“If Granny’s leg has to endure a bumpy three-hour ride to the hospital, the situation will be dire. I’ve learned some basic splinting techniques—can I take a look at her? I can help stabilize the leg to prevent further injury on the way.”
“Who do you think you are? Get out of here! What’s a little girl like you butting in for? Don’t try to show off here—if you delay my mother’s rescue time, I’ll make your life hell.”
The man’s voice was booming; if Xiao Mandong hadn’t stepped back a few paces, his spit would have landed on her face.
The surrounding villagers chimed in one after another:
“Yeah, is this the new sent-down youth? Never seen her before. A young girl who’s read a few books thinks she knows everything.”
Xiao Manxue tugged at her sister’s sleeve again:
“Sis, let’s go.”
Xiao Mandong patted her sister’s hand to reassure her, then turned her gaze to Zhou Qichuan, who was half-kneeling on the ground. Her tone was steady but firm:
“I won’t say I can cure her, but I’ve learned temporary splinting methods. Using splints to bind the injury can reduce friction during the bumpy ride and prevent the bone from shifting further. The hospital is three hours away, and the road is full of potholes. If we delay any longer, even if Granny’s leg reaches the hospital, it may be hard to save.”
The blood on Zhou Qichuan’s forehead had already clotted, but the wound looked alarming.
He glanced at his grandmother, who was trembling in pain, then at Xiao Mandong’s resolute eyes. He recalled how, when he was injured in the army, medics had also used boards to splint legs. He made a decision and said firmly to Zhou Mantun, who had just spoken:
“Uncle, the cart ride is too bumpy. Granny can’t take it. Let her try. If anything goes wrong, I’ll take responsibility.”
“You’ll take responsibility? Can you afford it? She’s a sent-down youth who can’t even lift a hoe, yet she dares to touch a bone injury. If it weren’t for her taking that blow meant for you, your grandmother wouldn’t be this badly hurt.”
The speaker was Old Madam Zhou’s eldest son, Zhou Mantun; Zhou Mancang was the second son.
Zhou Mantun simply didn’t want Granny to recover her leg. If Granny’s leg became disabled because of an injury suffered by Zhou Mancang’s family, then the responsibility for her care could be shifted to Zhou Mancang—saving him even the cost of her pension. A pittance of five cents a month and twenty jin of grain meant saving 240 jin of grain and six yuan a year.
At that moment, Zhou Mancang crouched beside Old Madam Zhou, muttering:
“Mom, I’ll take you to the hospital right away. I only hit Er’er for his own good—I’m his father, I wouldn’t beat him to death, would I? Why did you have to interfere? You’re just making trouble for me.”
Old Madam Zhou was already too pained to speak.
“Zhou Qichuan, what are you doing? Hurry and lift your grandmother onto the cart.”
Zhou Qichuan glanced at Xiao Mandong, but his words were directed at his father and uncle:
“I said we’ll splint her first before going to the hospital. Otherwise, I won’t handle any family matters from now on.”
Zhou Mancang naturally had no objection; he had caused the trouble and needed his son to clean it up.
Just as Xiao Mandong stepped forward, Zhou Mantun blocked her:
“No way. How could a girl like her possibly know these things? She can’t even swing a hoe, let alone touch a bone injury. This is nonsense—unless she can guarantee that if she fails, she takes full responsibility.”
Zhou Qichuan gently lowered his grandmother to the ground, stood up, and blocked Zhou Mantun.
“Comrade, don’t worry. You won’t be held responsible for anything. What tools do you need?”
“Two sturdy boards about five centimeters wide, several lengths of hemp rope, some clean cloth strips, and an empty bowl. Where’s the water vat?”
Zhou Qichuan didn’t dare leave, afraid someone might hassle Xiao Mandong, so he signaled his childhood friend Song Xiangjun to prepare the items.
Zhou Qichuan then gestured for his sister to lead Xiao Mandong to fetch water.
Using the water vat as cover, Xiao Mandong took the empty bowl and, with her mind, retrieved a bowl of spirit spring water from her hidden space.
She went to Old Madam Zhou’s side, lifted the old woman’s head, and fed her the water little by little. Then she gently pressed on the old woman’s acupuncture points.
“This point helps with pain,” Xiao Mandong explained, worried that the spirit water’s effects might raise suspicion.
A few minutes later, with the aid of the spirit water, Granny Zhou’s brow gradually relaxed, and her taut body eased somewhat.
The surrounding villagers were astonished that this sent-down youth could ease the old woman’s pain just by pressing her acupoints.
Zhou Mantun was alarmed that the sent-down youth actually had some skill. This was just meddling, wasn’t it? If the ride had been bumpy for a few more hours, or if the cart had clumsily overturned by accident, his family could have saved hundreds of jin of grain. Now that had been ruined by this sent-down youth.
At that moment, Song Xiangjun returned with the boards, hemp rope, and cloth strips. Xiao Mandong leaned close to Old Madam Zhou’s ear and whispered a few words. The old woman nodded firmly.
Xiao Mandong tore open the old woman’s pant leg, rinsed the wound with the remaining spirit water, and while bandaging, she felt for the misplaced bone. With a sudden push, the old woman winced and shuddered, but gritted her teeth and didn’t cry out. Yet she clearly felt the sensation of the bone shifting lessen.
Xiao Mandong finished bandaging the wound, wrapped cloth strips around all areas where the boards would touch to prevent chafing, and secured the boards with hemp rope.
Watching her skilled bandaging, Zhou Qichuan knew she had medical knowledge.
Suddenly someone shouted:
“The ox cart is back!”
Zhou Qichuan lifted his grandmother and said to Xiao Mandong:
“When I return, I’ll thank you properly.”
“No need to be polite. Granny Zhou and I have a kind of connection. Be careful on the road—don’t let anyone bump into her injured leg.”
The crowd dispersed, and Xiao Manxue asked in confusion:
“Sis, why did you help that old woman?”
“Because this granny once helped me before. She probably doesn’t even remember it.”
Xiao Manxue sighed, hoping the old woman’s leg would be fine. She was worried her sister might be blamed. In this family, the soldier seemed the only decent one.
The stone house was already under construction; the collapsed roof had been cleared, and six men were working.
Xiao Mandong was satisfied with the progress.
Since the afternoon work shift hadn’t started yet, and she didn’t want to return to the sent-down youth dorm to endure their snide remarks, she and Xiao Manxue took a small path up the mountain. She wanted to learn more about the terrain, and hopefully pick up some mountain goods.
Though the weather was hot, the mountain was quite cool. The nearby mountain products had long been picked clean by children gathering pigweed. But with villagers busy with work, there was plenty of dry firewood. The sisters gathered the wood into a pile, covered it with leaves, planning to drag it down the mountain later and store it in the stone house yard for winter. The yard was large enough to store it in a corner without disrupting the house repairs.
Before they had gone far, they heard strange sounds—a woman whimpering with a crying tone. In the woods, it was a bit eerie.
Curious, Xiao Mandong crept closer. That’s when she discovered a man and a woman doing something illicit at the mouth of an overgrown air-raid shelter. A midday rendezvous in the wild—and not exactly quiet. Besides, Xiao Mandong recognized who the two people were.
Following behind, Xiao Manxue’s face flushed crimson. Only then did Xiao Mandong remember that her younger sister was still a young girl, so she quickly pulled her back a few steps and whispered a few words to Xiao Manxue, who nodded and left.
Having lived two lifetimes, Xiao Mandong had seen it all. She drew a few steps closer, using the overgrown grass as cover to confirm whether she had mistaken the person’s identity.
