Chapter 39: Illness

Lin Wei really didn’t expect to get sick.

Others often thought she had poor health because she looked thin, but in reality, she was the least likely to fall ill among the three siblings. The last time she had a cold was more than two years ago.

Last winter, both of her brothers had gotten sick, and even their mother caught the illness for a few days, but Lin Wei didn’t even have a stuffy nose.

During the early spring, she got caught in a rainstorm. When she left the house, the weather was clear, so she didn’t bring an umbrella. On her way back, it started raining, and there was no place to shelter nearby. She didn’t want to knock on anyone’s door, so she ran for two blocks before finding a house with an eave to take cover under.

Although she had already changed into spring clothes, the temperature dropped quickly when it rained. Lin Wei wasn’t dressed warmly enough and got wet. She shivered under the eave, feeling cold.

When she got home, she thought she might catch a cold, but after drinking a bowl of ginger soup, the next day, she only had a slightly stuffy nose and no dizziness or fever.

Therefore, even though she had gotten caught in the rain, Lin Wei never thought she would fall ill. She hadn’t even felt anything during the day… Well, after getting soaked, her nose was a bit blocked, but she had drunk several cups of hot water.

What’s more, it was the hottest time of the year, and she was in the scorching southern island. After getting wet, she quickly dried herself off and washed up. There was no way it should be worse than the time she got caught in the spring rain.

But it really was worse.

Lin Wei lay on the bed, feeling dizzy and looking at Zong Shao, who was putting her clothes on her. She weakly said, “Don’t worry about me, the important thing is the task. Just bring me a cup of hot water, and after I drink it, I’ll lie down and be fine.”

“You can’t delay a fever; I’m taking you to the hospital,” Zong Shao said, lowering his head as he fastened the buttons on her clothes.

Lin Wei frowned and asked, “So, you’re not going to the camp?”

“I’ll take you to the hospital first, then I’ll ask for leave at the camp,” Zong Shao said, finishing with the buttons. “You rest for a bit. I’ll go call Mingming and Ruirui.”

The two brothers next door were fast asleep. When they were woken, Mingming was a bit irritated, his tone sharp: “Who is it?”

“Your father.”

Zong Shao continued tapping the kids: “Get up quickly.”

Ruirui rubbed his eyes when he saw his dad and sleepily asked, “What’s up, Dad?”

Zong Shao said, “Get up quickly, your mom is sick. I’m taking her to the hospital, and I’ll also take you to Xiao Shitou’s house.”

The county health center was small, lacking departments and doctors with sufficient expertise, while the military hospital accepted both military and civilian patients. As the military hospital gained fame, the local community preferred it for treatment.

Therefore, there were always a lot of people at the military hospital, and the visitors were quite mixed.

Zong Shao couldn’t focus on both Lin Wei and the kids when he was taking her to the hospital. Not wanting to leave them at home, he decided to take them to Zhou’s house, asking Chen Bamei to help care for them, which seemed like a good choice.

As soon as Ruirui knew his mom was sick, he woke up immediately, asking, “How did mom get sick?”

Zong Shao replied, “Mom got caught in the rain yesterday and has a fever.”

Mingming, who was also waking up from his nap, didn’t hear the whole conversation, just the tail end, and asked, “Who has a fever?”

“Mom has a fever!” Ruirui quickly answered, then slid out of bed, slippers dragging, to check on Lin Wei next door.

After Ruirui got up, Mingming quickly followed.

The doors between the master and secondary bedrooms were close, so when both doors opened, the rooms were practically connected. Lin Wei could hear the kids’ footsteps as well as their conversation clearly.

She opened her eyes and smiled at the door: “Mingming, Ruirui, you’re up?”

“Dad woke us up,” Ruirui said as he walked to the bed, looking at Lin Wei’s pale face, pursing his lips. “Mom, do you feel really bad now?”

Before Lin Wei could answer, Mingming spoke up: “Of course she feels bad. I feel terrible when I’m sick.”

Lin Wei smiled and replied, “It’s not that bad. When I see you two, I don’t feel bad anymore.”

Ruirui frowned, “Mom’s lying. When you’re sick, you need to take medicine. Only then will you feel better.”

Mingming disagreed with his brother and said, “Taking medicine also feels bad. You only feel better after you get better.”

