Outside the house, Fan Jin had no idea that his father-in-law had saved his own niece.

When his father-in-law came out, he said that Shuiqing was examining Zhaodi's wounds.

He turned and went to the main house, where he took a handkerchief and some ointment.

The ointment was bought by Shuiqing at the mall, but he put it in the bottles and jars he bought in Fucheng so that it wouldn't be conspicuous when he took it out to use.

In the kitchen, Shui Qing had already chased away her two younger sons, but she was still shocked when she lifted Fan Zhaodi's thin clothes!

Bleeding wounds and purplish-blue marks covered his thin body.

And rows of dark, old scars.

Not a single patch of skin is in good condition!

In front of me was just a little girl who was eight years old (by the traditional Chinese age reckoning).

Shui Qing took a deep breath and said, "If it hurts, you can shout it out."

Shouting out won't lessen the pain, but trying to suppress the pain while it's in pain will only make it worse.

Fan Zhaodi nodded, her teeth still clenched tightly instinctively, trying not to let out any sounds of pain.

Past experience taught her that making a bad sound would result in a more severe beating, regardless of whether she did it intentionally or whether she could endure it.

Shuiqing was about to go back to the main house to get a towel and medicine when she heard a knock on the kitchen door.

Through the crack in the open door, Fan Jin handed over what he was holding. "Shuiqing, I've brought the handkerchief and medicine. Please check if anything is missing."

I'll stand guard outside the door; I'll get whatever you need.

Shui Qing checked it over.

Fan Jin was meticulous and acted with composure and thoroughness, leaving no stone unturned.

She instructed Fan Jin, "Have Yan Qiu go find a clean set of clothes."

Zhao Di's clothes were already patched upon patched, passed down from countless older siblings. Now, with the addition of stones and branches, they were even more tattered and unwearable.

Moreover, the mud and dirt on it are not conducive to wound healing.

Fan Jin obediently went to find Yan Qiu.

Shui Qing closed the door tightly.

Outside, the sky was dark and the wind was howling, but inside the kitchen, the stove provided light, making it bright and quiet.

Shui Qing scooped up boiling water and carefully scalded the already clean wooden basin several times, and also scalded the towel.

Then scoop in boiling water, and then add the cooled boiled water that was left to cool.

She tested the water temperature; it was neither too cold nor too hot. Only then did she carefully wipe Fan Zhaodi's body.

The movements were careful and gentle.

Fan Zhaodi felt that the water under the pale yellow stove fire seemed to be glowing.

The pain I expected didn't come; I only felt a slight, tolerable ache.

She loosened her clenched teeth and said softly, "Auntie, you can just wipe my back for me, I can do the rest myself."

"It's alright, I can handle this little thing. Just remember to tell me if I hurt you," Shuiqing reminded her worriedly.

The child's body, arms, and legs were covered in injuries, which pained her to see. How could she let the child clean the wounds herself?

Fan Zhaodi hurriedly said, "It doesn't hurt, really, it doesn't hurt at all."

Shui Qing could only sigh.

After cleaning it, I carefully applied medicine to promote wound healing all over the wound.

There was a knocking sound coming from the kitchen door.

Shui Qing walked over, opened the door a crack, and saw that only Yan Qiu was there. She then opened the door wider to let him in.

"Mother, I found a set of clean clothes that are a little small. They might be a bit too big for my little sister, so I'll have to roll them up a few times. Is that alright?"

After they moved to their new home, the old woman threw away all their old, dirty clothes.

Now she wears newly made fine cotton clothes that fit her well, but the clothes that are a little small for her are still a bit big for her younger sister.

"Okay, let's try to salvage the relationship then." Shui Qing wasn't one to be pretentious.

At this point, it's good enough to have something to wear; a slightly larger size doesn't matter.