Chapter 64: The Grandmother knows the truth. We must live a good life.
With a "pop", the jujube paste crisps in Huaixue's hand fell to the ground and broke into pieces.
Seeing Huaixue was about to cry, Zong Anji quickly covered her mouth, picked her up like a human trafficker and ran into the house.
The little girl was terrified. In her opinion, wolves are very scary creatures that will eat disobedient children.
She clutched Zong Anji's clothes tightly with her little hands, tears streaming down her face.
"What's wrong? You're such a grown-up, yet you're still bullying a child?" Liu Yueyang put down his needlework and hurried forward to comfort him. "Don't cry, don't cry. Come to Third Aunt."
Huaixue choked with sobs, her face flushed red. "Aunt, Uncle San said Uncle Er was bitten by a wolf. What should we do if he was bitten by a wolf?"
Liu Yueyang looked at Zong Anji in shock. She did guess that Zong Xiao was injured, but she didn't expect that the injury was caused by a wolf bite.
If I had been bitten by a wolf, the wound must have been quite serious. I don't know how I am now.
Liu Yueyang carried Huaixue to the kang and comforted her softly, "It's okay, it's okay. Your uncle must be fine. Don't cry. Be good. I'll take you to see him later, okay?"
Huaixue nestled in Yueyang's arms, and it took her a long time to stop crying.
She murmured, "Really?"
"Really!" Zong Anji also sat down. He wiped Huaixue's nose with a cloth and coaxed her, "Although your second uncle was bitten by a wolf, he will be well in a few days. This is a secret, okay? Third uncle only told you, you can't tell your grandma."
"Grandma, can't I know?" Huaixue pouted, looking like she was about to cry again. "But my second uncle was bitten by a wolf. It must be very painful."
Zong Anji shuddered at the thought of the huge, dark bloody cave, but in order to conceal it, he still warned, "Yes, I can't tell you, grandma. Can you do this, dear Huaixue?"
Huaixue hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded, "Okay, I won't tell you, but I want to go see my second uncle."
When Zong Anji entered the room, the bedding was already laid out. They would probably go to the kang to rest as soon as he left.
Zong Anji thought for a moment and said politely, "Tonight, why don't you go secretly to your second uncle during dinner and ask him?"
"good."
The villagers have the custom of staying up all night to celebrate the New Year. Zong Anji had a good idea. They would also have to come over to celebrate the New Year at night. Then they would be able to see each other. He could let the little girl Huaixue ask, and his second brother would not say anything to him.
But despite all the planning, something still went wrong.
When he woke up, Zong Xiao had a fever, his face was red, and he looked listless.
Afraid that the news would spread to them, Qiu Yun came to this courtyard specifically to tell her mother that she and her husband would not be staying up to celebrate the New Year tonight.
"Why do you have a fever? Have you taken medicine?" The grandmother had sobered up and was now sitting in the house picking vegetables. She was also thinking about making meat dumplings in the evening and having a reunion dinner with the family.
"I just gave him medicine, and he's already lying down. He must have been caught in the wind when he went out today. It's okay, mom." After Qiu Xuan finished speaking, she specifically told her fellow clan member An Ji, basically telling them not to worry, that he was fine, and would be fine after a good sleep.
Zong Anji knew the hidden truth. He hurriedly followed him outside the courtyard and confirmed, "Sister-in-law, is my second brother really okay? Isn't it because of that injury?"
"No, it's just a common fever. By the way, you didn't tell me about your second brother." Qiu Xuan felt that she should not have said it, otherwise the clan mother would definitely come to ask about it.
Zong Anji said with a guilty conscience, "Of course... I didn't tell my mother."
Qiu Xuan: "That's good."
In the house, Zong's mother was still worried about Zong Xiao, but when she thought of the sick child at home, she endured it and did not go to visit him. However, after the meal, she asked Zong Anji to send two plates of dumplings over.
There were two plates of pork dumplings, but Zong Xiao only ate three and couldn't eat any more.
Qiu Xuan was worried. She handed Zong Xiao a wet cloth to hold on his forehead to cool him down. "How about I make you some egg custard? You won't feel better if you eat so little."
