Chapter Ten: The Professor's Illness Worsens

  Several adults went to the south of the ditch and saw Yu Songyuan and Chen Lan scooping water in an orderly manner, looking very energetic. When they saw the four adults coming, they didn't stop. Yu Xinmin took off his clothes and got into the water, saying, "You guys go eat dinner, I'll work with Zhu Shu." Yu Xiner also got into the water and added a large bucket, and he and Teacher Chen started scooping as well.

  Four brothers took turns eating, Yuemonth's spicy fish, sticky corn pancakes, salty and spicy, too delicious, three people ate with big sweat. Shu Tong suddenly flowed silently tears, tears dripping down.

  The three of them were stunned, and Yu Songyuan suddenly understood. He felt a pang in his heart. He threw down the pastry, hugged Shu Tong's head and said, "Good brother, both my elder and younger masters also regard you as their son, you're not alone. We are all your good brothers, be strong, let them rest assured in heaven!"

  Shu Tong burst into tears, heartbroken. "Grandpa and Dad were wrongly accused! During the house search, they said we used newspaper with XXX pictures to wipe our butts in the toilet. Grandma and Mom are highly educated, how could this be possible?"

  Yu Songyuan was speechless and could only pat his shoulder to comfort him.

  Shu Tong sobbed, "Brother, do you know that after Grandpa and Father were executed, someone wanted to take advantage of Mom. Mom was very strong-willed and would rather die than submit, so our family was sent down to the countryside..."

  Chen Lan and Song Quan also put down the buns in their hands, accompanied him in tears, and it took a long time for the same emotions to calm down.

  After finishing their meal, they were going to switch with the four adults. Yu Xinhe said, "Switch with Zhu Zi Shu and Xiao Ye Ba, you four will take turns carrying that small bucket. This big bucket will be carried by us four adults."

  Shu Tong and Song Quan took turns carrying the small bucket, then started bailing. The two buckets were used alternately, with a shift change every twenty minutes, significantly speeding up the process. Inside the thatched hut, the fire was kept burning continuously to boil water. Those who weren't on duty would first rest around the fire in the thatched hut.

  Doing so, efficiency has improved significantly. By dawn, the second section began to see fish.

  Yu Xinhai let the torch illuminate, and Yu Songyuan said: "Big, little masters, are you afraid that others won't know? With so many fish, everyone will come to grab them, what should we do?"

  Yu Xinmin snorted, "Look around at the surrounding counties, those who can rob you and your grandfather haven't been born yet? Our character isn't that bad, no one will come to rob you and my fish."

  "With adults around, what are we afraid of? But earlier, so many fish were piled up on one side, and I was worried that someone would come to steal them at night," Shu Tong said.

  Yu Xinhe laughed and said, "You haven't thought about it, have you? These dozen or so fish might weigh over a thousand or eight hundred catties. If we don't sell them in batches, they'll go bad before we can eat them all. How can we get everyone to come buy fish?"

  "I get it, you want everyone to know, right?" Yu Songyuan was quick-witted and immediately understood, and with his four brothers, they quickly got to work and soon made over a dozen large torches using reeds.

  Yu Songyuan and others lit several torches, planning to be beside the field, at dawn so bright with lights began to fish, until daylight, indeed there were dozens of villagers from surrounding villages came to watch.

  Seeing the big fish jumping around in the large basin, many people regretted it to death. Passing by here all day, why didn't I discover that there were so many fish here? Why didn't I come to scoop them up earlier?

  Yu Yuemeng, Wang Feng and Qiaoyun brought breakfast and also brought the scale.

  Everyone took turns eating, and soon after finishing the second segment, they started fishing. Yu Yu and Wang Feng also wore rain boots to help in the water. Five large basins were quickly filled to the brim, with a total of around 120-130 kilograms.

  At this time, there were about 200-300 villagers watching. By the afternoon, a third of the water had been drained and many villagers started buying fish. By nightfall, they had sold 60-70 kilograms.

