That night, cries of alarm rang out from the Liu household at the foot of South Mountain.

“We’re doomed! We’re doomed! What kind of shabby house is this that’s still leaking?”

“Damn this rotten weather! It’s barely March—where did all this rain come from?”

Liu Congxiang and Bai Fengxian cursed in the dark, while Liu Qishuang slept soundly, breathing evenly and deeply. No matter how loudly his mother shouted, he showed no sign of waking.

The next morning, Liu Qishuang got up early as usual to cook the pigs’ feed, but today the rest of his family was up early too.

“You good-for-nothing brat, why don’t you just sleep yourself to death! I’ve been shouting until my throat is raw and still couldn’t wake you up. Do you have any idea that your father went out in the rain last night to fix the roof? He got soaked to the bone in the middle of the night—you could wring water out of his underwear!”

Even though a whole night had passed, Liu Congxiang’s resentment had not yet subsided.

It turned out that last night, Liu Congxiang had intended to call her son to help her husband, but no matter how long she shouted at the top of her lungs or how many times she shook him, he wouldn’t wake up.

She’d thought he was faking sleep and was about to give him a good slap to wake him up, but her mother-in-law had insisted that children sleep so soundly that not even a thunderclap could rouse them—let alone a few shoves.

It was only after her mother-in-law said that she remembered it was indeed true.

Earlier, a fire had broken out in the Yang family’s woodshed in the village. The flames lit up the sky over the entire village, startling everyone, yet that deadbeat kid slept like a log, oblivious to it all.

And then there was that thunderstorm last summer—the thunder roared as if hundreds of demons were fighting in the sky, as if the heavens were about to collapse. She was so scared she couldn’t sleep a wink, but that good-for-nothing slept like a log. When he woke up the next day, he didn’t even know there’d been a thunderstorm the night before. It was infuriating.

Realizing her mother-in-law had a point, Liu Congxiang gave up on the idea of waking him up to help. She went out in the rain with her husband to repair the roof herself. Not only did she get soaked to the bone, but she also stepped on a nail protruding from the roof beam—it still hurts!

Liu Qishuang stood there with his mother’s spit splashing all over his face, but he didn’t say a word in return. He just kept his head down and let her scold him. Liu Congxiang obviously knew her son’s temperament; after a while, she found it pointless to keep yelling and started complaining about other things instead.

“You’re such a shameless ger, always leeching off your father.”

It was only when Liu Congxiang vented like this that Liu Qishuang realized why his mother had gotten up so early today.

Last night’s downpour had frightened his grandmother. She’d wanted to go back to her own house to check the roof and clear the gutter, but the job naturally fell to his father. His grandmother wouldn’t let any of her other sons climb onto the roof—she was afraid they’d fall.

Last night the rain poured down in torrents, but this morning the sky was clear, and the clouds were sparse—it was clearly going to be a sunny day.

Today, his parents were going back to the Xu family with his grandmother. They needed to leave early, so his mother naturally had to get up early to make breakfast.

“Oh, I wonder how many days we’ll be gone. They say they’re just repairing the roof, but there’s so much work to do in the fields these days. I just don’t believe we’ll be back until the corn is planted and the field ridges are covered with mud.” Liu Congxiang grumbled as she rinsed the rice.

Liu Qishuang, standing by the stove, wore a blank expression, but inside, he was overjoyed!

With his parents off to the Xu household, only he and Grandpa would be left at home, which meant he could take Grandpa to the clinic in town for a checkup!

Liu Congxiang cooked with a grudge, instructing Liu Qishuang on the chores for the next few days. She also took a close look at how much rice, flour, and oil were left in the house and warned her son not to sneak any.

“Mother, I know,” Liu Qishuang replied obediently, and his mother nodded in satisfaction.

But his mother didn’t know that not everything he promised to do actually went in one ear and out the other—he didn’t always follow through.

At breakfast that day, thanks to Bai Fengxian, Liu Qishuang and his grandfather were able to sit down to eat. Because of the meals he’d had yesterday and that morning, Liu Qishuang sincerely called Bai Fengxian “Grandma.” He hadn’t noticed it yesterday, but today he realized that something was off about his Grandma.

It seemed as though she wasn’t quite happy with him calling her that.

After breakfast, Bai Fengxian and the others were about to leave, so Liu Qishuang went to see them off. “Grandma, please be careful on your way.”

“Good boy, go back home now, and be a good boy.” For some reason, Bai Fengxian wasn’t just inviting them to the table to eat; her tone had also grown much kinder.

However, while Bai Fengxian’s attitude had changed, Liu Congxiang remained her usual self.

With her bag packed, she didn’t forget to turn around and give one last warning. “Make sure you get the farm work done. If you neglect your duties, I’ll skin you alive when I get back!”

“I know.”

After hearing this final reply, Liu Qishuang hurried inside. He was going to the Wan family’s house to collect the cash and would be taking his grandfather to town shortly. 

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

At the Wang Family

Wan Dongyang sat with a long face beside his older brother, who was whittling a wooden handle for a hoe. His eyes were fixed on the wood, but one hand had slipped out and was gently tugging at his brother’s sleeve, pulling it back and forth.

The way he was acting, he didn’t look like a younger brother at all—more like Wan Yong’an’s well-behaved son.

Wan Yong’an didn’t yell at him for interrupting his work; instead, he just smiled and said, “How am I supposed to work like this?”

Seeing that his older brother was paying him attention again, Wan Dongyang began to pester him once more. “Big Brother, just agree to it. I’m not asking for myself. Those Jiang people are no good. Old Master Jiang is getting on in years and can’t make decisions anymore. We can’t just let them bully the whole village, can we?”

