The wild boar lay bloodied on the snow, and the snow began to fall again. Qin Xiaozhou lay sprawled on the ground, his left side aching and numb. In the freezing cold snow, his undershirt was soaked with sweat.
Wang Lan lay motionless on the ground. Zhao Fang was terrified and dropped the cleaver, running over to her. "Mother, are you alright?"
The old woman's hair was disheveled, one leg was twisted strangely, and half of her face was covered in blood. She had obviously been dragged to the ground by a wild boar, injuring her leg and scraping her face and hands.
Zhao Fang's tears welled up, and her legs went weak. "Xiao Zhou, Xiao Zhou, come quickly and see your grandma, she's not well."
Qin Xiaozhou lay motionless on the ground. She had no strength, her whole body ached so much that she felt dizzy, and she was cold all over.
The sounds of wild boars outside had stopped; they must have run far away. It would be two more hours before dawn. Zhao Fang's legs had been weak for most of the day before she realized something was wrong and exclaimed, "Oh dear, Xiao Zhou, are you injured too?"
The yard was covered in blood, and it was dark. Zhao Fang didn't notice Qin Xiaozhou's abnormality in time. Qin Xiaozhou wanted to speak, but her left leg was in excruciating pain. She didn't know if the bone was broken, but she couldn't stand up. Cold sweat broke out on her forehead. "Mother-in-law, I'll have to trouble you to go to the village chief and ask him to take some people to fetch a doctor."
Zhao Fang only suffered minor scratches, which were nothing serious. However, Qin Xiaozhou's leg injury and Wang Lan's injury were serious, and they didn't have time to wait. The wild boar had escaped today and shouldn't be coming for the time being, but it was dangerous for someone to walk alone at night, so they had to trouble the village chief.
"Okay, okay, don't move yet." Zhao Fang first found a wooden stick and blocked the hole in the back door. She carried Wang Lan forward and then tried to carry Qin Xiaozhou. As soon as Zhao Fang moved, the blood that had been clotting on her legs flowed even faster. The excruciating pain almost made Qin Xiaozhou faint.
Qin Xiaozhou waved his hand, "Mother-in-law, go find someone first and have Lu Yan bring some strips of cloth."
Her leg seems to be broken; she can't move it rashly, but if it's not bandaged, she'll bleed to death.
Zhao Fang wiped away her tears. "Xiao Zhou, don't worry, I'll go find someone right away."
After saying that, she ran out of the backyard. Lu Yan came running over, carrying scissors and strips of cloth. There was blood everywhere. She screamed in terror, "Sister-in-law!" Lu Yan looked panicked. "I just heard wild boars and dogs barking. Are you injured? How serious is it?"
Only when they got closer did they see Qin Xiaozhou's tattered trouser leg, it was hard to tell if it was cloth or flesh. "Sister-in-law, how did you get hurt like this? Does it hurt?"
"Silly girl, don't cry." Qin Xiaozhou felt cold all over and was shivering. The snow under her bottom was slowly melting, and the snow water soaked her clothes. Cotton clothes absorb water the most, and she felt as if she was wrapped in ice water. "Give me the strip of cloth, and go inside and get a quilt."
Her legs were already frozen stiff, and her blood was flowing very, very slowly, but she was about to freeze to death.
Lu Yan ran over with a blanket in her arms. Qin Jinxiu held up an umbrella to shield her from the snow, tears streaming down her face. She gently touched Qin Xiaozhou's hand, saying, "Xiao Si and my sister are asleep. They're both fine. I covered Grandma with a blanket and gave her some hot water. She's awake now, sister. Don't worry."
Qin Xiaozhou nodded, too exhausted to speak further.
There was a knock on the front door, and someone outside shouted to open it. Lu Yan jumped up and exclaimed, "It's my great-uncle!"
Zhao Fang entered the room carrying a torch. "The village chief has sent someone to fetch a doctor. Lu Yan, how are your sister-in-law and grandmother?"
Without time to say more, the group ran to the backyard. Wang Gui and his two sons were startled to see the blood on the ground and the dead wild boar next to it. Wang Gui found a plank and said, "Niece-in-law, let's carry you back inside. It's cold outside, you'll freeze."
Qin Xiaozhou asked them to carry her to the woodshed in the front yard, where they laid a thick layer of pine needles on a wooden board and then covered her with a quilt.
Pine needles are the best for starting a fire and for keeping livestock warm. Lu Yan didn't understand why she lived in the woodshed. "Sister-in-law, this woodshed is so cold. Why do you live here?"
The Wang family, including father and sons, didn't understand either.
Qin Xiaozhou patted the wall she was leaning against. "Behind this wall is the kitchen stove. It's the warmest place here. It's damp and cold in winter, and the sun hasn't come out for days. The other rooms are all a bit damp. Even with several blankets on my back, it's still damp and cold. It's better to stay here. The pine needles are the driest, so it's more comfortable to lie down here."
The bedding hadn't been aired out for several days. Normally, she was hot-tempered and didn't feel cold while lying down, but now she felt too cold and uncomfortable to sleep in those rooms.
Lu Yan wiped away her tears again and asked her great-uncle to go to the kitchen for a drink of water. She boiled a large pot of water and brought it over for Qin Xiaozhou to wash up, wash her hands and face. Zhao Fang felt so sorry for her and went to Qin Xiaozhou's room to find some clothes. "Xiaozhou, let me change your clothes. These clothes are all soaked with snow water."
Qin Xiaozhou sat up with difficulty and changed her clothes. She felt a little better without the wet clothes sticking to her body.
There was another knock on the door. It was still an hour before dawn. Wang Dahe called anxiously from outside, "Aunt Wang, Aunt Wang, open the door, it's me, Dahe."
Wang Gui went to open the door. Wang Dahe relaxed when he saw a man. His house was at the far east end of the village, and the wild boar hadn't gone that way. So he only heard some noises and didn't understand what was going on. He was woken up and went back to sleep. Later, he realized what was happening and woke up suddenly. He ran over to check before dawn.
He carried the torch all the way, until he crossed the river in the middle of the village. He continued westward and finally saw some footprints in the snow. When he saw that they were wild boar footprints, he was terrified and rushed over. He found wild boar tracks all around the orchard next to the Lu family's house. Fearing something might happen, he had no choice but to knock on the door.
Soon, Dr. Li arrived. He cut open the trouser leg and the haphazardly wrapped strip of cloth, only to find four or five wounds on the calf, with the skin and flesh turned outwards. When the cloth was cut open, blood flowed out again, a shocking sight. He quickly found some medicinal powder, wrapped it in cloth, and used it to stop the bleeding.
After treating Qin Xiaozhou's wound, Dr. Li said, "You should rest for a while. You've injured your bone, so you need to take good care of yourself. You won't be able to walk around freely for three to five months. If it's not treated properly, you'll end up limping."
Hearing this, the Lu family felt even more distressed. Their beautiful young wife was now lame. They feared that she would be looked down upon and gossiped about, and that she might suffer lasting consequences.
Zhao Fang forced back her sobs, "My mother-in-law is also injured, in-law, please go and see her quickly."
After Zhao Fang and Lu Yan left, Qin Xiaozhou was in so much pain that she almost cried. She didn't know if she could walk normally again. She was reckless, but she didn't want to become a cripple.
And then there's Wang Lan. I wonder how badly she's injured. If she dies, how will she face the Lu brothers?
But she still had to comfort Qin Jinxiu, "Be good, you take good care of your younger sister and brother. I'm a little tired and want to sleep for a while."
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