  Qiaoyun was in charge of collecting the money, and at night in the thatched hut, she counted it once. She was surprised to find 47 yuan and 2 jiao. "Good heavens, tuition fees are settled, and there's even enough for a new outfit." Qiaoyun exclaimed.

  Song Quan saw her excitement and deliberately poured cold water on her, "You still have the nerve, aren't you just taking advantage of us?"

  Qiao Yun raised her hand and slapped him with a loud slap, then reached out to grab his ear and twisted it hard. "You pig head, dare to say another word? Who do you think you're taking advantage of? Speak clearly?"

  "Dead girl, you really hit me! Okay, okay, stop twisting, stop twisting, can't you tell I'm just joking? Pig brain!"

  Several adults watched them frolic, all smiling and not caring about them. At night, they couldn't stop and had to work continuously. When Yu Yueyue and Wang Fenglin went back, they said that at night they would come to deliver food for them. Yu Xinhai said, "Night meal, you guys do well and it's done, don't send it, I'll let them go back and get it."

  Yu Xinmin said, "Old Chen's body is not good, so he might as well go back and rest. He can just help us deliver hot soup at night." Teacher Chen naturally did not agree.

  By the second daybreak, another batch of fish was caught in the third segment. The third segment weighed about 150 catties. In the morning, the director of the commune supply and marketing society rushed over and saw that many villagers were buying fish. He hastily said: "Yu Lao Da, don't sell it, whatever you do, don't sell it! Chinese New Year is just around the corner, this is so fresh, I'll buy it all at a high price, all of it!"

  The villagers who came to buy fish on the side were not satisfied, and they all said: "This is not appropriate. If you want to collect money, you should also let us buy it. Your commune has a New Year's celebration, but we ordinary people won't have one."

  Zhou Jianguo and Zhou Kun also came, Zhou Jianguo said to Yu Xinhe and Yu Xinmin, "Yu Lao Da, Yu Duizhang, after the flood is over, don't forget to clear all the dams."

  Yu Xinmin said, "Don't worry about the secretary. We'll just play along and help out, in the end we'll definitely get everything through."

  Zhou Jianguo left with four or five large red fish, only settling the account without paying. It turned out that the largest commune enterprise in the county, Mo Shi Highway Transportation Company (also known as Mo Shi Logistics Company), was going to set up a branch company in our commune and was here for inspection, so they needed to be entertained.

  Of course, the big team's fish money will not be in arrears either. At the end of the year, it will be recorded in the production team's account.

  Another day passed, and finally finished the fish harvest. The last two segments of fish were not many, only 50-60 kilograms. After calculating the account, a total of more than 1,500 kilograms of fish were harvested. Each household kept 20-30 kilograms for the New Year, and sold more than 560 yuan.

  This was a huge fortune for the villagers who were just before the spring famine. To know that in those years, ordinary farmers, a family spent a year's worth of effort, and they could only raise one pig, which would sell for at most 120-130 yuan. The big business deal done by the four Yu brothers was equivalent to sending a large fat pig to every household, no small matter!

  After this arduous battle, the five little guys were so tired that they lost weight and fell asleep as soon as they lay down. Yu Yueyue and Wang Feng took the five to a public bathhouse on the street, where they had a thorough wash, and happily celebrated the New Year. After returning home, four of them slept for a whole day and night at Yu Yueyue's house before recovering from their exhaustion.

  Qiao Yun also came over and threatened them, "In the future, such good things are not allowed to fall on me. If I don't see you guys getting a share, I'll expose your secrets. Let's see if you can still keep your skin intact." The few people could only honestly agree.

  Originally, after the Spring Festival this spring was the most difficult time for the four families to survive, and there would definitely not be enough food to eat. This money came at just the right time and played a big role, allowing several families to safely pass through the spring famine.

  In the early 1970s, there were several years with more snowy weather in northern Jiangsu during winter.

  Once it snows heavily, Yu Songyuan and his gang will get up early in the morning no matter whose house they sleep in, without their mothers or aunts having to wake them up one by one. The young men will voluntarily take out their brooms and join the "four kinds of people" sweeping the streets team, replacing Professor Grandma who is too weak and Teacher Chen who is bedridden with illness, to participate in voluntary labor.

