MTLNOVEL Chapter 365: 365. Improvement
After drinking a bowl of medicinal soup, Liu Gao felt much better. He slowly got up and walked a few steps inside the tent. Despite feeling somewhat dizzy and weak, he could now stand up, which made him so happy that his eyes turned red. He couldn't help but think of the young man from that night, not the Immortal.
Only an Immortal would be so kind and generous. Thinking about the medicine and food he received these past few days, Liu Gao's eyes grew even warmer.
Whether that person is an Immortal is not important to Liu Gao; knowing he is their benefactor is enough.
If it weren't for that person, he might not have survived that night, not to mention so many of his siblings being able to live. Liu Gao really dared not think about it.
"Brother Liu Gao, why are you up?" asked Doggy, who had just returned the medicine bowl and saw Brother Liu Gao behind him.
"Would you like some water, Brother Liu Gao?" Doggy lifted the container holding boiled water. This was water given by their benefactor, and although they had been very sparing with it these past two days, using it only for cooking porridge and drinking, there was barely any left.
Doggy wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he always felt that porridge cooked with this water tasted much better than the well water they worked so hard to fetch.
"I'm not thirsty," Liu Gao shook his head gently. "You all take a rest; these past few days have been hard on you." Looking at Doggy, Hua'er, and the others, Liu Gao felt a pang of sorrow.
The other children who had been lying on straw mats also nodded along. Now, they could sit up, their heads no longer spinning, and they didn't feel like vomiting after moving. The foul smell in the tent had also lessened considerably.
Though they were younger, they weren't clueless. They understood the hard work their older brothers and sisters had put in these past few days, especially considering they were also sick and had to help clean the dirt from their bodies.
"Brother Liu Gao, I'm not tired. I slept through the night, and your body is much weaker than ours, so you should rest." Doggy shook his head.
Though he had also caught the plague, his symptoms were much lighter than Brother Liu Gao's. Having taken medicine, he no longer felt as weak and sore as before; he truly didn't feel too exhausted.
"Rest." Liu Gao looked at his siblings with a face that brooked no refusal.
Although one could sleep at night, with so many sick people to watch over, how could anyone sleep soundly? Simply getting up at night to feed them medicine happened several times. Otherwise, how could everyone's high fever have subsided so quickly?
"Obey... go rest," Liu Gao stood for a while, feeling his strength return a bit, and urged them even more.
Seeing Brother Liu Gao indeed stand firm and his complexion no longer had that deathly look, Doggy thought for a while and didn't insist any further, turning back to lie down on his straw mat.
Claiming not to be tired was a lie; with a house full of sick people, he—the one with milder symptoms—had to look after everyone.
Upon lying down on the straw mat, he soon fell deeply asleep, which pained Liu Gao to see.
Then he urged Hua'er and Caogen to rest as well. Feeling his strength returning a bit more, he picked up a broom he had made himself from the corner and began cleaning the tent. Though slow, being able to work again felt truly great.
The children, including Doggy, slept until the sun set. When they woke up, they saw Brother Liu Gao already preparing an evening meal, looking more spirited than when he got up earlier.
"Brother Liu Gao, take a break, I'll do it." Having rested for quite some time, Doggy felt refreshed and quickly took over the task of picking wild vegetables, while Caogen was in charge of making the fire and Hua'er cooked the porridge.
This time, Liu Gao didn't insist. During the time Doggy and the others were resting, he hadn't been idle. Not only had he thoroughly cleaned, but he also soaked and washed the children's clothes that had been changed out. However, having run out of washing water, it wasn't practical to fetch water with his current strength, so he sat down to pick wild vegetables for the evening meal.
"Brother Liu Gao, have you washed clothes?" The bucket of soaking clothes at the tent entrance was too obvious for Doggy to miss.
"With your health now..." Doggy looked at Brother Liu Gao worriedly.
"It's alright, I feel much better. It's just that I only washed them once, as there's no more water..."
"Even so, you mustn't be too careless. Leave the clothes; I'll wash them. You need more rest." Doggy looked at Brother Liu Gao very seriously. His health had finally shown color; he couldn't let fatigue or a chill worsen it.
The medicine given to them by the Immortal Older Brother was almost used up; there was enough herbal medicine for two more days, but only enough of that magical pill for one person to take three times.
"Alright, alright, I'll listen to our Doggy." Seeing Doggy's tension and seriousness, warmth filled Liu Gao's heart, and he readily complied.
Hearing this, Doggy was satisfied. He efficiently picked the wild vegetables, noting the lack of water. Then, with a water-fetching bucket in hand, he and Caogen, each carrying one, went to the well a few hundred meters away to fetch water.
This was the only well in their area, and the people here all depended on it for survival.
When Doggy arrived, there were only a few people sparse in number waiting at the well. On their faces were expressions of numbness and despair, and coughs rang out intermittently. The person closest to Doggy and at the end of the line coughed so violently that his body staggered, as if intent on coughing up his lungs, which frightened Doggy and Caogen into retreating with their heads shrouded in wraps. Their illnesses had only just improved a bit, so they couldn't let them worsen again.
Doggy and the child Caogen fetching water hardly attracted any undue attention from others, as such scenes had become commonplace these days.
They were a bit envious of the two children's constitutions. Nearly everyone there had been infected, and those who could come out were mostly lifeless; the two children were clearly in better shape than the others.
After the people before them fetched water and left, Doggy and Caogen used all their strength to fill their buckets halfway and hurried home. After several trips, they finally filled the water jar and two wooden buckets in the tent, which would suffice for their needs over the next couple of days.
Upon returning, Brother Liu Gao was already lying on the straw mat resting, and Hua'er and Wan'er had almost finished cooking the rice porridge, waiting only for them to wash the wild vegetables and add them to the pot.
Just after they were put into the pot, Doggy dug out an oil paper package from the corner, opened it, and took out a pinch of salt to sprinkle in, then carefully wrapped it back up and hid it once again.
This small amount of salt was found in the tent of someone who had already died.
They had no choice but to take risks; they were just children without any Silver Coin, and even if they had a few copper coins, they were nearly useless and couldn't buy anything.
They were unable to outcompete the adults in picking wild vegetables, and dare not venture far, so to survive another day, they could only take such risks. After all, they were already infected. As long as the tents were uninhabited or emitted foul odors, Liu Gao and the others would search them, and they indeed found some supplies: less than two catties of coarse grains and this package of salt that was less than an ounce in weight. Though small, it gave them a bit more energy.
For this reason, they had managed to hold out until now, though Brother Liu Gao became so seriously ill.
After the meal, their spirits improved further, their bellies warm, even Liu Gao felt the itch in his throat lessen. This change brightened Liu Gao's eyes; perhaps they might truly recover.
Thinking like this, his heart yearned even more for the arrival of that benefactor.