Chapter 71: Two Families Who Both Know the Truth

Old Yang woke up in the night.

Still half-asleep and half-awake, his mind felt foggy, and he had no idea what had happened.

When he touched his burning-hot body and noticed that two thick cotton quilts were covering him, fragments of memory slowly returned.

He vaguely remembered that he had fallen ill. The weather had been changing over the past couple of days, and he had been coughing on and off.

At first, he thought it was just a simple cold from the wind. He had even planned to go up the mountain to find some herbs to treat it. But the moment he started working that day, he felt extremely dizzy, and his body had no strength at all.

He had barely endured until the evening when work ended. Thinking that a good sleep might make him better, he went to bed.

But who would have thought that once he fell asleep, his memory would simply cut off?

Looking at Old Yu, who was sleeping on the other bed, and recalling the constant murmuring voices he had heard earlier, Old Yang finally remembered that he had collapsed because of a fever.

Old Yu and several others had been talking beside him the whole time. Someone had even fed him medicine.

Wait… where did the medicine come from?

He faintly remembered hearing Old Tong and Old Fang say they had medicine on their side, medicine left over from what Xixi had taken.

Could it be that he managed to pull through because of that medicine?

Old Yang felt deeply moved. If that was truly the case, then the debt of gratitude he owed everyone could never be repaid.

It was precisely because there was no medicine here that he had thought he could just tough it out. Who would have expected that not only would he fail to endure it, but he would actually make the illness worse?

His throat felt dry.

He reached for a bowl of water beside the bed and drank it all in one gulp.

The water was still warm, and sweet.

It seemed someone had added sugar.

His eyes reddened, and a few old tears slipped down from his cloudy eyes.

Back when he had been muddled and barely conscious, he had thought that maybe it would be better if he simply died like that. Life here was something he truly felt he could no longer endure.

But now that he had survived, and encountered such a group of sincere friends, no matter how difficult or exhausting life became, he felt that he could grit his teeth and keep going.

His wife was still waiting for him.

His son, daughter, grandchildren… they were all waiting for him to come home.

He had to live long enough to see that day.

The next morning, everyone learned that Old Yang had woken up during the latter half of the night, and they all came to check on him.

After a good night’s sleep, Old Yang looked completely revitalized. He thanked everyone for their concern, but he especially thanked Tong Lingxian for the medicine.

After all, without that medicine yesterday, he would never have recovered so quickly.

Tong Lingxian didn’t think much of it. She simply told Old Yang to take good care of his health and handed him two more days’ worth of medicine, reminding him to take it properly.

Old Yang carefully put the medicine away as if it were something precious.

He already owed everyone so many favors anyway. One more or one less did not make much difference.

When he arrived at the fields, He Daixing quickly learned about what had happened the previous night.

He went to find Old Yang and said that if he still felt unwell, he could help get medicine from the clinic. He could even give him half a day off.

Old Yang repeatedly said it was not necessary. He was already mostly better and could fully handle the work. In fact, sweating a little more might even help his recovery.

Hearing that, He Daixing did not press the matter further. He simply told him that if he felt unwell again next time, he must come find him immediately.

Old Yang repeatedly said he understood and thanked the Brigade Leader for his concern.

At the same time, He Daixing privately passed along a message to Tong Lingxian and Fang Bo Song.

He Yu would not be going mushroom picking today, so they should not let the children wait for her.

He also subtly hinted that it would be best not to let the children go up the mountain recently. Things in the forest might not be very peaceful.

After saying that, He Daixing quickly left without lingering for even a second. Anyone who saw him would only think he had just happened to pass by.

Fang Bo Song and Tong Lingxian took He Daixing’s advice seriously.

They did not think He Daixing was trying to stop He Yu from meeting them. Instead, they suspected that something might have happened yesterday, which was why the Brigade Leader had come to warn them so urgently.

Over the past few days, the interactions between the children of the two families had become something both sets of parents were fully aware of.

