In the morning, An Moxue was burying fruit in the snow piles in the yard, one type of fruit per snow pile.
Apples, pears, persimmons, strawberries, a huge snowdrift; dig a hole, layer fruit and snow.
Freezing them for a day or two will solidify them, especially pears and persimmons, which taste better the longer they are frozen.
Suddenly, a commotion arose at the foot of the back mountain, where a long, impressive procession had formed.
The procession drew closer, with several people carrying a stretcher at the front, jogging past An Moxue's house.
An Moxue only heard one person say, "Shuanzi, hurry up, go find the village doctor and prepare the medicine. We'll be there soon."
An Moxue looked in the direction of the sound and saw a person running ahead, eventually disappearing at the end of the road.
When An Moxue returned to the house and got dressed, she saw that half of the procession had already passed. Some people had game hanging on their bodies, and some carts were piled with game. Several carts passed in front of An Moxue, all carrying large game such as wild boar, wild deer, roe deer, and wild goats.
The news of someone being seriously injured swept through the village like a gust of wind as soon as the hunting party arrived.
Upon hearing the news, the villagers rushed towards the village clinic, some even running all the way.
When An Moxue arrived at the clinic, the small clinic was already packed with people, and the area outside the clinic was also full of people.
The village doctor was shouting loudly, "Get out! Get out! Everyone except family members, get out. What are you all doing crowding here? Are you trying to cause trouble? Get out! Get out! If you delay treatment, we'll come after you!"
Upon hearing this, a large group of onlookers who had previously remained indifferent suddenly emerged.
Those who came out and those who were standing in the courtyard gathered together, and everyone started talking at once.
"how's it going?"
"I heard there was a lot of blood loss, is that true?"
"Weren't they said to be unconscious? Is there any hope of recovery?"
"Indeed, no one knew what was going on."
"Oh my god! You didn't see it, that old man's nose was bleeding, and his face was as red as gold paper, it was really scary."
"That's right! Those thick clothes are all stained red, black, and soaked. I don't know if they'll ever be okay!"
"Lying there motionless, it looked really strange. He was fine when he left, who would have thought he'd have to be carried back?"
Suddenly, a wail came from inside the house: "Husband, you can't just leave like this! If you die, you'll leave us, a mother and children, how will we survive?" It was accompanied by the heart-wrenching cries of children.
Upon hearing the sound, everyone rushed to the window, and the chatter ceased as they listened intently to what was happening inside.
All that could be heard were the cries of a woman and a child, mixed with the doctor's scolding: "What are you crying for? She's not dead yet! Shut up, you're delaying my treatment. Move aside, don't lean over the bed. You're a mother of several children, can't you set a good example? You're not only not helping, you're making things worse! Move back, move back, all of you move back."
After that, all that could be heard was the woman and child sobbing softly.
The room door opened, and the doctor called out to the crowd outside, "Four men, come in and hold some people down so I can stitch them up, apply medicine, and bandage them."
He had barely finished speaking when someone came out.
Seeing that there were many people, the doctor said, "The first four are fine, the rest need not come in."
After saying that, without waiting for the reaction of the people behind him, he slammed the door shut as soon as the four men entered the house, making the person right next to him awkwardly touch his nose and stand aside.
Just then, the village chief arrived and asked the person next to him, "How is it inside the house?"
"I don't know. I just called a few people in to help hold it down. They said it needs stitches and bandages, and it will take a while to heal."
After a while, the door opened, and several people who had helped came out first.
The village chief stepped forward and asked, "Is the bandaging finished?"
The first person to come out answered, "It's all done."
After everyone came out, the village chief went into the house and closed the door.
The village chief asked, "Brother, how is Erliangzi?"
"He lost too much blood, and the wild boar's tusks pierced his stomach. Fortunately, no vital internal organs were damaged. As long as he doesn't have a fever in the next few days, or if he does, the fever will subside quickly, and he can survive."
"How long will you be unconscious?"
"It's hard to say, maybe ten or eight hours, maybe one or two days."
"So, can we go home now?"
"No, we have to wait until he wakes up and his fever goes down before we can take him home. Otherwise, improper care or failure to detect the fever in time could be very dangerous. If the fever gets high, we'll have to consider taking him to the hospital."
"Okay, contact me anytime if anything happens. Once you've finished here, there are still a few minor injuries; could you please take care of those as well?"
"Alright, let them come!"
"Erliangzi's wife, don't worry about Erliangzi's medical expenses, the village will cover them. When Erliangzi wakes up, we'll give you more game to help him recover. This winter, we'll make sure he gets better."
"Thank you, village chief," came the hoarse voice of Erliangzi's wife.
In just a short while, Erliangzi's wife's voice became hoarse, which shows how much damage it would do to the family if the pillar of the family were to fall.
A man supporting a family is not just a matter of physical labor; it also involves how malicious people can try to take advantage of your family if you become weak.
Hearing this, An Moxue knew, even though she hadn't seen the person, that someone with such serious injuries hadn't gone to the hospital.
For rural people today, going to the hospital may mean a serious illness, or even a life-threatening one, and the huge medical expenses can be enough to crush a family.
Those standing outside, hearing the conversation inside, didn't disperse but gathered together for a new round of discussion.
"This injury will take some time to heal!"
"That's for sure! I don't even know if I'll be able to do heavy work anymore!"
“They only have one able-bodied man in their family, Erliangzi, and their children are still young. If he doesn’t recover well, how will they survive in the future!”
"No way! The village chief said nothing, so giving them a bigger share of the game to help them recover shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"He's bleeding so much! It's going to be tough!"
"That's right, Erliangzi's wife is still not up to the task. If things don't go well, life will be difficult from now on."
"Who told her to have such a mother-in-law!"
"Didn't they already split up?"
"So what if the family splits up? Her mother-in-law should still take care of things."
"That's true. The people of Dongshan are capable, but they are too harsh, especially towards their daughters-in-law."
"That's right, they also favor boys over girls."
"As if they weren't women!"
“If you say that a daughter-in-law is an outsider, then she is also a daughter-in-law. According to her logic, isn’t she also an outsider?”
"Many people from Dongshan think this way, I can't understand it. Anyway, I can't get along with this person. When we meet, it's just for show."
"Who isn't! Just like who can get along with her?"
"Many of these migrants to Dongshan are truly capable, but their thinking is something we locals just can't understand."
"People who are not on the same path are destined to never see eye to eye."
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