Lan Jin didn't think twice before pulling Qiao Qiao into her space. Then she reached out to touch Nana. His body was still warm, but his nose was far too cold. In the next moment, she put Nana into her space as well.
It took only a short while before Lan Jin realized the air felt even colder than before. Uneasy, she quickly dressed, wrapped herself in that ugly scarf, and stepped onto the balcony to check the thermometer outside.
When she picked it up, the dial showed minus eight degrees. But within seconds, the needle slid down quickly, dropping to minus eighteen. If her bare hands hadn't already been red and numb from the cold, Lan Jin might have suspected the thermometer was broken.
After pausing for a moment, the temperature needle still seemed to be creeping downward.
…
Then it hit her. Last night, everyone had gone to bed under thin blankets because of the heat.
Lan Jin's heart lurched. She rushed to the door and knocked hard on the neighbor's.
"Ling Jiang! Ling Jiang, wake up, hurry, wake up!"
She knocked for a long time, but Ling Jiang, who was as alert as Nana on most days, didn't respond at all. A bad feeling rose in Lan Jin's chest. She didn't waste time staying there, but ran upstairs to wake Huang Jinghe and Lao Gao.
When Lao Gao answered, she quickly asked, "Lao Gao, you have a key to Ling Jiang's place, right? I remember you do. I've been knocking at her door forever and she's not answering."
Lao Gao's face went tense. "Sister Lan, I'll find the key and come down. Please knock again in the meantime."
"Alright."
Lan Jin hurried back down and knocked some more. Still, there was no answer.
Soon, she heard hurried footsteps. Turning around, she saw Lao Gao, half-dressed, holding out the key. Lan Jin snatched it, unlocked the door, and the three of them rushed inside.
…
Ling Jiang and Grandma Ling each had their own room, both doors shut but thankfully unlocked.
They pushed into the rooms. Inside, they found Ling Jiang and Grandma Ling lying on their beds, nearly unconscious.
Lan Jin went straight into Grandma Ling's room. The instant she stepped in, she yanked open the wardrobe and pulled out anything that could be used as a cover, piling it all over the old woman's frail body.
Next door, Lao Gao and Huang Jinghe were doing the same.
But no matter how they called, Ling Jiang didn't wake.
Huang Jinghe touched her forehead. "She's burning up. Is it the fever knocking her out?"
A fever? That explained why she hadn't heard the knocking.
Lao Gao's voice came from the other room. "Sister Lan, how's Grandma Ling?"
"Probably passed out from the cold. I've covered her with everything I could find." As for what to do next, Lan Jin honestly had no idea. She had never lived through a sudden temperature drop like this.
But Lao Gao knew. "Sister Lan, you've got solar panels. You should have some stored electricity. Please boil some hot water. I'll have Xiao Huang watch over Grandma Ling."
Lan Jin nodded. When Huang Jinghe came over to take her place, she hurried home for the hot water.
She already had plenty in her space. It was quicker to take it from there, and with a child in the house, it was normal to keep some ready. In no time, she was back with the thermos. "There's fresh hot water in here. I just boiled it before bed. What now?"
"Pour it into a basin. Use towels to warm their faces first so the blood gets moving again. Then give them some to drink. As long as they're still breathing, they should recover slowly." Lao Gao hesitated, then asked, "Where's Qiao Qiao? Is she okay at home alone?"
"She's fine. I wrapped her in a blanket on the bed, and Nana's holding her. No problem."
Lan Jin soaked two towels in the hot water, handing one to Huang Jinghe for Grandma Ling while she took the other to Ling Jiang. Meanwhile, Lao Gao dug out Ling Jiang's hand-crank generator and started charging the electric blankets for both Ling Jiang and Grandma Ling.
…
Ling Jiang and Lao Gao both used that same hand-crank generator. Lao Gao had built it himself. About the size and shape of a child's pencil sharpener, you only needed to crank the handle to generate electricity.
It was easy to store and simple to use, but had one flaw—once you stopped cranking, the power stopped too. This meant Ling Jiang and Lao Gao could use electricity, but not on demand. Even so, they were far better off than families without any power at all.
…
Lan Jin and Huang Jinghe changed out the towels several times, fed a large cup of hot water, and with the help of Lao Gao's generator, Ling Jiang finally came to.
She first saw Lan Jin by her bed, blinking in confusion. "Why are you here?"
Then she spotted Lao Gao at the door, cranking the generator. "Why are you here too? Did something happen?"
Lao Gao sighed in relief. "Finally, you're awake."
Lan Jin explained, "The temperature dropped suddenly. It was over twenty degrees when we went to bed, but now it's probably minus twenty. My dog noticed something wrong and woke me. I went to warn everyone, but no matter how hard I knocked, you didn't answer. Luckily Lao Gao had your key. When we got in, you and Grandma Ling had both passed out from the cold. And you were burning up."
At the mention of her grandmother, Ling Jiang's face paled. "Where's Grandma? How is she?"
"She's breathing. Don't worry," Lao Gao said. "Xiao Huang's been keeping a hot towel on her face. She's still out cold, but it's probably just from the chill."
"Her breathing's steady," Huang Jinghe added quickly.
But Ling Jiang couldn't be reassured just by words. She threw on the clothes lying on the bed and hurried to the next room.
Seeing that Grandma Ling was indeed breathing, she let out a breath of relief. But the old woman still hadn't woken. "Why isn't she waking up? Could the cold have hurt her?"
Lao Gao groaned. "Come on, it's over minus twenty. You think a thin coat's going to help? Put on proper clothes and lie down. She's old, so it's normal if she wakes later."
Lan Jin smiled faintly. "Enough. I've got ginger at home. I'll boil some ginger tea with brown sugar. Everyone can have a bowl. Just wait a bit. It needs time to work."
No one refused. In weather like this, ginger really could save lives.