The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book) - 92

 

| TBBOTOF | 92

Tang Erhu's two rooms had their roofs collapsed under the weight of accumulated snow, but if they think about it carefully, you can't entirely blame Tang Rui for this incident.

On the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, Tang Erhu drank too much. When he went to bed that night, he forgot to put out the fire on the kang, which meant that the firewood in the stove burned out by the middle of the night.

Normally, if he had woken up and added more firewood to keep the fire going, so he wouldn't have had to sleep on a cold kang.

The problem was, he had drunk so much out of anger that he fell into a muddled sleep. When he got up in a daze to pee, he climbed back onto the kang and continued to sleep. Because of the alcohol, he felt warm and didn't notice the temperature dropping in the room. 

In fact, he felt quite comfortable without the previous stifling heat.

As a result, he woke up frozen in the latter part of the night, with his bed feeling icy cold. The room was so chilly that his breath came out in visible white puffs.

To make matters worse, it was snowing outside, and the walls of the mud house were not thick enough to block the invading cold.

Fully awake from the cold, Tang Erhu realized that the fire in the stove had gone out. He quickly got up to relight it, but it took more than half an hour for the fire to burn well, the kang to get warm, and the room to heat up.

As a result, this usually healthy middle-aged man fell ill from the cold.

His illness wasn't very serious. He found a herbalist to get some medicine, which he took home to brew. After drinking the medicine for three days, he was almost well, as long as he didn't catch a cold or overexert himself to worsen his condition.

Initially, Tang Erhu was quite resistant to taking the medicine, saying that he just felt weak and that drinking the bitter medicine was useless and a waste of money. He believed that he would recover on his own after some time.

Tang Li didn’t try to persuade him much, and simply said that it was only a few days until New Year’s Eve, and if their brother came back to see their father sick, he would certainly be unhappy.

With just those two sentences, Tang Erhu obediently drank the medicine, showing great cooperation.

Unexpectedly, before he fully recovered, he ended up breaking his leg.

The snow had been falling heavily for the past three days. Although the roof at home was covered with tiles and mats, the snow was so heavy that Tang Erhu was constantly worried that the roof would collapse.

Concerned, he took a ladder to climb up and check the roof.

Just as he set up the ladder, Tang Yang saw him and shouted several times to stop him, saying he would go up instead.

Tang Li intervened, saying Tang Yang was not even as tall as one rung of the ladder and had no business going up; she would do it.

Tang Erhu stopped her, saying the shovel was too heavy for a girl to handle.

At that moment, Tang Rui came out of the outhouse and, seeing the three of them standing outside, he curiously asked what was going on.

Tang Erhu, spotting his eldest son who was almost as tall as he was, pointed at the ladder and said, "You go up and sweep the snow off the roof. The snow is too thick and might collapse the roof."

Tang Rui looked up and saw that the snow on the roof was indeed very thick.

Although he had never done this before, he had seen his father do it and thought it wouldn’t be difficult.

Moreover, he hoped that by helping out, he could ease the strained relationship between him and his father.

So, upon hearing his father's request, he nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go up."

Tang Erhu looked up at him, watching as he started to sweep the snow, and cautioned, "Don't step through the roof, be careful."

Tang Rui responded affirmatively.

Afterward, Tang Erhu went inside to rest, leaving Tang Rui alone on the roof to shovel the snow.

This task was inherently laborious. Snow accumulated on the roof, and the sunlight would cause it to melt partially. However, it didn't completely turn into water before more snow fell and covered it again. The layer closest to the tiles would freeze, turning into ice and binding the tiles.

Shoveling snow required both skill and strength. Initially, one might think it’s simple to just push the snow off the roof, but once you start, you realize it’s not only about the effort of shoveling. You need to be careful with your footing to avoid breaking the tiles or slipping. You also have to control the strength of your arms to avoid breaking the tiles with the shovel.

Even seasoned farm workers could break a sweat doing this, let alone Tang Rui, who was more of a scholar than a laborer.

Though he wasn’t entirely incapable, he was close to that point.

Standing on the roof and looking down, Tang Rui saw no one in the yard.

He then glanced at the remaining snow on the roof and decided it would suffice to just push down the softer snow. This would lighten the load without exhausting himself too much.

In a few moves, Tang Rui had pushed half of the snow down and then climbed back down the ladder.

“Big brother, are you done?” Tang Li was holding a bowl of steaming ginger sugar water, intending to bring it to Tang Rui, but she saw him coming down.

She looked at the snow on the ground, noticing a sizable pile.

