Zhao Xiaoyan nodded, wiped away her tears, and followed Xu Xinghe, picking up the bucket and carrying pole, and running quickly toward the well at the village entrance.
The two filled two buckets with well water, smelled them to make sure there was no problem, and then headed back.
Zhao Xiaoyan was in charge of carrying water, while Xu Xinghe followed beside her, occasionally reaching out to help support the buckets.
Back in the dormitory, Xu Xinghe scooped up a ladleful and said, "Dr. Wang, please take a look at this well water. Is it alright? We'll use this water to make soap."
The old doctor took the water, smelled it, then dipped his finger in it and tasted it. "No problem, this water is clean!"
Xu Xinghe took out a bar of soap, cut it into small pieces, put it into hot water, and stirred it quickly.
Soon, white foam appeared on the surface of the water.
Together with Zhao Xiaoyan and Lin Hong, she took turns pouring soapy water into the poisoned female educated youth.
Not long after it was forced down her throat, one of the female educated youths began to vomit violently, throwing up her stomach contents all over the floor.
The senior doctor quickly stepped forward to examine her. "It's good that she vomited. Some of the toxins have been expelled. After a few more acupuncture treatments to stabilize her, she should gradually recover!"
Soon, the other poisoned female educated youth also began to react, vomiting violently while lying on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).
The room was filled with an unpleasant smell, but no one cared about finding it offensive.
Vomiting means that toxins in the stomach are being expelled, which is a sign of improvement.
The old doctor bustled around, wiping the corners of one's mouth and taking the pulse of another. Only when the female educated youths were too weak to continue vomiting did he take out his silver needles and gently insert them into acupoints on their wrists and between their eyebrows.
The old doctor concentrated intently, occasionally twisting the needle tip with his fingers to adjust the pressure.
After about fifteen minutes, he slowly pulled out the silver needles, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said, "Alright, a lot of the toxins have been expelled, and they're almost stable. They're just too weak right now, so let them rest well and start eating light food tomorrow."
Xu Xinghe finally breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the female educated youths on the kang (a heated brick bed).
Although their faces were still pale, and they were too weak to speak with their eyes closed, their chests rose and fell steadily, and their breathing became much more even.
Lin Hong's eyes reddened as she sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and gently held the hand of a female educated youth. "That's wonderful, you're all alright..."
Xu Xinghe felt a chill run through her body. The poisoner was so ruthless; if she hadn't discovered it in time, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Fortunately, she didn't let Zhao Xiaoyan drink unboiled water, otherwise the other person would have been poisoned.
She quietly retreated to the doorway and gave Jiang Linchuan, who was standing to the side, a wink.
Jiang Linchuan understood, put down what he was holding, and followed her into the courtyard.
The night wind was cool, and it made me feel much more awake.
Xu Xinghe lowered her voice, "It must have been the male educated youth who poisoned her. In our forest farm, apart from them, no one would harbor such deep resentment towards the female educated youth, and no one would have any reason to do such a thing."
Jiang Linchuan nodded. "I think so too. They were punished and were resentful, so they used such insidious methods to retaliate. Zhang Qiang must know about this; we can't let it go like this. You all stay here and don't go anywhere. Be careful. I'm going to find Zhang Qiang now and tell him what happened so he can handle it quickly."
“Okay.” Xu Xinghe nodded, then, as if remembering something, immediately added, “It would be best if Zhang Qianqian heard it too. If she knows, Zhang Qiang won’t try to brush it off.”
This is a matter of life and death. If Zhang Qianqian knew that someone had poisoned the forest, she would definitely be scared. For his daughter's sake, Zhang Qiang has to take this seriously.
Jiang Linchuan understood what she meant. "I know what to do. Don't worry, I'll be back soon."
After saying that, he turned and walked away quickly.
The lights in Zhang Qiang's house had long been off; only a kerosene lamp hanging in the yard emitted a faint light in the night.
Jiang Linchuan walked to the gate and pounded on the door. The loud banging was especially loud in the quiet night, and it could be heard almost throughout half of the forest.
"Open the door, Captain Zhang, it's urgent!" Jiang Linchuan shouted while banging on the door, deliberately raising his voice to make sure everyone inside could hear him.
