Chapter 4 Knocking on the door in the middle of the night begging for life!
Tai Jizu didn't know that his daughter was bringing him good luck. He just thought that his daughter was trying to get close to him, so he touched her again and again happily.
So, Zhuzhu fell asleep again just after eating a bowl of fish soup with steamed bread.
Yang Lihua was observant and noticed that something seemed amiss with her daughter, so she whispered, "Daddy, is your daughter feeling unwell? Why is she always sleeping?"
Tai Jizu didn't know either, but after checking his daughter's forehead to see if it was hot, he comforted his wife and said, "Don't worry, it's probably because she got knocked hard. She should get more sleep to rest."
Yang Lihua had no choice but to say, "Take the fish soup away and give it to Zhuzhu tomorrow morning. You should be more alert tonight and help me keep an eye on Zhuzhu so she doesn't get a fever."
"Also, don't touch the child's head anymore. As the old saying goes, when a child is too young, their soul isn't stable yet, and touching their head can easily startle them."
Tai Jizu touched his nose, feeling a little guilty. "My daughter asked me to touch it, so I touched it twice. I didn't know if it would scare her."
Yang Lihua didn't really blame him at all. She quickly made the bed and prepared to go to sleep.
The couple took care of their little daughter and slept in old and worn bedding.
Although the cotton lumps were a bit uncomfortable, the two were still extremely satisfied.
The night was dark, and the north wind blew snowflakes against the window frames, making a rustling sound.
The world fell into complete silence!
Suddenly, someone ran hurriedly in the dark, and then banged on the gate of Tai's house.
Old Master Tai was alert and was the first to get up. He put on his coat and went out to check.
"Who's knocking on the door?"
In the dark night, Master Tai's old and hoarse voice was particularly clear, "Sixth brother, open the door quickly! Something happened, wait for help!"
At this moment, Tai Jizu and Tai Jizon also came out.
Hearing this, Mr. Tai quickly asked them to open the door and let Mr. Tai San and others in.
There was pine candlelight in the main room. It wasn't very bright, but it still illuminated Master Tai San and the man behind him clearly.
Both of them looked unhappy, especially the man whose eyes were swollen.
He immediately knelt down in front of Grandpa Tai and burst into tears, "Sixth Uncle, please have mercy on me, please give our Tiedan a bowl of fish soup.
"It's all because I'm a useless father! Woohoo!"
The three Tai family members frowned when they heard this, not knowing what had happened.
It was Master Tai San who choked up and explained, "Tiedan fell into an ice hole while fishing and got frozen. Now he has a severe fever. We've tried everything, but I'm afraid... it won't work.
"Sixth brother, if we still have fish soup at home, please give some to Tiedan. This child is pitiful. He has a fever and is talking nonsense, but he still wants to drink fish soup."
Old Master Tai hesitated for a moment and finally looked at his eldest son.
Tai Jizu immediately understood and went into the west room, and the old man went to the corner to pick up his wine gourd.
…
At the end of the village there was a dilapidated thatched house with a rotten roof. The north wind blew the doors and windows made of wooden strips, making them rattle.
Three or five villagers were standing on the floor in the house, and on the earthen kang, a woman in tattered clothes was holding a boy with a red fever on his face, crying her heart out.
"Tiedan, my dear Tiedan! I'm so heartbroken. Open your eyes! It's all my fault. I shouldn't have let you go to the river!"
Unfortunately, the boy closed his eyes tightly and couldn't hear anything.
The woman was completely desperate. She grabbed the broom and madly hit him on the head, "Blind thief God, I will fight you to the death!
"Every year it's either drought or flood, there's no harvest at all, you're starving us all to death!
"Poor Tiedan, he has never had a full meal in his life!"
The villagers wanted to say something to persuade him, but they didn't know what to say, so they pulled up their sleeves and wiped their eyes.
Hiding in the pile of rotten grass at the end of the kang were two skinny, dark-skinned little girls with runny noses. They had no clothes on, only half a pair of torn pants that barely covered their buttocks. They were hugging each other and crying bitterly.
It was at this time that Mr. Tai arrived, and everyone rushed forward as if they had seen a savior.
Old Master Tai opened the wine gourd and poured out half a bowl of liquor, and Tai Jizu also put down the ceramic basin containing fish soup.
Tiedan's mother was stunned for a moment, then her eyes gradually brightened up. She put her son down and kowtowed loudly.
"Woo woo, Sixth Uncle, I kowtow to you, Tiedan'er... Tiedan'er is saved!"
Old Master Tai waved his hand and advised, "We are family, so don't be polite. Hurry up and give Tiedan some wine. It will reduce the fever quickly!"
"Luckily, that lazy guy, the third one, was wandering around the city and brought me half a gourd of wine a few days ago. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to save Tiedan even if I wanted to."
Tiedan's mother insisted on kowtow three more times before she started working with trembling hands.
The two neighbor women were afraid that she would spill the good stuff, so they came to help. Soon Tiedan's body was rubbed even redder, and when he had to press the quilt to make him sweat, Master Tai San looked at the pile of rotten grass at the end of the kang and had to call his son home to get his own bedding.
Tiedan, who was drunk, was covered with a thick quilt and given a bowl of hot fish soup.
After a while, beads of sweat began to appear on his forehead.
The villagers couldn't help but feel happy.
"Okay, okay, sweating means the fever has gone down."
"This kid is finally saved!"
Tiedan's parents also cried heart-wrenchingly, but Mr. Tai San and Mr. Tai Lao both breathed a sigh of relief.
In the past two years, five or six young men in the clan have starved to death, and they can't afford any more losses.
…
When the sky brightened, Zhuzhu, yawning, hugged her mother's neck and ate breakfast with her family. On the dining table in the main hall, there was a bowl of sorghum porridge so big that you could see your reflection in it, a basket of steamed bread, and half a plate of pickled cucumbers.
The steamed cornbread is made by adding a handful of sorghum flour to the bran. It is black and very difficult to chew. When swallowing it, the throat hurts like a needle.
Tai Yonglu and Tai Yongyue stretched their thin necks hard to swallow the steamed bread, their faces flushed red.
Zhuzhu grimaced in fear, fearing that her brother's big head would fall off.
She stretched out her chubby little hand, trying hard to push her half bowl of fish soup to her brother. She was so anxious that her little fat face was struggling. Finally, she uttered a word, "Ci!"
The whole family was happy and praised it.
"Hey, Zhuzhu is speaking more clearly now!"
"You'll be able to say more as I teach you slowly!"
Tai Yonglu and Tai Yongyue were even happier, but the remaining fish soup at home was taken to help Tiedaner, leaving only half a bowl for their sister, and they were reluctant to drink it.
So, they pulled up their sleeves to cover their mouths and pretended to take a sip from the edge of the soup bowl, slurping it twice.
"It's delicious! The fish soup my sister fed me is so fragrant!"
"Mmm, yes, it's delicious!"
The soft and chubby little girl really thought that her brother had drunk the soup. She had a small purple "horn" on her forehead and her big eyes were shining with a smile, just like the lucky doll in the New Year picture.
Seeing this, Tai Jizu quickly mentioned it to the old man again, "Dad, after dinner I'm going to walk around the foot of the mountain. I definitely won't go into the mountains. Okay?"
The old man looked at the fat girl with a bulging mouth and nodded. "Put on my coat and go for a walk. I'll be back soon!"
Tai Jizu nodded quickly, and the three brothers Tai Yongan, Tai Yonglu and Tai Yongyue started cheering.
Needless to say, they wanted to join in the fun!
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