Chapter 113
Li Yubai carried Jiaojiao back to the Mushroom House, put on some clothes, and went to make a bottle of milk powder for Jiaojiao. Then he borrowed the program crew's car to send Zhou Yi to the hospital.
When the doctors and nurses in the hospital saw the injuries on Zhou Yi's body, they were shocked.
In today's era and society, it is rare to see so many man-made injuries on a person. Most people who come to the hospital for surgical treatment have injuries caused by accidents, and most of those injuries are concentrated in one place.
So when a ten-year-old child was covered from head to toe with dense old scars or fresh wounds, even though doctors and nurses had seen all kinds of people and injuries over the years, they could not help but be stunned the moment they saw it.
Most of Zhou Yi's injuries had become inflamed and festered, and the doctors and nurses took a full two hours to treat him. When he was wheeled out of the treatment room, he looked like a freshly-baked mummy.
While treating Zhou Yi's external injuries, doctors also discovered fractures in his left ankle and three ribs in his chest.
When the doctor told Li Yubai this, he couldn't help but look at Li Yubai.
Faced with the doctor's suspicious look, Li Yubai, who was afraid that he would call the police, had to explain.
In the ward, Jiaojiao, who was guarding the bedside, stretched out her little finger and gently poked the bandage on Zhou Yi's arm after getting Zhou Yi's consent, then quickly withdrew her hand.
Zhou Yi looked at the curiosity in Jiaojiao's eyes and couldn't help but pursed his lips slightly. The dimples on his cheeks were faintly visible, and the powerlessness and numbness in his eyes faded a little.
He reached out and took Jiaojiao's small hand and placed it on his arm: "It's okay, it doesn't hurt."
Jiaojiao raised her head and smiled at him: "Brother Zhou Yi, you are wrapped up in white."
It was also the first time for Zhou Yi to be wrapped like this, and he moved his body a little uncomfortably.
"Can Jiaojiao be wrapped like this?" Jiaojiao asked curiously while touching the bandage on Zhou Yi's arm.
"No!" Zhou Yi couldn't control the volume of his voice when he heard his words, and the word "can't" sounded like a roar.
Startled, Jiaojiao looked up at him and blinked blankly.
Zhou Yi pursed his lips when he realized that he had scared him. He had never had any friends before and didn't know what to do. He grabbed the quilt with his hands helplessly, and his hands turned white with strength as if he wanted to tear five holes in the quilt.
"I'm sorry!" He said helplessly and in a low voice: "I wrapped it like this because I have a lot of wounds on my body. I didn't want you to get hurt, so I lost control and made a loud noise."
"It's okay." Jiaojiao tilted her head to look at him, who was looking down, and stretched out her little finger to measure the distance the size of a fingernail: "Jiaojiao was only scared a little bit."
This was the scene Li Yubai saw when he came in from outside the ward.
"Dad." Jiaojiao, who looked like her dad, ran over from the bedside with her short legs and hugged Li Yubai's legs.
Li Yubai bent down skillfully and picked him up: "Are you hungry?"
Jiaojiao patted her belly, looked up at her father and said crisply, "I'm hungry!"
Li Yubai heard this and walked out with Jiaojiao in his arms. Before turning around, he asked Zhou Yi, "What do you want to eat? I'll bring it back for you."
Zhou Yi came back to his senses and said a little restrainedly: "No, no need."
Li Yubai retracted his gaze: "I'll take some back."
After saying that, he turned and walked out.
Zhou Yi was left alone in the ward, mumbling that it was not necessary.
Zhou Yi, who was sitting on the hospital bed and couldn't see them, was a little confused, but when he remembered that Jiaojiao was not angry or hated him, he couldn't help but pursed his lips in relief.
After a while, he looked down at the bandage on his hand, his numb eyes filled with a daze.
He didn't understand how everything turned out like this.
However, within a very short period of time, his grandfather was arrested and might even have lost custody of him for abusing him.
Zhou Yi knew what custody meant. There was once a family in the village that was getting divorced. The couple argued fiercely over the custody of their child, and they even had to be hospitalized several times after fighting.
Because of this, he clearly knows what custody means.
It meant that he could stay away from his grandfather and Zhou Yaozu from now on. It meant that he would never be beaten again, and would never be ridden like a horse in front of the children in the village.
Zhou Yi reached out and touched his neck in a trance. For a moment, he felt that the invisible lock that had been tied tightly around his neck, making it difficult for him to breathe, had broken.
This made Zhou Yi feel very unreal, like a beautiful dream he had before he died.
but……
Remembering something, he reached out and touched his face, then suddenly got out of bed, dragging his left foot, which was wrapped in layers of cloth, and limped to the bathroom.
