Those who travel back in time

Chapter 14 Qilin Group

After dinner, Chen Qing wanted to help wash the dishes, but He Shan refused and had He Hui help Chen Qing to the bedroom to rest.

"Uncle, Grandpa wasn't reluctant to let you eat that eggplant," He Hui explained for He Song. "Grandpa goes to the market every day to pick up vegetables that others have thrown away. He picked up that eggplant. He felt that you were a guest and shouldn't be allowed to eat vegetables he had picked up."

"Grandpa He, you're too kind. What kind of guest am I?" Chen Qing was stunned, not expecting He Song to have such a thought.

There are only two bedrooms in this house. Usually, He Song and his son He Shan live in one room, while He Hui lives in another room.

Now that Chen Qing is a "guest," He Hui has moved in to sleep with He Song, while He Shan sleeps on the sofa in the living room.

Chen Qing originally wanted to sleep on the sofa, but both He Shan and He Song firmly disagreed. Chen Qing couldn't persuade them otherwise, so she could only "go with the flow".

"Cough cough!" In the middle of the night, Chen Qing was awakened again by an extremely suppressed cough, which was probably covered by a hand.

He opened his eyes and, under the moonlight, saw He Song standing in front of his bed, holding a quilt.

"Look at me, I couldn't help it and woke you up." He Song bent down and pulled the blanket over himself.

"Grandpa He, I'm not cold," Chen Qing said.

"How can you not be cold? My hands and feet are freezing." He Song covered Chen Qing with the blanket without saying a word.

"Give it to Brother Shan. He needs it more; he should sleep on the sofa."

"Don't worry about him, he's tough and won't get cold. Listen to him snoring so loudly, I wonder what sweet dreams he's having."

Perhaps because there was an extra blanket, Chen Qing slept exceptionally soundly until the warm sunlight shone through the window onto his face, at which point he slowly woke up.

He moved his shoulders and back and could no longer feel any pain. He unwrapped the bandages from his body and found no trace of injury. No one would believe that this person had been hit and thrown into the air just two days ago.

"Grandpa He?" Chen Qing walked out of the bedroom, but there was no one in the living room.

He Hui went to school, and He Shan went to work, so it wasn't strange that they weren't there. But even He Song was nowhere to be seen.

Chen Qing thought that He Song might have gone to do the "craft" they talked about at dinner last night.

Although her health was no longer a major concern and she was able to carry out the mission, Chen Qing did not want to leave without saying goodbye. She wanted to at least wait for He Song to return and say hello before leaving.

Chen Qing looked around the living room again and didn't see anything new; all the furniture was old.

As for home appliances, there's only an old refrigerator; there's no air conditioner, no washing machine, and not even a television.

The wall was covered with certificates of merit, such as "Three Good Student" and "Outstanding Learning Model Student," which were the only decorations on the wall.

After circling around twice, Chen Qing looked up and noticed a patch of water stain on the ceiling, a darker color than the surrounding area, which had turned yellowish-black and spread from the corner of the wall, resembling an ugly map. Several strips of peeling plaster, worn away by the dampness, clung to the edges of the stain.

"The roof is leaking." Chen Qing came to this conclusion instantly.

He went into the yard and, using the small protrusions on the windowsill and the outer wall, easily climbed onto the four-meter-high roof with his bare hands, more agile than a cat.

Upon inspection, the problem was found to be at the connection between the load-bearing beams and rafters of the roof. Due to years of water seepage, the wood had become damp and rotten, causing the connection to loosen. As a result, the cement tiles above it sank in some areas and developed cracks.

Going down is even simpler than going up; just leap and land steadily on the ground.

"I don't have much to repay you with, so I'll just help you repair the house." Chen Qing then started searching through the house.

In the storeroom, he found tools such as hammers and nails, as well as new cedar wood and tiles.

It turns out that the materials needed to repair the roof had already been purchased.

Chen Qing also found a ladder, but he was too lazy to use it. Instead, he took the cedar tiles and went up to the roof, where he lifted the sunken tiles and planks by hand and put them back in place.

Chen Qing knew why the roof hadn't been repaired despite having the tools and materials: the previous step was quite strenuous, and He Shan couldn't lift it by himself. He Song was ill, and He Hui was just a child, so they couldn't offer any help.

Pick up the new cedar wood, place one end against a solid load-bearing wall below the rotten spot, and the other end against the sunken structure that was just lifted. Then reinforce it with nails, replace the surrounding broken tiles, and the roof is repaired.

"Dashan! Are you home, Dashan!" Just as I came down from the roof, I saw a thin, middle-aged man carrying a hoe rushing in. He paused, startled to see Chen Qing, "Who are you?"

"I'm Brother Shan's friend." Chen Qing walked up to the thin middle-aged man in two steps. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"Grandpa He has fainted by the river!" the thin middle-aged man said anxiously. "I was on my way home from the fields when I passed by the river and saw a lot of people gathered there. When I went over to take a look, wasn't that Grandpa He? He was lying on the ground."

Which river? How do I get there?

"We're not by the river anymore. Someone called 120. If you want to go, go directly to the hospital."

Which hospital?

"It should be Shuguang Hospital. An ambulance came to our village last year, and it was from Shuguang Hospital."

Chen Qing rushed to Shuguang Hospital, asked the nurses for He Song's ward information, and hurried over there.

"Dad, why did you go fishing again? I told you yesterday not to go, and you complained that I was nagging. Now look what happened, you're lying on the riverbank." Chen Qing heard He Shan's voice coming from inside the ward before she even went in.

"I was just thinking of catching a fish for Xiao Chen to treat himself. We have a guest coming over, so we have to entertain him, right?" He Song said.

"I didn't say we wouldn't treat you. We'll go to the market to buy the fish. You don't need to go fishing yourself."

"I'm not trying to save every little bit."

"You're just making things worse. Don't you know your own health condition?"

"I thought fishing was just a matter of sitting there and swinging the rod, what problem could there be? But I still couldn't keep up. Sigh, my lousy body."

"Don't worry about that. I'm going to the market today to buy two fish and cut two pieces of meat. It's been a while since Xiaohui has had any meat."

"By the way, be careful not to let it slip when you get home today. If Xiao Chen finds out I was so exhausted from fishing that I fainted, where will I put my face?"

Upon hearing the last sentence, Chen Qing left the hospital without pushing open the door.

He took the bus back to Dahuai Village, went to the market, bought some fish, meat, and fresh vegetables, put them in the old refrigerator in the living room, and then swept the floor and cleaned up.

If they see any broken tables or chairs, they'll help to knock them down and fix them.

"Grandpa He, Brother Shan, Xiao Hui, see you again someday." Chen Qing took one last look at the house before turning and leaving.

He still chose to leave without saying goodbye.

Once again, Chen Qing boarded the bus and arrived at the Qilin Building, which is the headquarters of the Qilin Group.