The first snow of winter '72 fell gently for two straight days.
There was no stove in the cowshed, and they had no thick, padded winter clothes.
The three of them huddled together under the blankets. They still had to go out from time to time to check on the cattle. The roof, which had previously been drafty, had been patched by Zheng Guofeng with a layer of dry straw over the summer.
It leaked a little during heavy rain, but it wasn't a major issue.
But when the temperature first dropped this winter, Mrs. Gu fell ill and developed a persistent cough.
Old Man Gu knew a little about traditional Chinese medicine. He and Zheng Guofeng went up the mountain to gather some herbs, which they brewed for her to drink. Mrs. Gu felt slightly better for a time, but a few days later, the freezing cold made her condition much worse.
Last night, they didn't even eat dinner; it was simply too cold to get out of bed.