Although it had been half a year since he was last sick, he still remembered how bitter the medicine was. Thinking of this, he looked at his mother with sympathy in his eyes: “Mom, you have to take the medicine and get better quickly. And about yesterday, although you didn’t apologize to me, I forgive you because you’re sick.”

Lin Wei felt both comforted and amused. She was happy her son understood and cared for her, but she couldn’t help but laugh at how he still held a grudge.

“Really?” Lin Wei pretended to regret. “I was going to apologize to you, but since Mingming said so, never mind.”

Mingming’s eyes widened. “?! It can be like this?”

…

When Zong Shao carried Lin Wei on his back, bringing the kids to Zhou’s house, Zhou Jianhai was squatting outside brushing his teeth. Their house didn’t have a bathroom, so they washed their faces and brushed their teeth outside.

When he saw Zong Shao’s situation, he thought something had happened. He quickly walked over, still with foam in his mouth, and asked, “What’s wrong with your wife?”

Lin Wei buried her face in Zong Shao’s back, too embarrassed to respond.

Zong Shao had originally planned to carry her to the hospital, but Lin Wei didn’t want to be seen carried from the family area to the hospital; people might talk. Besides, she was just running a fever. Though her body was sore and weak, she wasn’t unconscious, so she felt she could walk to the hospital. In the end, they compromised, and Zong Shao carried her.

Zong Shao didn’t feel anything awkward about this and said, “Wei Wei has a fever. I’m taking her to the hospital. Could you ask Comrade Chen to help watch Mingming and Ruirui for a while? When Wei Wei feels better, I’ll come back to pick them up.”

Zhou Jianhai immediately agreed, “No problem. Is her fever serious?”

“She feels quite hot, but we won’t know for sure until we get to the hospital,” Zong Shao replied. He then told the kids, “You two behave at Uncle Zhou’s house. Don’t run around, okay?”

Mingming and Ruirui answered in unison, “Okay, Dad, take good care of Mom!”

Though both kids wanted to go to the hospital, their dad explained that they couldn’t help take care of their mother, so they stayed home.

Zong Shao nodded and said to Zhou Jianhai, “We’re leaving.”

“Alright,” Zhou Jianhai replied. He then remembered something and said, “Should I help you ask for leave?”

Zong Shao paused and said, “Please tell Old Zhong. I’ll take Wei Wei to the hospital first, and once she’s settled, I’ll go report to the camp.”

“Got it.”

After Zong Shao carried Lin Wei out of the yard, Zhou Jianhai quickly rinsed his mouth, wiped off the foam from his lips, and asked the kids, “Did you eat breakfast?”

Ruirui shook his head. “We haven’t brushed our teeth.”

“You guys brush your teeth at this age?” Zhou Jianhai asked in surprise.

Mingming was even more surprised. “Uncle, didn’t you brush your teeth when you were our age?” His tone carried a hint of mild disapproval.

Zhou Jianhai was taken aback; indeed, when he was their age, he didn’t brush his teeth, just like Xiao Shitou. But thinking about it, he quickly adjusted and smiled at the kids: “Well, you can’t go inside because the door’s locked. I’ll have to wait until your parents come back to talk about brushing your teeth. You two go inside and sit. I’ll go upstairs and call Xiao Shitou down.”

Mingming, clearly delighted at not needing to brush his teeth, immediately agreed, “Okay.”

After leading the two children to the living room and seating them, Zhou Jianhai rummaged through a cabinet and found a box of cookies, giving each child a piece before heading upstairs to call his son.

However, when he reached the door of the second bedroom, Zhou Jianhai did not immediately open it but instead chose to knock.

The layout of the Zhou family’s house was similar to the Zong family’s, with two rooms upstairs. Originally, Xiao Shitou lived alone in the second bedroom, but after Chen Bamei arrived, there were no other rooms available. Zhou Jianhai had her and her son share the room with Xiao Shitou.

After all, Xiao Shitou was still young, and it didn’t matter if he shared a room with someone. In a couple of years, when he was older, Chen Bamei should have her own life by then.

But this arrangement made it a bit inconvenient for Zhou Jianhai to enter his son’s room. Even though they were cousins, it was still important to maintain some distance between members of the opposite sex.

Knock knock knock.