He stood in front of the mirror, leaned in close to the mirror and looked at his facial features nervously and carefully. While looking, he recalled the facial features of his grandfather and Zhou Yaozu. Every time he found a difference, his heart tightened a little. When he found that there was indeed no similarity at all, his heartbeat suddenly stopped and then beat rapidly.
Zhou Yi seemed to hear the sound of his own heartbeat. The "dong dong... dong dong" sound gave him a deafening illusion.
He thought this dream might be better...
He covered his chest which was aching from the beating of his heart, and thought of what Jiaojiao's father said. A small, swaying light of expectation rose in his numb and dim eyes.
Maybe he was really picked up by his grandfather...
He has parents...
He didn't kill his parents...
He didn't know what his parents were like, what his family situation was like, or whether they had spent all their money looking for him. After all, he had heard of someone who had spent years searching for their abducted son, even selling their house.
But it doesn’t matter…
A small but not negligible glimmer of hope appeared in Zhou Yi's eyes.
If the family is very poor, then he can come to support the family. He knows a lot.
He would weave many bamboo baskets and small animals and sell them on the street. He would also go to the fields to grow vegetables and various crops, and raise chickens and pigs.
The more Zhou Yi thought about it, the brighter his eyes became. He endured the pain all over his body, stood in the bathroom, staring at his face without blinking, imagining what his parents looked like.
When Zhou Yi imagined the fifth version of his parents in his mind, Jiaojiao, who was walking back with her father carrying her after filling her stomach, saw someone.
Jiaojiao blinked, raised her hand and pointed at something not far away, wrinkled her nose, looked up at her father and said, "Bad guy."
Hearing this, Li Yubai looked in the direction Jiaojiao pointed and unexpectedly saw Zhou Daqiang.
But what was even more unexpected was that he was lying on a stretcher at this time, looking very miserable.
The two policemen who brought Zhou Daqiang to the hospital looked at him with surprise in their eyes.
To be honest, at this moment, the two of them were very skeptical as to how Zhou Daqiang had managed to survive until now with such luck.
It's no wonder the two of them thought so. The things they encountered on the way from Changli Village to the county town were really too shocking.
The two took Zhou Daqiang to Zhou's house and put him in the police car. Zhou Daqiang kept cursing all the way, but he was not cursing them. A person like him who bullies the weak and fears the strong would not dare to curse the police even if they had the courage.
Even if they weren't scolding them, it was really annoying to hear them scolding like that all the way. One of the policemen couldn't stand it anymore and yelled at him to shut up.
Zhou Daqiang spoke loudly but actually he didn't dare to argue with the police. After being scolded, he muttered a few words and then shut up.
The two policemen finally breathed a sigh of relief when their ears finally quieted down. However, this breath of relief did not last long. The car suddenly shook violently, followed by a dizzying feeling.
When the two men climbed out of the overturned car, they found that the tire had burst, causing the police car to overturn from the mountain road.
The police car rolled down the mountain road. The two policemen were a little dizzy but had no injuries at all. However, Zhou Daqiang somehow broke the glass when the car rolled over and fell out. Not only was he scratched by the glass and bleeding, he also fell into a fertilizer pit used by farmers nearby.
Fortunately, this cesspool was abandoned a few years ago. Although it smells bad, it has dried up and there is no sewage.
The two men endured the stench and pulled Zhou Daqiang out of the pit, only to find that his right arm was broken.
At first, the two thought it was just a rare accident, until a series of incredible things happened later, which made them turn their suspicions on Zhou Daqiang.
It's hard to believe that three people were squatting on the roadside waiting for a bus when one of them was hit on the head by a beehive that fell from the sky, and then was chased by wasps, leaving him with a black eye and a swollen face, and two teeth were broken. The most amazing thing is that there were two people standing next to him at the time, and no wasps flew towards them.
After the beehive, Zhou Daqiang accidentally lost his balance and fell down the mountain path in a headfirst position. His other hand was pierced by a broken branch.
When the police sent another car, the group was about to reach the hospital entrance when there was another traffic jam. They had no choice but to get off the car and walk over.
Unexpectedly, as I was walking, a gust of wind blew and the palm leaves above my head fell down and hit me on the head. Not only did I get a bleeding head, but I also broke my leg.
After hearing the description of the two policemen, Li Yubai couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and turned to look at Zhou Daqiang who was being pushed away by medical staff on a cart not far away.
Jiaojiao, who was in her father's arms, also looked over there with her father.
