Chapter 22

Su Ruo had the Branch Secretary's wife bring a bottle of white liquor over, and instructed: I will go up the mountain to pick some herbs; if I return before and Wang Zhijun develops a fever again, use the white liquor to wipe his body.

Wang Zhijun's recent convulsions were caused by excessively high body temperature; persistent high fever does great harm to the body, so we must find a way to lower his temperature.

In the Branch Secretary's wife's understanding, when someone has a fever you cover them with a blanket to sweat, and that's enough.

Now Su Ruo had her cool the child's temperature; although she didn't understand why, she still nodded vigorously.

Wang Zhijun's condition just now frightened the Branch Secretary's wife badly; she now regards Su Ruo's words as imperial edicts.

Beside him, the old Branch Secretary said, "Miss, it's not safe for you to go up the mountain alone; I'll have someone accompany you."

"No need, Uncle; those herbs aren't hard to find, I can go alone."

The Branch Secretary also saw that Su Ruo was capable and had a plan; seeing her refuse, he didn't press further.

Su Ruo delayed no longer; leaving the Wang family home, she headed up the mountain, because it had just rained, the ground was especially muddy, and the mountain path was not easy to walk.

However, in her previous life Su Ruo often went up the mountain to gather wild vegetables; she was very familiar with this great mountain and quickly found the herbs she needed.

Thinking of the later disaster, she also picked some medicinal herbs for treating injuries, just in case.

As she descended the mountain, Su Ruo frowned at the lofty peak opposite, but she also knew that what was destined to come would come, and she could not stop it.

When Su Ruo returned to the Wang family home, the Branch Secretary's wife had already wiped Wang Zhijun's body several times; he still had a slight fever, but no convulsions or seizures occurred.

Su Ruo personally went to the kitchen to decoct medicine, fed it to Wang Zhijun, and his fever finally subsided, a hint of color returning to his face; but reducing the fever wasn't the key, the real trouble was still Wang Zhijun's leg.

When Wang Zhijun fell, his leg was injured by a brick; now his entire right leg is swollen, and the wound looks like a bloody mess, truly frightening.

Su Ruo knew that if they waited for this disaster to pass before sending Wang Zhijun to the hospital, his leg would likely not be saved.

But to treat his injury, the infected area must be completely cleaned; in this life and the previous one, Su Ruo has never even killed a chicken, let alone performed bone-scraping therapy on a person.

Seeing Su Ruo's dilemma, the Branch Secretary's wife immediately knelt before her, begging tearfully: "Miss, please save my son; if you can cure him, I will serve you as an ox or horse for the rest of my life."

After speaking, the Branch Secretary's wife still wanted to kowtow to Su Ruo, but Su Ruo quickly stopped her: "Auntie, don't do that; if I can help, I will certainly help."

Beside them, the Branch Secretary also said: "Don't make things difficult for the young lady."

Although he didn't say it outright, he also knew that his son's leg was likely unsalvageable.

The Branch Secretary's wife cried even more sorrowfully: "But we only have this one son, and he hasn't married yet! If he loses his leg, how will he live in the future?"

The old Branch Secretary's eyes also grew moist; he had never done anything wrong in his life, yet now, old as he is, he has suffered such hardship.

If possible, he would rather be the one lying in bed now.

Su Ruo considered herself cold-hearted enough, but seeing this, she couldn't help feeling distressed as well.

Although she sympathized with the Branch Secretary and his wife, she still needed to say: "If you trust me, I'll give it a try, but I have no certainty whether this leg can be saved."

The Branch Secretary's wife quickly wiped her tears, nodded, and said: "Good, good, Auntie trusts you."

The old Branch Secretary also sighed and said: "Then let's try! Miss, don't put pressure on yourself; whether it works or not, we won't blame you."

Only then did Su Ruo relax; what she feared most now was running into a medical disturbance, in which case she would gain nothing and would undeservedly acquire a bad reputation.

After deciding to treat Wang Zhijun's leg, Su Ruo communicated with the system in her consciousness about a treatment plan.

The system scanned Wang Zhijun's leg wound and said: "Although his wound looks severe, the bone injury is not serious—only two fractures, no shattered bone, so no need for steel pins; just clean the wound, eliminate toxins, and set the displaced bones back in place."

Upon hearing this, Su Ruo involuntarily sighed in relief; she crushed the anesthetic herbs into juice and had Wang Zhijun drink it, then used silver needles to seal the acupuncture points on his leg.

But Su Ruo was also treating a person for the first time and didn't know how effective the anesthetic would be; she worried Wang Zhijun might suddenly wake up and thrash, interfering with her treatment.

Su Ruo did not let the old Branch Secretary and his wife leave; she instructed them to watch closely, and if the person woke up, to hold him down and prevent movement.

