Chapter 8: Fever

While Wang Qian was peacefully asleep, she was suddenly awakened by a voice, “Comrades, please pay attention, comrades, please pay attention. There will be a meeting at the brigade tonight at six o’clock. Everyone, please attend on time. The meeting is at six o’clock at the brigade. Please attend on time.”

She looked around somewhat bewildered but couldn’t spot who was speaking.

“Don’t be afraid, sister. It’s the broadcast from the mountainside notifying everyone about the meeting.” Mingyuan, seeing his sister startled, comforted her in a low voice.

Searching her memory, indeed, there was such a thing. On a tree halfway up the orchard hill, there were two loudspeakers used to broadcast messages.

“Oh, brother, should we go too?” Wang Qian wasn’t sure; her memory didn’t have information about this.

“We can go if we want. There’s no requirement for it. However, the adults must attend. Since you’re not feeling well, it’s better for you not to go. I’ll stay home with you,” nine-year-old Mingyuan reassured his sister with a mature demeanor.

“Sister, don’t go back to sleep yet. It’ll be time for dinner soon. After dinner, we can sleep again,” Mingyuan pulled his sister out of bed.

Only then did Wang Qian realize that her clothes had already been taken off, and she was wearing autumn clothes and pants—probably arranged by her mother.

Looking up, Wang Qian noticed that her father and brother had already returned. Both were busy making brooms and tying broomsticks on the ground. Wang Zhenhe had a broomstick tied to his body, and he had a string in his mouth while Mingcheng helped pass straw. Seeing this, she went inside.

Wang Qian quickly got up and dressed, “Dad, when did you guys come back? You didn’t wake me up.”

Wang Zhenhe neatly wrapped the broomstick’s end and happily lifted his youngest daughter. “Qianqian, tell Dad, is your head still hurting?” When Wang Zhenhe returned and saw his daughter sleeping, he touched her head, and the swelling still hadn’t gone down.

“Dad, my head only hurts a little, not a big deal. I’ll take medicine every day, and it will definitely get better.” To avoid worrying her parents, Wang Qian kindly told a little lie. Her head still hurt, and she felt a bit dizzy. She thought it might be the aftereffects of a concussion.

“Daughter, it’s time for us to eat. Your mom and I have to go to the meeting.”

Wang Qian nestled in her dad’s arms, watching her brother use a kitchen knife to trim the edges of the broomstick. Zhang Lan and the eldest daughter brought the meal into the inner room, where there was no table, so they had to place it on the kang.

“Kids, it’s time to eat. This is the first meal in our new home. Come and join us quickly.”

Zhang Lan’s words were quite appealing, and the family quickly gathered around. They carefully ate, afraid of dropping anything on the kang and dirtying the new bedding.

Even though the dish lacked oil, Wang Qian felt it was better than any delicious meal because it had the taste of love. Zhang Lan’s cooking was truly delicious, despite the absence of oil and additional seasonings. The cabbage was stewed to perfection, with just the right balance of tenderness and firmness, providing a satisfying texture in every bite.

“Mom, your cabbage stew is really delicious,” the children praised.

With the children’s compliments, a smile appeared on Zhang Lan’s face.

“If it’s delicious, eat more. In the future, we’ll have more meat, and Mom will be happy,” the family ate without reservation. Unlike at Grandma’s house, they didn’t have to eat in silence, and they could take their time with the meal without fear of running out.

Although the meal was simple, the family enjoyed it immensely. It reminded Wang Qian of a saying: “With love, water is sweet; without love, honey tastes bitter.” Being with such a family, even if there were hardships, it was a kind of happiness.

“Wife, I met the team leader this afternoon. I told him about our situation at home, and he promised that if our family doesn’t have enough food, the production team can lend us some, and we can return it by the end of the year.”

Upon hearing this good news, Zhang Lan was genuinely excited. “Zhenhe, is what you said true? That’s fantastic! I was worried that our family wouldn’t have enough to eat. With his promise, I feel more assured. But we still need to be frugal with our food; otherwise, it will be difficult next year even if we return it at the end of the year.”

“Yes, when the weather gets warmer, you can mix some wild vegetables into the pancakes to save a bit. By the way, I heard that they’ll use machines to plow the land the day after tomorrow, which should save some energy too.”

After dinner, the couple went to the meeting, leaving the four children at home. The house remained unlit, with only an oil lamp. To save oil, the children had to go to bed early. “Brother, do you think plowing the land might uncover some sweet potatoes or something?”

Mingcheng lay on his pillow, and his expression was unclear. “It’s tough. When we let the fields rest in the fall, everyone goes to dig up sweet potatoes and yams. There probably aren’t many left in the fields. ” Mingcheng’s statement was based on the fact that during the fallow period, men, women, old, and young in the village all used hoes to dig in the fields. With so many people digging, almost the entire field could be turned over, leaving little behind.

“Brother, let’s take a basket and have a look the day after tomorrow. If there’s something, we can pick it, adding some food to our family. If not, we can pick some roots for firewood.”

“Yeah, sister is right. Brother, let’s all go the day after tomorrow. After all, there’s nothing else to do at home,” Wang Xuan added from the side.

“Brother, aren’t you going to school?” Wang Qian remembered that these three children were all attending school, but they had been on vacation since the fall without resuming classes.

“The teacher haven’t announced when to go. We’re waiting for notice. If there’s no class, there’s no class. We can help with some work at home,” Mingcheng explained.

After a short conversation, the four children went to sleep. By the time the adults returned home after the meeting, the four children were already peacefully asleep.

The next day, the other children got dressed and woke up, but Wang Qian was still in a deep sleep.

“Sister, wake up. The sun is almost shining on our butts,” Mingyuan tried to wake his sister up for breakfast, but although Wang Qian heard her little brother calling her, her eyes couldn’t open.

Seeing his sister’s flushed cheeks, Mingyuan touched her forehead and felt the heat. “Mom, sister has a fever.”

Zhang Lan, who was cooking in the outer room, was startled by her son’s shout and quickly put down the ladle, rushing inside.

Feeling the child’s forehead, it was indeed very hot. “Mingcheng, your dad went to fetch water. Hurry and call him back.”

Mingcheng ran outside, and he quickly called Zhenhe back, who was carrying a load of water.

“Zhenhe, the child has a fever. We need to get a shot quickly.”

The couple knew that since returning from the hospital, the child had not properly rested. It was likely that the child caught a chill yesterday while building the house.

Zhang Lan grabbed some clothes to dress the child, while Wang Zhenhe carried his daughter and hurried to the medical point, where their brigade’s barefoot doctor was stationed.

Fortunately, their residence was very close to the medical point, and they arrived in about ten minutes. “Old Ye, the child has a fever. You need to find a solution quickly.”

Ye Zhiqiu was the only barefoot doctor in their brigade. Anyone with a headache or fever would come to him for advice.

Seeing the anxious expressions of the couple, Ye Zhiqiu quickly walked over to check the child in Zhenhe’s arms.

“Zhenhe, don’t worry. I’ll give the child a shot and see how it goes.”

Soon, Ye Zhiqiu gave Wang Qian an injection of Qingda Meisu. “Zhenhe, didn’t you take the child to see a doctor yesterday? How come she has a fever today?”

“Old Ye, don’t mention it. It’s all my fault,” Wang Zhenhe explained with a hint of regret, recounting the events of yesterday.

Old Ye shook his head as he listened, “Zhenhe, I’ve heard a bit about your family’s situation from others. Your mother, she’s really difficult to understand.”