But the next second, Zhou Daqiang's legs suddenly twitched for no apparent reason, and he fell off the cart face first, with his forehead hitting the smooth floor hard. The "bang" sound was so loud that it made anyone who saw it feel a toothache.
Zhou Daqiang, who was already injured, suddenly fainted due to the pain.
Jiaojiao, startled by the sound of him falling, blinked, turned her head and buried it in her father's arms. After a while, she quietly poked her little head out to look.
Li Yubai looked down at Jiaojiao and raised his hand to touch the back of his round head. His intuition told him that Zhou Daqiang's bad luck was related to the little guy in his arms, but his reason told him that this was impossible.
After returning to the ward, Jiaojiao gestured with her little hands as she spoke, vividly telling Zhou Yi what had just happened when she met Zhou Daqiang. Zhou Yi was stunned, his eyes wide open with disbelief.
"Don't be afraid, brother. The bad guys are in big trouble." Jiaojiao stood on tiptoe and patted Zhou Yi's hand on the hospital bed, pretending to comfort him.
Zhou Yi looked at Jiaojiao, who was standing on tiptoe trying to comfort him, and nodded: "Yeah, I'm not afraid anymore."
It would be a lie to say that he wasn't afraid. After all, the shadows and instincts left over from many years were still there. However... now, when he heard Zhou Daqiang's name, his heart didn't tighten like before, making it difficult for him to breathe.
After paying the medical fee in advance, Li Yubai walked into the ward, said a few words to Zhou Yi, then bent down, picked up Jiaojiao and prepared to leave.
As they left, Jiaojiao waved her little paws and said, "Brother Zhou Yi, take good care of yourself. Jiaojiao and dad will come to see you when we have time."
These words calmed Zhou Yi's restless heart, which had been wanting to go along. He leaned against the bed and looked at Jiaojiao. He slowly unclenched his clenched fists, his eyes wide open like a child who was terrified of leaving their parents for the first time. He stared at Jiaojiao eagerly, demanding a promise: "Jiaojiao, you must remember to come see me."
Jiaojiao nodded vigorously: "Jiaojiao remember, I will come to see brother."
Li Yubai looked back at Zhou Yi and sensed a sense of peace in his eyes when he looked at Jiaojiao.
He paused. It was funny to say, but it was undeniable that, in addition to Zhou Yi, Li Yubai himself did feel a strange sense of security from Jiaojiao, who looked only two years old.
Li Yubai lowered his eyes and looked at Jiaojiao who was looking up at him and smiling in his arms. He couldn't help but tighten his arms.
Although it seems on the surface that Jiaojiao cannot live without him, on a deeper level, he cannot live without Jiaojiao.
After Jiaojiao's figure disappeared from his sight, Zhou Yi withdrew his gaze. He knew that the reason Jiaojiao's father helped him was because of Jiaojiao.
But what was the reason for Jiaojiao to help me...
Zhou Yi lowered his head and thought in distress.
When Li Yubai and Jiaojiao returned to the mushroom house in Changli Village, it was time to hand in basic work points.
As expected, due to Xiao Tiancheng's reasons, the task of clearing the fields was not completed within the specified time. According to regulations, he needed to hand over 40 basic work points to the program team.
Xiao Tiancheng glanced at Jiaojiao and Li Yubai who had returned, feeling extremely resentful in his heart, but he still gritted his teeth and tried to save face, rejecting Lu Yian's suggestion of sharing the work equally, and went forward alone to hand in the basic work points.
After two days of toiling away without any results and owing the production team ten work points, Xiao Tiancheng handed in his work points. He then walked over to Li Yubai and asked Jiaojiao curiously, "Jiaojiao, is the scenery in Changli Village nice?"
The questioned Jiaojiao looked at him and said honestly, "It looks good."
"I was so engrossed in it that I forgot to come back for dinner. It must be incredibly beautiful," Xiao Tiancheng said with a slightly disappointed smile. "It's a pity we were so busy working in the fields that we didn't have time to see it. It's also my fault for being so clumsy that I've dragged everyone down. My hands are now blistered and I haven't finished the work in the fields. I don't know if it will slow down the progress of the farming process."
As he said this, he showed Jiaojiao the blood blisters on his hands in a funny way.
Fans who were already feeling sorry for their brother were moved to tears when they heard Xiao Tiancheng's words and saw the blisters on his palms. They especially compared him to Li Yubai, who had nothing to do and had even been out playing all afternoon. They couldn't help but criticize him with a barrage of comments.
