Chapter 5: Fever

Qin Yao resembled Qin Sui the most.  When he pursed his lips and glared at Lin Su with a cold face, he looked like a miniature version of Qin Sui.

Lin Su wanted to laugh but held back.

“I just wanted to…”

“Don’t even think about it. I won’t let him sleep with you.” Qin Yao’s hostility towards Lin Su was significant, and his guard was high.

Even though Lin Su protected him and let them drink malt extract, he couldn’t be bought with small favors.

He still remembered Grandma’s warning that Lin Su was a wicked stepmother. If Qin Keke slept with her, what if she harmed Qin Keke!

Thinking of this, Qin Yao hugged Qin Keke tightly, wanting to secretly go home.

Although Grandma scolded and beat them, she hadn’t harmed them or had any intention of selling them. Here, what if the wicked stepmother secretly sold or harmed his younger siblings while he was asleep? How would he explain it to his father?

Seeing Qin Yao’s wary look, Lin Su was afraid of stimulating him and causing an extreme reaction, so she quickly raised her hands in a gesture of surrender, “Okay, I won’t sleep with him.”

Seeing that Qin Yao was still the same, Lin Su sighed helplessly. Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly remembered something and looked at Qin Yao, “I’ve already locked the yard gate; you can’t open it. The wall is high, and you’ll get hurt if you fall, so don’t secretly take them away.”

“Even if you run away, you’ll get lost in the village. If you get into any danger, don’t expect me to save you. After all, it’s well-known that I’m not in good health.”

The wicked stepmother was indeed wicked! She would actually let them die!

Qin Yao glared resentfully at Lin Su’s back, lowering his voice to tell his younger siblings, “Grandma was right. She’s really wicked.”

Qin Keke didn’t know what wicked meant, but it didn’t stop him from nodding in agreement.

Qin Ni didn’t hear what her brother said. Her mind was full of the meat for dinner that Lin Su mentioned.

She wondered what kind of meat they would have for dinner.

Whatever, as long as it’s meat, it’s delicious.

…

There was indeed meat for dinner, fragrant pork.

Grandma Lin’s cooking was excellent. The braised pork was delicious in color, aroma, and taste. Just the smell alone made people drool.

The three children rarely ate meat at Grandma’s house. The last time was when Lin Su gave them some. Now, seeing the meat, their eyes lit up.

Qin Yao didn’t say anything about not eating or being afraid that Lin Su would poison them. If they didn’t eat, it would benefit Lin Su, the wicked stepmother. Poisoning wasn’t a possibility because they were eating together.

When it was time to eat, the three children automatically served themselves and took food without needing Lin Su’s provocation.

Seeing them obediently eating, Lin Su nodded with relief.

Grandma Lin kept serving the three children, “Eat more if you like it. Grandma’s pork is the best in the village.”

The three children were focused on eating and didn’t hear what Grandma Lin said.

Lin Su saw them only eating meat and not vegetables, so she gave them some cabbage. A balanced diet of meat and vegetables was the most nutritious.

The three children readily accepted it and ate voraciously.

For them, this was the most delicious and satisfying meal they’d had in a long time at their wicked stepmother’s house, without being beaten or scolded.

After dinner, Qin Yao and Qin Ni instinctively picked up their bowls to wash them, but Grandma Lin stopped them, “You don’t need to wash them. Put them down, I’ll wash them myself.”

Qin Yao and Qin Ni were stunned.

They weren’t allowed to do chores?

Was it true or false?

It was true.

Grandma Lin directly took the bowls from their hands and said to Lin Su, who was changing Qin Keke’s diaper, “Su Su, take them two to the room to rest. I’ve already made the bed, and the blankets are in the cabinet, you can get them out.”

Lin Su responded.

Seeing Grandma Lin really doing the chores alone, Qin Yao was a little at a loss, looking at Qin Ni, hoping for a reaction, but this foodie was still licking the leftover braised pork juice from her lips, without even giving him a glance.

“Come here, I’ll take you to sleep.” Lin Su beckoned to them.