"It's okay." Zong Xiao's breath was hot. He patted Qiu Xuan's hand and comforted her, "I've taken the medicine. I'll be fine after a good sleep. I'll sleep at the end of the kang tonight."
Because he was afraid that the virus would be passed on to Qiu Xuan, Zong Xiao moved the quilt to the place where he used to sleep.
It was clearly a kang, but Zong Xiao always felt uncomfortable. It would be more comfortable to sleep next to Qiu Xuan. But he was really too tired today, and before he could feel any regret, he fell asleep.
Seeing that he was soundly asleep, Qiu Xuan moved her own quilt over to him. She was not afraid of catching the disease, she was just afraid that she would not be able to tell whether he was feeling uncomfortable at night.
She would check on him every once in a while, and change his towel when it got hot. This went on until midnight, and Qiu Xuan didn't even know when she fell asleep.
She just felt warm next to her, and it was very comfortable to hug her in this winter.
In the house next door, the grandmother and her family also returned to their rooms after celebrating the New Year.
Huaixue is young, so she went back to her room early and is now asleep.
The grandmother climbed onto the kang quietly and took the little one into her arms.
She has been taking care of this child since she was born. Now she is seven years old. Her features and eyebrows resemble her parents who passed away early. Whenever the clan mother sees her, she always thinks of them.
"Afraid. I'm afraid." The person in his arms shivered twice as if he had a nightmare.
"Don't be afraid, grandma is here." The clan mother patted her back gently and coaxed her to continue sleeping.
But the person in his arms woke up with tears in his eyes.
"Grandma." Huaixue stretched out her hand from under the quilt and touched the grandmother's face, as if to confirm whether the person in front of her was really her grandma.
The clan mother's heart melted. She kissed Huaixue's little face and coaxed her softly, "Grandma is here, go to sleep."
Huaixue groaned twice. She was completely unable to sleep because of the nightmare she had.
She grabbed her grandmother's hand and murmured softly, "Grandma, do you think wolves will eat people?"
"Hey, did our sweet baby dream of wolves?"
"Yeah." Huaixue was terrified when she thought of the dream. She said, "A lot of wolves came to our house. I was so scared. I thought some of them wanted to eat me. I ran and ran until I got to my second uncle."
"Is your second uncle so powerful that he drove away all the wolves?" It was just a dream, and the grandmother didn't think too deeply about it.
Huaixue shook her head. "No, those wolves knocked my uncle down. They bit him and he bled a lot."
"Grandma, I'm scared."
The clan mother continued to comfort him, saying, "Those were all dreams. Dreams are fake. Don't be afraid. No wolves will come here, and no wolves will bite your uncle."
Huai Xue raised her head and looked towards her grandmother, tears streaming down her face. "Grandma, my second uncle was bitten by a wolf. He really was bitten."
Huaixue promised not to tell anyone, but after having such a nightmare, she was really scared: "Third Uncle doesn't let me tell anyone, but I'm scared."
The clan mother was startled, and the hand that was patting Huaixue stopped in mid-air.
What? Erlang was bitten by a wolf, and the third brother knew about it but didn't allow him to tell anyone?
They were all familiar words, but she couldn't understand why they were put together.
"When did your third uncle say that?" The clan mother lit the oil lamp and looked at the little face in front of her that was full of fear and worry. She was sure that Huaixue was not lying.
Huaixue covered her mouth lightly with her small hand. "At noon, Third Uncle wouldn't let me talk about it. He said Second Uncle would be better in a few days. Grandma, will he really be better in a few days? Will Second Uncle be okay?"
After hearing what Huaixue said, the true face of the thing that the clan mother could not see through finally emerged.
She asked why Qiu Xuan suddenly wanted to go down the mountain, why Zong Xiao looked so bad after they came back, and why Qiu Xuan wanted to replenish his blood... It turned out that everything had a traceable path, but she, as a mother, didn't even notice it.
"Grandma."
"Grandma is here, go to sleep, I'll take you to see your second uncle tomorrow."
The grandmother continued to coax the person in her arms, but she did not sleep all night.
The next day, before dawn, the sound of firecrackers could be heard in the village.
