Li Mai didn't know what he was thinking. She responded and went to open the door, then took the wooden basin to fetch water.
Zhou Lin and Zhou Lei came in and carried the bathtub out to empty the water.
Then they carried Zhou Quan to the outhouse.
When he returned, Li Mai had already finished washing up. She helped him tie his belt and then helped him wash up again. Zhou Tao then called them to have breakfast.
Zhou Lin and Zhou Lei then carried Zhou Quan into the main room, where the family sat together to have breakfast.
"Mom, look at my new dress." Zhuzhu happily showed her new dress to Limai. The color was very similar to her mother's clothes, and she was very happy.
"Wow, so pretty! Our Zhuzhu is already beautiful, but with this new dress, she'll be absolutely stunning! She'll be the prettiest girl in the whole village!" Li Mai praised with a smile.
When Zhuzhu heard her mother say that she was the prettiest girl in the whole village, she became even happier. She grinned at Limai and pointed to Zhou Tao's clothes, saying, "Mom, look at Auntie's clothes, they're the same as ours."
Li Mai noticed it too; it seemed that the three of them were dressed in clothes made from two pieces of fabric.
I must say, the three of them standing together looked like they were part of a group.
"Yes, your aunt looks beautiful too." Zhou Tao is indeed quite pretty, and with her new clothes, the little girl was deliberately standing tall and looking very energetic. Li Mai also praised her with a smile.
Zhou Tao immediately winked happily at her mother, "See? My sister-in-law said I look good in it too."
She put on her new clothes early in the morning, but her mother said she didn't look as good as her sister-in-law.
Zhao smiled helplessly, said nothing, and urged them to eat more.
"Xiaoquan, it would be great if Dr. Niu could cure you, but don't be discouraged if he can't. We'll find another doctor slowly, and you'll get better eventually." Zhao glanced at her eldest son, who was eating in silence, and said softly to comfort him.
Zhou Quan looked up and smiled, "I know, Mother, don't worry. Xiaomai told me that my illness has been going on for a while and needs to be treated slowly."
Zhao looked at Li Mai with gratitude; this daughter-in-law was truly sensible.
Li Mai glanced at Zhou Quan, met his smiling eyes, and nodded. "Don't worry, I can definitely cure you."
"Mmm!" For some reason, hearing her say that made him feel at ease.
After the meal, Zhao gave Li Mai the five-tael silver note and told her about the things the family needed to buy.
A jar of black soy sauce, two pounds of salt, half a pound of dried ginger slices, and help her buy a bolt of fabric for making shoes, both for the lining and the uppers, as she wants to make shoes for her family before the busy autumn harvest.
Li Mai wrote everything down, afraid she wouldn't remember it, so she wrote it all down on paper.
There were also some other miscellaneous things, which filled half a page.
Zhao was a thrifty person; the things she bought were all things that the family was currently lacking.
She didn't let me buy tea, knowing it wasn't something I needed in my daily life.
Rice and noodles were added from quinoa.
They had almost finished packing when Zhou Wuping arrived.
Because he needed to transport Zhou Quan, a patient, he specially laid a layer of straw in the car today, and then put a cotton pad on top of it.
The family boarded the oxcart. Seeing how considerate Zhou Wuping was, Li Mai praised Zhou Wuping, saying that he was a kind and good-hearted person and would be rewarded.
Zhou Wuping loved it when people praised him as a good person, so he smiled and told Old Man Zhou to sit on the other side of the carriage shaft, and then they set off.
Inside the oxcart's canopy sat Zhou Quan, Zhou Lei, and Zhou Tao, along with five other people including Jia Limai and Zhuzhu.
Zhou Lin went to work. He originally wanted to go with him, but his father stopped him and told him to go with his master to work in a wheelchair.
Zhou Lin realized that his elder brother's wheelchair was also very important, so he had no choice but to go to Nanshan Village.
For safety reasons, Zhou Quan lay down the whole way, while the other four sat in a row next to him chatting.
Zhou Lei helped his sister-in-law carry the box of books in his arms. His sister-in-law said it was very important, as it contained all the drawings she had completed in the past few days.
Today, besides helping his father carry his older brother, his task was to protect the book box.
After a safe journey, two hours later they arrived at the entrance of Doctor Niu's clinic in town.
Li Mai went first to see if Doctor Niu was there.
Upon seeing her, Dr. Niu knew that someone had been brought along.
There were no patients at the time, so Dr. Niu followed Li Mai out of the clinic and saw Old Man Zhou taking a chair off the car and then carrying someone down with him.
Then two people carried him towards him.
"Is this your husband?" Doctor Niu asked Li Mai, sizing up Zhou Quan.
Li Mai nodded. "Yes, she's quite good-looking, isn't she?"
Dr. Niu turned to look at her and said speechlessly, "Superficial!"
"Come, carry him over here." After scoffing at Li Mai, Doctor Niu's face immediately returned to a calm expression. He gestured for the person to be carried to his table so he could take the pulse first.
Li Mai chuckled. "So what if you're superficial? The ancients said that food and sex are human nature. We are born with one mouth and two eyes, so we should see more and talk less."
Who doesn't enjoy seeing beautiful things?
When Li Mai came in with Zhu Zhu and Zhou Tao carrying the book box, Doctor Niu had already started taking Zhou Quan's pulse.
He gestured for Li Mai to stand to the side.
Li Mai handed the book box to Zhou Lei and went to stand next to Zhou Quan.
Doctor Niu glanced at her silently, then lowered his eyes to listen to her pulse.
After a long while, he let go and asked Li Mai, "Did you regulate his qi and blood?"
Li Mai nodded, "I guess so. When I first met him, he was so weak and showed signs of not living more than a year."
When Old Man Zhou heard Li Mai's words, his heart tightened. Was the situation when Xiao Quan got married really that bad?
Doctor Niu asked in surprise, "How many days have you been married?"
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