“I’ll go instead,” Lin Guodong said. “The earlier I go, the earlier I’ll be back. You’re not feeling well, remember?”

“What?” Ning Shu was confused.

Lin Guodong leaned in closer and whispered in her ear, “Isn’t it a bit swollen down there?”

Ning Shu’s heart skipped a beat when he got close, but upon hearing his words, she pushed him away directly. “Okay, okay, you go.”

Lin Guodong shook his head with a smile and walked to the kitchen, pushing his bicycle.

Lin Guodong left, and Ning Shu, with a few children in tow, also left.

There was a reason why Lin Guodong had to go to the town’s health clinic himself.

Town’s Health Clinic “Comrade, it’s you again. What are you here for today?” The middle-aged doctor recognized Lin Guodong and seemed to remember him.

Lin Guodong’s handsome face was tense. “Yes, I… I want to ask if there is any ointment for reducing swelling.”

“Reducing swelling? After that incident, reducing swelling?” The middle-aged doctor remembered that Lin Guodong had come yesterday to get condoms, so when Lin Guodong asked about ointment for reducing swelling today, he naturally thought of that.

Lin Guodong stiffened his neck and nodded. “Yes.”

The middle-aged doctor said, “Wait a moment…” He wrote a note, “You can go pay and get the ointment. Use it twice a day, once in the morning and once before bed. If it’s serious, you can add another application at noon.” Generally, this kind of situation wouldn’t be too serious.

“Thank you, doctor.” Lin Guodong took the note but didn’t leave immediately. “Doctor, do you have any empty glucose bottles here? Can you sell me a few?”

“What do you need empty glucose bottles for?” The middle-aged doctor asked.

“My wife is afraid of the cold. I can use empty glucose bottles to fill them with hot water to warm her hands and feet.” Lin Guodong replied.

“You’re thoughtful of your wife.” The middle-aged doctor smiled. “You can take the empty glucose bottles from here, and I’ll add the cost to the ointment’s bill, alright?”

“That’s fine. I want five.” Lin Guodong said.

The middle-aged doctor hesitated for a moment as he prepared to write down the amount. “Five?” Was he buying them wholesale to do business?

Lin Guodong explained, “There are four young children at home, and the oldest is only five years old. They are afraid of the cold.”

“Then you’ll need to pay for five bottles.” The middle-aged doctor confirmed.

“That’s right.”

When Lin Guodong returned home from the town’s health clinic, the door was closed, and Ning Shu and the children were not there. He placed the ointment and empty bottles on the kitchen table and went to work.

On the Mountain Ning Shu saw that the basket was already full.

There were more than ten pounds of bamboo shoots in this basket.

If there were more, she wouldn’t be able to carry it. So she said to the children, “Yi Bao, Er Bao, Hai Cai … I and San Bao will go home first. Be careful, stay nearby, and don’t go into the mountains, understand?”

“We understand.”

The three children obediently replied.

So, Ning Shu carried the basket with one hand and held San Bao with the other as she left the mountain.

Once on flat ground, she put down San Bao and let him walk by himself. San Bao’s weight had been increasing recently, and she was finding it difficult to carry him.

However, as his weight increased, he became more stable on his feet.

Among children his age in the village, none were as tall as San Bao. Whether it was the milk from a few months ago or the egg he had every day later on, it was not for nothing.

However, the family used to have two chickens, and the eggs they laid were not enough.

She would usually buy some from the village every week. Now, there was only one chicken left at home, which was even more insufficient.

“Auntie, auntie, you have visitors at your home.” Ning Shu had only walked a few steps when she met the child playing in the village, who had come to their house before to read comic books.

“Visitors?” Ning Shu was puzzled. Who could it be?

“Yes, riding a bicycle. I guided them to your house and also went to the fields to call Yi Bao’s father.” The child said.

“I see, you’re very smart.” Ning Shu praised, “Thank you, come with me to my house, I’ll reward you with two candies to show my gratitude.”

The child’s eyes lit up. “Thank you, auntie.”

Curious, Ning Shu returned home and saw a men’s bicycle parked in the yard. The sound of Lin Guodong and another somewhat familiar male voice came from the study room.

She didn’t go over immediately but first went to the kitchen to get two White Rabbit milk candies. “Little friend, thank you.”

The child took the White Rabbit milk candies. “Thank you, auntie,” and happily went off to play.

Ning Shu had seen the bottles and what seemed to be ointment on the table when she picked up the candies. She read the instructions and found out it was actually ointment for reducing swelling, so she hurriedly took it to her room. Then, she took San Bao to the study room and saw Lin Guodong and Meng Jie sitting and chatting.

“Rare guests, Comrade Meng is here,” Ning Shu greeted, thinking that this room was quite nice for entertaining guests.

“Long time no see, little sister.” Meng Jie also spoke up.

