By the time Xiao Mandong and the others arrived, Dong Huimin had already been carried into the courtyard of the educated youths’ compound. A wooden board had been placed beneath her.
She lay on the ground, her face bluish, white foam at the corners of her mouth, and one hand still clutched tightly around an empty pesticide bottle. Clearly, she was still conscious.
The veins on the Brigade Leader’s forehead throbbed.
“Shunzi, get the tractor over here! Take her to the hospital—right now!”
He knew that a barefoot doctor could do nothing for someone who had swallowed pesticide. She had to be taken to the hospital for gastric lavage.
Many members of the Yang family had come, all of them ashen-faced. They understood that if Dong Huimin really died, the Yang family would be unable to escape responsibility.
The Village Secretary felt as if the sky had collapsed as well. He had only just been hoping everyone could celebrate the New Year in peace, and now this had happened.
Xiao Mandong crouched down and examined Dong Huimin’s condition. By now, Dong Huimin had begun to sweat, and her breathing was gradually becoming labored. If she was not rescued immediately, she would soon suffer multiple-organ failure.
Xiao Mandong looked at the Brigade Leader.
“There’s no time. The roads are covered in snow, and it’ll take at least an hour to reach the hospital. Make her vomit at once…”
Yang Xueqiang, who was standing nearby, was trembling so badly that his legs gave way. Hearing Xiao Mandong’s words, he collapsed onto the ground. He never imagined that Dong Huimin would take things this far.
He had already promised that he would not abandon her. At most, she had simply lost the marriage certificate. What more did she want?
Wasn’t all she wanted the job as a work-point recorder? His family had already agreed that as long as his grandfather was still around, the position would definitely be hers.
“Have someone fetch some manure water!” Xiao Mandong shouted at the Yang family.
In winter, the pit was frozen solid. The Yang family used pickaxes to break through the layer of ice, then set up a large pot in the courtyard and lit a fire beneath it to melt the frozen waste. The stench spread throughout the entire village…
“Will forcing manure water down her throat really work?” the villagers murmured among themselves.
“Well, when all else fails, you try anything. Two years ago, Er Zhuzi’s wife swallowed pesticide. By the time they got her to the hospital, she was already dead. With the roads in this condition, she’d probably die on the way there anyway.”
Xiao Mandong stepped back and let the Yang family take over. As the manure slowly melted in the pot, the Yang family gagged repeatedly while pouring it into Dong Huimin’s mouth.
“Ugh…”
Anyone who worked the land inevitably came into contact with manure, but watching the stuff being poured into someone’s mouth was another matter entirely. Most of the people present began retching.
Several female educated youths nearly vomited their guts out.
Dong Huimin kept her eyes closed, but her mind was perfectly clear. She desperately wanted to stop them from saving her. She would rather die than be forced to drink manure water. But she had no strength left and could not speak, so she could only let the Yang family do as they pleased.
The manure water was so violently irritating that the moment it went down, Dong Huimin began vomiting uncontrollably.
The manure and the remnants of food in her stomach erupted together, splattering everywhere.
The Yang family were afraid something might happen to her, so when they saw her vomit, they did not stop. They poured in two more times, and Dong Huimin continued retching without pause.
After quite some time, Dong Huimin slowly opened her eyes. She looked at Xiao Mandong with undisguised resentment.
Why had she saved her in such a way? It would have been better to let her die. She had been forced to drink manure water, and now her whole body was filthy. What was she supposed to do? She could not even die!
At that moment, Dong Huimin was utterly desperate.
“Oh my goodness! She’s really alive!”
“Educated Youth Xiao is incredible! She actually managed to save someone who swallowed pesticide. She’s practically a miracle worker!”
“If Er Zhuzi’s wife had met Educated Youth Xiao back then, those two poor children wouldn’t have been left without their mother!”
The villagers pinched their noses and discussed the matter among themselves.
The most excited person there was Yang Xueqiang. He no longer had to carry a death on his conscience. His heart, which had seemed frozen in his chest, finally dared to beat again.
“Bring some water over. Give her several ladles of cool water to dilute the remaining pesticide, then take her to the hospital immediately,” Xiao Mandong instructed the Yang family.
Shunzi went to start the tractor. The trailer was lined with grass mats, and the Yang family carried Dong Huimin onto it. Yang Xueqiang and four senior members of the Yang family followed her into town.
The educated youths’ courtyard was a complete mess, with manure water covering the ground. The Yang family members who remained behind began cleaning up.
Their biggest worry was the large pot. If they threw it away, they had neither the money nor the ration coupons to buy another one. But if they kept it, the thought of cooking in a pot that had been used to boil manure made them feel sick.
In the end, the Yang family carried the pot to the river, smashed open a hole in the ice, tied a rope around the pot, and lowered it into the icy water. They would let it soak for a few days and decide what to do later.
No one could possibly eat at a time like this. Besides, both the Brigade Leader and the Village Secretary had gone to the hospital with the tractor. Xiao Mandong left the educated youths’ compound and prepared to head home.
She had not gone far when Jian Qiuyue and Zhou Xiaomei caught up with her. Jian Qiuyue linked her arm through Xiao Mandong’s.
“Mandong, you’re amazing! You actually managed to save someone who swallowed pesticide?”
Xiao Mandong raised her brows slightly and curved her lips into a faint smile without replying.
She actually had a much more effective method: the spiritual spring water. But Dong Huimin did not deserve it. Xiao Mandong had saved her only because she was a doctor.
“How did she suddenly end up trying to kill herself?” Zhou Xiaomei asked curiously.
Jian Qiuyue sighed and tugged down the scarf covering her mouth.
“Huimin missed the ox cart this morning and walked into town by herself. When she reached the entrance to the commune, she happened to see Yang Xueqiang and Wang Yuanyuan coming out after registering their marriage.
“She stood at the commune entrance and demanded to know why Yang Xueqiang had slept with her if he had never intended to marry her.
“Yang Xueqiang lowered his head and didn’t dare look her in the eye. When she saw that he wouldn’t say anything, she became furious and rushed into the commune, threatening to report him for hooliganism.
“Just then, members of the Yang family arrived at the commune too. When they saw the marriage certificate in Yang Xueqiang’s hand, they knew it was too late to change anything. Afraid that the matter would grow worse, they dragged Huimin back to the ox cart and forcibly took her back to the brigade, straight to the Yang family’s home.”
Jian Qiuyue paused for breath before continuing.
“The Old Party Secretary had only just woken up, so the Yang family didn’t dare tell him that Yang Xueqiang had registered his marriage. They tried to give Huimin some money and settle the matter quietly. They even promised that as long as the Old Party Secretary was still alive, the work-point recorder’s position would be hers.
“But Huimin couldn’t accept that. Her virtue—her innocence—was what she had given them. The Yang family raised their offer to five hundred yuan, but she still refused. Then they turned hostile. They said Yang Xueqiang had been drunk the night before and that Huimin had climbed into his bed of her own accord. If she wanted to make a fuss, they could all be charged with hooliganism together.
“Huimin ran out of the Yang family’s house in tears.”
Zhou Xiaomei’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“How could the Yang family be so shameless? They ruined her reputation and then expected her to accept a job as compensation. That’s outrageous!”
Jian Qiuyue continued.
“Huimin returned to the educated youths’ compound and buried herself in her quilt, crying. She kept crying until Wang Yuanyuan came back. Wang Yuanyuan said some truly vicious things, calling her a slut and saying that even after sleeping with her, it still didn’t count for anything.
“Basically, she threw every insult Huimin had once hurled at her and Sun Wenbin right back at her—only worse. The two of them started arguing.
