One Hundred Little Squirrels
When they arrived at the nearest clinic, a middle-aged, plump woman was there. After examining Li Wei's foot and listening to Wu Feng's description, she diagnosed it as a sprain.
Then he grabbed Li Wei's fair little feet, applied some medicinal wine, and rubbed them hard, making Li Wei scream and cry in pain. Just when she was about to give up, he finally stopped: "It's okay, it'll be fine tomorrow, let's go."
Li Wei breathed a sigh of relief, gave them the money, and had Zhou Xiaoyan and Wu Feng help her carry it home.
I didn't go to my grandma's house that night, and I ate dinner in bed because I was afraid to get out of bed; my injured foot would hurt if I moved it. I thought it would be fine after a good night's sleep, but when I woke up the next morning, it was even more swollen.
Seeing her daughter like this, Cheng Min quickly called her husband over: "Dad, what do you think we should do? Why don't you take the child to the hospital after breakfast?"
Li Zhaoxing glanced at Li Wei's feet: "Hmm, those people at the hospital are not as good as Dr. Lin. I'll take her to the village clinic later."
Although Li Wei was wary of the old veterinarian Lin, she was now in trouble. Thinking of the woman who treated her foot yesterday, she had no choice but to go to the old veterinarian's place and endure it this time. It was better to get her foot healed than anything else; the swelling and pain were unbearable.
I asked Ding Anni to let me take the day off, but I was too embarrassed to tell her I twisted my ankle. I specifically told her to tell the teacher she had a bad cold. I remembered how much fun I had yesterday, and then I twisted my ankle; it would be too embarrassing to tell anyone.
But when Li Lin was about to leave, she thought it was wrong. Her cold would get better so quickly. If she couldn't go to school for three to five days, wouldn't this give her away? She should just tell the truth. So she called Li Lin back.
When Luo Da arrived, Li Wei had already been taken to the clinic by her father on his motorcycle. As Li Wei expected, the clinic was much more troublesome than the fat woman from yesterday. Watching Old Lin the veterinarian's big hands chopping at her feet like knives, Li Wei felt so much pain that she wanted to die.
Finally, the treatment was over, and Li Wei left the clinic. She was drenched in sweat, her underwear completely soaked, as if she'd been pulled out of the water. It was truly a brush with death. Looking back at the small clinic building, it looked utterly menacing.
To Li Wei's utter dismay, the old veterinarian said she wouldn't recover for at least twenty days. She had hoped to participate in the sports meet as a "flower vase" (a decorative figurehead) carrying the class banner. Now that dream was shattered!
Back home, Li Wei was completely paralyzed and bedridden. She couldn't get out of bed for a while. The old veterinarian said he was worried about straining her muscles. She needed her dressings changed daily. She had truly become a patient.
Li Wei lay in bed, filled with remorse. Why did she have to jump so far with someone? Wasn't that just courting death?!
What a day! Mom and Dad were busy all day. Only Grandpa managed to come up a few times when he had a spare moment. He even went back home specially to have Grandma prepare a delicious lunch. Li Wei lay in bed, and sang a line from a melancholy song: "There's only one grandpa in the world who's good. A child with a grandpa is like a treasure."
I was bored. I read a textbook and a magazine for a while. After finishing the magazine, I went back to the textbook.
When school let out in the evening, Zhou Xiaoyan and Wu Feng brought several classmates to visit her. Surprisingly, there were even a few boys, led by the class monitor, Wu Bin. Looking at their smiling faces, Li Wei felt a warm glow in her heart.
What warmed her heart the most was yet to come. After her classmates left, Li Wei accidentally found a small note in her blanket that read, "Li Wei hopes you get better soon. We will all miss you."
Li Wei: ……
I thought it was a love letter, but I was disappointed.
Li Lin and Ding Anni were still somewhat conscientious; they came over to talk to her for a while, did their homework together in her room, and had dinner with Li Wei.
Li Lianhui bought Li Wei a whole bunch of snacks, which moved her deeply. She really wanted to tell the guy, "Little brother, next time you buy something, ask your sister what she likes, okay? These are all your own favorites, okay?"
No matter what, it feels good to have someone care about you.
Since there are many people at home, but few have time to pay attention to her, Li Wei decided to have her father take her to her maternal grandmother's place tomorrow. She figured it would be better to keep her grandmother company, have someone to talk to, and chat with. Besides, her grandmother's cooking was delicious. It was truly a haven for relaxation.
After dinner, there was nothing much to do. Everyone went to watch TV, while Li Wei leaned against the headboard, listlessly reading a book. Just as she was getting into the book, someone knocked on the door. Without looking up, she answered with a sound, assuming it was Li Lin or one of the others. But after waiting a while and hearing no response, she looked up and saw it was Luo Da.
Huh? This kid finally remembered to come see her! I thought he'd forgotten. But what's he carrying? I took it and saw a wire cage with a little squirrel hopping around inside, its bright black eyes so cute.
