In the evening, when everyone in the family returned home and heard that Fang Dihua and Lin Shu had been praised again by the county, they were all very happy.

Especially Lu Dage, who was so excited that he wanted to set off firecrackers to celebrate.

Lin Shu discussed with Fang Dihua, “Mom, the busy autumn harvest season is coming up soon, and everyone will be really tired. How about we use the meat coupons now to get some meat and make salted pork? That way, we’ll have some extra dishes to add to our meals later.”

Tomorrow was the day her in-laws were going to the county, and Lin Shu wanted them to take the meat coupons with them and buy the meat from the state-run market on their way back.

The meat coupons had an expiration date and would be useless after that.

Fang Dihua agreed, of course.

Tomorrow was also the day Fang Dihua was scheduled to have a minor eye surgery at the county hospital.

Her condition had improved after the last check-up, and the doctor said she could go ahead with the surgery.

She had seen the benefits of medical care and was very cooperative, eager to get her eye problem fixed so she wouldn’t have to suffer from it anymore.

That night, lying on the kang (a traditional heated bed), fanning herself with a large fan, Lin Shu was still thinking about the unfortunate Zhou Qiaoling.

Why on earth did she have to pick on country folks and lose her good job? She ended up dragging her whole family down with her.

Wait a minute.

Lin Shu suddenly remembered something.

The original plot of the story was a bit fuzzy, but special people and events would still come to mind.

Later, when Xu Xiaoyou and the male lead started their business, they exposed a Vice President Song, which led to the uncovering of a scandal at the rural credit cooperative.

Among those caught was Vice President Song’s second wife.

Her name wasn’t mentioned, only that she was known as Madam Zhou, the wife of an executive at a state-owned enterprise, with a powerful background.

She was arrogant, her son got away with killing someone in a car accident, and her daughter disfigured another woman in a fight over a man, solving the problem by paying hush money.

It was rumored that Madam Zhou’s family had overseas connections.

Could this Madam Zhou be Zhou Qiaoling?

If it was her, then Lin Shu and her mother-in-law had accidentally done society a huge favor by getting rid of a future troublemaker.

Lin Shu felt quite pleased with this thought, imagining dishes like braised pork, lion’s head meatballs, and small meatballs as she drifted off to sleep.

In the middle of the night, just as she was sleeping soundly, there was a sudden loud knocking at the door.

The two dogs raised by the village production team also started barking.

In the east room, Fang Dihua and Old Lu woke up first, got dressed, and went to see what was going on.

Fang Dihua said, “Could it be that my mother has passed away?”

Old Lu replied, “Didn’t our eldest son say she was still quite healthy when he brought the peaches last time?”

Usually, if someone knocks on your door in the middle of the night and it’s not a family member coming home, it’s not good news—most often, it’s to report a death.

Out of respect for the deceased, people would deliver the news at any time of night.

When someone passed away, they would often have to inform the relatives, even if it meant going out late at night.

Lin Shu sat up as well.

The courtyard was large, so she couldn’t hear what was happening at the gate.

After a while, Fang Dihua led someone into the courtyard and called out towards the west room, “Old Third’s wife, your eldest cousin from your uncle’s family is here.”

Lin Shu quickly dressed and got out of bed. “Brother, what happened to my mother?”

It couldn’t be that something happened to her uncle and aunt that they needed to find her in the middle of the night—it had to be something wrong with her mother.

The visitor was Lin Daniang’s(Aunt Lin) eldest son, Lin Ju.

He anxiously said, “Sister, my second aunt(Lin’s Mother) suddenly fell ill. She needs to be taken to the hospital.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Shu immediately frowned.

The Lin family wasn’t short on money, so why hadn’t they sent her to the hospital right away?

Even if they called her after the fact, it would have been fine—delaying like this was just making things worse.

Lin Ju explained, “The barefoot doctor said her heart condition is quite severe. She needs to be taken to the large hospital in Rongcheng; the county hospital won’t be enough.”

Fang Dihua immediately said, “I’ll go with you.”

Lin Shu replied, “Mom, you have to go to the hospital yourself tomorrow. It’s okay, I’ll go back with my brother.”

But Fang Dihua insisted on going, and Lin Shu couldn’t change her mind.

Old Lu also got up and said, “Child, don’t worry. Let Grandma Qiu help look after things here. I’ll take them to the brigade to play.”

As long as Tian Tian and Pan Pan were going, Huzhi, Hua Hua, and the other kids would surely follow, so there was no need to worry about the children.

Fang Dihua went back to her room and took out the family’s stock of grain coupons, several dozen pounds’ worth, which they had saved up to buy fine flour for the two children.

She also took fifty yuan with her.

Lin Shu brought along the twenty yuan she had recently received as a reward, along with her own savings and another twenty pounds’ worth of grain coupons.

She quickly packed some clothes and kissed each of her children goodbye, leaving a note for them in Tian Tian’s little notebook.

Lin Ju had borrowed a bicycle to come.

So, Fang Dihua held a flashlight and rode the bike, with Lin Shu sitting on the back, as they headed to Linjia Tun. Lin Ju followed behind, running.

