Ye Su drove the carriage and carried Li Zhen into the carriage, where a thick quilt was laid out to avoid the bumpy ride. "Take a nap."
Li Zhen hugged the blanket, her eyes welling up with tears, but she was too embarrassed to show it, so she just lowered her head and said, "Mmm."
When she woke up from a nap, the room was dimly lit. She felt dizzy and lightheaded, a side effect of sleeping too much and having a fever. She forced herself to sit up, opened the window a crack, and felt the biting cold wind. Just as she was about to close it, a hand was faster and closed the window first. Ye Su was holding a bowl of porridge. "Eat."
A bowl of plain porridge, nothing else.
Li Zhen took two sips, but her mouth tasted bland. "Do you have any side dishes? I'd like something spicy, and it would be even better if you had some of my mother's pickled cucumbers."
"no."
Her eyes stung, her nose tingled, and her voice choked with emotion, "Plain porridge doesn't taste good."
My heart ached. I used to be so poor that even a bowl of plain porridge was a luxury, but now I just can't eat, and tears just inexplicably start falling.
Ye Su paused for a moment, then turned and left.
Li Zhen finished her congee and waited a long time before no one came in. She listened carefully but there was no sound. Only the snow was falling softly. Her tears flowed even more fiercely, soaking her pillow. She cried herself to sleep and then fell asleep again.
She vaguely heard voices, and when she woke up, she saw Wang Li sitting by the bed, stroking her head. Li Zhen was stunned, unable to tell if it was a dream or reality. "Mother?"
"Yes, it's me." Wang Li helped the person up and sat them up. "You're being fussy because someone cares about you. You still want to eat pickled cucumbers in the middle of winter. How can you not be drooling with envy? Here, I brought you the last little jar left at home."
The plain porridge was replaced with porridge made with vegetables and lean meat, along with a dish of pickled cucumbers. Wang Lishi grumbled, "You're sick and not eating, drinking, or sleeping properly, and you're making your husband suffer. On a snowy day, he rode his horse to our house and offered a string of meat in exchange for pickled cucumbers. I was so happy because I thought you were pregnant after only a little over a month, but then my son-in-law said you were sick, had no taste in your mouth, and wanted to eat pickled cucumbers."
“The snow was falling heavily then, everything was white. It’s such a long way from Tanshui Village to our village. When my son-in-law arrived, there was a thick layer of ice on the meat. When I heard you were sick, I was anxious and came with you.”
Li Zhen felt like crying again, but this time she held back. She touched Wang Li's coat, which was new and thickly padded, and felt relieved. It was so cold that someone had to make the trip. "I just had a craving... Where's Daya?"
A ten-year-old girl shouldn't be home alone overnight.
Wang Li brought her medicine again, saying, "I thought you were sick, so I took care of you for a couple more days. I sent her to the Lu family. It's not good to ask for help all the time, but the Lu family is happy to help you once in a while. Just rest assured and get better."
The child is too young, and we are afraid he will get sick even in the cold weather. It is even more unacceptable to let him run around on horseback in the heavy snow.
The girl, who was being looked after, was full of curiosity at the Lu family home, but she didn't dare to run around or look around. Before she came, her grandmother had told her that she had to be obedient and help with chores at the Lu family home. "Grandma Wang, let me wash the vegetables."
Wang Lan stopped the little girl with her elbow, "No need, no need, it'll be done soon." Then she saw that Daya looked flustered and didn't know what to do, so she said, "Daya, you sit by the stove and add firewood."
"Oh, good." Daya cheered, poking at the fire from time to time. Pig's trotters were stewing on the stove, and the aroma of meat filled the air. She couldn't help but swallow her saliva. She rarely ate meat before, and after her father passed away, she could only eat it twice a year. Later, her mother became an embroiderer for the Lu family, and only then did delicious things like rice or steamed buns appear on the table one after another. Later, her mother went to the county town, and she could eat meat once every three to five days. Then, her mother got married.
