The neighbor quickly received the medicine, but they transferred a red envelope of two hundred yuan. Mu Nan felt a bit uncomfortable about taking two hundred directly. Although he knew that if he waited a bit longer, even two thousand yuan might not be enough for a box of medicine, since the situation wasn't that dire yet, he could still stock up on medicine once the smog cleared and things returned to normal. Taking too much money from the neighbor now made him feel like he was taking advantage of them.
"Brother, why don't we give them a bottle of loquat syrup as well? I bought several boxes of it, and it's available online, so it's easy to get more. Otherwise, I feel bad accepting so much money from them."
Qin Huai said, "Tomorrow when I make the braised dishes, we'll give them some as well. Right now, with every household tightly closed and no ventilation, they're quite close to us. Our strong-smelling dishes will definitely affect them. They haven't complained, so we should show our appreciation."
Mu Nan laughed, "So this is to make them feel indebted to us, huh?"
Qin Huai, while neatly folding the clothes that had dried under the air conditioner and putting them into the wardrobe, replied, "Only you would put it that way. Get all the spices out. I'll make the braising liquid today. Tomorrow, once the chicken wings arrive, I can start cooking. Besides chicken wings, do you want to braise anything else? How about beef?"
Mu Nan shook his head, "No beef. Beef becomes too dry when braised. Should we add some lotus root and seaweed?"
Qin Huai nodded, "Alright, get those out too. We can braise the vegetables today. Also, get some eggs; let's braise some eggs as well."
Mu Nan agreed cheerfully and began to take out the ingredients from the space, thinking how nice it was to have a brother who could prepare anything he wanted.
Jian Chu, seeing Yu Zibai come back with the medicine, guessed that it must have been bought from the neighbor. If they had asked the community, Jian Chu might have been taken away for isolation by now. Seeing Yu Zibai opening the medicine box and reading the instructions, Jian Chu sighed, "I'll be fine in a couple of days with just drinking more hot water. It's such a hassle to buy cold medicine. How much did this cost?"
Yu Zibai handed him the medicine box, which still had an unpeeled price tag: "Check for yourself."
A box of cold medicine cost just over twenty yuan, cheaper than a pound of radishes. Jian Chu was unaware that Yu Zibai had sent a red envelope to express thanks and couldn't help but marvel, "They're really nice to still be willing to sell cold medicine at a time like this."
Yu Zibai took out two pills and handed them to him: "The instructions say one pill per dose, three times a day. Since your cough is quite severe, take two for now."
With the medicine bought, Jian Chu took it and swallowed it with water. Feeling unwell from the cough, he skipped dinner and went to bed early. By midnight, when Yu Zibai no longer heard Jian Chu coughing, his mind, which had been tense these past few days, finally relaxed a bit.
The effects of taking double the usual amount of medicine were evident; by the next day, Jian Chu was feeling much better. The aroma of braised dishes wafting from the neighbor's apartment had rekindled his appetite, which had been absent for several days. However, he dared not comment on it, fearing that Yu Zibai might take it seriously and try to buy him something nice to make up for his illness.
To Jian Chu's surprise, their kind-hearted neighbor ended up delivering a bag of braised dishes and a bottle of loquat syrup in the evening.
Jian Chu was puzzled by this gesture and turned to Yu Zibai, "Did you trade something from our home for this?"
Yu Zibai smiled and replied, "What could we possibly trade? It must be that the neighbor is just kind-hearted and wanted to send some homemade braised dishes since there's someone sick in the house. They might also want to build a better relationship. After all, it's easier to deal with young people than older ones."
Jian Chu clicked his tongue, "Who are you trying to fool? Tell me, what's the real reason? If it was just the braised dishes, it might be the neighbor's kindness. But with a bottle of loquat syrup as well—did they find it in their home and decide to give it along with the braised dishes? And besides, why would they suddenly send food? It's not like they've even said hello in the past three years."
Yu Zibai, unperturbed, responded, "If the younger sibling isn't enthusiastic, does that mean the older brother can't be either?"
