Seeing her small face flush as red as a ripe apple, Zhou Zhijun swallowed the words that had reached the tip of his tongue.
Just then, Wang Xiaohong walked in, holding a lunchbox in one hand and two baked wheat cakes in the other. "Uncle Zhijun, you're here! I bought some sliced meat soup for my sister-in-law!"
"Alright, I'll go wash the towel!" Zhou Zhijun picked up the towel and left the ward.
Wang Xiaohong placed the food on the bedside table. Turning her head, she saw Chuntao's small face was bright red, and even the tips of her ears were purplish. Her heart immediately tightened.
"Sister-in-law, do you have a fever?" she asked, reaching out to feel her forehead.
"So hot! I'll go ask the nurse for a thermometer!"
"I don't have a fever, Xiaohong! It's just the heat!"
It had indeed been stiflingly hot these past few days, and there were many people in the ward, but Wang Xiaohong still couldn't rest assured. She turned and ran to get a thermometer.
Chuntao knew she wasn't running a fever, but she didn't stop her and obediently took her temperature.
"No fever!" Wang Xiaohong stared at the markings on the thermometer, finally breathing a sigh of relief.
Zhou Zhijun returned with the towel, wanting to wipe her face for her. But on second thought, considering his position, it was inappropriate to do so in front of so many people. He handed the towel to Wang Xiaohong instead.
Chuntao couldn't hold the bowl with her left hand and didn't want to trouble Wang Xiaohong, so she said, "I'll just eat a baked cake. You drink the sliced meat soup!"
"I bought it especially for you, for nourishment!"
"Then you eat the solid parts, and I'll just drink some soup!"
"How can just drinking soup give you any nutrition? I'll feed you!" Wang Xiaohong said, picking up the spoon.
Zhou Zhijun knew Chuntao was proud and would definitely feel embarrassed having Xiaohong feed her. He quickly smoothed things over, "Pour some soup for your sister-in-law. I bought some braised meat; it tastes great stuffed in steamed buns!"
Only then did Wang Xiaohong pour her some soup. After she finished the soup, Zhou Zhijun handed over a soft, large white steamed bun stuffed with fragrant braised meat, perfectly marbled with fat and lean.
But looking at the bun, Chuntao had no appetite. Hearing Wang Xiaohong say she had received three bags of blood, she started to worry again. Selling that litter of piglets probably wouldn't even be enough to pay off the debt.
"I'm full, you eat it!"
Zhou Zhijun frowned. "How can just drinking that thin soup be enough? It won't keep you full, and it has no nutrition!"
Wang Xiaohong quickly chimed in, "You only had a little porridge in the morning and haven't eaten anything solid yet!"
Zhou Zhijun knew clearly in his heart that she wanted to be discharged. Ultimately, she was afraid of spending money and was worrying about the massive pile of chores waiting at home.
"Don't worry about the money, you have me! At home, my eldest brother and the others will lend a hand. Seeing as it's almost time to harvest the rapeseed and wheat, if you don't want to delay the work, you need to rest and recover properly!"
The rapeseed and wheat were visibly ripening. If her wrist wasn't fully healed by then, what would she do?
At the thought of this, Chuntao grew even more anxious. She could only grit her teeth, deciding to stay a few more days to get well quickly so she wouldn't hold up the harvest.
"Come on, eat the bun. When your body is strong, your wounds will heal faster!"
The other patients and family members in the ward all looked in their direction, wearing various expressions on their faces.
Early the next morning, Zhou Dana and Zhou Xiaowei took the eggs and grain donated by the villagers to the street to sell. Combined with the donated money, it totaled eighteen yuan and thirty cents.
They took the shuttle bus to the hospital. Zhou Dana pulled out a cloth bundle and fished out a stack of small bills tied with a rubber band.
With a look of deep concern, he said, "Jieshi's wife, this is a little token of everyone's goodwill. Take it, and get your injuries treated quickly!"
Chuntao looked at the stack of crumpled bills. There were fen and mao notes; some were missing corners, and others had frayed edges.
Her eyes instantly reddened, and her heart felt like an overturned bottle of five flavors.
Gratitude, sorrow, as well as embarrassment and trepidation. Which of these bills wasn't scraped together from the villagers' own meager savings?
Before this, the village was full of gossip, and Zhou Dana had withheld her family's relief grain for no reason... One distressing event after another had weighed on her heart, like arsenic mixed into bitter medicine, harsh and astringent.
Chuntao never expected that in her time of hardship, everyone would actually lend a helping hand.
At this moment, all her grievances seemed to fade a little, and even that bitter medicine seemed to taste a bit sweet.
However, Chuntao didn't take the money. She didn't want to owe too many favors. "I appreciate everyone's kindness, but I cannot accept this money!"
Zhou Dana spoke in his official tone, "Take it! Although it's not much, it's a token of care from our Wangjiazhai Production Brigade!"
Zhou Xiaowei also urged, "Sister-in-law Chuntao, please accept it!"
Zhou Zhijun knew Chuntao was principled and unwilling to owe others, but since Zhou Dana had delivered it personally, it would be inappropriate not to accept it.
So he said, "The Party Secretary has worried a lot about your situation, just take it! Remember the favor, and you can slowly pay it back later!"
Chuntao thought to herself that the favors she owed him had already piled up into a mountain. If she owed others even more, how could she ever repay them? With what?
Seeing this, Zhou Dana directly handed the money to Zhou Zhijun. "You hold onto it for her!"
Zhou Dana and Zhou Xiaowei sat in the ward for a while, then left, saying there were many matters to attend to in the brigade.
A few days ago, Zuo Jinhui had come to pay the hospitalization fees. Before leaving, she had given Zhou Zhijun her address, telling him he could find her if he needed anything.
Zhou Zhijun planned to withdraw money from his bankbook and repay her early, so he could feel more at ease.
After lunch, he told Chuntao and Wang Xiaohong he was going out for a bit, but didn't mention it was to repay the money.
Following the address on the slip of paper, Zhou Zhijun found Zuo Jinhui's workplace—the county foreign trade company.
The old man in the reception room shouted a few times through a megaphone, but no one came out after a long wait. Zhou Zhijun then left.
He had left in a hurry the last time he returned to Wangjiazhai and forgot to bring a change of clothes for Chuntao and Xiaohong.
Passing by a store, he thought about going in to buy two sets of ready-made clothes. But standing in front of the colorful counters, he was suddenly dumbfounded, not knowing how to choose.
He told the salesclerk Chuntao and Wang Xiaohong's ages, approximate heights, and builds. The clerk got him two sets of clothes and packed them in a paper bag.
His gaze inadvertently swept over the underwear section, where some small camisoles and triangular panties were hanging, even more fashionable than the ones he had bought at the supply and marketing cooperative last time.
He wanted to buy two sets for Chuntao to change into, but there were many people in the store. The words reached his lips but he swallowed them back, too embarrassed to ask.
After struggling internally for a long time, he finally lowered his voice and said, "Comrade, bring that over for me to take a look!"
A grown man buying women's clothes was rare enough, but buying this? The clerk was taken aback for a moment. "You can't just touch these things casually!"
"I'm just looking!"
"These come in sizes. What size do you want?" The clerk didn't even bother to lift her eyelids.
The camisole he bought at the cooperative last time was a large, and the panties were a medium.
But those were pullovers, which was very inconvenient. This kind with buttons in the front would be much easier to put on and take off.
He thought to himself, Chuntao would definitely look a thousand times more beautiful than a movie star wearing this...
Just as he was lost in thought, someone suddenly called out to him from outside the store.
Startled, he shivered and frantically stuffed the camisole and panties into his bag.
