Chapter 121 Donation
Lou Hongjian was sick for several days.
Fearing he might infect his sister, he didn't leave the house for several days. But Mao Mao would still come to see him.
Perhaps afraid that her older brother would be too lonely by himself, Mao Mao secretly ran up to the third floor to play with him when the adults weren't paying attention.
She was so small that she slipped away in the blink of an eye. By the time she realized what was happening, she had already slipped into Lou Hongjian's room.
When she first came, Lou Hongjian urged her to leave, but after she came a few more times, he was deeply moved.
Looking at his younger sister, who was full of concern for him, he couldn't bear to say a word to let her leave. He wished he could hold her until he recovered.
He had never received such treatment before. With so many people in the family taking away Mao Mao's attention, now that he was sick, Mao Mao would come to play with him every day. Every day when he opened his eyes, his little sister would appear at his bedside, making his days of recuperation full of hope.
I wish this illness could last longer!
Every time Lou Yansui discovered that Mao Mao was missing, he would go looking for her and find her leaning against Lou Hongjian, laughing happily.
After trying to catch his younger sister a few times, Lou Yansui had no choice but to give up: "Mao Mao, don't you want to go outside to play? The snowman we built hasn't melted yet, let's go play again?"
Mao Mao shook her head: "Mother said that going out will make me sick, so I can't go out."
“Third brother is sick. If you play with him, he will infect you with his illness.”
"It's okay." Mao Mao patted her chest with her little hand and raised her chubby chin: "Mao Mao, Zhuang Zhuang!"
Lou Hongjian hugged his younger sister, touched, and rubbed her soft little face against her cheek, his voice tinged with emotion: "Mao Mao, you're so good to me! I knew I was your favorite brother!"
"hold head high?"
Lou Yansui couldn't stand it anymore and snatched his sister back: "Third brother, don't get so close to Mao Mao."
"Ah Sui, don't worry, I'll be fine soon," Lou Hongjian said. "Besides, I asked my second brother, and he said I don't have the flu, so I'm not contagious."
Lou Yansui was skeptical.
Mao Mao is so young; he dared not leave her next to his third brother, lest she catch a cold. His second brother said that hospitals are short of medicine, and even seeing a doctor requires queuing. There are not only people getting frostbite, but also people breaking their legs from slipping on the snowy roads. Children like Mao Mao have the weakest immune systems and are most susceptible to infection.
He mentally counted the seconds, and once the minute hand had circled twice, he immediately coaxed Mao Mao out of Lou Hongjian's room.
We also need to take her to wash her hands and face to kill germs.
It's better to be safe than sorry.
Mao Mao obediently held up her little hands, waiting for her brother to wet the towel and wipe her face and hands.
"Mao Mao, you can go play with Third Brother again after he recovers from his illness."
Why?
He's sick.
"But my brother is all alone." Mao Mao's eyes were wet. "My brother is so pitiful."
Lou Yansui: "..."
What else could Lou Yansui say?
He had no choice but to wipe his sister's little hands clean and try to distract her with something else.
Fortunately, after being sick for a few days and sweating profusely for several days, Lou Hongjian quickly became lively and energetic again.
He was in good health and used to be able to go out in the cold without getting sick, so he recovered quickly and is as healthy as before, with no trace of having been sick.
He learned his lesson and now makes sure to cover himself up carefully before going out. Unless it's something important, he won't even step out the door.
He wasn't bored at home; he had his younger siblings to play with, and after visiting him a few times in the hospital, he became even closer to them. The fireplace in the Marshal's Mansion emitted heat continuously throughout the day, providing warmth. Although the temperature in Haicheng had dropped significantly, they had ample supplies and weren't greatly affected.
Despite some preparations, many people were still affected by the natural disaster.
The Tzu Chi Home was packed with people: those who couldn't afford rice, those whose houses had collapsed under the weight of snow, and those who were displaced.
The once-in-a-century extreme cold wave has been reported in newspapers for several days, with black lead prints recording the events that have occurred in various parts of Haicheng every day.
The first wife led a group to distribute porridge for several days, and planned to appeal to the wives of officials to raise funds for the disaster victims.
Before the plan was even put forward, Xia Xiaoxiang was the first to respond and donated money.
The third concubine exclaimed in surprise, "So much?! Did you take out all your money?"
Xia Xiaoxiang was unlike the other concubines. She had only been at the Marshal's mansion for a short time and had no other source of income, only the monthly allowance given by the mansion. She bought clothes and cosmetics, and what was left was not much.
The third concubine was close to her and could tell at a glance that this was probably all the money she had saved.
