Reborn in the 1980s: I became a stepmother in the 1980s

Part 155 Get ill

He opened his eyes and looked at Si Nian, then immediately burst into tears, "Mom, my tooth hurts."

Si Nian took a sharp breath and had him open his mouth. Sure enough, his gums were red and swollen with inflammation.

Hearing the crying, Zhou Zedong was instantly awakened. He sat up quickly in bed, his face turning pale as he heard his brother crying in pain.

"Mom, what's wrong with Xiaohan?"

Si Nian hastily put a coat on Zhou Zehan and picked him up, saying, "Xiaohan has a fever. Xiaodong, stay home and look after your sister. I'm taking him to the clinic."

There was a small clinic in the first team, run by an old Chinese doctor. Despite its modest size, everyone in Xingfu Village went there when they were sick.

Si Nian secured a flashlight to the front of her bicycle, holding her child as she got on. She comforted him, saying, "Be good, Xiaohan. It won't hurt soon."

The cold wind blew on Zhou Zehan, finally calming his cries. He looked at Si Nian and said, "Mom, I didn't mean to lie to you. It didn't hurt during the day."

Si Nian sighed at this foolish child. Even now, was he worried that she would blame him for saying it didn't hurt earlier in the day?

She wiped the sweat from his forehead. Despite gaining some weight, he still looked thin and small, smaller than other children his age.

"Mom believes you, but if you feel uncomfortable anywhere, you have to tell Mom in advance, okay? Don't endure it on your own."

Zhou Zehan propped his eyelids open and nodded.

Si Nian was worried he might fall asleep and fall off, so she tried to keep him engaged while riding the bicycle. "Guess what nice thing Mommy bought for you today."

Sure enough, the little guy, who had been weak and fighting sleep, perked up immediately. Leaning against her back, he asked eagerly, "Mom, did you really buy me something?"

"Of course. Mommy bought some English books for you. You asked about the books I was reading, right? I got some for you and your brother. I'll teach you both..."

Hearing this, his eyes lit up. "Mom, really? Can we start learning tomorrow?"

Si Nian nodded and said, "Sure, once we get your tooth looked at, I'll teach you."

The little one nodded vigorously, "Mom, I'll study hard."

In reality, Si Nian was quite afraid of walking alone at night, especially on these rural paths where you couldn't see a single star, and the surroundings were all mountains. Normally, she'd be scared to death. But now, hearing her child's innocent voice, it didn't seem so frightening anymore.

By the time Zhou Yueshen got home, it was already very late. Normally, the family would be asleep at this hour. But tonight, he saw the house lights on from a distance, which made him frown and quicken his pace.

Sure enough, as soon as he got home, he saw his eldest son sitting on the couch, staring blankly. One look and he knew something must have happened.

Zhou Yueshen frowned and asked, "Xiaodong, what's wrong?"

Zhou Zedong snapped back to reality when he saw Zhou Yueshen return. His frantic heart settled, and he quickly stood up, wiping away his tears. "Dad, Xiaohan is sick. Mom took him to the clinic in the first team. You should go check on them."

Zhou Yueshen's expression changed immediately. He turned towards the door, but after taking two steps, he looked back at his anxious son who was following him. He stopped and reassured him, "Don't worry, Xiaohan will be fine. You rest first, and I'll go check on them."

Zhou Zedong shook his head vigorously, grabbing his father's pant leg. "Dad, I want to go too."

He blamed himself. If he had realized the seriousness of the situation during the day and hadn't just listened to his brother, Xiaohan wouldn't have gotten sick. Now he had caused his mother to take his brother to the clinic in the middle of the night.

Zhou Zedong was consumed with guilt.

Seeing the guilt on his son's face, Zhou Yueshen hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

Yao Yao usually slept soundly and rarely woke up at night. Without checking on Xiaohan, he knew he wouldn't sleep well anyway.

Zhou Yueshen took his son onto the motorcycle, the roar of the engine piercing through the night.

In ten minutes, they arrived at the small clinic. The lights were on.

The old doctor was used to children in the village getting fevers in the middle of the night.

When they entered, Zhou Zehan was tearfully receiving an injection, his bottom sticking out. Si Nian was holding him, a hint of a smile in her eyes, indicating that the situation wasn't too bad.

Zhou Yueshen's tense nerves relaxed. He looked at Si Nian's profile, feeling a surge of emotion.

Hearing the noise, Si Nian turned her head and saw the dusty father and son duo. "You're back," she said, her tone normal and without a trace of blame or complaint.

Zhou Yueshen was silent for a moment, then stepped forward. Noticing her thin clothing and that she was wearing slippers, he touched her head and said in a low, hoarse voice, "You've worked hard."

Si Nian shook her head and looked at Zhou Zedong, whose eyes were red.

Zhou Zedong didn't dare meet her gaze, fearing she would blame him for not staying home to look after his sister and for stubbornly following his father. When Si Nian reached out her hand, he instinctively closed his eyes.

The next second, he felt her warm hand on his head, and her gentle voice said, "Don't worry, your brother is fine."

He opened his eyes to see Si Nian's kind eyes. His own eyes reddened again, and he blinked hard.

"Uncle Wang, how is the child?" Zhou Yueshen turned his attention to the old doctor.

Uncle Wang adjusted his reading glasses, removed the needle, and pressed a cotton swab on the spot before speaking, "The little guy is growing new teeth. He probably kept touching it with his hands, which caused his gums to become inflamed and led to the fever. Give him some anti-inflammatory medicine, and he'll be fine. Make sure he doesn't touch it with his hands or tongue. In a couple of days, the new tooth will come through, and he'll be alright."

"New teeth?" Zhou Yueshen glanced at his guilty-looking younger son, then nodded in acknowledgment. After getting the medicine, the family of four left the clinic.

The way back was uphill, so it was impossible for Si Nian to ride the bicycle at night. The four of them squeezed onto the motorcycle and rode home.

By the time they got back, it was nearly four in the morning. The children usually woke up at five to get ready for school. Zhou Yueshen decided to let the elder son take a couple of days off for his younger brother until his tooth was better.

With no school to attend, the younger son was bored but still insisted on learning English despite his swollen face. He declared that he would secretly study hard and amaze everyone.

Seeing his eagerness to learn, Si Nian taught him the 26 English letters and a song to remember them. The younger son was very interested and kept reciting the letters despite his toothache.

When Zhou Zedong came back, his younger brother, with a less swollen face, eagerly said, "Brother, let me sing you a song you've never heard before."

Zhou Zedong, curious and noticing his brother's improved condition, agreed. His brother stood up straight and started singing the alphabet song, shaking his head rhythmically.

After singing, he proudly showed Zhou Zedong a notebook with his crookedly written alphabet. Pointing to the uppercase and lowercase letters, he said, "Brother, look at this. This one isn't pronounced like that, it's pronounced like this. Bet you didn't know that. Mom taught me, it's different from what the teacher said..."

"If you don't know, don't worry. I'll teach you. Come on, read with me: A, B, C..."

Zhou Zedong was left speechless.