“Mother.” Wan Yong’an ignored his whining younger brother and simply shouted toward the kitchen. No sooner had he spoken than Mother Wan emerged and headed straight for the two brothers.

As soon as she arrived, Mother Wan patted Wan Dongyang on the shoulder and said soothingly, “Now, now. This isn’t as simple as it seems. The Jiang family has been our village’s traditional healers for generations. That’s how they make their living. If your older brother were to take that work away from them, they’d surely hold a grudge.”

“It’s not just that. Even as a village doctor, if you’re in the business of treating patients and prescribing medicine, you need to have the proper skills. Otherwise, wouldn’t you be playing with people’s lives? I only know a few herbs, have a rudimentary understanding of pharmacology, and have only a superficial grasp of the most basic diagnostic method—taking the pulse. How could I possibly dare to take on this line of work?” Wan Yong’an added.

Thus, having weighed both the social obligations and the practical realities, the mother and son concluded that Wan Yong’an was indeed incapable of taking on this job.

Seeing that the matter was falling through, Wan Dongyang was utterly dejected. He plopped down on the stone steps nearby and sulked to himself.

Seeing her son looking as dejected as a quail in the snow, his whole demeanor wilted, Mother Wan found it amusing. She ruffled his hair several times, which made Wan Dongyang snap, but she just laughed heartily as she headed off to the kitchen.

When Wan Dongyang had left the house that morning, he’d run into the Jiang family. Because Liu Qishuang had worked at the Wan household for a few days, he hadn’t gone to the Jiang family to deliver medicine. The Jiangs had held a grudge against the Wans ever since, convinced that the Wan family had given Liu Qishuang the herbs, which had cost them business.

The eldest son of the Jiang family made a few snide remarks to Wan Dongyang, implying that if his family had the guts, they should just take over the village doctor’s position; otherwise, they shouldn’t be scheming behind the scenes and endangering the villagers’ lives.

Wan Dongyang had already looked down on the Jiang family for taking someone’s pinellia ternata, yet was not even willing to part with a single loquat leaf. After being mocked like that by the Jiang family, he actually developed a desire to take the Jiang family’s place, which is why the earlier incident occurred.

He’d been pestering his older brother all morning, just to get him to agree to become the village doctor.

“This is infuriating!”

In the end, he didn’t get his way, and just as Wan Dongyang was fuming, Liu Qishuang showed up at his door.

Upon learning that Liu Congxiang and his wife had gone to the Xu household, Wan Dongyang simply handed Liu Qishuang the cash. But just as Liu Qishuang was about to leave, he called him back. “Hey, if you run into anyone from the Jiang family later, and if they bring up your grandfather’s illness, just tell them that thanks to the Wan family, he’s already well.”

“…….. ” Liu Qishuang didn’t dare to agree to Wan Dongyang’s request.

The moment Wan Dongyang called him back, he had clenched the cash in his hand tightly. He had expected some kind of trouble, but he never imagined this turn of events would be even more unexpected than he’d anticipated.

Telling the Jiang family that the Wan family had cured his grandfather’s illness—wouldn’t that just cause trouble for the Wan family?

The Jiang family was notoriously petty; how could they possibly tolerate the Wan family stealing their business? Liu Qishuang remained silent, and Wan Dongyang grew impatient.

“What’s wrong with you, ger? I’ve done you a huge favor, and now you’re cutting the bridge after crossing it? You won’t even agree to such a small thing.” 

“But the Jiang family will have a bone to pick with your family.” He didn’t really care; in fact, he was secretly pleased.

This way, the Jiang family would understand that his grandfather wasn’t solely dependent on them for his livelihood—he had other options.

“I’d love for them to have a problem with it—the more of a fuss, the better,” Wan Dongyang muttered under his breath, then said aloud, “Just tell me—will you agree or not?”

“I agree.” Liu Qishuang nodded firmly this time, giving a definite answer. Now, both of them were happy.

Unfortunately, Liu Qishuang’s joy was short-lived. By the time he brought his grandfather to the town clinic, his spirits had completely deflated. Liu Qishuang never imagined that seeing a doctor at the clinic would be so expensive. They hadn’t even picked up the medicine yet, and they’d already spent nearly two taels of silver. The doctor’s consultation and pulse-taking alone cost one hundred and twenty wen, and the prescription was another seventy, nearly two hundred wen gone in the blink of an eye.

More importantly, the doctor said that Grandpa is in poor health, and since this condition has dragged on for so long, it’s become quite serious. To fully recover, it’s not just a matter of taking a few doses of medicine; he also needs to take good care of himself.

Take good care of his health…

Thinking of Grandpa’s daily diet, Liu Qishuang felt a wave of helplessness wash over him.

Grandfather eats nothing but vegetable soup and coarse-grain cakes every day, and he rarely touches meat, even once a year—how could his health possibly improve?

The cash Liu Qishuang had deposited with Wan Dongyang amounted to no more than four hundred and eighty taels. After he went to buy the medicine later, he feared there wouldn’t be a single tael left, leaving no cash left to buy some meat to treat Grandpa to a special meal.

At that moment, Liu Qishuang felt that medical care was exorbitantly expensive, and she regretted not having found a way to bring him to see a doctor sooner. While he felt little else, Grandpa Liu was kicking himself with remorse; had he known, no matter how much his grandson had pleaded, he never should have come.

“Shuangshuang, Grandpa Liu has brought this upon you.” Grandpa Liu often wondered why he hadn’t died.

In the long, dark nights he slowly endured, he often wondered why he had lived to such an advanced age, and why he hadn’t died sooner.