Zong Xiao slowly opened his eyes, only to feel something pressing down on him, making it difficult for him to breathe. When he saw clearly, he smiled helplessly. It turned out to be Qiu Xuan.
Zong Xiao's fever has subsided and he feels very well now, but his shoulder still hurts a little, probably because the wound is healing.
For fear of waking Qiu Xuan, he moved very slowly and gently.
He didn't dare to think about how Qiu Xuan took care of him last night and how she ended up being so tired.
Zong Xiao tucked the corner of the quilt for her and sat by the kang, watching over her with a worried look on his face.
He waited until it was daybreak outside before leaving the house.
There were livestock to feed at home, so he first went to the backyard to get some hay, and then went to the chicken coop to find eggs.
I don’t know if I was lucky today, but I actually found four eggs in the chicken coop. This is the most eggs I have found in recent days.
Zong Xiao wiped it with his hand and went to the kitchen like a baby.
Although his right hand could not move much, his left hand was very flexible and he could light a fire and burn firewood without any mistakes. When there was a knock on the door, the rice in his pot was almost cooked.
"Mom, why are you here so early in the morning?" Zong Xiao thought it was his third brother, but he didn't expect that the person who came in was his mother.
"Mom came to see you. Didn't you say you were sick yesterday? Is your fever gone?" Zong Xiao's mother pretended to be calm, but her eyes followed him, as if trying to find out where he was injured. "Where's Xiaoxuan? Why can't I see her?"
"She took care of me all night last night and is still resting." No one in the house was awake yet, so Zong Xiao first took his mother to the kitchen, which was also warm.
He lifted the lid of the pot and said, "My fever has gone down. I thought I wouldn't go to the hospital to eat since I'm sick these few days. Look, the rice is ready."
The grandmother didn't look at the two bowls of egg custard, but at the left hand holding the lid.
Yes, she said something was wrong. It turned out that since Zong Xiao came back, he had never used his right hand again. It was the same when he ate buns and when he carried a bamboo basket!
"Mom, what's wrong?" Zong Xiao asked when he saw his mother didn't say anything.
"You..." The clan mother turned around and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes. She took a deep breath, but her heart was still difficult to calm down.
The clan mother said: "You little kid, why did you hide such a big thing from me? Are you trying to piss me off to death?"
Zong Xiao didn't expect that his mother still knew about it. It turned out that Zong Anji was a big mouth, and it was harder than climbing to the sky for him to keep the secret.
Zong Xiao comforted her, "Mom, I'm really fine. That minor injury is almost healed."
"How can being bitten by a wolf be a trivial matter? Do you think your mother is the fool that is your third brother?" The clan mother was angry, and her raised hand fell down again.
The clan mother pointed at his right shoulder and said, "Take off your clothes and let me see your injury."
"I..." Zong Xiao had no choice but to do as he was told.
Fortunately, the wound has begun to heal and it no longer looks as terrible as before.
The grandmother's heart was broken. The wound was still like this after being healed for some time. She didn't dare to imagine what the wound looked like when it was first injured.
"It's all mother's fault. I shouldn't have let you go into the mountain that day." The mother was scared. She didn't dare to think about what she would have done if Zong Xiao hadn't been able to come down the mountain that day.
First she lost her husband, then she lost Dalang and her eldest daughter-in-law. Could she continue to see her loved ones die before her?
Zong Xiao put his clothes back on. Worried that his mother might be upset, he comforted her, "Mother, this injury looks serious, but it's actually not that serious. Besides, we earned thirty taels from hunting this time. Although we spent some on medical treatment, we still have twenty taels left. With this money in hand, we won't have to go into the mountains next year."
"You didn't lie to me? You really won't go into the mountains anymore?" Zong's mother didn't care how much money he made. She just hoped that Zong Xiao would never go into the mountains to hunt again. It was too dangerous.
Zong Xiao didn't respond directly. He said, "Mom, when spring comes, we'll go to town and continue setting up our stall. If business is good, I won't go into the mountains anymore."
Zong Xiao smiled happily and said, "I still want to live a good life with Ah-yi, and I won't make you worry anymore."
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