Perhaps it was because there was no industry or modern technology here, and at night there were only the chirping of insects and birds, and not a single light in sight, that Zhao Shufang and Peng Lei, who often woke up at night, slept exceptionally well and soundly.
"As soon as I closed my eyes and listened to the sounds outside the window, it felt like I was back in my childhood. Back then, the nights were just like that, with only moonlight and starlight. Although there were no electric lights, the big moon shone brightly, and all I could hear were frogs croaking. My mom would fan me and my sister with a fan. We were always very noisy back then, and we never wanted to go to sleep at night. We wanted to go out and play. As I was thinking about this, I fell asleep without even realizing it."
Peng Lei chimed in, "Me too! It instantly transported me back to when I was sent to the countryside. When I first arrived, the air was thick with the smell of mud and straw. At first, I was happy, enjoying the beautiful scenery. But after a whole day of farm work, I was exhausted, like a dog. I'd kick off my shoes and couldn't even lift my arms, let alone wash my face or feet. My head would hit the pillow and I'd fall asleep instantly, sleeping soundly until the rooster crowed. The person in the next bed had to wake me. Thinking back, it feels like yesterday. Back then, I always wanted to leave the countryside and go back. I longed for it day and night. Finally, I got back, but when I got to my family's..." In the small apartment provided for me, my older brother and sister-in-law, younger brother and sister-in-law squeezed onto a wooden plank bed. All I could hear was their snoring, and I began to miss the days in the countryside. Although life was tough, it was spacious. When it rained, we could go mushroom picking in the mountains; in the summer, we could go fishing in the river; and in the winter, we could go hunting with the militia. The communal meals weren't delicious, but we could eat our fill. Life in the city wasn't so spacious. My parents, both employees, barely had enough to feed the three of us siblings each month, and meat was a rare treat. Thinking back now, the nights in the countryside were always so quiet, with only the sounds of nature. Even without the snoring from the apartment building, I felt a deep sense of peace.
As Zhao Shufang and Peng Lei chatted, Zhao Shufang said, "Me too. I originally wanted to go to the countryside to live, but the children were so kind and worried that if something happened to me in the countryside, there would be no one to take care of me."
Peng Lei, who is also elderly, nodded in agreement.
Sheng Yiyi was still half asleep. Last night, Peng Miao thought the view outside the French windows was the outdoors, and Sheng Yiyi had been quite reassured. But as soon as Peng Miao came out of the bathroom, he saw a deer peering through the French windows.
Peng Miao was startled and didn't sleep well all night, waking up every now and then to look at the French windows. Sheng Yiyi, trying to stay awake, patted her back each time Peng Miao woke up.
Zhang Jian didn't sleep well yesterday either. He spent the whole night thinking about how to respond to Kang Le's childish remarks, regretting that he hadn't been able to figure out how to decipher Kang Le's childish logic in time. Moreover, the infrastructure here isn't very good, and many roads are very bumpy. After riding in the car yesterday, his back was sore, and he only felt a little better after applying a medicated plaster last night.
My nose smelled of Chinese medicine all night, and I even had to argue with the child in my dreams. It was incredibly tiring.
Zhang Jian yawned. "Why haven't Lin Yang and Kang Le arrived yet? Did Kang Le oversleep again?"
As for Lin Yang sleeping in, that's impossible. Lin Yang is always the first one up, knocking on the door to remind them it's time to get up. Although he didn't knock today, it's definitely not because Lin Yang overslept.
"I'll go take a look. You guys have breakfast first."
Zhang Jian knocked on the door, but there was no response. He wondered if Lin Yang had really overslept. Lin Yang had already fallen asleep when he left after tutoring him yesterday, so he should have slept quite a while by now.
Zhang Jian unconsciously increased the volume of his knocking. Just as he was about to go to the front desk to ask for his room key, the door opened.
Kang Le, still half asleep in her pajamas, opened the door. Zhang Jian, looking into the dark room where the curtains weren't yet drawn, guessed that Lin Yang had probably been too tired these past few days and had slept in a bit longer. Later, they would still have to share the burden more, exhausting the child.
"Lin Yang, it's almost time to get up. But don't rush, everyone is still having breakfast. They messaged us saying they'd bring us some drinks and bread, so take your time washing up, there's plenty of time."
Zhang Jian walked into the room and helped Kang Le take off the pajamas that were stuck on her head. After a moment, he sensed something was wrong. Why was Lin Yang not moving at all under the covers?
"Lin Yang, what's wrong?"
Zhang Jian hurriedly lifted the blanket covering him, and Lin Yang, with a flushed face and covered in sweat, appeared in front of him.
He touched Lin Yang's forehead; it was burning hot. He didn't know when Lin Yang had developed a fever, so he quickly patted Lin Yang's face.
"Lin Yang, Lin Yang, wake up." Fortunately, although Lin Yang did not wake up, he was humming. Zhang Jian breathed a slight sigh of relief. At least he hadn't fainted. However, he still needed to cool him down quickly.
After the others finished eating, they couldn't wait for Zhang Jian and his two companions, so they all brought packed bread to find them.
They found Lin Yang, who was delirious with fever, Zhang Jian wiping Lin Yang's body with a wet towel, and Kang Le standing to the side with tears in her eyes.
"My brother isn't dead, is he? Waaah! I don't want my brother to die!"
Zhang Jian's forehead veins bulged. "My brother isn't dead. Go and change the water in the basin for me."
With tears and snot smeared all over his face, Kang Le carefully moved the basin of water to the bedside. Zhang Jian looked at the mixture of snot and tears falling into the basin, but could only pretend not to see it and soaked the towel in it.
"What's wrong?!"
Zhang Jian turned around and realized that he hadn't closed the door properly. Everyone had come over by then.
"Lin Yang has a fever."
Zhao Shufang and Peng Lei immediately became nervous. "Go to my room, I have fever reducers in my suitcase. Never mind, you don't know where they are, I'll go get them."
"Zhang Jian, is your back alright? How about I wipe Lin Yang's back instead?"
Grandpa Peng Lei put his cane aside, rolled up his sleeves, and prepared to take the towel.
Zhang Jian was indeed struggling. Although Lin Yang wasn't fat, he was a big young man, and the effort of wiping his body and moving things around had caused his already uncomfortable back to ache a little.
Peng Miao also stepped forward to help move Lin Yang so that it would be easier for Grandpa Peng Lei to physically cool Lin Yang down.
Kang Le used a basin to catch the water and changed it. Zhao Shufang also retrieved the medicine, pried open Lin Yang's mouth, and fed it to him. After getting the medicine, Zhao Shufang replaced Peng Lei and wiped Lin Yang's body.
After fussing around for a while, everyone was covered in a thin layer of sweat, but Lin Yang's body temperature wouldn't come down for a long time. Or rather, it would drop a little, but as soon as he stopped wiping himself down, he would be enveloped by the high temperature again.
After Peng Miao and Zhang Jian took turns resting, Peng Miao realized that Yi Yi was missing. "Hey, where's Yi Yi?"
Everyone shook their heads, indicating they hadn't noticed, and the photography crew didn't respond either.
Everyone was panting as they prepared to call Sheng Yiyi. When she got lost last time, her phone was in Peng Miao's bag, and ever since then, everyone had insisted that Sheng Yiyi never let her phone out of her sight.
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