Qin Yao glanced at the yard gate unconvinced, seeing that it was locked before reluctantly walking forward.

Seeing his sister still licking her lips, he helplessly pulled her away.

In the room.

Watching Lin Su struggling to carry the blankets to make the bed, Qin Yao stood by and watched coldly.

At Grandma’s house, the three of them slept in the storage room. The bed was made of firewood, with no sheets, only dry straw. The blankets were worn and thin, and even in the summer, they could catch a cold at night.

They only slept in the house when their father came back, and when their father left, they returned to the storage room.

It must be the same here with the wicked stepmother. She would sleep on the bed, and they would sleep on the floor.

However, that wasn’t the case. After Lin Su made the bed, she first put the youngest, Qin Keke, on the kang, then prepared to hug Qin Ni, but Qin Ni, though thin, still had some weight, and she couldn’t lift her for a moment, so she had to give up.

“The three of you sleeping together might kick the covers off. Let’s do this. Keke and Ni Ni will sleep with me, okay?”

Keke wasn’t used to Lin Su, so he lowered his head to show his rejection.

And Qin Ni, who had a nickname, didn’t care. All she thought about was what to eat and drink tomorrow, automatically ignoring Lin Su’s words.

Without getting an answer, Lin Su didn’t get angry. She glanced at the prickly Qin Yao, seeing his wariness, she sighed.

“Fine, if the mountain won’t come to me, I’ll go to the mountain.”

Lin Su went back to her room, brought a blanket, and put it next to them, “You’re still too young, I’ll sleep with you.”

Qin Yao was very resistant, Qin Ni was indifferent, and Qin Keke was awkward. The three of them huddled together away from Lin Su, leaving a large space in the middle.

Lin Su didn’t care, lay down, and closed her eyes to rest.

Qin Yao was vigilant for a long time, but Lin Su seemed to be asleep and didn’t move.

Seeing Qin Keke fall asleep first, Qin Yao covered him with a blanket, and when he looked at Qin Ni, she had also fallen asleep instantly.

Two carefree people could sleep so soundly next to their enemy!

In the end, it was up to him.

Just as he was thinking this, the next second, Qin Yao began to feel drowsy.

Before falling asleep, he made an excuse for himself.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t hold on, it was just that the enemy was too cunning.

The sheets were so soft, the blanket was thick and fragrant, like hiding in the sunshine.

Qin Yao had never slept on such a comfortable bed.

It was so warm, warmer than when his mother was still alive.

Qin Yao rubbed against the pillow and fell fast asleep.

After they all fell asleep, Lin Su got up to check their blankets.

Qin Yao slept properly, but Qin Ni and Qin Keke slept in a mess and liked to kick the covers off.

Lin Su covered them with blankets three times.

Because she was also sleepy, Lin Su slept next to them, thinking that this way she could easily cover them with blankets, but she forgot when she fell asleep.

This led to Qin Keke catching a cold.

When Lin Su was touched by a burning body next to her, she woke up immediately, thinking of something, she quickly touched the child’s forehead, and sure enough, it was burning hot.

Qin Keke had a fever!

Lin Su was both anxious and self-blaming, quickly got out of bed, without bothering to put on her coat, she carried Qin Keke and walked out.

When Qin Yao woke up, he saw this scene and thought that the wicked stepmother was going to sell his brother. He instantly jumped up and chased after her barefoot.

“You wicked stepmother, let go of my brother!”

Lin Su turned back to explain, “He has a fever, I have to take him to see the village doctor.”

Qin Yao didn’t believe her at all, angrily grabbing Lin Su to prevent her from leaving, “You’re lying, you just want to sell my brother!”

Grandma Lin heard the commotion and opened the door. Seeing the situation, she quickly came over, touched Qin Keke’s forehead, and knew what was going on.

“Your brother is really sick, touch him if you don’t believe me.”

Grandma Lin’s words made Qin Yao hesitant. He reached out to touch Qin Keke’s leg, and when he found it was really hot, he immediately panicked.

“What should we do?”

