Everyone finally stopped what they were doing. Xu Lai first had them enclose the lowest part of the pond. Everyone worked together, each contributing a little effort, and the pond was enclosed.
Although nets can't stop fish from escaping, at least the pond owner's hard work won't be wasted. Many people in her village rely on selling fish during the Lunar New Year to earn money; that's the harvest of a year's hard work.
By the end of the morning, the ponds near the stream had been almost completely fenced off. Xu Lai had been busy digging mud and hadn't even noticed Xia Ning's arrival until Xia Ning patted her on the shoulder, at which point Xu Lai realized that Xia Ning had also come to help.
The rain got heavier and heavier, and everyone went home to eat. Now there was no need to worry about the fish escaping. Some of the rice was washed away, but that was unavoidable. Fortunately, the rice plants were quite resilient, and after the flood receded and they were exposed to the sun for a few days, they came back to life.
She and her grandfather walked back together, and someone followed them. Xu Lai was still wondering, this was the way to her house, didn't this person go home?
When she arrived at the courtyard gate, she shook off the water and saw the man next to her take off his raincoat. Actually, it didn't matter whether he took it off or not, as he was already soaked.
Xu Lai then realized that the person was Zhao Qingyun, and she asked in surprise, "You went to help too?"
He lifted his eyelids to glance at her, his voice weak and feeble, "Mmm."
Xu Lai sensed something was wrong with his voice. She went up to him and touched his forehead; it was burning hot. She quickly pushed him into the house, saying, "You should take a shower and change your clothes right away. You're all soaked; you'll catch a cold."
She herself wasn't much better, but because she was wearing two layers, at least she was dry. Who knew he would go there wearing just a raincoat, without even a straw raincoat.
When she got home, her grandmother had already cooked the dishes and called Xu Lai to eat. She replied, "Okay, you guys eat first, I'll make some ginger soup."
Thinking that many people came to help today, and that they might not all cook for themselves, she cooked a little extra.
She peeled and shredded the ginger, then threw it into the boiling water. She also added some red dates to neutralize the pungent taste of the ginger.
After finishing, she ate a mouthful of rice, then found disposable cups, filled more than a dozen cups, and delivered them to the homes of the uncles and elders who had gone to work that day.
When she arrived at Uncle Guiping's house, they were having dinner. When they saw her, they asked if she had eaten. Xu Lai held up the ginger soup and said, "I ate before I came. They brought it over on the way. You are the Nth person to ask me if I have eaten."
Zheng Yuan is now showing her pregnancy, and she looks a bit thinner, perhaps due to morning sickness. Xu Lai hasn't seen her for a while, so it seems she's been staying home to rest and hasn't gone out much.
She chatted for a while, then politely declined their invitation to stay longer and went straight home.
There was also a bowl of ginger soup in the pot, which she had left for Zhao Qingyun. When she entered the neighboring courtyard, Grandma Jiang was cooking porridge in the kitchen.
Upon seeing her arrive, he said, "I'll cook some porridge for him. He's been upstairs since he got back and hasn't eaten anything."
Seeing that the porridge was almost ready, Xu Lai knew that Grandma Jiang valued sleep and always had the habit of taking a nap, so she said, "You go and rest first, I'll bring it up with the ginger soup later."
She ladled out a bowl of soft, cooked congee, and with a bowl of congee in her left hand and a bowl of ginger soup in her right, she walked upstairs with difficulty.
Instead of knocking, she kicked the door and said, "Zhao Qingyun, I'm coming in."
There was no response from inside, so she pushed the door open and went in. He was lying in bed, covered with a thin blanket, making sure he was completely covered up.
She put her things down and touched his forehead. "It's getting hotter and hotter." Luckily, she had a thermometer with her and took his temperature first.
Xu Lai woke him up, "Zhao Qingyun, wake up, drink your porridge first, then take your temperature."
He heard a familiar voice, slowly woke up, and used one hand to prop himself up and the other to sit up.
Xu Lai noticed that he wasn't wearing a shirt on his upper body. Forgetting her embarrassment, she asked, "Why aren't you wearing any clothes? Won't you catch a cold more easily like this?"
He remained silent after being scolded, so Xu Lai went to his walk-in closet, found a white T-shirt, and threw it at him.
Zhao Qingyun's voice was low and hoarse, "Guess why I'm not wearing clothes? It's because I don't have the strength, my ancestor." The implication was that he wanted Zhao Qingyun to help him get dressed.
Xu Lai turned her face away, put the clothes on him, pulled them up, and handed him the ginger soup. "Drink some first, it'll get cold later."
He took the porridge and drank it all in one gulp, then choked. Xu Lai handed him a tissue and then held out the porridge for him to hold, saying, "Drink the porridge, then take your temperature. I'll go to the village clinic to buy you medicine later."
Zhao Qingyun held the spoon, his hand trembling twice, unable to bring it to his mouth. Xu Lai became anxious seeing him like that, and directly snatched the spoon from him, scooping up a full spoonful. "Open your mouth, at this rate, how long are you going to drink?"
He smirked, opened his mouth, and nearly choked on a spoonful of porridge. He swallowed it before he could even chew it. He thought to himself, if Xu Lai fed the child like this, the child would probably run away overnight.
After taking two sips, he took the bowl and drank it all in one go. Seeing this, Xu Lai couldn't help but say, "If only I had known it could be this easy."
Xu Lai handed him the underarm thermometer. They didn't have any of those sensor thermometers at home, only this kind of mercury thermometer. Last time she had a fever, she said she wanted to buy an electric thermometer, but as soon as she recovered, she completely forgot about it. She did remember to ask him to treat her to seafood porridge, though.
Zhao Qingyun took the phone and tucked it under her arm. Xu Lai picked up her phone to time it. Eight minutes passed. The two of them suddenly had nothing to do while waiting, and the atmosphere became a little tense.
The phone beeped, and Xu Lai reached out to him, picked it up and saw that it was 38.7.
She picked up the empty bowl and went downstairs, then went to the village clinic with an umbrella. Xu Lai was worried that the doctor might not have come to work because of the heavy rain, but she was relieved to see that the door was open when she got there.
She briefly described Zhao Qingyun's symptoms, and Zhang Ye looked up at her and asked, "Are you the person in question?"
Xu Lai almost rolled her eyes. Who was she cursing to catch a cold?
She patiently explained, "It's not me, it's my friend. He's lying in bed, and I think he can't move for the time being, so could you please prescribe some fever reducer? Thank you."
Zhang Ye didn't even look up. "My village clinic isn't short of beds. Let him come over, I'll give him the injection."
Xu Lai almost swore. She turned to leave, but Zhang Ye stopped her, gave her two ibuprofen pills and a box of cold medicine, and said, "You can only take the fever reducer when your temperature is 39°C."
Xu Lai paid the bill and returned to Zhao Qingyun's room. She made him a cup of cold medicine and told him to drink it. "Get some sleep, sweat it out, and see if your fever goes down." If he still had a fever tonight, he would have to get an injection.
Zhao Qingyun closed his eyes, and Xu Lai tucked the blanket around him before gently closing the door.
She washed the two bowls, put one in the cupboard, and took the other back to her own home. Then she set an alarm and went back to her room to rest for a while.
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