Wang Lan patted Qin Xiaozhou's hand to comfort her, "Xiaozhou, don't be afraid. As long as you take good care of your leg, it will get better. Look at me, I broke my leg three years ago and became lame, but it gradually got better. This time, we'll both take care of it together."
"Grandma," Qin Xiaozhou said, her heart aching. "You're the one who's seriously injured, why are you comforting me? You might never be able to walk normally again this time."
She only has a fracture; with rest, it will heal. Wang Lan, on the other hand, has a broken thighbone, and at her age, the chances of it healing are very slim.
Wang Lan laughed, “What’s there to be afraid of? I’m old, and even if I’m lame, no one will laugh at me. In the village, who at my age doesn’t have some kind of illness? Look at A Jin’s grandma, her right leg is also bad, but who would gossip about her? Your Uncle Dahe’s mother also broke a finger a few years ago when she went to the mountains to chop firewood. But you’re different. You’re the manager of Xiulou, with so many people under you, and so many people are watching you.”
She choked up as she spoke, "If you don't have all the required parts, people will laugh at you."
"Okay, I'll take good care of myself." Qin Xiaozhou didn't argue and agreed with a smile. Wang Lan had injured her bones, face, and arm, and bled a little. She quickly became weak, and Lu Yunfeng and his brother carefully carried her back to bed.
Several men were dealing with the wild boar in the corner of the yard. It took them more than half an hour to finish. The boar was hacked to pieces and they had to burn it several times to remove the hair.
Lu Yunfeng cut three long strips of meat and put them into a bamboo basket. He carried it on his back and headed east to the village. First, he went to the village chief's house to thank him for braving the snow to fetch a doctor in the middle of the night. Then he went to Wang Gui's house. Li Fengxian took the more than ten pounds of wild boar meat and smiled so broadly that her eyes disappeared. "Hey, we all live in the same village and are blood relatives. How can we sleep soundly if a wild boar gets into our house? How are your grandmother and wife?"
When my son and husband came home this morning, they only said that he had injured his leg, but they didn't know the details yet.
Lu Yunfeng exchanged a few pleasantries in the courtyard, saying, "You've injured your bones; you'll probably need to rest for three to five months."
After seeing Lu Yunfeng off, Li Fengxian told her eldest son to hang the meat in the kitchen. "No one is allowed to steal any. If anyone does, I'll break their legs. Eldest daughter-in-law, prepare some eggs. We'll go visit your aunt in a couple of days."
If she didn't bring something when she visited someone in the village, she was afraid the villagers would gossip about her behind her back.
Wang Dahe declined the meat, saying, "It was my carelessness last night. I arrived late, which caused Auntie and your wife to injure their legs. I..."
Lu Yunfeng patted Wang Dahe on the shoulder, "Uncle Dahe, it's normal that you didn't hear us because your home is far away. Don't overthink it. Please accept this meat; it's a small token of our appreciation."
“Alright, alright, then the back door needs a proper repair. I can do that. I’ll come to your house first thing tomorrow morning to reinstall the door.” Wang Dahe calculated the materials needed for the door. “I have a piece of wood here. I brought it back from the mountains the year before last, intending to sell it to someone in the county to make a pillar, but it didn’t work out, so I’m using that piece of wood to make the door.”
The wood used to make the pillars is very particular; it must be thick and straight, and it must be pine, the strongest kind. These are all good things that can only be found in the deep mountains and forests. This was originally a livelihood for the villagers. Wang Dahe relied on cutting wood and selling pillars and rafters to buy medicine for his wife. Carrying the wood out from the deep mountains was very difficult, and it was easy to fall ill. Wang Dahe's mother felt sorry for her son but was powerless to help.
Later, when he went to work for the Lu family, he stopped doing this kind of work.
Lu Yunfeng was still shaken by the incident of the wild boar breaking through the back door, so he immediately agreed, "Then I'll come to the house to carry the wood first thing tomorrow morning."
Wang Dahe waved his hand with a simple smile, "No need, no need, the wood is completely dry now, I can carry it myself."
Lu Yunfeng said no more, and carried the bamboo basket home.
When Wang Dahe's mother heard that her son wanted to give the wood in the yard to the Lu family, she had no objection. "The Lu family has helped us so much, giving them a piece of wood is nothing."
Most importantly, my son doesn't get tired working at the Lu family's house.
Although they don't get many days off throughout the year, the villagers work for hundreds of days a year. Even during the two days of the Lunar New Year when they are at home, they still have work to do. The men repair old doors and windows, and the women sew clothes. No one really does nothing.
The Lu family's orchard was large, with many chickens, ducks, and geese, and they also had to take care of rabbits. For the villagers, however, it was an easy job, as chopping firewood and plowing the fields were not easy tasks at all.
Wang Dahe's wife, heavily pregnant, swallowed hard as she looked at the wild boar meat, blushing with embarrassment, but couldn't help asking, "Can we eat this meat tonight?"
"Oh, yes, I'm saving it for you to eat." Wang Dahe's mother smiled broadly and carefully touched her daughter-in-law's belly. "You're already five months along. Be careful and don't go out. The snow is thick outside."
These days, Wang Dahe's mother is in high spirits because of good news. Her daughter-in-law had a child a few years ago, but miscarried after four months of pregnancy, which damaged her health and prevented her from conceiving again. She thought the family line would end, but after her son went to work for the Lu family, he used his wages to buy medicine. Her daughter-in-law took it for two months, and her health improved. Then she became pregnant. This is truly a great joy. Now her daughter-in-law is a great hero in the family.
Wang Dahe also grinned, went into the kitchen and cut off a piece of meat, saying, "My dear wife, I'll make sure you eat meat often from now on."
In fact, the Wang family had been doing much better these past two months. The hen in the yard laid about a hundred eggs in the autumn, all of which were saved for Wang Dahe's wife. Now, the woman was very embarrassed, "Mother, have I eaten too much? But I can't help it."
Wang Dahe's mother smiled and calculated the future, "Not much, not much. Those hens in the yard are raised for you to eat. Now you eat eggs, and when spring comes, I'll hatch a brood of eggs. Perfect timing. After you have your baby, I'll kill all those hens for you to eat. There are still five months left. By then, the chicks that hatch won't be able to lay eggs for long."
Whether it's a boy or a girl, having a child brings hope to the family.
While they were envisioning the future, the Lu family was having dinner. More than ten people crowded the large round table. Wang Lan was old and badly injured, and her spirits were low in the afternoon. Doctor Li told her to rest in bed and not to move around too much. Qin Xiaozhou's legs were stinging, but she was a good person and was being held in a chair by Lu Yunfeng to eat with everyone.
Looking at the table full of chicken, duck, fish and meat, Dr. Li instructed, "Eat something light. Don't eat mutton and fish. You can eat the steamed eggs with minced meat, the stewed ribs with radish, and the lotus root sandwiches. Your in-laws can eat more of these too."
Lu Yu nodded, "Mother wasn't feeling well today and only ate some lean meat porridge. I'll make her some more tomorrow when she's feeling better."
Lu Yunfeng placed a piece of pork rib into Qin Xiaozhou's bowl. "Don't move around. Just tell me what you want to eat."
Qin Xiaozhou was speechless. "I injured my leg, but my hand is fine."
"Hahahaha." Doctor Li laughed loudly, "Your wife's health is excellent. I have been practicing medicine for many years and have taken the pulse of many people. Your wife is a rare woman with abundant qi and blood."
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