise, followed by hurried footsteps, Sister Wang's rough hand, Xu Junjun's cool stethoscope pressed against her, and Li Xiulan's tearful voice calling out, "Teacher Shu..."
Then, the bitter medicine that made your tongue numb was poured in, the wet towel on your forehead was changed again and again, and fragments of conversation drifted into your ears.
"The fever has reached 40 degrees Celsius! Pneumonia! We need to give them anti-inflammatory medication immediately!"
"The company's medical room ran out of penicillin..."
"I'll go to the division hospital and see what I can do!"
"Nonsense! How are you going to go in the middle of the night? It's dozens of miles away!"
“We can’t just wait around! If Teacher Shu…”
Shu Ran didn't hear what was said after that, and fell into a deep sleep again.
When she regained some consciousness, it was already broad daylight. She heavily opened her eyes a crack and vaguely saw a figure sitting on a small stool beside her bunk, peeling a green pear. It was Li Xiulan.
"Water..." Shu Ran managed to squeeze out a sound.
Li Xiulan suddenly looked up, her eyes red-rimmed: "Teacher Shu! You're awake?!" She quickly put down the pear and the knife, hurriedly poured a enamel mug of warm water, carefully lifted Shu Ran's head, and fed her little by little.
Warm water soothed her throat, slightly easing the burning pain. Shu Ran took a breath, her voice still hoarse: "How long have I been asleep?"
"It's been a whole day and night!" Li Xiulan wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "Dr. Xu gave you an injection and said your fever has gone down a bit, but you still need to continue taking the medication. You absolutely can't overexert yourself. You scared us to death!"
Just then, the curtain of the dugout was lifted, and Sister Wang came in carrying a steaming bowl. When she saw that Shu Ran had her eyes open, she immediately beamed: "Amitabha! You're finally awake! How are you feeling? Can you sit up a little? Drink this bowl of egg drop soup. Dr. Xu told you that you need to replenish your nutrition."
The two women helped Shu Ran sit up with difficulty. The bowl of soup had delicate frangipani blossoms floating in it, a few bright green wild vegetable leaves, and, unusually, a few drops of sesame oil. In those days, this was considered the highest level of treatment only a sick person could enjoy.
Shu Ran didn't have much of an appetite, but she knew she had to eat. She sipped her soup slowly, listening to Sister Wang's rambling.
"Company Commander Ma came by this morning and left two cans of food, one of luncheon meat and the other of pickled cucumbers, saying it was to whet your appetite."
Sister Wang gestured towards the corner of the wall, "Director Zhao is here too, but he didn't come in. He stood at the door for a bit, asked a few questions, and said that you should focus on recovering and that classes... classes should be suspended for a few days." She spoke hesitantly, clearly indicating that Zhao Weidong's original words weren't so pleasant.
Shu Ran nodded, too exhausted to ask any more questions. She could imagine what Zhao Weidong would say, something like "delicate" or "delaying the birth."
In the afternoon, Xu Junjun returned, looking travel-worn. Her military uniform jacket was covered in dirt, and her face showed signs of fatigue, but her eyes were bright and sparkling.
She carefully took out several vials of penicillin and a small bottle of vitamin tablets from the medicine cabinet.
"You're lucky!" Xu Junjun said while performing a skin test on Shu Ran. "It just so happened that the hospital's vehicle was on its way to conduct a round of medical inspections, and we ran into them on the way. I talked to the doctor in charge for a long time and brought up your textbook compilation project before they finally approved these few doses of medicine."
She paused, then lowered her voice, "Officer Yang heard from somewhere that you were sick, and asked his driver to pass on a message, telling you to take good care of yourself. The teaching materials aren't urgent; he'll keep an eye on them for you."
Shu Ran felt a warmth in her heart.
The skin test was fine, so Xu Junjun gave her the injection. As the medicine took effect, Shu Ran felt drowsy and sleepy again. In her hazy state, she sensed that someone had come into the dugout again.
