Chapter 109: No Way to Survive

Afterward, Li Sheng continued to lie beside his wife, keeping his large palm pressed firmly against Tang Xin’s lower abdomen to warm her.

Tang Xin drifted off to sleep, and after about an hour, she woke up feeling only a slight, lingering discomfort.

The next day, Li Sheng rose with extreme caution, careful not to disturb his sleeping wife. He went out to jog and help his parents with chores as usual, and he instructed the rest of the family to keep the noise down so that his wife could enjoy a restful sleep.

From the knowledge he had gathered from his mother and the old professor the previous evening, Li Sheng understood just how difficult this time of the month was for women. Naturally, he became even more considerate and attentive toward his wife. He not only prepared her breakfast but also brought hot water to her bedside for her to wash up as soon as she woke.

Tang Xin couldn't help but chuckle, "Why do I feel like I’ve just given birth and am undergoing postpartum confinement?"

Just then, Madam Fang happened to pass by their room and naturally chimed in, "If you had given birth, our whole family would be waiting on you hand and foot."

Tang Xin felt a bit awkward. Giving birth was a matter for the future; at the very least, she felt it was still a long way off. However, over the past few days, she had felt as though the family was caring for her like a helpless child.

What was slightly painful was that three times a day, her mother-in-law would brew medicinal soup for her to drink. If it were Li Sheng brewing it, Tang Xin might have playfully feigned reluctance. After all, she was from a future era; while she didn't have much practical experience with women's health issues, she had read enough about them online to understand the basics. It wasn't an illness—it just required proper care and regulation of one's body. Furthermore, the original owner of this body didn't suffer from such severe menstrual cramps before. She had noticed that when the original owner first moved to the countryside, her family had prepared many medicines for her, yet none were specifically for menstrual cramps or regulation.

However, since it was always her mother-in-law brewing the medicine and personally bringing it to her, Tang Xin found it difficult to refuse. That was just the kind of person she was; if she had encountered a wicked mother-in-law, she might have found herself in a daily war of words. As it turned out, Tang Xin was lucky to have encountered Madam Fang, a kind mother-in-law who was genuine and treated her like her own daughter. Because of this, Tang Xin deeply respected and loved her, and she found herself unable to turn down such kindness.

She wondered if Li Sheng was doing this on purpose—knowing she couldn't refuse his mother, he made her bring the medicine every time. Although she could have a piece of candy after each dose, Tang Xin still felt quite annoyed. She wasn't sick, so why did she have to keep drinking medicine for so many days?

Fortunately, after three days, her period was nearly over, and the abdominal pain had long since subsided. Li Sheng had promised her that she could stop taking the medicine starting tomorrow.

However, in the middle of that night, she was jolted awake by a frantic pounding on the door. The courtyard gate was being hammered so hard it rattled. The brigade leader had arrived at the Li household in the dead of night.

Li’s parents were confused, but out of respect for the brigade leader, they opened the gate and invited him in. Li Sheng went out to speak with him, but the brigade leader declined, stating directly that he needed to see Tang Xin. The brigade leader was not a man who lacked decorum, and seeing his anxious expression, it was clear that something serious had happened.

Tang Xin quickly dressed and stepped out. The brigade leader didn't bother with pleasantries and asked directly if she had any medicine on hand.

Because of the commotion, the rest of the Li family had woken up and gathered around, all of them shocked by the brigade leader’s request. Medicine? What kind of medicine?

As it turned out, the brigade leader's grandson had suddenly developed a high fever in the middle of the night. Although they had called the local barefoot doctor to check on him, the doctor only had traditional Chinese herbal medicine. Not to mention the difficulty of sourcing and brewing medicine in the middle of the night, such a young child could not withstand such a high fever. Therefore, the barefoot doctor had suggested that the brigade leader come to the Li house to see if Tang, the educated youth, could help.

Tang Xin understood immediately—he was looking for the cold medicine she had. Western medicine acted quickly, but the barefoot doctor had not yet restocked his supply after the New Year. It just so happened that during the New Year, Tang Xin had caught a slight cold, and Li Sheng had insisted on having the barefoot doctor check on her.

Before the doctor had arrived, Tang Xin had already taken her medicine, so she appeared to be in good health. That was how he learned that Tang had brought some common household medicines with her when she moved to the countryside. In a crisis, these items could be life-saving, and he wasn't sure if she would be willing to part with them. But seeing the small child lying there, burning with fever and unconscious, he felt it was worth risking offense to share his hunch with the brigade leader.

Tang Xin did have some basic Western medicine, but cold medicine couldn't be taken recklessly, especially since the brigade leader's grandson seemed even younger than the twins. After consulting with her parents-in-law and her husband, Tang Xin, accompanied by Li Sheng, took her small bag and followed the brigade leader to his home.

The brigade leader’s house was one of the better ones in the Harvest Production Brigade and the Red Star Commune, and they had long since built a bright, spacious house with blue bricks and tiles. Yet, in the darkness of the night, only a faint light flickered through the windows. Upon entering, she saw several people sitting in the main room.

The barefoot doctor she had met before was there, and as soon as she entered, the brigade leader anxiously asked about the child’s condition. His eldest son replied that the fever was still high, and the child had even coughed up blood while unconscious. The child’s mother was weeping inconsolably; the brigade leader feared that if something happened to the boy, his wife might not be able to go on living. Though he himself was deeply worried, as a man and the head of the household, he had to swallow his tears.

The barefoot doctor had already done his best, preparing medicine through the night, and the brigade leader’s wife was currently decocting it. But herbal medicine was slow-acting, and the boy was not only coughing but also burning with such a severe fever that it would be dangerous if it didn't break immediately.

In fact, the boy had complained of feeling unwell that afternoon, but the family hadn't paid much attention; his grandmother had simply given him ginger water as per tradition. Now that the situation had turned dire in the middle of the night, even if the brigade leader could take the bicycle from the brigade office to rush the boy to the town hospital, it was impractical to transport a sick child that way. The dark, treacherous country roads were difficult to navigate, and the illness had escalated too rapidly to wait until dawn. The brigade leader was frantic with worry.

The barefoot doctor’s suggestion had been the family’s only hope, but the brigade leader understood that if Tang Xin was willing to help, it was a favor. If she didn't have the medicine, or if it proved ineffective, he couldn't blame her.