Li Man felt a burst of dizziness, and even her ribs felt pained from being pressed down by his body. She stretched her hands out to try to push him off, but his sturdy body was like a millstone that firmly pressed down on her without leaving any gaps.
After opening her mouth wide to take in a deep breath of air, she felt a bit better.
Li Man was sure that he had a fever, and it was quite serious. She tried calling his name several times, but there was no reaction from him. She only felt his uncomfortable weight on top of her.
It really wouldn’t do to carry on like this. The ground was dirty and cold. Drat, she had just changed into new clothing too.
She took another deep breath before shouting towards the outside, “Little Five -”
But, there was no response to her calls. She could faintly hear the sound of dogs barking. Where had Little Five, that brat, gone off? She hadn’t seen his shadow since lunch. But, she really didn’t want anyone else to see her current predicament.
Fretful and not having any other options, she shouted, “Li Hua!”
As expected, she heard the sound of footsteps after calling his name only a few times. Just as she was feeling hopeful that Li Hua was going to come over and pull Li Yan off of her, she saw a tanned man enter the kitchen. His face was unshaven, and his eyes were cloudy and bloodshot. She couldn’t guess his age.
Li Man thought he was a random drunkard that was trespassing. She fearfully screamed, “Who are you? Get out! My family is right behind this wall! Don’t you dare do anything bad!”
Because she was too nervous, she had slipped back to speaking in Mandarin instead saying those words in the local dialect. That person was obviously stunned, but a moment later, he responded with a foolish-looking smile. “Are you my younger brother’s wife?* Is Li Mo not at home?” Then, he leaned over to take a look. Shocked, he asked, “Ah, what’s wrong with Li Yan?”
* T/N: (This person is only saying this to indicate closeness between him and the Li family. He’s not related to the Li brothers.)
Was this a family friend? Li Man slightly relaxed and hastily did her best to answer in the local dialect, “Uncle, Li Yan has a fever. Could you help me by pulling him up?”
That person’s murky eyes lingered over Li Man’s face, and he was a bit stunned before hastily looking away. He said, “Sure,” and continued nodding as he helped pull Li Yan up.
Li Man immediately got up once the weight was lifted off of her. After dusting off the dirt on her clothes, she hastily led the two people to the eastern hut. “Please bring him into this hut.”
“Oh.” That person agreeably helped bring Li Yan into the eastern hut and placed him down on the bed.
“Thank you.” Li Man said as she stretched her hand out to check Li Yan’s temperature. Too hot.
Because Li Yan was unconscious, the man felt it was a bit improper for him to be alone with this woman. Standing behind them, he awkwardly scratched his head and said, “Younger brother’s wife, I’ll come back in the evening since Li Mo isn’t here.”
He was about to leave right after saying this.
At this time, Li Hua had hurried over here. Seeing the visitor, he was slightly surprised. “Second Shun?”
“Ah, Li Hua, you’re not at school? I came over here to see your oldest brother.” Seeing Li Hua, Second Shun greeted him with a beaming smile, but his expression had become a bit reserved.
Li Hua replied, “My teacher gave us a few days off.” He looked at Li Yan, who was lying on the bed, and hastily went forward. “What’s wrong with second brother?”
“He has a fever.” Li Man was sitting on the bed and using a dry towel to wipe the sweat from Li Yan’s forehead. Seeing that Li Hua was here, she requested, “Bring over some lukewarm water.”
“Oh.” Seeing that his second brother was unconscious and that his handsome face was looking so pale, Li Hua listened to Li Man’s words and brought back lukewarm water from the kitchen.
Li Man got up, took the basin of water, and placed it down on a nearby stool. Then, she dipped the towel into the warm water and wrung out the excess water from the towel. She said to Li Hua, “Untie his belt.”
“Eh?” Li Hua was stunned for a moment, but he still obediently untied the belt.