"...It's good that the fever has subsided. This illness is very taxing; she needs to be fully rested." It was Secretary Liu's voice. "Tell her that the company has discussed it and will grant her ten days of sick leave. As for the women's literacy class, let Wang Guilan take over for now. She can teach according to the writing cards left by Shu Ran. It's just recognizing names and tickets; it's not difficult. As for the children's classes...sigh, let's put them on hold for now."
Another deep voice hummed in response, then said nothing more.
Shu Ran tried to open her eyes, but the sound quickly faded away with the footsteps. She vaguely thought, "Was that person who 'hummed' just now... Chen Yuanjiang? He's here? Why didn't he come in?"
*
Illness comes like a landslide, but recovery is like pulling silk from a cocoon. Shu Ran truly understands this saying perfectly.
The weakness she felt after the high fever subsided was far greater than she had imagined. For the first few days, she spent most of her time in a daze, with only short intervals between waking up, barely enough to drink some herbal medicine and eat a few mouthfuls of liquid food.
The dugout was dimly lit, and the sense of time became blurred. She could only roughly judge whether it was dawn or dusk by the intensity of the light coming through the ventilation holes and the intervals between Sister Wang and Li Xiulan taking turns to take care of her.
The dugout was always filled with a faint smell of herbs, mixed with the earthy smell and the occasional aroma of food.
After taking the pills prescribed by Xu Junjun for two days, she switched to a Chinese herbal decoction that Xu Junjun had somehow obtained. It was wrapped in old newspapers, and every time it was boiled, a bitter taste with a strange aroma would fill the air.
“It’s licorice and ephedra,” Xu Junjun explained to Shu Ran, who was frowning, while stirring the medicinal liquid in the small aluminum pot with chopsticks. “It’s dug up from the Gobi Desert, and there’s also some fruit shell that I can’t mention. It’s quite effective for your cough and wheezing. It’s just that it tastes a bit strong. Good medicine tastes bitter, so you’ll have to hold your nose and gulp it down.”
Shu Ran resignedly took the bowl, held her breath, and gulped it down in one go. The indescribable bitterness spread from her tongue all the way to her stomach, causing her to gag.
Li Xiulan quickly handed her a small bowl of warm water, then took out a piece of fruit candy that had been hidden away for a long time and was slightly melted and sticky, and stuffed it into her mouth to barely suppress the surging bitterness.
"Dr. Xu, is this medicine really effective?" Sister Wang couldn't help but ask, looking at Shu Ran's pale face.
“The old folks in the pastoral areas of Xinjiang all use this method. It’s a traditional remedy. It’s slower to take effect than medicines from the city pharmaceutical factories, but it’s gentler and doesn’t harm the body.” Xu Junjun packed up the medicine jars. “Her illness was caused by overwork. Her body was weakened, so she needs to recover slowly. She can’t rush it.”
Eating became a major problem. Shu Ran's mouth tasted bitter, and she couldn't eat anything. Sister Wang racked her brains and made the most of the limited supplies in the company canteen.
Today it's a bowl of cabbage and dumpling soup with a few specks of oil floating on top; tomorrow it's a finely chopped corn porridge; and occasionally, a bowl of tender steamed egg custard—that's simply the ultimate delicacy.
The luncheon meat that Company Commander Ma brought over was only sliced thinly by Sister Wang each time. She would chop it into small pieces and sprinkle it into the soup to enhance the flavor, so that she could eat a few more bites.
“Teacher Shu, please eat some more,” Li Xiulan said, holding the bowl as if coaxing a child. “How can you get better if you don’t eat? Look, the bird eggs that Tiger’s mother brought over were taken by the children. I put them in your soup.”
Shu Ran forced down a few more mouthfuls, then shook her head, realizing she really couldn't eat anymore.
Even when she was lucid, she couldn't lie still. She could practically recite the old newspapers pasted on the wall by heart. Her gaze swept over the camphor wood chest in the corner, on the lid of which lay the first draft of her half-finished textbook and the notebook that Officer Yang had given her.
She was anxious and struggled to sit up to see what was happening, but was glared at by Sister Wang who had just come in.
"My goodness! Just calm down already!" Sister Wang shoved her back onto the mattress. "Dr. Xu said that your illness is most aggravated by mental strain! Those words and papers are still there! You'll have plenty of time to suffer after you get better!"