“It has been a while. Comrade Meng, have lunch here at noon. It’s rare for you to visit, so don’t refuse.” Ning Shu said warmly.

Meng Jie also smiled, “Guodong said your cooking is very good, and I was just thinking of trying it.”

Ning Shu also liked straightforward people like him. “Then you two continue chatting, I’ll go prepare the food,” leaving San Bao to play inside.

As Ning Shu left, Meng Jie said to Lin Guodong, “Your little sister is generous and warm-hearted. You’re really lucky.”

Although he and Lin Guodong were high school classmates, he was two years older than Lin Guodong.

He was unfamiliar with Ning Shu before, which is why he called her Comrade Ning. Now that he was familiar with Ning Shu because of Lin Guodong, he called her little sister.

Lin Guodong also smiled, “She is indeed great.”

Meng Jie didn’t continue talking about Ning Shu but instead talked about the current development of the county town.

In the kitchen, Ning Shu was thinking about the dishes for lunch: stewed pork ribs with cabbage, roasted bamboo shoots, stir-fried Chinese bacon with spinach, and garlic chives with scrambled eggs.

She then decided to pull out two more lettuce stems. The lettuce stems could still grow longer, but they were ready to be eaten now.

After making the decision, Ning Shu started preparing the dishes. The pork ribs were stewed first, and the stove was also set up.

When the pork ribs were stewed in the iron pot until tender, they would be transferred to the clay pot on the stove to continue stewing until soft. The cabbage would be added two minutes before the pork ribs were done.

Then, one iron pot was used to cook rice, and another iron pot was used to cook the vegetables.

Because roasting bamboo shoots takes a long time and they taste better after they’ve cooled down, Ning Shu started roasting them first.

However, while the bamboo shoots were still roasting, Ning Shu heard Er Bao urgently calling out, “Mom… Mom…”

Thinking that something had happened, Ning Shu hurried out, “Er Bao, what’s wrong?” Seeing that he was fine, and also seeing Yi Bao and Hai Cai were fine, Ning Shu felt relieved.

“Mom, we saw two adults fighting in the mountains.” Er Bao’s eyes were wide open. He usually liked to join in the fun, but this time, he didn’t go, as if he was scared.

“If adults are fighting, don’t get close. You might get hurt. Understand?” Ning Shu cautioned.

Er Bao quickly shook his head, “We won’t go there. We saw a lady take off her pants and a man was hitting her. It was so scary. We were afraid of getting spanked, so we came back.”

Ning Shu: … This is really a strange fight. “Did you see anything else?”

Er Bao shook his head, “No, it was far away, and we didn’t dare to get closer. We were afraid that man would take off our pants.”

Ning Shu: … So, it was a man and a woman “fighting.”

Yi Bao frowned, “Mom, that man is Zhuang Xiaopang’s dad.”

Zhuang Xiaopang’s dad?

Ning Shu didn’t have any impression of this person, but she did remember Zhuang Xiaopang.

“Does Zhuang Xiaopang’s dad hit people’s bottoms? That’s so scary.” Er Bao shrank his neck. In Er Bao’s eyes, getting spanked was a very scary thing.

After all, he was a big boy now, and getting spanked with his pants off would be embarrassing.

Ning Shu said, “Then you shouldn’t play with Zhuang Xiaopang in the future. What if his dad hits you?”

Regarding what the children said, she could only guide them, “But this matter shouldn’t be talked about. If it gets out, and they find out, they will spank you too.

You are big boys now, and getting spanked is very embarrassing. Other children will laugh at you, understand?”

Children can’t keep secrets, and Ning Shu was really worried that they would talk about this matter, especially since they knew Zhuang Xiaopang.

If the children mentioned it while playing, it would be bad.

Anyway, Ning Shu didn’t approve of them getting involved in such idle matters.

“Mom, we definitely won’t tell anyone,” Yi Bao assured.

“Auntie, I won’t say anything either,” Hai Cai also assured.

Ning Shu still trusted these two children, but Lin Er Bao had no trust at all in her. This kid’s face seemed to have three mouths.

“Lin Er Bao, come over and teach San Bao to read comic books?” At this moment, Lin Guodong stood at the door of the study room and called out. Obviously, Er Bao’s call just now had also caught his attention.

“Coming, coming…” Er Bao ran to the study room, but when he saw a stranger, he curiously looked him up and down.

Lin Guodong directly flicked his forehead, “No manners, call him Uncle Meng.”

Er Bao stuck his tongue out at his dad, made a face, and then politely said to Meng Jie, “Uncle Meng.”

Yi Bao and Hai Cai also followed, and seeing this, they also politely greeted, “Hello, Uncle Meng.”

“Hello, kids.” Meng Jie looked at the obedient children and couldn’t help but admire.