The basket on his back contained the things Jiang Xile had prepared in advance: half a pound of brown sugar, five pounds of cornmeal, and two pounds of rice.
It wasn't that Jiang Xile was stingy; it was just that she didn't know much about her maternal grandparents, whom she had never met.
Even though her grandparents were very loving in the original owner's memory, so many years had passed, and besides, she wasn't the original owner, so it was hard for her to empathize.
The winding, rugged path was overgrown with weeds, and it was precisely because of its difficulty that it was so well hidden.
Emerging from the fork in the road, Jiang Xile saw a dilapidated little house not far ahead.
"This must be the cowshed of the Forward Brigade!"
After observing his surroundings and making sure no one else was watching, Jiang Xile walked towards the cowshed.
Before I even reached the door, I could hear muffled coughing coming from inside.
"Cough cough...cough cough...cough cough cough..."
"Old woman, have some water. I cooled it down beforehand, and the temperature is just right now!"
"Cough cough... Old man, stop fussing! I'm fine, cough cough... cough cough..."
"You're in such a state, it's no wonder you're not alright! It's all my fault! If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have had to suffer like this!"
"Why say all that! Cough cough... As long as I'm with you, I'm willing to suffer any hardship! Cough cough..."
Deng Yunbo gently patted Yang Xueqin's back.
"I'll go find the captain and beg him to take you to the hospital. This can't go on!"
"Forget it! How can we afford medical treatment these days? Cough cough... Besides... cough cough... people like us aren't allowed to leave the brigade!"
"Oh, it's all my fault! Even if I can't go to the hospital, it would be good if I could at least get some medicine back!"
Now only the two of us are left in the cowshed, the brigade leader shouldn't just leave us there!
"Forget it! Cough cough... I'll just have to tough it out."
Jiang Xile stood at the door, listening to the conversation between the two inside, feeling deeply moved.
"Knock knock..."
Jiang Xile knocked on the dilapidated wooden door in front of her.
"Old man... someone's knocking on the door!"
Deng Yunbo put down the chipped bowl in his hand, his brows furrowed.
"You lie there and relax, I'll go check on you!"
With a creak, the dilapidated wooden door opened from the inside, and a ragged old man appeared before him.
Jiang Xile possessed the original owner's memories, so he naturally recognized the person in front of him as his maternal grandfather.
Although he looks much older than before, his appearance hasn't changed much.
"Who are you?"
Deng Yunbo looked at the little girl who had suddenly appeared in front of him and felt a little puzzled.
"Excuse me, are you Mr. Deng Yunbo?"
"I am Deng Yunbo, and you are...."
"I am Jiang Xile!"
Joy!!!
Deng Yunbo stared at the little girl in disbelief, utterly astonished.
The moment I saw her, I felt a sense of warmth and familiarity. I never imagined that she was actually my own granddaughter!
"Yes, Grandpa! I am Xile!"
"My goodness, child, what are you doing here?"
Deng Yunbo excitedly grabbed Jiang Xile's arm and asked with concern in his eyes.
"Grandpa, let's go inside to talk. It's not convenient at the door!"
"Yes, yes, look at my memory! Let's go inside and talk, let's go inside and talk!"
Deng Yunbo's hand, which was holding Jiang Xile's, was trembling slightly, showing how excited he was.
Jiang Xile had only taken two steps inside when she heard Deng Yunbo call out to her:
"Old woman, look who's here!"
The small house was not large, only about 20 square meters. Besides a row of low kang beds, there was only a stove and a rickety table.
The environment here can be described as extremely rudimentary; compared to the cowshed in the Progress Brigade, the conditions here are even worse.
"Cough cough... Old man, who's here? Cough cough..."
Upon hearing Yang Xueqin cough, Deng Yunbo immediately quickened his pace, pulling Jiang Xile along with him.
Upon approaching, Deng Yunbo released her hand, immediately giving Yang Xueqin some water before beginning to speak:
"Look at her, can you still recognize her?"
Yang Xueqin raised her head and carefully examined the little girl in front of her. Her features resembled those of her own daughter who had died young.
"She is...she is...Joy...it's Joy, isn't it? Joy, Grandma's Joy!"
Yang Xueqin was so excited that she wanted to rush over and take a good look at her granddaughter.
Unfortunately, she was too ill to do so and almost fell to the ground, but luckily Jiang Xile caught her in time.
"Grandma, it's me, Lele! Don't be excited, I'm right here!"
Yang Xueqin held Jiang Xile's hand, her face already streaked with tears.
"Good boy! You've grown so much, and you look more and more like your mother! Cough cough... cough cough..."
"Grandma, have some water!"
Yang Xueqin took a couple of sips of water from Jiang Xile's hand and then stopped.
Looking at her frail grandmother, Jiang Xile asked softly:
How did Grandpa and Grandma get their illness? Have they seen a doctor?
"I got caught in the rain after work a while ago, and then I started to have a fever."
But as you know, we're in a situation where there's no doctor to treat us, so we can only tough it out.
I pleaded and begged with the villagers for ages, carrying two pounds of cornmeal, before I finally got a piece of ginger in return.
I thought that giving her some ginger water to sweat it out might help, but I didn't expect that although the fever subsided, it left her with a cough.
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