Aunt Xinghua beamed with joy. “It’s beautiful! I remember that Song Zhiqing wasn’t good at these things before—she must’ve just learned how to do this.”
She turned to Lin Zhen with a teasing glint in her eyes. “You two look so good together, really a perfect match. Have you set a date yet? Any plans?”
Lin Zhen immediately replied, “We’ve discussed it. We’ll get engaged next month. As for the wedding, we haven’t picked a date yet.”
Aunt Xinghua slapped her thigh and said, “That’s great! You two young folks don’t have elders around to guide you. Do you have everything planned out?”
Lin Zhen nodded, “I’ve already consulted with my grandaunt. We’re working on preparing everything we’ll need for the engagement and wedding. But when it comes to matters on her side, Aunt Xinghua, I’ll need your help.”
Aunt Xinghua eagerly agreed, her enthusiasm practically bubbling over.
“Alright, enough chit-chat!” said the brigade leader, clearing his throat. “Let’s get down to business.”
After some thought, the brigade leader added, “Since this idea came from Song Zhiqing, let’s bring her in to discuss it together.”
He couldn’t hide his excitement, rubbing his hands together. “Can I take a look at these vegetables you’ve grown? This is a big deal.”
Lin Zhen had no objection. “Of course, but I need to deliver some of these vegetables to my grandaunt’s house first—and to Old Doctor Ji.”
The brigade leader raised an eyebrow. “You’re not even trying to hide it anymore, huh?”
No one in the team dared to contact the people from the cowshed. He knew that this kid secretly went to see Old Ji at night, but Old Ji was a skilled traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, the brigade leader had turned a blind eye. Lin Zhen’s condition had required someone with the doctor’s expertise.
Lin Zhen first delivered the vegetables to his grandaunt’s house. The sight of the fresh greens left the family stunned, especially the old man, who leaned on his cane, declaring that he absolutely had to visit Lin Zhen’s house to see the so-called off-season vegetables.
Unable to argue, his son ended up carrying him there on his back.
Meanwhile, Lin Zhen headed toward the cowshed.
Inside the cowshed, a sharp bout of coughing echoed through the air. Lin Zhen’s face darkened as he rushed inside, finding Old Ji lying on a kang, his face flushed with fever. The room was cold, and the old man was struggling to breathe.
“Lin Zhen’s here,” one of the other person said urgently. “The old doctor’s caught a cold. We don’t have any herbs left. What should we do?”
Their faces were full of worry. As people of special status relegated to this remote cowshed, they didn’t have access to medicine or supplies.
Lin Zhen asked quickly, “What medicine do you need? Song Wei delivers herbs to the hospital every once in a while, so she should have some in stock.”
Old Doctor Ji had always been frail. Now, this illness made him look as though he were nearing his final days.
Through labored breaths, the old man managed to whisper the names of several herbs he needed. Lin Zhen committed them to memory. “I’ll go get some more firewood to light the kang first.”
He soon arrived at the educated youth dormitory and called out for Song Wei, his urgency evident.
“What’s wrong?” Song Wei asked, alarmed by his grave expression.
“Old Doctor Ji is seriously ill,” Lin Zhen explained. He listed the herbs the doctor had mentioned. “Do you have these?”
Song Wei nodded. “I have a couple of them, but not all. The brigade leader has a bicycle, doesn’t he? Go ask him to ride to the clinic for the rest. I’ll prepare what I have and bring them over.”
She moved quickly, gathering the herbs while Lin Zhen left to coordinate with the brigade leader.
Before leaving, Lin Zhen said, “Take some firewood with you. They probably don’t have much firewood left.”
Song Wei: “Okay.”
Soon, Song Wei arrived at the cowshed, carrying a load of firewood and the herbs. She also brought some old ginger, which she used to brew a warming tea for Old Doctor Ji.
The other two people in the cowshed were also busy making the fire bigger and boiling water to prepare medicine.
Song Wei listened to old Ji’s weak voice and grabbed the right amount of herbs to mix. She just had to wait for the remaining two to arrive before cooking them.
It wasn’t long before the brigade leader’s son arrived, panting from the effort of pedaling through the snow. He handed over the remaining herbs. Seeing his sweat-soaked face, it was clear how hard he’d pushed himself to get there quickly.
With the herbal medicine finally ready, they gave it to Old Doctor Ji. After drinking it, the old man began to sweat, a good sign that the medicine was working.
Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.
“This can’t go on,” Song Wei said, frowning. “They’re too frail, and they don’t even have enough firewood to stay warm.”
The people in the cowshed were tasked with hard, dirty labor, leaving them little time or energy to gather firewood. It was a wonder they had managed to get by this long.
Lin Zhen immediately offered, “I’ll go gather some dry firewood for them.”
Song Wei glared at him. “Your leg isn’t fully healed yet. Do you think you can take on that kind of work already? Do you want to make your injury worse?”
The tall, strong Lin Zhen suddenly looked sheepish, cowed by her sharp rebuke. Jiang Wenwu was watching the show from the side and shaking his head. He remembered that Brother Lin Zhen was fearless in the past. When he was only a teenager, he dared to go to the mountains to fight wild boars.
I didn’t expect that Brother Lin Zhen was afraid of his wife, hahaha.
“I have plenty of firewood,” Song Wei continued. “I’ll bring some over for now. Later, I’ll head into the mountains to gather more.”
Knowing better than to argue further, Lin Zhen simply nodded.
After ensuring the old doctor was comfortable, Lin Zhen handed a small bundle of fresh greens to the other two people in the cowshed.
“These are off-season vegetables we’ve been experimenting with. Try them,” he said.
The two people stared at the crisp, tender greens in disbelief.
“Off-season vegetables?!”
Once the situation at the cowshed was under control, the three returned to Lin Zhen’s house.
The brigade leader immediately inquired about Old Doctor Ji’s condition, but Song Wei’s mind was elsewhere.
“Brigade leader,” she began, “our area relies on the village doctor for so much, especially in winter. He must be overwhelmed.”
The brigade leader exhaled heavily. “You’re not wrong. In this winter, all kinds of illnesses arise in the elderly, such as backaches or leg pains. Children are most likely to catch colds, it’s no wonder the doctor is swamped. It’s just him and two apprentices, and those apprentices can only handle basic tasks. He’s stretched thin.”
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