After three knocks, Chen Bamei’s voice came from inside, “I’m coming.”

The door quickly opened, and upon seeing Zhou Jianhai standing outside, Chen Bamei looked slightly surprised, “Cousin, what’s the matter?”

Zhou Jianhai explained, “It’s like this. Old Zong’s wife is sick, so he’s taking her to the hospital…”

Upon hearing that Lin Wei was ill, Chen Bamei’s face changed as she asked, “Weiwei is sick? What’s wrong? Is it serious?”

“He said she has a fever. We’re not sure how serious it is yet. Old Zong has already taken her to the hospital. The problem now is that he doesn’t have time to look after Mingming and Ruirui, so he brought them to our house. Can you help watch them for half a day to a whole day?” Zhou Jianhai said succinctly.

Without hesitation, Chen Bamei nodded, “No problem, I’ll take good care of Mingming and Ruirui!”

Zhou Jianhai nodded, glanced into the room, and said, “Is Xiao Shitou still asleep? Mingming and Ruirui are waiting for him downstairs.”

Understanding what he meant, Chen Bamei asked, “Should I wake Xiao Shitou up?”

“Yes, wake him up,” Zhou Jianhai said.

Chen Bamei turned and entered the room to wake Xiao Shitou.

While Zhou Jianhai waited at the door, Deng Xiangyun came out of the master bedroom.

Deng Xiangyun started work at 8:30, so even though Zhou Jianhai had woken up, she had soon gone back to sleep. However, while in a dazed sleep, she heard voices outside and the words “Old Zong” and “sick,” which gradually roused her, and she got up to ask what had happened.

Zhou Jianhai didn’t hide anything and repeated what he had just told Chen Bamei.

Deng Xiangyun was initially worried, but upon hearing that Zong Shao had already taken Lin Wei to the hospital, she relaxed a little and asked, “What about Mingming and Ruirui?”

“They’re sitting downstairs.” Zhou Jianhai looked up toward the second bedroom, where Xiao Shitou was still being lazy. He then called out loudly, “Mingming and Ruirui are waiting for you downstairs! If you don’t get up now, they’re going to leave.”

Upon hearing the names of his friends, Xiao Shitou immediately woke up and looked toward the door, asking, “Mingming and Ruirui are here?”

Zhou Jianhai replied, “Yes, they’ve been waiting downstairs for a long time.”

Xiao Shitou flipped out of bed, slipped on his slippers, and rushed out of the room, clattering down the stairs while shouting, “Mingming, Ruirui!”

Mingming was still nibbling on a peach-flavored biscuit when he heard the noise. He looked up and called, “Xiao Shitou!”

Ruirui also looked up but didn’t speak, only watching Xiao Shitou jump down the last step and run toward them.

“Why are you two here so early?” After running up to the two, Xiao Shitou asked excitedly. This was the first time he had seen them so early.

But Ruirui wasn’t as excited. He said, “Mom’s sick, and Dad can’t take care of us, so he sent us to your house.”

Xiao Shitou was stunned, his face wrinkling up, “Isn’t Weiwei Auntie very pitiful? She has to take really bitter medicine when she’s sick.”

Mingming nodded, “Mom is so pitiful. She couldn’t even walk, so Dad carried her to the hospital.”

As Deng Xiangyun came downstairs, she paused and asked Zhou Jianhai, “Is Weiwei really that sick?”

Zhou Jianhai hadn’t seen Lin Wei’s face clearly, so he wasn’t sure if her illness was that serious, but recalling Zong Shao’s expression earlier, he hesitated and said, “It shouldn’t be that serious. I saw Old Zong looking okay.”

Deng Xiangyun said, “I’ll go with you to the hospital later and see how Weiwei is doing.”

“Aren’t you having breakfast?”

Deng Xiangyun walked toward the door, grabbed a toothbrush and enamel cup from the cabinet, and said while heading out, “I’ll just grab a couple of biscuits to fill my stomach.”

…

“Thirty-eight point five degrees, not too bad. The fever isn’t too severe.”

The doctor held the mercury thermometer, looked at the scale, and said, “I’ll give her two fever-reducing pills. Have her take them first. If the fever goes down by noon, she can rest at home.”

Noticing the implication in the doctor’s words, Zong Shao asked, “Is there a chance the fever won’t go down?”

