Chapter 22: A Small Illness
Although Lin Shuang was in the mood to joke with Jiang Huaizhen on the way back, every time the past was brought up, it turned into fine silver needles, piercing her heart with pain.
Coupled with Ping’er’s pitiful little figure, it couldn’t help but remind her of her own unloved childhood.
For a moment, her emotions surged like waves.
That night, she slept very restlessly. The vermilion gates of the Qin residence transformed into a bloody maw, and the sharp pain in her knees climbed up her leg bones, dragging her into a fiery inferno.
Jiang Huaizhen had been taking care of Old Madam Jiang for two years and quickly noticed that something was wrong with her. She reached out and touched her, only to find that she had a fever.
She didn’t know about Lin Shuang’s past life experiences, but remembering the conversation she had overheard between Ma Guihua and her husband when she went to get the shoe soles, and the occasional information Lin Shuang had revealed, it was easy to guess that she had not had a good childhood, and in fact, it had been terrible.
Fortunately, the fever wasn’t very high. After bringing her water and changing the towels on her forehead a few times, her temperature went down.
Lin Shuang didn’t expect to sleep through to the next evening.
When she opened her eyes, the lamplight was flickering gently. A figure was sitting with her back to her by the bed, holding a bamboo strip, weaving a winnowing basket.
Her long hair was loose on her shoulders, giving her a serene look.
“Huaizhen…”
Hearing her hoarse voice, Jiang Huaizhen turned her head.
“You’re awake.”
She stood up, put down the winnowing basket in her hand, and patted the bamboo shavings off her clothes. Only then did she bend down and place the back of her hand on Lin Shuang’s forehead. Seeing that she didn’t have a fever, she said, “Are you hungry?”
Having slept for a whole day and night, Lin Shuang felt weak, but her spirits were good.
“I’m hungry,” she said.
“Then wait a moment.”
With that, Jiang Huaizhen took the oil lamp and went to the kitchen.
Before long, she returned with a bowl of porridge and a bowl of ginger soup.
“Do you want to drink the porridge or the ginger soup first?”
Lin Shuang said, “The ginger soup.”
First, she needed to drive out the cold. She had probably caught a chill yesterday from taking off her shoes and washing the fangfeng in the water. Coupled with her psychological state, she had fallen ill.
Thinking of how she had been so tormented in her past life yet had been as resilient as an unkillable insect, and now she was like this after just stepping in cold water, she couldn’t help but smile wryly.
When she got up tomorrow morning, the old woman would surely have a few sarcastic remarks for her.
Jiang Huaizhen brought the ginger soup to the bedside.
Having taken care of Old Madam Jiang for the past two years, she was very adept at these things.
Lin Shuang wasn’t so weak that she needed to be fed.
In her past life, after being carried back, Jiang Huaizhen had also fed her medicine like this.
But the first sip of ginger soup was so spicy she almost spat it out. She couldn’t help but look up at the woman before her with teary eyes.
But then she thought, compared to the bitterness of her past life, what was a little spiciness from ginger soup?
She stopped being melodramatic and obediently took the bowl, scooping it up and swallowing it mouthful by mouthful.
She had to become stronger. Otherwise, not only would she be unable to protect a little girl like Lin Ping’er, she might not even be able to stand on her own two feet.
And, she didn’t want Jiang Huaizhen to have to take care of two sick people alone.
When a person’s will is strong, their body will follow suit, and the germs in their body will quickly dissipate. After a bowl of ginger soup, Lin Shuang felt the strength and spirit that had faded return to her body.
With a bowl of hot porridge, her stomach also felt warm.
“What time is it now?”
“It’s the Hour of the Pig,(9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m)” Jiang Huaizhen said, taking the bowl and spoon from her and returning to the kitchen.
Lin Shuang couldn’t sit still and also got out of bed, following her to the kitchen. She watched her wash the dishes and then bank the fire.
On the way back to her room, she passed through the main hall and saw a large mat in the center of the room, with long bamboo strips spread out, taking up a large space.
It seemed that the work had just begun.
Remembering that Jiang Huaizhen had been sitting by the bed weaving another winnowing basket, she guessed that she was worried that something might happen to her and she wouldn’t be able to hear it in the main hall.
A sour feeling welled up in her heart, and she asked, “How long will it take to weave this mat?”
“If there are no interruptions, it will take four or five days.”
“How much does one cost to buy outside?”
“The top layer is used, so it’s more expensive. A mat this big would cost eighty copper coins. If the bottom layer is used, it’s fifty coins.”
Lin Shuang calculated, “That’s about ten to twenty copper coins a day, which is not bad.”
The villagers who worked as day laborers in the city earned only ten to thirty copper coins a day. Weaving bamboo mats didn’t require going out in the wind and sun, so it was normal for the wages to be lower.
However, nowadays, every household had the habit of weaving their own things, and they rarely bought bamboo products from outsiders. Even if this mat was woven, it would be difficult to sell.
“Are you feeling better?” Jiang Huaizhen suddenly stopped.
