He didn't dare to catch his breath and ran to the barefoot doctor: "Dr. Zhang, Dr. Zhang, please come out quickly and see how my niece is?"
Seeing Qian Laosan carrying Erdan, who was covered in blood, and with many villagers following behind, especially members of the Qian family, they were all worried when they saw that Erdan was the only girl in the old man's family. If something happened to Erdan and she died, the old man would go crazy.
Hearing the noise, Dr. Zhang quickly came out of the pharmacy and saw Qian Laosan, soaking wet, holding a baby in his arms, whose head was bleeding profusely.
"Quick, put it inside! What happened? How did you bump your head like that?"
Old Zhang was busy with his hands and talking at the same time: "What happened? How did you get hurt so badly? And why are you all wet?"
Qian Laosan was completely at a loss: "I don't know either. I went to the river to call Erdan home for dinner, but when I got there I found that all that was left was the fishing rod, and the river was blood red. I was almost scared to death."
"Um, Dr. Zhang, will my Erdan be alright?"
Old Zhang took the white cotton cloth and wrapped it around Qian Xiao's head again and again: "The bleeding has stopped. This girl has always been tough since she was little. As long as she doesn't get a fever at night, it's not a big problem. If she gets a fever at night, come and find me. If it still doesn't work, we'll have to take her to the hospital."
"Erdan, Erdan, my dear Erdan!" Old Mrs. Qian stumbled in, her forehead covered in sweat despite the crisp autumn air, clearly in a great hurry.
When the old lady saw her granddaughter lying on the bed with a deathly pale face, she almost fainted. If her second daughter-in-law hadn't come over and helped her up, there would have been another person needing emergency medical attention.
The old lady quickly broke free from her second daughter-in-law's hand, ran to the bedside, and carefully touched her granddaughter's little face. Tears streamed down her face.
"My Erdan has suffered terribly. Who was the bastard who did this?" It's impossible that his granddaughter fell by herself. His eldest granddaughter has been practicing martial arts with her great-grandfather since she was a child, and she has never suffered such a serious injury.
Li Guizhi also stumbled over, and when she saw her daughter lying silently on the bed, she almost collapsed. Her daughter had never been this quiet since birth; it was too quiet, as if... as if...
"Erdan, Erdan, my Erdan, open your eyes and talk to your mother, you're tearing my heart out."
The old lady immediately noticed her third son, who was still soaking wet: "Third son, tell me what happened?"
“Mother, when I saw Erdan, he was in the water. He must have fallen in and hit his head on a big rock underwater.”
One of the onlookers said, "Sister-in-law, did Erdan fall into the water while playing there?"
The old lady was adamant: "Impossible. Erdan is a good swimmer, it's impossible for him to fall into the water without any warning. Besides, with Erdan's skills, it's impossible for him to fall into the water on his own."
Old Man Qian's face was full of heartache: "Third brother, think about what else you saw?"
Old Zhang's head was throbbing from their arguing: "Alright, this isn't the time to ask these questions. Take the child back and change him into some dry clothes. Wearing wet clothes in this weather will make his head freeze and he'll get a fever, even if he's not seriously injured."
"It would be best to make a bowl of ginger water for them to drink to dispel the cold. If the fever gets high tonight, come and find me."
Just as Qian Laosan was about to reach out and hug Qian Xiao back, the old lady stopped him: "Don't hug him, you're all wet. Lao Er, come and hug Erdan back. We can talk about it at home."
Qian Lao Er carefully picked up Qian Xiao, feeling extremely distressed. When had his eldest niece ever been so weak? It was heartbreaking to see her like this.
The whole family walked towards their home. People in the village would come over and ask them questions, which annoyed the old lady. Didn't she see that her granddaughter was still wet? Why were they asking?
Upon arriving home, Qian Xiao's three wives quickly boiled hot water to thoroughly clean her body, changed her into dry clothes, covered her with a thick cotton quilt, and lit the kang (a heated brick bed).
Now the whole family is sitting in the main room talking.
The old man tapped his pipe: "Third son, tell me, what else did you see back then?"
Why was he so sure that the third brother had seen something else? It was because when the third brother recounted what happened, he paused, as if he didn't know whether he should say it or not. That meant there must have been other discoveries, but he couldn't say them directly in front of everyone.
When Qian Laosan saw that the people sitting in the room were all his own family, he stopped hiding it: "When I was almost at the river, I saw Wang Xuewen from the Wang family run out in a panic, and those boys who were with Wang Xuewen had the same expression. They were so guilty when they saw me."
"I reckon this matter is inextricably linked to those few kids. I'm afraid they won't believe me if I say it, so I'm thinking of asking Erdan after he wakes up."
Old Man Qian narrowed his eyes, a ruthless glint flashing in his usually kind and smiling eyes. If it really was the Wang family brat who did it, this matter would not be easily forgotten.
Don't let the old man's quiet demeanor fool you; he's a veteran who killed Japanese soldiers. If he hadn't been so ruthless, his family would still be alive and well. Those years were far from peaceful, especially in Northeast China.
"Pah! I knew our Erdan couldn't have fallen by accident. I'm going to find the Wang family right now!" The old lady jumped up, looking like she was about to tear down the house.
The family's children also stood up. Their second son, Erdan, never caused trouble unless provoked by others, but this time, after suffering such a serious injury, they couldn't just let it go.
The old man tapped the table: "Wait a minute, let's wait until our Erdan wakes up before we talk about it. Otherwise, we won't be able to stand firm. It's best to do things in one fell swoop, otherwise there will be too many troubles later."
He didn't believe that the Wang family, with two scoundrels, could live a good life, especially since they were outsiders. He needed to investigate carefully to come up with the best way to strike decisively.
As soon as the old man spoke, even the old lady immediately quieted down. That's just how her old man was; he never spoke nonsense, and every word he uttered was always useful.
"Third brother, go out and find out where those kids you met today live."
"Dad, I understand. I'll go right now," Qian Laosan said as he left the house. He was a free spirit and got along better with the people in the village.
"Eldest daughter-in-law, don't go to the fields these two days. Take good care of Erdan. If anything seems wrong, we'll take him to the hospital right away."
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