Tang Rui took the bowl, blew on the steaming ginger sugar water, and replied, “Yes, I’m done. I’ll handle the rest tomorrow.”

Tang Li was quite pleased. Her big brother wasn’t entirely unthoughtful; at least he was helping out with the household chores now.

Tang Rui was being honest when he said he was planning to rest for the night and shovel the snow again the next morning when the sun was out.

However, who could have anticipated that the snow would fall even more heavily after dark?

In the middle of the night, the roof collapsed.

The roofs of Tang Rui and Tang Erhu's rooms caved in, while the roofs of Tang Li and Tang Yang's rooms stayed intact. Yet, since their rooms were adjacent, the collapsing roofs caused damage to the mud walls as well.

Tang Erhu’s leg was broken by a falling wooden beam.

The three children weren’t hit, but they were scared out of their wits.

Tang Yang’s first instinct was to find his elder brother and inform him of what had happened, while Tang Li shouted for help to dig their father out.

Thankfully, the tiles were cushioned by mats underneath, preventing them from directly hitting Tang Erhu. Otherwise, he would have been critically injured.

Tang Rui sustained minor injuries, with a scraped forehead, not from the collapsing roof but from bumping into the door frame while running out.

The noise was too loud to go unnoticed. As Tang Yang ran out shouting for help, many neighbors, awakened by the commotion, realized that the house had collapsed under the snow. 

They quickly fetched tools and rushed over to help.

Tang Erhu's right leg was severely broken, the bone completely snapped and blood was everywhere.

"This is really bad. The bone’s completely broken!"

"What are we going to do? He won’t be able to do any heavy work from now on."

"How painful it must be, the bone broken."

Tang Erhu wanted to save face, he endured the pain in silence, despite the sweat glistening on his forehead. Not a word of complaint or even a groan escaped his lips.

Tang Li glanced at Tang Yang, who understood immediately and ran outside.

It was still dark.

Tang Rui was stunned but quickly snapped out of it and dashed outside, muttering to himself, “It’s not my fault.”

Upon hearing all this, Tang Xu felt that blaming Tang Rui entirely for the incident was unfair, but saying he had no responsibility at all was also not right.

However, this wasn’t the time to assign blame. Tang Xu was worried about Tang Erhu’s leg injury and looked at Wei Dong, his face pale with anxiety.

“We need to bring Dad and Ah Li over. The house collapsed, and we need to dig out their belongings. Ah Dong, I…”

“I know,” Wei Dong interrupted, squeezing Tang Xu’s hand firmly, offering his support. “I’ll go and bring them back. I’ll also retrieve everything from the house and make sure they’re settled. Don’t stress yourself out.”

Tang Xu nodded, one hand instinctively rubbing his stomach, which had started to cramp from his earlier anxiety.

Wei Dong went to prepare the cart, and Tang Yang wanted to go along but was stopped by Tang Xu. “You can’t help much by going along. Xiao Xi, take Ah Yang to get something to eat.”

Tang Xu thought for a moment, went back inside to put on his cotton clothes and pants, then wrapped himself in a large cloak. He headed to the backyard to find Wei Dong. “Ah Dong, I’ll go with you. If we don’t set my dad’s leg immediately, it will heal crooked.”

Wei Dong glanced at the sky, noticing that while the snow had stopped for now, the clouds were still heavy and more snow was likely.

Tang Xu understood his concern and quickly said, “We’ll wear the hats and raincoats I made, and cover ourselves with a thick quilt. We won’t get soaked.”

Wei Dong sighed and nodded, “Alright, wait here while I get them.”

Tang Xu patted the mule that had come over to nuzzle him with its long face. “You’ll have to work hard for the next couple of days. I’ll give you some sweet dates when we get back.”

The mule, recognizing the word "sweet dates," wagged its long tail and brayed happily.

Wei Dong returned with two sets of large raincoats and thick quilts, wrapping them both up securely. He then placed a hat on Tang Xu’s head.

Luckily, the cart was big enough; otherwise, with Tang Xu bundled up like that, he would have taken up half the space.

They set off, ready to tackle the challenges ahead and ensure that Tang Erhu and the rest of the family were safe and cared for.

"Once spring arrives, we should get a carriage built. It would be more comfortable, shielding us from the wind and rain," Tang Xu said, stretching his legs out to relieve the discomfort in his stomach and legs from sitting cross-legged. "We can use separate carriages for transporting people and goods."

"Yeah," Wei Dong agreed, patting the mule’s backside. "Let’s go."

At Tang Erhu’s home, the roofs of the two rooms had collapsed. The falling beams had also brought down half of the mud walls, damaging the adjacent mud houses. The result was that, except for the small outermost room where Tang Xu used to live, all the habitable rooms had collapsed.