Lin Shuang couldn’t stop in time and bumped her nose against her shoulder blade. Her eyes reddened with pain, and she looked at her with a wronged expression, rubbing her nose. “Do I look unwell in any way?”
Jiang Huaizhen stood there, half of her face hidden in the shadows, only the straight bridge of her nose visible like a distant mountain. Her eyes were dark and deep, reflecting the bean-sized flame of the oil lamp.
“It’s good that you’re better.”
Her voice was calm, with no discernible emotion, and her expression was also faint.
But Lin Shuang felt a sense of peace and reliance.
She knew that the road of life was long, and it was very dangerous to place all one’s hopes on another person. She didn’t want to be a dodder flower, relying on Jiang Huaizhen, but she hoped to have a strong and reassuring person by her side.
“I haven’t done any work all day. Let’s go up the mountain tomorrow morning and see if we can dig up anything good.”
Jiang Huaizhen carried the oil lamp into the room and replied, “Let’s not go tomorrow. It was my fault yesterday. I knew the weather was getting cold, but I still let you wash the fangfeng in the water barefoot, which made you sick.”
“It wasn’t your fault. I was just being delicate,” Lin Shuang said quickly, afraid that this person would take the blame. “I’m already better.”
Jiang Huaizhen didn’t argue with her and instead asked, “You’ve been lying in bed for a day and a night. Will you be able to sleep tonight?”
Lin Shuang: “I will.”
She had been sleeping on and off, with a jumble of thoughts in her head. It couldn’t be considered real sleep, so she was sure she could sleep.
With that, she lay back down on the bed, turned on her side, and looked at Jiang Huaizhen by the bed. “I thought of another way to make flatbreads. When we get up tomorrow, I’ll make that kind of flatbread for you and Great-grandmother.”
When she had first entered the Qin residence, she had become good friends with the cook who had fled from the north. That cook was a master at making flatbreads.
Later, Lin Shuang had discovered a way to make the flatbreads even crispier. When it came to making crispy flatbreads, she could be said to have surpassed her master.
But the coarse flour she had bought before couldn’t be used to make that kind of flatbread. She had later bought a few catties of white flour but hadn’t had a chance to make it yet.
Jiang Huaizhen had no doubts about the other’s skills and replied, “Alright.”
“You don’t sound very excited.”
Jiang Huaizhen had no choice but to reply seriously, “I really want to eat it. I even hope that tomorrow will come sooner.”
With that, she also took off her outer clothes and lay down.
Lin Shuang obediently snuggled up to her, closed her eyes against her arm.
The night wind rustled through the treetops outside.
The warmth of their bodies quickly filled the quilt, and Jiang Huaizhen’s eyelids grew heavy. She fell into a deep sleep.
She slept without a dream all night.
When she got up in the morning, as expected, she was mocked by the old woman.
“Young people these days—when I was young, I would cut reeds in the twelfth lunar month with my bare feet on the ice…”
“In your state, let alone going for a chongxi marriage, you’d probably die before the groom.”
Lin Shuang wasn’t annoyed and cheerfully brought the cooked dough drop soup to her room.
The old woman’s words faltered when she smelled the scallion oil. She swallowed the rest of her sentence. The scraping sound of the spoon against the bottom of the bowl lasted for half a cup of tea. Finally, after finishing the dough drop soup, she sighed and changed her tune. “It’s passable, just a little better than that stubborn girl’s.”
Who could imagine suddenly having to eat her own granddaughter’s pig slop again after a few days? What kind of taste would that be? It was simply inedible. Last night, she had only drunk a few sips of porridge and hadn’t touched the vegetables at all.
She had been starving when she woke up this morning.
If for no other reason than a good meal, she couldn’t bear for anything to happen to Lin Shuang.
Jiang Huaizhen left after breakfast to buy bricks.
The autumn air was crisp and clear these past few days, and the wind was strong at night. The fire kang boards they had made a few days ago would be ready to use tomorrow.
Jiang Huaizhen didn’t let Lin Shuang go with her. Before she left, she told her not to go up the mountain. Lin Shuang had no choice. Thinking of the shoe soles she had gotten back from the Lin residence a few days ago, she found some cloth and went to the old woman’s room to make shoes.
Old Madam Jiang glanced at the shoe soles in her hand and asked, “You’re so small. Can your feet grow that long?”
“I’m making them for Sister Jiang,” Lin Shuang said. “She’s in and out all day, so her shoes wear out easily. The ones you buy on the street aren’t durable. I’ll add a few more layers of cloth and sew them thicker so they’ll last longer.”
Hearing that they were for Jiang Huaizhen, Old Madam Jiang’s pursed lips curled up again. She carefully examined her stitches and said, “The sewing is alright. They’re wearable.”
In her past life, Lin Shuang had sewn countless clothes and shoes for that pair of ingrates from the Qin family. “Alright” was an understatement.
She pursed her lips to hide her smile. “They’re for work, so they don’t have to be pretty.”
