"It's not that they're not allowed, it's that they don't dare to."
There weren't many families living in this residential compound before; most of them were newcomers.
The men are all working over there; all that's left in each family are women, or older women with children. They're not familiar with this area and don't dare to wander around.
I don't know who told them this nonsense, maybe they used something from the New Year to scare them. They all think there are wolves in the mountains. Look, the furthest they go is the hillside; they don't dare go any further up."
Following her finger, it was indeed true. This area had few indigenous people, and there was plenty of firewood and dry branches on the mountain. They had been collecting for so many days and still hadn't found any.
However, Jian Dan is getting a bit bored. Mainly, she can't stand sitting still. It's fine when she has something to do, but now that she has nothing to do, she's starting to get restless. To be honest, it's been quite a while since she last did anything.
During dinner that evening, she asked about it. She hadn't expected the family compound or the soldiers to organize a trip up the mountain together, mainly because she had promised her husband that she would let him know in advance if they were going up the mountain.
“I’ll go in the morning and be back in the afternoon, which should be earlier than your workday. Even if I’m a little late, don’t worry, Jixiang and the others are still in the mountains. I’ll definitely be fine. It’s just that you’ll have to go next door for lunch.”
"You actually notified me? You weren't planning on taking me with you, were you?"
Qin Qinghuai was so angry he laughed.
"Going alone again?"
"Hey! You're such a busy person, it's good enough that you can come home for dinner every day, how can you possibly waste a whole day on the mountain? Don't try to provoke me."
Oh, by the way, tomorrow isn't Sunday, is it?
She quickly turned back to look at the calendar.
"It's not Sunday, but can you really bear to leave me all alone and miserable at home?"
"Huh? Why does that sound so sarcastic? Anyone who didn't know better would think I'm leaving you all alone."
"Brother, it's just one day, just one day. I'll be back before nightfall. Is it really necessary?"
"Oh! The thought of not seeing you when I get home makes my heart sink."
With the doors and windows closed, it was just the two of them. Qin Qinghuai, without any airs or pretenses, sighed and lamented exaggeratedly, leaving Jian Dan both amused and exasperated.
"Go away! You're just trying to flatter me."
"You can expect to eat meat tomorrow!"
Even Jian Dan secretly started talking about how to cook the meat to make it taste good when they got back tomorrow. But as they say, plans change quickly. The two of them hadn't been asleep for very long when they heard a rapid knocking on the door, followed by the voice of the security guard, Xiao Shen.
"Qinghuai, Qinghuai, the old commander is sick!"
The two reacted quickly, both sitting up abruptly. They exchanged a cautious glance, and without a second's delay, they immediately dressed, got out of bed, and opened the door.
"Brother Chen, what happened?"
Xiao Shen spoke quickly and urgently.
"He was fine during the day and was quite happy doing his work. But after dinner, he seemed a bit listless and went to bed early. We all thought he was just tired from working during the day. Just now, we heard some commotion in the other room, and then the aunt called us and said that the commander had a fever."
The main reason is that the commander won't allow it to be sent to the clinic, fearing it will disturb others' rest. He asked me to come and ask you if you have any fever reducers.
Xiao Shen jumped over the wall. Jian Dan and Qin Qinghuai didn't open the main gate. They went back to get the medicine and then climbed over the wall.
The old lady had already lit candles in her room, and Xiao Li was washing towels to apply ice. The old lady sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) watching, while Qin Jing stood beside her, supporting her shoulders with worry in his eyes. The younger children probably hadn't woken up yet.
"What's going on? What's going on? Why do you have a fever? If you have a fever, why aren't you going to the clinic right away? What are you dawdling for?"
"Hurry up and get dressed, let's go now."
"Cough cough! I'm not going. Do you have any medicine at home? Give me two pills, it'll go down in a bit."
Qin Qinghuai didn't want to agree. The old man had suffered many injuries, both major and minor, over the years, and his health wasn't actually very good. He was always stubborn and rarely appeared to be sick. Hearing that he was sick made him anxious, fearing that it might trigger other symptoms.
"The child is watching right here. Think about the example you, as an elder, should set. Be careful, or the child might imitate you!"
If they don't listen, just threaten them directly.
Sure enough, upon seeing his eldest grandson, the old man paused, his voice dropping considerably.
"Hey, Xiao Jing, you should go back to sleep. I just have a bit of a cold, I'll be fine tomorrow."
Several people were asked, but none of them knew anything about medicine. The old man was stubborn and refused to go no matter what. In the end, the old woman gave in first; she knew all too well how stubborn the old man could be.
"Do you have any fever reducers? Give him two tablets first. If his fever doesn't go down by dawn, I'll take him to the clinic."
Qin Qinghuai was at a loss. Since becoming an adult, he hadn't spent much time with his father, and even his grandson couldn't help him. He really didn't know what else to do. He watched with a sour face as his father took his medicine and obediently lay down to sleep. Only then did he get up and look at the old lady.
"You should get some sleep too. He'll be sleepy after taking his medicine. I'll come check on him again in the morning, just to be on the safe side."
"Alright, alright, you two should go back now. Daughter-in-law, you've really worn yourselves out. Go back and rest."
"It's alright, Mom. With things so tight, we'll worry even more if we can't see him. Let's persuade Dad to go see a doctor tomorrow. Whether it's a fever caused by a cold or something else, having a military doctor examine him will allow us to treat the symptoms correctly and put our minds at ease, right?"
Don't go out and work with them tomorrow. Just observe and offer advice. You can't do the hard work yourself.
"At our age, we need to take better care of our health. We can't keep neglecting them like that. If there's work to be done, just give the order. You see these people as mere foot soldiers, to be ordered around whenever you need something, right?"
"You, you, you're talking nonsense!!"
The old lady's gloomy mood was somewhat lifted by her words.
"Go back to sleep quickly, sleep in a little longer tomorrow. Don't worry, the old man is fine, his fever has gone down. Go back now."
"Okay, Mom, we'll go back first. You should get some sleep too. Make some porridge for Dad tomorrow morning and bring it over."
"Hurry up, hurry up!"
The old man fell asleep within minutes, so the old woman started kicking him out.
"Go back, go back. Chen'er, Xiao Li, you two have worked hard too. Go back to sleep. The old man is asleep, and his face doesn't look so red anymore, so he should be fine. We don't need to bother him for the rest of the night. I can keep an eye on him."
"Xiao Jing, you should go back to sleep too. Don't worry, your grandpa's fine."
"Are you really alright, Mom? Should we stay here and keep watch?"
"No need, no need, let's go, let's go, let's go back to sleep, it'll be light soon, it's nothing."
Qin Qinghuai glanced back, feeling both relieved and somewhat uneasy.
"Okay, let's go back then. You guys rest. Don't rush to get up in the morning. I've made breakfast and brought it over."
After returning home, Jian Dan felt a bit down.
"Do you think Dad still has some kind of emotional problem?"
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