"It's alright," Xia Xiaoxiang said generously. "Anyway, I don't have to worry about food and drink. It would be nice if I could help someone."
Xia Xiaoxiang herself was sold.
She was sold to someone as a child bride because her hometown suffered a disaster.
If fewer people are affected by the disaster, there will be fewer people like her.
The third concubine thought for a moment and took out some more money from her wallet: "At worst, I'll just not make any clothes for the next few months."
Mao Mao tilted her little head up and looked at her mothers from left to right.
The second concubine and Madam Lou also contributed some money, while the first concubine took the least.
The first wife pursed her lips, a little embarrassed: "I mentioned before that I wanted to stock up on things, so I sent some money to my family..."
"It's all the sentiment, no matter how much or how little."
"The sentiment is enough."
The second concubine exclaimed, "Why is your family asking you for money again?"
The first wife sighed, "Their lives aren't easy either."
Second concubine: "Even so, that's still too..."
Before he could finish speaking, there was a loud clanging sound.
Everyone turned around at the sound and saw Mao Mao running out, wobbling, carrying a large cookie box.
The cookie box was too big and blocked her view. Her short legs ran around aimlessly and almost bumped into the cabinet next to her.
The eldest wife, who was closest to her, quickly helped her up.
"Auntie," Mao Mao said, standing on tiptoe and handing over her cookie tin, "Here you go!"
Xia Xiaoxiang recognized him at a glance.
That's the box where Mao Mao keeps her treasures.
The first wife, completely bewildered, took the box and opened it to find only a box of odds and ends.
"This is……"
"Mao Mao, you have money!" Mao Mao proudly raised her little head: "Donate!"
The first wife chuckled.
She closed the cookie box and put it back in Mao Mao's arms: "You don't need Mao Mao's treasure, you can keep it yourself."
Mao Mao immediately became anxious: "Mao Mao, please help!"
The third concubine covered her mouth and laughed: "My dear, donating money requires money. Do you even know what money is?"
"money?"
"Banknotes, silver dollars, gold!"
Mao Mao suddenly realized: "Yes, Mao Mao has it!"
She hurriedly pulled the first wife away.
The first wife looked back at the crowd, puzzled, and let her pull her along. Seeing this, the other wives followed, all the way into her room.
Mao Mao was seen sticking her bottom out, struggling to drag a large box. It was unclear what was inside, but she was using all her strength, her face turning red from holding her breath, but she couldn't move it an inch. She could only hold onto the box and pant heavily.
Xia Xiaoxiang covered her face, unable to bear looking at it.
"Here, for... for Grandma," Mao Mao said, panting.
What's inside?
"Money!"
With Mao Mao's consent, the First Madam opened the box.
At first glance, it's a dazzling golden expanse.
No wonder Mao Mao couldn't drag it.
Inside was a whole box of large yellow croakers.
This is Mao Mao's real treasure box. It not only contains the large yellow croaker that Mr. Nie gave her as a gift, but also the shareholding contract that Ms. Zhang once gave her.
Several months after signing the contract, several checks appeared in the book, which were Zhang Jingshu's monthly dividends to her.
All together, it amounts to an astonishing sum of money.
Mao Mao waved her little hand generously and boldly: "Donate it!"
The ladies were all stunned. After a long while, the eldest wife was the first to react: "No, Mao Mao, this is too much."
"hold head high?"
Mao Mao, puzzled, tilted her head and said, "This is money."
“This is too much.” The First Madam was both amused and exasperated. “Mao Mao, you can donate money, and I will put your name on the list, but there is too much here, it’s not appropriate.”
"Give it to Maomao." Mao Mao blinked her eyes: "Big Mom, give it to Maomao and Maomao."
The ladies looked at each other in bewilderment.
Lou Yansui's stories closely follow current events, and recently she wrote about how Maomao and Maomao encountered a cold winter.
To remind his younger sister to keep warm and not get sick from playing, he referred to the news reports in the newspaper and described the winter in the story as particularly harsh. The homeless Maomao had no warm clothes, no wood to keep warm, and could not find food in winter, so she got sick and was on the verge of death.
Of course, in the story, Maomao and Maomao received help from kind people, recovered from their illnesses, had enough to eat, and spent a warm winter.
While the ladies were talking, they didn't hide it from the young girl and mentioned the recent disaster.
Haicheng was hit by disasters everywhere, and the most distressed were the elderly and children, especially the homeless orphans, who were most susceptible to illness and were the most pitiful.
Somehow, the little girl overheard it.
Mao Mao also wants to help the homeless Mao Mao!
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