“Tell me about it. We’ve begged and prayed for rain, but it just won’t come.”
The brigade leader shook his head. “Alright—I’m going to take another walk around. Got to get this matter settled.”
“Once they start building, you go keep an eye on things too. Don’t let those old bastards cause trouble.”
Speaking of those two, the brigade leader was truly helpless. They were too old—if he spoke harshly and something happened, it’d be on him; if he went easy, they’d just ignore him.
“Sure—I’ll keep watch. Now stop fussing—it’s almost dark. Get some rest and deal with it tomorrow.”
“Fine, fine—sleep.”
…
Today was overcast.
When Lin Xiaohe opened her eyes, there was no dawn light on the horizon.
Her heart skipped—first in worry, then in joy—was it finally going to rain?!
“Sis, what’s wrong? Why are you so happy?”
“The sun’s not out—maybe it’ll rain. If it does, things will really start looking up.”
“Really, really? Is it really going to rain?”
Xiaogu dashed outside—it was indeed overcast, but she couldn’t tell if rain was coming.
“Don’t worry about that for now. Let’s make some flatbread for breakfast instead of congee—it’ll hold us longer.
Come help me with the fire. I’ll get the dough ready.”
Lin Xiaohe’s flatbread method was simple—mix flour and water into a thin batter, pour a little into the pan, spread it flat, and flip it once one side was set.
Add a pinch of salt and two eggs—fragrant and delicious.
Pair it with some radish pickles from Granny Zhao’s—heavenly. And it was quick—done in no time.
She handed two to Xiaoman to eat on her own.
Her parents could manage on their own too.
That saved them a lot of trouble.
Lin Xiaohe’s appetite had been growing—she ate three flatbreads before feeling full.
Without their stroke of luck, she wouldn’t have had three flatbreads in three days, let alone in one meal.
“Sis, it’s great—we can eat our fill now.”
“Not just eat our fill—you could eat eight or nine meals a day if you wanted. We’ve got plenty of food.”
Lin Xiaohe waved her hand grandly. “Let’s get to work. We can talk about how many meals later—work first.”
“Alright—let’s go!”
“Yuya—why are you alone today?”
When they arrived, there was no adult—just Yuya.
Hearing them, Yuya’s eyes reddened instantly. She looked at them in panic. “Xiaohe Jie—can you get medicine over there? I need fever medicine! Someone’s really sick.”
“What happened? Tell me carefully.”
“A couple days ago, some kids fell into the river. Nobody thought much of it. Yesterday, they started getting sick. We gave them our own herbal remedies and the fever went down.
We thought they were better—but today, their faces are beet red, burning up. They’re turning red all over.”
Lin Xiaohe’s expression changed. A kid in a neighboring village had gone feverish like that—and ended up brain-damaged.
“Wait here. I’ll be right back.” She grabbed her sister and ducked behind a big rock. Going alone, she rushed back home—she still had some leftover fever medicine from last time.
“Xiaogu, wait here for me. I’ll be back soon. Don’t be scared.”
“Okay—I’m not scared.”
She rummaged through the house frantically—thank goodness, the medicine was still there.
She pulled out a strip with 10 pills.
She sprinted back.
“Here’s the medicine. One pill at a time, swallowed with water. It’s very bitter—don’t dissolve it, or the kid won’t be able to get it down.”
“This stuff works well. It’s the only kind I can get. Take it back and try it.
Let me know this afternoon if it worked or not.”
“Okay.” Yuya wiped her tears with her sleeve and ran home.
“Dad, we got the medicine! Let’s try it!”
Shen Shan’s eyes lit up. That little girl’s things were always the best—maybe her medicine really would work.
“Hurry—give it to Little Stone.”
The village was small and people lived close—everyone was tight-knit.
When one family suffered, everyone worried.
Most of the village had gathered at Little Stone’s doorstep waiting for news.
Hearing that the kind girl who traded salt and meat had given them medicine, hope swelled in their hearts—surely it would work.
Untouched by Western medicine, the body responded quickly.
Within two hours of taking the pill, the fever began to break—fast.
“Thank goodness! The fever’s down, it’s down!”
Little Stone’s mother went weak in the knees and collapsed to the ground. A full day and night of terror—finally over.
“Don’t collapse now, Stone’s mom—you’re the only one he’s got. He still needs you.”
The villagers helped her up.
“Thank that little girl so much! Without her miracle medicine, it wouldn’t have happened so fast.”
The village’s only half-trained doctor studied the pill for a long time, completely baffled by what it was made of.
He popped one out and licked it.
A bitter taste spread across his tongue—still he couldn’t tell what it was. It didn’t taste like herbs.
“Oh, don’t waste precious stuff like that!”
The villagers were pained to see it—such a valuable thing, and he was just wasting it. No sickness, no need to waste a pill.
“Alright, alright—there are still 8 left. They came through the Shen family, so they’ll stay with the Shen family.
They’ll be for saving the village kids—nobody gets any ideas!”
The village elder had spoken, and no one objected.
So it was settled. The crowd dispersed.
Lin Xiaohe wasn’t in high spirits that day. She sold the greens, bought the usual things, and headed home early.
“Sis, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing—just a little worried.”
She shook her head. “Let’s cook first. The uncles working still need lunch.”
“Right—did Second Aunt come yet? If she didn’t, we don’t have coarse grain.”
“She should have—I don’t know.”
They got home to find that Second Aunt had already been there.
“You weren’t home, so we couldn’t get in. Your aunt left the stuff at the door and went off somewhere.”
Lin Cai pointed with his good hand. “Did you see the things out there?”
Leave a Reply