Chapter 7

As Gu Qinghuan was nearing the county town, she stopped by a forest and found a secluded spot to enter her space.

The chicken soup had been simmering on a low heat for two hours, with the chicken meat becoming tender and flavorful. The broth turned a golden yellow, extremely delicious.

Gu Qinghuan sneakily drank a small bowl, instantly feeling much warmer. The weather in the northern part of the country in early October had already become somewhat chilly. After drinking the bowl, it dispelled the cold air that had been with her on the run, and her stomach felt very comfortable.

The chicken soup was primarily for the sick. For lunch, she had planned to eat dumplings, something simple and convenient, most importantly, easy to carry.

Of course, there was no time to make the dumplings herself.

She directly boiled two boxes of frozen pork-filled dumplings. Each box had twenty dumplings, so with forty in total, plus a pot of chicken soup, it should be enough for three people for lunch, right?

While the dumplings were boiling, Gu Qinghuan hurriedly went to the vending machine outside.

She had just realized that there were no suitable containers for the chicken soup and dumplings in the villa.

She certainly couldn’t bring the advanced thermal containers from the future to deliver food to her “mother and child” right?

She tried searching the vending machine for “nostalgic lunch boxes.”

A variety of products appeared immediately on the screen.

There were old-fashioned aluminum lunch boxes, thick enamel bowls, large enamel cups, and the military’s common pig kidney lunch box.

Gu Qinghuan quickly fixed her gaze on the pig kidney lunch box, which had a large capacity and a very reasonable design.

The lunch box had two layers, with a shallow top layer for vegetables and a bottom layer for rice. There was a square slot on the outside for chopsticks, along with a handle.

This lunch box was the most expensive among them, costing as much as two yuan and eighty cents.

The seller specifically noted that this pig kidney lunch box was modeled after the ones used by soldiers during World War II, but the aluminum material had been replaced with stainless steel, making it of higher quality, so the price was a bit higher.

She added it to her shopping cart.

The dumplings could be placed in the lunch box, but the chicken soup was a bit more troublesome.

With a sense of curiosity, Gu Qinghuan once again typed: “1970s nostalgic thermos.”

To her surprise, it actually existed!

The Shanghai Snow Mountain brand thermos.

The Bengbu Glass Factory Huangshan brand thermos.

The styles were all high-quality replicas from that era, so she wouldn’t have to worry about them standing out.

The Shanghai Snow Mountain thermos was on sale for 3.50 yuan each, and Gu Qinghuan added it directly to her shopping cart.

After clicking “checkout.” she inserted the cash, and the page displayed that the transaction was complete.

Soon, Gu Qinghuan saw the item she had just purchased at the pickup window.

The speed was incredibly fast; this thing was really efficient.

Without having time to feel regret for the 6.30 yuan she had just spent, she hurriedly grabbed the item and went back inside.

The dumplings were ready.

She stuffed the forty dumplings into the pig kidney lunch box, and it fit perfectly, with no extra space left.

Next, she poured a full thermos of chicken soup and chicken meat into the box.

Thinking the patient should eat more fruit, she grabbed two apples and two oranges from the coffee table.

The lunch was ready.

Gu Qinghuan casually grabbed a nondescript canvas shoulder bag from the closet and packed everything inside.

When she returned to the main road, a bulging canvas bag was hanging from the front of her motorcycle.

—-

“Zijun, let’s listen to the doctor and stay for two more days!” Chen Shuying urged, following her daughter closely.

“Mom, I know my own body. There’s no need to waste another two days of money.

Most of the money Huan Huan lent me has already been spent, and I don’t know when I’ll be able to pay it back. We’ve already burdened her too much.

Speaking of that child, for some reason, I feel uneasy.” Zhong Zijun, with one hand bandaged and suspended across her chest, pressed her hand to her heart, feeling a little discomfort.

Chen Shuying knew well enough, her daughter was trying to save money. But the Cattle Shed wasn’t a place for recovery. After going back, she’d have to start working again. At least here, she could rest for a day.

In the end, it all boiled down to money. After enjoying most of their lives, they were old, suffering this kind of hardship, and the children were also enduring it, making a family feel like it wasn’t really a home.