Even though they had been wearing masks during their previous encounters, Jian Chu could still sense the person's aura. If Yu Zibai said the neighbor was friendly, Jian Chu thought Yu Zibai was underestimating his intelligence. Seeing Yu Zibai's refusal to explain, Jian Chu decided not to press further. What mattered most was to recover quickly and figure out how to share the burdens of life with Yu Zibai.
At this moment, Mu Nan was also quite surprised by the neighbor's actions. He had placed the household trash outside the iron gate, intending for Qin Huai to take it down with him when he went out the next day. Coincidentally, the neighbor came out to pick up the braised dishes and loquat syrup that Qin Huai had left at the corridor's fire hydrant. They briefly crossed paths, and noticing Mu Nan putting out the trash, the neighbor stood at their door and did not come out, just thanking him before retrieving the items.
Mu Nan was surprised to recognize this neighbor from a previous life. They had a memorable encounter back then.
The weather was extremely hot, with power and water outages, but before the earthquake that almost disrupted everything, and right after the pandemic had passed. Many people had been in lockdown for months, and numerous individuals faced bankruptcy and mounting debts. With such extreme weather, many couldn't bear the pressure of survival and chose to commit suicide. The government, aware of the hardship, started distributing supplies—three bottles of one-liter mineral water and a bag of instant noodles every three days, to be collected with an ID card.
Although Mu Nan didn't lack food, the dire conditions had made him anxious. Thus, he took the free supplies, even though they would only be stored in his space for later use. Due to the intense heat during the day, people could only collect supplies after sunset. The collection point was a supermarket, not a neighborhood committee, which was at least a five-minute walk from their residential area.
Despite the short distance, carrying food alone at night in extreme heat made it quite unsafe.
He noticed two people in line ahead of him, both notably tall and striking. What drew his attention was their interaction—the taller one kept placing the water into the shorter one's bag and had him carry the instant noodles. The shorter one appeared to be in poor health, with a pale complexion even in the dark. The taller one protected him and paid close attention to the people in line.
Seeing their interaction, Mu Nan thought that if Qin Huai were there, he would be the one being protected.
At that moment, the envy of having someone to rely on, mixed with longing and worry, and the frustration of facing an uncertain future alone, overwhelmed him. Qin Huai had been gone for a while, and despite the difficulties, he had never cried until that moment, when tears were uncontrollably shed.
On the way back, he felt as if someone was following him. When he turned around, he saw two scruffy individuals in shorts, looking like vagrants. Just as he hesitated to run home, the two people he had seen earlier came up to him. The taller one said, "You're from Jinglin Community too, right? Let's walk together."
With the two of them accompanying him, the vagrants stopped following. He thanked the two but was not good at socializing with strangers, often struggling to say more than thanks. They silently walked back to the community, and after they parted ways, he never saw them again. He didn't even know they lived next door.
Because of the emotions stirred by that encounter, he had a deep impression of them. Even now, with only their eyes visible through masks, he could recognize the neighbor as the tall one who had helped him in his previous life. This meant the person who was sick at their place was probably the shorter one he had seen before. It seemed that his health wasn't great, but surviving until now meant he had not been infected, which was fortunate.
Seeing Mu Nan return from taking out the trash with an unusual expression, Qin Huai stopped his mixing: "What's wrong?"
Mu Nan looked at Qin Huai, who was wearing an apron and whipping egg liquid with a mixer, and couldn't help but reach out: "Brother, come hug me."
Qin Huai laughed, setting down the mixer and walking over. He opened his arms and embraced Mu Nan, lifting him into a hug. "What's wrong? Did you see something? Suddenly being so affectionate." He was a bit surprised by Mu Nan's unexpected display of closeness, but of course, the closer Mu Nan was to him, the better.
Mu Nan took a deep breath and smiled as he said, "I just suddenly felt that having a brother is really great."
Qin Huai ruffled his hair and teased, "With such sweet talk, you're quite the charmer."
Mu Nan asked, "Then can I have an extra serving of chicken wings later?"
Qin Huai, showing no mercy, released him and flatly refused, "No, you can't."
Mu Nan looked at him with a mixture of exasperation and fondness. Sometimes, having a brother wasn't as great as it seemed.