Chu Xia was rummaging through a pile of medicine and found a mercury thermometer.

She was too weak to shake the thermometer down, so she taught Cen Huai’an how to do it.

She needed to check her temperature.

As she expected, it was 38.5°C, a high fever.

Chu Xia found some fever medicine and said to Cen Huai’an, “An’an, can you pour me half a cup of water?”

The thermos was in the room, so Cen Huai’an quickly got out of bed, not even bothering to put on a T-shirt.

He hurriedly poured half an enamel cup of water and carefully brought it to Chu Xia.

Chu Xia tried to sit up by holding onto the bed, but she was so weak that it was a struggle.

Seeing this, Cen Huai’an immediately put the enamel cup on the table by the bed and said, “Mom, I’ll help you.”

He climbed onto the bed and used all his strength to pull Chu Xia up.

The action was so comical that Chu Xia couldn’t help but laugh, almost falling back down.

But with Cen Huai’an’s help, she managed to sit up, leaning against the headboard.

She took a piece of fever medicine.

The medicine wouldn’t take effect immediately, and in her current state, she couldn’t even think about getting up to cook.

“An’an.”

“Mom.” Now that Chu Xia was sick, Cen Huai’an completely forgot about the distance he had felt from her.

All he could think about was how to help his mom get better quickly.

Kids are like that—they might hate their mom at times, but deep down, they still want their mom’s love.

There can only be hate if there was once love.

Chu Xia’s throat was also uncomfortable, so she spoke weakly, “I have some change in my pocket. Take it and go buy some buns at the entrance of the residential compound.”

Now that the market was open, some clever people were pushing carts to sell food, especially at the entrance of the textile factory and the residential compound.

Everyone knew the workers had money, so lots of people would buy food there, and the sellers set up stalls every day.

They sold not only buns but also fried dough sticks, wontons, and tofu pudding.

But Cen Huai’an was still small, and it would be easy for him to burn himself if he bought something hot and tried to bring it back.

Without the modern, secure packaging, buying tofu pudding or wontons meant either eating it there or bringing your own bowl to carry it back.

The distance from the entrance of the compound to home wasn’t short, so it wasn’t safe.

Cen Huai’an grabbed the money and was about to run out when Chu Xia called after him, “Put on your clothes.”

Chu Xia’s mind was fuzzy, and after Cen Huai’an ran out, she lay back down and closed her eyes, just wanting to sleep.

The walls of the residential building weren’t soundproof, so she could hear the sounds of people cooking, talking, and children playing outside.

In this noisy environment, Chu Xia drifted in and out of sleep, hearing everything as if it were muffled and far away.

She thought she heard Sister Li asking Cen Huai’an where she had gone.

She couldn’t hear what Cen Huai’an replied, thinking she might be dreaming.

It wasn’t until Sister Li’s voice boomed over her head that Chu Xia opened her eyes and realized she hadn’t been dreaming.

“Oh dear, this fever is quite serious.” Sister Li touched Chu Xia’s forehead, then her own, and slapped her thigh, saying, “You should see a doctor!”

Chu Xia shook her head. “I just took some medicine. Let me sleep it off, and if it doesn’t get better, I’ll see a doctor.”

She knew her own body and understood that the fever was normal.

Seeing a doctor would only result in getting the same medicine.

Sister Li nodded, “Alright, then. I’ll take care of getting you a sick leave from work.”

Most of the people living in this residential compound were workers at the No. 3 Textile Factory, and Sister Li and her husband worked there too.

“Okay, thank you.”

“No need to thank me; we’re neighbors.”

Sister Li stood up and called out to Cen Huaian, who was nearby, “Let’s go to my house and get some soup. Just eating buns isn’t enough; you need something warm to drink.”

Cen Huaian didn’t move.

Instead, he took out a bowl of tofu pudding from his basket and said, “I bought tofu pudding, Mom. You should drink this.”

Sister Li looked at Cen Huaian with deep affection. “Oh my, your son is so thoughtful, Chuxia. My daughter and son together aren’t as considerate as he is. I wish I could take him home with me.”

Chuxia smiled and replied, “That’s not possible. He’s my son.”

After Sister Li left, Chuxia asked Cen Huaian, “Was the tofu pudding heavy to carry? Did you burn yourself?”

“No, Mom. Please drink it quickly.”

Cen Huaian couldn’t reach Chuxia, so he stood on a small stool and carefully fed her a spoonful of the pudding without spilling any.

“I can drink it myself. Go get another bowl.”

Chuxia poured half of the tofu pudding into another bowl for Cen Huaian and then tried her best to drink the other half herself.

She didn’t really have much of an appetite for the buns.

After eating, she still had to take her medicine.

She couldn’t skip a single dose of the herbal medicine, or it would reduce the effectiveness of her treatment.

Feeling dizzy, Chuxia got out of bed.

When Cen Huaian returned after washing the dishes, he saw his mom holding her head and wobbling as she tried to walk outside.

She looked like she was about to fall.

He got so scared that his eyes widened.

He quickly put the bowl down on the table and ran over to support her with all his strength.

“Mom, what do you need? I’ll get it for you.”

He didn’t want his mom to move around too much; he just wanted her to rest and get better quickly.

“I need to brew the medicine.”

At that moment, Chuxia realized how hard it was to manage the household with only one adult.

Cen Huaian could handle simple tasks, but brewing medicine was too dangerous for him.

“Mom, I can brew it,” Cen Huaian said, looking up at Chuxia with a determined expression.

He had watched his mom brew the medicine before, and it didn’t seem too difficult.

He didn’t want her to be tired, and if she didn’t let him do it, he wouldn’t take the medicine.

The words of refusal were on the tip of Chuxia’s tongue, but she swallowed them. “Okay, I’ll sit beside you and watch.”

Cen Huaian didn’t need her help.

He quickly moved a chair with a backrest to the door and even placed his little pillow behind it.

“Mom, sit here.”

Then he brought her an enamel cup filled with cooled water that was just right to drink.

It was the first time Chuxia had been taken care of by a five-year-old, and it felt both new and indescribable.

It was like a dry riverbed suddenly being filled with a warm current that flowed through her entire body, making her feel warm and sweet inside.

Sitting in the chair, Chuxia instructed, “First, open the vent under the coal stove to let the fire rise. Then put the medicine into the clay pot and add three bowls of water.”

There was a wooden bucket in the house, but Chuxia couldn’t lift a full one, so she usually filled it halfway to make it easier for cooking.

Cen Huaian scooped water from that bucket.

Since they hadn’t filled the bucket that morning, there wasn’t much water left.

Before the fire could get going, Cen Huaian grabbed the wooden bucket and headed to the water room to refill it.