Chapter 84 Bitten by a Venomous Tongue
“Brother Chao is right. The temperature difference in the mountains is huge. It’s so hot during the day that you feel like you need to wear a sweater at night. Xiaxia, how about I take you to pick some wild fruit later?”
“People in the city have seen all sorts of rare things, picking wild fruit… How could you even think of that?” The woman kicked Jiang Wu, winking and making exaggerated gestures.
The woman had mentioned the arranged marriage to Jiang Wu while cooking. The city residency and a secure job were very tempting to him, but the young man was too shy to ask the girl out.
The woman cursed under her breath for being a good-for-nothing, and shamelessly brought up the matter of playing in the water and catching crabs again.
"Crabs and lobsters look too scary. I feel uncomfortable just looking at them. Let's go pick wild fruits with Sister Yue'er instead!"
Jiang Chao: Heh, I wonder who it is, frying lobsters and eating them with such gusto.
Having said all that, it would be impolite to try to persuade her any further. The woman smiled awkwardly and suggested that Jiang Wu lead the way.
In the afternoon, a group of people carried small baskets and walked along a mountain path.
Jiang Wu awkwardly tried to find a topic to talk about with the girl from the city, while Yun Xia chatted with him half-heartedly, secretly planning her seed replenishment strategy.
If you get tired of eating ordinary fruits, find some wild fruits in the mountains, take out the seeds, and sow them in the fertile fields of your space. Before long, you will have sweet and soft wild fruits to eat.
The moon blinked its almond-shaped eyes, looking at its brother with longing and affection, and even seemed to want to hold his hand.
The boy frowned, looking displeased. Annoyed by her persistence, he grabbed Yunxia and said, "Jiang Yue, my only sister is Yunxia. Don't call me 'Brother Chao' anymore. It sounds disgusting."
Yue'er froze on the spot, her clear almond eyes brimming with tears. "Jiang Chao, I hate you! You're like a block of ice, no one can warm you up, boohoo!"
After saying that, tears streaming down her face, she ran away without looking back!
"Hey, aren't you going to go after her and comfort her? She's your own sister. If something happens to her, you'll feel guilty for the rest of your life!"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Wu, who had been hesitant, hurriedly caught up with them. The two on the path exchanged a smile.
"Tsk tsk, that mouth of yours..."
"With an urban household registration and a former deputy factory director father who's nowhere to be found, he's been entangled with his aunt and uncle's family. If it were a husky, humph, they'd do anything to force a relationship."
Yunxia: How terrifying! It turns out that even in remote and impoverished areas, unruly people can emerge.
"Don't worry, I'm smart. You know, this is a wild fruit hotspot. I really want to pick some."
"Heh heh!" The words were concise and full of irony.
She was in full drama mode, clutching his clothes and swaying from side to side, her wet eyes filled with pleading.
The boy turned his head away, unwilling to look at her. "Follow me!"
"Okay!"
Tart wild kiwifruit, sweet and soft akebia quinata, purplish-red myrtle, orange-red taro...
The small bamboo basket seemed like a bottomless pit; no matter how many wild fruits you put in it, it would never be full.
"When bandits pass through, they leave not a single grain of rice behind!"
"No, look up, there's another big one over there."
Following the direction of his finger, he looked up and saw a wild kiwi fruit the size of a fist hanging on a high branch. The boy jumped up and picked it.
With a gentle toss, the shot went in. "You're too short, you can't reach it."
"Nonsense, I'm much taller than my peers!"
The boy raised an eyebrow in disbelief, turned around and continued walking forward. The two picked as they went, like locusts swarming across the land, leaving the wild fruits completely devastated.
"Wait here, there's water ahead. I'll go wash some fruit."
Before leaving the city, the mother repeatedly warned her that the little girl must never go into the water.
Yunxia plopped down on the grass, waved her hand, and said that after picking for so long, she was starting to get hungry too.