Li Wei looked up happily and asked, "Where did you get this from?"
Luo Dashun sat down on the chair by the bed: "Caught it in the woods."
"Oh? Really? That thing is really clever! How did you catch it?"
Luo Da recounted his experience of catching squirrels, which Li Wei listened to with great interest. She recalled that when she was a child, they used to catch sparrows together in winter. Catching squirrels was indeed a difficult task. Generally speaking, as soon as they saw a person, they would run up a tree and disappear without a trace, let alone catch them.
But now it seems that Luo Da is quite skilled at this, as if he got one without much effort. Once her foot is healed, she must see it for herself and take a picture to commemorate the moment. In a few years, there won't be any squirrels left, let alone the forest.
For the first time, Li Wei discovered that Luo Da was actually quite talkative, and he could talk about anything with great flair. She had never noticed before, and the room was filled with laughter and cheerful conversation.
At this moment, Luo Da was all smiles and chatting, looking just like a normal teenager. Anyone who saw him would be quite surprised, as this guy usually has rather bland expressions; no one expected him to have such a rich range of emotions.
In Li Wei's memory, although she knew that Luo Da had never been a child from their world since childhood and she didn't know much about what he did outside, she felt that at most he had been in a lot of fights, and that he was probably just a normal kid.
While chatting with him today, I suddenly realized that I don't really know Luo Da. This guy has had a much richer life than these kids. He's hung out with a lot of older kids since he was little. Even now, many of those street kids like Gang Ge from the billiards hall have some contact with him.
Li Wei suddenly remembered the saying, "Don't lose at the starting line." Luo Da's starting point was different from that of ordinary children. Compared to him, Li Lianhui, Fatty Er, and even Luo Er probably didn't have as much social experience. When he grows up, won't he become incredibly shrewd?
As Li Wei chatted with Luo Da, her mind was racing. Suddenly, she remembered Grandma Luo and asked, "How is Grandma Luo's health? Is your mother still at home?"
Luo's smile faded slightly: "My grandma is fine now. She had another injection today and has eaten quite a bit, so she should be alright. My mom didn't leave this time. She said she'll stay for a few more days, until after this semester. We'll all move to the city. My aunt has already arranged schools and housing for her, so she'll probably be staying permanently."
Li Wei was surprised: "Huh? Really?" It seems that the Luo family moved away later.
But then she thought about it again and saw that Luo Da didn't seem too happy, so she comforted him, saying, "Actually, going to the city is good too. The schools there are much better than here, and life is more convenient. You'll adapt slowly. Especially Grandma Luo, when she's sick, she can go to a better hospital and get better treatment. You and Xiao Er and Xiao San can also make more friends. And if you and Xiao Er study hard and get into the top high school, we can all be classmates again, wouldn't that be great? Then you'll be the local bigwig, and we'll all have a better time there, right?"
Luo Da was clearly not moved by her words of comfort. After chatting for a while, Luo Da left.
Li Wei found chatting with Luo Da quite interesting; she hadn't expected him to be so talkative. Before leaving, she specifically reminded him, "I'm going to stay at my grandma's tomorrow. Come visit me anytime, don't forget!" *sweat*
The weekend arrived in the blink of an eye, and Li Wei's foot had improved, but she still couldn't walk. Li Zhaoxing and his wife were worried that Li Wei would miss her studies, and had considered taking her to school themselves and picking her up in the afternoon. They figured Li Lin and Wu Feng were there to take care of her, but Li Wei refused.
Anyway, she can't be a mere figurehead anymore. Why bother going? Studying? She can just stay home and read books; it's more comfortable lying down. Why suffer at school? Besides, Grandma is there with her, talking and cooking for her every day, and Luo Da and Wu Feng keep her company in the evenings. How pleasant! No way! Cheng Min and her husband couldn't help it. They always trusted Li Wei, knowing that although she could be a bit lazy at times, she wasn't careless when it came to her studies, so they let her go.
Ding Anni was reluctantly picked up by her brother on the weekend evening. When she said goodbye to Li Wei, she told Li Wei with great concern, "You and Li Lin must come and visit me, otherwise I'll come back to school with you and make sure you never have a moment's peace!"
Was she giving her a warning? Li Wei thought it was a threat. So this girl knew she was a nuisance after all. Li Wei thought she thought highly of herself, but it turns out she's not stupid at all.
Li Wei wisely accepted her threat, promising, "Don't worry, I'll come see you as soon as my foot is better. Make sure you prepare some good food for me, and study hard so we can go to the same high school together. Also, don't wander around aimlessly, and try to avoid that dance if you can..."
Before she could finish speaking, Ding Anni had already disappeared. Li Wei murmured, "I was doing this for your own good, but you didn't appreciate it... cough cough, life is finally peaceful again. Take care, don't bother seeing me off, hehe..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
