Wang Chunhua received the message and quickly wolfed down two bites of rice. Carrying little Yan'er with her, she came over soon. Although the big gate of the Liu family was not closed, she still knocked on the door.
"Anyone home? Sister!"
When Li Mingwei heard the sound, she quickly got up to welcome Wang Chunhua. Wang Chunhua put down little Yan'er to let her play in the yard by herself. She then followed Li Mingwei to the door to take a look at Old Lady Wang.
"What's wrong with her?"
"She has a fever. She already took medicine. The doctor said to give her another dose tonight to see the effect. I still have to go to class later. Sister, please stay and help keep an eye on her. I'll come back after class."
"Or is there any relative of their family that can be called over to help?"
Wang Chunhua curled her lips and pulled Li Mingwei further away, "What relatives are you talking about? We stopped contacting each other long ago."
In the early years, there were a few relatives. At that time, Old Lady Wang wanted to send Liu Yizhu to school, but money was tight. She wanted to borrow some money from them and intended to pay them back eventually.
But after Liu's Father passed away, they didn't have a backbone in the family anymore. Those relatives felt that as a woman with a child, if Old Lady Wang borrowed money from them, she probably couldn't pay it back. So they all refused to lend money.
Old Lady Wang also had a stubborn temper. Since they were unwilling to lend money, she worked hard to earn it herself. It just delayed Liu Yizhu's schooling for a few more years.
"Master Liu started reading at the age of nine."
The other children were usually sent to school around the ages of five or six. Among that group of students, he was the tallest and most conspicuous. So Mr. Jin paid more attention to him.
"There is a saying, what was that again?" Something about rich and poor."
"When rich, distant kin make visits; when poor, even your neighbors avoid you."
"Right, that's the one!" Wang Chunhua clapped her hands, "It's that line. Earlier when his mother was having such a hard time, no one paid attention. After Master Liu passed the county examination, those relatives came around again, saying they were willing to sponsor his studies. Old Lady Wang kicked them right out."
"They already made it through the hardest days on their own. Who needs those relatives' pretentious help? Anyway, it caused a scene, and since then no one dared to come to their door again."
Li Mingwei tugged the corners of her mouth, "How realistic."
"That's just people." Wang Chunhua sighed. She didn't keep talking to Li Mingwei about this. "Have you eaten?"
"Not much appetite."
"Still no appetite?" Wang Chunhua frowned with some concern. "You can't keep doing this. We're going out tomorrow too. Did you ask Mr. Jin for days off?"
"I did. And we might not necessarily leave tomorrow either. Going a couple days later is also fine."
Anyway, she hadn't told Sister Yun about this. She was worried Sister Yun would prepare on purpose just to set her mind at ease. She planned to take Sister Yun by surprise. Whether they left sooner or later didn't matter much.
After class, Li Mingwei returned to the Liu family again. She and Wang Chunhua together heated medicine for Old Lady Wang. Seeing that the old lady looked a little more comfortable, Li Mingwei left first, planning to go back and see her again tomorrow.
Old Lady Wang actually didn't want to tell her son. No one knew who went to pass along the message, but Liu Yizhu came back that next afternoon.
When Wang Chunhua returned from the Liu family, she peeked through the window at Li Mingwei dozing off on the bed. She said, "You don't need to go to the Liu family later. Master Liu came back."
"Oh? That was fast. Who told him?"
How would Wang Chunhua know? Maybe he gave someone special instructions before he left. The county town was not exactly nearby either. Who would make a trip like that for no reason? Somehow the news made it to his ears.
"What do you care who it was? Anyway, he's back, so Old Lady Wang has someone to look after her now. You don't need to go anymore."
"Okay." Now that he was back, Li Mingwei really didn't need to worry about them. She yawned. She didn't sleep well last night and felt exhausted today. She briskly took off her shoes and lay down on the bed, intending to catch up on some sleep.
"Oh right, sister. Tell brother-in-law that we're going to see Sister Yun tomorrow. Let me take a nap first, then I'll get up and pack."
