Transmigration: Flirted with My Childhood Sweetheart-Chapter 46 - 45 The Overly Curious Family of Roe Deer
46: Chapter 45 The Overly Curious Family of Roe Deer
46 -45 The Overly Curious Family of Roe Deer
Lin Nianhe felt very tired, very sleepy, and a bit cold.
She originally thought that she was just exhausted and figured a little nap would make it better.
It was only after Wang Shumei’s words that she realized she had caught a cold and had a fever.
“What?
A fever?” Wen Lan was startled and quickly stuffed the last bit of steamed bun into her mouth, getting up to Lin Nianhe’s side.
“Nianhe?
Nianhe!”
Wen Lan also felt Lin Nianhe’s temperature and, sensing the burning heat, she became a bit panicked: “What should we do now?
We definitely can’t go down the mountain now.”
After a moment of panic, Wang Shumei calmed down and handed over her handkerchief to Wen Lan: “Quick, use the rainwater to make a cool compress for her.”
As she spoke, Wang Shumei pulled Lin Nianhe into her arms: “Nianhe, lean on me, it’ll be warmer.”
Wen Lan took the handkerchief to catch rainwater, and Lin Nianhe steadied herself, summoning the energy to push Wang Shumei’s arm away and stood up somewhat unsteadily.
“What are you doing, Nianhe?”
“It’s nothing, I’m just going to have some water.”
Lin Nianhe hurried to grab her water bottle before Wen Lan returned and took the opportunity to pop a fever-reducing pill into her mouth.
“Oh, my little ancestor, if you wanted water, you should have just told me.”
Wen Lan wrung out the handkerchief, flicked the water off her hands, and came back to support Lin Nianhe, having her sit by the fire.
Wang Shumei embraced Lin Nianhe again, and Wen Lan placed the cool handkerchief on her forehead, then worked hard at rubbing Lin Nianhe’s icy hands.
Curled up in Wang Shumei’s embrace, Lin Nianhe’s consciousness began to dim.
She felt…
she was rather fortunate…
Seeing Lin Nianhe drift off into a drowsy sleep, Wen Lan’s hands stiffened, and her voice quivered with a tinge of tremble: “Nianhe…
she won’t die, will she?”
Wang Shumei was startled, first checking Lin Nianhe’s breathing before glaring at Wen Lan: “Don’t talk nonsense; she’s still breathing!”
She lowered her eyes to look at Lin Nianhe’s flushed little face, her thoughts inevitably drifting away.
Many years ago, when her sister had a high fever, she held her just like this.
After a long while, she sighed softly, turning the handkerchief over.
Wen Lan’s clothes were wetter than the two of them, a chill through her body as she dared not get too close to Lin Nianhe.
She furrowed her brows, contemplating for a while: “How about you two stay here, and I go down the mountain to call for help?”
Wang Shumei thought for a moment before shaking her head: “Don’t, with such heavy rain, how long would a round trip take?
Besides, who would come?
Plus, if it’s just Nianhe and me here, we wouldn’t be able to handle even a dumb muntjac.”
“That’s true.” Wen Lan sighed, somewhat annoyed, “We shouldn’t have come out today!
This is really bad luck.”
The misfortunes were far from over.
I don’t know where the wicked wind came from, howling and penetrating the cave.
The wind toppled over three backpack baskets and blew out the already struggling fire, scattering the firewood all over the place.
Wang Shumei shuffled to turn her back, trying her best to shield Lin Nianhe from the wind.
Wen Lan scrambled around the cave gathering firewood, but after a while, she realized the futility— with the wind this strong, a fire simply couldn’t be lit.
She simply put the firewood aside and sat down shoulder-to-shoulder with Wang Shumei, even moving Lin Nianhe’s extended legs towards their human wall.
Wen Lan patted Wang Shumei’s shoulder: “If you get tired, just lean on me.”
Wang Shumei gently leaned on Wen Lan’s shoulder, also feeling sleepy.
Wen Lan suddenly felt her head as well.
Wang Shumei puzzled: “What for?”
“Nothing much, just checking if you’ve got a fever.”
Wang Shumei was slightly stunned, her lips curving into a slight smile.
The ghostly howling of the wind made a ruckus for a while and then dispersed, and fortunately, the rain also gradually lessened.