That day, the people who came to marry my mother brought a pig. She had never seen so much pork in her life. So many people ate it that night, and there was still more than half left. Grandma cried and laughed and started rendering oil. She smelled the aroma of the oil and dreamed all night about holding a big, fried piece of meat, drooling all night.
The next day, Grandma separated and stored the remaining pork, and from then on, she had meat to eat every meal.
Zhao Fang sat down by the stove with Xiao Si in her arms. She noticed that the little girl was dressed warmly, wearing new shoes and a cute little hat. "In the past two months, Daya has become fairer and has gained some weight."
Wang Lan smiled and said, "Your mother married well, and the lives of the grandmother and grandson are also better." Then she thought of Lu Yu and said, "It's freezing cold here. I wonder how Yu Niang is doing."
"After the snow stops, why don't you and Xiaozhou go there?" Zhao Fang knew that Wang Lan's precious daughter had been missing for more than half a month since her return to her parents' home that day, and she was also unsure of what to do.
Wang Lan glanced at her, "Let Dayun row me there instead."
“No, Mother.” Zhao Fang truthfully expressed her thoughts. “Da Yun is steady and doesn’t argue with people easily. If there is a dispute, it will definitely be a big up and down and hard to resolve. But Xiao Zhou can’t tolerate any nonsense. It’s okay for her to quarrel and curse a bit. If she doesn’t like something, she will stand up for her sister-in-law.”
Wang Lan thought about it and realized that it was indeed true.
Qin Xiaozhou was in a terrible predicament. The cold had spread throughout the county town, and the people in the boudoir were taking medicine every day. The backyard smelled strongly of medicine, as if it had been pickled. All the medicinal herbs in the county town were being bought up by pharmacies, and the supply of herbs to dispel heat and detoxify was insufficient.
She also developed a fever and cough, and was so dizzy that she couldn't get out of bed. Lu Yunfeng was also busy. Herbs were in short supply in the embroidery building. If they didn't find medicine soon, there would inevitably be panic among so many people in the embroidery building. He spent his days running around the trading market looking for herbs and came back at night to accompany Qin Xiaozhou.
Her fever persisted, and even after two doses of medicine, her condition did not improve, causing Lu Yunfeng great anxiety.
With no other option, as soon as the snow stopped, Lu Yunfeng took Ma Dage to Lijia Dam to find Doctor Li. These past few days, with the snow, everyone was staying home as much as possible, and they hadn't heard anything about what was happening in the county town.
Lu Yu has been married into the family for almost a month. The courtyard is busy drying medicinal herbs, so no chickens or ducks have been raised yet. For the first few days after her marriage, she didn't know what to do, only getting up early every day to prepare three meals. Later, she learned that the Li family only ate two meals a day.
Many families in the village only eat three meals a day during the busy farming season. When they are not busy, they eat only two meals a day in order to save a little food.
Ever since Qin Xiaozhou married into the Lu family, she has been treated to good food and drink every day. She has almost forgotten how others live their lives, which makes her feel a little lost. Fortunately, Doctor Li smiled and said, "Three meals a day are good for your health and stomach. From now on, we will have three meals a day in our family. It will be hard on you, daughter-in-law."
Lu Yu breathed a sigh of relief, and the tension and awkwardness of living under the same roof as a stranger eased considerably.
Li Changpu planted a lot of medicinal herbs, and also planted a row of cabbage and radishes in the corner of the wall. He was a little expert at growing vegetables and herbs. These days, Lu Yu's main tasks were cooking, washing clothes, and taking care of the herbs. Whenever this happened, Li Changpu would insist on doing it. "It's cold, and the water is cold. You're weak, so don't go to the river to wash your clothes. I'll go by myself. Hehe, I'm used to washing clothes. I used to wash Master's clothes too."
"Hahahaha." Doctor Li sat under the eaves stacking herbs. "Yu Niang, let this boy go. Our clothes are rough and thick, and you, a woman, can't rub them properly."
Helpless, Lu Yu could only silently put down the clothes. Then, Li Changpu, like a victorious rooster, happily went out to wash the clothes.
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