In the late twelfth lunar month of winter, almost the end of the new year, the weather is extremely cold.
Yingbao and Youyou ran around the threshing floor for more than a dozen times before going home with Dani and Erni.
This is her daily exercise. By the way, she trains the deer to make it more docile and obedient so that one day it can be used as a mount for herself.
Jiang Sanlang, who was cooking in the kitchen, saw his daughter coming back and said, "Your eldest uncle and second uncle gave you three hundred cents. Dad put the money on your kang table. Please put it away quickly."
"Oh." Yingbao sent Youyou to the straw shed, added fodder to the stone trough, and then ran towards the west room.
Three hundred copper coins were strung with fine hemp ropes, each string was fifty cents, coiled together to form a small pile, which looked pleasing to the eye.
Once she had enough money, she would go to the town to order a leather saddle for Youyou, so that she could ride it further.
Yingbao happily put these coins together with the ones from last time, and ran to the east room to see her brother.
Grandma was sitting on the kang spinning yarn, while the two little babies were lying next to her, sleeping soundly.
"Bao'er, are you cold?" Chun Niang asked.
"It's not cold." Yingbao eats a handful of Wudingzhi every day before going out. Her body feels warm and she is not afraid of the cold at all.
Chun Niang looked at her daughter with a smile, "Why do you think you've grown taller?"
"Really?" Yingbao ran to the wall and stood still, comparing the marks from last time with his hands.
"Hey, I've really grown taller." She smiled and narrowed her eyes.
It’s good to grow taller. The taller you are, the stronger you are and you won’t be afraid of being bullied.
"No wonder the sleeves of your cotton-padded coat seem to be short. My baby grows up so fast." Chun Niang put down her work and leaned over, "Let me see if you want to put the sleeves outward."
Ying Bao shook her head quickly, "No need to put it down, it's just right." Previously, the sleeves were a bit long and it was always inconvenient to do things, but now it's just right.
Then he turned around and ran out of the house, "I'm going to help daddy light the fire."
When I went to the kitchen, I saw that my father had already prepared the food.
Fish soup, lard cake, rice porridge, a bowl of pickles, and two boiled eggs.
Such a dinner is quite sumptuous in the village.
Yingbao helped her father carry the dishes to the east room and put them on the Kang table.
After the family of three finished eating, Jiang Sanlang went to wash pots and dishes, boil water and wash up. He was busy until dark.
Ying Bao lay on the kang and peeled off the black scabs on her wrists little by little.
The burn on my wrist has completely healed, and the skin is smooth, leaving only a faint pink color. I believe that this pink color will return to its normal color soon.
The original plum blossom birthmark has disappeared, but a small red mole as big as a needle nose remains.
Yingbao frowned, a little dissatisfied.
The perm was so deep last time that it was not completely removed. Should I perm it again?
Thinking of the pain that day, she shrank her neck.
Forget it, let’s leave it at that for now, there are still several years to go anyway.
Moreover, I haven't seen Mrs. Han come back recently, and even her two daughters seemed to have disappeared and never appeared in front of me again.
But despite this, Ying Bao cannot take it lightly.
Her wrist still had to be tied, well, she had to borrow a pen from her little cousin, and it was best to get some cinnabar mud, and she wanted to draw a turtle pattern on her wrist, just in case.
Because even if there is no birthmark on her wrist, Han will still have her own thoughts.
That woman never wanted a daughter, but a son.
Blow out the oil lamp and enter the cave.
The wheat and rice in the cave have matured, and the heavy ears are full of grains, which looks very pleasant.
Ying Bao picked up a sickle and decided to start harvesting from rice.
An hour later, only a quarter of the rice had been harvested, but Ying Bao had two large blisters on her palms, which made her grimace in pain.
Sighing, Yingbao with tears in her eyes dug out some Wudingzhi from the rock wall, crushed it, and applied it to the blisters on her palms before going to sleep.
When I woke up the next day, the blisters on my palms had disappeared.
Ying Bao was very happy, and quickly entered the cave again, ate a handful of Wudingzhi, and continued cutting for a while while she was full of energy before coming out.