Sister Wang had a loud voice but a kind heart. She wouldn't let Shu Ran do any work, but she didn't stop her from listening. So, the dugout became a temporary information exchange station.
Every day after finishing work at the tofu shop, Li Xiulan would sit on a small stool next to Shu Ran's stall, twisting hemp rope or mending clothes while rambling on about what was happening outside.
"Two more women came to the literacy class today. They came because they heard they could learn to recognize work point tickets... Sister Wang teaches very diligently, but she keeps mispronouncing words, saying 'Zhang Guihua' as 'Zhang Guahua,' which makes everyone laugh..."
“Shitou and Shuanzhu would hang around here every day after school, peeking through the door, hoping you would get better soon.”
“Bayan and Saidar from the pastoral area came yesterday, but they were disappointed not to see you. Adil slipped his sister’s drawing under the door, so I brought it to you…”
As Li Xiulan spoke, she pulled a rough piece of paper from her bosom. On it were crooked little figures drawn with charcoal, next to which were small houses and fluttering flags. Shu Ran looked at it, couldn't help but laugh, and then coughed.
The message brought by Sister Wang was more official.
"A leader asked again today when the children's classes would resume, saying that it was unacceptable for them to have been neglected for so long. Secretary Liu rebuffed him, saying, 'They're not fully recovered yet, why are you rushing them!'"
"Old Qian from the machine repair team secretly asked me to ask you if it's okay to leave the chimney of the classroom firewall like that. He's worried it might be blocked, so he wants you to go and check it out as soon as you're done."
"Old Jiang from the regimental logistics department sent word that they've collected some more old newspapers and asked if you wanted them. If you did, hurry up and get them, otherwise someone else will use them to wallpaper the walls."
These fragmented pieces of information, like jigsaw puzzle pieces, slowly pieced together a picture of daily life in the company in Shu Ran's weakened mind.
She knew everything in the company was still running. This feeling of being needed, combined with her current helplessness, made her anxious.
Xu Junjun is the most punctual visitor every day. She checks the temperature, listens to the lung sounds, and administers the injection with clean and efficient movements.
"My cough is better today, and the phlegm isn't as bad."
"You still have a slight fever. Be careful to keep warm at night and avoid catching a cold."
"Stretch out your hand, let me see the color of your nails... It's alright, your anemia isn't so bad anymore."
Sometimes she would bring a little surprise, such as a small bottle of vitamin tablets or a few compressed biscuits.
“The division’s medical team came down for a round of medical visits, and I just picked it up. You’re malnourished; you can’t just eat that porridge.”
Shu Ran noticed that Xu Junjun's military uniform had chafed holes at the elbows, and her shoes were covered in dried mud.
"What have you been busy with lately? You seem even more tired than me."
Xu Junjun kept working and said casually, "I went around to several pastoral sites over there, doing epidemic prevention publicity and vaccinations. Oh right, I also learned to ride a horse. That's all."
She paused, glanced at Shu Ran, and said, "Get well soon, that's more important than anything else. I'm still counting on you to roam the grasslands with me."
The dugout wasn't always quiet. Sometimes children would peek inside through the crack in the curtain, only to be discovered by Sister Wang who would yell at them before they would run away laughing.
Sometimes family members would peek in, put down some homemade pickled vegetables or a few potatoes, and ask in a low voice, "Is Teacher Shu feeling better?" After receiving an affirmative answer, they would leave satisfied.
Shu Ran endured the days like this. Her body was still weak, and her cough hadn't completely cleared up, but she was conscious for longer periods, and the medicine and porridge she drank seemed to give her some strength.
With Li Xiulan's help, she was able to slowly sit up and lean against the wall for a while. She could finally see the words on the old newspaper pasted on the wall opposite her sleeping mat—it was a production report from the Production and Construction Corps from a few months ago. On the yellowed pages, the headline in bold ink read: "Deep Cultivation and Extensive Planting of Grain and Literacy: Fighting on Two Fronts to Win a Bumper Harvest." Below that, in slightly smaller print, was: "The Entire Corps Launches a New High Tide of Popularizing Literacy and Production Technology."
