Transmigration: Flirted with My Childhood Sweetheart
Chapter 408 - 407: Human Flesh Weather Station

Chapter 408: Chapter 407: Human Flesh Weather Station

Uncle Niu fell ill that very night.

His heart was burdened with too much, and he had held on before, perhaps because he was concerned about Niuwa outside, or perhaps because he wanted to see that child he had raised from a young age just one more time.

He saw him today, saw that he was studying well, saw that he was well-fed and clothed, saw that he was a hundred times stronger than when he was by his side... As the breath he had been holding let go, his body couldn’t endure it anymore.

In his confusion, there were always two voices arguing in his head, one yelling to just close his eyes and rest, saying that if he died, he wouldn’t be a burden to Niuwa; the other voice, clear and gentle, said that he must live well because Niuwa is still waiting for him.

The two voices fought against each other like in a contest, causing him a headache like his head was splitting.

Maybe pain can clarify one’s thoughts, he hurt and ached, remembering many, many things.

He remembered the first time he met Niuwa, a small child with a face so frozen it looked blue, silent in his crying like a kitten; he remembered how he carried Niuwa from door to door begging for milk, how Niuwa was never fussy as a child, content with cornmeal porridge when there was no milk or rice flour, never picky eating; he remembered the dumpling Niuwa stubbornly pushed into his mouth, remembered the little bastard’s perfect test papers one after another, remembered him crying and calling for grandpa, remembered he still had such a long, long road to go...

He couldn’t bear to leave!

He was greedy; he wanted to see Niuwa more, he wanted to see him grow up, to see him go to Peking University, to see him get married, have children... The little bastard had no parents, he would have to rely on himself in the future, how tiring that would be... Oh right, what if in two years Educated Youth Lin returned to the city, would Niuwa be alone again... And, the child is good in studies and going to university which would surely be expensive, the little money he had saved was not going to be enough...

Maybe he could still help him a bit, whether it’s cooking and doing chores or helping him with the baby’s diapers... The little bastard cannot be without someone to rely on!

Uncle Niu suddenly opened his eyes, gasping for breath, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at the dark walls and hoarsely cried out for "Help".

His cellmates were startled, the prison guards were called, and later on, the Doctor also came...

News of Uncle Niu’s illness was originally not supposed to reach the Ten Miles Team; to the prison, this was just a small matter of a prisoner being sick, no need or reason to report elsewhere.

So, the next morning when Su Yuncheng called to inquire about Uncle Niu’s condition, the Prison Chief was puzzled for a long time.

Despite his confusion, the Prison Chief quickly sent someone to check on Uncle Niu, and the answer he got was that he had had a fever all night long, had been administered gentamicin, and his fever had gone down by now.

Su Yuncheng hung up the phone, then turned to ask Lin Nianhe, "Should we take Niuwa to see him?"

Lin Nianhe bit her lower lip, torn inside.

She had felt something was off about Uncle Niu the day before; it was not about some physical illness, she felt that the thread holding onto Uncle Niu’s life had snapped, which was why she had specifically said those words, fearing that Uncle Niu might think of death.

Should she take Niuwa to see him?

The old man probably wouldn’t want the child to go to the prison.

Lin Nianhe thought it over and said, "I’ll go see him."

"I’ll go with you."

Taking advantage of the noon break at the village school, Su Yuncheng took Lin Nianhe to the prison.

Uncle Niu’s fever had subsided, but his body was in terrible pain, and he couldn’t get up from the kang bed. Wrapped in a cotton jacket and covered with a quilt, he was surprised to see Lin Nianhe, "Lin, Educated Youth Lin?"

"Are you alright?" Lin Nianhe placed a bag of brown sugar and two bottles of yellow peach cans beside his pillow, and spoke as if talking to herself, "We called the prison this morning, only then did we find out you were sick."

"I’m old, no good anymore," Uncle Niu struggled to sit up but was held down by Lin Nianhe.

"You lie down, don’t catch a cold," Lin Nianhe said, "I didn’t tell Niuwa about your illness, but I promised him yesterday that I would try to let you two see each other at least once a month."

Uncle Niu’s eyes lit up faintly, "Yes, yes, don’t tell him, don’t ever tell him. It’s just a cold, nothing serious."

He paused, then added, "As for meeting... it’s better to meet less. My situation... I shouldn’t hold him back."

His eyes dimmed a bit more as he said this.

"I’ve asked around, and you and Niuwa are not related by blood. Your situation won’t affect him."

Lin Nianhe told a small lie.

But indeed, Niuwa’s situation wouldn’t be affected. Initially, when Uncle Niu brought Niuwa home, he didn’t handle any official adoption paperwork. He didn’t know how to do that. At that time, Nine-miles Team was managed by Wang Wei, who understood even less. He simply added a name to the points register when Niuwa started collecting swineherd grass at five years old. No formal procedures were done.

It was Principal Wu who decided to adopt Niuwa and then completed his official paperwork and household registration. From this point of view, Niuwa had no actual connection with Uncle Niu and naturally wouldn’t be affected by him.

Lin Nianhe did not share these details with Uncle Niu, not wanting to impose additional wounds on the already fragile heart of the elderly man by making him think that he had absolutely no connection to Niuwa.

When Uncle Niu heard Lin Nianhe say this, he couldn’t help but get a bit agitated: "Educated Youth Lin, you can’t be lying to me, can you? Is it, is it really true?"

"It’s true, I’ve made sure to ask about it." Lin Nianhe nodded, "Don’t worry, just take good care of your health and behave well, striving to get out early."

"Mm, mm!"

Uncle Niu’s eyes were bright, as if he saw hope for the future.

Lin Nianhe chatted with him for a while and before leaving, said, "Next time, I’ll take Niuwa to town to take a couple of photos, and I’ll bring them to you."

"Educated Youth Lin!"

Uncle Niu struggled to sit up.

He looked at Lin Nianhe, his eyes brimming with red.

Trembling, he raised his hands and clasped them together in a salute, "Th-thank you..."

Lin Nianhe gave him a faint smile, said nothing more, and walked away.

Uncle Niu stared in the direction Lin Nianhe left until he could no longer see her. Only then did he wipe the tears from his face and grabbed the now cold cornbread, stuffing it forcefully into his mouth.

Leaving the prison, Lin Nianhe let out a sigh of relief and said, "He should be able to survive."

Su Yuncheng adjusted her hat for her and glanced at the sky, heavy with the threat of snow, "Let’s head back. It’s going to snow."

Su Yuncheng was like a weather forecast; as soon as they reached Ten Miles Team, the snow started to fall.

Lin Nianhe looked at him with a complex expression.

This ability of his to predict the weather made her really want to donate him to the meteorological station!

With him around, weather forecasts would probably be much more accurate, at the very least, you wouldn’t see rain pouring down while the forecast stubbornly claims it’s a sunny day.

Su Yuncheng felt uncomfortable under her gaze: "What is it?"

Lin Nianhe blurted out, "I was thinking about donating you to the country."

Su Yuncheng: "...?"

Can a person even be donated twice?