In an instant, Zhou Mingqian didn't want to say anything to his wife. He was sorry that his second son's family had ended up in this state; it was their own fault.
After Zhao Di's condition improved, Shen Banxia allowed them to take her home. She had considered letting her recuperate there, but Zhao Di herself was unwilling, and neither was her second sister-in-law.
Before they could even rest, Aunt Zhu's frantic voice came over, her tone anxious, "Banxia, something terrible has happened! The cowshed has collapsed!"
Shen Banxia didn't delay any longer and followed Aunt Zhu to the cowshed.
It turned out that the roof had been infested with insects due to years of disrepair. Fortunately, everyone except Li Hua was unharmed.
Apart from Li Hua, Shen Banxia knew nothing about the people in the cowshed.
Seeing that blood was still seeping from her head, Shen Banxia gestured to Aunt Zhu, who then opened the medicine box.
Because Zhao Di was injured, Aunt Zhu became her assistant.
Aunt Zhu was happy to do this job. Although she didn't want to learn anything, she felt satisfied whether it was asking about things or earning work points.
After all, with Shen Banxia, the barefoot doctor, the elderly in the village no longer had to endure their minor ailments.
Since they can use work points to offset the cost, they're happy to come and visit, especially since life is getting better and better these days.
Shen Banxia disinfected the wound with alcohol, then bandaged it. She looked at Zhou's father, who had rushed over, and said, "Dad, find two people to carry him to the clinic first."
Zhou's father casually called out two strong men.
When they arrived at the clinic, Shen Banxia gave the patient acupuncture and prescribed medicine.
While brewing the medicine, Aunt Zhu chatted with Shen Banxia, "Banxia, you know, people just can't help but believe in superstitions. Look, there are so many people in the cowshed, but this Li Hua, the educated youth—oh, no, she's not an educated youth anymore, she's a bad element—did bad things, and now she's getting her comeuppance."
"Aunt Zhu, you should take your words with a grain of salt."
"Hey, I know, it's because of you. By the way, I heard from Gou Dan that this person has come looking for you several times. Could she be asking you for something? Let me tell you, you absolutely mustn't be soft-hearted. Don't be fooled by the fact that most people in the village seem honest. Some people aren't like that. They pretend to be honest on the surface, but behind your back they do all sorts of shady things." He finished speaking and curled his lip in disdain.
"And another thing, you don't know, some people deliberately provoke those Red Guards into the village, making a mess of things. If it weren't for the old Party Secretary taking charge, who knows how chaotic it would be now. Your father-in-law," Aunt Zhu shook her head. If it weren't for Uncle Zhou, Aunt Zhou, and the eldest son of the Zhou family's contributions, how could he have become the brigade leader?
Shen Banxia didn't follow up with her comments. No matter what, her man was raised by them.
Aunt Zhu slapped her mouth. "Look at my mouth, I can't keep it shut. I don't mean anything by it, but I've figured it out now. Your father-in-law is a bit cunning, and your mother-in-law seems loud and boisterous, but actually, your father-in-law is the one who makes the decisions in the family."
Shen Banxia smiled. See? There are still smart people who see this.
However, as the saying goes, no matter what happens inside, to outsiders they are still family, so Shen Banxia couldn't express her opinion.
However, some things need to be resolved as soon as possible.
Aunt Zhu noticed this too and changed the subject, "When do you think Li Hua will wake up?"
"It'll be over soon, they're all just superficial injuries."
"Hey, you know, I really didn't see it coming before. I thought she was a decent girl. I even considered giving her to my second son. But it turns out she's a cunning one. Thank goodness," Aunt Zhu said, feeling very fortunate.
Shen Banxia twitched her lips. "Aunt Zhu, aren't you putting on a show a bit too much? Li Hua is obviously playing favorites. He probably wouldn't even look at your lazybones, Er Gou."
"But you know what, Li Hua is actually quite good-looking, and have you noticed that she looks a bit like that Xiuzhu, especially her eyes? They both have the kind of eyes that slant upwards at the corners, and they both have the surname Li. Do you think they might have been related five hundred years ago?" Aunt Zhu said, laughing as she spoke.
To be honest, Shen Banxia hadn't really noticed. But after Aunt Zhu said that, and thinking back carefully, she realized that the two of them were still about 50 or 60 percent close.
Could it be that...?
Thinking of the information Zhou Mingqian had gathered, it seemed that matchmaker Li Xiuzhu was involved in quite a few things.
But one of them is from Haicheng, and the other is from Qiancheng. They're from completely different places, so how did they get involved?
Could it be that people just have similarities, and it's just a coincidence?
Shen Banxia kept this in mind and planned to ask Zhao Zhigao's father about it later, since it was the information she had helped to find out.
Aunt Zhu was clearly a good gossip, glancing warily outside and then at Li Hua, who was still unconscious, before lowering her voice, "Banxia, let me tell you, your little sister Zhou Mingjiao has been spending a lot of time with that educated youth Liu Zhe who wears glasses lately. Do you think they might be getting married soon?"
"I really don't know," Shen Banxia said, as she had her own things to do.
With so much to do – making pills, organizing herbs, collecting and managing supplies – there was no time to worry about Zhou Mingjiao.
As long as the dance doesn't happen in front of her, she can pretend that person doesn't exist.
However, why didn't the powder work at all last time?
Shen Banxia really couldn't understand this. It wasn't poison; it just caused some small bumps on her face, but it would become extremely itchy. As long as she could bear it, it would be fine.
But now it seems that it has no effect at all. If Qian hadn't tried her own medicine and found it to be effective, she would have thought she had taken an expired one.
This is just a little gadget I tinkered with when I had nothing else to do.
Shen Banxia thought of Li Xiuzhu who inexplicably pushed her, Zhao Zhigao who broke off the engagement without reason, and the ineffective medicine powder. It seemed that Zhou Mingjiao had a big secret.
Aunt Zhu was quite talkative. "I think your little sister is looking for a better option while still having a good one. I don't know why your mother-in-law dotes on her so much. If I hadn't known her for decades, I would have thought she had been replaced. Putting everything else aside, I'm sure your little sister wants to marry into the city. Just look at all the educated youth she's involved with; none of them come from well-off families."
Shen Banxia didn't want to gossip about Zhou Mingjiao; in her opinion, she had her own official partner.
Aunt Zhu was about to say something more when she heard a hiss, a gasp.
Aunt Zhu pursed her lips and looked at Li Hua, "Since you're awake, go back to the cowshed." She didn't want to deal with such bad elements.
Li Hua subconsciously touched her forehead, a sharp pain shooting through her, and she gasped for breath.
"My head..."
"It's just a superficial injury, nothing serious," Shen Banxia said, fulfilling her duty as a doctor. After all, Zhou's father had said that as long as the person was alive, that was enough, and there was no need to worry about anything else.
Li Hua opened her mouth, looked at Aunt Zhu, but ultimately said nothing. However, did the Li Xiuzhu they were talking about really look a lot like her?
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