Wen Lan saw the rain easing and immediately picked up the three people’s carrying baskets, stacking them up before saying to Wang Shumei, “Later when we move, I’ll carry Hezi on my back, and you just support me as I walk.”
Wang Shumei was surprised: “Can you manage?”
Wen Lan gave her a sidelong glance: “Who do you think you’re looking down on?”
Comrade Wen Lan physically demonstrated what it meant for women to be capable of holding up half the sky.
She hung three carrying baskets in front of her, carried the unconscious Lin Nianhe on her back, and even supported Wang Shumei with her right hand.
With such a difficult posture, she remarkably didn’t stumble or bump into anything while leading Wang Shumei and Lin Nianhe down the path.
Even the pheasant eggs in the carrying baskets didn’t break.
Halfway through their journey, they finally encountered the searching party.
Li Dahe was leading the team, followed as always by his three sons, with Wang Hong, Second Aunt Li, and the male comrades of the Educated Youth Corps behind them…
even Widow Zhao had come.
The Educated Youths knew about Lin Nianhe and the other two going to collect firewood.
They hadn’t been worried at first since gathering firewood typically took place near the foot of the mountain, and even with rain, it wouldn’t be difficult to return.
But two hours passed without their return, and Sun Guanghui, afraid they got lost due to unfamiliarity with the mountain paths and were trapped by the rain, quickly went to find Li Dahe.
Now seeing the three of them in this state, everyone who had intended to go up the mountain was stunned.
…How did they get down?
Li Dahe was the first to snap out of it, waving his hand and calling out, “Quick, quick, come help!”
Wang Hong rushed forward, taking over from Wang Shumei first.
She looked at Lin Nianhe, with her eyes tightly closed, and asked, “What happened to Miss Lin?”
Wen Lan, slightly out of breath, replied, “She’s come down with a fever from getting cold.”
Second Aunt Li took Lin Nianhe off Wen Lan’s back and carried her towards the Educated Youth Corps site, “I’ll take Educated Youth Lin back first.”
Wang Hong wanted to follow, but seeing that Wang Shumei had also twisted her ankle, she quickly called Widow Zhao over, and the two of them propped up Wang Shumei and headed down the mountain.
In the Educated Youth Corps site, Wang Xue and the others had boiled a pot of ginger soup.
Li Dahe did not allow the female Educated Youths to follow him up the mountain, fearing complications, and asked them to wait here instead.
“Why haven’t they come back yet?
I hope nothing happened…”
Yu Xiangqin, frowning, paced back and forth at the doorway, her good heart failing to produce comforting words.
“Xiangqin, stop pacing, it’s making me dizzy just watching you,” called out Wang Xue from beside the stove.
“Aye…”
Yu Xiangqin smacked her lips and turned around, but as she did, she caught sight of Second Aunt Li’s robust figure.
“Eh?
Second Aunt Li?
Did you find them?” Yu Xiangqin went out to meet her, only then to see Lin Nianhe on Second Aunt Li’s back, “Wow!
What happened?”
“Hurry, bring some hot water, Educated Youth Lin has a fever,” said Second Aunt Li, moving quickly and breathlessly.
“Alright, will do!”
Second Aunt Li carried Lin Nianhe to the back courtyard and, without delay, rummaged through the cabinet to find clean clothes to change her into.
Miao Yulan came over with a bowl of ginger soup, and asked in a low voice, “What about Educated Youth Wang and Educated Youth Wen?
Are they alright?”
“Educated Youth Wang twisted her ankle, they’re behind us, they’ll be back soon!”
Second Aunt Li thought they were just helping Wang Shumei, but at that moment in the mountains, an overly curious and foolish roe deer, along with its siblings, came to gawk at the people who had earlier thrown stones at it.
Originally, the villagers had come to find the trouble-causing Educated Youths, feeling somewhat resentful.
But now, carrying back four roe deer, they instantly no longer saw today’s events as troublesome.
That was meat, after all!
The villagers were happy, but Li Dahe couldn’t bring himself to feel any joy.
Because as soon as he returned to the Educated Youth Corps site, Second Aunt Li informed him that Lin Nianhe’s fever had gotten even worse.
