The 1970s: Married First, Fell in Love Later-Chapter 22 - 21: Mrs. He Gets a Fever at Midnight

By the end of October, He Lang and He Nan had gone up the mountain several more times, and the firewood pile in the courtyard had grown quite large.

He Ze of the second branch of the family wasn’t around. The town was far from the village and they didn’t own a bicycle, so he had been living in a dormitory provided by the factory.

Gao Cuiyun, meanwhile, just holed up at home. She didn’t go up the mountain to gather firewood. When she saw Xue Yue doing it, she looked down on her, thinking it was a man’s job that Xue Yue was trying to steal.

With the man of the second household away, Gao Cuiyun didn’t gather any wood herself. She kept using the firewood that had been piled in the courtyard before the family property was divided—firewood that had been left for Mr. and Mrs. He.

Gao Cuiyun kept using it, and Mr. and Mrs. He didn’t say a word.

But today, He Ze came home.

Mrs. He brought the matter up with him. "Second Brother, you need to get that lazy wife of yours under control. She does nothing all day but watch what the other two families are eating. The moment they have something good, she starts beating and scolding Little Chen and Xiao Yang. You’re not home, and the weather is getting colder. Every household is out gathering firewood. While you’re gone, your wife doesn’t even think to go gather some. Look at the third family—they go up the mountain to gather wood whenever they have a spare moment. Look at their woodpile! Now look at yours. You can’t just keep using ours forever. Your father and I can still get around, so we can help you, but you two need to start taking some responsibility."

He Ze glanced at the firewood in the courtyard and nodded. "I know, Mom. I’ll go in a bit."

"And next time you come back, bring some meat. The two kids are craving it. You’re running your own household now, and you earn a good monthly salary. Don’t be stingy with food; the boys are still growing."

"I know, Mom."

A short while later, the sound of arguing erupted from the second family’s rooms.

Inside her own room, Mrs. He sighed. "That Second Brother of ours isn’t very family-oriented either. He’s gone for weeks on end, and when he finally comes back, he doesn’t even think to bring the children a snack. Look at him, so sturdy and strong. Then look at those two boys. Xiao Yang is several years older than Tuanzi, but he’s only as tall as him. Sigh."

Mr. He, smoking his water pipe, glanced at her. "We’ve divided the family property. How they choose to live their lives is their own business. You should stop worrying about it."

"What good does my worrying do? But you just can’t compare people. Take the third family, for instance. They’re never idle. Their house is clean, their cooking is delicious, and in their spare time, they go up the mountain to gather firewood and pick wild vegetables. But the second family’s wife can’t cook to save her life. And look at their home! Even with two kids, can’t she tidy up a little during the day? There’s no place to even set your foot down. She’d rather lie around than lift a finger. Then there’s the eldest family. They’re fine in other ways, but ever since we divided the property, she’s always running back to her parents’ house. And that family of hers... I don’t even want to talk about it."

"I’m telling you, old woman, our children will make their own way in life. Aren’t you tired of worrying so much every day? Whether for better or for worse, they have to live their own lives."

Mrs. He knew it was just her fate to worry.

In the afternoon, He Ziqing also came back.

That evening, the eldest family made a rare, nice meal, and their home was filled with lively chatter.

The second family’s home, however, was filled with shouting. No one knew what they were arguing about this time.

It wasn’t until the next morning that everyone found out what happened. He Ze had received his monthly wages and only gave Gao Cuiyun five yuan.

First thing in the morning, Gao Cuiyun came looking for Mrs. He to demand justice.

"Father, Mother, He Ze must be cheating on me! Why else wouldn’t he give me all of his wages? You have to stand up for me!"

"What nonsense are you talking about? Five yuan is enough for you and the kids to spend. I’ll save the rest myself. It’s not like I’m giving it to someone else," He Ze said.

Gao Cuiyun wailed, "Who are you kidding? If you’re not giving it to me, you must be spending it on someone else! I won’t stand for it! I’m going to your factory to see exactly which hussy has you bewitched."

Mrs. He looked at her second son and his wife, her head starting to ache. "Arguing first thing in the morning. Second Brother, what’s your reason? Why not hand it all over?"

He Ze helplessly explained his reason: he wanted to save up to buy a bicycle.

"Mom, if I have a bicycle, I can come home every day instead of living in the factory dormitory."

Mrs. He turned to Gao Cuiyun. "Did you hear that?"

Gao Cuiyun’s crying stopped. "Then give the money to me. I’ll keep it safe for you, and we’ll buy the bicycle later."

He Ze nodded. "Fine. You can have it all, happy now?"

Gao Cuiyun smiled again.

Watching Gao Cuiyun switch from crying to laughing in an instant, Mrs. He’s headache grew worse.

"Go on, get back to your home! You’ve given me a headache with all this shouting so early in the morning."

Mrs. He didn’t know if it was from a poor night’s sleep, but she complained of a headache all day.

In the afternoon, Xue Yue mentioned it to He Lang. "I’ve been hearing Mom complain about her headache all day. Do you think she’s caught a chill?"

He Lang frowned. "I’ll go check on her."

When He Lang went inside, he saw Mrs. He lying on the kang bed, one hand on her forehead, groaning softly.

Mr. He was off to the side, smoking.

"Dad, Mom has a headache?"

Mr. He sighed. "It’s that chronic ailment of your mother’s, the one she’s had ever since her postpartum recovery after having Xiao Yun. She probably caught a chill yesterday. It’s nothing, a good sleep should fix it."

He Lang stayed for a while, then went back.

"How’s Mom?" Xue Yue asked.

"Dad said it’s her old ailment, probably from catching a chill yesterday."

But in the middle of the night, they heard Mr. He knocking on their door.

He Lang shot up and quickly started getting dressed.

Xue Yue was startled awake. "What’s wrong?" she asked He Lang.

He Lang replied while pulling on his clothes, "I don’t know. Mom’s headache must have gotten worse. You go back to sleep. I’ll go see."

He Lang got out of bed and hurried out the door. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

When he reached the main house, he saw that his eldest brother, He Nan, was already there. He Ze had gone back to work that afternoon.

It turned out Mrs. He had a fever and was already delirious.

"Mom’s burning up like this, we have to get her to the hospital right away. Dad, you and Eldest Brother get her dressed. I’ll go borrow a bicycle."

"Okay, you go quickly," Mr. He said, rushing to dress Mrs. He.

He Lang hurried out.

By the time He Lang returned with a borrowed bicycle, He Nan was already at the door with Mrs. He on his back.

"Dad, go get a rope to tie Mom to my back. I’ll take her to the hospital first, you two can follow behind."

Watching He Lang ride off on the bicycle, Mr. He and He Nan quickly closed the courtyard gate and also headed for the hospital.

When Xue Yue woke up in the morning, the courtyard was unusually quiet.

Xue Yue went to the main house and saw the door was open, but no one was inside.

She frowned and went back to her own home to start making breakfast.

A little later, she saw her sister-in-law, Guo Jinfeng, come out.

"Sister-in-law, do you know where Dad and Mom went?"

Guo Jinfeng yawned and said, "Mom had a fever last night. They took her to the hospital in the middle of the night."

"Was it that serious?"

Guo Jinfeng nodded. "She was delirious from the fever."

Xue Yue made extra for breakfast, a rare pot of rice porridge.

After breakfast, Xue Yue went to the main house, found a lunchbox, and filled it with porridge. Then, she headed to the village entrance to catch an ox-cart.