Chapter 91: Cold
On a dark and cold night, in the simple house, the firelight reflected people's smiling faces.
Everyone ate their dinner contentedly, but even though they were going to sleep later, there was still no bed. They just laid wooden boards and straw mats on the ground, and then covered them with bedding to make a place to sleep.
But everyone was very satisfied. They had food and drink, a place to sleep and warm themselves by the fire, and they could shelter from the wind and rain without having to sleep in the open air.
Some people happily eat meat with big mouthfuls, while others look at the huge plates of meat and vegetables but are too hungry to eat.
Lin Lizheng had no appetite, so he drank some soup and waited for his old wife to finish dinner and come with him to see how everyone was eating.
Every time there was a collective meal, he would go around to see who was withholding food, especially from the women and girls in the family.
Everyone cooked their own food, and as long as it wasn't too excessive, he didn't care, and he couldn't be too concerned.
But when eating in a group, the food is distributed according to the number of people. If anyone takes someone else's share, he must be responsible.
The purpose of having everyone eat from a big pot is to ensure that everyone in the team has something to eat.
He doesn't want anyone to starve to death, but to die of serious illness or accident. There's nothing he can do about it, that's fate.
It was one thing to have no food, but he could not stand being starved to death when he had food. As long as he was the head of the village, he had to obey him. If he didn't obey, he could leave the team.
Lin Youcai often nagged in his ear, saying that if you were hungry, you would easily get sick, and if you died on the road, you would be buried on the roadside, like a wandering ghost, how pitiful.
There were only more than 300 people from Nanlin Village who fled together, and most of the people did not flee with them.
Every time the village head thinks about it, he feels sad. He doesn't know what happened to Nanlin Village, whether the villagers have fled or are alive.
Lin Li saw Wei Qinnan holding a bowl of meat and vegetables, sitting next to the quilt and trying to feed her daughter.
Daya shook her head and said she didn’t want to eat, and wrapped herself tightly in the quilt.
Old Mrs. Wu looked over and asked, "What's going on?"
Wei Qiniang stood up and said sadly, "Village head, Grandma Wu, the child caught a cold. Luckily, Sister Shen helped to reduce the fever last night. Today, he is listless and refuses to eat."
Grandma Wu: "The cold won't heal so quickly! Even if it's quick, it will take a few days. Let her stay out of the wind and stay indoors. Don't worry, we can set off when the weather gets better."
Wei Qiniang bowed to the head of the village and Old Lady Wu and said, "Thank you, Mr. Head of the Village and Grandma Wu. Thanks to you and everyone else for taking care of us along the way. Otherwise, I'm afraid my mother and I would have passed away long ago."
The head of the village waved his hand and said, "Have a good rest." Then he went to another house.
The women cooked meat and bone porridge for the dozen or so people who were seriously injured. This was the order of the village head.
Everyone had no objection to what the head of the village said. Along the way, the head of the village's family, Lin Youcai's family, Zhao the Butcher's family... There was nothing to say about these families.
No matter what we do or how we distribute supplies, everything is fair and just. We try our best to help and take care of everyone and consider everyone's best.
The gate of the first yard at the entrance of the village was renovated today, and the RV can finally enter the yard.
During the day, apart from those who went to check on the people in each house in the village and then went to slaughter the pigs, the others also had their work divided.
Everyone can focus their efforts on one thing, and people who do things don't have to gather together in one place, so division of labor and cooperation can lead to high efficiency.
There are three adjacent courtyards in a row facing the road at the entrance of the village, and the walls separating the two houses in the courtyard have been demolished.
That is, the wall connecting the first and second courtyards was demolished, and the wall connecting the second and third courtyards was demolished. The three courtyards in the first row of the village road were connected and formed into a super large courtyard.
The back wall of the first yard was demolished, and the back wall of the second yard was also demolished. The five yards were connected together, with three yards in the front and two yards in the back.
If something happens, you don't have to leave the hospital. It's very troublesome to open and close the door, especially at night. It's even more unsafe. If something happens, I'm afraid I'll be too late.
The well is behind the second row of yards. Today, everyone has to take a detour to use water and wash vegetables. Now that the courtyard wall has been broken through, they can just walk straight over.
Everyone decided to check the courtyard wall carefully tomorrow and repair it to make it more solid.
After dinner, Lin Zisu walked around in the yard for a while and then planned to lie down in the RV.
Old Lady Wang was chatting with her sisters-in-law. Under the thatched shed in the yard, there was a large stone mill, which was blocked by messy firewood. They found it when they were cleaning the yard today. They brought water to flush it and could use it whenever they wanted.
Lin Zisu was listening intently. Just as she was about to go under the thatched shed to look at the stone mill, she saw her parents walking out of the house.
Shen Xianglan and Lin Youcai walked towards the RV. The door was not locked, so she did not move.
After a while, two men came down carrying two large bags.
Lin Zisu asked curiously, "What are you two carrying?"
When Old Lady Wang heard what Lin Zisu said, she immediately turned around and looked at her son warily, "What are you doing? It's late at night, are you two going to move?"
Lin Youcai: "Mom, the village head has caught a cold. I'll go check it out."
Shen Xianglan: "Many people have caught a cold. Let's try scraping and cupping for them."
Old Lady Ye frowned. She had been patient all along and had not asked when her daughter would be cured. The Shen family was already shocked by the bloody wounds she had sewed up. Now she was going to cure someone of a cold?
Old Lady Wang wrinkled her face and asked, "What do you mean by scraping and pulling?"
Lin Youcai: "I'll talk to you when I have time. It's getting late now, you old people should go and have some rest."
Lin Zisu was called by her mother to help, and Lin Xianwen, who was chatting with the teenagers, was called by his father to help.
Old Mrs. Wu said anxiously, "The old man didn't eat anything all day. I just took him for a walk, and he came back complaining that he was cold and aching. Now his head hurts too."
Lin Youcai comforted him, "The village head must have caught a cold. I'll try scraping and cupping him to drive away the cold."
There is a shortage of doctors and medicine now. Fortunately, the Lin family has a solution. Lin Benshu patted Lin Youcai on the shoulder. Lin Youcai gave him a soothing look and said to Lin Lizheng: "Mr. Lizheng, stick out your tongue so I can see it!"
Lin Lizheng closed his eyes and stuck out his tongue.
Lin Xianwen turned on the flashlight and shone it there, only to see a thin, white and greasy coating on the tongue, a typical case of wind-cold and dampness.
Lin Youcai asked his son to turn off the flashlight and said, "I'm not a doctor either. If you trust me, I'll try it on the village head. I think the village head has a cold and pain all over his body. Scraping and cupping should be the right treatment."
Old Mrs. Wu quickly said, "We have seen doctors in the clinic do scraping and cupping. Don't worry, we trust you the most."
Lin Lizheng gave Lin Youcai a trusting look and said, "Treat him however you want."
Lin Youcai said no more and let Lin Lizheng lie on the quilt, took off his shirt and exposed his back.
He took out the ox horn scraper his daughter used to shave and dipped it in a little melted lard.
Gua Sha is a process of stimulating meridian points and adjusting Qi and blood. It does not require any fancy stuff.
If you have a porcelain spoon at home, you can dip it in water or cooking oil and start scraping.
At that time, most people were skinny and had little meat on their bodies. So Lin Youcai did not use water, but melted some lard for scraping, so that the elderly's skin would not be unable to bear it.