There's still a breath!
Li Xiuju is still alive!
Zhou Chenyu's eyes suddenly welled up with tears.
Baoyu looked at her through teary eyes, "Sister, how is Mother?"
Zhou Chenyu wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, helped Li Xiuju up, and her mind cleared instantly. She calmly looked into Baoyu's eyes and said to him, word by word:
"She's unconscious right now, and we don't know what caused it. Neither you nor I know anything about medicine, so we need to take her to see a doctor right away!"
Should I see a doctor?
Hearing his sister's strong and resolute words, Baoyu felt as if he had been given a reassuring pill.
He hastily wiped away his tears, struggled to carry Li Xiuju on his back, and in his confused state of mind thought, "Sister, let's go to town to find Doctor Zhou! In the past, whether it was Father who was sick or us who were injured, we always went directly to Doctor Zhou for treatment. He must have a way!"
Dr. Zhou?
That old geezer who arbitrarily judged her as mentally unstable and forced her to drink several bowls of traditional Chinese medicine.
Zhou Chenyu didn't have a very good impression of the old man. Although the old man had moved to the city, he was still a resident of Zhoujia Village and had some kinship with Zhou Wenbin.
In addition, when Zhou Wenbin was seriously ill, he took great care of him.
She and the old man had one thing to do, but in this critical moment, she couldn't worry about that anymore.
"Alright! Let's not delay, let's set off immediately!"
Zhou Chenyu grabbed some warm clothes, went back to her room with all her money, and, supporting Li Xiuju on Baoyu's back, the two siblings hurriedly left.
Hongmei was chopping wood in front of the door when she saw this and asked anxiously, "What's wrong, Auntie?"
"Sister Hongmei, my mother has fainted. We're going into town to find a doctor!" Zhou Chenyu hurriedly greeted Hongmei and followed closely behind Baoyu.
Grandma Wang, sitting in the courtyard, heard voices and, holding her child, asked, "Hongmei, who's outside?"
Hongmei followed them with a serious expression as she returned to the courtyard. "Aunt Li has fainted. Chenyu and Baoyu are carrying her to the city."
"What? Xiuju has fainted?" Old Mrs. Wang was startled, and the spoon she was using to feed the child fell to the ground. Hongmei came over, bent down and picked it up. "I don't know what happened, but I hope Auntie can come back safely. Grandma, don't worry too much."
Grandma Wang regained her senses and frowned as she looked at Hongmei. "To encounter something like this so early in the morning, the house must be a mess. I don't even know if the door is locked or not. Go and take a look."
Hongmei hadn't expected this at all. She immediately nodded, got up, and hurried to the next room.
Zhou Chenyu and Baoyu left in a hurry, closing the door but not locking it.
When Hongmei arrived, the door had already been blown open by the cold wind. Huangdou recognized her and wagged its tail while guarding the yard.
Seeing Huangdou lying uneasily on the spot, with the bowl next to him still empty, he said, "Wait here, I'll get you some rice."
After feeding the dog, Hongmei looked at the messy yard and the untouched food on the dining table in the main room. She cleaned them up and locked the door before leaving.
After leaving Zhoujia Village, Zhou Chenyu and Baoyu hurried towards the city. What usually took them nearly half an hour to walk, they covered in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
Upon entering the city, the two rushed straight to Doctor Zhou's clinic, crying, "Doctor Zhou, help! Please save my mother!"
Old Zhou sat leisurely, holding the parrot in its cage. Hearing Bao Yu's call and seeing the siblings carrying someone in, he quickly put down his things and rushed out to greet them: "What's wrong with her?"
"I don't know what's wrong with her, please save her, Uncle Zhou, please save my mother!"
Baoyu panicked and stammered without getting to the point. Zhou Chenyu touched Li Xiuju's hand and said, "Uncle Zhou, my mother was found unconscious in her room today and we can't wake her up no matter what we do. Please take a look and see what's wrong?"
Old Zhou checked Li Xiuju's pulse and eyes, then lifted her right leg and immediately discovered the source of her symptoms: "Don't worry, she fainted from the pain of an old injury."
What?
Old wound.
Zhou Chenyu looked at Li Xiuju's legs; her calves were swollen to the same thickness as her thighs. For her calves to be swollen to this extent, they must have been there for at least a while.
She didn't say a word.
If she had fainted after they went hunting in the mountains, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Baoyu watched as even more tears fell to the ground. "I'm so useless. How come I don't know anything?"
The old man looked at the bewildered siblings, without any intention of blaming them, but simply shook his head helplessly.
“Xiuju’s leg injury is an old one. I had told her long ago to come in for acupuncture and medicine every month. But she’s stubborn. Not only does she not come for treatment, she also works day and night. If this continues for years, she’ll eventually break down.”
"Her legs have been swollen for quite some time, but she just wouldn't let you know, sigh."
Zhou Chenyu probably guessed why Li Xiuju didn't say anything.
She took out her money pouch and said, "Uncle Zhou, please treat my mother quickly. No matter what method you use or how much money it costs, we must cure her."
Old Zhou looked at Zhou Chenyu, whose eyes were resolute, and who was quite different from the gentle and reserved person he remembered.
He used to think that Li Xiuju had finally gotten rid of Zhou Wenbin and that the years of suffering were finally over, but he never expected that his eldest daughter would have an accident in the mountains and that he would go insane again.
In hindsight, he was overthinking it.
Old Zhou breathed a sigh of relief, but seeing Zhou Chenyu's pleading gaze, he dared not make a hasty judgment. He got up, took the acupuncture needles, and said calmly:
"I'll give her acupuncture first, then prescribe some medicine for her to drink. When she wakes up depends on her own fate. My disciple, help me get her to the bed."
"Yes, Master."
Zhou Chenyu beckoned Baoyu over and helped Li Xiuju lie down on the wooden couch in the inner room. "Alright, I'll stay here and watch over her. Go and buy some food first."
Zhou Chenyu took out a few copper coins from his pocket, but before Baoyu could reach out, he heard the sound of something colliding and scattering behind him.
She and the apprentice turned around at the same time. Baoyu was covered in cold sweat, his vision went black, and he crashed into the wooden frame behind him and slipped to the ground.
"Baoyu!" Zhou Chenyu exclaimed in surprise, opening her eyes wide. She quickly helped him up. "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Baoyu sat weakly in the chair, opening his eyes feebly, "Sister, I'm fine, I'm perfectly alright."
"Master, please save them! Master!"
Hearing his apprentice's urgent call, Old Man Zhou hurriedly entered the room and felt Bao Yu's wrist pulse. "Yesterday was the Mid-Autumn Festival. He must have eaten too much and too many different kinds of food, which made his stomach upset. He should eat some light food and rest for a while."
Baoyu forced a smile. "Sister, I told you I'm fine. Don't worry. Mother is more important."
Zhou Chenyu watched as he pretended to be fine even though he was clearly very weak.
Seeing that Doctor Zhou had already begun treating Li Xiuju, she said in a deep voice, "You can sit here and rest. I'll go out and get some breakfast later."
Baoyu clutched his heavy stomach. He usually did these errands, but today he was too weak to do them. He could only obediently nod and say, "Okay, Sister, go and come back quickly."
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