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Seeing Jiang Mixia return, Jiang Chunyu hurriedly approached her. “Sixth Sister, you’re back.”
“You seem so eager to see me. Are you hoping for some goodies I may have brought back?” Jiang Mixia asked with a smile.
“Not at all,” Jiang Chunyu shook his head vigorously and tugged at Jiang Mixia’s sleeve. “Sister, you should go see Brother-in-law at the workshop…”
Brother-in-law?
Jiang Mixia was taken aback. “What’s wrong with your brother-in-law?”
“It’s hard to explain…” Jiang Chunyu looked troubled. “In any case, you’ll know when you see him.”
Jiang Mixia didn’t hesitate and followed Jiang Chunyu to the bamboo workshop. As they rushed to the workshop, they found Song Jingyun busy making waterproof bamboo boxes in the courtyard.
His hands moved swiftly, flipping and weaving the bamboo strips, leaving an almost ghostly trail when he worked at full speed.
Song Jingyun was completely absorbed in his work, seemingly unaware of the surrounding noise, not even noticing Jiang Mixia’s arrival in the courtyard.
“It seems like nothing’s wrong,” Jiang Mixia observed Song Jingyun closely but couldn’t detect anything amiss.
Her brother-in-law was always like this when he was weaving baskets.
“However, Jingyun has been weaving for a continuous hour and a half now…” Jiang Youcheng said. “Since lunch, when you went to town, he came to the workshop and started weaving baskets. He hasn’t had a single drop of water and hasn’t even taken a break or visited the outhouse.”
Three hours of continuous weaving without a break?
Jiang Mixia was startled. She walked up to Song Jingyun, reached out to take the half-finished bamboo basket from his hands, and said, “You’re not allowed to weave anymore. Take a break.”
Song Jingyun’s hands paused in mid-air, and when he looked up and saw Jiang Mixia, he suddenly became more alert. “Wife, you’re back.”
Ignoring his greeting, Jiang Mixia simply examined his hands. Despite wearing the single-sided gloves designed by her specifically to prevent palm abrasions and cuts during bamboo weaving, Song Jingyun’s palms and fingertips were still red from the prolonged work.
She had already discussed with Song Jingyun the need to balance earning money while not overexerting himself. Yet, here he was, working so hard and neglecting his own health.
For the sake of a snack, was it all worth it? Furthermore, they weren’t lacking money at home now!
Jiang Mixia felt a surge of anger. When she questioned Song Jingyun, her tone was full of disbelief. “What are you doing?”
“What am I doing?” Song Jingyun was a bit bewildered by the question and, seeing the evident anger on Jiang Mixia’s face, he became even more hesitant. “I’m not doing anything, just weaving boxes…”
Fearing his explanation was unclear, he added, “It’s for the batch the tea plantation needs. There’s still a portion of waterproof boxes left, so I’m weaving these.”
“I know,” Jiang Mixia said. “I’m asking you, why did you keep weaving for over an hour, letting your hands get this way, and not think to take a break?”
“Oh?” Song Jingyun looked up at the sky, realizing that the sun had indeed begun to set. “Is it already this late?”
“I really didn’t notice… I was just focused on finishing these things quickly to deliver them soon, and then you came back…” he explained.
Jiang Mixia remained silent.
Was he simply too absorbed in his work?
“Why didn’t you respond when we called you?” Jiang Youcheng asked, puzzled.
He had called out to Song Jingyun twice while he was weaving, but there was no response.
Initially, Jiang Youcheng had thought to take the items from him and insist that he take a break. However, he remembered Jiang Mixia’s instructions. If Song Jingyun did anything out of the ordinary while she was away, he shouldn’t intervene forcefully but should wait for her to handle it.
So, Jiang Youcheng didn’t want to act and instead sent Jiang Chunyu to wait at the entrance of the village, ready to summon Jiang Mixia as soon as she returned.
“Did you call me?” Song Jingyun looked at Jiang Youcheng somewhat perplexed.
Jiang Youcheng “…”
He had indeed called out to him, twice.
But now, whether Song Jingyun had been called or not didn’t seem important. However, Jiang Mixia felt that something was off.
Song Jingyun was a quick learner and diligent worker, capable of wholehearted dedication to his tasks. However, working nonstop for three hours seemed a bit excessive.
With these thoughts in mind, Jiang Mixia reached out and felt Song Jingyun’s forehead.
It was very hot.
“He has a fever,” Jiang Mixia stated. “No wonder he seemed a bit off. You should go home and rest.”
He was running a high temperature, and physical cooling measures needed to be taken.
“I’ll go to Dayangshu Village and fetch the doctor,” Jiang Chunyu volunteered.
Considering the consecutive days of hard work at the kiln, Zhu Yongwu was feeling a bit overwhelmed, so he decided to take a day off. Jiang Chunyu had no other pressing matters today.
“Go quickly and return promptly. Tell Doctor Yang that your brother-in-law has a high fever,” Jiang Youcheng instructed.
“Don’t worry, I’m off,” Jiang Chunyu assured, and swiftly disappeared.
Jiang Mixia then took Song Jingyun home.
His feverish face wasn’t flushed, but he seemed a bit unsteady on his feet, indicating weakness as he walked.
Jiang Mixia helped him into the house, tidied the bed, and had him lie down. She then prepared a basin of warm water, soaked a cloth in it, and placed it on his forehead to reduce the fever. She also used the damp cloth to wipe his neck and armpits to aid in physical cooling.
Song Jingyun cooperated obediently, adjusting his arm or neck as directed.
While wiping his neck, Jiang Mixia could feel the warmth of his breath, indicating the discomfort caused by the fever.
Experiencing a fever as an adult is particularly uncomfortable. Today, her husband had been weaving baskets nonstop, likely feeling quite unwell. However, as it was his first experience with such a situation, he didn’t know how to handle it and resorted to mechanically repeating actions to alleviate his discomfort.
Fever usually comes with warning signs, but she hadn’t noticed. It highlighted her lack of attention as a wife to her husband, and she even initially misunderstood the reason for his continuous work, thinking it was due to greediness.
Jiang Mixia felt quite remorseful.
“How are you feeling now? What’s bothering you?”
“My head feels heavy,” Song Jingyun pointed to his head. “It feels like it’s enlarged, and I have chills. My throat is a bit sore.”
These were typical symptoms of a cold.
“Do you feel like coughing? Is there any discomfort here?” Jiang Mixia pointed to his chest. “Are there any other areas that feel different than usual?”
“I don’t feel like coughing, and I don’t feel uncomfortable anywhere else,” Song Jingyun truthfully replied.
Seeing this, Jiang Mixia felt a bit relieved. Based on Song Jingyun’s condition, it seemed like a common cold causing the fever. However, she would still need to wait for Doctor Yang to confirm.