Since everyone had delayed their work by sending Xia Chunfu back, Xia Chunfu and Xia Ruqian invited everyone to stay for dinner. It was only two or three in the afternoon, and staying for dinner would prevent them from working in the afternoon, so everyone declined. Xia Ruqian could only give them some candy and eggs from home as a thank you.
Huang Zhong also declined for a while, but finally accepted it with everyone else.
After everyone left, Xia Ruqian went to find a doctor, while Xia Ruzheng stayed at home to take care of Xia Chunfu.
At this time, Huang Zhong had already cleaned up the wound and done some preliminary treatment. Experienced farmers could see that it was probably a broken bone.
While Xia Ruzheng was wiping Huang Zhong's body, he asked, "Dad, why did you fall so hard?"
Xia Chunfu said, "I don't know. I was riding my bike there when the tire slipped and I couldn't hold onto the handlebars, so I fell. It was really bad luck. My leg landed on a big rock on the side of the road and broke a bone."
Xia Ruzheng always felt it was very strange. To be honest, she felt something was wrong wherever Huang Zhong appeared, so she always had doubts about whether Xia Chunfu's fall was an accident.
Xia Ruzheng also remembered that in a previous life, Xia Chunfu had also fallen, also because of Huang Zhong. At that time, Huang Zhong had graduated from university and was dissatisfied with his assigned job, feeling that his position was underappreciated. He sought to gain a position in the civil service. Xia Chunfu, however, possessed numerous connections, and to ensure a better life for his daughter, he diligently sought out opportunities at an advanced age. However, while traveling at night, Xia Chunfu fell, his health deteriorated, and he soon passed away. This was one of the reasons why Xia Ruqian harbored such a grudge against her sister, Xia Ruzheng, in her previous life.
Although the situation this time was completely different, Xia Ruzheng intuitively felt that Huang Zhong was related to this matter, and she would never believe that Huang Zhong was a good person!
Xia Ruzheng naturally kept these thoughts to himself. Xia Chunfu was a simple and honest man who valued friendship. If he knew his daughter was speculating about her benefactor with such malicious intent, he would definitely give her a good scolding. Xia Ruzheng did not want to be scolded because of Huang Zhong.
Xia Ruqian quickly called a doctor, but of course it was not the half-baked Guibo in the village.
At that time, barefoot doctors were still prevalent in rural areas, and were basically a family tradition. Their lives were not very good, but better than those of ordinary people.
This doctor wore a bamboo hat, a straw raincoat, and straw sandals. He lacked the white coat of later doctors, yet Xia Ruzheng trusted him deeply. Unlike many later doctors, who would scam people into doing tests and buying medicine just to make money, these itinerant doctors of the time were still very concerned about their reputation. Xia Ruzheng was also somewhat sensitive to doctors wearing white coats.
The doctor examined Xia Chunfu and said, "He did break a bone, but luckily he's in good health, so he'll be fine with some rest. Make some warming foods for him to eat. It's cold out, so don't let the cold get into your body, as it can easily cause rheumatism."
The two sisters hurriedly took note of it.
The doctor did not put a plaster cast on Xia Chunfu, but just fixed it with two boards. After giving him some careful instructions, he said he would come to check on him in a few days.
At this point, Xia Ruzheng felt that the traveling doctor was indeed responsible. In her previous life, her doctor had just glanced at her and said she was mentally unwell! Then, gradually, she was said to have mental problems. Although Xia Ruzheng now guessed that Huang Zhong had bribed the doctor, the black-hearted doctor still made Xia Ruzheng hate him to death.
Neither sister was stingy. They gave money and some other things as consultation fees. The consultation fees of the itinerant doctors were not fixed. Those who were willing to give more could give more, and those who were not willing could give less.
After settling Xia Chunfu down, Xia Ruzheng whispered his thoughts to Xia Ruqian in the room.
Xia Ruqian was also surprised and asked, "Why do you think so, sister?"
Xia Ruzheng gritted his teeth and said, "I don't think Huang Zhong is a good person!"
Xia Ruqian was speechless. It was really hard to believe this reason! But Xia Ruzheng was her sister, so Xia Ruqian felt that she had to listen to it.
"Since you have suspicions, let's investigate and not let anyone know. If it's not true, that would be the best. If it is, we can't let him off easily!" Xia Ruqian always does what she thinks without any delay.
The two sisters hid it from Xia Chunfu and went to the scene under the pretext of picking vegetables.
Guaizi is not far from the village, but because it is the road leading to the town and it has rained a lot recently, not many people walk this road, so some traces are still preserved.
The bicycle tire marks were still clear on the ground. When he reached the corner, he saw a large slipping tire mark, and the dry grass nearby was even flattened. Based on the marks and the miserable state of the bicycle handlebars, Xia Ruzheng could imagine how badly Xia Chunfu had fallen.
However, because several people came to rescue Xia Chunfu, there are quite a few footprints here, which have disturbed the traces left by Xia Chunfu.
"Sister, I can't seem to see anything wrong!" Xia Ruqian looked back and forth several times and said.
Xia Ruzheng felt that there must be something wrong because Huang Zhong was a corrupt person and it was impossible for him to do good things for no reason!
"Look again, I have a hunch that something's wrong! Our dad has walked this road so many times, and he never fell even in heavy snow. How come he fell when it rained?"
Xia Ruzheng was also feeling angry.
Xia Ruqian remained silent. Her sister's hatred and prejudice towards Huang Zhong were somewhat inexplicable. But this was not the right time to think about it.
Xia Ruzheng observed it for a long time before realizing something was wrong with this section. Rural roads typically have a thin layer of grass, like turf, to keep the surface clean and slip-resistant. Of course, not all roads are like this. But here, for a long stretch, there was no grass at all. Furthermore, one side of the road was clearly higher, while the other was lower. The lower part was muddy from accumulated water. People, out of a desire for cleanliness, tended to take the higher side, and so did cyclists. Xia Chunfu, who cherished his bicycle, was no exception.
Since one side was higher than the other, if the bike wasn't steady, it would naturally slide to the lower side. If you didn't control it well, the handlebars could sway wildly at best, or you could fall. Xia Chunfu was unlucky; there was a large rock where he fell. Xia Ruzheng looked carefully and saw no grass growing under the rock, so it hadn't been moved there later.
"Has this road always been like this? There's no grass growing on it."
Xia Ruqian also thought of the crux of the matter: "I don't walk this road often, but it used to be covered with grass because there were fields on both sides! This is not in the mountains."
Yes, grass grows easily on the ridges of fields, but in the mountains because of the tall trees and various shrubs, ground grass cannot grow unless it is exposed to the sun and rain.
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