Chapter 49

Ning Shu liked to eat tender braised pork, similar to the texture of Dongpo pork, very soft. However, she didn’t know how to make Dongpo pork, so she could only make the braised pork softer.

As she watched the braised pork nearing completion, Ning Shu looked at the three kids standing in a row in front of her, their eyes fixed on the stove. She found it amusing. “Er Bao, go get two rice bowls.”

“Mom, are we having dinner?” Er Bao asked as he went to the cupboard to fetch the bowls.

“No, I’ll give you and Yi Bao each a piece of braised pork, but it’s a bit hot, so let it cool down a bit before eating,” Ning Shu said as she waited for Er Bao to bring the bowls.

She picked out two pieces of meat and put them into the bowls.

These two pieces of meat were for Er Bao and Yi Bao, but there was no portion for San Bao. So, when Yi Bao and Er Bao each held a bowl, Ning Shu smiled at San Bao and said, “San Bao…”

“Mom…” San Bao called out vigorously.

He shook his little head left and right, looked at the big pot and then at the two smaller pots, and then back at his mother, his eyes shining brightly, as if asking, “What about mine?”

Ning Shu called out again, “San Bao…”

“Mom…”

“San Bao, you’re still young. You can’t eat this braised pork; it will hurt your stomach, okay?” Ning Shu continued.

San Bao remained silent, his lips pursed tightly, his eyes welling up with tears as if ready to flow out at any moment.

Feeling a bit sorry, Ning Shu didn’t know if children could eat it, but to be safe, she decided not to let him have any.

When San Bao saw that his mother didn’t speak anymore and didn’t give him any meat, he turned around and wobbled away.

“San Bao…” Yi Bao put down his bowl and followed him out, worried that his younger brother might fall.

Unexpectedly, San Bao’s short legs moved even faster.

He wobbled to the door and then exclaimed, “Wuwuwu…”

Yi Bao was stunned.

Er Bao was dumbfounded.

Ning Shu… felt a bit embarrassed.

San Bao… started crying loudly.

San Bao cried loudly, trying to let out all his grievances.

The big pot had meat, the two smaller pots had meat, but he had none.

He wiped his eyes with one hand and continued to cry.

“Don’t cry, San Bao, don’t cry. I’ll give you some to eat.” Ning Shu hurried over and hugged San Bao, “I was just kidding. We’ll all have some.”

San Bao sniffled hard. “Bao eat meat?”

“Yes, yes, San Bao will also eat meat.” Ning Shu placed him in the child’s seat. “You sit here, I’ll get some meat for you.”

“Mom, I’ll give mine to San Bao,” Yi Bao said, going to get his own bowl.

“No need, you guys eat yours. San Bao’s meat needs to be brushed with hot water.” Ning Shu poured hot water from the thermos into a bowl, then picked up a piece of lean meat and brushed off the oil with hot water until there were no more grease stains.

Then, she placed the piece of meat into San Bao’s wooden spoon and brought it over to him. “San Bao, eat up.”

San Bao took the wooden spoon, flashed a smile at his mother, and then revealed his little millet teeth as he began to eat.

Ning Shu breathed a sigh of relief. It was the first time she had seen San Bao cry, and she was truly shocked.

Just then, Qian Aifen’s voice came from outside. “Third sister-in-law… Are you there?”

“I’m here.” Ning Shu walked out of the kitchen and saw Qian Aifen had come.

“Sister-in-law, do you need something?”

After a month of hard work, Qian Aifen looked less spirited than before and had lost weight.

She felt a bit embarrassed, but for the sake of her child, she spoke up, “Sister, it’s like this. Haicai has been sick these past few days, with a runny nose and coughing, and he’s lost his appetite. Last night, Mom brought back four meat buns from you for dinner, and Haicai managed to eat two of them, which gave him an appetite.

I thought he would get better, but last night he vomited and had diarrhea again. This morning, he didn’t have an appetite for breakfast. I figured if he could eat the meat buns, then he could surely eat meat too. I heard from Er Bao that you bought some meat today, so I wanted to buy some from you to take back and nourish Haicai’s body.”

As she finished speaking, she was quite nervous, afraid that Ning Shu would refuse outright.

Ning Shu was surprised to hear this. “Sister-in-law, people with colds and coughs shouldn’t eat greasy food. Meat buns contain oil, and the fat content is not low, which is not suitable for sick people to eat. When someone has a cold and cough, they should first go to the hospital for treatment. In terms of diet, it should be light, supplemented with some vitamins and protein.

By ‘light’, I mean rice porridge, for vitamins, it’s vegetables and fruits, and for protein, it’s eggs and lean meat. If you want to prepare something for Haicai to eat, cut the lean meat into shreds, and cook it with rice to make porridge. That’s the best. Red-braised pork, meat buns, none of those are suitable.”

Qian Aifen naturally didn’t understand terms like vitamins and protein, but she found Ning Shu’s words reasonable, especially considering Ning Shu was a high school student.

She thought there might be some truth to what Ning Shu said. “Then… then I’ll go make rice porridge for Haicai now. Sister, could you sell me some lean meat?”