Wang Chunhua agreed.
It rained a few times earlier in the past days. The last couple of days had nice weather. They should take advantage and set off early to get back early, in case they run into rain and muddy roads.
Dong Shan planned out their route: "We'll stop to rest in the county town at noon today and have a meal. Then head to Wanjia Town and spend the night there. Keep going and we should arrive at Qingshan Village around tomorrow afternoon."
"On the way back, we'll stay overnight in the county town again and could be home by noon the next day."
Li Mingwei had her backpack ready long ago. She nodded, "Sounds good. Let's set off then."
"Alright." Dong Shan took the luggage from Wang Chunhua's hands and instructed, "Be careful while home alone. We'll be back in four or five days."
"I know. You take good care of my sister."
It was still early with not many people on the road yet. Li Mingwei and Dong Shan walked one after the other in silence towards the county town. But before they even left the town entrance, a light drizzle started falling as the cool breeze blew.
Li Mingwei held out her palm to catch some raindrops, "Brother-in-law, it doesn't seem that big. Should we keep going or..."
It was just springtime now. A small rain like this would stop after a short while. Of course they'd keep going. But Dong Shan still decided to turn back for a couple umbrellas, just in case. He could handle getting wet but didn't want the girl to get drenched.
After leading Li Mingwei forward a few steps, Dong shan had her hide under the eaves at the academy gates, "Wait here a bit. I'll grab the umbrellas and come right back."
Mr. Jin probably wasn't awake yet since the academy gates were still closed. Li Mingwei could only squat under the narrow eaves watching Dong Shan's figure fade into the distance.
When Liu Yizhu came to open the door, he seemed a little surprised to see her already waiting, "You're here so early?"
His gaze fell upon the small backpack on her, "Going somewhere?"
"Mm-hm." Li Mingwei nodded. "I just got here when it started drizzling. Brother-in-law went back to get umbrellas for me and told me to take shelter here."
Liu Yizhu took out his keys and opened the door, gesturing for her to wait inside. But Li Mingwei declined since the rain wasn't heavy. Dong Shan would be back soon anyway so there was no need to trouble him.
Seeing Liu Yizhu also not going in, Li Mingwei gave him a little push, "You go inside! Weren't you here so early for something? Go on, don't mind me."
Liu Yizhu leaned against the door without moving. "I just came to unlock the door. I'm free."
The academy had exams coming up recently. When Liu Yizhu rushed back, he didn't bring any books with him. After his mother fell asleep last night, he came over to borrow books from Mr. Jin. On his way out, Mr. Jin had already gone to bed so Liu Yizhu didn't want to disturb him. But he also didn't want to leave the doors unlocked, so he locked it from the outside with the key.
That basically locked Mr. Jin inside. Mr. Jin usually ate breakfast outside, so Liu Yizhu came extra early to open the door for him.
"I see. Then hurry back. Isn't your mother sick at home? Leave her alone for too long."
"She's still sleeping."
The sky wasn't fully bright yet at this hour and most people were still asleep.
Li Mingwei glanced at Liu Yizhu. She finally uncovered the secret to his being able to rank first - he really did rise earlier than the roosters and sleep later than the dogs!
"Where are you and Brother Dong headed?"
They were clearly prepared to stay a few nights with their luggage. Xinghua Village?
Li Mingwei stuck out her tongue mischievously, "Not telling you."
Liu Yizhu pinched her cheek, applying a bit of force, "So disobedient."
"Mm~"
The pain caused Li Mingwei to open her mouth, wanting to bite him. Liu Yizhu swiftly dodged, "Still biting people huh, little puppy? Go on, where?"
"Going home!" Li Mingwei said defiantly, "I told you I was leaving."
Liu Yizhu's heart tightened for a moment. He nearly forgot about this. He increased force, "Don't talk nonsense."
"I'm not talking nonsense!" She shoved Liu Yizhu aside and ran towards Dong Shan, peering back at him indignantly, "Never gonna see you again!"
Liu Yizhu...