Thinking of this, the elderly woman’s eyes filled with tears. Not wanting her daughter to see, she secretly wiped them away with her sleeve.

“Then at least wait until the afternoon’s anti-inflammatory medicine is finished before leaving. It’s not too late!” Chen Shuying pleaded, looking at her daughter.

“Huan Huan worked so hard to borrow money to treat your injury. Don’t you want her to have a mother with a disability in the future?”

Every parent’s heart is full of love and care. Those words struck Zhong Zijun deeply. How could she bear to let her daughter’s hard work go to waste? It was only with her healthy limbs that she could support the family; she couldn’t make things worse.

“Alright, we’ll leave after the medicine this afternoon.” Zhong Zijun’s heart had long been set on returning. She was worried about the work in the Cattle Shed over the past two days. She didn’t know if her father could manage on his own.

“Good, I’ll listen to you!” Chen Shuying cheerfully opened the luggage she had just packed and took out the aluminum lunch box. “I’ll go downstairs to get some food. Don’t run off again.”

“Okay! I’m not a child anymore.” Zhong Zijun said with a helpless smile.

Just as Gu Qinghuan was walking over with a cloth bag in her hand, she saw Chen Shuying coming out with the lunch box.

She quickly waved her hand, calling out: “Grandma!”

The word “Grandma” came out smoothly, as if she had called it countless times before.

“Huan Huan, what are you doing here? Aren’t you working today?” 

Gu Qinghuan suddenly remembered that the original owner had used the excuse of being busy in the fields to cover up her “selling herself” situation, saying she wouldn’t come over for these two days.

“Grandma, I was worried you might be too busy, so I took the day off and came to check on you. How is Mom?” 

“She’s fine! The doctor said your mom has gotten through the worst of it, but she needs to rest and let the bones heal slowly.”

At this point, the elderly woman seemed to remember something and fell silent.

Gu Qinghuan quickly changed the topic, raising the bag in her hand with a smile. “Guess what I brought you guys to eat?”

Sure enough, the elderly woman didn’t continue on the previous subject. She smiled and said: “I can’t guess, I was just thinking of going to get some food. Now you’ve come, you’ve saved me a meal.”

“It’s chicken soup and dumplings!” Gu Qinghuan said happily.

“Oh, that’s a treat! It’s better than what we have during the New Year!” Chen Shuying said with a smile, encouragingly.

When they returned to the hospital room, the other two patients in the room were already eating.

“Big sister, my husband made pork and sauerkraut stew with vermicelli. Try some, it tastes really good.” Zhong Zijun, from the bed opposite, handed over a small bowl.

Gu Qinghuan felt awkward, unsure whether to accept it or not, and kept waving her hands in embarrassment.

It wasn’t that she was being overly formal; it was just that, on one hand, she didn’t dare to accept any kindness from others right now because she couldn’t repay it.

On the other hand, having been isolated from people for a long time and enduring mental torment, she didn’t know how to interact with outsiders and could only stiffly refuse.

“Take it! You need to eat something good to replenish your nutrition.” The elderly woman had good intentions. Seeing that the mother and daughter only had dry biscuits and plain water for every meal, she felt pity for them.

Just as Gu Qinghuan entered, she happened to witness this scene.

She walked over with ease, took the bowl, and placed it on the bedside table.

“Thank you, Grandma. I brought some freshly made chicken soup. Please try my cooking later.”

“That sounds great.”

Chen Shuying and Zhong Zijun naturally thanked her repeatedly.

Gu Qinghuan opened the lunch box she had brought, removed the elderly woman’s bowl, and took the opportunity to fill it with a full bowl of golden, aromatic chicken soup, even adding a few pieces of chicken meat.

“Here, please give it a try.”

The elderly woman felt a little awkward. She had originally wanted to help others, but unexpectedly, the young girl was even more generous, bringing chicken soup and dumplings.

Her husband wouldn’t even buy her a chicken to stew, and now she realized she had misunderstood, thinking they were poor.

However, the chicken soup smelled so good, and it was visually appealing.

Seeing Gu Qinghuan so open and natural, the elderly woman accepted the bowl of chicken soup with a smile, albeit reluctantly at first.

“Thank you, little girl.”