There was soon some noise inside. Zhang Qiang's voice, tinged with the impatience of someone just waking up, said, "Who is it? What are you doing making noise in the middle of the night? Can't a person get some sleep?!"
"It's me, Li Guowei. Something happened with the female educated youth."
Zhang Qianqian was awakened by the knocking on the door. When she heard Jiang Linchuan's voice, her face lit up with joy. She couldn't fall back asleep and quickly got up.
Zhang Qiang wanted to linger a little longer, but Zhang Qianqian had already run out and pulled open the door latch.
Under the moonlight, Zhang Qianqian looked at Jiang Linchuan with undisguised joy in her eyes, and her voice softened a bit, "Brother Guowei, why are you here so late?"
As soon as she finished speaking, she remembered something, her cheeks flushed even more, and she subconsciously pulled her coat tighter.
Jiang Linchuan didn't even look at her face. His gaze passed over her and landed on Zhang Qiang, who came out of the house. His tone was direct and without any hesitation, "The female educated youth has been poisoned and is in a very dangerous situation."
"What?" Zhang Qianqian's shyness froze instantly, her eyes widened in shock, and she instinctively grabbed Jiang Linchuan's arm. "Poisoning? How could someone poison them? How are they now?"
At this moment, Zhang Qiang also walked out quickly, his face gloomy, and his previous sleepiness completely disappeared.
He ignored his daughter's reaction, asking, "What exactly happened? Which female educated youth was poisoned?"
“They’ve all been poisoned.” Jiang Linchuan withdrew his arm, offered no further explanation, and turned to walk towards the female educated youth’s dormitory.
Zhang Qiang didn't have time to say anything more and quickly followed. After taking a couple of steps, he turned back, frowned, and scolded, "Qianqian, go back! It's chaotic outside, it's not safe!"
Zhang Qianqian had no intention of going back. She was also worried about the other female educated youth. More importantly, she was looking forward to spending time with the person she liked. How could she let go of such an opportunity?
Pretending not to hear her father's words, she quickly caught up with Jiang Linchuan, deliberately walking alongside him, her voice filled with feigned concern, "Brother Guowei, who poisoned her? How serious is the poisoned female educated youth? Is Sister Li Juan alright?"
Jiang Linchuan glanced at her sideways, his eyes devoid of emotion, and simply said, "You'll know when we get there."
The three of them hurried to the female educated youth dormitory.
Faint whispers could be heard coming from inside.
Jiang Linchuan pushed open the door first and went in, followed closely by Zhang Qiang and Zhang Qianqian.
Inside the room, the old doctor was sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) tidying up his silver needles. When he saw them come in, he stopped what he was doing, looked up at Zhang Qiang, and said with a hint of weariness in his voice, "Captain Zhang, you've finally come."
Zhang Qiang, ignoring pleasantries, looked at the several female educated youths lying weakly on the kang (a heated brick bed), "Dr. Wang, what exactly happened? How could they suddenly be poisoned?"
"They ate rat poison. I checked just now, and there was rat poison in the water tank in Lin Hong's dormitory. They must have drunk the raw water in the tank before this happened."
"Rat poison?" Zhang Qiang's face darkened further, his brows furrowing deeply. "Why would there be rat poison in the water tank out of the blue?"
Xu Xinghe stepped forward, her expression grave. "Captain Zhang, it's not just Lin Hong's dormitory; the water tank in my dormitory and Zhao Xiaoyan's dormitory has also been poisoned with rat poison. The fact that both dormitories are experiencing this at the same time is definitely not an accident; someone deliberately poisoned them."
Her voice was clear and forceful, and her gaze swept over everyone present. "This matter must be thoroughly investigated. We cannot let the poisoner get away with it! Otherwise, we won't know who will be poisoned next time!"
Zhang Qianqian stood to the side, and when she heard that rat poison had been used on both dormitories, her face paled even more, and she subconsciously moved closer to Jiang Linchuan.
Jiang Linchuan didn't even look at her, stepped aside, and came to Xu Xinghe's side. "Captain Zhang, the person who did it didn't choose any earlier or later, but chose today. It's very likely that it's related to those old educated youth who just moved away today. What do you think?"
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