The old Branch Secretary and his wife nodded repeatedly, their eyes full of worry as they looked at Wang Zhijun on the bed; in fact, even if Su Ruo had let them go, they probably wouldn't have felt at ease leaving.

To cut away the infected, rotting flesh on Wang Zhijun's leg, Su Ruo needed tools; she naturally had no surgical knife, so she first borrowed one from the system, which, eager to let her save lives, had no objection.

Everything ready, Su Ruo took a deep breath and began to act.

Seeing Su Ruo's knife descend, the Branch Secretary's wife watched blood flow from her son's leg, nearly fainting; the old Branch Secretary beside her noticed and quickly steadied her.

Feeling her husband's comfort, the Branch Secretary's wife managed to stay conscious and avoid fainting.

Yet her heartbroken tears streamed down, but she dared not make a sound, fearing to disturb Su Ruo.

At this moment Su Ruo was also very tense; she exerted great force to keep her hand from shaking, and her forehead was covered in fine sweat.

Fortunately, Su Ruo soon calmed down, and the hand holding the knife grew steadier.

Cleaning, staunching the bleeding, Su Ruo quickly treated the infected wound, then realigned the displaced bones, bandaged with medicine, and finally fixed the leg with a pre‑prepared wooden board.

After everything ended, Su Ruo exhaled; at the same time she heard the system notification that points had been credited—besides 10 points, the system also sent her the surgical knife as a reward for celebrating her first successful surgery.

This surgical knife is extremely sharp, not something Su Ruo could buy in this era; she finds it very handy, and it will be an essential tool for her future medical practice, so she is very pleased with the reward.

The Branch Secretary's wife anxiously asked: "Miss, how is my son's leg?"

Only then did Su Ruo regain her composure, saying: "Auntie, rest assured, your son's leg is fine, it will leave no lasting trouble; take good care of it for a while and he'll be able to work the fields in less than half a year."

The breath the Branch Secretary's wife had been holding finally eased; her greatest fear was that her son's leg would become disabled, making it hard for him to marry.

Beside them, the old Branch Secretary also silently exhaled in relief.

Su Ruo left some of the herbs she had gathered, and carefully explained to the Branch Secretary's wife how to decoct them.

The Branch Secretary's wife took her hand and said: "Miss, you have truly helped our family immensely; I don't even know how to thank you."

Su Ruo smiled and said: "Auntie, thanks can wait; anyway I live at the Zhiqing Dian, so even if you want to thank me, wait until Zhigang Ge's leg heals before saying so."

Beside them, the old Branch Secretary only then realized that after all this time he still didn't know Su Ruo's identity and name.

He then asked: "Are you a newly arrived Educated Youth?"

Su Ruo solemnly nodded: "Yes, Uncle; I've just arrived and am unfamiliar with the place, so I will inevitably need to trouble you in the future."

Su Ruo is not the sort of benevolent person who does good deeds anonymously; she risked her life to save Wang Zhijun, partly to repay the old Branch Secretary's kindness.

On the other hand, it is also to have Lao Zhishu owe her this favor, so that she can also have another reliance in the village in the future.

The Branch Secretary's wife, upon hearing this, immediately said: "Whether it's trouble or not, you saved my son's life, you are our family's great benefactor; we are grateful to you beyond words."

Lao Zhishu also nodded and said: "In the future, if you encounter any trouble in the village, just come find me."

The Branch Secretary's wife immediately interjected: "Yes, although your uncle is old, he still has a say in the village."

Su Ruo heard this, hesitated a moment, then said: "Uncle, as I walked here today, I saw the village houses—some leaking, some collapsed."

As the old saying goes, after a great flood comes great disaster; we're located near the mountains, especially the road out of the village, which lies at the foot of the slope—if a landslide occurs, there'll be nowhere to hide.

The Branch Secretary's wife's face changed slightly, and she murmured, "We've lived here for decades without incident; surely nothing will happen?"

"Hard to say; we've never seen rain like this before in previous years—I think it's better to be careful."

After Su Ruo said that, she didn't press further; after all, she had already given the warning, and the outcome wasn't something a little Educated Youth like her could control.

Having served as village Branch Secretary for many years, Lao Zhishu naturally had some insight and foresight; he carefully considered Su Ruo's words, pondered for a moment, then said:

"Alright, I understand; I'll remind the villagers over the next few days to avoid going out as much as possible." That was him taking Su Ruo's words to heart.

Having done what needed to be done, Su Ruo didn't linger any longer and went straight back to the Zhiqing Dian.

As soon as she entered the Zhiqing Dian, she saw the male Educated Youth repairing the roof for the female Educated Youth, while the females were also helping in the courtyard; she didn't see Li Shiruo and Chen Wei, but Su Ruo didn't pay it any mind.