Lin Su: “I’ll carry him to see a doctor.”

Then she hurried out.

Qin Yao also wanted to follow but was pulled by Grandma Lin, “Put on your shoes.”

Qin Yao quickly ran back to put on his shoes. When he chased out, he found that Lin Su hadn’t gone far, so he quickly caught up.

Worried about his brother’s condition, he looked up and saw Lin Su sweating and pale. Qin Yao remembered that she was not in good health.

She was too slow, it would delay his brother’s treatment.

Qin Yao took the initiative to say, “I’ll carry him.”

Lin Su thought he understood and felt relieved, but then he impatiently shouted, “Hurry up, you’re so slow, my brother will be dead by the time we get to the village doctor!”

Being weak wasn’t her fault.

It turned out that Lin Su was exceptionally weak.

When Qin Yao carried him, he ran very fast.  As expected of a child who often did farm work. Lin Su, carrying nothing, couldn’t even keep up.

When they finally arrived at the village clinic, Lin Su was gasping for breath, her face even paler than before.

Xiao Wu, the new doctor in the village, thought Lin Su had a problem and was about to ask when he saw her pointing to the child on the side.

“Brother Wu, he has a fever.”

Xiao Wu took Qin Keke and asked Lin Su, “Are you okay?”

Lin Su shook her head.

Xiao Wu didn’t ask any further. After taking Qin Keke’s temperature, he found it was a low-grade fever.

“Brother Wu, does he need an injection?” Lin Su asked anxiously.

Xiao Wu shook his head, “I don’t have enough medicine here to give injections. I can only prescribe some medicine.”

“Will the medicine quickly lower his temperature? If not, should we go to the town hospital?”

“It shouldn’t be necessary.” Although Xiao Wu had only been in the village for a short time, most children who had fevers in the village took medicine, and few needed injections.

However, to be on the safe side, he said, “If you want to go to town, you can.”

Qin Yao had no money and didn’t want to owe the stepmother a favor, so he directly decided without consulting her, “We’ll take the medicine.”

Lin Su hesitated, but finally said nothing.

Xiao Wu prepared the medicine and handed it to Lin Su, “Are you sure you don’t want some medicine for yourself?”

Lin Su shook her head, “How much is it?”

“Fifty cents.”

Lin Su was about to pay him when Qin Yao suddenly handed over his wrinkled money first.

Lin Su was stunned and said nothing, but her heart was a little complicated.

Qin Yao was too precocious, too clear-headed, and didn’t even want to owe her a favor.

On the way back, the two were silent. The wind was strong, and Lin Su coughed from time to time.

The spiritual spring water in her space hadn’t been produced yet, so she could only endure it.

The wind gradually picked up, and Lin Su’s coughing became more frequent. Qin Yao heard it but didn’t react, only his lips were pursed tighter.

Grandma Lin, carrying clothes and pulling Qin Ni, caught up with them halfway.

Seeing Lin Su’s poor complexion, Grandma Lin anxiously put her coat on her, “You girl, no matter how urgent it is, you have to take care of yourself!”

Lin Su smiled, “Grandma, I’m sorry.”

Grandma Lin didn’t say anything more, but supported her.  Thinking of something, she looked at Qin Keke, who was sleeping on Qin Yao’s back, “How is that child?”

“He has a little fever, Brother Wu prescribed some medicine.”

“He got a fever just after sleeping one night. If the Qin family finds out, they’ll definitely have something to say.” Grandma Lin muttered softly.

Lin Su sighed, “Let’s not go back for now.”

They would go back after Qin Keke’s cold was better. Anyway, the Qin family wouldn’t care about them, they would only think they were wasting food.

Hearing this, Grandma Lin was both happy and worried.

She was happy that they would stay at home for a few more days, making the house more lively. She was worried that the Qin family would find out about Qin Keke’s cold and deliberately say that Su Su, the stepmother, abused him, which would be difficult to explain.

In the end, being a stepmother was still not easy.

Grandma Lin sighed and supported Lin Su as they walked home, but after a few steps, Lin Su’s body began to slide down.