Shu Ran squinted as she read the title and the somewhat blurred text of the report word by word. It mentioned the establishment of night schools and field study groups by various divisions and regiments. Although the details were vague, the article conveyed a sense of "not only wielding guns and pickaxes, but also learning to read and write."
As she looked at it, she suddenly said to Li Xiulan, who was sewing shoe soles, "Xiulan, could you bring me that notebook? I'll just flip through it, it won't take much effort."
Li Xiulan hesitated for a moment, but seeing the stubbornness in Shu Ran's eyes, she finally handed over the notebook that Officer Yang had brought.
*
After a while, Shu Ran's cough wasn't as severe, but she was still very weak and broke out in a cold sweat after saying just a few words.
Visitors came in an endless stream, like a revolving lantern.
Zhang Guifen arrived with Li Dazhuang, who was clutching two boiled bird eggs in his hand, insisting on giving them to Teacher Shu to "nourish her body."
Zhang Guifen, with her loud voice, chattered on about the literacy class: "Sister Wang teaches very well! I can recognize my own name now! It's just that my handwriting is crooked... Teacher Shu, get well soon, I still need to learn how to write numbers from you!"
Shuanzhu's mother secretly brought over a small cloth bag of fried noodles, whispering, "It's homemade, with some crushed peanuts in it. It smells delicious. If you get hungry at night, just mix it with water and have a bowl."
Back in the pastoral area, Turdi sent Adil over with a small leather bag of fresh mare's milk and a few strips of dried meat.
Adil stood awkwardly at the entrance of the dugout. After hesitating for a while, he said, "Teacher! Eat this to gain strength... My sister misses you very much!" After saying that, he shoved the things into Li Xiulan's hands, turned around and ran away.
Even a few female employees who had previously held grudges against Shu Ran because of Zhou Qiaozhen's instigation came over together, put down a few bunches of vegetables they had grown themselves, and said a few polite words like "take good care of her."
Shu's illness made some of the underlying conflicts seem less important.
Sister Wang and Li Xiulan became the resident caregivers at the dugout. Sister Wang was in charge of the meals, trying her best to prepare nutritious food for her. Li Xiulan, on the other hand, was meticulous, taking care of feeding her medicine, cleaning her up, keeping her company, and telling Shu Ran about the literacy class and the children's situation.
Xu Junjun comes every day without fail to give injections and administer medicine. She doesn't talk much, but every time she comes, she makes sure to check on Shu Ran's recovery and sternly tells her not to worry about work.
Another week passed, and Shu Ran was feeling a bit better. She was leaning against the blanket listening to Li Xiulan read out the crooked names written by the literacy class students when the curtain of the dugout was lifted again.
Officer Yang Zhenhua walked in, bending over, bringing with him a gust of cold wind from outside. He carried a net bag containing several cans of fruit and a packet of brown sugar.
"Comrade Shu Ran, how are you? Are you feeling any better?" Yang Zhenhua asked with concern. "I went back to the regimental headquarters to report on my work and heard that you were seriously ill, so I came to see you right away."
"I'm much better now, thank you for your concern, Officer Yang." Shu Ran tried to sit up straight, but Yang Zhenhua waved her hand to stop her.
"Lie down, lie down! I heard you've really overworked yourself this time." Yang Zhenhua sat down on a small stool, his tone slightly reproachful. "Compiling textbooks is important, but you can't push yourself like this! Health is the foundation of everything!"
He took out a thick notebook from his shoulder bag: "I've collected some of the literacy textbooks and materials you asked me to find before, as well as some notes I made myself. They're all written in here. You can take a look and refer to them when you're better. There's no rush. Let's talk about it after you're fully recovered."
He inquired further about Shu Ran's condition and treatment, and upon hearing that penicillin had been used, he nodded and said, "That's good. If you need any urgently needed medications, try to send me a message, and I'll try to coordinate with the regimental hospital."
Yang Zhenhua left after less than half an hour. Looking at the notebook and the contents of the mesh bag, Shu Ran felt much more at ease. There were people outside who recognized what she was doing.
After Yang Zhenhua left, the dugout fell into a brief silence.