  Professor Chen and Teacher Chen can be exempt from the "four types of people" snow removal, which is specially permitted by Zhou Kun, the political team leader of the Sixth Small Team, and Zhou Jianguo, the secretary of the Big Team. But this "permission" is not a gift or favor, but was fought out with small fists by young Yu Songyuan and his brothers.

  Zhou Kun was the clansman of Zhou Jianguo, the secretary of the big team, and also his trusted follower, so he was fearless. In his youth, he was a notorious rascal. If it weren't for Yu Songyuan and several other naughty kids who were fond of causing trouble, as well as the clever partiality of brothers Yu Xinhai and Yu Xinmin, Zhou Kun would not have shown any kindness to the "four kinds of people".

  That winter was extremely cold, with heavy snow falling continuously, piling up as high as an adult's hips. The heavy snow sealed off the village, turning everything into a vast expanse of white. Every household hung wind chimes, men and children huddled around braziers to warm themselves by the fire, while women either mended clothes or gossiped about family matters. However, the "four types of people" had to be supervised by militiamen with guns every day, first shoveling the snow on the village roads to the side, then carefully sweeping them clean.

  When the "four kinds of people" were shoveling snow, Yu Songyuan often took the village's naughty kids with him and had a wild snowball fight on the side. The snow was as deep as an adult's buttocks, and it was very inconvenient for adults to walk. However, Yu Songyuan and his three younger brothers walked freely on the thick snow, coming and going as they pleased.

  The professor contracted a cold and was knocked down by the severe chill, having been bedridden for several days. Professor Chen's cough worsened, sometimes even coughing up clots of blood, which scared Wang Feng to tears several times. Especially the professor, who seemed unlikely to survive this winter.

  At that time, rural medical care achieved full coverage, but the level of medical care was generally very low. When farmers got sick, they usually just went to see the barefoot doctor in the production team, hung an IV drip, and gave injections. More serious illnesses could be treated at the township or county hospital, but few families could afford to treat severe illnesses. So, once a serious illness occurred, it was basically only possible to wait for death at home.

  The professor and Mr. Chen both had chronic illnesses, Yu Xinmin invited the barefoot doctor to come, put up an IV drip, gave injections, and administered medicine, but after going through the whole process, it was completely ineffective, without any improvement at all. That night, the north wind howled outside, while inside, a brazier was lit, but the professor had a high fever, shivering with cold, already in a coma for three days.

  Yu Yuexia and Shu Tong were both widows with young children, and they were at a loss. Yu Xinmin again invited the barefoot doctor of the production team to come and treat her, and after three days of saline infusion, the fever still did not subside. For five or six days, she had not drunk a drop of water, and she remained unconscious all along. Later, the doctor said that he had done his best, but there was really nothing more he could do; either they should send her to the county hospital, or they should prepare for the worst.

  On such a cold day with icy snow blocking the doors, going back and forth to the hospital like this, Professor must be unable to withstand it.

  Yu Xinhe and Yu Xinmin have been taking turns to let the professor and Teacher Chen take their pulse, observe and diagnose them. The two brothers do not agree to go to the hospital. Yu Yuemonthas completely lost her mind, Cui Wenfang, Cui Wenshu, and Wang Feng are secretly preparing mourning clothes for the professor while holding back tears.

  The barefoot doctor left with an apology, but Yu Xinhe and Yu Xinmin did not give up. They took turns to carefully feel the pulse, and after a serious discussion, Yu Xinhe wrote out a prescription for the professor. At the same time, he also gave Chen teacher a special pulse diagnosis and wrote out a prescription.

  Heavy snow blocked the road, and the bus had already stopped. Yu Xinmin walked tens of kilometers on foot in the snowy night, personally went to the county town to knock open the door of a pharmacy to grab medicine, and rushed back before dawn with a body covered in wind and snow. The two families stayed up all night decocting medicine, and began using traditional Chinese medicine to treat Professor and Teacher Chen before dawn.