Neighbors had kindly helped to dig out the belongings from the wreckage. There wasn’t anything particularly valuable—mostly clothes and bedding, now covered in dirt, snow, and mud. 

Though dirty, they could be cleaned and used again, but with the bad weather, drying them would take some time.

Tang Li’s room had more things. Though the walls had collapsed, they had crushed a basket in the corner containing hemp ropes she had recently twisted, intending to weave socks.

From Tang Rui’s room, they retrieved papers, books, and ink brushes. These weren’t easily damaged by the collapse, and though some of the books and papers were soiled, they were still usable.

Tang Yang’s room was in a similar state to Tang Li’s, with the fallen debris crushing a table and dirtying the calligraphy practice sheets on it.

All in all, the major injury was Tang Erhu’s broken right leg—fortunate considering the circumstances.

Their elderly parents came over, and upon seeing their second son’s condition, were so frightened that their legs nearly gave way.

Wu Guizhi immediately burst into tears and rushed towards Tang Erhu.

“Mother,” Luo Pingping held her back, “we need to move Erhu back to our place first. Ah Li, you help support your grandma.”

Tang Li, with her hair wet and snow on her shoulders, brushed off the snow and turned to Wu Guizhi. “Grandma, I sent Ah Yang to find my elder brother. Don’t worry, everything will be fine.”

“How can it be fine? Your brother is pregnant, what if he gets scared?” Wu Guizhi was even more anxious upon hearing that Tang Xu knew about the situation. “Hurry, go and stop him.”

Tang Xu, already anxious about his father’s leg, knew his own limits but was determined to be there for his family. 

Meanwhile, Wei Dong and the neighbors continued to ensure the immediate safety and retrieval of possessions from the wrecked home.

Tang Li shook her head as she was pushed aside by Wu Guizhi. "Given my brother's temperament, he’s probably already halfway here."

Hearing Wu Guizhi's outburst, some of the onlookers were surprised to learn that Tang Xu was pregnant. However, it wasn’t the time for gossip; a few women exchanged glances but kept quiet.

Tang Erhu was carried to the Tang family’s old house, where a local herbal doctor had arrived. Seeing Tang Erhu’s bloody, exposed bone, the doctor’s hands trembled.

“How, how do I treat this?”

Everyone in the room looked at him. “We called you to treat it, why are you asking us?”

The herbal doctor swallowed hard. “I know how to treat it, but I’ve never done it myself!”

“How do you treat it?” Tang Dahu asked.

The herbal doctor raised his hands to demonstrate and explained, “You have to set the bone back in place, align it properly, and immobilize it so it can heal.”

Hearing this, Tang Dahu turned pale.

He looked at his father, who then looked at his mother, who finally looked at Tang Rui.

Tang Rui, equally pale, shook his head and stepped back. “I-I-I can’t do it.”

At this point, Tang Erhu’s face was starting to turn blue. Though the bleeding had slowed, the pain was excruciating.

He was both in pain and cold.

"Dahu, you do it!" Tang Guangliang patted his eldest son on the shoulder and pushed him forward.

Tang Dahu’s hands were numb, and he shook his head vehemently. "No, no, what if I make it worse?"

“You need to hurry. If we wait any longer, it might not heal properly.” The herbal doctor gave Tang Erhu a bowl of black herbal concoction to drink, then turned to inspect the broken leg, pressing on it. “Even if you make it worse, it’s better than not trying at all.”

"I’ll do it." Wei Dong pushed aside the onlookers at the door and strode into the room.

Tang Xu took off the conical hat, revealing his striking face. “Ah Dong, wash your hands with hot water. Uncle, ask the neighbors to leave, and Grandfather and Grandmother should rest in their room,” he said as he hooked his arm around Wu Guizhi’s. “Grandma, find a clean cloth for my dad to bite on. Resetting the bone will be excruciating; we don’t want him to bite his tongue.”

Seeing Tang Xu, Wu Guizhi felt a wave of relief, as if she had found her anchor, and nodded repeatedly.

Tang Xu glanced at Tang Rui and Tang Li, then lifted his chin. “Both of you, go outside and gather our belongings. Load them onto the cart.”

Tang Li nodded and turned to leave.

Tang Rui pressed his lips together, hesitating.

Tang Xu, noticing the gossipy neighbors had already left, said to Tang Rui, “You go too. We’ll talk about everything else once Dad is taken care of.”

Tang Rui clenched his back teeth but remained silent and turned to leave.

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