"Stay where you are and don't move. I'll be back in a bit."
"No need for that, go ahead. You could make a round trip with all that time you have."
"Heh, I advise you to listen to me, otherwise... I'll give you a slipper."
After the boy walked away, Yunxia sprawled on the ground in a "spread-eagle" position, rubbing her palms against the cool, smooth grass, feeling incredibly comfortable.
Suddenly, a muffled groan came from the slope not far away. At first, I thought I had misheard, but when the painful groan sounded again, I realized that someone was calling for help, so I quickly got up to check.
"Bai Ye, what... what's wrong with you?"
"Snake...leg!"
The pale-faced boy, covered in sweat, had a thin film obscuring his vision, making it impossible to see who it was. But the clear, familiar voice reassured him, at least... even if he died here, someone would collect his body before it stank.
Upon hearing this, Yunxia quickly rolled up his trouser leg. There were two purplish-blue teeth marks side by side, clearly from a venomous bite.
"Bai Ye, have you seen what the venomous snake looks like?"
"Black...white!"
Black and white? Who cares what kind of snake it is, I don't even recognize it.
He reached into his bag, took out a bottle of water, rinsed the wound, tore his clothes, twisted them into strips, and tied them near his heart to slow the spread of the toxin.
"Water...I'm thirsty!"
The voice was so soft that you had to put your ear to your lips to hear the words. She reached into her bag, blinked slightly, and finally took out a small bottle of green liquid. She pried open his mouth and poured it down his throat little by little.
"Bai Ye, water is expensive, we can't waste a single drop!"
The boy, whose consciousness was gradually becoming hazy, couldn't hear what she was saying at all. He just kept swallowing repeatedly, relying on his instincts.
After finishing the bottle, even if the boy opened his mouth to indicate that more water should be poured, Yunxia did not dare to continue feeding him the green water. She gently tapped his chin to make him close it.
"Bai Ye, you're really something, wandering around the mountains all by yourself, do you have a death wish?"
The green liquid was absorbed instantly as it entered his abdomen, fighting against the toxins in his body, and Bai Ye's consciousness became slightly clearer.
"I...I'm here to conduct research, no...not just to wander around."
"Alright, save your energy. I'll go get Jiang Chao and carry you to the clinic."
Hearing that she was about to leave, he quickly used all his strength to grab her wrist. "Yun...Yun Xia, no...don't go, I...I'm scared."
During the question-and-answer dialogue, the boy recognized who she was.
"Bai Ye, being bitten by a poisonous snake can't delay you. Listen to me, I'll be back in a bit."
The boy pursed his lips and tightened his grip, clearly not wanting him to leave.
As the two stood their ground, an angry voice came from down the slope, "Yunxia, you've grown some guts, haven't you? Where have you been?"
Upon hearing this, Yun Xia's eyes lit up, and she shouted back, "Jiang Chao, I'm here! Come quick! Bai Ye has been bitten by a poisonous snake!"
The words "bitten by a poisonous snake" made the boy frown. He didn't have time to think about why Bai Ye was there, and he quickly ran up the slope.
After carefully examining the wound, his eyes narrowed, and he said with displeasure, "Always looking for trouble!"
“Jiang Chao, now is not the time for lecturing. Come on, give me a hand, let’s carry him to the clinic together.”
The boy rolled his eyes at Yunxia, turned around... and started pulling weeds. After pulling a small handful, he crushed them with a stone, rolled them into grass cakes, pasted them on the teeth marks, and then tore off a piece of cloth from his clothes to wrap them up.
At this moment, the membrane in front of Bai Ye's eyes had disappeared. He raised his head slightly and looked at the boy gratefully, "Jiang Chao, thank you!"
"You...can still speak?"
Hmph, the medicinal properties of herbs don't work that quickly, Yunxia must have done something!
"Hmm, that's much better!"
Just now, I've chosen where to bury the baby, and right now... I really want to eat Yunxia's braised pork.
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