That night, Qiu Yan went home because she was worried that the herbs she had painstakingly collected would get wet.
Qiu Ling'er lay on the soft bedding, excitedly humming an unknown tune.
The little girl's face was a bit flushed, and she spoke in a somewhat muffled tone.
Seeing this, Qiu Xu picked up the wooden basin and used a towel to wipe the little girl's face. "Ling'er, do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"
"No, brother, I'm fine." Qiu Ling'er blinked her sleepy eyes. "I'm just so sleepy."
By the time Qiu Yan finished putting away the herbs and came over, it was already dark. The little girl had already fallen asleep, leaning against her brother.
With a creak, Madam Ye opened the door. "Qiu Yan, I've brought you an oil lamp. The rain hasn't stopped yet, so please be careful when you get up at night."
"Okay, Auntie, thank you for your trouble."
After Ye left, Qiu Yan lit an oil lamp, washed up quickly, and the three of them squeezed into one bed and soon fell asleep.
The rain keeps falling...
In the middle of the night, a loud clap of thunder woke Qiu Yan. She looked up at the window and saw several streaks of lightning flashing across the sky.
She rolled over and realized that her arm was numb and tingling; her sister was using it as a pillow.
Qiu Yan carefully withdrew her arm, and Xiao Ling'er murmured, letting out a faint groan. "Sister...it hurts..."
"Ling'er, what's wrong? Where does it hurt?"
After asking, Qiu Yan gently touched Qiu Ling'er's forehead with one hand.
Upon being touched, she sat up in fright.
The touch was scalding hot; Ling'er's forehead was very hot, and the air she exhaled from her nose was also incredibly hot.
This is because they got caught in the rain during the day and developed a fever!
In the middle of the night, with another thunderstorm, Qiu Yan was anxious and quickly got up to go to the kitchen to boil water to cool her down physically.
Because she was afraid of disturbing Mr. and Mrs. Ye, Qiu Yan moved very gently, but she still inadvertently startled Mr. Ye.
When Madam Ye woke up and learned what had happened, she personally made ginger soup for Qiu Ling'er.
Qiu Xu woke up when he heard the noise.
Knowing that his younger sister had a fever, he was anxious. He and his sister wiped Qiu Ling'er's body together and then fed her ginger soup.
Once her younger sister's temperature dropped, Qiu Yan and her brother felt relieved and went back to sleep.
Fortunately, Qiu Ling'er is already eight years old, unlike a toddler who is so fragile.
Qiu Ling'er's fever was brought under control in the middle of the night, but before dawn, it started to recur.
Hearing her younger sister whimpering, Qiu Yan and Qiu Xu wiped her body again.
Throughout the night, my sister's fever fluctuated repeatedly, going down and then rising again.
Qiu Yan, who had never taken care of children before, was anxious. Helpless, she asked her younger brother to watch her sister while she got up and left the yard.
Ye Shi wasn't sleeping soundly either. When she heard Qiu Yan leaving the house and learned that she was looking for Old Man Zhao, she got up and chased after her for a few steps, bringing her an umbrella and telling her to walk carefully in the rain. Then she went to the kitchen to boil ginger soup.
Despite the slippery road, Qiu Yan jogged over and knocked on Old Man Zhao's door.
Thump thump thump...
The septuagenarian with a white beard snored loudly, and being hard of hearing, he couldn't hear any sounds from outside.
But the old man was a light sleeper and got out of bed on his own.
I was just about to turn over and go back to sleep when I saw a dark figure standing at the gate of my yard, which really startled me.
Is this because a thief has targeted them in the middle of the night?
The old man's hair stood on end instantly, and a chill ran down his spine.
He hunched over, squinted, and looked closely. It didn't seem to be a thief; rather, it was someone knocking loudly on his gate.
He was fully awake and went outside to check, leaning on his cane. "Who is it? Coming out in the middle of the night to scare people."
Hearing the question from inside the courtyard, Qiu Yan felt relieved. "Great-Grandpa, it's me, Qiu Yan. My sister had a high fever that wouldn't go down in the middle of the night, and I'd like to ask you to buy some fever-reducing medicine."
"Looking for me to buy medicine?" Upon hearing this, Old Zhao rolled his cloudy old eyes and suddenly perked up. "Wait here, I'm coming."
To be honest, it's been many years since anyone sought his medical help, and the old man feels a sense of loss.
He slowly walked out of the courtyard gate, invited Qiu Yan into the house, and then looked at her strangely, unable to remember what the girl had just said to him. "Miss, what are you doing here so late at night?"
"Grandpa, my sister had a fever in the middle of the night. Do you have any herbal medicine to reduce the fever?"
"You have a fever? What other symptoms do you have? I think I should go there myself."
As he spoke, Old Zhao rummaged through his medicine cabinet and, based on past experience, managed to gather three doses of herbal medicine.
These herbs were all found by him little by little in the mountains and forests.
"Where do you live? Take me there quickly."
Although the old man was a bit confused, he seemed to be in good health.
It's rare for someone to live to seventy, and in this day and age, Old Zhao's spirit is truly remarkable. In this village, all the older generation of his age have already passed away.
"Great-Grandpa, just name your price, and I'll take the herbs. It's dark and the road is slippery, so please lie down and rest." Qiu Yan was genuinely afraid that the old man might lose his balance and fall, which would be a huge mistake on her part.
“How can this be? Children can have very high fevers; they can easily damage their brains. There have been cases like this in our village before.”
Fortunately, the rain gradually subsided and stopped, and the sky began to brighten.
Qiu Yan took the herbs and helped Old Man Zhao step by step to the Li family's house.
At the Li family home, Madam Ye was holding Qiu Ling'er and feeding her ginger soup little by little. When she saw Old Man Zhao arrive, she quickly asked him to sit down.
Old Zhao waved his hand, stepped forward, examined Qiu Ling'er's eyelids, and then took her pulse. "This is a cold. When did the fever start?"
Qiu Xu replied, "It started in the middle of the night. At first, I wiped his body and fed him ginger soup. After the fever subsided, it started to return shortly afterward."
Qiu Ling'er opened her dazed eyes and said, "Sister, my head hurts, and my body aches."
After hearing this, Old Zhao asked kindly, "Little girl, does your mouth taste bitter?"
Qiu Ling'er nodded. "It's bitter."
Old Zhao flipped open Xiao Ling'er's eyelids and began to examine her carefully. "Fever, no sweating, and a slightly yellow tongue coating... This is a case of external wind-cold-dampness with internal heat."
I still have some Qiangwu, Fangfeng, and Chuanxiong at home... They're specifically for treating fevers in spring, summer, and autumn, which is perfect for this condition. You can't be careless with a child's cold... Oh no, I'm out of medicine. I think a girl just took it..."
Qiu Yan: "Great-Grandpa, the medicine is here."
Old Zhao looked at Qiu Yan carefully: "Strange, how come the medicine is with you?"
Ye took the herbs and began to help decoct them. Qiu Yan paid Zhao Laotou's consultation fee according to the price of the medicine and then took Zhao Laotou home.
"Great-Grandpa, thank you so much for today."
Old Zhao shook his head. "The fact that the young lady sought my medical help at least shows that this old man is still of use."
As dawn broke, the weather cleared up, and Qiu Ling'er's high fever was finally brought under control.
Early in the morning, Qiu Ling'er stayed at the Ye family's house to rest, while Qiu Yan and her younger brother prepared to go home to clean up the water inside the house and repair the roof.
The water is easy to clean, but the roof is a bit difficult to repair.
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