The female Educated Youth wasn't close to Su Ruo; only Wu Qingqing greeted Su Ruo, who smiled and replied, then she intended to go into her room.

But Wu Qingqing stopped her, saying, "Li Shiruo and Chen Wei's quilts got soaked and moldy—they can't be used anymore; they need to be remade, so they've gone to buy cotton and cloth from the villagers."

But cotton and cloth are in short supply, likely hard to obtain; Su Zhiqing, if you have any, why not lend them a bit? We all live in the same Zhiqing Dian—we can't just watch them freeze.

In her previous life, Su Ruo had already seen through Wu Qingqing's falseness.

Naturally, she wouldn't be fooled by the facade Wu Qingqing put on; upon hearing that, she immediately put on a look of surprise and asked:

"How could that be? I only brought one set of bedding with me, and I have no extra cotton or fabric; Educated Youth Wu, you've been down in the countryside for so long—haven't you saved anything at all?"

Wu Qingqing naturally had cotton and cloth, but those were her savings, intended for making her own winter padded jacket, so she certainly wouldn't lend them out.

She had originally thought that since Su Ruo could buy Zhao Qing's house for fifty yuan without blinking, her family must be well-off, and perhaps she would have spare cotton and cloth.

If she could help Li Shiruo and Chen Wei resolve their quilt issue, they would surely feel grateful to her, and her prestige in the Zhiqing Dian would only increase.

But she hadn't expected that Su Ruo, though young, would be sharp-minded; in just a couple of sentences she turned the problem back onto her.

Wu Qingqing couldn't now admit she had no cotton, for that would raise questions later when she tried to make her padded jacket; she could only give an embarrassed laugh and say:

"I was just asking—maybe Li Zhiqing and Chen Zhiqing have already bought some! Cotton and cloth may be hard to get, but the old folks always have some stored away."

Su Ruo didn't respond; she merely gave Wu Qingqing a meaningful look, then turned and went back to her room.

Wu Qingqing herself didn't want to lend anything, yet wanted to use Su Ruo's things as a favor—did she really think Su Ruo was stupid?

Wu Qingqing felt as if Su Ruo's gaze had seen through her; she felt uneasy and secretly decided to keep her distance from Su Ruo from now on.

At that moment, Wu Qingqing's little follower Fang Zhenzhen came over and said, "Just look at her—she's obviously arrogant and looks down on people; why bother with her?"

Wu Qingqing calmed her emotions, then put on the act of a big sister again, saying, "Zhenzhen, don't say that; since we all live here, we're a collective and must unite to help each other—only then will our days in the village be better."

Fang Zhenzhen gave a cold snort and said nothing; she resented Su Ruo deeply for buying a house and living alone as soon as she arrived.

In fact, it wasn't just her—many in the Zhiqing Dian were jealous, after all, who wouldn't want a room of their own?

Especially after this rainstorm, just thinking that Su Ruo could enjoy a large room all to herself while they had to crowd together, with no place even to sleep, bred resentment that grew wildly in their hearts.

Su Ruo also knew that more than one person in the Zhiqing Dian envied, resented, and hated her, but she didn't care.

In this life, as long as she herself lives well, that's enough; what others think is utterly unimportant to her.

In the evening, the village loudspeaker began to broadcast: "After the previous rainstorm, there may be a risk of landslides on the mountain road at the village entrance—please don't go out if there's no need."

Actually, there's no need for the announcement—the bridge at the village entrance is submerged by the river, so even if people wanted to leave the village, they couldn't.

The loudspeaker broadcast continuously for three days, and the river water receded, revealing the bridge surface once again.

Seeing that nothing happened over those days, people stopped taking the broadcast to heart.

After all, as the Branch Secretary's wife said, they'd lived here for decades without incident—how could it be such a coincidence that stepping out the door would bring a landslide?

Moreover, having been trapped this long, their households had run out of firewood, rice, oil, and salt; if they didn't go out to buy food, what would they eat?

Furthermore, some families had saved up eggs, which they needed to sneak into town to sell; otherwise, in this heat, leaving them longer would cause them to spoil.

Lao Zhishu saw villagers heading to the market in twos and threes, worrying all day; but his advice fell on deaf ears, and he couldn't stop them from going.

After all, no one knows whether or when a landslide will occur—people can't be expected to stay indoors forever!

Seeing this, the Branch Secretary's wife advised, "I think you're overthinking things—everything's fine; how could there be a landslide?"

Lao Zhishu looked at the distant mountains with his cloudy eyes and said, "You don't understand; this year's weather is abnormal, I feel uneasy inside, always sensing that something will happen."

"You! You just worry too much." Having said that, the Branch Secretary's wife turned and went back inside to cook, not giving the matter another thought.

(End of chapter)