He Daixing had also gradually realized that Fang Bo Song might already know that he was the one behind things. Because of that, he no longer spoke as cautiously as before and had even been openly helping them.

For example, whenever He Yu came to look for them, she would bring a little something along.

Sometimes it was meat freshly bought from the supply and marketing cooperative, and other times it was snacks for the children.

Either way, they were always things the family happened to need.

With that hint in mind, Fang Bo Song and Tong Lingxian decided they would remind the two sisters when they returned home at noon.

For the next few days, they absolutely should not go up the mountain. And if they did go, they had to go together with adults.

But before they could even return home,

The two girls who had been left in the house had already run off early in the morning.

After enjoying a rare, comfortable sleep, Fang Mingxi woke up early in the morning on the wide, soft bed.

Her cousin had already gone to work, leaving her alone rolling around happily on the large bed.

Originally, Fang Mingxi had her own room there. But her cousin had worried that she might be scared, so she had temporarily slept beside her at night.

Her cousin’s constant thoughtfulness only made Fang Mingxi love her even more.

To be honest, among all the “era novels” Fang Mingxi had read, her cousin was the most carefree educated youth she had ever seen.

Her family had influence. She went to the countryside simply because she wanted to. They also provided her with plenty of financial support, and she even lived alone without having to squeeze in with others.

From what Grandpa and Grandma had hinted, if her cousin ever grew tired of staying there and wanted to return, a single phone call would be enough for her to go back.

While other people worried about their futures every day, desperately searching for jobs just to avoid being sent to the countryside, her cousin, on the other hand, seemed to be living there as if she were on vacation.

Fang Mingxi could not even imagine how luxurious her cousin’s life would become once the college entrance examinations were restored and she returned to Jing City.

But the moment she thought about it, her face fell, and a dark cloud loomed over her thoughts.

Such a wonderful cousin…

How could she have been harmed like that?

She still had not forgotten that scene.

Her cousin being pulled from the water. The lively and cheerful girl she once was, dead in a pond overnight.

And her cousin had died after Grandpa and Grandma.

Who in Jing City wanted to harm their family?

“Little sister, are you awake?”

Someone knocked on the door.

Tang Yao had come with tools to find Fang Mingxi.

Over the past few days, she knew Fang Mingxi had been sleeping there. She also vaguely understood her relationship with Tong Zhiqing.

She had even seen that beautiful and kind educated youth give her candy.

And she also understood where those four yuan had come from.

A few days ago, Xixi had said that black truffles could be sold for money. Not long after, she had shared four yuan with her.

Four whole yuan.

It was a huge sum that could completely help support the family.

At first, Tang Yao had been puzzled about how Fang Mingxi managed it. Later, she found out that it was because she had such a connection with the educated youth older sister.

After learning the truth, she kept her mouth tightly shut. Over the past few days, she had worked even harder searching for mushrooms on the mountain, hoping there would be another chance to earn money.

Tang Yao was already familiar with the place. As soon as she entered the courtyard, she found Fang Mingxi still lying in bed.

“In the morning, we’ll go see if there are any mushrooms first. Everyone has already gone to work today, so there should not be many people on the mountain. We will get there before anyone else. Then in the afternoon, when Xiao Yu comes, we will go search the other side of the mountain.”

Tang Yao stepped forward, pulled Fang Mingxi up, quickly helped her put on her clothes, and dragged her out the door.

Yawning, Fang Mingxi got up.

She had originally planned to go back to sleep for a bit, but it seemed that was no longer possible.

Still, come to think of it, the northern side of Maple Leaf Mountain was a place the two of them had not visited in a long time. Recently, they had been searching only on the southern side.

If they went up there now, maybe they might actually find something unexpected.

Thinking of that, Fang Mingxi was suddenly full of motivation again.

Without even waiting for Tang Yao to urge her, she grabbed her basket and ran.

“Let’s charge!”