Chapter 20: Treating Grandma Qin

When they got home, the whole yard was filled with the smell of cooking.

An’an immediately perked up.

“Grandma, it smells so good! Is Dad cooking?”

Bai Ruoqiao smiled and hugged him into the house. “Yes, dinner will be ready soon. An’an, you sit on the bed first, Grandma will tidy up a bit, okay?”

“Okay, okay, An’an is very obedient.” An’an nodded seriously, then lifted his little face and smiled sweetly.

Bai Ruoqiao chuckled as she gently rubbed his cheek. “Yes, An’an is the best.”

Seeing that he was much more energetic now and his complexion had improved a lot, she felt somewhat relieved.

“We’re back, dinner will be ready soon,” Zhao Sihai said with a smile while stirring the pot.

“I’ll clean up first, no rush.”

There were still several baskets of things left in the kitchen. She started sorting some into baskets.

Seeing her struggling with the heavy load, Zhao Sihai quickly said, “You put it down, I’ll take care of it.”

“Look at your cooking, don’t burn it, you’re not a fragile doll.” Bai Ruoqiao gave him a sideways glance.

But her face was smiling; the glance was more like a playful scold.

Zhao Sihai smiled too. “Okay, you be careful too.”

“Got it.”

After carrying things three times, she moved some of the stuff inside.

There was still no shelf, so they could only put things in the corner for now.

“Wow, Grandma, these are canned peaches!”

Seeing two shiny cans of peaches and hawthorn, An’an exclaimed excitedly.

Bai Ruoqiao smiled and ruffled his head. “Yes, but we can’t eat them now, it’s dinner time. You can have them tomorrow.”

“Grandma will eat too.”

“Alright.”

“Dad will eat too.”

“Of course he will.”

An’an immediately smiled, showing his eight little teeth, looking like a kid who just got candy.

Of course, his pocket did have quite a few little candies.

“Time to eat.” Zhao Sihai brought in two big ceramic bowls.

“Dad, it smells so good!” An’an ran to the table eagerly, staring at the two steaming bowls.

Zhao Sihai smiled and lifted him onto the bench. “Almost ready.”

Then he ran back to the kitchen.

Bai Ruoqiao went to help get bowls and chopsticks.

Zhao Sihai cooked two dishes and a soup: scrambled eggs with tomatoes, pork stir-fried with pickled vegetables, radish-corn-pork soup, and corn flatbreads.

The pork was secretly taken from the space before she went out in the afternoon.

A long strip of beautiful marbled pork, all high-quality meat that tasted especially delicious.

At the labor camp, suppressed coughs echoed continuously.

The so-called labor camp was really just a hastily built shack.

It used to be for the “cow ghost” class, but after that was canceled, it became a labor camp.

The name was a nicer way to say it, but people usually just called it the “cattle shed,” and the residents were treated like ghosts or demons.

There were a few shacks originally, but now only one still had people living in it; the rest hadn’t survived.

In the shack, a patchwork quilt-covered old woman with graying hair lay on the bed, her dark, aged cheeks flushed abnormally red.

Old Master Qin carried over a bowl of dark, bitter herbal medicine.

“Xiao Lan, get up and drink your medicine.”

The old woman coughed a few times, then slowly opened her eyes.

It seemed to take a while before she could clearly see, and she weakly sighed, shaking her head with effort.

“You went digging for herbs again? Don’t bother, it’s useless.”

“Nonsense, who’s the doctor here, you or me? Get up and drink, you’ll get better soon.”

Old Master Qin pretended to be angry, helping her up.

The old woman gave in with a helpless sigh.

She knew her own body well — she probably wouldn’t last much longer.
What she feared most was that if she passed away, Old Master Qin might lose hope.

After all, the couple had spent half their lives saving and healing others, only to suffer a miserable and lonely old age, and in the end, die far away from home.

At that moment, the wooden door was gently knocked.

“Who is it?” Old Master Qin put down the bowl and went to check the door.

“It’s me, Ruoqiao.”

Upon hearing this, Old Master Qin’s pace quickened. He hurriedly opened the door, pulled her inside, then glanced outside cautiously.

“Why are you here again? If others find out you’re associating with us ‘cow ghosts,’ who knows what trouble you’ll get into?”

His tone was serious, but his eyes were gentle.

Bai Ruoqiao didn’t mind at all. She casually placed the basket on the table, lifted the cloth covering it, and while taking out items, said, “Don’t worry, I’m very careful.”

“Jojo’s here!” The old lady hoarsely but warmly greeted her.

“Grandma Qin, Haige (Brother Hai) came back from the military and brought a lot of things. I brought some food for you all.”

As she spoke, she took out a small package from the basket and handed it to Old Master Qin.

“Grandpa Qin, I had Haige find someone to help get this medicine prepared.”

Old Master Qin was about to scold her, telling her not to keep sending things here — they were all struggling themselves.

But when he heard about the medicine, he was stunned, then reached out and opened the package.

As an expert in medicine, he instantly recognized several of the pills and was so moved his hands trembled.

“How did you manage this? Is it dangerous? You’ve really gone too far.”

Though his eyes were red, his voice held both worry and surprise.

“Don’t worry, it’s all legitimate. There won’t be any trouble,” Bai Ruoqiao smiled, her own eyes slightly moist, feeling a pang of sadness.

In her previous life, Grandma Qin hadn’t survived past October.

With only half a year left, she still couldn’t wait.

She hadn’t brought any higher-grade medicine because that would definitely be noticed by Old Master Qin.

So what she gave were just some medicines to treat or relieve pulmonary tuberculosis.

She hoped it could help Grandma Qin hold on a little longer.

They would be taken back to Beicheng in March next year.

With Old Master Qin’s skills, surely Grandma Qin could be cured by then.

“Thank you, little Jojo and Zhi (helper),” Old Master Qin wiped his eyes, voice hoarse.

Grandma Qin also wanted to say something but was silenced by a bout of coughing.

Bai Ruoqiao bit her back teeth hard and lifted her eyes to hold back tears.

She took a gentle breath and said seriously, “Grandpa Qin, Grandma Qin, please hang on a little longer. The sun will rise, and everything will get better. This is the news Haige brought back.”

Both were stunned, then widened their eyes in surprise.

Old Master Qin’s trembling voice asked excitedly, “What news? Is there really news?”

Bai Ruoqiao shook her head, “Not clear yet, but Haige said there are changes beginning in Beicheng. Maybe in less than two years, the clouds will clear and the sun will shine.”

Old Master Qin opened his mouth, struggling for breath, then with tears in his eyes knelt by the bed.

“Xiao Lan, did you hear that?”

“I did, cough cough, it’s wonderful.”

Watching the two old ones holding hands with tears flowing, Bai Ruoqiao wiped her eyes and turned to leave.

In her previous life, after Grandma Qin passed away, Old Master Qin held on for just over a decade by clinging to his patriotic will but died at 71.

In those short years, he made unparalleled and great contributions to China’s medicine.

Bai Ruoqiao walked out the door with a heavy heart.

Suddenly a beam of light shone on her.

It was Zhao Sihai, who had been waiting outside.

Seeing her return, Zhao Sihai ran over holding a flashlight. “Nothing happened, right?”

“No,” she looked up at him.

Though it was dark and she couldn’t see his expression clearly, she could feel his care.

She smiled softly, the heaviness in her heart instantly lifting, and reached out to hold his hand.

“Let’s go home.”

The gloom will pass, the sunlight will come — everything is still full of hope.