Alas, I still don’t have enough strength. How long will it take to collect this large area of rice, wheat and soybeans?
Get dressed and get off the kang, go to the kitchen to fetch water and wash up, then run to the chicken coop to pick up eggs, and take Youyo outside to have fun.
"Third uncle, third uncle!" Jiang Quan from the uncle's family hurried into the main room.
Jiang Sanlang poked his head out of the kitchen, "What's the matter?"
Jiang Quan turned to the kitchen again and shouted hurriedly: "Third uncle, go and have a look. Second uncle's fever won't go away and he coughed up blood this morning."
Jiang Sanlang was startled, and quickly put down the spoon in his hand and walked out, "I'm so fine, but why am I coughing up blood? Didn't it look good yesterday?"
It is not a good thing for a patient to cough up blood, and it would be very bad if the second brother gets tuberculosis. His son is only three years old, and Ernie is only six years old.
"I don't know." Jiang Quan said, "Yesterday I heard my second aunt and my second uncle arguing. His family didn't cook at night. Erni and Huzi both went to our house to eat."
Jiang Sanlang's face darkened, feeling a little unhappy.
This second sister-in-law is too ignorant. The second brother is still sick, so why doesn't she even cook?
Without cooking, it must be even more impossible to cook the medicine. I don’t know if the second brother took the medicine yesterday.
Jiang Er's home is not far from the two brothers' home, only a few houses apart.
Before the uncle and nephew arrived, they could already hear Mrs. Leng's cries.
Jiang Sanlang frowned and thought for a moment, then asked his second nephew, "How is your father?"
"My dad took the medicine yesterday and was fine. He just had a cough. He ate two large bowls of rice porridge this morning." Jiang Quan said.
Jiang Sanlang was relieved.
It seems that the medicine I brought back is still effective.
However, the second brother's body has always been weaker than that of the eldest brother, and it was due to his own negligence, thinking that they had suffered from the cold together and their symptoms would be similar. Unexpectedly, the second brother actually vomited blood.
Jiang Sanlang was annoyed as he walked into the yard and saw Leng sitting on the ground crying with Dahu in his arms.
Erni also burst into tears and stood aside at a loss. Several villagers held rice bowls in their hands and stood outside the fence to watch the excitement.
"Second sister-in-law, it's cold outside. Go back to the house quickly. Don't freeze the child." Jiang Sanlang said solemnly.
When Mrs. Leng saw Jiang Sanlang, she cried louder and scolded her while crying, saying that her life was miserable and it would be useless to marry a man, which would make her children suffer.
Jiang Sanlang saw that the more she spoke, the more outrageous she said. He was so angry that he turned around and went into the house, where he saw his father, mother and sister-in-law Zhou.
"Sanlang, send your second brother to the town later." Old Man Jiang said, "Your eldest nephew has already gone to borrow a donkey cart."
"Yes." Jiang Sanlang nodded, went to the kang, and tried his second brother's forehead.
The temperature is very high and a high fever is occurring.
"Second brother, how are you?" Jiang Sanlang asked.
Jiang Erlang's face was flushed, he kept coughing, and looked very weak. "My chest feels uncomfortable, cough, cough, cough... I have no strength."
Mrs. Zhou brought a bowl of porridge over and handed it to the third brother: "You can feed the second brother some porridge. He was hungry all night yesterday. How can he have any strength? Alas." She was convinced by the second sister-in-law.
Jiang Sanlang took the bowl and helped his second brother up, "Drink some porridge to warm you up first, and I will take you to the town later."
Jiang Er was scared after all, so he nodded and forced himself to eat half a bowl of rice porridge.
After a while, the eldest nephew Jiang Cheng drove the donkey cart to the door. Jiang Sanlang picked up the second brother and put him on the cart, and wrapped him in a quilt.
Mrs. Jiang Liu caught up with her, gave San'er a lot of money, and whispered: "Bring it with you for the second son's medical treatment."
Jiang Sanlang didn't refuse, took it and put it in his arms, got on the carriage shaft and left with a whip.
