Meng Yan's Transformation

As the footsteps approached, there was the sound of keys colliding and the door opening... As the door opened, Lulu jumped up and sat upright on the bed.

"My dear girl, mom has brought you some medicine for your fever and cold. Just take it and sweat it out. I promise you'll be full of energy tomorrow..." Li Erfeng walked into the room, holding medicine and a glass of water in her hands. She looked gentle and kind, and stood in front of the three little girls.

"Aunt Li, please give me the antipyretic and cold medicine. My doctor told me that it's best to take cold medicine one hour after a meal. Wait a moment, I'll take care of Lulu while she takes the medicine." Zhan Yingying said as she took the medicine and cup of water from Li Erfeng's hand.

"Okay, okay! Lulu will take her medicine. You three should go to bed early. We have to get up early tomorrow... I have to take care of Yuanbao's meal. Lulu, you must be fine. Be good!" Li Erfeng said as she glanced at Lulu. Lulu seemed to be whipped by a whip, and her body trembled...

As soon as Li Erfeng left, she heard the door lock and the footsteps fade away... Lulu lay limply on the bed like a deflated ball...

Zhan Yingying and Zhan Mengyan looked at each other, as if they understood something...

"Sister Lulu, drink some hot water first..." Zhan Yingying lifted Lulu's head with heartache and fed her some hot water.

"Lulu, you are so sick, don't you dare ask your mother to take you to the hospital? Is Aunt Li your dear mother?" Zhan Mengyan asked.

"Sister Mengyan, I'm not sick. I'll be fine tomorrow after taking the medicine. She's my real mother. Although she's a little fierce sometimes, she's very kind to me... Sister Yingying, please give me the medicine." Lulu said as she reached out to take the medicine and swallowed it...

"Sister Yingying, please turn off the lights and let us go to bed." Lulu said weakly again.

Zhan Yingying turned on the light, and the three of them lay in the bed, putting Lulu in the middle, with Zhan Yingying and Zhan Mengyan lying on both sides of Lulu.

In the darkness, the house was silent. Occasionally, the sound of a train whistle and a dog barking could be heard. Yuanbao's shouting could also be vaguely heard... None of the three of them were sleepy.

Zhan Mengyan and Zhan Yingying slowly reached their hands into Lulu's quilt and held Lulu's hot little hand and half of her broken arm. Lulu dodged in fear, retracted her hand, raised her broken arm, then hurriedly stretched out her little hand to feel for Zhan Mengyan's hand and held it tightly... The half-broken arm also touched Zhan Yingying's hand.

"Sister Lulu! If you feel uncomfortable, just tell me. The pain from your cold will be relieved..." Zhan Yingying said gently.

"..." Lulu was silent, but her little hand held Zhan Mengyan's hand tightly, and her half-broken arm also pressed down on Zhan Yingying's hand.

About an hour later, it seemed that the antipyretic cold medicine Lulu had taken had taken effect. Lulu's hands were sweaty, but they were not so hot anymore. Zhan Yingying touched Lulu's forehead again, and her forehead was also sweaty, but not so hot anymore...

Zhan Yingying turned on the light, wiped the sweat off Lulu's forehead with the corner of the quilt, took out the half cup of water left over from Lulu's medicine, and said, "Sister Lulu, drink more boiled water if you have a cold. It will help you get better faster."

Lulu drank the water and said with gratitude: "Thank you! Sister Yingying..."

At Lulu's request, Zhan Yingying turned off the lights again, and the room returned to darkness and silence...

"I don't think I have a high fever anymore, and my headache isn't that painful anymore. Sister Yingying, Sister Mengyan, do you have a lot of questions to ask me? Go ahead." Lulu broke the awkward silence among the three.

"Why are your three brothers either crazy or disabled? Why isn't any of your four children healthy?" Zhan Mengyan asked.

"I think my mother has already told you about this question. My brother Simao and I have also told you about it," Lulu replied.

"Then tell us, how are we going to the train station to do business tomorrow! What kind of handicrafts?" Zhan Yingying asked.

"We are not allowed to sell things on the station platform, so we can only sell things secretly behind the platform, such as small gourds, water cups, wooden combs, etc.... We usually don't sell much because if we are caught by the station manager, the things we sell will be confiscated. So we all look out for each other. When we see the station manager coming, we run away. Sometimes we go together, but usually we keep a distance and ask passers-by for money..." Lulu replied.

"Lulu, do you mean that tomorrow we will go to the crowded area near the station and beg from passers-by!?" Zhan Yingying asked.

"Yes, otherwise we would be discovered by the station management when we were selling things. Brother Simao and Brother Yinbao have no legs and can run slowly, so they will definitely be caught. Once the things are confiscated, we will be punished by Dad and Mom when we get home..." Lulu said in a trembling voice.

"Sister Yingying, Sister Mengyan, you have to practice begging words until you become familiar with them, for example: 'Uncle, aunt! Please have pity on me and give me some money...'" Lulu added.

"Begging means asking for food! We have never done that! We can't do that!" Zhan Yingying said.

"Sister Yingying, I'm not going to beg for food!" Zhan Mengyan said angrily.

"Sister Yingying, Sister Mengyan, I advise you two to beg obediently, otherwise you will be like us, missing arms, legs and feet. Or you will go crazy like Brother Yuanbao, locked in a small dark room, taking injections and taking medicine every day. In this way, you don't have to beg!..." Lulu said calmly.

"You...how can you be so vicious? We sisters don't want to be like you! Are you cursing us? We sisters take such good care of you..." Zhan Mengyan said even more angrily.

"Sister Mengyan, I don't mean to curse you two sisters. If it wasn't for sister Yingying's help in getting cold medicine, my fever wouldn't go down now. I'm telling you these words just to thank you two sisters... wuwu... wuwu" Lulu said while crying aggrievedly.