Ignoring the mud-stained hem of her skirt, Lili hurriedly ran over to help lift the basket on her back.
Just as Lili was about to crawl into the basket, she suddenly noticed a strange mark on the ground covered by the spilled herbs.
Lili was taken aback, then dug away the herbs, revealing the marks on the ground.
"footprint?"
Lili lay down on the ground again to take a closer look.
The soil was not moist, and the print was very shallow; you couldn't tell it was only half a footprint unless you looked closely.
How come there's half a footprint here?
Right next to the old man, there were even a few drops of blood on the footprints, indicating that the footprints came first and then the blood.
Could these footprints be from the person who hurt the old man?
Lili tried to discern something from that half-footprint, but she couldn't see anything.
"Libao, what's wrong? Quickly get into the basket!"
"good!"
Before she could think of anything else, Lili scrambled into the basket and squatted on the half-full basket of herbs.
Shen Jiahao squatted down with the old man on his back, somewhat struggling to put the basket on his front, took a deep breath, and then went down the mountain in one go.
Carrying an elderly person on his back, with Lili in front of him, even Shen Jiahao, with his excellent stamina, was starting to feel the strain.
Shen Jiahao gritted his teeth, letting sweat drip down his cheeks, and quickly headed down the mountain.
It was getting dark, and with so many trees on the mountain, Shen Jiahao had to be extra careful, using the dim light to steady his steps.
Lili glanced at the trees on both sides, estimating that they should be almost there, and tenderly wiped the sweat from Shen Jiahao's forehead with her sleeve: "Thank you for your hard work, Guoguo."
Encouraged by his sister, Shen Jiahao was instantly revitalized: "Brother isn't tired at all, I can carry ten more pears!"
Lili could only silently encourage her brother, powerless to do anything about it.
The old man on my back seemed to have fainted, as he remained unresponsive.
"Grandpa, Grandpa, don't sleep."
Lili gently poked the head that was drooping on Shen Jiahao's shoulder and spoke cautiously.
I've heard that some seriously injured people who fall unconscious are very difficult to wake up from, and are practically dead.
This is another elderly man with such serious injuries; Lili is really afraid he won't make it down the mountain!
Shen Jiahao glanced at it, gritted his teeth, and quickened his pace.
It was already dark when Lili saw several figures at her doorstep, anxiously circling around with candles in their hands.
When Shen Lao Er returned from the fields, the women waiting at the door immediately surrounded him: "How was it? Did you find Jiahao and Libao?"
Shen Lao Er frowned and shook his head.
Old Mrs. Shen and Mrs. Chen also returned from the riverbank: "We didn't see anyone by the river. I asked the family that lives nearby, but they didn't see two children go by either."
"How could this happen? Li Bao is very well-behaved. She comes back on time every day. She wouldn't run away!" Mrs. Yang was anxious and kept looking towards the village, pinning her last hope on Old Man Shen, who was wandering around the village.
Liu was also filled with unease. Shen Jiahao was already so old; surely he couldn't have run away while playing, could he?
The children kept searching around their home. Shen Jialuo held Houfu, almost crying with anxiety: "Houfu, Houfu, can you smell your sister's scent?"
Houfu whimpered twice, as if it could really sense its little master's feelings, and stretched out its paws to comfort him.
Old Man Shen returned, bringing with him the same news: no one had been found.
“I asked everyone in the village, and I didn’t see the two children visiting anyone or playing with any other children.”
Old Man Shen asked around the village, and when the villagers heard that the two children might be missing, they had already started searching the surrounding area on their own.
Two others came back with Old Man Shen: Wang Da Niang's son, Wang Er Gou, and Wang Da Niang's husband, Old Man Wang.
Upon hearing that the Shen family was looking for their child, Old Lady Wang immediately sent out two men from her household to help.
Wang Ergou looked at the sky: "Aunt Shen, don't worry, it's not completely dark yet. Let's hurry up and search the neighborhood!"
Yang covered her mouth, on the verge of tears, and cried out in despair, "Where could they go? They've always been the most sensible; they wouldn't run off to another place for no reason!"
Liu was also very worried, but she comforted herself: "It's okay, it's okay. My Jiahao is the best at taking care of his younger siblings. With him around, nothing will go wrong!"
The family was extremely anxious and was already hesitating about going to find the village chief when suddenly Houfu called out twice towards the back mountain. Then they heard a very familiar voice: "Houfu!"
Houfu barked excitedly in response to Lili.
Shen Jialuo finally recognized them: "It's my younger sister and older brother!"
"Pear Baby!"
"Jiahao!"
Old Mrs. Shen was finally relieved; she had almost thought her two children were lost!
"Mom, is there someone on Jiahao's back?"
When Old Lady Shen looked, she saw that Lili was sitting in a basket on Shen Jiahao's back in front of her. So who was on Shen Jiahao's back behind her?
"Quick, go lend a hand!"
Several men rushed forward, vying to catch the two children.
When the group saw Shen Jiahao carrying an old man covered in blood, they didn't have time to ask any questions. They quickly told him to put the man down and have someone else carry him.
"My God, so much blood, what happened?"
"Jiahao, quickly put him down and let your uncle carry him. Look at you, you're covered in sweat!"
"Yeah, you must have come all the way down from the mountain, right? That must have been exhausting!"
Shen Jiahao said nothing, panting as they carried the old man on their backs.
"Quickly, go find Doctor Zhu!"
The women gathered around and were terrified when they saw the bloodied body. It was Old Lady Shen who decisively told Chen to go find Doctor Zhu.
Chen left in a hurry.
The men carried the old man into the house.
Shen Jiahao put down the basket, and Yang hugged Lili tightly, looking at her carefully.
The little dumpling had a bit of blood on its sleeve, and it said, "It's not Lili's blood, Mother, don't worry!"
Liu tenderly wiped the sweat from her son's brow. Shen Jiawen and Shen Jiaqing had already brought out bowls of water. After the two children drank, Liu told Shen Jialu to quickly help Shen Jiahao into the house to rest.
Yang held Lili in her arms: "Lili, what happened?"
A group of people had already arrived at the relatively empty storage room in the corner of the yard. Old Mrs. Shen tidied up a space and put a bed board there. Several men placed the old woman on the bed board.
The old man was covered in blood; it was truly horrifying.
But saving lives was the priority, and the women didn't have time to talk about being afraid; they all got to work.
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