Shu Ran was a little tired and closed her eyes to rest. Suddenly, she heard a slight noise at the door, as if someone had put something down.
Li Xiulan was tidying up the clothes drying at the door when she exclaimed in surprise, "Eh!"
Shu Ran opened her eyes: "What's wrong?"
Li Xiulan brought in a small, coarse pottery jar, its mouth covered with a clean blue cloth. Next to it was an even smaller cloth bag.
Li Xiulan lifted the blue cloth, and a sweet fragrance of wildflowers wafted out—it was honey. The color was a deep amber, and the texture was so thick it was almost stringy. She then opened the small cloth bag; inside were five or six large, deep red dates.
"Wow, it's wild honey! Sister Shuran, who do you think put this here?" Li Xiulan asked curiously.
Shu Ran barely needed to think; the image of that silent, cold figure immediately came to mind.
Wild honey is almost never seen on the shelves of supply and marketing cooperatives. Occasionally, a herder might be lucky enough to cut a little from a crevice in a cliff, and that would be a hard currency comparable to gold. It would mostly be used to barter for salt, tea, or bullets for hunting wolves; they wouldn't dare to taste it themselves. Or they would keep it for their weak children and elderly, or exchange it for more urgently needed supplies. Who would be willing to give away a whole jar like that?
Li Xiulan clearly realized the unusual nature of the gift. She opened her mouth, her face showing an "I understand" expression, and lowered her voice, saying with a hint of disbelief, "Teacher Shu, this...this honey smells so good! And these dates...who is so generous?"
Her gaze unconsciously drifted towards the entrance of the dugout, as if trying to find some trace outside, before returning to Shu Ran's face, her eyes filled with inquiry and her tone excited: "Could it be... Special Envoy Chen? I vaguely heard some footsteps just now, but before I could turn around and see who it was, they were gone... It must be him! Only he has the ability to get these things and deliver them so quietly."
Shu Ran neither admitted nor denied it, but simply dipped her finger into the honey syrup from the rim of the jar and put it in her mouth.
The sweet but not cloying flavor quickly overpowered the bitterness left by the herbal medicine over the past few days. The sweetness even carried a hint of floral and herbal fragrance, making it so mellow that it soothed the throat.
She gently smacked her lips, then said to Li Xiulan, "Go find a clean spoon, scoop some out and dissolve it in warm water. You should try it too."
"How can that be!" Li Xiulan quickly waved her hand. "This is definitely for you, Teacher Shu, to nourish your body! What would it look like if I tried it!"
"Since the things have been delivered, they're mine now." Shu Ran's tone left no room for refusal. "Just go. Good things don't taste good when you eat them all by yourself. Besides, I can't finish so many, and they'll just go to waste if left out."
Li Xiulan exclaimed in surprise and quickly went to find a spoon and a bowl. She deftly mixed half a bowl of warm water and carefully scooped a small spoonful of honey into the warm water, stirring it slowly until dissolved.
She handed the bowl to Shu Ran first. Shu Ran took it, took a small sip, and the warm, sweet water slid down her throat, seemingly soothing the burning pain from her cough over the past few days.
She sighed contentedly and handed the bowl back to Li Xiulan: "You can drink the rest."
Li Xiulan took the bowl and sipped the water slowly, her eyes lighting up. "It's so sweet... I've never tasted such sweet water before! It's even sweeter than fruit candy!" She licked her lips, savoring the taste, and then couldn't help but look at the jar of honey, whispering, "Special Envoy Chen... he seems so cold and doesn't say much, but I never expected him to be so thoughtful and so... genuine."
Shu Ran didn't reply, only staring at the jar of honey and a few dates. Honest. That word seemed quite fitting when applied to him.
Shu Ran said to Li Xiulan, "Put the dates away carefully, and make sure the honey jar is sealed tightly so that ants don't get in. From now on, we'll dissolve a little bit to drink every morning and evening."
-----------------------
Author's Note: After working overtime and then staying up all night to write, my brain isn't quite clear. Please be gentle with your criticism if there are any bugs. [Please!]
I'm secretly asking for your work to be added to my collection, but it's okay if you don't want to [crying emoji]
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