Seeing Zong Shao frown, the doctor smiled and reassured him, “Although there’s a possibility, most people with a mild fever will get better after taking the fever-reducing medication.”

Zong Shao pondered for a moment before asking, “If we give her an injection, would the fever go down faster?”

“Generally speaking, injections are faster than oral medication, but honestly, with Lin Wei’s situation, relying on her own immune system, if she doesn’t take medicine, just wraps up in bed and sweats it out for a couple of days, she’ll be fine. No need for an injection.”

The doctor glanced at Lin Wei, who was lying on the hospital bed, drowsy and falling asleep again, and continued, “Lin Wei is a military family member, so the fever-reducing medication can be reimbursed directly, but if she gets an injection, it’ll be more expensive, and even after reimbursement, it’s still not cheap.”

Normally, medical fees are reimbursed for urban employees, but the situation is different for military family members, so even though Lin Wei isn’t currently working, her medical expenses can be reimbursed.

However, there is a limit to the reimbursement. Cheap expenses for things like ordinary Chinese medicine, fever-reducing pills, and cough syrup can usually be fully reimbursed, so the patient doesn’t have to pay anything. But for treatments like IV drips, the reimbursement covers only part of the cost, so the patient has to pay the difference.

Even though this is a military district hospital, military personnel are strong and rarely get sick, and the number of military family members is much smaller compared to the surrounding area. So most of the people seeking medical help for minor illnesses are ordinary civilians.

For civilians, the main goal is to save money. If they can recover by drinking water, they won’t take medicine; if they can recover with medicine, they won’t opt for injections or IVs.

The doctor’s approach is simply a professional habit.

Zong Shao looked at Lin Wei. She had confidently told him she could walk to the hospital, but by the time they were halfway here, she had fallen asleep on his back, her face flushed with fever.

Right now, he just hoped her fever would subside quickly. Without thinking too much, he said, “Give her the injection.”

Since this was a family request, the doctor didn’t insist. He gave the order for the nurse to do a skin test first. After waiting a while and confirming Lin Wei wasn’t allergic, they arranged for the nurse to give her the injection.

When Deng Xiangyun arrived with directions from a colleague, she saw that Lin Wei had already started the IV and hurriedly asked, “Is Weiwei that sick?”

Hearing the voice, Zong Shao turned and saw her at the door. He stood up and asked, “Sister-in-law, why are you here?”

Seeing Zong Shao’s calm expression, Deng Xiangyun composed herself and said, “I heard from Ah Hai that Weiwei is sick, and you brought her to the hospital. I was worried, so I came early to check on her.” She then asked how high the fever had gone.

“Thirty-eight point five degrees.”

Deng Xiangyun looked surprised, “Then why is she getting an IV?”

Zong Shao explained briefly, “The injection will lower the fever faster.”

“I thought so!” Deng Xiangyun finally understood, then asked, “Don’t you have to go to the camp today?”

Zong Shao said, “I’ll go apply for a two-day leave shortly.”

Deng Xiangyun quickly replied, “Then hurry up and go, apply for leave first so it doesn’t cause any delays. I’ll take care of Weiwei here.”

“Won’t taking care of Weiwei interfere with your work?” Zong Shao asked.

Deng Xiangyun glanced at her watch and said, “It’s only 6:20 now, we still have over two hours until 8:30, so it won’t be a problem. You, on the other hand, should hurry up and apply for leave.”

Zong Shao stood up and said, “Then I’ll trouble you. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“No trouble,” Deng Xiangyun smiled, watching Zong Shao leave the hospital room before sitting down next to the bed.

…

The injection did help bring the fever down more quickly. By 7:00, Lin Weiwei’s temperature had returned to normal, and she woke up, though her voice was still a bit hoarse, and her throat wasn’t feeling very comfortable.

After the injection, Lin Weiwei went back home with Zong Shao.

However, they didn’t leave empty-handed. The doctor prescribed two types of cold medicine for her to take for three days and advised her to drink plenty of water and rest, avoiding overexertion.

Zong Shao agreed to everything and even said he would carry Lin Weiwei back home.

This time, Lin Weiwei firmly refused. Although they were married, she had just caught a cold—not a broken leg—so there was no need to be carried around in public like that.