Qu Jing carried her schoolbag and went to school.
Her schoolbag was made for her by Qu the Hunter using floral fabric, something unique within a ten-mile radius. The floral fabric, which is usually only worn by brides on their wedding day, was turned into a small bag by Qu the Hunter to hold Qu Jing’s books.
Anyone who saw it would remark that although Qu Jing, this child, suffers from an odd illness and doesn’t grow, Qu the Hunter truly has nothing but fine words for his granddaughter.
Qu Jing didn’t go directly to school but instead went to the village chief’s house to find Gou Dan. A few years ago, Gou Dan was just a child who drooled over sweet potatoes, but in the past two years, he had grown to be the same age as Qu Jing.
Seeing Qu Jing come looking for him, Gou Dan was delighted and ran to the door with a sweet potato in hand, asking, "Qu Jing, are you here to wait for me to go to school together?"
Initially, when the village chief persuaded families to send their children to school, many who enrolled had already stopped attending. Some were too old, like the village chief’s eldest daughter, who was already 13 when she started school; after finishing the second grade, learning a few words, and doing a bit of arithmetic, she became known as the literate one in the villagers’ eyes and then stopped attending to get married.
More often, they couldn’t bear the cost of tuition; sending children to school not only required money but also meant they couldn’t help with work at home, leading some families to alternate between schooling and breaks every other year. By now, only Qu Jing and Gou Dan had smoothly progressed to the fourth grade and were about to go to middle school in the town.
"I’m not going to school today. Can you help me ask Teacher Li for leave? I have something to discuss with Grandpa Village Chief," said Qu Jing, taking out an egg from her pocket, "Here, eat this."
Gou Dan ecstatically accepted the egg and shouted at the top of his voice, "Grandpa, Qu Jing is looking for you!"
The village chief came out with a bowl in hand, "Jingjing, is Old Qu taking you to the provincial capital hospital to get some... see a doctor again? I’ve already made inquiries, and there is a truck from the county going to the provincial capital. I can arrange it for you; riding this is fast, saving you from spending more than half a month traveling back and forth like before!"
Qu Jing shook her head, "It’s not me."
The village chief immediately became worried, "Old Qu? Did something happen to your grandpa? Did he fall into a trap and hurt his leg? I’ll go get help right now! We can’t delay this. The old hunter died after injuring his leg and lying at home for half a month, and I’ll find an ox cart to take your grandpa to the health station now."
"No, it’s not that." Qu Jing hurriedly stopped him, "Grandpa Village Chief, I’ve noticed Grandpa’s memory has not been too good these past few months."
The village chief sighed in relief, "Memory not good? That’s normal. He’s over 50 years old, and as you get older, you tend to forget things."
"I forget things too; last time the county called me for a meeting, and I forgot about it."
Qu Jing shook her head, "Not like that, I’ve noticed Grandpa seems to be forgetting recent things."
The village chief didn’t quite understand but still comforted her, "Jingjing, let me tell you, don’t be fooled by your grandpa’s strong appearance; in his early days hunting on the mountain, he suffered a lot of injuries. Look at me; my hair is just a bit white, but your grandpa, who’s not much older than me, has a head almost all white."
"I know you’re a sensible and good kid; take good care of your grandpa, and don’t let him go up the mountain too often. If there’s really a need to hunt wild boars, the village will organize people to do it together. He knows the paths well and can lead the way, and your family will not miss out."
Qu Jing asked, "Can going to the hospital cure this?"
The village chief laughed, "This isn’t an illness; what’s there to cure? Before, the old master from the landlord’s house was so muddle-headed he didn’t recognize anyone, but he still lived over 70 years; as long as there’s someone to take care of him, that’s enough."
Qu Jing didn’t give up. She had asked Gou Dan to help her request leave; after leaving the village chief’s house, she went into town using credit, taking an ox cart.
The doctor at the health station couldn’t provide any useful diagnosis and comforted Qu Jing, saying that it’s normal for older people to become a bit muddled with age. Considering Qu Jing’s peculiar ailment, the doctor skillfully issued a prescription for some soybeans, instructing Qu Jing to go back and cook them for Qu the Hunter to nourish him.
Qu Jing gave the soybeans to the cart driver as payment, and the driver happily packed the soybeans away, marveling that within ten miles and eight farms, only Qu Jing seemed able to acquire soybeans from the hospital easily. Many locals pretended to be ill to get soybeans, yet the doctors ignored them.
After returning, Qu Jing began to pay closer attention to Qu the Hunter. On any day Qu the Hunter went up the mountain, she would ask Gou Dan to help excuse her from school, following behind him up the mountain.
Qu the Hunter was indeed getting old.
Four years ago, when Qu the Hunter found Qu Jing on the mountain, it was because Qu Jing couldn’t maintain the same position after standing behind a tree for too long, stepping back slightly. Qu the Hunter could hear the noise and sharply locate the tree where Qu Jing was hiding.
Now, Qu Jing followed behind Qu the Hunter like a little tail while heading up the mountain, yet Qu the Hunter was completely unaware.
Qu the Hunter’s condition progressed rapidly.
Previously, at Yunzhong Restaurant, Uncle Wang suspected he had Alzheimer’s Disease and consulted Qu Jing. To ease Uncle Wang’s mind, Qu Jing had provided a systematic explanation, which Qin Huai had also overheard a bit of.
Typically, Alzheimer’s Disease could develop from mild to severe in 7-10 years, with the more aggressive cases possibly becoming severe within 5-8 years. However, people don’t get sick as per textbooks, and the fastest progressing case Qu Jing knew of took only a year from showing symptoms of forgetfulness to not recognizing anyone at all.
Patients would first forget recent events.
When Qu the Hunter mentioned for the third time how Mr. Wang, once a private tutor, had come from the town to teach in the village with dedication and asked Qu Jing to take the rabbit caught yesterday to Mr. Wang, Qu Jing didn’t correct him. She smiled, nodded, and brought the rabbit to school to give it to the later Teacher Li.