Ning Shu had 16 catties of pork. She had used two catties for the red-braised pork, leaving 14 catties. Naturally, she wouldn’t be stingy. “I’ll sell you a catty. When you cook the lean meat porridge, make it a bit thick. You can also add some greens or cabbage into it.”

“Ah, thank you, Sister.” Qian Aifen was truly grateful.

Ning Shu went inside and fetched a piece of meat. After some thought, she also took out four apples.

They had eggs at the old house, but apples were crisp and could provide vitamins. Holding these items, she went outside.

“This piece of meat is one catty, and these four apples can also provide nutrition. You can cut them into small pieces for Haicai to eat or mash them into applesauce. You can just give me one yuan for the meat, and as for the apples, it’s from this auntie for Haicai, so no need to pay.”

Pork was currently selling for 80 cents per catty, requiring a meat coupon. Without the coupon, it ranged from 1.3 to 1.5 yuan per catty. So, she wasn’t making any profit by charging one yuan.

“How can I accept this?” Qian Aifen had brought five yuan with her and handed it to Ning Shu.

“I’m not being polite with you either. Business is business, and gifts are gifts.” Ning Shu took the money and then went back to the kitchen to fetch four yuan to give to Qian Aifen. She reminded her again, “The most important thing is still to take Haicai to the hospital.”

People in this era were reluctant to spend money on medical treatment, so she had to remind her.

“Yes, yes, I understand. Thank you, Sister-in-law. I’ll go back now.” Qian Aifen was worried about her son and didn’t insist any further.

She took the meat and apples and left.

Once Qian Aifen left, Yi Bao curiously asked, “Mom, can you really get better by eating meat porridge, vegetables, and apples when you’re sick?”

“Of course not. Eating is just one aspect. The most important thing is to go to the hospital for treatment. Only by going to the hospital can you recover quickly,” Ning Shu explained.

Then she remembered something. “By the way, why did you guys go to the old house this morning? Didn’t Grandma say not to go over there?”

“We wanted to see if Haicai was feeling better. He was inside, and we were outside, chatting with him. He said he ate two meat buns yesterday and wanted to save one for me and Er Bao, but he was too hungry and ate it all. He also said he threw up yesterday and had diarrhea.” Yi Bao’s tone was filled with concern.

Ning Shu knew their relationship was good. From the first day they met Lin Haicai, he seemed a bit timid when he looked at her, but he still came to play with Yi Bao and the others.

If their relationship wasn’t genuinely good, why would he come?

“Don’t worry, Haicai will be fine,” Ning Shu reassured.

Thinking that if they had more contact with Haicai, they might also be infected, especially since children had weaker immune systems.

But she couldn’t completely stop them from contacting the old house.

So, she needed to make sure they ate things that would boost their immunity. Protein and vitamins were essential, so they needed to eat more meat and fruit.

After finishing the red-braised pork, Ning Shu also made braised hairtail fish, stir-fried cabbage, and finally, tomato and egg drop soup.

The children had eaten fish before, but it was their first time trying hairtail fish.

The slightly sweet taste of the braised hairtail fish was not only loved by Yi Bao and Er Bao but also by San Bao, who ate several mouthfuls.

Back at the old house, Qian Aifen returned from Ning Shu’s house, washed an apple, and then cut it into small pieces.

She brought it into the room. “Haicai, your Third Auntie brought you an apple. Mom will feed you.”

Lin Haicai lay on the bed, his eyes a bit red from coughing too much. He was very happy to hear that his Third Auntie brought him an apple.

Thinking about the sweet taste of the apples he had eaten before, he really wanted to eat them.

“Here, Mom will feed you.” Qian Aifen picked up a piece of apple and fed it to her son’s mouth. “How is it? Is it delicious?”

The sweet taste of the apple diluted the bitter taste in Haicai’s mouth, making his eyes seem a bit clearer.

Hearing her son say it was delicious and seeing that he could eat it, Qian Aifen was suddenly happy. “Then, have some more.”

“Delicious,” Haicai nodded, his voice a bit hoarse from coughing too much, his throat was already a bit sore.

Lin Haicai opened his mouth again.

In this way, Qian Aifen fed her son the entire apple, bit by bit.

Seeing that he enjoyed it and ate the entire apple, Qian Aifen wondered if she should ask Ning Shu to buy some more.

“Then you sleep for a while, Mom will make shredded pork porridge for you. Your Third Auntie said it’s very good for sick people to drink shredded pork porridge.”

“Okay.” Lin Haicai obediently nodded, then closed his eyes drowsily. But his stomach wasn’t empty anymore, and he felt much more comfortable than before.

Qian Aifen pulled the blanket over her son and went to the kitchen to cook shredded pork porridge.

While cooking the porridge, Qian Aifen followed Ning Shu’s instructions and added lean pork shreds to the rice, and also prepared a small handful of greens.

As the porridge slowly cooked, lunch was also being prepared. Since she didn’t go to work today, she naturally had to cook at home.

By the time she almost finished cooking lunch, those who went to work had returned, and those who went to school had also returned.

“Eldest daughter-in-law, how is Haicai? Did the third daughter-in-law sell you the meat?” Lin’s mother asked as soon as she came back.