The road from Luzhuang to Linjia Tun was flat, with no ditches or bridges to cross, so Fang Dihua rode smoothly all the way.

When they arrived at Linjia Tun, they went straight to the Lin family home.

The courtyard and house were filled with concerned neighbors.

Regardless of daily relationships or even past disagreements, whenever a neighbor fell seriously ill, everyone would come over to help.

The barefoot doctor, Lin Daniang, and Aunt Zhou were in charge, getting the production team to prepare a mule cart.

They planned to have either Lin Dabo or Lin Ju drive them to the city hospital once Lin Shu arrived.

Lin Daniang had already prepared a change of clothes, bedding, a washbasin, and food containers for Lin Shu’s mother.

She had also helped Lin Shu’s mother open her money box and packed all the family’s money into a small cloth bag.

Lin’s mother had little Bao’er hanging around her neck.

Originally, Aunt Lin wanted to keep Bao’er with her for a few days.

But Bao’er, who was usually very quiet, cried his heart out and refused to leave his grandmother.

They had no choice but to let Lin’s mother take him along to the city since there would be someone to look after them there.

Mother Zhou said, “This child is so close to his grandmother. He didn’t even cry when his mother left.”

Aunt Lin replied, “Of course! He’s been growing up in her arms since he was a month old.”

She held Lin’s mother’s cold hands tightly and said loudly, “Don’t worry. You and Lin Shu go to the city, and I’ll come stay at your house, feed the pigs and chickens, and take care of everything. I’d like to see who dares to mess with us!”

Zhou Weimin had already helped by bringing a referral letter from the commune with no expiration date.

They could fill it in based on the treatment situation.

When Fang Dihua and Lin Shu arrived, everyone shouted, “Lin Shu is here! Hurry, lift her into the cart!”

Lin Shu ran over and grabbed her mother’s hand, asking, “Mom, how are you?”

Lin’s mother blinked at her, too weak to speak loudly, and whispered, “I’m okay.”

Uncle Lin offered to drive the cart.

Zhou Weimin suggested, “Uncle Lin, maybe I should take them. You’ve never been to the city and might get lost.”

The barefoot doctor, who had some experience, said, “But you haven’t been there either.”

He couldn’t go himself because he had other sick patients in the village needing his care.

Most of the others had never been to the city either.

They were rural folk, and those who had visited the county were already considered lucky.

Fang Dihua said, “I know the way; I’ll go.”

Lin Shu thought it was a good idea for her mother-in-law to go along.

It was safer, and the city hospital was better than the county one.

They could arrange for her mother-in-law’s surgery there.

Lin Shu said, “The cart is too slow. Let’s go to the commune and borrow a tractor.”

The commune was on the way to Rongcheng, so they didn’t have to go out of their way.

Everyone agreed it was a good idea.

Since it wasn’t farming season, the tractor at the commune was probably free.

They decided to give it a try.

The barefoot doctor gave Lin’s mother an injection, some medicine, and even prepared another syringe for Lin Shu to use if her mother needed it on the way.

At that time, they didn’t worry too much about technique—getting the shot in was all that mattered.

Uncle Lin and Lin Ju went to the commune to bring back the cart, and Fang Dihua rode ahead on her bike to secure the tractor.

Her reputation at the commune was strong, so she was confident she could borrow the tractor.

When Lin Shu and the others arrived at the commune, Fang Dihua had already borrowed a tractor as expected.

She directly approached Director Qin for help, and he immediately arranged everything.

However, the driver assigned by Director Qin wasn’t the one Lin Shu had met during her previous driving test. Instead, it was another man who looked disgruntled and displeased.

Fang Dihua handed him two yuan, saying, “Sir, saving lives is urgent; we’re counting on you.”

The driver glanced at the money and finally opened his eyes, grumbling, “Hmph, it’s not about your two yuan. To be honest, this isn’t such an emergency. We could have waited until morning to leave. Driving in the middle of the night makes you drowsy, and it’s not safe.”

Seeing him still acting difficult, Lin Shu frowned and said, “Sir, if you’re tired, you can rest. I’ll drive.”

Without waiting for a response, she took the driver’s seat.

Lin Ju and Fang Dihua had already helped load Lin Shu’s mother, along with the bedding and straw mat, into the tractor’s trailer.

Lin Dabo, seeing that the driver was not someone easy to deal with, was concerned that he might cause trouble for the women on the road, so he suggested Lin Ju go along.

Fang Dihua said, “Since I’m going, there’s no need for Lin Ju to come along. We don’t want him to miss work tomorrow.”

After all, she could handle carrying Lin Shu’s mother by herself.

Knowing how capable Fang Dihua was, Lin Dabo didn’t argue further, though he was still worried—could Lin Shu really drive a tractor?

Lin Shu’s father had boasted about how quickly his daughter learned things, saying she picked it up in no time, but she had only attended the driving lessons briefly.

Was she up to the task?

The tractor driver, too, was waiting to see Lin Shu fail, thinking to himself that when she inevitably asked for his help, he’d demand five yuan.

But Lin Shu had already started the tractor and set off.

To avoid getting a headache from the cold night air, she wrapped her head in a scarf, a habit she had picked up when riding in horse-drawn carriages.