"Little Fish, don't you recognize me?" As soon as Sister-in-law Ge spoke, Qin Xiaoyu let out a howl and pounced on her.
"Mom! This is Sister-in-law Ge, Brother Ge! Remember him? The one who saved our Hanhan, from the farm!"
"I remember, I remember! My great benefactor, please sit down!" Zhou Xing's mother hurriedly offered them seats, and the whole family warmly gathered around.
"I'm so sorry to bother you during the New Year." Sister-in-law Ge looked much more haggard, with swollen eyes, clearly indicating she hadn't slept well.
“It’s better during the Spring Festival, it’s more lively,” Zhou Xing’s mother immediately chimed in.
"Take off your coats, it's hot inside." Zhou Yue heard the news and came over to help the two children take off their coats.
"Dr. Deng is no longer at the military hospital. Luckily, we met a kind person, Comrade Li from the pharmacy, who took us to the Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine. That's when we called him to pick us up." Qin Xiaoyu actually remembered Comrade Li, whom Sister-in-law Ge mentioned. It turned out that Deng Jianyan had introduced her to a potential partner.
“It’s not easy to come down from the mountain during the Lunar New Year.” Deng Jianyan had lived in the mountains for more than ten years, so he knew that someone coming down from the mountains at this time must have something urgent to do.
"Look, we're in a hurry to get the child to see a doctor." Sister-in-law Ge said, pulling her youngest son over, taking off his cotton shoes to examine his feet, and finding that his clubfoot was already quite severe.
"Is this rheumatism?" Qin Xiaoyu was taken aback.
“No, it’s Kashin-Beck disease. I discovered it when I was on the farm, but we couldn’t find the cause. I suspect it’s related to the water quality, which is why I was in a hurry to send my child away,” Deng Jianyan sighed.
"Can it be cured?" Sister-in-law Ge asked anxiously.
“There’s no good solution. Fortunately, the illness just started, and the child hasn’t finished developing yet. The best solution is to change the water and soil,” Deng Jianyan said.
“Change the soil and water, but where can we go?” Sister-in-law Ge’s eyes dimmed.
"Just move to the city, we're here, aren't we? It's no big deal, come and eat, we'll talk more after we finish." Qin Xiaoyu arranged for them to sit at the table.
Now, Grandma Hanhan is self-aware and doesn't dare to come over for meals. No one calls her, and they just pretend she doesn't exist.
Now that the hospitals are all open, even though Deng Jianyan said there was no good solution, they still couldn't give up. The next morning, Qin Xiaoyu took the family to several hospitals, but the results were all the same: they couldn't cure them, and the cause was unknown.
When they returned to Building 4, everyone was sullen.
"You're finally back! I've actually come up with a solution." It turns out that Deng Jianyan hadn't come along because there wasn't enough room in the car; he had been researching medical books at home.
Everyone rushed over to look, and found a passage that said that swollen joints could be treated by rubbing with tiger bone oil.
"Tiger bones are hard to come by, are there still tigers in the mountains?" Sister-in-law Ge looked at Old Ge with worry again.
“Now even tigers aren’t allowed to be hunted.” Ge Laosao shook his head.
"Even tiger bones won't do. It says here that to refine tiger bone oil, you need many precious medicinal herbs, and I'm afraid we can't gather them all." Deng Jianyan's earlier excitement had faded.
"What a coincidence, I happen to have such a treasure." Qin Xiaoyu smiled and took out a black glass bottle from her bag. It was just a coincidence that the treasure that Qin Xiaoye had stolen came in handy.
Qin Xiaoyu arranged for the family to stay, and Deng Jianyan massaged the child with tiger bone oil every day, to wait until after the first month of the lunar calendar.
"Sister-in-law Ge, here's what I'm thinking: let my brother Ge go back to the farm first. You don't have a job at the farm, so why don't you just move here with the kids? My building in front of me is going to be completed this year, and I'll give you a room. If you want to work, you can come to my garment factory." Qin Xiaoyu had already planned it out for them. This was their savior, and they hadn't repaid the great kindness yet. Now that they had the opportunity, why not take it?
"This is too much trouble for you." Sister-in-law Ge's eyes reddened.
"I have something else I want to ask you. Could you buy some of the mountain produce from your farm for me?" My cousin-in-law chimed in.
"Sister-in-law, you want to sell mountain products?"
"Don't even mention it. It came from the second-level station. I don't know when it's been stored. It's infested with bugs and moldy. I'm afraid it'll be like last time, where someone bites it and won't let go, so I didn't dare sell it and buried it all. Our mountain products sell quite well. I thought it would be more convenient to buy them directly from the production area," her cousin-in-law reminded Qin Xiaoyu.
"That's right, Sister-in-law Ge, let my brother Ge take a leave of absence without pay. There's not much room for advancement on the farm. It's not good for him to be left alone on the farm after you three move here. If he takes a leave of absence, he can go and collect mountain produce. Once he's collected enough, he can haul it to the city, and your family can get together more often. Once we've arranged a collection point, he won't have to live in the mountains all the time; he can just go there periodically." Qin Xiaoyu had already made arrangements for the livelihood of Ge Lao Sao's family.
"It's good, but we need cash to receive the goods, and we don't have that kind of money," Sister-in-law Ge said, still worried.
"Why don't you come work at my store as a purchasing agent? You can use the store's money to collect goods, that should be fine, right?" My cousin's wife's mind was quick.
The Ge family couple were overjoyed to hear this, as they could both treat their child's illness and earn money.
My cousin-in-law was overjoyed. She had gotten a first-hand source of goods. Not only were they cheap, but the quality was also excellent. Bai Weiwei's side was overstaffed and couldn't catch up with her with just this one item.
It was massage time again, and a fishy smell filled the building, so Qin Xiaoyu went out for some fresh air.
From afar, Grandma Hanhan was seen carrying a basket of things that looked like pickled vegetables. Now that Qin Xiaoyu wasn't giving her money anymore, Hanhan had to find her own food and drink, so she naturally had to be more frugal.
Strangely, she walked very fast, as if someone was chasing her.
When Qin Xiaoyu saw who was behind her, her heart clenched again; it was her father. He probably didn't know what was happening and was still talking to Grandma Hanhan.
Grandma Hanhan ran faster than a rabbit. Xiaoyu's dad, seeing Qin Xiaoyu standing in front of the building, ignored Grandma Hanhan and turned around.
“You didn’t even come home for Chinese New Year. It was the second day of the Lunar New Year, and your mother and I cooked more than a dozen dishes at home, waiting anxiously for you. Sigh!” Xiaoyu’s father said with a heavy heart.
Qin Xiaoyu was so choked up that she couldn't speak.
Back then, when had she ever been allowed to return home on the second day of the Lunar New Year? She was never given a friendly welcome when she entered the house, and was given only the leftovers from the first day of the Lunar New Year. Tang Wenzhi couldn't even get a sip of wine.
Qin Xiaoyu, too lazy to waste words, turned and went inside. Xiaoyu's father hurriedly followed her in.
She regretted it as soon as she entered the house. Sure enough, Xiaoyu's dad was no pushover either. He sniffed and looked at Qin Xiaoyu with exaggerated astonishment.
"What's going on?"
"Nothing's wrong," Qin Xiaoyu said, flustered.
"My tiger bone oil is one of a kind, and the smell is amazing! You're trying to fool me? Did Xiao Ye do it? I was wondering why it was gone, turns out it was a thief in the family! I'll beat that girl to death, how come she's already siding with you now that she's working there? I've raised her for nothing for twenty years!" Xiao Yu's dad seized on this argument and started jumping up and down.
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