It took more than half an hour before everything was cleaned up.
"Jianguo, the village chief is looking for you!" A voice came from outside the house.
Xu Jianguo knew that the village chief and others had returned, and hurried out.
"Uncle Mancang, how is it? Has the person been rescued?" Xu Jianguo asked.
Li Mancang looked at Xu Jianguo's hands wrapped in cotton cloth and asked, "Jianguo, what happened to your hands?"
"It's okay, it happened just now when we were climbing the hill, it's no big deal!"
Li Mancang nodded and said, "When we went down, the old Taoist priest was already dead. We brought his body up. I'll take him to bury him in the village cemetery. I came here to ask how the child is doing."
"Uncle Zhuzi gave him an acupuncture injection, and he's feeling much better, but he's still in a coma. Uncle Zhuzi said that as long as the fever goes down, he'll be saved. But if the fever continues like this, the child will be in serious condition!"
"Oh, it's all because of this famine!" Li Mancang said. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Jianguo, if this child is saved, what will you do?"
Xu Jianguo did not answer directly, but asked: "Uncle, I haven't thought about it yet, what do you think?"
"Hey, you also know the situation in our village. We can't even get enough food at home, so how can we have enough food to feed a child? I'm worried about this too." Li Mancang said.
Xu Jianguo thought for a moment and said, "Uncle, do you think this will work? I saved this child, and I can't bring trouble to the village. I also promised the old Taoist priest that I would take care of this child, and I can't go back on my word. And you know my family's situation. My parents died early, and I'm the only one left. If this child can be saved, I will raise her, and I will recognize her as my sister. When the time comes, you can just be a witness, and then register the child's household registration in my house, okay?"
Li Mancang remained silent, seemingly considering the situation. After a moment, he spoke, "Jianguo, it's not that I disagree, but you don't even have enough food to eat. How are you going to feed this child?"
"Uncle, people say that you live by the mountain. We have everything in this mountain. If all else fails, I can go into the mountain and dig some wild vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, etc. I can always feed her." Xu Jianguo said.
"Well... okay, as long as this child can be saved, I will be a witness for you in the village!" Li Mancang said.
"Also, your hand is injured, so don't go to work today. Just rest at home. I'm leaving now. Let me know if anything happens."
"Okay, thank you uncle!" Xu Jianguo said.
Xu Jianguo sent Li Mancang out the door, then returned to the house, said hello to Li Haizhu and his wife, and walked towards his home.
After returning home, Xu Jianguo went into the main room, poured out the little millet left in the rice jar, put it in his pocket, and left the house again.
He went to Li Haizhu's house again, gave the millet to his wife, took out fifty cents for medical expenses, and asked her to make some rice porridge to feed the little girl.
Only then did he return home again.
Xu Jianguo took out the oilcloth bag from his arms and changed himself into clean clothes.
Then he sat on the kang and opened the oilcloth bag. What came into view was a matchbox-sized jade plaque with an ancient shape and as black as ink.
The moment Xu Jianguo saw the jade token, his mind exploded and he was unable to recover for a long time.
"This, this jade token is made of the same material as my lost ring?!"
After calming himself down, Xu Jianguo picked up the jade token. It felt warm and smooth, and the material was exactly the same as the ring.
The front of the jade plaque has the word "Qingyun", and the back has the word "Dao" written in a style similar to cursive script.
"This jade token should be the token of the abbot of Qingyun Temple." Xu Jianguo thought to himself.
"You have to keep this thing safe and return it to the little girl when she wakes up!"
Xu Jianguo rewrapped the things and put them in the kang cabinet before getting up.
He carried the basin to the yard and soaked the dirty clothes he had taken off earlier in the water.
A "gurgling" sound came from the stomach.
"Oh, I've been busy all morning and I'm tired even after going to work. There's not much food left at home, and we have to wait a few days for the summer grain. I've got to hold on!" Xu Jianguo murmured to himself.
I made myself a big bowl of sugar water and felt better, then I lay back down on the kang.
All the running around this morning was definitely an overload for his small body.
Only then did Xu Jianguo, who had relaxed, feel tired. His arms and legs ached. Although he often did farm work, he was still lacking in nutrition.
Before he knew it, Xu Jianguo had started snoring.
In the blink of an eye, it was eight o'clock in the evening.
Xu Jianguo slept for more than four hours and only woke up when the village bell rang to signal the end of work.
After a simple meal, he ran to Li Haizhu's house to check on the little girl.
The child still had a fever, but it was a little lower than before. Aunt Li fed her some millet porridge, but she took in little and excreted a lot.
After dinner, the village chief Li Mancang also came to inquire about the child's situation.
Li Haizhu dragged him and Xu Jianguo to the yard and said, "This child is not in good condition. Judging from the current situation, tonight will be very difficult."
Li Mancang said nothing. He lit his pipe and took two puffs before speaking, "Jianguo, you saved the person. What do you think we should do?"
Xu Jianguo thought for a moment and said, "Uncle, I don't have a good solution right now, but since I promised the old Taoist priest to take care of this girl, I must keep my word. Judging from the current situation, Uncle Zhuzi has done everything he can. Why not let the child come home with me? It would be best if she can make it. If not, we can't let her die in Uncle Zhuzi's house. After all, no one can accept someone dying at home for no reason."
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