203 Days of Hardships
The Liu family had medical oil. Whenever they got injuries from falls, they would apply some medical oil themselves to save on the money needed to go to the medical hall.
“Alright,” Uncle Liu answered.
Liu Erniu could feel the aching pain in his shoulder. He tried to endure it, but he did not reject the offer.
Then, after Liu Erniu took off his clothes, the Liu family’s elders finally saw how serious the injury was on their younger son’s shoulder.
!!
Aunt Liu’s heart ached, and she quickly asked Uncle Liu to get the medical oil.
Then, she nagged next to them as she watched Uncle Liu apply the medical oil on Liu Erniu.
On the other hand, Liu Erniu endured the pain. Even though tears were welling up in his eyes, he did not let them fall.
It was his fault for making his parents worry.
In addition, it was really painful… If he had known earlier, he wouldn’t have forced himself to endure for so long.
Meanwhile, Qin Dahu had already sneaked into the Zhang family’s village and gone to Zhang Laosan’s house.
Zhang Laosan was very enthusiastic when he saw Qin Dahu and arranged a room for him to stay in.
“Brother Qin, you can stay without worry. I’ve asked my wife to keep an eye on Madam Zhang.”
“I’ve also talked to my eldest aunt.”
“Once Madam Zhang goes into labor, she’ll go over, pretending to pass by and going in to help.”
Qin Dahu sized up the room he was going to stay in. He didn’t mind that the room was dilapidated, and he nodded his head.
After putting down his belongings, he took out a string of copper coins from his pocket and handed it to Zhang Laosan.
“This is my accommodation fee for the next few days.”
“You don’t have to worry about the food. Just help to bring me a basin of water every day,” Qin Dahu said.
The price of food had soared, and food was extremely precious now.
He had brought a lot of things on this trip. He had the dry biscuits that his younger sister had sent previously, as well as chili sauce and century eggs.
He was only staying a few days, and his meals could be settled easily with what he brought.
Zhang Laosan saw that Qin Dahu’s luggage was heavy and knew that he had brought his own food, so he didn’t think too much about it.
“Alright! Thank you, Brother Qin!” He quickly took the money.
When he received it, he weighed it in his hand.
He found that there were quite a number of copper coins. There were at least 60 copper coins or more, and he was delighted.
After that, Qin Dahu allowed Zhang Laosan to excuse himself.
Zhang Laosan didn’t stay any longer and left happily.
Only then did Qin Dahu begin to clean up the room.
Thereafter, he would have to stay guard here.
He could only hope that Madam Zhang would go into labor as soon as possible.
Outside the house, as the sun rose, it once again began to roast the earth.
Qin Dahu was sweating from the heat inside the room.
He saw Zhang Laosan and his family processing the vegetables they had harvested under the shade of the trees in the courtyard.
He decided to go out of the room to chat with the family.
“Brother Qin, you’re here! Quick, have a seat!” Zhang Laosan said enthusiastically when he saw Qin Dahu.
He then said to his wife, “Quick, go get a bowl of water for Brother Qin!”
“Sure!” His wife quickly responded and went to the kitchen.
Qin Dahu glanced at Zhang Laosan’s wife and then walked to the spot that Zhang Laosan had pointed.
Then, he sat down.
When he saw Zhang Laosan’s child looking at him, his grave and stern face softened a little.
“Why did you harvest so much vegetables?” he asked Zhang Laosan.
Zhang Laosan smiled bitterly.
“The drought is still ongoing, and it’s not raining. River Ringwaters is almost dry, and I don’t have the time to water the plants every day.”
“My wife said that it’s better to harvest all of them and turn them into dried vegetables. It’ll also save them from drying up the fields. At that point, we will end up with nothing.”
Looking at the vegetables on the ground, Zhang Laosan sighed again.
“This is all I can harvest from my family’s land. There’s a lack of food and vegetables. I really don’t know what to do next.”
Qin Dahu looked once more at the little child who was staring at him.
With a sudden thought, he took out a small piece of flatbread from his coat.
“Take it.” He extended his hand and handed the flatbread to the little child.
The little child’s eyes lit up, but he looked at Zhang Laosan and didn’t dare to take it.
“Just accept it, and remember to thank Uncle Qin!” Zhang Laosan said immediately.
The little child’s face lit up. “Thank you, Uncle Qin!” he hurriedly said.
Following that, he took the flatbread and started to chew on it.
He hadn’t eaten food made from flour for a long time, so he was particularly happy.
...
Zhang Laosan’s heart ached a little, and he quickly looked away.
“Brother Qin, you didn’t bring much dry food. No need…” he said to Qin Dahu.
Food was precious, and their family had already started to eat diluted food.
The adults could still bear it, but it was hard on the little child.
In the morning, when Brother Qin came over and said that he would stay at his house for a few days, Zhang Laosan was worried about the food provision.
In the end, Brother Qin said that he wouldn’t eat at his house, so Zhang Laosan was relieved.
Sigh! If it weren’t for Brother Qin’s help, their family would have run out of food long ago…
Just then, Zhang Laosan’s wife brought some water.
Qin Dahu didn’t stand on ceremony. After receiving it, he gulped it down.
Zhang Laosan glared at his wife when he saw this.
“Hey, you dumb woman! How is this enough? Go and get another bowl!” He opened his mouth and hollered at her.
...
“Yes!” Zhang Laosan’s wife looked at her husband in fear. She quickly took the bowl and left.
Qin Dahu glanced again at the back profile of Zhang Laosan’s wife as she left. He gestured for Zhang Laosan to calm down.
“There’s a water shortage at home?” he asked.
Zhang Laosan’s face became more dejected.
“How can we not be lacking water?”
“There’s only one well in the village that’s still producing water. According to the headcount in each family, those families with more than four people can get one bucket each. Those with less than four people can only get half a bucket.”
“There are only three people in my family, and we live on half a bucket of water every day.”
As if recalling something, Zhang Laosan turned to Qin Dahu.
“Brother Qin, don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining to you.”
“Although we can’t get much water from the well, we can go to River Ringwaters to get water. Right now, we can still get water from River Ringwaters.”
Qin Dahu smiled, which showed that he didn’t think too much about it.
The three of them could only get half a bucket of water a day. No wonder just now…
“In the future, just give me four bowls of drinkable water every day. Then give me half a basin of water for washing my face and wiping my body,” he said.
“How can I allow that?” Zhang Laosan immediately refused.
Qin Dahu raised his hand and interrupted him.
“Your family doesn’t get much water every day in the first place. If I come here and take some of your water, your lives will be even harder.”
“I’ve brought trouble to your family this time.”
“This… Brother Qin, what are you saying?” Zhang Laosan said immediately.
Qin Dahu raised his hand and interrupted him once more.
Just then, Zhang Laosan’s wife came over with a bowl of water again.
This time, she even changed to a bigger bowl, which contained more water.
Qin Dahu’s impression of Zhang Laosan’s family became even more favorable.
After thanking Zhang Laosan’s wife, he didn’t stand on ceremony and drank more than half of the bowl.
Then, he saw the little child at the side staring at him again.
He asked the little child to come over and then fed him the remaining water.
Zhang Laosan and his wife felt quite moved.
Putting down the empty bowl, Qin Dahu asked the little child to play by the side.
Then, he looked at Zhang Laosan.
He scrutinized Zhang Laosan up and down a few times, and a hint of hesitation flashed across his eyes.
Then he said, “I found a job in town.”
“It’s hard work, but the pay is good. When things are done here, do you want to go with me and try it out?” he asked.
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