Netizens who are not fans of Xiao Tiancheng can see that the general meaning of these comments is that Li Yubai has no team spirit, is stingy and vindictive, and is narrow-minded. Their brother just said it casually because he was afraid of delaying the progress, so he deliberately slowed down the farming process to retaliate.
When he suppressed their brother, their brother didn't care about him. This shows that some people's quality and character are really not good.
Li Yubai didn’t know the situation of the barrage in the live broadcast room, but he also anticipated the reaction of Xiao Tiancheng’s fans.
He met Xiao Tiancheng's disappointed but smug look, and pulled the corner of his mouth emotionlessly, giving a smile that seemed innocent, but upon closer inspection, it felt a bit sarcastic. "The director assigns daily tasks based on the number of people. Although I really didn't mean it that way, you're really a burden in the farming group. If you don't complete the task, you still have to pay 40 work points. You'll make Cao Yuhao starve too."
When Xiao Tiancheng realized that he was returning the words he had said two days ago, the pride in his eyes instantly disappeared, and was replaced by the frustration and anger of working hard to complete the task today.
"That's right." Cao Yuhao, standing beside him, raised his head and echoed Li Yubai's words. He looked at Xiao Tiancheng with a look of disappointment: "Xiao Tian, you have to work harder. We men can't be the ones holding people back."
Xiao Tiancheng looked down at Cao Yuhao, and for a moment he wanted to slap him. He clenched his fists tightly to suppress his impulse, but he didn't expect that because he used too much force, his nails pierced the blisters on his hands, and the pain made his face twisted for a moment.
"Wow." Seeing his expression, Cao Yuhao took a step back in fear: "Xiao Tian, you look like you're going to hit me, right?"
"Don't hit him." Jiaojiao, who had been put down by her father, ran forward with her short legs, grabbed Cao Yuhao, hid him behind her, looked up at Xiao Tiancheng and said, "Uncle Xiao Tian, you can't hit him. Adults who hit children will be in trouble."
Xiao Tiancheng looked down at Jiaojiao, his lowered eyelids hiding the disgust in his eyes. He squatted down and showed Jiaojiao his hand, saying with a smile, "I didn't mean to hit Yuhao. I accidentally broke the blister, and the pain made my expression a little fierce."
Jiaojiao looked down at the blood blister on his hand, wrinkled her nose and said, "Bleeding hurts, uncle, remember to apply medicine."
Xiao Tiancheng met her bright, clear eyes and was stunned for a moment. Then he nodded perfunctorily: "I know, I will apply the medicine."
When fans of Xiao Tiancheng in the live broadcast room saw this scene, they immediately said with great sorrow: "This kind of well-behaved, soft, and caring cub is like my brother's cub."
"Look at how well my brother and Jiaozi look together."
"They look more like a father and son. I wonder if the director can change the son."
"That's right, isn't a youthful, energetic dad and a cute, adorable kid better than Li's sullen look?"
"Director, please, please change the cub. Look at Li's expressionless face. I need this naughty kid Cao Yuhao to add some intense expressions and emotions to him."
"Director, have you seen the demands of our people?"
Director Cao, who was monitoring the barrage of comments, suddenly brightened up his eyes. He looked at Li Yubai and then at his own son, thinking that it might not be a bad idea to let Li Yubai take care of his son.
Director Wu, who was sitting next to him and had accurately read his expression, interrupted his thoughts with a voice: "This is a healing version of raising children variety show. The farming mission is enough. Adding other elements will make the viewing experience worse."
Director Cao's thoughts were cut short before he could even finish his words: "..."
Thinking that he had never filmed a variety show before, Director Cao swallowed the words on his lips.
It was already late at this time. After the director turned off the live broadcast and stopped the recording, the group of people went back to their respective mushroom houses to wash up and go to bed.
Lying on the bed, Xiao Tiancheng gritted his teeth and looked at Cao Yuhao who was snoring softly beside him. He couldn't hold back any longer and kicked him off the bed.
Cao Yuhao fell off the bed with a thud, looking dazed. Before he could react, Xiao Tiancheng had already jumped off the bed and pulled him into his arms, saying anxiously, "What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare? Why did you fall off the bed? I was so scared! Does it hurt?"
Seeing his anxious look, Cao Yuhao reached out and touched his aching forehead. With red eyes, he swallowed back the sobs on the corner of his mouth and said with a slightly choked voice, "It's okay."
Xiao Tiancheng carried him onto the bed and moved him inwards: "This way you won't fall down."
Cao Yuhao nodded and lay back on the bed. After a while, he closed his eyes and fell asleep again.
Seeing this, Xiao Tiancheng, feeling relieved, closed his eyes and went to sleep feeling refreshed.
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